Chapter 33

"Thank you, Atty. Manjarrez," sabi sa akin ng isang kliyente ko. Kakatapos lang ng collusion hearing namin para sa annulment case niya. I thanked her, too, for being a cooperative client. Mas naappreciate ko siya ngayon dahil pinapahirapan ako ni Shanelle sa kaso niya. Right after that, dumiretso na ako sa coffee shop kung saan kami magkikita. Ayoko na pumunta sa office ni Shanelle dahil baka magkita na naman kami ni Samuel. I should really be avoiding him at all cost—at least until this was over and done with. Trabaho ko na nga lang ang meron ako, ilalagay ko pa ba sa alanganin?

"Why here?" tanong ni Shanelle nang dumating siya. She was wearing a old rose pantsuit at may dala siyang kulay itim na bag—pretty sure it was Hermes dahil may ganyan din si Kitty.

"Ayokong pumunta sa office mo."

"Because?" she asked with her forehead creased.

"Baka magkasalubong na naman kami ng asawa mo," I replied. She nodded as if she understood my reasoning. "I'll be charging every meeting to your account."

She slightly rolled her eyes. "Sure, fine, whatever," she said. "What is this meeting about?" tanong niya. "I have an appointment in an hour."

Tumango ako at pinagsalop iyong mga kamay ko. "I attended an event last night," I said.

"The one in Sofitel?"

I nodded. "Nandun ka rin?"

She scoffed. "No. Why would I?"

I shrugged. Marami ngang pamilyar na mukha doon. I was actually surprised na nakita ko roon si Samuel dahil marami akong nakita na member ng frat nila. Okay na ba siya sa frat nila? Because as far as I was concerned, hindi naman siya tinanggal talaga—he was just... deprived of the benefits.

"Anyway," I said, "Nakita ko si Samuel doon."

"Really..." she replied like it was intriguing na nandoon si Samuel kaysa sa pagsasabi ko sa kanya na kausap ko si Samuel.

"He told me na hindi pa sila nagsusubmit, pero malapit na silang magsubmit," sabi ko sa kanya. Tumango lang siya. But I was trying to observe every little thing—nakita ko kung paano niya abutin iyong baso ng tubig sa harapan niya. But she didn't drink. It was almost like she just needed to hold on to something.

She must be scared—ayaw niya lang ipakita.

"And what did you tell him?" she asked while looking at me. "Did you say that you'll have it dismissed?"

Tumango ako. "But then he said that he'll have Vito and Clary summoned if need be."

Nakita ko iyong paghigpit ng hawak niya sa baso. I saw how she struggled for breath for a quick second. She lost control. But she's Shanelle—she quickly gathered herself.

"No, he won't," she said.

"I think he will," I told her. "He told me himself—he'll get his annulment."

"Of course he'll tell you that—because I'm pretty sure you'll be the first person he'll go to if this annulment is granted."

Napaawang iyong labi ko sa mga salitang sinabi niya. She was so... casual about it. Like she didn't care kung sa akin man nga pumunta si Samuel—at this point, I believed that Shanelle wouldn't even mind if I fuck Samuel so long as she'd remain married to him legally.

This was fucking bonkers.

I had to grab my glass of water. Ako yata iyong kailangang uminom ng tubig dahil parang mauubusan ako ng lakas sa babae sa harapan ko.

"Shanelle, I'll be—" I said and then paused. "Are you straight? Gay? Lesbian? Bisexual? Asexual? Non-binary? You have to tell me because I can't do my job kung pati iyan ay huhulaan ko."

She stared at me. "What did Samuel tell you?"

"Nothing," I said. "He told me he won't discuss it unless it came from your first."

She scoffed and smirked and shook her head. "Same old Samuel," she said. "Do you know that that's one of the reason why I married him? Because he's... polite, I guess? And he generally just minds his own business," she continued. "That's why I don't buy his bullshit na ipapatawag niya si Vito at Clary."

"And if he's not bluffing? What, then?" I asked her because she needed to know that it's a possibility—a huge fucking possibility. Because I was there. I heard it. I knew that Samuel wasn't calling bluff—he'd really do it. I felt it when he said that he'll get his annulment.

Hindi nagsalita si Shanelle.

"Fine," I said. "Answer my first question, then. Because if you are, then we both know that he'll get his annulment. You do know that concealment of homosexuality is considered as fraud. You know that he'll get his annulment if it's proven that you lied to him," I continued while staring at her. "Did you conceal anything, Shanelle? And if you did, may ebidensya ba si Samuel?"

Hindi pa rin siya nagsalita.

"What is the goal here, Ms. Nuevas?" I asked her. "Is it to stay married? Or do you just not want your family dragged? I need to know."

I counted the seconds.

It took her a minute.

"I don't want anyone on my business," she said. "I don't owe anyone explanation."

Tipid akong tumango. "Okay," I replied. "Okay. At least now, I know what my goal is."

"My father is terminally ill, Atty. Manjarrez. I don't want to be the one to kill him by disappointing him once again."

Napaawang iyong labi ko. "Shanelle—"

"I don't need a fucking pep talk, Atty. Manjarrez. I'm a grown woman. I know what I want. I know what I don't want. And what I want is for people to mind their own fucking business. My sexuality is not some topic that I want discussed in court," sabi niya at saka hinawakan iyong bag niya. "Talk to Samuel. Make it happen. Stop wasting my money and do something."

What... the fuck did just happen?

* * *

Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako dinala ng mga paa ko sa BGY. All I knew was that I found myself inside Iñigo's office.

"What?" he asked habang nasa papel ang mga mata niya at may binabasa.

"Dapat nakinig ako sa 'yo," sabi ko habang isinandal iyong ulo ko sa lamesa niya. "Naghanap lang ako ng ipupukpok na bato sa ulo ko nung tinanggap ko iyong kaso—"

"Wag," he said.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "What?"

"Iyong kay Samuel ba?"

Tumango ako. "Yeah... bakit?"

"We can't talk about that."

Lalong kumunot ang noo ko. "Why?" I asked but he remained silent. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "Ikaw ba iyong abogado ni Samuel?" I asked in horror dahil ano naman ang laban ko kay Iñigo? I mean, sure, he mostly focuses on criminal law, but I was pretty sure he could easily catch up with family law.

"What? Hindi, ah!" sabi niya.

"Bakit 'di natin pwedeng pag-usapan?"

Ibinaba ni Iñigo iyong ballpen na hawak niya. "Basta," he replied.

"Oh, my god. Dito ba sa firm niyo iyong abogado?!" I asked in panic.

"Bakit ka ba nandito?" he asked.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to my friend! 'Di ko naman akalain na papunta pala ako sa kampo ng kalaban!" sabi ko habang kinukuha iyong bag ko.

"Ang OA. 'Di naman tayo magkalaban," sabi niya habang sumasandal sa swivel chair niya. "Ano ba'ng maipaglilingkod ko sa 'yo? Pwede naman tayo mag-usap basta hindi specific."

He still wasn't saying anything, but I was already convinced na si Yago iyong abogado ni Samuel. It made sense. Yago's one of the known lawyers in the field. Kung hindi bobo si Shanelle, dapat kay Yago siya dumiretso... unless of course nauna ng kunin ni Samuel iyong service ni Yago. Maybe they're friends now—ewan ko. Maraming nagbago sa mga panahon na hindi ko siya nakita.

"How can I be sure na hindi mo sasabihin kay Yago iyong sasabihin ko?"

Natawa siya. "Kasi hindi ako ganon?"

"Kaya ba sinasabi mo sa akin dati na 'wag kong kunin iyong kaso ni Shanelle? Kasi alam mo na si Yago iyong abogado? Na firm niyo iyong may hawak?"

"No," sagot niya. "I told you that as a friend—mahirap humawak ng kaso na personally invested ka. Been there, done that. Will not recommend."

"I'm not personally—" I said and the stopped when he raised a brow at me. "Fine. Maybe I am."

"Good. The first step to recovery is acceptance."

Umirap ako. "Recovery mo mukha mo."

Tumawa siya. "Wag mo akong tanungin sa kaso at wala rin akong alam. Criminal lawyer ako, Atty. Manjarrez. Ayoko sa family law. Sapat na sa akin iyong family issues ko nung bata ako. Ayoko na pati sa katandaan ko e iyan pa rin pinoproblema ko."

Inirapan ko ulit siya tapos ay naupo ulit ako. "Hypothetically," I said.

"Fine. Hypothetical lahat from here on forward."

"Agreed," I said. "So, the other party's ground is solid. And my client said that she just wants people to stay out of her business. So, I took that to mean as wala siyang pakielam kung ma-grant man iyong annulment so long as walang makakaalam sa totoong ground."

"Okay," he replied.

"So... I think... I know I can make that happen... but we both know that it's legally wrong."

I looked at Iñigo. He's been here—he's experienced what it's like to do what's legally right but morally wrong. I just wanted his input bago ko ipasok sa kung anuman ang sarili ko.

"Ano ba'ng gusto mong marinig sa akin?"

"If you were the lawyer, what will you do?"

"Kaninong abogado ako?"

"Kay Sha—" I said and then halted and then rolled my eyes because we're being silly. "You know what I mean."

Humalakhak siya. "I mean... kung tinanong mo ako dati, definitely I'll tell you to do what's legally right no matter the cost. But you know, years of experience will tell you that the law's not always right. Tao lang din naman ang gumawa ng batas—take the Family Code for example. I find it absolutely absurd na mas madaling iprove iyong kaso ng adultery kaysa concubinage. Doon pa lang makikita mo na na hindi patas ang batas."

I sighed. Tama naman siya. They say that the law is an equalizer... but if you look close enough, it's just a big lie. The law will favor anyone who knows it enough to know its weakness. Kasi nga sa batas, sa bawat general rule, lagi't-laging mayroong exception. Kailangan mo lang ng abogado na alam lahat ng exception. At karamihan sa mga lawyer na alam ang exception, hindi mo afford.

"So... I should do it?" I asked. "I mean... hypothetically."

He shrugged. "I mean, it's not like you'll be taking anyone's life or sending anyone to jail."

Sobrang lalim ng buntung-hininga ko.

"The law isn't always right," he said as if to comfort me. "Sometimes... sometimes, for good reasons, I think... I think it's okay to circumvent it."

Tumango ako. "I know... Thank you."

Tipid siyang ngumiti. "Hypothetical lahat, ha."

Bahagya akong natawa. "I know. Thanks for another hypothetical conversation."

"Anytime," he replied.

Nagpaalam na ako kay Iñigo dahil alam ko naman na marami pa siyang gagawin at saka may gagawin pa rin naman ako. Kailangan kong baguhin iyong game plan ko para sa kaso ni Shanelle. She told me to do whatever it takes—maybe I'd do just that.

Paglabas ko, agad akong napa-hinto.

"Atty. Gomez de Liaño," I said nang makita ko si Yago na naglalakad at may hawak na tasa na may kape. "Do you have a minute? I'd like to discuss something with you."

**
This story is already at Chapter 39 on Patreon (patreon.com/beeyotch). Subscription starts at 100php per month for all stories.

If you're having any problems with your payment or if you want to pay via GCASH, you can email [email protected] for assistance.