Chapter 35

Agad akong napa-hinto sa pagsasara ng pintuan ng sasakyan ko nang magtagpo iyong mga mata namin ni Samuel. His eyes probably mirrored mine—or mine was probably worse... because I was not able to get a wink of sleep after what happened earlier. Pero nandito na agad ako. Because I am professional. Because I didn't want my professional life to suffer because of my personal life.

I was very protective of my work... because at this point, I felt like this was all I have.

Huminga ako nang malalim nang isara ko iyong pintuan. There was no choice but to pass by him dahil nandoon iyong daan papunta sa firm. When I passed by him, I heard nothing from him. Hanggang sa makapasok ako sa loob ng elevator ay hindi ko siya nakita. Hanggang sa makarating ako sa floor ng BGY ay wala akong narinig mula sa kanya.

"Hi," pagbati ko nang makita ko si Yago.

"Hi," he replied. "Can we wait for a while? My client's on the way."

Tipid akong tumango. Dito din siya papunta. Of course, dito din siya papunta. Pero hindi siya sumabay sa akin. Was he finally giving me what I wanted? Because I felt like I already lost count sa kung ilang beses kong sinabi sa kanya na tigilan niya na ako. Kasi may asawa siya. Hindi ko alam kung bakit parang ang hirap sa kanyang intindihin iyon.

"Do you want anything? Coffee? Water?" Yago asked.

Umiling ako. "No, I'm good."

Tumango siya na may kasamang tipid na ngiti. He must probably think how this whole... set-up was insane. Kahit ako rin naman. Yet here I was gobsmacked right in the middle of it all.

At nang marinig ko iyong katok sa pinto, automatic na bumilis iyong tibok ng puso ko. I should've said yes to the water. I needed to calm down. This was work. I should treat it as nothing but work. I'd been in this position before. Alam ko ang gagawin—or probably not... This was the first time that I'd be in this... situation.

"Mr. Fortalejo," sabi ni Yago.

Huminga ako nang malalim. Tumayo ako at tumingin. Nandoon si Samuel. Some streak of his hair was wet na para bang galing siya sa CR at naghilamos.

"Mr. Fortalejo," I said as I extended my hand to signify that we're here professionally.

Naka-tingin lang siya sa mga mata ko tapos ay tinanggap niya ang kamay ko. I almost flinched when our hands touched, but he just squeezed it like he would any other meeting.

I guess I finally got what I asked for.

"Atty. Manjarrez," he said as a professional courtesy. We were looking at each other's eyes when I heard Yago telling us how we should probably begin with the meeting.

Naunang umalis si Samuel. Nanatili akong nakatalikod sa kanilang dalawa. Muli akong pumikit habang humuhugot ng malalim na hininga. Okay. Kaya ko 'to. This was but another day in my life as a lawyer.

"Shall we begin?" Yago asked. I nodded. "Can I ask where your client is?"

I shrugged. "Work, probably," sagot ko sa kanya. "She didn't want to be here. Plausible deniability."

"Ah..." Yago said with a small smile on his face. "Smart."

"But she told me about what she wanted to get from this."

"And that is?"

"For people to mind their own business," I said. "Her words, not mine."

"I see," sabi ni Yago. "As for my client," dugtong niya tapos ay tumingin kay Samuel na tahimik na naka-upo sa tabi niya. "He wants annulment," he said. "What's your client's stand about the annulment being granted?"

"She doesn't mind," sagot ko. "The goal is not to summon her family and Clary."

Muling tumango si Yago. "We can make that work."

Tumingin ako sa kanya. "Would you have done it?"

"Done what?" tanong ni Yago habang iyong mga mata niya ay may binabasa sa papel na hawak niya.

"Summon her family?"

Tumingin siya sa akin. "What do you think?" Yago asked.

Tumingin ako kay Samuel. Gagawin niya kaya talaga iyon? Ilalaglag niya ba talaga si Shanelle sa pamilya niya, sa lahat ng tao para lang makuha iyong gusto niya? Because if he would... then he wasn't the same man I fell in love with years ago. I couldn't imagine him doing something so horrible to the woman he married. Kasi kahit na sabihin na hindi sila nagpakasal dahil mahal nila ang isa't-isa, still, he must've respected her at the very least. And to do that to someone you respected? That would be an all-time low for him.

"I think you would have done it," sabi ko sa kanya.

Bahagya siyang natawa habang umiiling. "You think the worst, Atty. Manjarrez."

"Can you blame me?"

Yago shrugged. "I'm not that cruel," he cryptically said. "Now, on to business," dugtong niya. "I'd just like to confirm again na ayos lang kay Shanelle na ma-grant iyong annulment?"

"Yes."

"The only condition is that we don't summon her family?"

"And Vito and Clary," I added.

"I see," sabi ni Yago. Tumingin siya kay Samuel. "Ikaw, may request ka ba?"

Umiling si Samuel. "I just want this to be over as quickly and as peacefully as possible."

Nagkatinginan kami ni Yago. We were both probably thinking the same thing—peacefully? Sa annulment? Sure... kapag siguro baliktad na iyong mundo.

"So, what's the game plan?" tanong ko para na rin makapaghanda na ako sa mga kailangan kong gawin. "Ground?"

"Psychological incapacity."

Napa-tingin ako kay Samuel. Inaasahan ko na 'to dahil ito naman talaga ang karaniwan na ginagamit na ground ng mga mayayaman na gustong maghiwalay dito sa Pilipinas. This was hard to prove, but what choice do people have? Getting out of a marriage felt like you're breaking out of a prison cell at this point.

"That's hard to prove," I said while my eyes were still on him. "This is going to ruin your reputation."

Tumango si Yago. "My client is well-aware. Whatever it takes, right?"

"Right," mababang sagot ni Samuel. Tumingin siya sa akin. "If you need anything, you can course it through my lawyer," dugtong niya tapos ay tumayo. He gave me a small nod bago siya lumabas ng opisina ni Yago.

"So, back to business," sabi sa akin ni Yago. "Since the ground we'll be using is Art 36, you'll have to file."

I couldn't even bring myself to nod.

"I'm sure you're aware of the new ruling, but I'd like to be certain so let's still get psych eval," sabi niya sa akin.

Hindi pa rin ako makapagsalita.

"Atty. Manjarrez," muling pagtawag niya sa akin.

"Y-yes."

"Ayos ka lang ba?"

"Is he really okay with this?" I asked. Shanelle has something she wanted to protect... ganoon din si Samuel. Back in law school, he was particular with his image and reputation—kaya nga siya sumali d'yan sa fraternity na 'yan—because of all the strings and shiny things attached to it. Kaya na lang din ganoon ang reaksyon niya nang biglang kunin lahat ng pinaghirapan niya.

But now... he'd really watch it all burn.

Because it's what happens in proceedings like this.

They'd dig into your life—all the skeletons in your closet would see the light of the day.

"Yes," sabi ni Yago. "Are you okay with it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know we're professional and all, but we're still human beings first," sabi ni Yago. "All I'm saying is that I understand that this is... complicated to say the least."

Hindi ako nakapagsalita agad.

Huminga ako nang malalim.

"Psychological incapacity," sabi ko para ibalik ang usapan sa kaso. I didn't want to take 'feelings' with him. I'd rather deal with this alone... preferably with a bottle of alcohol.

"Yes," sabi niya.

"What specifically?" I asked before we went back to discussing business.

* * *

Hindi ko napansin na kanina pa pala ako nakatingin sa kawalan nang mapukaw iyong atensyon ko nung may kumatok sa pintuan. Nakita ko si Shanelle na nakatayo roon.

"How was the meeting?" tanong niya.

Napaayos ako sa upo ko. Halos wala akong natapos sa sinusulat ko na pleading dahil kanina pa lumilipad iyong isip ko pabalik sa meeting namin ni Yago. Pinagusapan namin iyong posibleng mangyari—all possible endings were bad for Samuel.

"Okay naman," sagot ko sa kanya habang pinapatay iyong monitor. "Psychological incapacity iyong ground."

"Good," sagot niya. "Ano doon?"

"Hindi ko pa alam. Will still discuss this with Yago because we need to lay a solid groundwork for this," sabi ko sa kanya. Kilala naming dalawa si Samuel—he's far from being psychologically incapacitated to perform his duties in marriage. I knew because I once considered marrying him. We'd have to dig deep and be able to support this claim.

"They assured me na hindi nila isusummon ang pamilya mo, si Clary at si Vito—at least not because of that."

Tumango siya. She didn't even need to verbalize it but I saw the relief on her face. I guess she really didn't want them dragged to the court.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," sabi ko sa kanya. "Part of the job."

Tumingin siya sa akin. "Deanne."

Bahagyang napa-kunot ang noo ko dahil sa tono ng boses niya. "When this is all over, you should consider getting back together with him."

Napaawang ang labi ko sandali bago ako natawa. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba sa stress o sa pagod pero halos maluha ako sa sobrang tawa. Pinunasan ko iyong paligid ng mga mata ko.

"Thanks," I said habang pinupunasan ko iyong gilid ng mga mata ko. "I needed that laugh."

"I'm being serious," sabi niya sa akin.

"Me, too," sagot ko. "I needed to hear a joke. That was a good one."

Umirap na lang siya sa akin. "Whatever you say," she said. "Keep me in the loop."

"Of course—this is your marriage, Shanelle," I said because it was ridiculous of her to ask me to keep her in the loop. Of course she'd be in the loop dahil hindi naman 'to normal na procedure na pwedeng tumuloy ex-parte kahit 'di kami umattend dalawa.

She just shrugged. At this point, it felt like she'd already made up in her mind that the marriage was really over and what we're doing is just merely formality to end things legally.

"This is officially the weirdest case I've ever handled," bulong ko sa sarili ko habang umaalis si Shanelle. Pambihira.

* * *

The next few days, I spent almost all my day in the office para tapusin iyong iba kong kaso. I wanted to focus on Shanelle's case—the quicker we could finish this, the better.

"Sorry kung ikaw ang palaging pumupunta dito," Yago said.

"No, it's fine," I replied kasi kung may magtanong man, hindi naman weird na pumupunta ako rito sa BGY kasi tambay naman ako dito talaga minsan dahil nandito si Iñigo at minsan nandito rin si Kitty.

"Natapos mo na 'yung draft?" Yago asked.

I nodded. "Here's your copy," I replied because we agreed that shouldn't leave digital footprint—mahirap na. Once na magfile kami, magsisimula na iyong sa collusion hearing sa prosec. We needed to be careful.

"Thanks. Will read and get back to you," sabi ni Yago.

"I think this is unfair," sabi ko.

Napatingin siya sa akin at napakunot ang noo. "What?"

"This," I replied. "This will be a part of public record."

"Samuel's well aware," sagot niya sa akin.

"Is he, really?" I asked. I followed what he told me—whatever I needed, I coursed through Yago. Mas mabuti na 'to dahil tuwing mag-uusap kami, palagi kaming nauuwi sa sigawan at iyakan. It's just... insane how after all this years, the emotions were still high between us.

"He's a lawyer—of course he knows what will happen," sabi ni Yago. "And as his lawyer, I also reminded him."

"His family will hear about this."

"Yes," sagot ni Yago.

"I feel like I don't know him anymore," sabi ko habang naka-tingin sa kanya. "First, iyong kina Vito. And now this?"

Kumunot ang noo ni Yago. "You didn't really think that he'll summon Vito... right?"

Bahagyang napakunot ang noo ko. "I thought—"

"Well, you thought wrong, Manjarrez," sabi ni Yago sa akin. "All I can say is that his only instruction was to put all the blame on him and wrap this up as quickly and as quietly as possible."

Hindi ako nakapagsalita.

"I'll give this a read and I'll see you in the collusion hearing." He stood up and grabbed the envelope. "Don't hold back in the hearing, Atty. Manjarrez. Drag him through the mud—use the materials we gave you," he continued before he left me in Iñigo's office. 

**
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