My hands were shaking now that we're in front of my parents' house. I am aware of how angry they are at me because I've seen their messages I chose to ignore. Maybe Enzo told them about my relationship with Grayson.

Enzo tried to hold my hand to make me calm but I removed it from mine. I heard him sigh but I didn't mind anymore. I went out of his car to take my luggages from the compartment. He helped me with that.

"At this point, Ruth, you should feel grateful that I saved your life."

I glared at him. "You didn't save me from anything. I was just doing fine, Enzo."

He smirked. "Your life will be ruined if you continue your relationship with him. I know you know that."

I scoffed before I pulled my luggages with me. Enzo still insisted on helping me until we arrived in front of the gate. I pressed the doorbell twice.

"Galit na galit sila," he said as we waited for them to open the gate for us. "Sino nga namang hindi magagalit kung ang kaisa-isa nilang anak, nakipagrelasyon sa may asawa't anak?"

I took a deep breath as the amount of rage I felt for him increased. "Wala siyang asawa—"

Napatigil ako sa pagsasalita nang marinig ko ang pagbukas ng gate. Gusto kong ngumiti nang makita ko sina Mama at Papa na magkasamang nagbukas ng gate para sa akin pero nanlaki ang mga mata ko at namanhid ang mukha ko nang maramdaman ang malakas na sampal ni Papa sa akin, dahilan para muntik na akong masubsob sa semento kung hindi ako sinalo ni Enzo.

"You dared to come home after ignoring all of our messages, huh?!" Papa shouted after slapping me so hard. My tears immediately fell afterwards. "Hindi ka namin binigyan ng magandang buhay para lang kumabit, Ruth!"

"Tama na, Romeo, ano ba!" pagsaway ni Mama kay Papa bago tumingin sa akin. "Pumasok na muna kayong dalawa."

Enzo helped me stand up properly as he supported me while I walked. My whole existence was shaking now that I felt the rage of my father. This is the first time he was this angry at me. He never hurt me physically. And now that I just came back from my month-long trip . . . ito ang sasalubong sa akin?

Enzo made me sit on the couch before he went to the kitchen. I kept on crying and sobbing as I heard the footsteps of my parents coming near me. I suddenly had the urge to stand up and leave this house-to come back to Bohol-but I don't have the heart and the strength to do that.

"Kaya ba ang tagal-tagal mo do'n?! Kaya ba tawag kami nang tawag, text kami nang text, hindi ka sumasagot sa amin dahil wala ka nang planong umuwi?! Ano? Binahay ka na ba ng lalaking 'yon, ha?!" sigaw ni Papa nang makarating siya sa harap ko.

"Hindi ako kabit, Papa!" I screamed as I cried more. "Hindi ako kabit, bakit ba pinagpipilitan n'yo?!"

"Dahil 'yun ang totoo!" sigaw ni Mama na siyang ikinabigla ko. "Ruth, may anak 'yung lalaking karelasyon mo ro'n! Ano bang hindi mo maintindihan, ha?!"

M-Mama . . ." I suddenly felt so helpless now that Mama is being like this to me too. "Mama, wala silang relasyon ni Jenna! Even before they had their child, wala silang relasyon! They were just co-parent—"

"Co-parent, married or live-in, relasyon pa rin 'yon, Ruth Summer!" Papa shouted once again.

Enzo came back with a glass of water but I don't even feel thankful at all. Bakit ba kasi nangingialam siya? He was the one who broke up with me and now, he has the audacity to do this to me?

"Ruth, anak . . . mag-sorry ka na sa Papa mo."

I shook my head. "No." I looked up at Papa who's standing tall in front of me. I held his hands as I explained my side. "P-Papa, hindi ako kabit. Bakit ba ayaw mong maniwala? Wala akong relasyong sinira, Papa. Grayson was alone when I met him. He was never married and he never had a love thing with Jenna. He's just co-parenting—"

"He wasn't co-parenting, Ruth, because I goddamn know for sure that he is an irresponsible father to his own child!" he shouted as he pushed my hands away from his. "Kahit na anong sabihin mo ngayon, kahit anak kita, ikaw ang mali rito! Anong klase kang babae? Aalisan mo ng karapatan ang bata na makasama ang ama niya nang dahil lang sa kalandian mo?!"

I shut my eyes so tight as it feels like there's a deep knife that stabbed my heart. Those words, coming out of my parent's mouth, hurt ten times more than how Enzo hurt me with his words. This pain is actually . . . immeasurable.

"Pa!" I begged. "Please, listen and believe me, Papa. Please . . . hindi ako kabit, Papa. Hindi ako kabit . . ."

I heard a few cusses come out of his mouth before he talked to me again. "Umakyat ka na sa k'warto mo!"

I wanted to beg him for more. I even wanted to kneel in front of him, just so he would believe me, but he never looked back at me at all the moment he turned his back on me. I kept on calling him but he never listened to me. In the end, I was left alone with Enzo and Mama. She's looking at me with all the disappointments in her eyes.

"Magpahinga ka na sa itaas, Ruth."

I shook my head as tears continued falling from my eyes. I held her hands too as I begged. "Mama, hindi po totoo 'yon. Maniwala ka naman sa akin, Mama . . ."

She looked away as she removed my hands on hers. "Babae ka, Ruth. Babae rin ang anak ng lalaking 'yon. Sana inisip mo muna kung anong mararamdaman niya bilang babae bago mo ginawa 'yan."

Hindi na ako nakapagsalita pa. Patuloy ako sa paghagulgol habang pinanonood siya na sundan si Papa sa k'warto nilang dalawa. Tinakpan ko ang mukha ko gamit ang dalawang kamay saka umiyak nang umiyak doon.

Ilang sandali pa, naramdaman kong naupo si Enzo sa tabi ko. "Drink this water, Ruth. Iaakyat na kita sa k'warto mo."

I shook my head. "This is all your fault." I sobbed. "Bakit ba pinangunahan mo ako?"

He sighed. "Please, blame me later. Let me take you to your room for now."

He held both sides of my arms as he guided me to stand up but I violently removed it as I stood up myself. I lost my balance at the first few steps that I took so he immediately went there to try and catch me from falling to the ground but I quickly redeemed my strength and went to my room on my own.

As I lay on my bed and covered myself with my blanket, I did nothing but cry my heart out.

Is this the price I paid for all the bad things Enzo said that I've done?

A few hours later, I woke up and the first thing I felt was the heaviness of my chest. The moment I opened my eyes, tears began to fall because I know that this is the real and disturbed world I am in now.

The world where I truly belong.

A world where no Grayson will make me feel alive.

"You're finally awake."

I moved my head and looked at Enzo who's sitting at the left side of the bed. I gently got up as I faced him.

"Ano pa bang ginagawa mo rito?" I asked.

He smiled a little. "You need me, I know."

I shook my head gently. "I don't need you, Enzo." His jaw clenched. "I only came home with you but it doesn't mean that I am coming back to you, too."

I caught a glimpse of pain in his eyes as he looked away. He sighed before he talked. "You want me back a month ago." He looked back at me. "Ganoon kabilis nagbago ang isip mo?"

I bit my lower lip to stop myself from talking. I don't want to prolong this argument anymore. I already made myself clear to him. I don't want him back anymore.

"We were together for six years—"

I sighed. "Ikaw na rin ang nagsabi na sa huling taon na 'yon . . . pinilit na lang natin. We forced ourselves to be together . . . to try and make things work out for us. Pero hindi ba't ikaw na rin ang bumitiw? The moment you asked for the breakup, you knew that it won't work anymore. What's the point of making this relationship back for us if we knew that it won't work anymore?"

He gulped repeatedly as his eyes glistened. He kept on looking away and looking at me a few times until he sighed.

"We'll try our best this time."

I shook my head. "Enzo . . ." I sobbed. "Hindi na kita mahal."

His tears fell as he turned his back on me, still sitting on the bed.

"Ilang beses ko pa bang dapat sabihin? Hindi na kita mahal, Enzo."

"Stop, please."

I sniffed as I wiped my tears. "Let's just be thankful that we were together for that long. And for the whole six years that we were together, I am truly happy. I truly loved you. Dearly. But it just won't last for us, Enzo. We just can't make it last. We were both toxic to each other. We both make each other feel bad because of our own behaviors that we thought were fine. We broke each other's hearts and because of that, we can never work out anymore, no matter how hard we try."

He sniffed as he stood up, not looking at me.

"Fine," he said in his baritone. "I understand everything now so stop talking." He sighed as he walked towards the door before he looked at me with his bloodshot eyes. "As long as that irresponsible man won't have you back, I'll be fine, Ruth. But if you decide to come back to him, I will never let you."

He gulped as he heaved a deep sigh, facing me straight.

"This is not me, being a selfish and asshole ex-boyfriend. This is how I loved you. I just don't want you to end up with someone who has that big of a responsibility in his life before you even came. If you'll ever love someone, find someone else, Ruth. Someone who's not committed to someone else. Someone who can do the things I never tried doing to you. Someone who . . . who can love you more than I do."

After he said that, he went out of my room and shut the door so hard.

I never heard from him after that.