Chapter 9

"If you're that worried about him, why don't you . . ." Gideon trailed off, stealing a glance at me before he shrugged. "I don't know, tell him the truth?"

I didn't answer right away. I placed the gun on my less dominant hand and fired. "Gideon . . ." I sighed. I missed the entire target range! Ibinalik ko ang baril sa aking kanang kamay. "It's not that easy."

"But you're hurting him, Mallory." He pointed out.

Natahimik ako. Yes, I'm hurting Leon. And he doesn't deserve this. Leon had been nothing but a good friend to me for the past years and because he's a little persuasive, he managed to become my boyfriend. I'm not saying that I'm not happy with him, because I am. But there are times when I stare at Leon's sleeping face and tried to picture out a family with him but I just couldn't.

"Okay, forget about marrying Leon, Mallory." Wika ni Gideon at sunod-sunod na ipinutok ang kaniyang baril. Halos bullseye lahat maliban sa isang nalihis. "You're still into Sage, and that's not a question. That's a statement."

I fidgeted the gun with my fingers. I really like the weight of the gun in my hands since Gideon first introduced me to it.

"Kung ayaw mong makagawa pa nang mas malaking gulo dito sa Pilipinas, bakit hindi ka nalang bumalik ng Japan? You and Suki can live together. Forget about everything here. Now that you know the real suspect of your mother's case, you can sleep better at night."

"It's not that easy," I squeaked.

"Yeah, I know. You can't stare at Christian Monterio without being reminded that his mom killed your mom."

"Gideon!"

Humalakhak ito. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But it's true, isn't it?"

Dahan-dahan akong tumango.

"See? That's why you've got to move on, Mallory. Marami pang opportunities ang naghihintay sa iyo. And may I remind you that you are an engineer, not a model. You're only doing this as part of your revenge to the Monterio's. But now that you've got nothing to revenge unto, I think you should stop."

Nanatiling nakatutok ang aking baril sa shooting range.

"You really think?" it was almost a whisper, coming from my own mouth.

"Yes, Mallory. You should stop."

---

A surge of panic hit me when one night, I realized, that I wasn't wearing the star pendant necklace anymore. Kung saan-saan ko hinanap ang kuwintas, pero hindi ko ito makita.

"Are you sure it's still with you when we arrived here in the Philippines?" tanong ni Leon sa akin habang tinutulungan akong halughugin ang aking kwarto. "Because I haven't noticed you wearing the necklace since."

I bit my lower lips. "Yes, it was still with me, Leon."

"Okay, then. We'll keep looking."

Lumabas ako ng kwarto at nagbasakali sa sala nang biglang tumunog ang aking phone. I fished it out of my pocket and placed it against my ears. It was an unknown caller.

"Mal . . ."

Or so I thought. It was Sage.

I sighed. "What is it now, Sage?"

"You should come to the office today."

Kumunot ang aking noo sa kaniyang sinabi. "And why would I?"

"Because I have something that you might be looking for right now."

My eyes widened in realization. "You have my necklace?" I almost shrieked.

"Yeah, I saw it on my bed the other day." Sagot nito sa baritonong boses. I glanced back at my room. Leon is still busy looking for the necklace that he will never find. It was with Sage's.

"Can't you just deliver it to my condo? I'm busy." I said in a clipped tone.

"If you don't want the necklace anymore, fine." Anito at binabaan na ako.

"What?" inis kong tinitigan ang aking cellphone. Napakuyom ang aking kamao. Damn Sage! "Leon, may pupuntahan muna ako . . ." I said, looking for a pair of flat shoes.

Iniangat ni Leon ang kaniyang tingin sa akin. "Pupuntahan? Saan?"

"I know where my necklace is right now. Nasa kaibigan ko pala. Kukunin ko sa kaniya ngayon."

"Oh, I see." Leon shoved both his hands on the pocket of his jeans. "But you're going to come back later, right?"

My heart clenched a little at his choice of words. "Of course. I'm really sorry about what happened last time—"

"It's okay, it's okay. My parents are just so eager to meet you."

I nibbled on my lower lips. "I'll be back before you know it." I waved at him and scurried off the unit. Malakas ang pintig ng aking puso. Can he tell that I'm lying? Until when would I keep on lying to Leon? I'm such a fucking bitch for doing this to him when all he did was love me.

Matamlay ako hanggang sa makarating sa kompanya ng mga Monterio. My heart was fueled with anger when I saw the huge Monterio sign atop their building. Bumaba ako mula sa aking kotse at iniabot ang susi sa valet.

"Mallory?"

I turned around and before I could even speak, Aaric attacked me with a huge bear hug.

"Holy shit! Mallory! Ikaw nga!" hiyaw nito. Naagaw niya ang atensiyon ng ibang mga empleyado na naglalakad sa lobby.

I chuckled, the anger subsiding all of a sudden when I saw Aaric's goofy face. He's gotten taller compared to the last time I saw him. And his hair is well cut! Ibang-iba na ang kaniyang hitsura ngayon. His ear piercing is also gone.

"Aaric!" niyakap ko din siya pabalik.

"Akala ko hindi na talaga kita makikita, Mallory!" excited nitong wika. "Where have you been?"

Kumalas ako sa kaniyang yakap at nginitian siya. "Japan."

"Japan?" namilog ang mga mata nito.

"Yes. I finished my studies there."

"Oh, I see. That explains . . ." he trailed off before his eyes landed on my hair. A small smile spread on his lips. "You know, I was really contemplating if I should hug you or not because of your hair. Where's your curls? I'm afraid I've ruined your newly-treated hairstyle."

Tumawa ako. Hindi pa rin siya nagbabago. "It's okay, Aaric, ano ka ba."

"Ano nga pala ang sadya mo dito? We should talk some time! Pero hindi muna ngayon dahil sobrang busy ko sa trabaho."

"I understand that. Maybe you should give me a call?"

We've exchanged numbers as we walked towards the lift. Nang bumaba ang aming dalawang kasama sa third floor, tumikhim si Aaric.

"You're here for Sage, right?" tahimik nitong tanong.

"I'm not here for Sage. I'm here for the necklace that Sage has."

Tumango-tango si Aaric. "You know what . . ." the elevator dinged open. "He misses you a lot." He said before he stepped out. Malungkot siyang kumaway sa akin bago nagsarado ang elevator.

I swallowed hard and let the lift take me to the highest floor of the building. Nang makarating na ako ay kaagad akong pinapasok ng sekretarya ni Sage.

"He's been expecting you the entire day, Ma'am." Wika pa nito.

Tipid ko siyang nginitian at kumatok ng tatlong beses bago ko itinulak pabukas ang malaking pintuan. I found Sage pouring himself a bottle of rum in his business suit. Hindi niya inalis ang kaniyang tingin sa akin habang iniinom ang alak.

Nang mailapag niya ang baso sa lamesa ay iminuwestra niya ang malaking sofa ng kaniyang opisina.

"Take a seat, Mal."

"No, thanks. Hindi rin naman ako magtatagal dito." I walked towards him. "Where's my necklace?"

A smile of amusement spread on his lips. "So it's still important to you, huh?" he wondered out loud.

My cheeks burned in embarrassment. Hindi ko na lamang siya sinagot.

"Here." Sage pulled out the gold chain necklace from the pocket of his suit and handed it to me. Before I could even withdraw my hands, he held it tighter.

"Sage!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" tanong nito habang hawak pa rin ang aking mga kamay.

"Because I have other things to do and you are wasting my time."

"Stop playing games with me, Mal." Anito sa ma-awtoridad na boses. For a second, he reminded me of his father. It was like talking to Don Monterio. Inilapit niya ang aking katawan sa pamamagitan ng paghila ng aking kamay. "I don't want to play games with you, Mallory. I want a relationship!" he demanded.

Pagak akong humalakhak. "Are you crazy? Can't you see that I'm dating Leon?"

Nagtiim-bagang si Sage. "What are you saying? Wala lang sa iyo ang nangyari sa atin? You could make love to me and just turn away?"

"It's not making love, Sage. It's called sex. And it's only lust." I gritted my teeth.

"You think I'm going to let you run away from me again?"

Buong lakas kong hinila ang aking kamay pero mas malakas pa rin si Sage sa akin. I blow an irritated sigh before I lifted my knees to his groin. He immediately dropped my hands and collapsed on the floor, clutching his throbbing manhood.

"You know, this is what happens when you force a girl into a relationship with you."

"Mal!" he called out but I ignored him and walked out the door with a triumph smile on my face. But that smile soon faded when I got into my car. Tinitigan ko ang kuwintas na sa aking mga kamay.

Maybe Gideon was right. Maybe I should stop hurting Leon already before it escalates into something I would soon regret.