Robin Hood's

It's been two days since the engagement and although I am very happy, I couldn't help but to feel worried. I worry about what Diego wants. Nabunutan nga ako ng tinik sa lalamunan nang magkaayos kami ni James, heto naman ang isa pang problema. Ang buong akala ko ay nagkaintindihan na kami, iyon pala hindi pa. Sabi niya may kailangan pa siya sa akin. Isang bagay na kailangan kong ibigay at kapag ginawa ko iyon, titigilan na niya kami ni Ian. 

Today, I am going to meet Diego. Actually, late na siya ng ten minutes. I was sitting inside that cafe, anxiously waiting for this episode in my life to be over pero parang nananadya ang Diego na iyon dahil hanggang ngayon ay wala pa siya. Nag-angat ako ng tingin nang makita kong muling bumukas ang glass door ng coffee shop. There, I saw Diego entering, his eyes fixed at my direction, he was grinning evily while looking at me. Matapos ang ilang segundo ay naupo na siya sa tapat ko. He took off his rayban and looked at me, eye to eye. 

"What do you want?" I gritted my teeth. 

"Excited ka naman. Why don't we have coffee first?"

"I don't have time for your games. Just tell me what you want!" I demanded. Diego shook his head. 

"Always the imaptient one." he sighed. "Fine. Give me the details about the Patrona Project." 

Napaawang ang labi ko. Kulang ang sabihing nabigla ako sa sinabi niya. How the hell did he knew about that project? It was supposed to be top secret and nobody knew about it except for my dad, my sister and me. Naikuyom ko ang aking kamao. I wanted to smash Diego in the face. 

"Why are you asking me? Haven't I given you what you want the first time we talked?" halos hangin na lang na lumabas ang mga salitang iyon sa aking bibig. Diego grinned at me. Ipinag-krus niya ang kanyang mga braso at saka ako pinakatitigan. 

"Right. And because of that, I gained millions of peso. I didn't know that dealing with you can make me a millionaire." ngiting-ngiting sabi nito sa akin. Napailing ako. I made a mistake of dealing with Diego the first time. Wala naman talaga akong balak na makipag-usap sa kanya noon kung hindi niya ipinadala sa akin ang mga pictures ni Ian noong nasa Europe siya. I was shocked when I saw the photos. I've never seen Ian in a very compromising situation. The photos showed Ian, drinking, dancing wildly with some show girls, having the time of her life... ayos naman sana, but one photo got my attention. A photo of Ian without clothes. I didn't want other people to see that. So I called Diego and asked him what he wants. At noong sabihin niya iyon sa akin, hindi ako nagdalawang isip. I gave him the details about the Orion Project. 

I hated myself after that. The Orion project was the blood and the tears of my sister. It was about a microchip that you can put in your car for voice regocnition. Kung mailalabas iyon ng kompanya ng pamilya ko, it will make our company number one not only in Spain but in Europe. But because of Diego - blackmailing me - nawala ang pinaghirapan ng kapatid ko. We were all shocked when we saw Grid - the number one competitor of our company - launched that microchip. At dahil matalino ang kapatid ko, she knew that somebody sold the details of her design. She was so mad. And I knew if she found out that I was the one who sold it, she'll kill me -- literally. 

Hindi lang iyon ang naging bunga ng ginawa kong pakikipag-deal kay Diego. Because Grid lauched the Orion project, we lost almost 1/4 of our investors. Galit na galit ang Papa ko. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." mariing sabi ko. Napailing si Diego. 

"Too bad.." huminga siya ng malalim. "Hindi mo naman siguro gusto na makita nila ang pinakamamahal mong si Ian with this..." 

Mula sa bag na dala niya, kinuha niya ang isang litrato. He gave it to me. I took it. Ang alam ko ay ibinigay na ni Diego sa akin ang lahat as in LAHAT ng litrato na may patungkol kay Ian. My eyes widened when I saw what was on that photo. It was Ian kissing a German Guy. Tiningnan ko ang iba. There she was making out with that same guy. 

Parang gusto kong maiyak. I wanted to run to Ian and ask her about this. I wanted to know why she tried destroying herself. Galit ako. Hindi dahil nagawa ni Ian ang mga bagay na ito. Galit ako sa sarili ko becauase I know for a fact that the reason why she did this was because of me. 

"Akala ko nasa akin na ang lahat?" gigil na gigil na tanong ko kay Diego. He grinned at me. 

"I reserved that for special uses like this." ngising-ngising sabi niya. Napailing ako. I hate this guy. Why is he trying to ruin my life and Ian's life? Why is he doing this to us?

"Why are you doing this?" sa sobrang inis ko ay pinunit ko ang mga litrato. He shook his head.

"You realize that even if you ruin that picture, I still have a copy. And if you don't give me what I want, I'll leak everything. Tingnan natin kung anong mangyayari sa Ian mo." nakipagsukatan ako ng tingin sa kanya. While looking at him, I noticed his broken nose. Kumunot ang noo ko. Sino kaya ang may gawa noon sa kanya? Whoever did that, I wanted to meet him. 

"I'll give you two days, Robi. Kapag walan akong natanggap. Pasensyahan na lang tayo." Walanng sabi-sabing bigla na lang siyang tumayo at iniwan ako. I wanted to go after him, puch him on the face and run over his body over and over until he dies. Gusto ko siyang saktan!

Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko. Ano bang dapat kong gawin para mawala na sa buhay namin ni Ian ang Diego na iyon? 

---------------------------

"Where are you?" 

I texted Robi for ithe nth time that afternoon. Hindi kasi ako mapakali. Pakiramdam ko may nangyayaring hindi maganda kay Robi. I sighed. I was sitting at the coffee shop just outside our village drinking my favorite latte. Nakatingin ako sa labas nang bintana. Tapos ay bigla akong napapangiti. Hindi kasi talaga ako makapaniwala na nangyayari ito. 

I am engage with Robi. 

After seven years of waiting and being a certified masochist and martir, natupad na ang pangarap ko. Magpapakasal na kami ni Robi. 

"Ian?" nag-angat ako ng tingin. I saw Irish standing in front of my table, looking as beautiful as always. I reluctantly smiled at her. "Can I sit?" tumango ako. Umupo siya sa tapat ko at saka muling ngumiti. 

"Wow!" she exclaimed when she saw my ring. "That's a big rock." 

"May mas lalaki pa ba sa binigay sa'yong Cushion-cut Micropave Diamond ring ni James?" biro ko sa kanya. She laughed. 

"Talagang alam mo iyong description?" nakangiting tanong niya. 

"He emailed it to me the night before he asked you."

"Really? We'll yours is much better because it is an heirloom. I used to ask Robi about that. Sabi ko bakit hindi na lang iyan iyong ibigay niya sa akin." bigla siyang tumahimik. "Na-reserve pala kasi sa'yo."

Bigla ay nakadama ako ng guilt. Nakaawang ang mga labi na tinitigan ko si Irish. I guess its about time that we acknowledge the issue between us.

"I'm sorry, Irish." I sighed. "I never wanted to be the kontrabida in your fairy tale with Robi." madamdaming pahayag ko. She shook her head and held my hand. 

"Don't be! I mean.." she smiled. "If it weren't for you and Robi, I will never meet my real prince charming. Siguro, kasama lang sa destiny ko ang chapter na iyon. Those were the events that brought me to my true love."

"You really love James..." nakangiting sabi ko. Tumango si Irish. 

"I fell in love with him in the most unexpected time. Ikaw rin naman. You will not wait for seven years if you didn't love Robi that much." 

"I guess.." natawa ako. Bigla kong naalala iyong nangyari sa amin ni Irish a year ago dito sa lugar na ito. She accidentally saw the keeper of my heart drumsticks and that sent her off. I didn't mean to hurt her pero nangyari na. But look at us now, we're in the coffee shop, talking about the love of lives like were teenage girls. 

"Umaano ka nga pala dito? Where's James? Bakit mag-isa ka?"

"He's with Ali. Best friend bonding chuchu.. ewan ko. Maybe he just wanted time for himself." 

"Nag-aaway ba kayo?" nakadama ako ng pag-aalala. Wala naman nababanggit sa akin si James. To my surprise, tumawa ng malakas si Irish. 

"Hindi! Nakakatuwa ka naman. You're really concerned." she leaned closer. "Alam mo Ian, when you're married, mapi-feel mo rin iyon. Like us, we're always together, minsan kailangan namin ng time para sa sarili namin, para ma-miss naman namin ang isa't-isa."

Irish looked like she was going to say something else when her phone rang. Sinagot niya ito. 

"Hey, Babe." sa tono ng boses niya, alam kong si James iyon. "Oo, pabalik na. I'm with Ian by th way. Alright, I'll see you. Drive safely." 

"Babalik ka na?" I asked. 

"Yup. Maglalakad lang ako. The doctor said, walking is good for the baby." tumayo na siya. Sumunod na rin naman ako. We walked side by side habang papasok kami sa village. I never had a chance to talk to Irish like this. Napakabait niya pala at nakakatuwa siyang kakwentuhan. No wonder James and Robi fell in love with her. Narating namin ang street nila. Doon rin naman ako papunta because I wanted to check on Robi. Baka kasi nasa bahay na siya. 

"Oh my..." napatigil ako sa paglalakad nang marinig ko ang boses nI Irish. I looked at her. She looked shock. 

"Anong problema?" nag-aalalang tanong ko. "Masakit pa ang tiyan mo?" kinakabahan ako. 

"Why is she here?" kunot noong tumingin ako sa kanya. Mayroon siyang tinatanaw. Sinundan ko ang kanyang tingin and I saw what she was looking at. She was looking at Robi's house. Sa labas ng bahay ni Robi ay may isang kulay silver na mercedes at nakasandal doon ang isang babaeng naka-black dress na may kausap sa telepono. Mukhang naramdaman ng babae ang presensya namin ni Irish. She looked at us. And from where I was standing, I saw her face. A sense of familiarity hit me. Saan ko ba nakita ang babaeng ito?

"Irish, ¿eres tú?" the woman in the black dress spoke. Kilala siya ni Irish? Kung magkakilala sila, bakit ganito ang reaksyon niya? Bakit parang takot siya? The woman walked towards us. Ilang segundo lang ang nakalipas ay nakatayo na siya sa harapan namin. Tiningnan niya si Irish mula ulo hanggang paa at saka ngumiti.

"¡Es usted! Estás muy guapa, como siempre! ¿Cómo has estado?!" niyakap ng babae si Irish. 

"Reena..." nanginginig ang boses na wika ni Irish. "What are you doing here?" 

Reena? Kumunot lalo ang noo ko. Pamilyar sa akin ang pangalang iyon. Saan ko ba iyon narinig?