Song: It's Not Too Late- Demi Lovato

Coming back

Tamad kong tinitigan ang sarili sa salamin habang ayos na ayos para sa magaganap na engagement party ngayong araw.

I breathed hard and told myself to be strong for what I'm going to face today.

Tinupad nga ni Timothy na iimbitahin niya ang lahat ng kanyang kakilala para sa engagement party na ito.

Even his parents are going to be there, too. I wonder what would be their reaction if they found out that their son did such a terrible thing.

I know them personally because I used to go to their house all the time back in the day. They're one of the kindest people I've ever met! Hindi mo sila makikitaan na may masamang balak o ano.

Kaya nakakapagtaka kung bakit ganoon si Timothy.

Right. He was brainwashed by none other than my devil sister, Isabella.

Looks like she wouldn't be satisfied until she ruins my life completely. But she won't succeed today. Because I won't let her.

Tumayo ako at plinantsa ang suot na gown gamit ang aking kamay.

This is it, Sam. This is it.

I checked my phone and saw Alisha's message.

Alisha:

You ready?

I immediately typed my reply.

Me:

Yes. You?

Alisha:

I'm excited. Xander and I are on our way now.

I smirked. I'm glad that Alisha is willing to help me even if what we're going to do today might ruin her brother's reputation.

We planned everything secretely. Timothy is a very busy man so he wasn't at home all the time, that's why I took that opportunity to go to his office and look for some evidences.

I know it was bad. I invaded his privacy. Pero sino ba ang mas grabe ang ginawa? I'm just trying to look for the justice that I deserve!

Marami siyang gamit sa kanyang opisina. It was hard to look for things that might help me at first, but eventually, I found one.

And I think... this is enough to ruin him and my sister.

Sa tingin ko hindi rin naman sila nanghihinala sa akin dahil akala nila wala parin akong naaalala. Sobra ko silang napaniwala na gusto kong pakasalan si Timothy.

They even think that I'm ready to start a family with him becausr Calliope initiated that topic the other day!

I mean... that won't happen! Never in a million years! Hindi ako makakapayag na magkaanak sa isang lalaki na kasing sahol ni Timothy. My children deserves more than that.

And after all, it's Zach that I imagined to be the father of my children. He's the only man I imagined myself to get married to.

So, Timothy is surely invalid in my life.

Binuksan ko ang pinto at nakita si Timothy na naghihintay sa pag-labas ko. A smile immediately crept into his lips when he sees me.

Agad niya akong hinila palapit sakanya at tsaka hinalikan sa pisngi.

"You are so beautiful." he whispered in my ear. Tipid lang akong ngumiti.

Kinuha niya ang kamay ko at tsaka iginiya pababa ng hagdan. May mga kasambahay na bumati sa amin. Ang iba ay nakangiti at binabati pa kami ng congratulations.

Tipid lang akong ngumiti. Nang makalabas kami ng tuluyan sa bahay ay agad niya akong pinagbuksan ng pinto sa kotse.

I went in first then he followed. When he was inside, he quickly instructed the driver to go straight to the venue.

Hindi maitago sa mukha niya ang pagkasabik para sa "engagement party" namin. He keeps on holding my hand and he keeps on smiling at me.

At nakukuha niya pa talagang ngumiti kahit na alam niya na kaya lang naman ako nandidito ay dahil sa ginawa nila?

Kung hindi sana nila ginawa iyon, wala sanang ganito at hindi sana siya masisira sa harap ng maraming tao ngayon!

But nothing will really break a desperate person's plans.

Nang makarating kami sa venue ay agad na nagsilapatan ang tingin sa amin ng mga tao. Timothy smiled widely again. Habang ako naman ay pinipilit na ngumiti sa harap ng maraming tao.

May mga kakilala siyang lumapit sa amin. Nakipagkamayan ako sakanya.

"Finally! The Timothy Sandoval is finally getting married! Akala ko hindi na matutuloy dahil sa mga tsismis na kumalat noong nakaraang linggo! But look at you two now! Hosting your engagement party! Looks like there's no backing out huh?"

Timothy chuckled and pulled me closer to him. "My fiancée even initiated to get married at the end of the month! Hindi naman ako makatanggi dahil 'yun rin naman ang gusto kong mangyari."

Bahagya niya akong nilingon at tsaks tumawa. Nginitian ko lang siya bilang tugon. Ibinaling niya naman muli ang kanyang tingin sa mga kakilala.

I wanted to roll my eyes so bad! Amg kapal naman ng mukha niya na palabasin na gustong-gusto ko talagang makasal sakanya!

If you only knew what will happen today... tingnan natin kung makakangiti ka pa ng ganyan.

Natapos lang ang usapan sa ibang kakilala nang sinalubong kami nh pamilya niya. His parents both has a surprised look on their faces. Habang si Alisha at Xander naman ay mukhang nagpipigil ng pag-tawa.

It's obvious that they find Timothy's excitement funny.

"Hijo, h-hindi ko naman akalain na s-si... Sam pala iyong... mapapangasawa mo..." mahinang binanggit ng kanyang ina.

Binati ko sila at tsaka nakipagbeso.

"Well, Mom, expect the unexpected."

Alisha couldn't help but laugh at her brother's remark. Timothy glared and creased his forehead at her. Umiling nalang siya at sinubukang magseryoso ulit.

Lumapit siya sa akin ng patago upang may ibulong.

"Feel na feel niya talaga ano?" she hissed. I chuckled lightly.

I act normally again. I greeted their parents. Kinamusta naman nila ako at sinabi ko sakanila ang totoo.

"I'm excited for what's about to happen. I can't wait."

"Sadyang nagulat talaga kami nang makita ka! We've never expected this! Kalat kasi sa internet iyong relasyon mo sa ex mo noon kaya hindi ko rin inaasahan na si Timothy na pala ang kasintahan mo ngayon!" ani ng kanilang ama.

"Talaga po ba? Wala po kasi akong access sa internet kaya hindi ko rin po alam."

Kumunot naman ang noo ng kanilang ina nang dahil sa sinabi ko. She turns to Timothy.

"Bakit naman wala siyang access sa internet? Wala bang wifi sainyo?"

Timothy took time to find for the right answer. He opened his mouth and just as he was about to say something, Alisha interrupted him.

"Syempre, Mommy... gusto niyang maging maingat!"

"Maging maingat saan?"

"Sa lahat! Syempre... nakakatakot na malaman lahat ng kasinungalingan!"

Nilingon ko si Timothy at nakitang galit na siyang nakatingin kay Alisha. He's sending her some death glares but Alisha doesn't seem to mind it.

"H-Ha? I don't get what you're saying, Alisha."

"Don't mind her, Mom." Si Timothy.

"Uyy! Defensive! Hindi naman ikaw ang tinutukoy ko. I mean, gusto niya lang sigurong maging maingat itong si Sam lalo na't maraming fake news ang lumalabas ngayon. You can't really trust media sometimes," Alisha turns to her brother. "Ano ba 'yung iniisip mo para samaan mo ako ng tingin? You look guilty of something."

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Anyways, sabi nga ni Kuya. Expect the unexpected. Hindi ko nga rin inexpect na magagawa niya 'to, e."

Tumawa ang magulang nila nang dahil sa sinabi niya. "Right! Very surprising talaga!"

"Well, looks like the event is about to start. Congratulations to the both of you." Ani ng kanilang ama.

Tumango naman ako at nagpasalamat sakanila. I waved goodbye to Alisha, too. Sinenyasan ko siya upang iparating na oras na para isagawa naming iyong plano. I turned to Xander and smiled at him. I think he gets what that smile means.

Sa halip na dumiretso siya sa kanilang table, nagpunta siya sa likod na kung saan doon namamalagi ang technical team. Xander is the one who hired these people. Kilala niya kasi iyong may-ari ng lights and sounds na kinuha ng events organizer na kinuha ni Timothy para dito.

Meanwhile, Timothy placed his hand on the small of my back to guide me towards our table. Sa gilid ng aming table ay doon nakapwesto ang pamilya ni Timothy at si Calliope at Isabella.

We are seated at the center. I roamed my eyes around. Talagang pinaghandaan ni Timothy ito ha? Sayang at masisira lang 'tong araw na 'to para sakanya.

Everyone clapped as the host entered the stage. Ngumiti rin naman si Timothy sa akin at tsaka kinuha ang kamay ko. I smiled a little at him. I turn to the stage again. Pinakikinggan kung ano man ang sinasabi niya.

Nang matapos siya sa kanyang sasabihin ay tsaka niya tinawag si Timothy.

"Now, let's welcome the groom himself, Mr. Timothy Sandoval!" nabalot ng palakpakan ang buong silid.

Timothy stood up and fixed his suit. Ngumiti siya sa marami nang tumuntong siya ng stage. He grabs the mic to the host.

"Hi, good afternoon everyone. Thank you all for coming," Timothy started. "Today marks one of the most important events of my life. I never would have imagined that I'll get married soon to the girl of my dreams. She's even the one who initiated this big event!"

I almost choked with that. Hello? Wala namang ganito kung wala kayong plinaplano ng magaling kong kapatid? If that plan didn't happen, I'm sure I'm still with Zach.

Hindi ko na nasundan pa ang sinasabi ni Timothy nang maramdaman ko ang pagvibrate ng aking cellphone. I grab it inside my purse. It's a text from Alisha.

Alisha:

Eveything's settled. I'll wait until the event is finished.

Hindi pa ako nakakapagtipa ng mensahe nang magsend naman siyang muli ng isa pang text.

Alisha:

You sure you really want to do this?

Napangiti ako nang dahil doon. She's very worried about our plan. Natatakot kasi siya na mabisto kami lalo na't alam niyang bantay sarado sa akin sila Timothy at Isabella. But I assured her that it's going to be okay.

Hindi naman matutuloy 'tong event na 'to kung nahuli nila kami diba?

Me:

Of course I'll be fine. Bibilisan ko lang. I want to get out of this place as soon as I can.

Alisha:

Okay... Good luck, Sam.

Agad kong itinago ang aking telepono nang marinig kong tinatawag na ang pangalan ko. I immediately stood up and staged a smile.

Tinulungan ako ni Timothy makaakyat ng stage. Hindi ko siya pinasalamatan ko kung ano man. I am just so focused on what I'm going to say.

"Hello. Good afternoon," I greeted. "Thank you all for coming today. I'm really glad that you took time to be on this special day. As you all know, there's been a lot of issues that happening between my relationship with Timothy. I heard it's been circling around the internet ever since the formal party.

"Maraming bagay kayong natuklasan ng araw na iyon. Someone blurted out that I have amnesia. Today, I want to confirm it's true. I do have amnesia. I've been in a comatose for eight months. When I woke up, I couldn't remember every single thing about me... even my name! I was really, really clueless about myself.

"But thankfully, there's Timothy and my sister," nakita ko ang pangiti nilang dalawa. Lalo na si Timothy. "They helped me recover. They gave me a place to live. They did help me a lot! Pero may iisang bagay na hindi nila itinulong sa akin..."

Napaayos ng upo si Timothy nang dahil doon. Habang si Isabella naman ay nagtaas ng kilay.

"That is to remember. As an innocent person who just woke up from an eight month comatose, you wouldn't know who to believe. Timothy and my sister knew that I have amnesia but they didn't do anything to help me remember. Instead, they hide the truth away from me. Because little do I know, they planned everything. Well, except for the accident part.

"It's true that I am still in a relationship with Zachary Dela Merced before the accident happened. I actually have no idea how Timothy and Isabella managed to get me. Hindi ko alam kung paano ako napadpad dito. But thank god, because he made Timothy really careless."

Tumayo si Isabella upang lumapit kay Timothy. She whispered something in his ear. I bet she's asking him to make me stop.

"Sino bang tao ang magtatago ng copy ng CCTV video sa kanilang drawer? It is really easy to find! I didn't even had a hard time trying to look for it. For those who didn't know, the video that I'm going to show to you today is the day they kidnapped me from the hospital. I bet they hired someone to cut this. How much you pay huh?"

I directed that question to Timothy. Umiling siya at sinabihan ako na itigil ko na 'to.

"Come on. Ipinakita niyo sakanilang lahat kung gaano kasama ang ugali nila."

The video immediately started playing on the background. I heard some gasps. Nagsimula ang video sa pagpasok nilang dalawa sa ospital. Dumiretso sila sa reception at sa tingin ko doon nila tinanong kung saang room ako namamalagi.

Nang malaman nila ay agad silang dumiretso doon. A nurse is already waiting for them. Kinausap nila ito at sabay silang pumasok sa loob ng kwarto kung nasaan ako. There are no video clips about what they did inside. But the next thing is they went out of the room to go straight to the parking lot.

At doon, doon nila sinalubong ang nurse na kausap. They quickly went to me. Kitang kita rin sa video ang pagabot ni Timothy ng bayad sa taong ito. Once they settled everything, agad silang umalis ng ospital.

Nabalot ng bulungan ang buong paligid nang dahil sa nakita. I even saw the confused look on Timothy's parents. Si Calliope naman ay nananahimik sa gilid.

"See? Everything's well planned, right? This guy you trust your money with is a liar. And the woman he's with during that moment is my sister. Imagine your own family trying to fool you? Trying to make you look like an idiot because when you woke up, you can't remember everything so you decided to trust them? Timothy and Isabella took advantage of my situation. They took away the life that I have before from me."

Nakita kong may mga taong umaakyat na sa stage upang pigilan ako. I laughed.

"Oh, look! They're trying to stop me. Which only proves that they are guilty of what they did to me. Totoo di ba? Ayaw niyo na bang ipagpatuloy ko 'to dahil nasisira na kayo? Lalo ka na Timothy? Guilty much? Sana inisip niyo ang magiging kapalit kapag nakaalala ako."

"They lied about my name. They lied about some parts of my life. And most importantly, they ruined me. They planned everything ahead because my sister wants revenge! And here's Timothy who's willing to help her with her evil plans. Kahit ako... hindi ko inaasahan na magagawa ni Timothy iyon. I've known him before. Malayong malayo siya sa lalaking nakilala ko noon. Ano bang pinakain sa'yo ni Isabella para maging ganito ka ngayon ha?"

Isabella stood up from her seat. She was about to advance to me when Timothy stopped her. Bakas sa mukha niya ang pagkapahiya sa harap ng maraming tao. He's caught by the reckless act he did. Ni hindi niya magawang iangat ang kanyang ulo upang tingnan ang ibang bisita sa kanilang mga mata.

"Stop it! She's lying! She only wants to ruin us! Don't believe her!" Isabella shouted.

Tumawa ako. "Ako pa talaga ang gustong manira? Why don't you tell that to yourself? Ikaw lang naman 'tong matagal nang gusto akong sirain! But did you succeed? Well, almost... but thankfully, I remembered everything before you even pursue your evil plans."

"No! You're lying! Don't believe her! She's lying! Sinisira niya lang kami!" she shouted desperately this time.

Pero wala siyang nagawa dahil napuno na ng bulungan ang buong paligid. Some are even looking at them with a disgust look on their face.

"I'm sorry that this day didn't turn out how you imagined it to be, Timothy. You should've known better."

He didn't look at me. He remained looking at the floor. He looks really guilty.

Isabella was about to advance to me when a police stopped her. She looks at the police man with horror. Sinubukan niyang kumawala dito pero agad siyang dinampot ng isa pang police.

"No!" she shouted. "You can't do this, Sam! Kapatid mo ako! Hindi mo pwedeng gawin 'to sa akin!"

"Bakit? Nung ginawa niyo ba 'yung planong sirain ako, minsan ba sumagi sa isip mo na kapatid mo 'yung binabalak mong sirain? Hindi naman diba? Because you never treated me as your sister! You tried to ruin me once, I won't let that happen again." madiin ko siyang tiningnan.

Patuloy siya sa pag-iling sa akin. She glares at me.

"Arrest them." utos ko sa mga pulis.

The police immediately hand cuffed them. Sabay silang napalingon sa kanilang likod. Isabella's chest is heaving heavily. While Timothy, he lets himself get arrested.

"Kayo ay inaaresto sa salang kidnapping. Kayo ay may karapatang manahimik o magsawalang kibo. Anuman ang inyong sabihin ay maaring gamitin pabor o laban sa inyo sa anumang hukuman. Kayo ay mayroon ding karapatang kumuha ng tagapagtanggol na iyong pinili at kung wala kang kakayahan, ito ay ipagkakaloob sa iyo ng pamahalaan. Nauunawaan mo ba ito?"

Timothy nods his head. Si Isabella naman ay patuloy sa pag-iling. She keeps on trying to get away from her hand cuff. But that's just too impossible.

I went down the stage. Ramdam ko ang pagsunod ng tingin sa akin ng mga tao. Hindi ko nalang sila pinansin pa.

I went out of the venue kung saan ako hinihintay ni Alisha. I quickly opened the shotgun door and went inside.

"Let's go, Alisha." Sabi ko nang makasay na ako ng tuluyan sa kanyang sasakyan.

Hindi muna siya nagmaneho. Ngumiti siya sa akin.

"I'm so freaking proud of you." She said.

Ngumiti ako at tsaka nagpakawala ng malalim na hininga. Ngayon hindi na ako nakatali pa kay Isabella at Timothy. I am finally free from their hold.

Wait for me, Zach. I'm coming back to you now.