Song: Love's To Blame- Joel & Luke

Face 

The people from our table congratulated us for our engagement as we went back to our table. I keep on thanking everyone but at the same time, I can't help but worry about Zach.

I saw him enter the comfort room and I haven't seen him come out of it. Lilingunin ko sana muli ang gawi ng comfort room nang may bigla namang humarang sa paningin ko.

"I've heard..."

I raised my gaze to whoever it is. It's Ate Isabella. I've never seen her smile at me like this. Ngumiti rin ako pabalik at tsaka siya niyakap upang salubungin siya.

"Congratulations on the engagement!" bati niya.

"Thanks."

Pagkatapos noon ay bumaling naman siya kay Timothy.

"Timothy, your parents are already at your mansion. I went to visit and they're wondering why you asked them to come home all of a sudden."

Timothy chuckled then he grabs my hand.

"It's because of this..." he whispered. He kissed the back of my hand while looking at me.

I smiled at him.

Ni hindi ko na magawang lingunin muli ang comfort room dahil maraming bisita ang dumadalo sa akin. Some of them keep on checking out the ring that Timothy gave me. This must've cost a lot of money.

Bakas sa mukha ni Timothy ang pagkagalak sa pagtanggap ko sa proposal niya. Maraming bumabati sakanya kaya hindi na rin niya ako nadadaluhan. Ate Isabella kept me company, though.

"This is such a beautiful ring! I suppose Timothy must've spent a lot for this?" ani ng isang babae habang nakatingin sa aking singsing.

Nahihiya akong nag-iwas ng tingin sakanya.

"Samantha!"

Halos lahat ng bisita ay nagawi ang tingin sa pinanggalingan ng boses na iyon. My forehead creased when I saw that it was Zach. Taas noo naman siyang hinarap ni Ate Isabella.

I saw him stumbled a little. What did he do? Is he drunk?

My eyes lowered on his knuckles. It's bleeding. Oh, god. What did he do? And... what is he doing? Why is he causing a scene?

"Zach... What are you doing?"

Tumawa muna siya bago niya sagutin ang tanong ko.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question huh? What are you doing? Why did you let yourself get engaged with that motherfucker?!"

"Zach... I don't-"

"You think he was telling you the truth? Huh? You think he was telling you everything?" napaiwas ako ng tingin sakanya.

Zach, no, please...

"Well, I bet they're only telling you about the good things they did to you but not the bad ones."

Nabalot ng bulungan ang paligid. Kahit ang mga bisita ay nagugulohan sa kung anong nangyayari. Ramdam ko ang pagiging hindi komportable ni Timothy sa likod ko.

"Surprise everyone! This girl right here has amnesia!"

No...

I gulped. He shouldn't tell that in front of everyone.

Inikot niya ang tingin sa buong paligid. Mamaya maya pa ay may lumapit na medyo matandang lalaki sakanya, sinusubukang pigilan siya.

"Don't fucking stop me, dad! You know she deserves to know the truth!" hinarap niya akong muli. He looks so scary right now.

"She has an amnesia, everyone! She can't remember anything. Surprising, right? Hindi ninyo alam 'yun diba? Because that Timothy motherfucking Sandoval choose to hide everything away from everyone!"

"Zach... Stop," I whispered.

"What stop, Samantha?" tumawa siya. "Why should I fucking stop when after all these months you've been living in a total lie!"

After that he told everyone about the accident. He told everyone that I've been in a coma for almost eight months.

Ramdam ko ang pag-sikip ng dibdib ko. Nakita ko naman ang pagbaling ng tingin niya kay Ate Isabella na wala man lang ginagawa ngayon.

"Sa tingin mo mabait talaga 'yang si Isabella sa'yo? E, wala ngang nagawang mabuti sa'yo 'yan, e! She's acting like she's nice because she wanted to get revenge! She told me you ruined her life! She's even blaming you for your father's death! Kaya ano sa tingin mo? Mabait parin ba siya?" pagpapatuloy niya.

My mouth parted. My father is... dead?

But they told me he's working abroad! Don't tell me they lied to me again. Kahit ito itatago pa nila sa akin? Didn't I deserve to know the truth?

"I bet everyone here knows that Isabella and Timothy are in a relationship before all these happened!"

What? How did...

"They broke up because they are planning something like this! They are planning go to ruin me—to ruin us... And to ruin her life! So, what did you get yourself into, Sam? Bakit ka naniwala sa mga taong 'to na mas masahol pa ang ugali kaysa sa mga demonyo ha?"

Hindi ako makasagot. Ramdam ko namang unti-unting tumutulo ang luha sa aking mga mata.

Ano bang ginawa ko para tratuhin nila ako ng ganito? Hindi na ba sila naawa sa akin? Ako na nga 'tong walang maalala ako pa 'tong pinagsamantalahan nila.

"What is happening here?" Timothy entered the scene. He immediately went to me. Nang makitang umiiyak ako ay nagaalala siyang tumingin sa akin. "Did he hurt you?"

Umiling ako bilang sagot. I heard Zach laughing again.

"How dare you accuse me of hurting her kung kayo naman ang nananakit sakanya simula palang? You're hurting her by telling her all these lies! Why don't you just tell her the damn truth so we can get this done quickly?"

Hindi sumagot si Timothy.

"Ano? Natatakot kayong sabihin ang totoo sakanya kasi natatakot kayong masira ang mga plano niyo ha?"

Still, Timothy didn't answer. Zach laughed insultingly.

"Sinasabi ko na nga ba! Isabella is hungry for revenge. And you... are hungry for her affection! Hindi niya mabigay bigay sa'yo 'yon dati diba? Dahil laging may nauuna sa'yo! Si Xander... ako... And this is why you're taking advantage of her situation! Because you think this is your time!" Zach clenched his jaw. "Well, congratulations! You succeeded! You succeeded by making her believe in all your bullshits!"

Zach stormed off after that. Nagkatiningnan kami ng kanyang ama. He breathed hard and mumbled an apology. Sinundan niya naman ang kanyang anak.

"Sav, let's just-" Timothy was about to grab my hand when I moved away from him.

"What was that?!" I almost shouted.

"It's nothing, Sav. Let's just..."

"S-Sav? Is that even my real name?" I asked. Nag-iwas lang ng tingin sa akin si Timothy. "What?!"

"Come on. Let's talk about this at home... not here..."

"Why don't you just tell me the truth!?" sa sobrang inis ay hindi ko na naiwasan pang sumigaw.

Hindi nakasagot si Timothy at iniyuko nalang ang kanyang ulo. Ang ibang bisita ay lumayo na sa amin upang hindi na sila masama sa gulo. The ballroom hall suddenly turned silent.

"Because you don't deserve to know." Narinig kong sinabi ni Ate Isabella. Nilingon ko siya at tinaasan ng kilay. "You don't deserve to know every single truth that we know about you!"

My forehead creased. I shake my head.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"You ruined our life and now it's time for me to ruin yours." She said harshly. My chest keeps on heaving up and down.

Sa sobrang galit ay hindi ko na napigilan pa ang sarili na sampalin siya. She looks surprised.

"You are cruel." I said.

Ngumisi siya sa akin habang hawak ang kanyang pisngi kung saan ko siya sinampal. "Oh, I am. You should've figured it out before."

She was about to advance to me when Timothy stops her.

"Isabella!" he warned her. Humarap siya sa akin. "Come on... let's go home..."

Tinangka niyang kunin muli ang aking kamay pero iniwas ko na ito sakanya. I shake my head at him.

"I can't believe you..."

Lumabas ako ng ballroom hall at umasang maabutan pa si Zach. This is not how I imagined my night would turn into.

Nakita ko siyang palabas na ng hotel. There are no medias anymore because it's already late.

"Zach!" I called out.

Hindi niya ako nilingon. Dali-dali siyang naglakad patungo sa bukana ng hotel. I walked faster so I could keep up with him.

I'm sure he heard me, right? He just didn't want to look at me anymore.

Nang maabot ko siya ay agad kong kinuha ang kamay niya at pinalingon siya sa akin.

"That's not fair! What the hell were you thinking?" tanong ko.

He ran his hand through his mouth. Galit niyang ibinaling ang tingin sa akin.

"Maybe... I should be the one asking you that question. What the hell were you thinking? Accepting his proposal, Sam, really?!"

Hindi agad ako nakasagot. Napabitaw ako sa kamay niya.

Damn... I feel bad. All I could see in his eyes is pain. And I know I'm the reason behind that.

Nang hindi ako sumagot ay siya naman itong nagsalita.

"You made a promise to me, you know... you made a promise that you'll marry me. Pero ano 'to? You gave yourself to a man who did nothing but lie to you!"

Napaiwas ako ng tingin. Why does it have to be so complicated? Bakit ba kasi ako nakalimot? Bakit sa dinami-rami ng tao sa mundo, sa akin pa napunta 'tong pesteng amnesia na 'to?

Kahit anong gawin kong desisyon, lagi nalang may nasasaktan.

"'Yung pagmamahal na ibinigay ko sa'yo, tinatapon mo na sa iba ngayon." Umiling siya. "I don't know what to do anymore, Sam. I just lost the woman I love the most. We could never fulfill the promises we made for each other, because you, yourself broke that."

"Pero hindi tama na ipinagkalandakan mong may amnesia ako. Ano nalang ang iisipin ng iba-"

"Ang hindi tama ay 'yung naniniwala ka sakanila. They tried to ruin your life once, I'm sure they're still capable of doing that!"

Umiling akong muli. Kahit ilang beses na niyang nababangit 'yan, hindi ko talaga magawang paniwalaan. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi parin ako makapaniwala na lumabas iyon sa bibig ni Ate Isabella kanina.

Is that the reason behind her cold treatment towards me? Pero ano ba iyong ginawa ko para masabi niyang sinira ko ang buhay niya?

I wiped my tears away and bravely looked at Zach.

"But that won't change anything, right? Because no matter how many times I try to tell you the truth, I'm still a stranger... that you will always refuse to believe."

Tumalikod siya sa akin at iniwan ako doon. I can feel my body shaking. Kinuyom ko ang aking kamao upang pigilan ang sarili na umiyak pero hindi ko kaya.

I slumped down on the floor and broke down in tears. Paulit-ulit kong hinahampas ang ulo ko. Bakit ba hindi pa ako makaalala?! Hanggang kailan pa ako maghihintay?! Kailangan pa bang lokohin nila ako ng husto bago ako tuluyang makaalala, ganoon ba?!

Hindi ko na alam kung paano ako muling napadpad dito sa tinitirahan namin ni Timothy. I just felt so weak from last night's revelations.

Kung pupwede lang akong umalis sa bahay na ito at lumayo ay ginawa ko na. Timothy is keeping me in jail.

Pagkatapos ng lahat ng nangyari kagabi, I bet he wanted me out. Mas gagawin niya ang lahat ngayon para hindi ako makawala sakanya.

Kahit na ramdam ko siya sa tabi ko ay hindi ko siya nililingon. I focused my gaze outside, staring at the setting sun.

"Sav, let's talk..." he said.

"Why do you keep on calling me that when you know that it's not my real name?" I snapped back coldly.

I heard him sighed.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I should've told you in the first place. I did that because I only want to protect you."

"Protect me from who?" I turn to him this time. "To Zach? Or maybe I need protection from you?"

He only looked at me while his jaw is clenched. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"Do you seriously believe that guy?" hindi makapaniwala niyang tinanong. 

"Why not? May mga bagay siyang alam tungkol sa akin na hindi niyo magawang sabihin sa akin! Okay, then. Give me enough reasons to believe you." hindi agad siya sumagot. "Oh, right. Why should I? Kung sa pangalan ko pa nga lang, hindi na totoo ang mga sinasabi mo, sa buong pagkatao ko pa kaya?"

I stood up and planned to leave him alone in this room but he stopped me when he spoke.

"I know I did a terrible thing. But that was just to protect-"

"I don't need any protection, Timothy!"

I slammed the door to his face. This time, I'm more determined to find out the truth.

I grab my phone inside my pocket to send a text to Alisha.

Me:

Come over.

Alisha:

I heard what happened. Is there something wrong?

Me:

I need to talk to you. I need you to help me with something.

Alisha:

Okay. I'll be there.

Sinabihan ko ang mga kasambahay na maghanda para sa pagdating ni Alisha. I don't need Timothy's permission. Masyado na niyang inilayo si Alisha sa akin. It's time for her to tell me all the truths that she knows about me.

When the door bell rang, I immediately went to the door to open it for her. Agad siyang ngumiti sa akin nang makita niya ako.

"Ah! It's good to be back! Ilang beses na akong hinaharang dito." she chuckled lightly.

Ngumiti rin ako at agad na nagawi ang tingin ko sa lalaking kasama niya. His mouth is parted while he's looking at me. Alisha must've noticed the look that we are giving to each other so she awkwardly laughed.

"Oh! I brought someone with me. He's my boyfriend, Xander. He's basically also from your past, he's your uh... Ex."

Bumuka ang bibig ko at napakurap.

"Oh..."

"It's been a while, Samantha." bati noong lalaki.

"Hey..." Sabi ko.

"Uhm, so-" naputol ang sasabihin ni Alisha nang marinig namin ang boses ni Timothy.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. Nagtungo siya sa amin.

Alisha looks at me for help. Mataray ko naman siyang nilingon muli.

"I asked her to come over." I said simply.

"Why?"

"What why? Pati pagbisita ng sarili mong kapatid bawal rin? Ganon ka na ba mag-ingat? Lahat nalang threat para sa'yo?"

"Samantha-"

"See? Now you called me by my real name. Took you long enough," inirapan ko siya at tsaka humarap sakanila Alisha na mukhang nagpipigil ng tawa ngayon. "Come in, Alisha."

Nang pumasok sila ay sinundan niya ng tingin ang kapatid.

"Happy to see me, brother?" nakangising tanong niya rito. Timothy clenched his jaw.

Bago kami tuluyang magtungo sa living room ay hinarap ko naman muli si Timothy.

"I'm sorry if I didn't tell you that I asked her to come over. I just want to spend this day with my future sister-in-law."

The way I said those was full of mockery. Walang sinabi si Timothy at hinayaan na akong igiya ang dalawa patungo sa living room.

When we were already at the living room, we let the maids finished their jobs first before I started speaking to them.

Ipinaalam ko naman sakanila ang ginawa ko noong isang araw. I told them that I went to the storage room and found something.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Timothy trying to eavesdrop in our conversation. I pretended that we were having such a fun conversation but in reality, we are already settling our plan.

"Xander can keep him in company." Alisha suggested. Tumango naman ako.

Nang makahanap ng tyempo ay sinimulan na namin ang plano.

"Alisha, would you like to see my books?" I said loud enough for Timothy to hear.

Nakita ko ang paglingon ni Timothy sa gawi namin. Sabay kaming tumayo ni Alisha. Bago naman kami magtungo sa hagdan ay pinuntahan ni Alisha ang kanyang kapatid.

"Kuya, would you mind keeping Xander in company? We won't be that long and I hate to see my boyfriend bored." She smiled sweetly at his brother.

Nilingon ako ni Timothy. I raised my brow at him. Hinarap niya naman muli ang kanyang kapatid at tsaka nagpakawala ng malalim na hininga.

"Not at all." He answered simply then he went to Xander's place.

Alisha smirked. Agad siyang nagtungo sa pwesto ko. She gave me a meaningful look. Sabay kaming umakyat sa kwarto.

I immediately locked the door once we entered. Agad kong pinuntahan ang cabinet kung saan ko tinago ang mga nakuha ko sa storage room noong nakaraang araw.

Kinuha ko iyong wallet at tsaka iyong libro. I opened the wallet first.

There are IDs and credit cards inside the wallet. Unang pumukaw sa tingin ko ay iyong professional ID license na nasa loob noon.

Alisha peeked to see it, too. Agad na bumuka ang bibig ko nang makita ko ang mukha ko sa ID.

Samantha Greyshel T. Enriquez

Interior Designer

Sa states nanggaling ang ID na ito. I turn to Alisha.

"Hmm... your ID is from the States." She said with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"You lived there. In New York. We live in the same city, but our paths never really crossed."

"I live there..." sabi ko at tsaka tumango. Ang mga panaginip ko na nasa New York ako ay totoo. It really did happened in real life.

"Yes. With Zach!"

Bahagya akong nagulat. She smiled cheekily at me. Nag-iwas naman ako ng tingin. I never thought that Zach and I used to lived together in New York.

"You took up Interior Design back in college. We went to St. John University. Hindi kayo classmates ni Zach pero... madalas kayong makitang magkasama noon," natigil siya ng sandali at bahagyang tumawa. "I heard that Xander keeps on bugging you back then. He was asking you to come back to him. Which is... surprising."

"Why did Xander and I broke up?" I asked.

"Because of me," she avoided my gaze and pursed her lips. "We were best friends back then and... I stole him away from you. It was cruel... it was a terrible thing to do to your best friend. But I also cannot deny the fact that I do really love Xander."

Tumahimk siya upang humugot ng lakas ng loob. Kinuha niya ang kamay ko at hinawakan iyon.

"Sam..." she called out breathlessly. Nakita ko ang pagtulo ng luha sa kanyang mukha. "I just want you to know that I'm deeply sorry... I never had the chance to ask for forgiveness because you were just done with me. But I miss you... I miss our moments together. I miss our bonding. And I'm sorry because our friendship has to end because of me."

"Alisha..."

"Pero masaya ako para sa'yo... kasi, pagkatapos ng lahat ng iyon, nakahanap ka naman ng taong nagmamahal talaga sa'yo ng tunay. You deserved that. You deserve all the love in the world. I'm happy that you managed to find Zach amidst the pain that you two have been through.

"Now if you wanna know everything..." kinuha niya ang wallet ko at may kung anong tiningnan doon. "Looks like there's a letter that you kept inside..."

Hinugot niya ang isang pirasong papel at tsaka inilahad ito sa akin.

Hi,

Before you leave for Miami tomorrow for your shoot, I just want you to know that I love you so, so much. There won't be a time where I don't think of you. You drive me crazy. You are just so beautiful.

The apartment will be lonely for a few days but I'm sure you'll still come back to me. I'll prepare a nice dinner for you when you're back. I promise.

You have my heart, Samantha.

I'm grateful for you.

-Zach.

I gasp. My lips started shaking. Ang mga luha ko ay mabilis na lumandas sa aking mga mata habang binabasa ang sulat na iyon. I covered my mouth with my hand because I can't believe that there are now memories that keep on coming back in my head.

"What's happening?" Alisha asked alarmingly.

"Do you have an access to the internet?" tanong ko habang hindi inaalis ang tingin sa sulat.

Mabilis na kinuha ni Alisha ang kanyang telepono sa kanyang bulsa. She handed me her phone. I went to google and searched for the name that Zach keeps on calling me.

The results immediately came out and there are a lot! I scrolled through it and found some recent articles. Ang iba ay tungkol doon sa engagement kagabi at ang iba naman ay tungkol sa amin ni Zach.

"Sam... what's happening?"

Binuksan ko iyong article na tungkol sa amin ni Zach. The article was published a few days ago. Ito 'yung oras na nagpunta ako sa bookstore at may babaeng lumapit sa akin.

Humanap ako ng iba. Hindi ko na napigilan pa ang sarili na maiyak. Alisha keeps on calling me but I only ignore her. I'm just so focused with this one.

Now I know why Timothy and Ate Isabella prohibited me from using the internet. Alam nilang maraming bagay na tungkol sa akin ang lalabas dito.

I decided to search for my name and Zach. At doon... doon ko nakumpirma na lahat ng sinasabi sa akin ni Zach ay totoo.

The man in my dreams now has a face. It was Zach.