Along Came This Girl

~{ E P I L O G U E }~

~{ E P I L O G U E }~

ALEXEI's POV

Five years old ako nang mamatay ang mommy ko dahil sa sakit na cancer. Alam ko namang mamamatay na s'ya because I heard what the doctor said na may taning na daw ang buhay n'ya, pero kahit na alam ko na, masakit parin, sobrang sakit parin nung araw na mawala s'ya. I didn't want to cry noon kasi sabi n'ya sa akin tuwing naoospital s'ya wag daw akong umiyak dahil lalo lang mag-aalala at malulungkot ang daddy ko, pero nung namatay s'ya, hindi ko kinaya. I cried all day nung iwan n'ya kami, and daddy cried as well. That day, daddy and I both cried like there's no tomorrow.

Seven years old ako ng palitan ng daddy ko ang mommy ko. Two years palang wala ang mommy ko pero may dinala na agad ang daddy kong babae sa bahay namin, saying that she'll be my new mommy. At ang babaeng yun, she's tita Martina, mom's best friend! What a traitor she is! Ayokong palitan ang mommy ko, walang papalit sa mommy ko! I'm so against the idea of her being my new mom kaya ipinagsigawan ko yun sa harap ni daddy at sa harap niya. Nagalit sa akin si daddy noon saying hindi ko dapat binastos ng ganun si tita Martina pero sinagot ko naman s'ya ng dapat hindi niya binastos ng ganun ang mommy ko! Two years palang s'yang patay pero papalitan na nya agad! And after I shouted that to him, slap! Sinampal n'ya ako with his big hand, at dahil maliit lang ako, napahiga ako sa saheg. Nagtatakbo ako papasok ng kwarto ko after at nagkulong doon buong gabi. Yun ang unang beses na napagbuhatan ako ni daddy ng kamay! At dahil yun kay tita Martina, that witch bitch! Nung namatay si mommy, kahit papaano I thought I will be fine kasi at least nasa tabi ko pa si daddy, pero after that day, I knew I wasn't gonna be okay. That day, I became... alone.

The next day after that day, naglayas ako para hindi ituloy ng daddy ko ang kasal n'ya kay Tita Martina. Dun sa festival kung saan ako napad-pad, I met this boy na I kind of liked, I stayed at their house for a couple of days until nahanap na ako ng mga tauhan ng daddy ko. I came back to our house expecting na papagalitan ako ng daddy ko but no, hindi n'ya ako pinagalitan. Hindi n'ya ako pinagalitan pero hiniling ko na sana pinagalitan n'ya na lang ako dahil, 1. at least masisigurado ko na may pakialam parin s'ya sa akin at 2. dahil mas matatanggap ko ang sermon, palo at sigaw n'ya kaysa dun sa announcement n'ya na kasal na sila ni tita Martina. Naglayas ako pero nagawa n'ya pang magpakasal! Nagpakasal parin s'ya kahit na I'm completely against it! That day, is the worst day of my life. That day, is the day when my dad stopped caring about me. That day, is the day when I stopped caring about my dad too. 

Ten years passed since that day, and I lived that ten years without caring at all. After marrying tita Martina, my dad decided we're going to live in Canada, and so I lived in Canada in those ten years. In those ten years, I didn't give a shit about my dad, about that witch Martina, about the people around me, and even about my self. Ten years akong gumawa ng gumawa ng mga bagay na ikakadisappoint ng dad ko just to get his attention but he didn't give a shit about me too. Kahit noong ipatawag s'ya sa school because I got into a fight, o kahit noong nakulong ako for driving drunk, he didn't give a shit, he won't even look at me. Pupunta lang s'ya kung nasaan ako, fix every mess I made with his money and then boom he's gone. For the past ten years all he cared about was his company, his money and that witch Martina. We seldom talk, I can't even remember the last time we talked, kaya nung one time na bigla n'ya akong pinatawag sa kwarto ko to have dinner with him sa isang restaurant, nagulat talaga ako. Nagulat, kinabahan pero natuwa din at the same time. Natuwa kasi finally, pinatawag nya ako, finally he cared about me. 

Kahit na kasama namin si Witch Martina masaya narin ako kahit papano kasi it's been a long time simula ng ayain ako ni daddy na lumabas. I was really happy that night... pero my happiness didn't last long. It didn't last 'cause I found out I was wrong. My dad, he didn't ask me to go out with him because he finally cared about me, he asked me out because of his own selfish reasons, because of the company, because of his money. That night, pinakilala n'ya ako sa isang binata na 2 years ang tanda sa akin. Anak ng isang business tycoon sa Canada who owns branches of resort and hotels there. And that guy is set to be my husband after my 18th birthday. Yeah, arrange marriage to ensure the partnership between both our companies. It's cliche and so movie-like, but I guess for rich people money really is everything. Love for them is money. Marriage for them is money.