Sweet Nemesis

Chapter 8

#OLASweetNemesis

Chapter 8
Trap

"I hate him," I said with certainty, my eyes seething in anger mixed with irritation.

Faith heavily sighed and shook her head. "Parang noong isang araw lang no'ng sinabi mong he's nice. You even said your impression of him changed into something positive. Tapos parang tatlong araw lang ata ang nakalipas at ayaw mo na ulit sa kanya."

"He rejected me," I told her.

"He what?!" Napabalikwas sa pag-upo si Faith, nanlalaki ang mga mata. "Paanong he rejected you? Do you like him? Did you confess?"

"What? No!" Tumaas ang boses ko. "I don't like him, nor did I confess to him. Never mangyayari 'yon."

"So what do you mean by 'he rejected you'?"

"There's this charity ball by the Tans that I'm gonna attend this weekend. Nakita kong isa sa major sponsors 'yung tatay ng ka-blind date ko last time."

"Then?"

"I thought na since kasama ko naman si Keno'ng pupunta roon as my bodyguard, I asked him to be my date," sabi ko. "It was a simple and harmless request. Hindi ko alam kung bakit tumanggi pa siya, e gano'n din naman. He'd still be with me either way."

"Bakit daw tumanggi siya?"

"He said he would just watch me from afar. Sigurado siyang hindi na ako lalapitan no'ng ka-blind date ko dati dahil napahiya ko siya. For him, there's not enough reason to be my date," kuwento ko.

"Kaya nagalit at nainis ka na sa kanya?" Faith probed.

"Of course!" I answered abruptly. "Ako na 'to oh! I, Hariette Dela Vega, invited him to be my date sa isang highly publicized event ng isa sa pinakamayang pamilya sa Pilipinas. He should be grateful."

"Hmm..." Muling napasandal si Faith at mukhang lumalim ang iniisip. She even pursed her lips and played with the pen in between her fingers. "What if he knows how huge the event is, at ayaw niya lang mapunta sa limelight? I mean, based on your stories and descriptions of him, he doesn't seem like a guy who likes attention."

For a moment, I fell silent and considered that reason. Kaya nga lang, kung ayan ang dahilan niya, bakit hindi niya na lang sinabi sa akin? Mas maiintindihan ko pa 'yan kaysa sa ginawa niyang rason. It just didn't really make sense to me. I felt like he was only trying to reason it out because he didn't like the idea of being my date.

"I don't care," matigas kong sabi saka humalukipkip. "He rejected me, and that's it!"

Napahinga na lang nang malalim si Faith at napailing. Ibinaba ko na rin agad ang tawag dahil sa appointment ko with Diego that afternoon. I asked him to tailor a gown for the charity ball. He's been designing dresses and gowns for me for a long time, and he already knows exactly what I want. Kaya naman hindi na ako lumipat at naghanap ng iba. I'm pretty loyal like that.

"Where are we going?" Keno asked once we were inside his car.

"Manière," tipid kong sagot habang sinusuot ang seatbelt.

He nodded and started the engine. Inilagay niya sa GPS ang pangalan ng studio ni Diego para sundin ang direksyon.

I played with my phone the whole time and didn't bother having a conversation with him. Napapansin ko ang pagsulyap-sulyap niya sa akin as if he was trying to get a reaction from me. Of course, I didn't let my pride crumble. Napadali na rin sa akin ang hindi pagpansin sa kanya because I couldn't even look him in the eye. The feeling of embarrassment was still so fresh for me. Tuwing naaalala ko ay naiinis ako sa kanya at pati na rin sa sarili.