Arctic Heart [#Wattys2018 Winner]

Chapter 13

Chapter 13
Emotions

The smile which was solely for me that he showed was only for a brief moment, but it lasted the longest in my mind.

Hindi ko alam kung paano niya nagagawa 'yon. Sobrang dali niyang baliin ang determinasyon na inipon at binuo ko para pawiin ang nararamdaman ko para sa kanya.

It was funny how one smile changed everything in an instant, but it brought me thousands of fear at the same time.

It scared me how my love for him was more than how much I love myself. I knew this wasn't right. This kind of love was a trigger for self-destruction once it fails.

Mas lalo kong kailangang alagaan ang sarili ko at mahalin ito. I didn't want to lose myself for loving him more than I was ever allowed to love.

Jace went out of the helicopter first and didn't move in his position for quite a moment. Nang maglakad siya palayo ay saka lang ako sumunod pababa upang makita si Isha na naghihintay sa amin.

She was sweetly smiling at Jace while he walked his way to her.

How fortunate she was. Alam niya kaya kung gaano siya kaswerte na kaya niyang mapaamo ang isang katulad ni Jace? Na kaya niyang tunawin ang yelo na bumabalot sa kanyang puso?

When Jace smiled back at her as soon as he reached her, I finally lost it.

I lost my heart.

Nabaliwala na rin ang mahalagang walong segundong ngiti na iginawad niya para sa akin.

His smile for me was nothing compared to his smile for her.

Hindi ko alam kung ano ba ang nagawa kong kasalanan noon para masaksihan ang ganitong pagkakataon. Sobra-sobrang parusa ang nararanasan ko ngayon. Pero kung ano man 'yon ay handa kong pagbayaran, huwag lang sa ganitong paraan.

I didn't know if I should walk away or just watch them together so that it'll motivate me more to forget everything by breaking my heart.

"Why are you here? Are you fine already?" he concernedly asked Isha.

Isha chuckled. "I wouldn't be here if I'm not fine."

"Well, I know how stubborn you are sometimes. Gusto ko lang makasiguro," katwiran naman ni Jace at saka pinaningkitan ng mata si Isha.

Isha laughed heartily before she slightly pushed Jace away from her. "You're just like daddy, and I've had enough of that already," she said. "I can't believe that my parents flew to Manila just because of an almost accident."

"You can't blame your parents. They love you," Jace said.

"I know..." she said and smiled before her eyes found me.

Medyo nagtagal pa ang kanyang titig sa akin bago siya ngumiti. It caused Jace to look back at me who already seemed to forget that he was actually with me.

"Oh! Hi, Ms. Rivadelo," she formally greeted me as one of her clients.

Hindi ko alam kung saan ko nakuha ang lakas ng loob na humakbang papalapit sa kanilang dalawa pero nagawa ko iyon ng hindi nadadapa dahil sa panlalambot ng aking tuhod.

"Tawagin mo na lang akong Zarina, Engineer. Masyadong pormal ang pagtawag mo sa akin," sabi ko naman at pinilit na ngumiti.

"Kung ganoon ay Isha na lang ang itawag mo sa akin. Drop the title," sabi niya.

Tumango na lamang ako at saka nilingon si Jace na pirming nakatingin sa akin at tila tinatantiya ang aking ekspresyong ipinapakita.

"I'm sure we're done now, Jace. I'll just set a meeting with to discuss and decide which of the four locales we found will be picked," I told him. "Mauuna na ako sa inyo. I still need to go back in my office."