Dendam Seorang Cinderella

Enam Puluh Enam

Idham baru sahaja tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Clark, Manila.
Dia berjalan sambil membawa sebuah beg bagasi. Kedatangannya disambut oleh seorang lelaki tempatan yang memakai pakaian yang agak formal.

"Mr. Idham?"

Idham berpaling ke arah lelaki itu dan membuka cermin mata gelapnya.

"Yes?"

"I am your driver, sir. Please come with me, I will drive you to Stotsenberg Hotel."

Lelaki itu terus mengambil beg bagasi dari tangan Idham dan berjalan di hadapannya. Idham menyusuli lelaki itu sehingga sampai ke sebuah limosin yang mewah. Dia memasuki limosin itu dahulu sewaktu pemandunya menguruskan beg bagasinya.

"Is this your first time coming to Phillipines, sir?" soal pemandu itu.

"Yes. I've never been to Phillipines before."

"I hope you enjoy your stay here, sir. We serve a lot of good food and locals here are very nice especially towards foreigners," katanya dengan slanga Tagalog yang agak pekat.

"I will. What is your name?" soal Idham.

"My name is Andrew Ramirez. You may call me Andrew, sir."

"Alright, Andrew, keep on driving, eyes on the road, pal."

"Yes, sir."

Maka dengan itu, perjalanan Idham ke Hotel Stotsenburg berjalan dengan lancar.

******

Lima jam kemudian, barulah tibanya Datin Hasliza, Suraya dan Elyana di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Clark. Sebaik sahaja mereka tiba, mereka disambut dengan baik oleh CEO Belfort Garments dan beberapa orang pekerjanya. Mereka bertegur sapa dan bertanya khabar semasa berjumpa.

"My wife loves your newest collection,
Hasliza. She can't stop talking about it and she wanted to meet you in person," kata lelaki berbadan yang agak gempal itu.

"Oh, really? What an honor, I am very pleased to know that your wife loves it. My company always makes sure that our clients and customers feel satisfied about our products. We do not want to let them down," kata Datin Hasliza. Pertuturan dalam bahasa Inggerisnya agak jelas dan mudah difahami berbanding CEO itu. Dia tidak terpengaruh dengan mana-mana slanga atau loghat tertentu.

"Well, I see that you brought two beautiful girls with you today."

Datin Hasliza berpaling ke arah anaknya dan Elyana.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Suraya. She has always wanted to visit Phillipines since she was small," kata Datin Hasliza lagi sambil memegang bahu Suraya.

"Is that true, Suraya?"

"Yes, I really feel happy now that I am already here," jawab Suraya sambil menunjukkan senyumannya.

"Well, I'm glad that you are happy while being here. I am so proud to call Phillipines as my home."

Datin Hasliza terus memandang ke arah Elyana.

"Sir, this is.."

"You don't have to tell me. I know who that is.."

Datin Hasliza dan Elyana terkedu seketika, tidak menjangka lelaki itu akan berkata sedemikian.

"You are Elisa, right? The famous model, you are what people call as The Face of Southeast Asia," lelaki itu makin mendekatinya. Elyana sebenarnya menjadi tidak selesa namun masih memaksa dirinya untuk senyum dan berkelakuan baik.