TW: mention of curses
"D-Dylan.." I was stunned when I heard a voice calling me.. her voice.
Damn, she followed me here.. to our house.
When she told me she was worried, part of me was happy, but the other one was hurting. I cannot feel her worry.. I can't feel her love. Right, maybe because.. I killed her father.
"It is not your fault.. H-Hindi mo 'yun kasalanan, hindi rin kasalanan ni Tita, o ng kahit na sino. Pinili ng daddy ko na tulungan kayo ng kapatid mo dahil sa tingin niya, iyon ang tama.. I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean to blame his death to you.. nadala lang ako ng-ng emosyon.. hindi ko alam na ganun pala ang nangyari." And just like before, I still believed in her, for the second time.
Damn, how I love her so much she's not even aware of it.
Nasaktan ako nang sisihin niya ako sa pagkamatay ng daddy niya, oo, pero hindi lang doon natapos 'yung sakit. Lahat ng pinagplanuhan ko mula sa trip to Laguna namin, hanggang sa proposal, sa bahay, sa future, at sa lahat.. nawasak dahil sa parehong insidente na mula noon hanggang ngayon ay pinagsisisihan ko pa rin. Pero hindi ko pa masabi sa kanya ngayon 'yung tungkol sa proposal.
"Sa lahat ng nagsabi sa aking hindi ko 'yun.. hindi ko 'yun kasalanan.. sayo lang ako naniwala, Kath.. Naniwala ako sayo 'nung sinabi mong wala na sa akin ang desisyon 'nun.. pero tangina.. binawi mo.. binawi mo, Kath, eh." I cried on her shoulder when she hugged me. Damn, I missed this.. the warmth of being wrapped around her arms.
"I don't know if we should call that destiny.. or just pure coincidence.. but I think my father happened to save you because you are meant to be with me. The necklace.. it became our long lost connection. You wanted to search for the daughter of that man to give her that.. and I am that person. Ako 'yung gusto mong hanapin.. at natagpuan mo ako kahit hindi ka naghahanap."
Iyon rin ang naiisip ko sa loob ng ilang linggo. Bakit ganon kaming pinaglaruan ng tadhana? Bakit kailangang maging komplikado ang lahat sa amin?
And then I suddenly remembered her father's last words to me before he went back to rescue David..
"Take care of her for me,"
He meant his daughter.. bago siya umalis, ibinilin niya sa akin na alagaan ko ang anak niya.. bakit hindi ko 'yun nalaman kaagad?
"I lost my father because of that plane failure and I have nothing else to do to bring him back but.. he gave me you. He saved you.. and you are the man I love now. He must be so happy seeing this, seeing us." She said with her eyes full of love.
The man she loves now? Did I just hear it right?
"I never stopped loving you, love, not even once." Damn, my heart raced.
Ilang linggo kong iniyakan ang iniisip kong baka hindi na niya ako mahal dahil sa kasalanang nagawa ko noon na naging dahilan ng pagkawala ng tatay niya.
Akala ko hindi na niya ako mahal.. na kinamumuhian na niya ako.
"I won't ever do that again.. not anymore." That's right, because I won't let you go again, not anymore.
I told her everything I had been through for the past three weeks.. kung gaano ako nasaktan, naging miserable at sobrang naapektuhan sa biglaan niyang pagkawala, kinuwento ko lahat.
"You are my home. Kahit anong mangyari, uuwi at uuwi pa rin ako sayo." Shot, her words delighted my heart.
To me, she is not just my home, she is the very piece that completes my whole.
"No words could ever explain how much my heart longed for you to come back." I have been praying for that ever since she left me, the pain is worth bearing for.
My heart races when I hugged her with one arm, and held her hand. I've waited long weeks for this.. and the long wait is worth it.
My heart screams for her name.. her name only.
"I love you." God, I missed that from her.
Hindi maipaliwanag na kaligayahan 'yung nararamdaman ng puso ko dahil sinabi niya 'yun sakin ngayon.. at dahil rin bumalik na siya ulit sa akin. Akala ko hindi ko na 'yun maririnig ulit mula sa kanya..
"What are we doing here? Kaninong bahay ito? Bakit ka narito?" She asked out of a sudden.
"This will be our house." I simply said, gesturing to the whole room.
When she stood up to roam her eyes on the undone place, that gave me the signal that it's already the perfect timing to ask her. I saw amazement in her eyes while surveying the room which made me happy, she likes the place.
I bent down on one knee and showed her the diamond ring. When she turned to me, she was stunned. Her eyes immediately pooled with her own tears when she realized what I was about to do.
"Yes, our house.. if you will marry me." I smiled at her but deep inside, I was hella nervous.
This is it, I am going to ask her now. No more balloons, no more filmed pictures, no more video compilations, no more fancy surprises. As I propose to her tonight, it'll be just me, this ring, and my love for her. I have been waiting for this.. I can't miss this chance of offering her my lifetime.
"This is not how I planned it to be but I think now is the perfect time to ask you this." I let out a heavy sigh when I felt even more nervous.
"Ever since the first time I saw you, you unexpectedly got my heart in an instant. As I got to know you better, I fell in love not just with your face but also your heart, your mind, your soul, and all of you. You taught me a lot of things and made me realize certain things in life." My lips formed into a small smile when I remembered a lot of our memories together.
"Love, I don't want to waste the life that your father saved when I know I can spend it the best way with you. No more years of being alone, because I will always be with you. I want to fulfill the promise I gave to your father that I will take good care of his daughter on his behalf, just like how I promised when we met."
"Katherine Heilie Flores, my love, and my 'miss'.. will you allow me to call you my Misis?" I chuckled with what I said, ang corny yata pero yun 'yung lumabas sa utak ko ngayon eh.
She chuckled, too, before letting out a heavy sigh and wiping her own tears. Damn, I became extra nervous, even my whole body was now shaking, when she stared at me for a few seconds without saying anything.
Until..
"Yes, yes, I will marry you." She cried harder before letting me put the ring on her finger then hugging me from my neck.
Damn, I've never felt this happy before.
"I love you, I love you so much." I kissed the top of her head when I hugged her back.
I hugged her tighter before I caressed her cheeks then plotted a soft kiss on her forehead, her temple, her nose, and lastly, her lips. It was supposed to be just a peck but she moved her lips to kiss me back.
And damn, my insides asked for more..
So we kissed slowly and passionately, it was a kiss full of love.
"Thank you for coming back to me." I said as I stared directly into her eyes after our kiss.
"Thank you for waiting for me to come back." She said before tiptoeing then plotting a soft kiss on my forehead. The sudden contact of her lips on my skin made my heart jump, I didn't see that coming.
We stayed there for almost an hour before we decided to go home.. to my house.
"Stay with me tonight." I asked her when we were about to leave our house.
Our house.. my heart smiled.
"Okay, love." She happily nodded.
I kissed her temple before opening the car door for her. We had a short drive since it's already past 3 AM and there's no traffic at this hour. My lips can't help but smile with the thought that my fiancée is in my passenger seat.. my fiancée, it's her, only her.
"Wow, I missed you baby." Binuhat ko si Callia nang sunduin namin siya mula sa bahay ni Katherine. Matutulog siya kasama namin sa bahay.
"Na-miss ka rin niya." Katherine gently wiped her palm on Callia's cute little head.
"Of course, daddy's girl 'yan, eh. Hindi ba baby ko?" I made faces in front of her which made Katherine chuckle.
When we got home, Xavier was not around. Iniwan ko siya kay Deila sa bahay nang mag-stay ako sa office ko. Bukas ko pa siya susunduin, kasabay ng announcement namin sa kanila tungkol sa engagement.
After taking a warm bath, she asked me to blow dry her hair for her so I did it. Sabay rin kaming nag night care routines at pareho pa kami ng suot, a couple midnight blue pajama pair we bought together when we once went to the mall. Her idea, of course, and always hands down lang ako.
"I've never felt this happy before." I told her.
We were leaning our back on the headboard while she was leaning her head on my shoulder, having my arm wrapped around her, keeping her close to me.
"Me too." She played with my fingers from the other hand.
"Thank you for winking at me that night." A sweet smile escaped from my lips when I remembered the first time I saw her.. that night at the beach.
"Nakakatuwang isipin na dahil lang sa kindat ko sayo noon, engaged na tayo ngayon." She intertwined our hands upon saying the word 'engaged'.
Hindi ko inakalang 'yung babaeng kumindat sa akin noon, siya na pala ang magiging fiancée ko ngayon.
She is unexpected to me. Fate is absolutely unpredictable for me.
"Good night, miss." I kissed the top of her head when she hugged me. Nakahiga na kami ngayon at patulog na sana nang bigla niya akong yakapin nang mahigpit.
She really knows how to make my heart silently celebrate.
"Misis." She corrected before burying her face on my neck.
It feels so good to hear it from her.
I hugged her back before dozing off to sleep. We slept looking like that. The next day, I woke up without her in bed so after brushing my teeth and washing my face, I went downstairs.
When I entered the kitchen, I saw her cooking breakfast. I gently wrapped my arms around her waist, which made her startle a little, before plotting a soft kiss on her shoulder blade.
"Good morning, love. After breakfast, maligo ka na, ha? Pupunta tayo ngayon sa inyo tapos bukas na lang tayo dalaw sa Taguig." She reminded me, we already talked about it last night.
When I nodded at her, she kissed me on my cheeks before going back to her cooking. I kept myself busy playing with Callia until she finished preparing breakfast. We ate together before taking a warm bath. She went first habang nilaro ko muna yung aso.
She looks stunning in her white blouse with sleeves covering her elbows, denim pants and black heels. She asked me to blow dry her hair again so I gladly obliged. In return, she fixed my hair and my clothes to wear.
We left after making sure that everything is settled. Dinala rin namin si Callia dahil mag-isa lang siya sa bahay, baka matagalan kami bago makauwi. When we arrived at home, Deila carried Callia and played with her for the first time.
"Good morning, son. Good morning, Katherine." Mom kissed our cheeks when we arrived at the dining area. I was holding Katherine's waist when we faced all of them.
"Oh my god, is that a ring?!" Deila exclaimed.
Napamasahe ako sa sentido ko nang ituro niya 'yung singsing sa kamay ni Katherine. Inunahan niya na ako!
"Ring? What ring? Where?" Napatingin doon sina mom at dad, pati na rin ang mga lolo at lola.
I saw mixed emotions from them, but still, all of them were surprised. Mom became emotional and teary, dad playfully smirked at me, Deila is now looking at me dumbfounded, and our grandparents are just smiling at me.
"We're.. getting married." I turned to look at my fiancée and she looked at me, too, before smiling.
My fiancée.. I still can't believe it.
"Oh my god!" Mom used her hand to fan her eyes, trying to stop her own tears from falling.
Dad chuckled before getting closer to us and patting my shoulder then slapping my cheek lightly. Deila started on jumping her excitement out, screaming 'oh my god'. While our grandparents applauded their hands silently while tearing up.
"Congratulations, son." Dad simply said before turning to Katherine. "Welcome to the family." He gave her a small hug.
"Thank you po, Tito Francis." She was shy all of a sudden.
"Call me dad whenever you are ready." He chuckled which made Katherine shy even more. She just bowed a little before nodding.
Nang tabihan ni dad si mom, umiiyak na siya. Tinawanan pa siya ni daddy dahil uma-acting na siyang parang mahihimatay. Nang lumapit siya sa amin, pinupunasan pa rin niya 'yung luha niya.
"Oh my god, I am so not ready for this.. parang 'nung ilang buwan lang sabi mo samin you can live on your own." Her sniff made me chuckle. I kissed her temple and gently wiped my hand over her back. When she turned to Katherine, she hugged her.
"Welcome to the family, my dear." She brushed Katherine's hair.
"Oh my god, you're officially going to be my Ate Kath." Deila also hugged her, after mom.
We had a nice lunch after that. Tuwang-tuwa 'yung mga lolo at lola namin dahil daw matagal na nila 'yong inaabangan. After lunch, I showed her my room. Mom also showed her my baby pictures, my certificates, awards and some tokens of appreciation that I received from my customers. It was embarrassing especially when Katherine started teasing me about some of my childhood pictures, but her smile seemed so bright while doing that.. so I was then again hands up on her.
We went home after dinner, bringing Callia and Xavier with us.