Areglo

Chapter 14. Areglo

HINDI pa sigurado si Sinned kung ano ang nangyari sa babae pero hindi niya iniwan. Habang nasa Emergency Room ay lumabas siya upang matawagan si Marc. Ilang ring lang ay sumagot ito.

"What is it this time? I have an appointment in a few," tamad na tanong nito sa kaniya.

"Have you checked the CCTVs?"

Sinabi nitong oo.

"What happened?"

"That young woman attacked your woman first," he replied as a matter of fact, but, it seemed like he's about to say more. Hindi na lang itinuloy.

Tumiim ang bagang niya. Parehas na matangkad ang dalawa kaya nagtataka siya na parang mas napuruhan ang isinugod niya sa ospital lalo na kung ito ang unang nanugod.

"Ms. Ferrer wants to file a case against Ms. Prietto."

"Tell her to drop it. And send me the copy of the footage."

"Copy."

"Don't accept—"

"Oo, sinabi ko nang kayo ang mag-usap at saka umalis na siya. Sige na, nandito na ang kliyente." Without ado, Marc ended the call.

Saktong pagtapos ng tawag ay si Candace na ang tumatawag sa kaniya.

"Anong oras ka matatapos? I want to see you before I leave thr country."

"Where are you going?" takang-tanong niya.

"Magsa-shopping ako sa Japan. Na-stress ako sa babaeng iyon!"

Napa-buntonghininga siya. "I told you to limit your expenses already. Are you alright now?"

"Hayaan mo. Hindi naman mapapansin ni Dad na nababawasan ang kaban niya. Ni wala nga iyong pakialam sa akin." Hindi nito sinagot ang huling tanong niya pero halata namang maayos na ito.

Hindi siya sumagot dahil alam niyang totoo iyon. Nang matapos nga ang kaso ay ayaw na sana ng ama nito na maglagi sa bansa ang anak dahil sa malaking eskandalong kinasangkot. Candace only begged on her knees that she didn't want to live abroad anymore.

"Siya nga pala—" she got his attention. "—I will file a case against that bitch. Ang dami kong kalmot! Baka maging peklat pa ang mga ito at pandirihan mo."

"What happened?"

"Eh, 'di, sinaktan niya ako! We checked the CCTV and it could be clearly seen that she initiated the fight."

Knowing her, there was something more than that. "Why did she hurt you?"

"Baka nainggit!"

Nainggit? "Why?" Then, he remembered that the woman told him that it was because of him that was why they fought. "What happened exactly? What did you say to her?"

"Bakit ba ang dami mong tanong? Akala ko ba, busy ka? Should not you be having a meeting with your client?"

Sinabi niya rito ang totoo. Mabilis na tumaas ang boses ng huli.

"Magkasama kayo? Anong sinabi niya? Binaliktad niya ba ako? Is that why you kept on insisting I said something to her?"

Ni hindi pa nga sila nag-usap ni Prietto, defensive na si Candace. Kilalang-kilala niya ito sa tuwing may nagawanh mali.

"Gusto mo ba iyang babaeng 'yan, Sinned? She was looking for you and she didn't even call you 'Attorney'! May namamagitan ba sa inyo?"

Naningkit ang kaniyang mga mata. "Is that the reason why you hurt her?" malamig ang tinig na tanong niya.

"She hurt me first!"

"She's at the hospital now, suffering from a lower back injury."

"Kasalanan ko ba kung lalampa-lampa siya?" mataray na tanong nito. "Ako rin naman, napuruhan, ah?" That's not what it looked like to him.

He sighed heavily. "Let's just talk again later. Go to the hospital and see your doctor just to make sure."

"Hindi mo ako dadalhin sa ospital pero ang babaeng iyan, dinala mo? Do you always fuck each other?"

"Candace!" bawal niya rito. "I can see now why did she hurt you. Kailan ka ba magbabago?"

"Kapag pinakasalan mo ako."

"Do you think I can marry you?"

"Why not? We've been fucking each other since we're teenagers. Matanda na tayo, kaya pwede na."

No, that's not the reason. Alam niyang may tinatago itong sikreto sa kaniya at iyon ang nililinis niya ngayon. Candace married some old wealthy man abroad when she studied college there and she kept her surname. Kailan lang niya nalaman, at kaya hindi pa niya ito niyayaya ng kasal ay sinisiguro niya munang ma-void ang unang kasal nito. Pinag-aaralan niya muna kung paano pero may koneksiyon na siya sa ilang lawyer doon.

"Bahala ka na nga, aalis muna ako ngayon, babalik ako after three days—or a week if mag-enjoy ako."

"Pupuntahan kita mamaya bago ka umalis."

"Bakit hindi pa ngayon?"

"I'm still at the hospital."

"Iwanan mo na nga iyan. Hindi mo naman magagalaw kasi pilay!"

"I don't know her so stop thinking like I'm fucking every woman who knows me. Ikaw itong—" Natigilan siya.

"Ano?" hamon nito.

Muli siyang napa-buntonghininga upang pigilan ang sariling makipagtalo rito. He perfectly knew about her condition so he would not bring it to her wherein she fucked alot of men. Of all people, he must understand her.

"You know what? Let's just cool off. Balikan mo na lang ako kapag handa ka nang magpakasal. In the meantime, let's enjoy being single para hindi na tayo manloko 'pag mag-asawa na tayo."

Oddly, those words felt nothing to him. Samantalang siya ang nagmakaawang kahit anong ibigay nito; kahit alam niya ang reputasyon nito—ang kondisyon nito; ay tatanggapin niya. And clearly, she didn't want to be his girlfriend that's why he's agreeing to anything she wanted. Ayaw nitong may label silang dalawa, sige, okay lang, basta sa huli ay ito ang makatuluyan niya.

Candace was a nymphomaniac. She's a woman with uncontrollable or excessive sexual desire. At iyon ang dahilan kung bakit madali itong makuha ng kung sinong lalaki, bagay na tinanggap niya lalo pa't desidido naman na itong magpagaling. Iyon nga lang ay parang hindi tumatalab ang pagpapagaling nito.

"Have you seen your doctor already?"

"Mamaya, bago ako umalis, magpapatingin ako."

"I meant your psychiatrist," paglilinaw niya.

"Ah, we met last night—" She stopped in her mid-sentence.

"Last night?"

"I m-mean, last time..."

He coldly replied "okay" and ended the call.

The next thing he did was he called at Phoenix Agency—where he worked as a secret agent—and told them to investigate Candace's psychiatrist. Hindi maganda nag kutob niya sa lalaking doktor na iyon.

"Dela Costa is waiting for you. Hindi ka raw sumipot sa meeting," it was Stone Herrera, the founder of Phoenix Agency—a quasi-non-government organization devoted to the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information, through the evaluation of public sources. Kadalasan ay pribado ang pagtatrabaho ng Phoenix. The agents sometimes obtained information deceptively or through on-the-ground activities for clients.

The head of the agency was his college classmate. Hindi lang sa Pilipinas naka-base ang Phoenix, kundi maging sa iba't ibang sulok ng mundo. But since Sinned was a Filipino, sa sariling bansa siya kadalasang na-a-assign na magtrabaho. Pero magiging madalang na lang ang pagtatrabaho niya bilang agent lalo pa't ngayong abogado na siya. More on, he would take on the legal matters whenever needed.

"Why aren't you listening? Kanina ko pa sinasabing pumunta ka rito. May ipagagawa ako sa iyo."

"I'm busy. I'll just go tomorrow."

"That's new. Aren't you curious about this new case we're going to have?"

"Fire away."

"Thought you're busy?"

Pinatay na lang niya ang tawag dahil tunog-nang-aasar ang kaniyang kausap. 'Tapos ay bumalik na kung saan in-admit ang babae. Makikipag-areglo na siya bago pa nito maisipang magsampa ng kaso kay Candace.