***PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IF YOU LIKED IT! SALAMAT!***

CHAPTER 5

I put down my phone and sighed.

Pagkatingin ko sa watch ko, two hours has passed! Well, ganun naman lagi tuwing kausap ko si Reeve. Time really flies. Sobrang dami niyang kwento today. He told me all about his work and his studies.

Business Major si Reeve pero at the same time, he's also learning from his father on how to manage yung napakalaki nilang wine business. I know Reeve didn't want that for his course but there was nothing he could do. Siya ang tagapagmana sa kayamanan ng pamilya nila. And their money? There was a lot of it. From what my dad told me, their family's net worth equalled billions.

As for my case, we were also very rich but not as much as Reeve and his family. Business course din ang kinuha ko. It was what my parents wanted for me pero okay na din siya sakin. Chinese kami and dapat marunong ka talaga sa business. Stereotypes, right? Besides, pwede ko namang gawin ung iba kong gusto during my spare time—writing. I loved to write pero not novels. I blog about life, love, fashion, food, my travels at kung ano-ano pa.

My last post on my blog was about my travel to Hawaii last Christmas break with my friends. Nagpunta kami sa napakaraming beach and stayed at five-star hotels. I blogged about everything from the place, the room, the food. Lahat talaga... down to the littlest detail.

Right now, meron na yatang almost 100,000 followers yung blog ko and I'm really proud of it. Eto ang pampatanggal ko ng stress. Maybe that's what Reeve should do. Maybe he has to de-stress by doing something he loves para hindi na sya sobrang mafrustrate sa course niya at sa napakarami niyang responsibilities.

Okay, time to relax.

I got the new earphones from Reeve and plugged it into my Iphone. Tapos I clicked Shuffle and just relaxed on my new pillow.

Akalain mo nga naman na yung unang song na nagplay ay yung cinompose ni Mike for me. Matagal na to. Back when we weren't officially a couple yet. Yung mga panahon na nangliligaw pa siya. Yung times na sweet pa siya. Yung times na medyo weird pa siya at baduy. Pero those were also the times that I knew he really loved me.

Ngayon... Ewan ko na.

I checked my watch and medyo maaga pa. Mamaya na lang ako magdidinner. Busog pa naman ako sa mga kinain namin ng mga friends ko kanina. I stood up and grabbed my laptop. Check ko muna blog ko. Medyo matagal tagal na din akong di nagpost. At sigurado napakarami ng naipon na emails.

Pagkaopen ng laptop ko, instead of going straight to my blog... I got distracted by Facebook. Hindi naman talaga ako masyadong nagFafacebook kasi ang OA minsan ng mga tao kung makapagpost. Minsan nakakairita lang. Mas gusto ko ang Twitter and Instagram kesa Facebook. Pero ang dami kong notifications and I needed to check them right away.

I just kept on scrolling through my newsfeed.

Puro about Rockfest yung post. Mga three days ago na 'yon pero eto pa din ang pinag-uusapan ng mga tao. I attended the Rockfest with my friends and we all watched Mike and his band. As usual, super galing nila. They went home with the first runner-up trophy. Sayang lang at hindi pa sila talaga naging first.

Well, maybe next year then?

I scrolled through the pictures some more and laughed at some of the wacky pics. There were also a lot of pics of me and my friends. I clicked the next button and did a double-take. Wait, tama ba yung nakita ko?

I moved closer to the screen and for the second time today, it was as if time stopped.

Suddenly, parang sobrang hirap huminga. Parang lahat ng hangin biglang nawala sa room. The screen before me blurred because of my tears until the point na wala na akong makita. My hands also started to shake kaya binitawan ko na lang yung Bluetooth na mouse. Baka maibato ko pa.

I grabbed my pillow and covered my face with it. Then, I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could. It made my throat raw but still the pain inside me was much worse.

Mike lied. He really did. At ang sakit, sakit lang.

At yung picture na nakita ko?

Him and Valerie lip-locked sa backstage.

From the scene in the picture, I guess it was taken after his band's performance. Kaya pala wala akong backstage pass this year. Kasi binigay niya dun sa babaeng yun! And I guess this was why ang tagal niyang bumalik after the set! Because he was with her!

My whole body started to shake from my sobs. Grabe. Ang sakit talaga.

Mike isn't my first boyfriend but I believed him to be the last. Akala ko kami na talaga forever. But forever is a lie. One of the greatest lies ever invented. And I guess, so is being faithful.

Dahil sa sakit at galit na nararamdaman ko, I did something rash. I clicked on the photo again. I checked kung sinong nagupload. Just a batchmate. And hindi naman talaga si Mike and Valerie yung focus ng picture. Nagkataon lang na dun pa sila sa gilid ng stage gumawa ng kababalaghan.

When the photo loaded, I clicked Share. Then I typed:

Congratulations @Michael Torres and @Valerie Montemayor! You look cute together.

Oo, talagang tinag ko ang mga gago.

Let this cause an uproar.

Let people gossip about this.

Let them hate on Mike and Valerie.

Let them see me as the villain.

I simply don't care anymore. Hindi naman pwedeng ako lang yung api at mukhang tanga. Mabuti na din yang ganyan. At least kahit papano, I could give them a slice of the pain they made me feel. I slammed my laptop shut and cried. I cried until my eyes were so swollen that it hurt to open them. I cried until there were no more tears.

How could Mike do this?

Two years na kami! And he threw all that away because of that slut!

I sobbed my heart out. And as I was crying, naalala ko lahat ng happy memories naming dalawa. Naalala ko how much he hated shopping but pretended to enjoy it for me. Naalala ko yung mga times na pinagluto ko siya. Naalala ko yung mga times na kinantahan niya ko. Naalala ko yung time na he got his first car and dumeretso siya agad sa condo ko so he could take me for a ride.

All those memories flashed before me and I cried harder. Bakit ba kami biglang nagkaganito? What happened to the Mike and Andreia who were inseparable and were so in love?

I sighed and wiped away my tears. Then, I picked-up my phone to call Reeve. Sa mga panahong ganito, siya lang talaga yung napaglalabasan ko ng sama ng loob. But before I can even unlock my phone, it rang. And Mike's number was on the screen.

I took several deep breaths for courage.

"Hello?"

"Drei... I think we have to talk."

"You think, Mike?" I answered sarcastically.

"Look... I'm sorry about that night. I was so happy from the audience's reaction to our performance. And then she was there and she kissed me."

"Oh? Talaga? More lies, Mike?"

"I'm not lying!" he shouted.

"You are! Tigilan mo na to, Mike. Hindi ako tanga kaya tigilan mo na yang mga kasinungalingan mo! She was wearing a backstage pass and I wasn't. So I guess sakanya mo binigay ung pass na lagging sa akin mo ibinibigay. She was meant to be there and I wasn't. Mali niyo lang dalawa eh nagpahuli pa kayo."

Nilabas ko na sa mga salitang yun lahat ng galit na nararamdaman ko. Mga walanghiya sila. At ang kapal pa ng mukha nila magsinungaling! Each lie Mike told diminished what I felt for him. Sige pa, ipagpatuloy pa niya ito at wala na talagang matitira.

"Drei... Valerie was just a distraction. Pero you're really the one I love. It wasn't supposed to come to this. I don't want our relationship to end. I was supposed to end things with her and come back to you. Gusto niyang iwan kita. Ilang beses na niyang sinabi sa akin 'yon. Pero I can't. I love you, Drei."

"So dapat magpasalamat pa ako that I didn't get dumped? Wow. Thanks, then! But too late, Mike. You should have thought of that before you cheated on me with her. It's over."

"Drei! Calm down. Let's talk again when we're not ruled by emotions."

"No, Mike. This is the perfect time. It's over."

I hit the End Call button. I glanced at the screen and saw that I had almost a hundred notifications on my Facebook. There were also several text messages from my friends. Seeing their messages for me dissolved what little courage I had. Tears filled my eyes and poured down my cheeks again.

Bakit ba ganito kasakit?

After a few minutes, nagring ulit yung phone ko. It was Mike so I switched it off. Okay na din na naka off siya kasi binabaha din ng Notifications yung facebook ko. I buried my face in the pillow Reeve gave me and cried. I kept on crying until I was numb. I cried until I fell asleep and forgot the pain I felt... even for a while.

******************************

TRIVIA: Mike is real, guys. Haha. He's my first ex-boyfriend. And yung nakita ni Andreia yung picture? Ganon ko din sila nahuli ng babae niya. Pero friendster pa ang uso noon at hindi pa Facebook.

Yun lang. Libre mang hate. HAHAHA. :)

Please Vote if you liked it! Salamat! :)