Chapter Forty Eight
Valerie's POV
Dad and I stayed at Tristan's condominium. Dad used his room and I used the guest's room while he was in the hospital. He decided to stay here in Manila because he wanted to take care of Tristan. It had already been three weeks and he still hadn't woke up. The good news was that he was now in a stable condition. They tried everything they could but it was up to him and his body to wake up.
Axel and I still couldn't find the right moment to tell that about our plan to get married. I thought dad still needed a little more time to recover from what happened to Tristan before we tell him. I could see it was hard on him, on all of us. Everyone was still stressed out so we decided to keep our mouth shut about it for awhile. Regular pa rin naman kaming nagkikita ni Axel kapag bumibisita siya sa ospital. But it had to be out of dad's sight.
I heard the door outside open. I had already taken a shower and was getting ready to go to the hospital. I knew it was dad. Sometimes, he spends the night in the hospital to look after Tristan and then he goes home in the morning.
I swung my bag on my shoulder and got out of my room. At tama nga ako, si dad iyon. I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Pupunta ka na kay Tristan?" He asked.
"Yes, dad." I smiled. "Gusto mong timplahan muna kita ng coffee?"
"No, that's alright, darling. You go ahead." He said.
"Okay. Bye, dad. I love you." I sweetly said.
"I love you too. Be careful on the road." Paalala niya.
Bumaba ako sa parking lot at sumakay sa kotse. I drove to the hospital and found that Andi was already there. Walang araw na hindi bumibisita si Andi kay Tristan. She had always been by her side from day one.
When I got there, Andi was patting water soaked cotton on Tristan's lips. She does that everyday to put moisture on his lips. She massages Tristan's legs para daw hindi matulog ang mga muscles niya at hindi siya mahirapan maglakad paggising niya. She also gives him spongebath every other day. Hindi niya pinabayaan si Tristan. I could see how much she loves Tristan and how devoted she was to him.
"Hi!" She smiled when she noticed me standing on the side of the bed.
"Hi." I smiled back at her. "How is he?"
"Still as handsome as ever." She answered, stroking his hair with her fingers.
I let out a low chuckle as I looked at him on his bed. "Yeah..." Then my eyes averted to the small bump on her tummy. "Lumalaki na si baby. It's starting to show."
Napangiti siya at napahawak sa tiyan niya. "I know. Sana lang gumising na siya bago ko maipanganak ang baby namin. I want him to be there when I give birth." She sighed heavily and looked at Tristan.
"Of course, he's going to be there! Hindi palalampasin ni Tristan iyon." I cheerfully said to lighten up the mood. I couldn't imagine how stressful it was to be in Andi's situation, being pregnant and being dealt with this. Bukod dito, inaasikaso niya pa ang pagdivorce nila ng asawa niya. Sometimes I wonder how she does it all.
"Hey, I have a doctor's appointment today for the baby." She said, looking down at her wrist watch. "D'yan lang naman sa baba yung doktor ko. Kailangan ko munang umalis, sandali lang ako."
"Sure, ako na ang bahala dito." I said.
"Thank you." She said with a smile. She leaned over to Tristan and gave him a kiss on the forehead before she left.
I sat on the armchair next to Tristan's bed. I stared at him for awhile and took his hand in mine.
"Tristan... Kuya... it feels weird calling you kuya." I chuckled quietly and then I took in a deep breath. "Axel already asked me to marry him. Sana maintindihan mo kami. We love each other and I don't want to lose him. You don't have to worry about me. Kaya ko naman ang sarili ko. Kung lokohin man niya ako, I will chop his dick off. Tristan, alam kong mahal din ako ni Axel and I don't see any reason why we can't be together. Nandyan na naman ulit si Andi at magkakaron pa kayo ng baby. You already have them. They're just waiting for you to wake up, we all are. I want to be happy with Axel too."
I sat there for about half an hour, talking to Tristan. They say people in coma can sometimes hear. Kaya nga madalas siyang kinakausap ni Andi. The door suddenly opened, I thought it was Andi but when I turned my head to the door I saw Axel. He lifted his lips up in a smile as he walked towards me.
He sat on one of the arms of the seat I was sitting on and kissed me on the lips.
"I was just telling him that you finally proposed to me." I said, looking at him.
"What did he say? Tanggap niya na ba akong maging brother-in-law?" He asked.
"Well, he's still having second thoughts about it. Sabi niya baka daw lokohin mo lang ako, baka daw mangbabae ka."
"I would never... Tristan, did you really say that? How could you, dude? Mahal na mahal ko ang kapatid mo, hindi ko siya lolokohin at lalong hindi ako mangbababae." He said, looking at Tristan with a hurt expression. At humarap siya sa akin. He cupped my chin between his two fingers and tilted my head up to him. "Val, you know I love you I would never do that to you."
"I know and I love you too." I smiled.
"Give me your hand." He said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Basta, akin na yang kamay mo." He said and I lifted my hand to him. He took it in his hand and took something out of his pocket. A small red box. Binuksan niya ang box at inilabas ang singsing and then he slipped it on my finger. I looked at my hand, my mouth dropped in awe as I looked at the ring. It had a big, oval clear pink diamond placed on the center around the small diamonds. It looked so beautiful.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it." Mahinang sabi ko.
"I'm sorry it came a little too late. I had it delivered from Russia." He said.
"Thank you, Axel." I reached my arms to him and hugged him.
"You're welcome, baby. Ngayong nasabi na natin kay Tristan ang tungkol sa pagpapakasal natin, kailan mo naman balak sabihin sa daddy mo?"
"I still don't know. You know how stressed out he'd been since the accident. Ngayon pa lang siya nakakarecover."
"I have plan. Why don't you invite your dad out for lunch or dinner next week and my parents and I will meet you at the restaurant? How does that sound?"
"That's a good idea." I agreed. "Your parents already know?"
"Yeah, I told them about it. My mother thinks you'd make a good wife." He said as he stroked my hair and kissed the crown of it. I couldn't help but smile at what he said.
He looked at Tristan. "Dude, you have to wake up. Kailangan namin ng best man."
The week passed quickly. Dumating na ang araw na pinag-usapan namin ni Axel. I invited dad out to dinner, he was hesitant at first but I told him na hindi naman masama kung paminsan-minsan lumabas siya. That he needed to unwind once in a while. Nandoon naman si Andi para magbantay sa ospital at hindi niya pababayaan si Tristan. I finally convinced him to go out with me and we drove to the restaurant.
I wrapped my arms around one of his as we walked inside.
"Pwede naman sa bahay na lang tayo kumain o kaya magpadeliver na lang sa ospital." Dad said.
"Daddy, you need to need to go out once in awhile. Alam ko naman stressed out ka na sa mga nangyayari, you need to relax." I said, stroking his arm.
Dad just sighed and shooked his head. We were greeted by the receptionist, I gave her name and she took us to our table. Nandoon na sina Axel, tita Charlotte at si tito Augusto ng dumating kami. Dad was surprised when he saw them.
"What is this?" Tanong niya sa akin.
"Just take a seat, dad." I smiled, guiding him to his chair. I sat in between him and Axel, while his parents sat across from us.
"Hello, Jaime. I'm so pleased to see you again." Tita Charlotte said with enthusiasm. "I am Charlotte Lavigne. We've met at a fund raising event years ago, remember?"
"Yes, Charlotte. I remember you." Dad said.
"Ito naman ang asawa ko. Augusto Lavigne." She introduced.
Axel's dad let out a subtle smile. "I'm glad we've finally met."
"I'm glad to see you here, Augusto, Charlotte." Dad looked at both of them. "But I don't understand what's going on."
"Sir, this was all my idea." Singit ni Axel. "I would like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. Sinama ko ang mga magulang ko para malaman niyong seryoso ako sa anak niyo at malinis ang intensyon ko."
Hindi kumibo si dad. He kept a stoic silence.
"Dad..." Hinawakan ko siya sa braso. I looked at him, begging for him to say yes.
"I love your daughter, Jaime. She's the only thing in the world I want. Wala akong hindi gagawin para sa kanya. I want to make it right this time, for you and for us. I would do anything to have your blessing."
Dad let out a sigh. "Pag-isipan niyo muna iyan. Baka nabibigla ka lang, hijo. Hindi ako naniniwala sa divorce. Remember, when you marry someone it's for life, for better or for worse."
"There will never be a divorce, sir. I promise you." He said.
Axel suddenly got to his feet and we watched as he walked to dad's side, wondering what he'd do. He dropped to his knees in front of my dad.
"Jaime, I'm begging you. Please, can we have your blessing? I've never desperately wanted anything so much as much as I want this. I promise to love her 'til my last breath. I want to walk through like with her by my side, I want to build a future together with her. Please, Jaime..."
Dad looked at me, his eyes softened and then he looked back at Axel. He sighed as if defeated. "Nasa tamang edad na naman kayo. Just promise me you won't hurt my daughter."
"I promise." Axel said with a huge smile on his face.
Agad akong tumayo mula sa kinauupuan ko at tumakbo ako kay Axel. I hugged him tightly and he lifted up off the floor, giving me a kiss on the lips. It was official. We were now engaged. We already had my dad's blessing. The dinner turned out great. Dad got along easily with Axel's parents. We all got to know each other more. We shared stories and a few good laughs. It ended so well.
Nauna ng lumabas si dad at ang mga magulang ni Axel. Naiwan kaming dalawa para magpaalam sa isa't isa. Tumayo siya mula sa kinauupuan niya at kinuha niya ang kamay ko para tulungan akong tumayo. We started walking out the restaurant with my arms wrapped around his.
I gave him a slap on his arm while we were walking.
"Ow! What was that for?" He asked.
"Kanino ka ba talaga nagpropose sa akin o kay dad?" Nagtatampong sabi ko.
"What?" He looked at me with brows wrinkled.
"Bakit kay daddy lumuhod ka sa akin hindi?" I pouted.
He laughed and threw his head back. "Oh, Valerie, you brat!"
"You proposed to me in the hospital... without a ring!" I whined.
"I'm sorry, baby, you're right." He stopped walking and faced me. "Let's do it the right way. Give me the ring."
I smiled cheekily. Hinubad ko ang singsing at ibinigay ko sa kanya. He knelt down in one knee and held the ring in front of him. "Valerie Zamora, the love of my life, my soul mate, my bad girl, my bratty princess, my reason to live, will you marry me?"
This was the second time he proposed to me but God, the tears, they just kept coming. "Yes, i'd always say yes to you!"
He stood up, slipped the ring back on my finger. He cupped my face and gave me a deep, passionate kiss. I knew I would never regret this. I knew with absolute certainty that we were made for each other. He was my reason for living and I loved him with every breath I took.
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