Chapter Forty Seven
Valerie's POV
Andi walked away and Tristan tried to stop her but couldn't. I had no idea what was going on and all I could do was sit there and watch them. I knew they had a past. They used to be together but fate was cruel to them that it had to separate them. Now, Andi was already married and I knew my brother still couldn't get over her.
Andi was half way through the restaurant's door but she suddenly paused and held onto the nearest chair she could grab as if she was losing balance. She placed her hand on her still flat belly. She was pregnant. I knew something was wrong and I got worried about her and especially the baby.
Agad na tumakbo palapit si Tristan kay Andi at hinawakan siya sa baywang para suporta. I gasped in horror when I saw a small stream of blood running down her legs.
"Oh my god, my baby!" She shrieked in equal horror when she looked down.
Napamura ng malakas si Tristan at binuhat si Andi. He walked out of the restaurant, carrying her. I quickly took a bill from my wallet and just left it on the table before following after them. Tristan stopped on the side of his car. I opened the backseat and he layed Andi down there. Andi was hysterically crying.
"Mahal ko, please calm down." He gently said.
"This is all your fault! I hate you." She said between her sobs.
He turned his back from Andi. I could see that he was holding back his tears. I told him that he should drive and I'd stay at the back with Andi. He ran to the driver's seat as I slipped into the back and lifted her head to my lap. She was crying and screaming, telling me that she couldn't lose another baby. I ran my fingers through her hair and tried to calm her down.
Relief took over me when Tristan stopped in front of the hospital. Binuhat niya si Andi papasok sa emergency room. The doctors took her and we had to wait outside. Tristan sat on one of the hospital bench with a glazed looked on his face, his eyes rested on his lap in a trance like state, completely motionless. He only comes back when he hears the door to the emergency room open. Itinatanong niya sa mga nurse kung kamusta na si Andi pero walang makasagot sa kaniya.
"She'll be alright." I said, sitting next to him and patting his shoulder.
"I hope so. Val, hindi ko mapapatawad ang sarili ko kapag may nangyari kay Andi at sa bata." His voice shook. "We've lost a baby before and I don't know how she will take it if she losses our baby again."
"The baby is yours?" May bahid ng pagkabiglang tanong ko.
He ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. "I... I don't know but I feel like the baby's mine."
"She has a husband, Tristan." Sabi ko.
"It's wrong but I love her, Val. Mahal na mahal ko si Andi."
"And you tried to stop me from loving Axel. You're a hypocrite." I said accusingly.
"Because I know what it feels like to love someone who's already married. I know how it feels to keep that love in secret. Alam ko yung pakiramdam nang may iba siyang inuuwian. That at the end of the day, no matter what we do, she's still somebody else's wife." He said, almost in tears. "I don't ever want you to experience all that."
"But Tristan, iba ang sitwasyon namin sa inyo. Yes, he didn't tell me that he was married but he and Guiliana were long estranged. Mahal ako ni Axel at mahal ko siya." I took both his hands in mine. I knew this was the wrong time to talk about it but we already got there. "Napatunayan niya sa akin iyon. He left his comfortable life here in Manila and worked at our hacienda. He lived in a toolshed with no electricity and he slept on a hard and old wooden bed. He worked day in and day out."
"Hindi iyon ang sukatan ng pagmamahal."
"Then what is, Tristan?!" My voice raised. "Paano mo ba sinusukat ang pagmamahal mo kay Andi? You left her... iniwan mo si Andi noon, hindi ba? You could've asked for our help, Tristan. Do you want me to leave Axel too? Iyon ba ang gusto mong mangyari? At pagkatapos ano? Kapag nakahanap siya ng iba, saka ako hahabol sa kanya kung kailan huli na? I don't want to be a desperate, miserable mess like you."
He lowered his eyes to the ground, pain evident in his eyes.
My jaw dropped open at the realization of all the things I've said. "I... Tristan, I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said..."
His face dropped even more. He stood from his seat and walked away. I had hurt his already aching feelings. It was such a bitchy move. Ngayon pa kung kailan nanganganib ang buhay ng babaeng mahal niya at ng anak niya. I knew he only meant well but those horrible things I said to him was unforgivable
.After a few minutes of waiting there and regretting every word I said to Tristan, the doctor went out of the emergency room. Sakto naman bumalik si Tristan. His eyes were red from crying and I felt so bad.
He asked the doctor if Andi was okay and the doctor said they closed her cervix and successfully stopped the bleeding but they still have to get some test to find out if the fetus was still there. Tristan looked devastated as ever when he heard what the doctor said about the baby. Pinapasok siya ng doktor sa loob ng kwarto para makita si Andi at naghintay ako sa labas. It only took a few minutes for him to come out of the room, his eyes redder and puffier than before.
"How is she?" Tanong ko ng makalabas siya.
"Ikaw muna ang bahala kay Andi. I already called her cousin, Phoenix, his on his way. Please don't leave her." Sabi niya at nagmamadaling tumalikod sa akin.
"Saan ka pupunta?" I asked but he ignored me. Little did I know, that would be our last conversation for a long time.
Axel's POV
I held the cold pack to my bruised jaw after taking a shower and cleaning the blood and bruises on my face. I winced and groaned when it touched my bruise. My face was awfully painful. If it weren't for Valerie, I would of fought back. Pero alam kong ako ang mali dito. I deserved this.
I needed to fix things between us and Tristan. If I had to get punched everyday, I would gladly accept those punches if that meant he'd forgive me and let me be with Valerie. Those weeks when Valerie went back to the hacienda and left me here was the worst thing I had ever experienced. Mas gugustuhin kong maging punching bag ni Tristan kaysa malayo sa akin si Valerie.
I turned on the tv to kill time but my mind wandered on Valerie again. I was planning on asking Jaime for her hand in marriage, you know the old style way, the way he wanted. I called my parents and told them about it. Charlotte was excited. Pagkatapos kong dalhin noon si Val sa mansyon para ipakilala sa kanila, she would invite Valerie out for lunch or go shopping with her without me knowing. I only found out about it when I got home from a late night meeting and mom was in my unit, she was teaching Valerie to make one of my favorite food, bouillabaisse. She adored Valerie, she said she was the daughter she never had. And Augusto being the logical man he was, said I should think about it but after Charlotte convinced her that Valerie would make a good daughter-in-law he just went with it and let my mother have her way.
The phone rang and I reached for it on the coffee table. Phoenix's name was on the screen.
"Hey, what's up?" I said when I answered the phone.
"Tristan had an accident." Phoenix said in an urgent tone.Napabalikwas ako.
"What? Ano'ng klaseng accident?"
"Car accident. It's bad, man." Phoenix said.
I felt like my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. And Valerie popped into my mind, she was with Tristan! And my heart sunk further down. I limped against the couch, drained of energy. "Si Valerie? Nasaan si Valerie? Is she safe? Are they okay?"
"Valerie's here with me at the hospital. She's safe, she wasn't in the car when the accident happened. But Tristan, well... we still don't know."
"Fuck!" I said under my breath. "I'm going there. Nasaan kayo?"
Phoenix told me what hospital they were at and I hurriedly went to my car and drove off. Within just minutes, I got there. Phoenix and Valerie were sitting at the hall of the hospital when I got there. Agad akong lumapit kay Valerie at niyakap siya. She buried her face in my chest and started sobbing.
"Shh... Val baby, you know I hate seeing you cry." I said, kissing her forehead.
"Inaway ko pa siya kanina." She sniffed.
"He'll be fine. He's a tough son of a bitch. Alam kong kayang-kaya niya yan." I rubbed her back as she cried.
"I'm such a horrible sister, Axel." She cried.
"No, no you're not. Don't say that." I sat next to Valerie, comforting her as we waited outside of the surgery room for Tristan.
After about two hours of waiting, he was rolled out of the surgery room on a hospital bed. There were tubes and a lot of machines attached to him. The doctor said he was in a coma. His head was badly injured from the accident. They had to put him in the ICU.
Pagkatapos siyang ayusin sa kwarto niya ay pinapasok na kami. While we were already in the room, biglang dumating si Andi. She sat next to Tristan's bed, held his hand and cried.
I hugged Valerie tighter, the tightest I could, her face buried to my shoulder. At a blink of an eye, it could all end. Someday our hearts will stop and our breath will cease. I was crumbling thinking how fragile life was, how easily someone could be taken away from you. That you could be holding the person you love one moment and she could be gone the next.
I loved Valerie and she loved me. All my life, I knew I had waited for her, longed for her. I had known loved and had been blessed by it. At hinding-hindi ko na pakakawalan ito. Who knew when the end would come along and sweep us away?
I closed my eyes The sight of my friend helpless body lying there, hanging between life and death and the thought of this sweet, beautiful woman in my arms being taken away from me was enough to make tears spill down my eyes.
Wayne and Seth came after a few minutes and about an hour after that, Jaime came too. Bumitaw si Valerie mula sa akin ng makita niya ang daddy niya at yumakap dito. Jaime threw me a sharp look before turning his attention to Tristan.
He stood there looking over at him with his hands in his pockets and a grim look on his face.We were crowding the room and we wanted to give Jaime some privacy so we went out. Si Andi na lang at si Jaime ang naiwan sa loob kasama ni Tristan. None of us spoke, an air of sorrow hanged over us, an air of stillness and despair.
Pagkaraan ng ilang sandali ay muli ulit kaming pumasok. Valerie went up to Andi who was still sitting on the chair next to Tristan, hindi pa rin niya binibitawan ang kamay nito at nakatitig lang sa kanya. She placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Andi, it's already late. Hindi ba sabi ng doktor kailangan mong magpahinga?" Valerie said but Andi doesn't seem to hear her.
Phoenix went up to them. "Come on, ihahatid na kita."
"Dito lang ako. I'll wait for him to wake up." Andi whispered.
"You need to go home and take a rest." Valerie said.
She shooked her head. "I just don't want to leave him. He needs to wake up."
"You almost had a miscarriage, Andi. Kung hindi mo aalagaan yang sarili mo baka kung mapaano yang ipinagbubuntis mo. Hindi matutuwa si Tristan niyan kapag may nangyari sa baby niyo." Val said.
"Kami na ang bahala kay Tristan, hija." Jaime gave her a smile of assurance. "He's going to be fine. My son will wake up. He has gone through this before and he will great throught it again. I know he's going to wake up."
Andi left with Phoenix. He offered to take Andi home and he needed to go home too because he had to take care of his newborn twins. Bigla na lang naglahong parang bula si Cassie, Phoenix's wife, pagkatapos manganak nito kaya siyang mag-isa ang nag-aalaga sa mga bata. Valerie, on the other hand, took Jaime to the hospital's cafeterie to eat. He couldn't skip a meal because he was on medication. Wayne and Seth went with them and I was left with Tristan.
I sat on the chair where Andi sat and stared at his unconcious body. I took in a deep breath before speaking.
"Dude, kung naririnig mo ako, sana mapatawad mo ako. It was never my plan to fall in love with your sister. I would never want to ruin our friendship but I guess I did, huh?" I sighed. "Hinding-hindi ko lolokohin si Valerie. Hinding-hindi ko siya paiiyakin. I promise to do my best to make her happy. She's everything I ever wanted. I love your sister and I'm so scared of losing her. I've never been so scared of losing something in my entire life but then again nothing in my life has ever meant as much to me as she does. Sana maintindihan mo ako. Kaya kong gawin ang lahat para sa pagkakaibigan natin pero hindi ang layuan si Valerie. I'll do anything you ask, just not that. Saka ayaw mo ba nun, we're not just going to be best friends, we're going to be brother-in-laws." I let out a soft chuckle. If Tristan was awake, he would have probably killed me by now. Siguro nga gustong-gusto ng gumising ni Tristan para sakalin ako. "You need to wake up, okay? We need to talk. Man to man. We need you, Andi needs you and your baby too. And your future niece and nephew needs a wonderful uncle like you, you know?"Dumating na si Valerie, si Jaime, si Seth at si Wayne mula sa cafeteria. When they came in, I went out of the room and sat on one of the bench outside of it.
Maya-maya ay sumunod sa akin si Valerie at lumabas din siya mula sa kwarto. She went to the vending machine and got a cup of coffee. She sat beside me and handed it to me.
"O, magkape ka muna. Hindi ka pa kumakain." She said.
I took it from her and she rested her head on my shoulder.
I looked down at the cup of coffee in my hand and couldn't help but smile.
Déjà vu. This was how we started, when Tristan was in the hospital. She handed me a cup of coffee, sat next to me and we started talking. She was most beautiful and interesting woman I had ever met in my whole life. She had the most expressive eyes and the brightest smile I had ever seen in anyone.
"This was how we met." Sabi ko.
Inangat niya ang ulo niya at tumingin sa akin. "Huh?"
"You gave me a cup of coffee three years ago while Tristan was in the hospital." I smiled.
"You still remember." She quietly said.
"Of course I do! How could I forget? Noong araw na iyon, nakilala ko ang pinakamagandang babaeng nakita ko. My future wife and the mother of my future children."
"Axel..." Napaawang ang bibig niya."Val, alam ko hindi ito ang tamang lugar at panahon para dito pero hindi ko na kayang patagalin ito. Life is short and I want to spend every moment of it with you. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children, I want to watch our children grow, and their children, and their children's children." I took in a deep breathe and puffed. "I would love nothing more than to grow old with you and spend the rest of my sex life with you."A giggle roast from her throat and tears swelled from the corners of her eyes."Valerie Zamora, will you marry me?""Oh my god!" She held her hand over her mouth and tears fell from her eyes."Val...""Yes, oh God, yes!" She said and threw her arms around me.
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