"Don't waste your tears on him," dinala siya ni Kaden sa isang park tapos binilhan siya ng ice cream na wari ba'y isa siyang bata na pinapatahan nito.
Natawa na siya kanina. She found it sweet and amusing to be treated by Kaden that way. Ang sarap nitong maging pinsan. Kung sana wala silang nakaraan, buong puso niyang tatanggapin ang masakit na katotohanan na iyon.
Ngayon, maluha-luha na naman siya. Having Kaden as her cousin is the cruelest joke of her life. Paano ba i-undo ang pagiging magkamag-anak nila? Is there such a thing as unkinship?
"Stop crying," he cupped her face as his thumb brushed away her tears. "Hopie, Kevin Tiu does not deserve you crying because of him."
She smiled bitterly and looked at him eye to eye.
"Can I be honest with you?" She needed to ask Kaden ang kanina pa gumugulo sa kanya. Napagdesisyunan na niya na hindi niya kayang lagi itong nasa tabi niya. Sooner or later, his kindness and concern would drive her crazy to no chance of becoming sane again.
"Syempre naman."
"I'm not crying because Kevin cheated on me. Pumunta ako hindi para sorpresahin siya pero para makipaghiwalay. He actually did me a favor by showing up with another woman. Kevin just made it easier."
"Really? That's my girl. I always believed that you're smart enough to realize that your boyfriend is a big liar... " May bahid ng pagkatuwa at pagiging proud na sabi nito. "Pero bakit ka umiiyak? Dapat pala nagcecelebrate tayo eh... " He frowned "Don't tell me you just wanted me to buy you an ice cream?" Kaden tried to lighten up her mood with a playful yet gorgeous smile.
She forced to smile back for his sake habang kinukusot niya ang kanyang mga mata in a futile attempt to stop her tears.
"You asked me if I still miss Rain," nahihirapan niyang umpisa, why did he need to smile like that? 'Yong ngiti na iyon ni Rain ang naging dahilan kung bakit kahit magkaaway silang nag-umpisa ay nahulog pa rin siya sa binata.
"Yeah?" He frowned.
"I lied," she sobbed. "I still miss him. Every second of my life, Kade... Every beat of my heart longs for him. I missed him so much that every time I see you, it just breaks my heart that no matter how much you look like Rain, you just--- you just couldn't be him," she was lying again dahil ang totoo, ito naman talaga si Rain. "Because whenever you're around and I wanted to run and hug you, I know I couldn't. You are not Rain. But I always see him in you. Know what that means?"
"What?" Looking into his eyes, Hope could see traces of mixed emotions, pain and somewhat anger being the most obvious. He wasn't smiling anymore. Like her words changed his mood drastically. Why? Was he upset that his cousin couldn't let go of the memory of her dead boyfriend?
"It means that you need to do me a favor..."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, I was already doing well without Rain in my life... But then you came and even if you didn't mean it, you're making it difficult for me to forget him completely---"
"So what do you want?" Kaden was obviously holding his temper now.
"Don't be like this. Quit coming to my rescue. Stop being kind. Don't be so protective, don't be sweet. Don't give me ice cream. Don't drive for me. Stop making me see Rain in you ---"
"Who do you think you are to tell me to stop doing things I like?"
"Kaden---" napapikit siya, that anger in his eyes was burning a hole inside her heart.
"You can't tell me what to do," mariin nitong sabi.
"Why are you being so difficult?!" Frustrated niyang tanong. "I am not telling you what to do... I am asking you a favor, Kaden. I am asking you to help me... I badly needed us to stop being close cousins just until I know I can already look at you without seeing another person that you could never be."
"So, what are you suggesting? That we avoid each other?"
"Yes."
"You're impossible!"
"Kaden, believe me, you will help me that way," she told him while he was shaking his head in refusal. "You don't want me to keep living in the past, right? You know it breaks me apart that I lost Rain forever. And for me to be whole again, I need to forget him totally. And I cannot do that if I keep seeing him in you."
"We live in the same house, Hope," he reminded.
"I can talk to lolo and lola about that."
"Ano? Aalis ka?"
"If it's the only way."
"We hold family dinner every Saturday."
"Once a week won't be so bad."
He laughed dryly at her reasoning. Tapos frustrated na naisuklay nito ang daliri sa buhok nito.
"Stop your nonsense, Hope. That's not gonna work." Tumayo na ito. "Let's go home." He walked ahead.
Yumuko siya at napakagat labi. Why wouldn't Kaden just agree? Bakit kailangan nitong ipamukha sa kanya na hindi gagana ang gusto niyang mangyari?
He didn't know their connection. Dapat madali lang dito ang umayon na lang kaysa kumontra pa.
"We are bound to be together and you cannot do anything to stop it."
"What?" Hindi niya namalayang bumalik pala si Kaden at ngayon ay nakatayo sa harapan niya with his intense eyes looking down at her.
"Let's go home, Hopie." Kinuha nito ang kamay niya and intertwined their fingers.
She felt a sudden rush of electricity throughout her body dahil sa simpleng gesture na iyon. Why does her body still react that way even when it knew that this man who's holding her hand share the same blood as her? Why does her heart still beat for him like it would stop if she loses him again?
'We are bound to be together and you cannot do anything to stop it,' his words were like an echo in her mind. 'You're going crazy, Hope...'
*****
HOPE was asking him too much. Gusto nito na mag-iwasan sila. For what? That was just absurd!
Isa lang ang alam niya, hindi siya sang-ayon sa dalaga. There was no way he would agree to that stupid idea.
'Why, Kaden?' Tanong ng isip niya. 'Hope had a point. At alam mo na tama siya.'
Kaden stared at the report in his hands blankly. Hindi tama iyon. Pinag-aaralan niya ngayon ang mga findings na isinagawa sa isa niyang pasyente. A life. Tapos heto siya. Distracted. Isinara niya ang folder at inabot ang telepono.
'Fix your life first, Kaden.'
"Dr. Aragon, yes. Regarding your request, we managed to collect info that I believe could help you," sabi ng nasa kabilang linya.
"Really? That's great," may bumangong pag-asa sa dibdib niya.
"As per our record, your things were collected by a certain Zoey Jimenez. Well, it was just a notebook and your wallet that we got from your jacket's pocket."
"A notebook?" Ulit niya, he couldn't remember Zoey giving him a notebook. Just his wallet na naglalaman ng IDs niya and few bills.
"That's what's written here."
"Thank you."
A notebook? Why would he have a notebook?
Suddenly, his head started pounding. It was aching like some mallet was being hammered on his head.
'Dr. Kaden Aragon, when you read this, always remember ---- '
'Once, you spent almost a year of your life---"
'You promised to come back ----"
"Don't break her heart --- you meant the world for her ---"
"Aahhhh!" Kaden ended up banging his head on his table.
What are those? Memories?
This is not going good. Kailangan na niyang malaman kung anong nangyari sa kanya habang wala siyang maalala.
He looked at his desk calendar. Days are quick to pass. Malapit na silang ikasal ni Zoey. And yet, here he was. More confused than he'd ever been. Paano niya aalagaan ang asawa niya kung 'yong puso niya ay ibang babae ang gustong alagaan?
Lately, he was so concerned of Hope. Bagay na alam niyang hindi naman hinihingi ng dalaga at bagay na kapag nalaman ng mga Fontanilla ay ikagagalit nila.
When Agusto Fontanilla talked to him, isa lang naman ang sinabi nito.
'Don't tell Isabella that you are not real cousins...'
He made him promise he won't tell Hope. His reason was, he wanted to provide her with a perfect family.
That was not letting Hope know that her eldest cousin was not a Fontanilla.
When Agatha married Edcel Aragon, he was a struggling businessman and a single father to a five year old boy. Agusto Fontanilla wasn't very pleased of his only daughter's choice of husband. Pero wala naman itong nagawa kasi nagbanta si Agatha to cut ties with her very own family kapag hindi tinanggap ng mga ito si Edcel.
To cut the story, itinuring din si Kaden na kapamilya.
Everyone in the family knew that he was not a Fontanilla except Isabella. At malinaw ang gustong mangyari ni Agusto, hindi dapat malaman ni Hope ang totoo.
Hindi niya alam kung bakit hindi pwede. But he obliged like a good grandson. All his life, Agusto was never proud of him. Even when he became a doctor at a young age.
The Fontanilla's are in business. While the healthcare profession he chose is of his mother. Edcel's first wife who died in an ambush during a volunteer work was an Australian nurse.
Kaden taking up medicine was Agusto's biggest disappointment. He had expected him to be a businessman but he didn't. Siguro kung may nagawa siya sa buhay niya na sinuportahan ng lolo niya, it was his relationship with Zoey. His fiancee was Agusto's best friend's granddaughter...
Kaden's thoughts averted to the search result he was googling.
Myca's Hotel and Beach Resort
San Gabriel
Tel #: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Email: mycas@gmail.com
He grabbed his phone and dialed the number. This is now or never.
*****
KAHIT hindi sang-ayon si Kaden, pinagbigyan naman siya nito na hindi sila masyadong maging close. A week after they talked, she was starting the painful process of letting go of Rain for good. Kasabay noon ay nag-umpisa na rin siyang pag-aralan ang pagpapatakbo ng Isabella's.
Napagdesisyunan nila na tutulong muna siya bilang isa sa mga Chef habang unti-unti ay pinag-aaralan niya ang mga basics ng management.
She became busy which was good because it limited her time to go home and cross paths with Kaden.
She missed him terribly. Pero inuulit-ulit niya sa isip niya na kaya niyang lumimot. Kassey, who learned about her break up with Kevin, started introducing guys to her. Gaya ng aayain siya nitong kumain sa labas tapos may kasama pala silang kaibigan nito na ipapakilala sa kanya. Sige, okay lang. She realized na kailangan niya iyon. Pero sad to say, wala pa siyang nagugustuhan.
"Kassey, bawal ka dito," pagtataboy niya sa pinsan na pinasok siya sa kusina dahil naiinis daw ito na hindi niya pinaunlakan ang dinner date na nirerequest ni Jasper, isa sa mga lalaking pinakilala nito sa kanya.
"Hope, you're impossible! The guy asked you nicely. Why turned him down?"
"Because I don't like him. And FYI, I refused him nicely."
"Aarghh"
"Besides, tonight is our family dinner," katwiran niya, it's a valid reason at alam niyang kikilalanin ni Kassey iyon. Ang family dinner nila ay kailangang daluhan kahit na anong mangyari. Batas iyon ng lolo at lola nila. It was to keep the family intact.
"Whatever... Sana sinabi mo na lang na sa ibang araw na."
She rolled her eyes. Ang kulit lang.
"Alam mo, kung hindi ka aalis dito, tumulong ka na lang," inabutan niya ito ng kutsilyo.
"You're not serious!" Pinandilatan siya nito.
"Seriously, come on. Help me."
Sa Isabella's gaganapin ang dinner nila at napepressure siya kasi huhusgahan ng mga ito kung kaya niyang ibangon ulit ang restaurant sa pamamagitan ng luto niya.
"I'm out of here," suko nito at iniwanan siya.
Natatawang sinundan na lang niya ito ng tingin.
She was on to move forward with her life. Pero hindi naman siya nagmamadali. The last time she did, she got cheated on.