CHAPTER NINE
RACHEL put her cell phone down on the table after she talked to her friend Jereth. Then she quietly observed the entire restaurant. She got there after she left her friend in the hospital to confront her beloved doctor. Earlier that day, Jereth and her almost fought when she went to her friend’s house. She admits that she is to blame there. As she kept on thinking about what had happened to her at their high school reunion a few days ago, she accidentally poured out all her frustrations at her friend.
After so many years, she thought that she was no longer able to love. Because she doesn’t even get attracted to opposite sex. That was also one of the reasons why her friends call her a female reptile. But the moment Melvin reappeared in her life, everything has changed. Her heart made its presence again. In other words, her gills revived. And it was just now that she realized, it is not true that she has lost the ability to feel anything towards the opposite sex. It was only because her heart wanted to recognize just one particular man. And that man is the only one who could make her heart beat, the only guy who could make her feel something. Like love and pain.
She looked at the food on her table. That was the first time she had not paid much attention to her beloved food. She picked up her empty glass to call for a waiter when someone suddenly stood beside her, holding a bottle of wine.
“Champagne?”
She looked up and saw Melvin staring down at her. Her chest throbbed again when she saw that familiar smile.
“No, thanks. I don’t drink wine.”
“Okay.” He motioned to a waiter and handed the bottle of wine to him before sitting in the empty chair in front of her. “Mind if I join you?”
She just let Melvin be. Because at some point, she also wants to look at his handsome face much longer. Maybe she just missed the man so much in the few days they didn’t meet each other. Which was entirely her fault.
“So, how are you, Rachel?”
“Fine. You, what are you doing here?”
“I own this place.”
“I didn’t know this was yours.”
“I never had the chance to tell you. It’s a newly opened branch so I still personally supervise the operation from time to time.” Melvin stared at her as if wanting to know what she was thinking. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Why did you leave so abruptly during our reunion? You did not even wait for me to return to drop you home.”
“I just don’t want to bother you. You looked like you’re still enjoying the party so I left first.”
“I did tell you I’ll bring you home.”
“What’s the point? It already happened.”
“Which brings me to my second question. Why does it seem that you’re avoiding me these days?”
“I’m not avoiding you. I was just too busy with work.”
“So, why the cold treatment?”
“You’re asking too many questions, Melvin.” She picked up the spoon and fork. “I’m going to eat first. My pets are already complaining inside my stomach.”
Melvin didn’t say anything. She thought that he would let her eat alone. Yet he stayed in front of her and kept watching her as she ate. Because of that, it seemed that she’s having a hard time swallowing her food.
“What?” she said, turning to him.
Melvin sighed. “Rachel, I think we need to talk. Can we please talk after you eat?”
“Sure.”
“Please don’t try to escape again this time.”
“When did I run away from you?”
Melvin just smiled. If so, he must’ve completely realized that she is avoiding meeting him anywhere. She let go of the spoon and fork in her hands.
“Okay, what are we going to talk about?”
“Why the cold treatment, Rachel? Back at the reunion party, I thought we… I thought we already had a bit of understanding. But here you go, avoiding me all of a sudden. What did I do wrong?”
She gulped. What did the guy really do wrong? Nothing really. The truth is, she was the only one who had a problem because she got jealous.
“W-why are you asking me that?”
“Because I want to get close to you.”
“Why?”
“What else do you think?”
She picked up the empty glass on her table and called the waiter who immediately filled her glass with water.
“Thank you,” she said to the waiter before turning to Melvin again. Gone was the smile on his lips. “What are you trying to say again?”
He sighed once again and shook his head. “Nothing. Enjoy your dinner.”
She followed him with her gaze when he stood up and left her alone. She really wanted to break the glass she was currently holding in her head which was now empty. What the hell is she doing? It was obvious he was trying to tell her something important. She could feel it. But she was trying to ignore it out of fear. But what should she really be afraid of? Him saying that he also has special feelings for her? Well, what was wrong with it? That’s also what she wants to hear from him, right?
Sometimes, Rachel, it isn’t really great to be ruled by your head. She has already made up her mind. She stood up to follow Melvin but she was stunned to see who was at the table the man headed to. It’s Michelle! The pain that hit her felt greater than a stab of broken glasses in her heart. She could also feel tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Oh, no. I’m not going to cry in front of these stupid people! She picked up her bag, then hurried out. But she hadn’t even reached the door of the restaurant yet when someone called her.
“Ma’am, please wait!” She saw a uniformed waiter approach her while holding a small piece of paper. “You haven’t paid your bill yet.”
She noticed that all the customers there turned to her, including Michelle, who was now grinning. She really wished the earth would swallow her at that moment.
“Don’t worry, Jessie. She’s with me.” Melvin came to them.
“Oh, my, Boss! I’m sorry.”
Then the waiter also apologized to her. All her courage disappeared like bubbles after leaving that restaurant.
“I’m sorry about that.”
Instead of responding, she simply took some money from her bag and gave it to him. “I’m sorry, too. I even forgot to pay the bills in my haste. I apologize.”
“Forget about it,” Melvin refused the bills she’s giving to him. “You have a car?”
“I know my way home.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“I’m okay, Melvin. Just go back to Michelle. She must be looking for you now. I don’t want to bother you two.”
Melvin blocked her path. “I’ll take you home.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I can go home alone so just leave me here. I don’t need your help!”
Her temper is running out. First is because she cannot accept the fact that she is angry with herself, because no matter what she does she can’t will herself to be angry with him. And second, is because she is not that special woman for him.
“Are you mad?”
“Of course, not!” She exaggeratedly smiled. “In fact, I’m very, very happy!”
“Rachel, if this is about Michelle—”
“Michelle?!” She could feel her blood pressure sky-rocketing just by hearing that woman’s name. “What has Michelle got to do with this?”
“I also do not know. But from what I see from you right now, I think you are jealous of her.”
“Hah! And why should I be jealous of her? Who the hell is she? So what if she won as darling of the night along with you? So what if you looked good together on stage? So what if you gave her those wonderful messages that night? Someone has also given me messages like that. Even much better than your message. I’m not jealous!”
“Why are you shouting?”
“Because I hate you!” There, she blurted that out just fine.
“Is this about my message at the reunion that Marx read?”
“I don’t care a single bit about that damned message. Just get out of my way!”
She thought that Melvin would let her leave after her cursing and whining. But instead of moving away, Melvin just folded his arms while looking at her. His handsome face was now unreadable.
“No.”
“Don’t make me hate you, Melvin.”
His courage seemed to waver immediately. He watched her closely for a few seconds before leaving her path. Should she just knee this guy? He didn’t even try to stop her for the last time.
“I’ve waited for you for more than eleven years,” she whispered bitterly as she passed by Melvin. “I have been hoping and dreaming for so long, just to be heartbroken like this.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” She walked straight towards the taxi which immediately stopped after waving at it. “Good-bye, Melvin.”
“Rachel, wait!”
She was already inside the taxi when Melvin finally got close to it. He was saying something through the window but she couldn’t hear it. She ordered the driver to leave. Melvin followed as if still begging her not to leave. Until their vehicle finally left the vicinity, and left him. She looked back. She saw him standing there as he watched their vehicle move away.
Never again would she let her heart be fooled again, she told herself before. But only now did she realize, she never really let her heart get fooled. It just so happened that she fell in love. What she really should’ve said was, she would never fall in love again with the same man. However, it will also be all useless in the end. Because she still fell in love with the only man who made her heart beat, for the second time.
***
“IF YOU tell me you’re getting married, I’ll kill you.”
Jereth just smiled at Rachel, a sign that her suspicion was real when she found all their friends on the rooftop of Frances’ home.
“What’s wrong with getting married?”
“My point is, you should still be considering your decision to get married more meticulously. Because you will have to spend even more when you annul that marriage.”
“Why do we have to talk about annulment right away?” Cherry asked. “We haven’t even married our boyfriends yet.”
“And I still haven’t experienced my honeymoon yet,” May chipped in. “I opt to feel the taste of heaven first.”
“You’re really a pervert, Mariameia.”
“What’s wrong with lusting after my gorgeous fiancé? At least me, I have someone I can officially lust over. How about you? How long do you intend to hide Melvin from us?”
She was surprised by what her friend said. Especially with the reaction of their other friends. “You knew?”
“That you’re seeing each other behind our backs? Of course,” Frances answered. The others nodded in agreement to Frances’ words.
“Since when?”
“Since you started acting weird,” Leilani voiced. “Oh, my mistake. Since you started acting ‘normal’ is what I mean. Then, those accidental opportunities we see you together everywhere. I saw you two together at the Pizza House.”
“As for me, I saw you both in Quiapo,” Jade said. “I was the one who covered that raid by the members of the Media Board.”
“What?” So, all these times she thinks she is misleading her friends about her and Melvin, she is only fooling herself.
“Besides, Rachel,” Frances continued. “Melvin is friends with our fiancés, so what else do you expect? Especially my Ylac, you know those two are cousins.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“You also didn’t want to tell us about it so we’d just let you be,” Rushell answered. “It’s your love life, anyway. And we know we won’t be able to force you to speak up if you really don’t want to.”
“You know how lazy your friends are when it comes to convincing people,” Jacke added. “So we just waited for you to open up about Melvin yourself.”
For the first time, after a day of misery because of what happened to her and Melvin, she was finally able to smile.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” Jereth answered. “It’s your choice to keep everything a secret from us. Although it wasn’t really a secret anymore, because we have known it for a long time.”
“Thanks, guys.”
“So, what’s the score between the two of you?”
“I thought, you said you won’t force me to speak?” Rachel asked Jade while frowning.
“It’s already tiring to wait for you to speak about your longtime running love story with Melvin,” Frances complained. “I have a deadline to beat, you know?” She is writing all the love stories of their group of friends. “So?”
She has also been silent on them for a long time. In fact, she thinks she is the only one who never opens up her heart problems among their friends. So maybe that’s why the current outcome of her love life was such a disaster.
“I am in love with him,” Rachel said. “Still.”
Her friends just hummed as they nodded. They had been telling her all along, even when Melvin was still not around yet, that she was in love with him. Even if she hasn’t met the man again yet.
“I kept on denying it,” she continued. “Because even I, myself, do not believe it is possible. That you can love someone even if he or she is out of your sight. You guys, all know me. I am too cynic in many things. I based my every reaction on the reality of things. And so I was brave enough when I declared in front of you that I would propose marriage to Melvin the moment I see him again, because I never once thought he would come back into my life. That he just doesn’t live in my mind.” She blew out a breath. “Maybe this is the karma of people who are always talking before they speak.”
“The question is,” Jade said, “did Melvin know that you’ve been loving him all these years?” She shook her head. “Did you tell him?”
“I wanted to. But he already has someone else he loves.”
“Huh?” Leilani was already scowling as she turned to her. “How did that happen?”
“Simple. He fell in love with someone else. And I’m… brokenhearted.”
“Did he tell you himself that he already loves someone else?”
“That’s not the only thing he did, Cherry, my friend. He even confessed in front of our entire high school batch.”
“So, he never did personally tell you he’s in love with someone else. You still have hope.”
“I don’t want to hope anymore.” I don’t want to get hurt. “I’m done hoping. I’ll just let him be happy with Michelle.”
“Who’s Michelle?”
“The woman he fell in love with.”
“I don’t like her name,” Jereth declared. “It sounds like a villainess’ name. Frances, make that woman a villain in your novels, alright?”
“By the way, Rachel,” May butted in. “You mentioned that you have never told Melvin in person that you love him yet, right? Why don’t you try to slap him with that shocking news before you finally give up?”
Rachel just sighed. “Do you not clean your ears? I already told you that there is no more reason for me to confess my undying love to that man.”
“Okay, let’s do it this way,” Jade eventually said. “Just propose marriage to him.”
“I already did that,” she answered sadly.
Her friends just looked at each other’s eyes. Then Jade spoke again.
“We don’t believe you.”
“Then, don’t.”
“Rachel, come on.”
“What?”
“We have a bet.”
“Should I just slap you all one by one? I’m already thinking of being a spinster forever, yet you guys are still going on talking about your wager.”
“Why, didn’t you also place a bet too? You even bet you can propose marriage to him.”
“I told you I already did that.”
“No one witnessed it.”
“I’m not a liar!”
“As we said, you don’t have a witness.”
And as if on cue, the speaker attached to the light pole at the corner of Frances’ street rang. She had seen before that every corner of the whole village had a speaker, so that when there was an official announcement that the homeowners officials would disclose, they’d just say it from there.
“I would like to inform everyone in Rancho Estate Village that Miss Rachel Rante will have an important announcement to say to Mr. Melvin Osias in the covered court of the village. Everyone is expected to attend to stand as witnesses. Thank you.”
She stared blankly in the direction of the speaker as if she could see the speaker behind it.
“Rachel,” Jacke nodded beside her. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” It was as if her mind was still floating during those moments. “How… how did they know about the favor I asked Melvin?”
“Favor?”
“That I will repeat my marriage proposal right in front of you all.”
“Oh, good,” Rushell said while grinning. “All the more, we should go.”
“I’m not go—”
“Yes, you will. Someone has to win the bet.”
Translator: Mae
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