If We Never Tried (R-18)

Chapter 2 - Key Card

Panay ang paggalaw ng paa ko habang pinapanood ang nakatalikod na si Hudson sa harapan ko. He was talking to someone while holding our marriage certificate. Masiyadong malalim ang mga term na ginagamit niya, basta ang naintindihan ko lamang ay vina-validate niya ang marriage certificate na dala ko.

Umirap ako sa hangin. Mukha bang pinepeke ko ang kasal namin? Who in their right mind would do that? Umuwi sa Pilipinas ng patago para lang mang-trip? At isa pa, sino ba siya?

I get that he might be getting hit on a lot dahil guwapo siya at matipuno, but not me. I've seen a ton of foreigners since birth at hindi lang naman siya ang may ganitong features.

Sumimsim ako sa kape na binigay ng secretary niya. Yes, I had the audacity to ask for coffee dahil inaatake ata ako ng jetlag. I rested my head on the comfy couch, habang pilit na tinititigan ang perpektong likuran niya.

"Okay... I guess it is what it is. Thank you, Trey." He said and ended the call.

He sighed and I saw him move kaya naman umupo ako ng maayos. I do not want him to get the idea na sobrang comfortable ko rito even though I want to sleep at this very instant.

"So?" mataray kong tanong at nagawa pang ipag-krus ang mga binti ko.

Niluwagan niya ang necktie niya at umupo sa harapan ko. He put the paper on the table and sipped on his own coffee. Yes, it seems like we are having a "cofee date". I wanted to curse this moment.

Seryoso niya akong tiningnan.

"I already asked a colleague to authenticate the certificate. He's woking at the civil registry where our marriage was registered. And yes, unfortunately, this marriage certificate is legit." aniya, business tone pa rin.

I still cannot hide my utter shock. To hear it from a lawyer, makes this thing real. Our marriage is real!

"We are married." I said and held my chest dramatically.

Tumaas ang kilay niya sa sinabi ko. I saw some humor in his eyes for a moment pero nawala rin iyon dahil napalitan ng blangko na emosyon.

"I cannot believe it. How could I be so reckless? I made a mess. Cam would kill me." I said and closed my eyes.

"Cam?" He asked.

Mariin ko siyang tiningnan.

"Cameron. My fiance. Look, we should divorce immediately. I will handle all the fees and the application itself. I will have my lawyer coordinate with you." I said.

Tumaas ang kilay niya sa sinabi ko.

"What if we need to present ourselves in the court?" He asked me again.

I looked at him. Well...

"I will pay for your plane tickets, accomodation and all of your expenses if you need to be in UK." I answered.

He watched me with a blank expression. Hindi ba niya ako naiintindihan. I want him to respond to me, so I tried to play it big.

"If you are worried, I can book you a first class flight and a five-star hotel."

He titled his head and stifle a laugh. Tumaas ang kilay ko. I was so mad because I feel insulted.

"No... no." He said and licked his lower lip.

"I don't let a woman pay for me." He smirked. "I could afford it."

Pinagkrus ko ang mga braso ko.

"Eh, 'yon naman pala? So, what is holding you back?" I asked him.

"A divorce procedure takes time. It's not a one day or a three day process. Some cases might take a weeks, sometimes months. I cannot leave easily. I am in a middle of a big case." He said.

Nalaglag ang panga ko. What?

"What are you saying? That we could not divorce because you have a hectic schedule? How about me? Do you think that I am not doing anything at all? I am busy too... and my wedding shall be done as soon as possible." I said.

Okay, I am losing my cool right now. I am tired from a super long flight, my back hurts, I am sleep deprived and my freaking engagement is on the line!

"Look, we both created this mess by signing that goddman paper. So, we need to compromise our time to straigthen this out." I added.

Siya naman ang nag-krus ng mga braso niya. He looked unbothered by my outburst. I cannot believe this guy. Stone ba siya? Or robot?

"Look, Miss--"

"Mrs. Fajardo." I corrected.

Mukhang nagulat siya sa sinabi ko. I sighed and sratched my forehead.

"See? This is not right. I cannot be called Mrs. Fajardo all the time just because we are married by mistake. Attorney, if you were in my shoes, I would not make this hard for you. Isa pa, you need to be available in the market so you could find yourself a girlfriend. Mukhang kailangan mo, masiyado kang masungit at boring, eh!" I pointed it out to him.

Nawala ang humor sa mukha niya. He looked at me with some irritation but I do not care. He treated this thing like it was not an emergency at all. I do not care if he is in the middle of something, ako rin naman. I am a freaking fashion designer at UK.

I may not be famous right now, but I am working on a deal that might make or break my career.

"I don't need a girlfriend." He said.

I sighed helplessly. Well, wala naman akong pakialam doon.

"I am sorry. But I really need you to help me. I want to be married to the love of my life. I don't want to hurt him by this marriage. I need to end things between us. I still can save this, you know? We still haven't consummated our marriage. We can reason it right? That you are not able to make your thing work? Or maybe you could be gay?" I suggested.

I saw the chance. It can be a valid reason. Mas madali i-justify ang divorce namin kung ganoon. Mas masama if I told the court that he's psychological incapacitated right? He laughed coldly with what I suggested.

"What?" he laughed again.

I made a face.

"When I told you that I do not have a girlfriend, does it sound to you that I do not bed women?" He asked me with sarcasm.

He looked offended. Nakipagsukatan lang ako ng tingin sa kaniya. May kumatok sa pintuan. Napatingin kami sa pagdungaw ng ulo ng kaniyang sekretarya.

"I am sorry, Sir. I know that you do not want to get disturbed when you are in a business meeting..."

She said the 'business meeting' while looking at me, like she meant something else. I shook my head with amusement.

This, b***h.

"But Attorney Gaisano's secretary's here for some papers that needs your urgent signature." She continued.

Kinuha ni Hudson ang marriage certificate namin at nilagay iyon sa drawer ng kaniyang coffee table.

"Send her in," He ordered.

Tumango ang secretary at giniya sa pintuan ang sinumang iyon. I saw a tall woman wearing something revealing, her breast were enormous at halos lumuwa na sa kaniyang suot na corporate attire.

Her first three buttons were opened and her hair curly. I glanced at her fashion style. Halata naman na sinadya niyang magmukhang revealing iyon. So, I guess, he is trying to get this brute's attention?

I watched her as she went to his side. Yumuko pa at halos isubsob ang mukha ni Hudson sa dibdib niya. I cringed at the scene but remained drinking my coffee. Hudson glanced at me and I saw him smirked.

I shook my head. I put down my coffee. I saw his hand touched the butt of that woman and squeezed it. The secretary, grinned at him and bit her lips.

Oh my god.

He signed the papers quickly and looked up to the secretary.

"Come back here after your working hours." He said.

Namula ang pisngi ng babae at parang kinikilig pa.

"O-Okay, Attorney." She said.

Hinintay ko na makaalis ito bago ako bumaling sa kaniya. He looked at me with triumph, na parang napatunayan niya na isa siyang fuckboy.

"What?" He asked and sipped on his coffee.

"What was that?" I asked him.

He tilted his head.

"Why? Did you caught me cheating on you?" maloko niyang sinabi.

I groaned.

"Dream on, Attorney." I mimicked the secretary's tone.

Wala akong pakialam kung ikama niya iyong sekretarya na halos gumawa na ng soft porn sa harapan ko.

"I don't care if you want to satisfy your carnal desires with that slutty secretary but can we be serious right now?"

Pero nalilihis na kami sa usapan kaya binalik ko iyon.

"Look, we both are tired, okay? I just had the longest flight of my life and I want to rest at the hotel the whole day. Can we have a final decision here?" I professionally said dahil mukhang wala siyang sign of professionalism sa ginagawa niya ngayon.

Akala ko ba top attorney at sobrang dedicated sa career 'to? Eh, mukhang ordinary frat boy o 'di kaya naman ay f**k boy itong kaharap ko.

"I would gladly appreciate it if you would help me out. I promise this will be the last time that you will see me. It’s like we never get married at all." I told him.

He clasped his hands and watched me. I may not like him, but I really need him. I want to just fix it.

“I told you, I just can’t leave. I would like to help you but you need to wait. This case will take months. We are at a very sensitive spot and I just cannot leave my clients in the middle of it.” He answers me.

I know that we do not have a date for the wedding, but I just cannot jeopardize it. Cameron would flip out the moment he knows about my wedding. I don’t want to ruin every damn plan that we have. I love him and I fought for him.

“Ilang buwan?” I asked.

Lumunok siya.

“Hindi ko rin alam, I cannot promise you—”

“I will give you three months.” I decided.

Kumunot ang noo niya.

“I am sorry but I cannot wait until you finished the case. Gaya mo, I am in the middle of my blossoming career. I may not be big as you right now, but I am ready to do everything to make my career without the help of my parents or my family.” I told him.

He sighed. Hindi na siya nagsalita pero ayos na rin iyon. At least, hindi siya tumanggi. That was a good sign, right? He glanced at my baggage at the corner.

“Okay. I will call a classmate from UK to help us out. You come back here tomorrow so he could be our divorce attorney.” aniya.

I nodded. At least, I am seeing the light at the end of this taunting conversation. Tumayo ako at ganoon rin siya.

“I will have my driver to drop you off the hotel. Where are you staying?” He asked me.

Tumaas ang kilay ko. He shook his head na parang na-gets niya bakit ganoon ang reaksyon ko.

“I am just asking if you booked a hotel. I would not go there.” He cleared the air.

I nodded.

“I haven’t booked a hotel yet. I would just look while we are on the way—”

“Here,” he said and handed me a card.

Tiningnan ko iyon. What the heck is this?

“Ano ‘to? Key card ng hotel room mo?” tanong ko dahil nakita ko na Alcaraz towers ang nakalagay doon.

“No, my condominium. You can stay there for tonight. It has everything you need.” sagot niya.

“There is an international convention happening this week. The decent hotels were for sure booked. You will have a hard time booking.” He explained.

“Thank you.” I said, “But this does not mean that I like you.” I added and rolled my eyes.

I am really tired and I just want to sleep kaya hindi ko na ito tatanggihan.

“Same,” sagot niya na wala pa ring emosyon.

I pulled my baggage and I smirked while holding the door.

“I cannot wait to divorce you.” I told him and I closed the door.