THE BOSS WANTS A BABY

CHAPTER 7

"Brie?" Why am I hearing his voice? Hanggang panaginip ba naman? "Brie, honey wake up." Nakakaramdam ako ng pagtapik sa pisngi ko pero hinahayaan ko lang. Parang totoo naman 'tong panaginip na 'to. "Honey wake up."

I opened my eyes when he kissed my forehead. Then I realized that it was all true. Nakatulog pala ako dito sa duyan sa terrace. Napabangon ako at tumitig sa kanya. He has that sweet smile again revealing his dimple. He's sitting on a wooden chair facing me.

"I'm sorry to wake you up. But I had to. May kailangan akong asikasuhin sa America. So, we have to go back later. Okay lang ba kung sila mommy muna ang makasama mo doon sa bahay?"

America? Ano'ng gagawin niya doon?

"No. I'll be staying at my house."

"But, they'll take good care of you there." He tucked some strands of my hair behind my ear. "I just want you safe." He sighs. "Please." He added.

Bakit ba parang pinapalambot ako ng konsensya ko? I wanted to say 'no' but then my stupid head just nodded.

He smiled and kissed my lips for a while. "I'm gonna cook so that we can eat before we go para hindi ka magugutom." Then he stood up.

Anong oras na ba? Matignan nga yung phone k- DAMN! Hindi ko na ulit nakita yung phone ko pagkatapos ng wedding! So wala akong mapagtignan ng oras kaya pumasok na 'ko sa kwarto at tinignan ang oras.

12:30 it says there. Noon na rin. Sabagay, late kaming kumain. Ay hindi, ewan ko kung kumain siya. Dahil pagkatapos ng kanina, umakyat na 'ko. But then hinatiran pa rin niya 'ko ng foods dito. Talagang ganun ba siya kalambing at kaalaga o nagpapanggap lang? Putting those at the back of my mind, sabi niya makakasama ko ang mommy niya. Oh great!

…

"Anak!" Malambing na sigaw ng mommy ni Yu-Rhi habang papalapit sa amin. The moment we stepped out of the car, she hugged Yu-Rhi tightly and kissed his cheeks. I just can't help not to smile when I saw his reaction. He's cute. And I admitted it. "Hello Brie." She also went to me and hugged me. "Come on, come on. I baked a chocolate cake." She smiled as she holds my both hands.

Ang lambing lambing niya... parang si mommy. How I miss her.

Hawak ni mommy yung kamay ko habang naglalakad kami papunta sa taas at sumusunod lang naman si Yu-Rhi.

"Anak do you know how to bake?" She asked while smiling. I smiled too and nodded. "Great! So you were baking too? For Yu-Rhi?"

Uh oh! 

Alanganin akong tumingin kay Yu-Rhi. Hello? Ni hindi ko nga alam ang whole name at age ng gagong 'to.

Agad naman siyang lumapit at inakbayan ako. "Of course mom. Sa two years ba naman namin eh hindi pa ba niya 'ko ipinag-bake ng favorites ko in my twenty two years of living?"

22... so 22 years old palang siya. He is too young. Well I do not know but having a business, handling the mafia, and r****g innocent girl… he is young huh.

His mom just chuckled and we took the stairs. We ascended and ascended until we reached the fourth floor. Magkakaharap na mga pinto ang bumungad sa amin. Sa right, nasa dulo ang isang door na salamin papunta sa dining. Sa left naman ay papunta sa terrace.

We directly went to the dining. At nadatnan namin ang maraming pagkain. Mostly, chocolates.

"Mom where's princess?" Tanong ni Yu-Rhi at ipinaghila ako ng upuan so I sat down.

"Oh Zharina, she went to the mall. Bibili daw ng beads para may gawin siyang jewelries dito." His mom answered and looked at me. "At para makapag-bonding kayo Brie. Kung okay lang sa’yo."

"Opo ti- mommy. I would love to."

Yu-Rhi kissed my head. "I have to prepare my things." He went to his mom too and kissed her forehead. "Take care mom." Tumango lang naman si mommy at ngumiti.

But before he could even disappear from our sights, I stood. "You... you want me to help you?"

I know he's surprised but he smiled anyway and shook his head. "It's fine honey. Just enjoy the foods." 

Tumango nalang ako at umalis na rin siya papunta doon sa isa sa mga kwarto.

"He's really sweet, right?" 

Napatingin ako kay mommy na naghihiwa ng strawberries. "Ahm... pwede niyo po ba akong kwentuhan tungkol sa kanya?" Nahihiya kong tanong at lumapit sa kanya para tulungan siya.

She smiled. "I know you knew so many things about him but I want you to know what kind of brother and son he is. So, I'll tell you stories." She giggled. "You can just eat. I can handle this honey."

I shook my head. "Ahm late po kaming kumain kaya busog pa po ako. At, sabay sabay nalang po tayong kumain mamaya bago umalis si Yu-Rhi."

She nodded with a smile. "I'll tell you stories." She started and put the sliced strawberries into a big bowl. "Noong ipinagbubuntis ko sila, hiwalay kami ng asawa ko for a very bad reason. I didn't know that time that I was pregnant. Zharn was still a baby before. We stayed here, his dad stayed in New York." She sat down and pulled me to sit beside her. "He grew; they grew, without their dad. Nagkakilala lang sila ng four years old na silang triplets. And you know, Yu-Rhi and his dad were never in good terms."

I was stunned. "Bakit po?"

"I don't know. Basta ang alam ko hindi sila magkasundo." She shook her head. "Yu-Rhi grew up as an adventurous guy; a tough one, brave, intelligent, possessive, black sheep." 

We both chuckled. 

"I can see mom." I said.

"Pero ang hindi ko noon matanggap, ay ang lihim na pag-train sa kanya ng daddy ng asawa ko sa pamamahala ng Mafia. He was only ten years old back then. I just knew it when he's already sixteen. And he made something really really bad that forced his dad to send him here." She smiled at me. 

I smiled. "He's still a good man." I can say it... that he is really good to his family.

"Yup. And you wanna know why I named him Yu-Rhi?" She asked so I immediately nodded my head yes. "Triplets sila, I got Tris Aiden's name kay Tristan na pinsan ng asawa ko, Aiden kay Nick mismo. While ZEM, his Zac came from Nick's brother, while his Ethan is supposedly the name of my unborn brother before. And him... I named him Nick Yu-Rhi. It was from his dad and a character from a story. Before, I've read a book; a book about a guy who was named 'Yu-Rhi'. That guy was very intelligent, brave and strong warrior, but still, a very fine man. I loved his character. Because he's still a very sweet, loving and gentle boy..."

"JUST LIKE YU-RHI." We said in chorus and we both laughed at that thought.

So Nick Yu-Rhi Mendoza ang whole name niya.

"Remember this Brie..." she held my hand. "Yu-Rhi only cries seldom of times. He doesn't cry because of physical pain, but because of hurtful words." Her eyes became teary. "He will tell you if he's hurting. He'd rather be punched than to be hurt by words. Did he already cry in front of you?"

"P... po?"

"You're a very lucky and special person to him if you made him cry."

Agad akong nakaramdam ng lungkot at guilt sa sinabi ni mommy. I remembered what I said to him. But then he managed to smile and take good care of me.

"I won't be mad if it's a 'yes'. It only says that he really loves you."