Ms. Writer and the Billionaire Playboy

Chapter 3

ONE WEEK EARLIER

     Nothing stays in this world, everything is temporary, so hold on to nothing, but promise yourself to experience all the best of everything.

     That was Matt’s quote, something he framed somewhere in his room. That was the quote he saw when he returned home, fresh from his check-up. He can recall every word in the clinic. Every word of it.

     "Stage 4, Stage 4 Colon Cancer, final diagnosis.” Dr. Teofilo Zamora, who happens to be his uncle at the same time, uttered more terminologies pero hindi na niya naintindihan dahil naka-pukos ang isip niya sa sunod na gagawin niya.

      He needs to call Limuel, his secretary, to make a proper schedule this coming week.

     Napabuga na lang siya ng hangin, "Well..." 

     "We will do our best Matt, may mga pasyente na naka ka-recover pa rin-"

     Matt thought that the only place he can't be the famous Matt Vallejo is within the confines of this room. Inside this white-washed clinic he is just nothing but a mere human anatomy with a defect so suddenly worst it can land him in a funeral after a few months. This is his realization.

     "I'll think about it," sabi niya lang at tumayo na. 

     "This is serious, Matt," aniya ng tiyo niya.

     "You know very well that this is the same disease that took away my father," aniya. His dad died of this same cancer, eight years ago. His mother was very heartbroken that time, maging ito ay na-ospital rin ng saglit dahil hindi na halos ito kumakain.

     Noong mga panahong iyon ay nakipag-break rin ang ilang taon na niyang girlfriend at engaged to be married n asana sila ngunit nabuntis ito ng ibang lalaki. Hoover and Gideon, his younger siblings, didn’t know what to do, and as the eldest, Matthew has to take over.

     He has to stand for all of them. All hell went into me those times. The only thing that made him strong was himself. Sarili niya, nothing else. 

     Nang kamuntik ng imbarguhin ang kompanya ng daddy nila ng tiyo niya na nag-iisang kapatid na ama niya - because the company was covered in debt - he made a stance, he made a promise. He fought for it to rise from its debt. He fought so hard.

     If he had to stay in the office until two a.m after midnight everyday of his f*cking life and work like a horse, he have to, para maibalik lang ang tanging naihabilin ng ama nila sa kanila. He has to prove to the board na karapat-dapat siya at hindi ang tiyo niya. Lalo na’t sa panahong iyon ay pinapaaral pa nila si kolehiyo si Hoover at si Gideon, he has to make the company alive.

     And within those eight years, Matthew managed along the way to bring the company to the top. So he doesn’t think it’s rude to sometimes reward himself by women who effortlessly stringed along with him in his journey. Bedding a beautiful woman was an appetizer and also a stress relief for him after long tedious hours of weeks and days of work.

     But those women expected something more, something that he can’t give and that is commitment. And when a man can’t give, even though he never promised and forewarned them of what exactly they would get, he gets tagged as the ‘billionaire playboy’. Media picked up on it, and now that is his nametag in the society.

     No wonder, it became then an enthralling challenge, to all the eligible ladies, to tie him down. But no one can, and maybe no one is meant to be. He is dying anyway.

     “P-please,” lingon niya bago mapalabas sa clinic, “don’t tell my mom. I know you’re his brother, but I want this to be private.” Ayaw niyang mangyari ulit sa ina niya ang nangyari noon, ayaw niyang malugmok ito sa kalungkutan.

     Napatango lang ang tiyo. “Maaasahan mo hijo. Kung gusto mo, bumalik ka ulit sa akin. Mag-usap tayo sa mga plano mo sa buhay?”

     Napatikhim siya. “What do you think a man with a cancer now will plan of?”

     And so that night, he thought deep and hard what he would do.

MATT’S OFFICE – INTERVIEW DAY

     NAPAPITOK ANG MATA ni Chelsie. Totoo ba talaga ang narinig niya? Tanggap na siya?

     “T-talaga po?” himig niya. Binalik tanaw niya ang naging pag-uusap nila ni Matt kanina.

     “You are right, in my story, I can choose to present my version of story.” Napatango-tango ito.

     “May iba din po na yung proceeds ng benta ng libro nila, minsan ay binibigay nila sa charity or organization na gusto nilang pagbigyan,” suhestiyon niya. “Lastly, sa biography niyo, makikilala kayo ng mga tao, yung totoong kayo.”

     “Alam mo ba ang gusto kong gawin sa free time ko?”

     “Ano iyon, sir?” ani Chelsie.

     “Just cut the sir, just call me Matt.”

     Naghunos-dili pa siya ngunit napatikhim na rin siya at napalabi, “Okay, Matt.”

     And then she saw that smile of him, that single smile that could make any woman understand while many would fall in his charm. She has to be cautious.

     Si Chelsie ay no boyfriend since birth, may mga iilan naman siyang manliligaw noong high school at kolehiyo kung saan Journalism ang kinuha niyang kurso. Siguro ay pihikan lang siya o mataas lang ba talaga ang standards niya sa mga lalaki, o di kaya’y ang standard niya ay sa klase rin ng storya og pag-ibig?

     Hindi siya sigurado ngunit ang sigurado niya ay ang hinahanap niya ay ibang klase ng pag-ibig, kung saan puro at hindi makamundo. She was looking for an everlasting love, something that transcends the physical and should speak to her mind and soul. So she was so careful to say yes to any guy, karamihan naman kasi ay mga fuckboy o di kaya’y di maganda ang history ng mga manliligaw niya noon.

     May manliligaw siya noon na dinedma niya na isang sikat na TV anchor na ngayon. Hindi naman siya nagsisisi sa lahat ng choices niya, ngunit minsan ay naiisip rin niya kung sino ba talaga ang para sa kaniya? May itinalaga ba talaga na para sa kaniya…sometimes she would speak to her pet parrot, Indigo, and she would tell the parrot about her worries.

     After niyang grumadweyt noon sa kurso niya ay na-absorb siya ng isang media company para maging field researcher at writer sa isang documentary segment, kaya lang dahil sa hika niya, ay hindi rin siya nagtagal sa trabaho. Parati kasi silang dapat mag hiking makapaghanap lang ng kuwento.

     Ang best friend niyang si Suzy, na nagsisimula sa larangan ng nobela noon ang nagrekomenda sa kaniya sa editor nito. And guess what they say, the rest is history. May tatlong taon na rin siyang nagsusulat ng mga nobela at short stories para sa publishing company niya. And ever since then, she has mastered the solitary life.