Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin

Chapter 10

Nagising ako sa kalabog at tumayo ako ng marinig namin na nagtatalo ang dalawang kapatid ko.

"Kuya, hintayin muna natin magising si ate Odelia kahit prince ka ng London at nag-worry ka kay Odessa at Ophelia kailangan niya malaman ang nangyari sa kapatid nyo na pinsan ko rin.." wika ni Aisha natahimik naman sila at lumingon sila ng ibagsak ko ang isang bagay sa tabi ko.

"Ate," sabay nilang tawag sa akin tinignan ko pa sila ng sabay.

Lumapit sila at tumayo naman ako sa hinihigaan ko.

"Anong nangyari sa kanila?" tanong ko nakatulog na ako kagabi kaya hindi ko na alam ang nangyari.

"Pinakulong ng magulang nang asawa ni Ophelia ang kapatid natin umangal syempre sila lalo na si Odessa, ate ako na lang pupunta sa Japan samahan nyo na lang si Michelle sa importanteng lakad namin dito tinawagan nila si tito Kennie at papunta na rin daw doon mukhang may connection sila sa underground world.." wika ng kapatid ko sa akin.

"..."

"Kakausapin ko sila thru messenger, facetime o viber ang mga hukom ikaw na lang ang pumunta abisuhan mo ako reyna pa rin ako sa underground world, Mencius." seryoso kong sambit sa kapatid ko at tumango ito sa akin alam niya na hindi ako nagbibiro kapag usaping underground world.

Si Odessa, kahit nakatira na sa Japan siya pa rin ang namamahala sa negosyong naiwan ng grandparents namin.

Silang dalawa ni Ophelia, namamahala doon at si Ashley naman ang namamahala sa negosyo ni tito Chie na dapat maiiwan kay Aisha at Ash dahil ayaw ni Ashley pamahalaan ang business ni tito Chie dahil hindi niya kaya may natatandaan siya sa pagkamatay ni tito Chie at tita Jia wala lang siyang choice dahil, mga bata pa ang pinsan niya para humawak ng ganitong business.

"Shi de, ate—queen..." wika ng kapatid ko sa akin at yumukod sa akin inakbayan ko na lang ito sa balikat.

(Yes)

"Ni pa wo, xiongdi, wo bu hui da ni, youqi shi wo bu hui baofu ni Mama dui wo fumu suo zuo de shi, women shi xiongdi jiemei, yinwei women you tong yige fuqin, wo liaojie ni." sambit ko sa kapatid ko tinabihan siya ng asawa niya na kapatid ko naman sa ina.

(You're afraid of me, bro, I won't punch you and especially I won't retaliate for what your mommy did to my parents, we're siblings because we have the same father, I know you.)

Lumabas na kaming lahat sa malaking kwarto. Inutusan ng pinsan ko ang kasambahay namin na handaan kami ng brunch.

Bukas na lang aalis ang kapatid ko nang makausap namin si tito Kennie sa video call nandoon na ito sa Japan para makipag-usap sa pamilya ng side nang asawa ni Ophelia.

"Ni jiejie gangcai keshi kuaiyao qi zhale, xinghao ao de sa anfule ta, erqie wo lai zhao ao fei li ya zhangfu de jiaren tanhua, ao de sa de zhangfu ye hen danxin tamen, yinwei ta renshi ta de qizi he xiaoyizi." wika ni tito Kennie sa video at kasama niya ang dalawang kapatid namin.

(Your sister was about to explode with anger earlier, it's good that Odessa calms her down, and I came to talk to Ophelia's husband's family, Odessa's husband is also worried about them because he knows his wife and his sister-in-law.)

Tinanong namin kung nasaan sila ngayon dahil wala sila sa bahay nila.

"Women xianzai zai jiudian, women de zhangfu he haizi ye he women zai yiqi, mingtian women zai tan, wo bu hui yunxu wo de zhangfu gei ta de jiaren dai lai mafan." seryosong wika ng kapatid ko sa amin gagamitin nila ang connection namin para makawala sa toxic family ang asawa niya.

(We are here at the hotel, and our husband and our children are with us, tomorrow we will talk again I will not allow my husband to be a disadvantage to his family.)

"Grabe sila! Gahaman sa mana ng magulang nila, ate may sarili na silang ari-arian kukunin pa nila ang mana na binigay ng magulang kay bayaw nakumpara ko tuloy 'yong sa atin walang ganito sa pamilya natin hindi nga nagkaroon ng argumento sa both side ng lolo at lola natin eh... ang yaman at lahat ng ari-arian nina lolo at lola napunta kay tito Kennie dahil sa kanya binigay ni tito Chie ang lahat hindi nga pumayag sina lolo at lola that time..." sambit ni Odessa sa amin.

"Dahil may sarili nang ari-arian si kuya Chie ayaw niya tanggapin ang kalahati ng mana na binibigay ng magulang namin kaya napunta sa amin ni ate Mitch ang mana niya nung namatay naman sila sa akin napunta lahat pati ang business nila sa akin may karapatan kayo sa lahat." wika ni tito Kennie sa amin natahimik kaming lahat.

Napunta sa akin ang pamamahala ng underground world at negosyo nina lolo at lola sa father side kung hindi sana namatay kaagad sina kuya Ash at ate Jinchi sa kanila ibibigay ang pamamahala ng underground world may nalalaman si Ashley pero, hindi niya kayang pamahalaan ng sabay ang business at ang underground world sa akin niya ito pinasa.

"Sa anak nyo at kay tita mo binigay ang mana, tito...lalo na 'yong mana nina ate Ashley, Ash at Aisha dahil apo sila ni tito Chie." sabat ko naman sa kanya at nabaling naman ang tingin nila sa akin.

"Hindi, Odelia naka-ayos na ang na ang last will and statement ko kung sakali mamatay ako, saka, pinaliwanag ko na sa pamilya ko ang maiiwan sa kanilang mana at may sarili rin akong negosyo at iba sa kanila naman mapupunta ang mga 'yon." sambit ni tito Kennie tumingin pa siya kay Aisha katabi ni Michelle ang pamangkin namin.

Hindi sumabat ang pamangkin ko kahit naiintindihan niya ang pinag-uusapan namin mukha man siyang young adult may pagka-isip bata pa rin siya dahil sa edad niya minsan. Matured na siya kung mag-isip kapag seryosong usapan na ang topic ng buong pamilya.

"Dashu ni mei si a, ni zheyang gen women shuohua, shi bushi nali fashengle shenme bu hao de shiqing a?" aniko naman naalala ko tuloy si Kech nakatira na ito sa China at siya ang pamamahala sa underground doon.

(You haven't died, Uncle, you're talking to us like that, did something bad happen there?)

Umuuwi ito sa Pilipinas kapag may kailangan gawin ito hindi naman sa ayaw niyang manirahan sa Pilipinas namiss ni Kech sina tita Jia at tito Chie nandito siya bumabalik ang trauma at depression niya noon.

"Tito, nalaman na ba ito ni Kech?" tanong ko sa tito ko.

"Kasama ko siyang magpunta dito sa Japan kaya sabi ko sa inyo na bukas magpunta si Mencius dahil kami ang makikipag-usap sa pamilya ng asawa ni Ophelia kung pwede lang na hindi ka pumunta, Mencius kaso, kailangan ka namin dahil pagkatapos nito aalis kaagad kami ng Japan para bumalik sa Pilipinas." wika ni tito Kennie sa amin.

"Saan ba kayo galing, tito?" tanong ni Michelle sa tito Kennie namin.

"Sa China, Mich nagkita kami doon sa mansyon magkapitbahay lang naman tayo doon halos...at may ginawa ako doon saka, nasa business industry kaming dalawa magkikita at magkikita talaga kaming dalawa maliban pa sa hawak ng pinsan nyo ang underground world." wika ni tito Kennie nagkaroon ng lamat ang magandang relasyon nilang mag-tito hindi ko alam ang dahilan dahil hindi nila kine-kwento ng kusa sa amin.

Mula noon, kapag nagkikita sila parehas sila bad mood ang tanda na nila!

"Himala? Nagka-ayos na ba kayo, tito?" tanong ni Aisha sa kanya.

"Hindi naman kami nagkaroon ng hindi pagkaka-unawaan o nagtalo kami ng tito mo, Ai hindi lang kami nagkasundo sa isang bagay." wika ni tito Kennie sa amin.

Narinig namin ang boses ng pinag-uusapan namin kaya tumahimik na lang kami bago tumabi sa kapatid ko.

—

After a few days, my wife returned to a good mood, but she still couldn't forget Odelia and her niece.

"Princess, these are the people you asked me to investigate," began a long-serving member of our family and the government.

"What did you find out about their background?" my wife asked in front of us, we were in the hall of the palace her father left so he didn't see who we were talking to.

He looked at us from left to right and I was surprised at what he did.

"What??" Ysa said and notice him.

"They are not ordinary citizens, princess, they are your equals." he said.

"What do you mean?" Ysa asked.

"Odelia Swellden is the eldest daughter of the famous business tycoon Jeree Li, and her aunt is Jia Li Swellden, a businesswoman tycoon of the Philippines...her uncle is Mr. Kenchie "Chie" Swellden...they one of the richest families in America and China except the Philippines." he said.

I couldn't believe what he told us, I turned my gaze to my wife.

"Continue.." Ysa said.

"Her mother is the well-known doctor and nurse of America, Mitchelle Swellden, it is still a mystery to those who know them how she died before because suddenly the news spread on the internet or social media." he said.

Mysterious death?

"Mysterious death? Weh?" Ysa said.

"One of our police stations investigated the death of Mrs. Li, her parents and in-laws just stopped it because they already know who did her death, they just don't want the news to spread about it because the paparazzi won't stop them asking about Mrs. Li's case, which is really normal because, she is famous and all they want is to give privacy to Mrs. Li's family. Mitchelle Swellden Li at the time they were mourning her death." he answered anyway, she didn't come back, she was busy with his family.

"Odelia Swellden manages their business here and in the Philippines there is another organization that she manages with her cousin Kech Ken Swellden, they are rich and can buy or anywhere they can go...they have a mansion in Los Angeles, San Francisco, California...in Beijing, Shanghai, in Manila." he said.

The mysterious death of Odelia's mother is not mentioned.

Is that why she looked different when we met?

"They are good at fighting and good at self-defense," my wife mentioned of them.

"Because of the world they and their family live in it is not possible for them to learn the ability to fight and fight against their enemy in their family, prince Mencius is her brother on her father's side and princess Michelle is her sister on her mother's side." he told us that she looked at the folder the man gave her earlier that she hadn't opened earlier.

I saw that he drank the water he asked our maid before he spoke in front of us.

"Her family was complicated then so it was difficult to say this in front of you two, it was difficult to be an opponent and an enemy like her and her family." he specified and my wife raised her voice to him.

"Her family is God to be feared?" Ysa said.

He stood up and turned to leave the palace while he spoke to us.

"No, because they are not kind when you retaliate against them for no reason." he said, he left and we both opened the folder he gave us.

Gangster? Mafia?

Binitawan ng asawa ko ang folder at nilamukos ito ng matindi bago punitin ang folder.