My Untamed Princess

Chapter 42: Broken 2

Cassie woke up the next morning happy, contented and well rested. She got her first dose of joy for the day when she found Will lying beside her with his hands wrapped up around her.

It’s going to be a great day, sabi niya sa sarili bago maingat na bumangon sa kama.

She wants to cook today. She shot a glance at the clock on the bedside table. It was almost past 9 in the morning.

She decided to cook brunch for her and Will. She showered quickly and rummaged Will’s closet for some fresh shirt. Nang makabihis siya, agad siyang lumabas ng master’s bedroom at dumiretso sa kusina.

She cooked sunny side-up, bacon, some sausage and rice. She also prepared some toasts should Will want to eat lighter. She was waiting for the coffee maker to finish prepping when she heard the bedroom door open.

Agad niya itong nilingon. Will was squinting while trying to wear his shirt, which she thinks he removed sometime in the middle of the night. Tantiya niya, mukhang nainitan ito. Not that she’s complaining, pero sino ang hindi maiinitan? He cuddled her so tight last night.

“Princess?” anito sa paos na tinig, singkit pa rin ang mga mata.

“Goodmorning, kapre,” she greeted him in a singsong voice.

Humugong ito pero ngumiti bago naglakad palapit sa kanya. He caressed her cheeks and kissed her hair. “I’ll be back,” bulong nito bago muling pumasok sa kuwarto.

Nagsasalin na siya ng kape sa mga mugs nang muli itong lumabas. He’s wearing a black loungepants and white shirt. Basa ang buhok nito at naamoy na rin niya ang aftershave nito.

“Goodmorning, mangku,” bati agad nito nang makalapit sa kanya.

“Goodmorning, my kapre,” she replied, grinning. Will tsked and shook his head. "What? You're calling me witch too," pagrarason niya.

"That's because you put a spell on me, baby," anito bago umupo stool na nasa kitchen island.

Ibinaba niya ang coffee maker at inilapag sa harap nito ang mug. "So you don’t like being under my spell anymore?" 

Humigop ito ng kape mula sa mug before grinning boyishly. "Gusto ko, siyempre!"

“But you just don’t like me calling you kapre?”

Tumango ito, pumulot ng toast.

She giggled. “No can do Mr. Johnson. My kapre stays. Besides it’s cute.”

Nag-angat ito ng tingin. “Cute lang ako?”

She rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it too early to fish for compliments, Mr. Johnson?”

Will grinned, pinabukol ang dila sa pisngi. “I’m not. Fishing for compliments, I mean. It’s just that I want some distraction from the torture you’re giving me when you wear my shirt like that.” Mabilis nitong hinagod ang kubuoan niya. Bumaba rin ang mga mata niya sa suot niya.

She’s wearing one of Will’s black shirt. Disente naman iyon kaya lang, bakat ang dibdib niya dahil wala siyang bra. Nilabhan pa lang niya.

Nang mag-angat siya ng tingin, kumakain na si Will. 

“What’s wrong with your shirt? They’re comfy.”

Tumango-tango lang ito, patuloy sa pagsubo ng pagkain. “They’re comfy for you but they’re torture for me.” Nanikwas ang nguso niya. Ngumiti naman ito. “C’mon princess, just eat with me.” Tinuro nito ang stool sa tabi nito bago siya kinindatan.

Natawa siya pero agad din tumalima. Ilang saglit pa, they were happily eating brunch together.

“Babalik ako mamayang hapon sa ospital for my proper discharge. Will you come with me?” tanong nito.

“If you want me to, then I’ll go with you,” sagot niya, ginaya ang pakindat nito.

Sandali itong napatitig sa kanya bago marahang pinisil ang ilong niya. “That’s cute. But still a torture.”

She chuckled before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

“Hey, I know I’m irresistible, pero dahan-dahan lang, princess. Baka maubos ako,” reklamo nito kunwari.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re corny.”

“And you’re a tease,” anito bago muling pinisil ang ilong niya.

Gaganti pa sana siya kaya lang, tumunog ang doorbell.

“I’ll take that,” anito bago tumayo at humakbang patungo sa front door. Inabala naman niya ang sarili sa pagkain. Not a minute longer, she felt Will’s arms circling her waist. She felt his hot breath on her neck.

“Goodmorning, princess,” bulong nito bago inilapag sa harap niya ang isang bouquet ng sunflowers.

The sunflowers were arranged beautifully and looked so alive. “They’re beautiful,” she whispered while passing her fingertips on the soft petals of the flowers. She reached for the card and opened it.

For the first day of every mornings with you.

I love you, forever!

-Will

She bit her lower lip as surge of joy filled her heart. Agad niyang hinarap si Will at niyakap.

“You like it?”

Tumango siya at bumitiw dito. She used to have the final words in everything but at that moment, she’s speechless. She was in awe of how the universe had worked to make them together—loving each other with a promise of forever.

“I love you,” he said.  

“I love you too,” she replied just above whisper before giving him another kiss on the lips.

It was just supposed to be a chaste kiss—quick and light. But Will responded on it with hunger… with urgency. She instantly melt in his arms, reeling and wanting.

Will’s hand quickly wandered through her body. Mabilis nitong ipinaloob ang kamay nito sa t-shirt na suot niya at dinama ang katawan niya. The act swiftly threw her out of her reverie.

Gone in her mind the food they were sharing nor the flowers he has given. All that mattered was that moment, the touch of his warm hands—scorching every inch of her skin.

Will found her breast and expertly played with her taut n*****s. She arched her body and moaned with the sensation.

It was delicious. Erotic. She’s almost on the edge of crazy—of wild abandon.

And just when she thought they’d finally give in to what their body wanted, Will’s phone rang once again.

Agad siya nitong binitiwan. They were both catching their breaths. The fire of passion is still evident in Will’s eyes. She, on the other hand, still felt her cheeks heating up.

“I need to get this,” anito bago naglakad palayo.

Naiwan siya sa kitchen island at nagpakalma. Mabilis din niyang inayos ang suot niyang t-shirt na ang laylayan ay naipon na sa kanyang baywang—exposing her black lacy panty.

Agad niyang hinarap ang pagkain niya pagkatapos. Kaya lang, hindi na siya maka-concentrate sa pagkain. All she was thinking was how Will made her feel. How he made all of her tingle and the  undeniable heat coursing through her body.

Bumaba na siya sa stool at dumiretso sa pool. Maybe she needed to cool down. If, between her and Will, she’s the torture, then she must have a clear mind. She needs to be sane. Saner than him.

The water was cold and soothing… relaxing too. She remembered their own Olympic-size swimming pool at home and how she swam there everyday as part of her exercise. She quickly plunged into the water and drowned all the fire she had shared with Will.

Pagdating niya sa dulo ng pool, kumapit siya sa gilid niyon at inilitaw ang kanyang ulo. Nakatingin na pala sa kanya si Will mula sa hammock.

“Who was that?” she asked.

"It was Matthew. Hihintayin daw niya ako hanggang mamayang hapon.”

Napangiti siya. Dr. Matthew and his timing is excellent. She’s quite amazed.

"Of course," mabilis niyang sagot bago muling inilubog ang sarili sa tubig.

She spent the next hour swimming. And Will, he went to his secret unit downstairs perhaps, cooling down like her.

-----

"H’wag mo munang banatin nang husto 'yang braso mo, Will. Let the wound heal properly," bilin ni Matt kay Will habang pinipirmahan ang release papers niya. It was almost 7 in the evening. They would have been there earlier kung hindi sila na-traffic.

"Opo, Yaya," nakangising sagot niya.

Umangat ang tingin ni Matt mula sa papel. "I'm not your Yaya, psycho. I'm a doctor."

Lalo lang siyang ngumisi. "Fine! Thanks, Yaya doctor."

Nalukot na nang tuluyan ang mukha ni Matt. "Kung puwede lang bawiin ang pirma ko sa papel na 'to…" inangat nito ang folder na hawak nito. "Ipapasok kita sa psychiatric ward."

Natawa siya. “If you’d put me there, isasama rin kita at si Dax para damay-damay na."

Pumalatak si Matt, marahang umiling  bago iniabot sa kanya ang folder ng release papers niya. "You and your fried up brain," bulong nito bago tumayo mula sa swivel chair ng opisina nito. "Kaya ayokong mag-girlfriend e, iba ang epekto sa utak," patuloy pa nito  bago tinungo ang pinto.

Magkapanabay silang lumabas ng silid. Naglakad sila patungo sa inokupahan niyang hospital suite.  Iniwan niya kasi si Cassie doon. He doesn’t want Matt teasing him in front of her.

"You’re just saying that because you don’t have time to get laid. Right, psycho doctor?"

Matt chuckled. "So, kayo na nga ni Ms. Echavez?" 

He shrugged casually. "I can't help it. I'm irresistible."

Matt scoffed. "You got laid and still acts like a conceited freakin' virgin. Now I’m sure, your brain is really fried. Kung ayaw mong magpa-check-up, si Cassie na lang siguro kukumbinsihin ko. She seriously needs an eye doctor."

He gave the doctor a light punch in the arm. Gumanti rin ito ng suntok sa ganoon din na paraan. Magsasalita pa sana siya ng biglang tumunog ang cellphone niya. Si Matt ay nagpaalam na mauuna na. Tinanguan lang niya ito bilang pagsang-ayon, bago tuluyang sinagot ang tawag niya.

"Will, nasaa’n kayo ni Cassie?" It was Ivan. His voice seemed off.

"Nasa ospital kami. I just got discharged--"

"There's a bad news," mabilis na putol nito sa kanya.

Nakinig siya nang mabuti sa ibinalita ni Ivan. Fear and worry instantly crept through his chest. Not for him but for Cassie.

He ended the call and ran towards the hospital suite where he had left Cassie.

His heart hitched when he saw her standing in the middle of the room, her hands clutching her chest as she stared at the television showing a news of a plane crash.

"The businessman Ernesto Echavez and his wife Beatriz, were returning to the country after a 2 month-long vacation in the US. Police have yet to determine the cause of the crash."

The news continued to flash pictures of the crash site but Cassie just stood there, watching. Her silence worried him.

"Cassie," tawag niya rito.

Unti-unti itong tumingin sa kanya. Tears were flowing from her eyes. His gut tightened and his chest constricted. He knew that pain. It was the pain of seeing someone you love wounded… broken.

"W-Will... they said… they said D-Daddy and Bea...They are d-dead," she  whispered in agony.

He quickly closed in the distance between them and gave her the right kind of hug she needed. She sobbed and wailed. She even called for her father over and over as if it would bring her father back to life. She spoke of unsaid I love you's and I'm sorry's. She even said sorry to Bea, her stepmother.

Regret. Cassie was drowning in regret. And her cries full of it was the most painful sound he had ever heard in his lifetime.

When she trembled in his arms, he asked her if she wanted to sit down. But she refused.

"P-please… take me out of here, Will,” she pleaded in between sobs.

He obliged without asking. Pauwi na sila sa penthouse nang tumigil ito sa pag-iyak, wala rin itong sinabi na anuman. They ended up at the hammock watching the night sky void of any stars.

He was hugging her while she stares silently at the sky, as if searching for answers.

"Baby, why don't you cry? It will help--"

"I don't want to think," bulong nito.

"Then don't, princess. Don’t think, just cry," aniya bago hinaplos ang pisngi nito.

If he had a way, he’d take the pain away from her.  

"The world is so unfair, Will," she said softly, pain in her voice.

His chest grew heavy.  One time in his life, he had asked that very same question Cassie was asking? 

Did he get an answer? 

No.

He had learned that sometimes, our questions doesn’t need answers. We just need to pick up what’s left of us and move on because that's the course of things. The way the life works. 

 Masuyo niyang ginagap ang kamay ni Cassie at marahan iyong pinisil.

"The world breaks everyone, Cassie. It spares no one."

Bumaling ito sa kanya, agad na tumulo ang luha, "But why did it never stop breaking me? It kept on breaking me over and over, Will. Over and over," anito bago tuluyang humagulgol.

Once again, he gathered her into his arms and let her cry once again. Though he wanted to do more, he knew that's the best thing  he could do for her for now, is just his presence and comfort.

"I-I'm... so scared," she confessed in between sobs.

The way she spoke made his gut tightened. She keeps on talking about her fears like some kind of a devil was after her.

Bahagya siyang kumalas sa pagkakayakap dito at pinakatitigan ang babaeng pinakamamahal niya. She may look weak and fragile but she is resilient. He knew, his Cassie will never stay broken. He knew, she will get through this with him.

 He cupped her face and wiped her tears away with his fingers before pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Don't be afraid, princess. I am her with you. We’ll get through this together," seryosong sabi niya.

Cassie sobbed and buried her face once more on his chest. Humigpit din ang yakap nito sa kanya. Hinayaan niya.

“Please don’t leave me,” she pleaded.

He caressed her hair and hugged her tigther. “I won’t, princess. I won’t.”

He knew in his heart it was more than a statement.

It's a promise.

A promise he intended to keep, no matter the cost.