Second Shot Of Love (Filipino)

One

“Raj!” Masaya kong sinalubong si Rajiv na ilang araw ding hindi nakauwi dahil sa pag-aasikaso sa kanyang trabaho. “How is your day?” Agad kong pinulupot ang braso ko sa kanyang baywang.

“Tiring.” He kissed my forehead. “What about you? Still haven’t finished with the preparation for our wedding?”

It has been months since we graduated from college. And the same day of our graduation ceremony, Raj proposed to me and of course, I immediately said yes.

Raj has already started full-time with his job while I am busy preparing for our wedding. He said that even though we were getting married, he would definitely support me if I decided to pursue a career. And I can take all the time I need to figure out what I really want to pursue.

Bumuntong hininga ako. “Well, things are not really going great.” Kumalas ako ng yakap sa kanya at hinila ko siya papunta sa dining area kung saan nakahain na ang dinner namin. “Mom said that we shouldn’t do a simple wedding. Baka daw kasi kapag hindi naimbitahan ang buong angkan namin ay magtampo ang mga iyon kaya nape-pressure ako.”

“I can understand them, babe,” he said. “You are one of the princesses of this country. You deserve to have a grand wedding. Kaya nga hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ba simpleng ceremony lang ang gusto mo. I told you, I can afford the grand one, right?”

“Raj, this is not about the money,” I explained. “Our wedding is something that should be about me. About us. So I want to make sure that things will be focused on what we want, rather than what our guest wants.”

“And you want a simple one because?”

“It is easy to prepare and I am sure that the attention of our guests will only focus on us.” Muli akong bumuntong hininga.

Actually, it doesn’t really matter if we have a simple or grand wedding. As long as I get married to the man that I love since it is all about that.

The vow that we are going to make on that day will be the start of our journey together as husband and wife.

“You know your parents, babe.” He kissed my cheeks. “It is better to give them what they want rather than pissed them off that might ruin what you prepared.”

I sighed again. “I know.”

I guess I don’t really have any choice.

“If you need help with the preparation, I could call someone.” He showed me his phone. “I don’t want you to stress yourself because of this.”

“Well, hindi ko na tatanggihan iyan,” sabi ko. “Hindi ko kakayanin ang pag-aasikaso ng isang engrandeng wedding nang ako lang mag-isa.”

Mas mabuti na iyong humingi ng tulong.

“Let’s eat first.”

Miracle Ryedale Azaria. No one in the country didn’t know my name.

Well, isa lang naman ako sa prinsesa ng bansang ito at ikalawa sa linya na posibleng magmana ng trono bilang pinuno.

At dahil sa katayuan kong iyon, at bilang unang babaeng anak ng hari at reyna, naging mahigpit ang pagpapalaki nila sa akin.

Hindi nila ako hinahayaan na basta na lamang makisalamuha sa ibang tao, lalo na sa mga may mababang katungkulan. In short, they isolated me in fear that something might happen to me.

Pero nang tumungtong ako ng highschool, nagmakaawa ako sa kanila na hayaan akong mag-aral sa isang normal na school. Nangako akong gagawin ang lahat upang hindi mapahamak at susunod sa lahat ng rules na ibibigay nila, basta hayaan lang nila akong makisalamuha sa iba.

Mom hesitated to agree because she was worried. Dad completely ignored my plea.

But when I assured my mother that I would be fine and told her to trust me, she took my side and helped me convince my father.

And I succeeded.

I went to a private school and that is where I met Rajiv.

Wala namang kakaiba sa kanya maliban sa pagiging matalino at gwapo.

Pero hindi naman siya ganoon ka-famous sa school noon.

Well, marami din ang nagkakagusto sa kanya but they never dare to approached him because he has this dangerous aura around him. He is not an approachable one because he rarely smiles. Nakikita ko nga lang siyang ngumingiti noon sa harap ng mga taong malalapit sa kanya.

Ako lang yata ang naglakas ng loob na kausapin siya ng mga panahong iyon.

Not that I am attracted to him but because I know him. I know that he is part of a mafia operating here in the Hexoria Kingdom.

At first, I just wanted to make sure that I would not get in trouble because someone like him attended the same school as I did. I valued my freedom and the last thing I want is for my family to learn that someone dangerous is also there.

As the day passed, I slowly realized that each of our interactions that I initiated made me know him better and fall in love with him.

And his identity doesn’t really matter.

I loved him just the way he is.

Good thing, we felt the same way with each other. And I know that what he feels for me is real because he doesn’t really know who I am.

I pretended to be some poor woman who only got a scholarship. That is why I managed to get into a private school.

So, I know that he also fell in love with me, not because I am the princess of this country.

He later learned that and almost fell us apart because he was afraid that I might use him against the people he worked for but I assure him that I don’t care all about that.

I want him and I don’t care even if he is part of the mafia.

“Ilan ba sa panig mo ang iimbitahan mo sa kasal?” I asked as I washed the dishes.

Nakaupo siya sa counter habang nagta-tsaa. “Mom and Dad confirmed that they will be here a month before our wedding. Nagdadalawang-isip si Khenny dahil sa pamilya mo habang willing naman si Jyn pero depende pa din iyon sayo.”

Tumangu-tango ako. “Well, walang problema sa akin kung imbitahin mo ang mga kaibigan mo.” Bumaling ako sa kanya. “Though, we should choose a neutral land for our venue so my family would not do anything against your group.”

“Do we have something like that in this country?”

“The Liechtenstein Embassy,” I said. “My family cannot do anything in that land, as well as the Jyn Clan. But they will protect you since you are part of their royalty.”

Yeah, Rajiv Fleisko is part of the royal family of that small country. His mother is the sister of their king but he refused to take his privilege as the prince and decided to live here.

“Do you think you can talk to someone so we could hold our wedding in their land?”

Napakamot siya ng ulo. “I am not really sure if that is a good idea,” aniya. “If we held our wedding there, Uncle would surely hear about that and probably attend.”

I chuckled. “Then, our wedding will be filled with members of three royal families.”

Siguradong puno ng tensyon ang buong venue kapag nangyari iyon.

Tinapos ko ang paghuhugas ng pinggan pagkuwa’y tumayo sa harap niya. “Please do something about that, Raj,” I said. “I want to make sure that everything will be okay in our wedding. Ayaw kong gamitin ng pamilya ko ang pinakaimportanteng event sa buhay ko para lang gumawa ng eksena laban sa grupo mo.”

Bakas ang pagdadalawang-isip niya ngunit sa huli ay bumuntong hininga na lamang siya pagkuwa’y tumango. “Okay. We will hold our wedding there.” He took his phone and immediately typed a message to someone. “Pumunta ka na doon para makapili ka sa mga facility nila kung saan mo gustong ganapin ang kasal.”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. “Bukas agad?”

Tumango siya at bumaling sa akin. “The sooner, the better, right?” aniya. “Then, susunod ako doon before lunch kasama ang mga organizer para mapabilis na natin ang paghahanda.”

Kumunot ang noo ko. “Sasamahan mo ako?”

Muli siyang tumango. “I already talked to Jyn about my leave. Gusto kong mag-focus tayo sa paghahanda dito dahil alam kong nape-pressure ka na din,” aniya. “Isa pa, ngayong ipapaalam natin kina Uncle ang tungkol dito, lalo kang mahihirapan kung hahayaan kitang mag-ayos na mag-isa.”

“But—” Napakamot ako ng ulo. “Hindi ba’t nasa kritikal na sitwasyon ngayon ang Rioghail? Kailangan ka ni Jyn doon.”

“Mas kakailanganin mo ako dito, babe.” Pinulupot niya ang braso sa bewang ko. “Hindi din naman ako makakatulong sa kanila kapag ganitong nag-aalala ako sayo. So, let’s focus here first. Tsaka na ako babawi kay Jyn.”

Sa sobrang saya ko ay agad kong hinawakan ang magkabilang pisngi niya pagkuwa’y hinalikan ang kanyang labi. “Thank you.”

“No, babe,” he said. “Thank you.” And we continued sharing our kisses.