Wrath's Sin

IV

Chapter 4

Realizations

“W-wrath…” her lips trembled and she could only utter that name in her head when he finally reached their spot.

“Mukhang hindi makapaghintay ‘yang si Arvin,” inis na sabi naman ni April kay Wrath dahilan upang mapatawa ito nang mahina.

Kara on the other hand is just staring at him like she saw a ghost.

“Your medical watch is beeping…”

Natauhan si Kara nang mabaling ang atensyon ni Wrath sa kanya sabay tingin siya sa kanyang medical watch na lagi niyang suot. This monitors her blood pressure and her heart rate. It beeps when it passed the normal limit.

“Are you okay?” muling tanong ni Wrath kaya agad na napatango siya. April worriedly stared at Kara who just turned pale and tensed.

“Y-Yeah…I should go—”

“Oo nga pala, sakto. I am about to refer you to Wrath because he’s a cardiologist.”

Napaawang ang bibig ni Kara nang mapatingin siya kay April.

“Baka naman puwede siyang mag-book ng checkup sa ‘yo, Wrath? I think she needs to have a heart checkup regularly…”

“N-no…I’m good,” nanghina ang boses na pinakawalan naman ni Kara.

“You can come to my clinic anytime. No need booking,” napangiti lang naman si Wrath at saka umatras ito. He turned around and walked away which gave her the benefit of relieving herself.

Paanong ang taong naging dahilan ng pagkasira ng kanyang buhay ay nakita na naman niya ngayon? It has been years and everything came back in an instant.

Samantala habang abala sa pagmasid si Wrath sa mga nageensayo ay bigla naman tumunog ang kanyang cellphone. It is a call from his Nanny.

Lumayo nang bahagya si Wrath upang sagutin ang tawag.

“Sir Wrath…”

“What happened?”

“Si Adara po kasi, hindi raw po siya papasok sa school ngayong araw dahil hinihika po ulit siya.”

“Hmmm. I won’t be home until the next day. I will call her doctor…”

Agad na tinawagan ni Wrath ang kaibigan niyang si Andrei na ang pedia ni Adara.

The real reason why Wrath is restricting Adara to be friends with other kids is to avoid her from getting tired. May hika si Adara bata pa lamang. Wrath had to take her to the hospital every month before and it takes a long time for her to heal hanggang sa nalaman nilang sakit na niya talaga ang hika. Aside from that, Adara grew up with a weak heart.

When Adara came to Wrath’s life, he has no idea about being a parent and that was the least thing he wanted to have on that time.

But since it is the p*****t of his sins, he started accepting it as the burden of his life forever.

Wrath couldn’t establish a father and daughter relationship and he wanted it to remain like that. He just wants Adara to see him as a sponsor or the one who sustain her daily living.

He didn’t want to acknowledge that he is a single father.

***

PASULYAP-SULYAP SI April kay Kara sa kanyang tabi na parang kanina pa siya hindi mapakali. She looks beautifull and all but the worriedness on her face can’t be hidden. Kanina pa niya napapansin ito.

“Hey, you sure you’re alright?” inabot ni April ang kamay nitong nakapatong sa armrest

“I’m just excited for you,” she softly said but April could sense the uneasiness on her voice aside from her facial expression. She should know the best when Kara isn’t alright.

“Parang may nakikitang multo na hindi ko nakikita…” napakunot-noo naman si April at sinubukan paaminin ito ngunit umiling lang siya.

“Wala ako rito para sa theraphy…” she forced a smile that concluded April’s doubt.

April and Arvin has been waiting for this day. Kaya naman habang naglalakas si April ay hindi niya mapigilang mapaluha habang tinatanaw si Arvin sa harapan at lalo nang palapit na siya.

Love isn’t always certain. It is the person that removes all the doubts.

            Samantala habang nasa kalagitnaan ­­­ng ceremony ay hindi mapigilan ni Kara ang mapasulyap sa gawi ni Wrath dahil hindi niya alam kung guni-guni lang ba talaga niya iyon o talagang tumitingin si Wrath sa kanya. Magkahiwalay ang upuan ng mga babae at lalaki at magkatapat ang upuan nilang dalawa.

            Sa muling pagtingin ni Kara sa gawi ni Wrath at nahuli na niya itong tumitingin sa kanya dahilan upang manlaki ang kanyang mga mata. Parang gusto na niyang umalis o tumakbo palayo ngunit ano na lamang ang sasabihin ni April sa kanya?

            April might be her therapist and a good friend but she isn’t aware of her secrets. She’s just aware that she is having panic attacks and have a painful past. Although April is the only friend she trusts for the past year, she can’t say that the man behind her tragic past is her husband’s friend.

            Even when the celebration came at the venue after the wedding, Kara always seeks a spot that is far away from Wrath. But he’s quite popular among single woman on April’s family side.

            Kara knows how Wrath is popular back in the day and perhaps that didn’t change. He’s handsome, gentle and a successful man. Every woman would want to slip under his blanket which she didn’t felt before.

            Despite not having an interest in him which greatly pushed Wrath to commit his sins to her, she did appreciate that fact that he’s a man of seduction.

            Hindi namalayan ni Kara na matagal na siyang nakatingin kay Wrath hanggang sa nahuli niya ang mag tingin nito sa kanya. Nataranta siyang nilapag ang inumin sa lamesa at naglakad palayo ngunit nakita niya sa gilid ng kanyang mga mata na sumunod si Wrath sa kanya.

            Her heart started beating rapidly and lost focus on where to go until she was able to walk away from the party. She started having cold sweats and her breath starts to shorten.

            “Hey, stop. No one knows the woods well…”

            Umalingawngaw naman ang boses ni Wrath na parang kumabog sa kanyang dibdib dahilan upang mapahinto siya sa paglalakad.

            “If you go deeper, you’ll be lost…”

            She didn’t want to move nor turn around but she’s feeling Wrath cold as ghost’s presence behind her.

            “…and your anxiety is severe.” Wrath gasped when she was able to turn around.

            “You’re the woman I treated at the plane, right? Or maybe you won’t remember be because you were unconscious…”

            Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kara sa sinabi nito. She remembered how she faint back in the plane and to have Wrath be the one to treat her is never expected. Kung gano’n pala ay doon palang nagtagpo na muli ang landas nila.

            “I won’t ask a fee for this but my diagnosis is your anxiety is hurting your heart. You have cold sweats, your face is turning pale, you’re breathing roughly and you’ll feel dizzy any time from now…”

            Napakurap-kurap si Kara nang bigla nga siya nakaramdam ng hilo at kamuntikan nang ma-out balance ngunit maagap na hinawakan ni Wrath ang kanyang braso na lalong naging dahilan nang kaba niya’t kaya napaatras siya agad at wala sa isip na marahang kumalas sa kanya.

            “You need help, don’t hesitate to ask,” he turned around as he walks away from her.

            Parang nabunutan ng malaking tinik sa dibdib si Kara nang maglakad si Wrath palayo sa kanya.

            Nangilid ang kanyang mga luha at parang may gustong kumawala sa kanyang dibdib.

***

            “EASY with the beer, Doc…” napatingin si Wrath kay Arvin na tumabi sa kanya habang umiinom ng beer dito sa isang bangka na nakaparada malapit sa dagat.

            “You should go back there, it’s your night…” napasulyap naman si Wrath sa venue na maingay pa rin hanggang ngayon.

            “I will, after I sit here…”

            “Parang may gusto kang pag-usapan? Huwag mong sabihin nagsisi?” tila hindi naman mapakali si Wrath habang nakatingin kay Arvin.

            “No. I don’t,” she chuckled in assurance. “It’s you that we are going to talk about…”

            “Me?” Wrath scoffs as he pointed his finger to him.

            “Lagi kang nakikinig sa akin p’re tuwing may problema ako. My wife is a counselor but there are things I couldn’t say to her.”

            “Sometimes you need another man to help you with problems,” may halong biro naman ang boses ni Wrath.

            “You have been uneasy, seems like you’re having a problem.”

            “I do have a lot of problems aside from my family’s chaos,” maagap na sabi naman ni Wrath sabay napatingin sa dagat na malawak.

            “Like having a kid…”

            Wrath could only scoff when Arvin said that. Although he wasn’t that shock to say it because he’s seen Adara a couple of times.

            “The kid who is sitting at the back of your car when we met across the hospital’s café. It’s yours, right?”

            “Her mom left her in my doorstep when she was a baby,” he gasped in reminisced of the past.

            “It was raining very hard when I heard a baby’s cry outside. Pagbukas ko ng pinto, may bata sa harapan ng pintuan ko, nakabalot sa makakapal na kumot.”

            “Oh god, how did you even contemplate that,” napapailing na lamang si Arvin.

            “I took the baby with the thought that it’s mine…” napayuko si Wrath at hindi ipinagpatuloy ay dugtong ng sasabihin sana niya. He can’t tell that he recognized that the baby is the outcome of his sins.

            “It’s a baby, Wrath. How can you not take it?”

            “So, may balak ka bang hanapin ang nanay ng bata?”

            “I didn’t find the mother because it is already implied that she left the baby to me as…you know, sort of the price of my sin to her,” napatayo si Wrath sabay napakibit-balikat ito.

            “So wherever the mother is, she can stay far away from us…”

***