Enticing Series 1 (Part 2): Here Comes The Nightmare

Chapter 16

Asper Reign’s POV

Napailing na lang ako nang basagin ni Jyn ang cellphone na nasa harap niya kaya naputol ang tawag namin kay Cassandra.

Well, hindi ko siya masisisi dahil wala talagang clue na nagtuturo na magkasintahan ang isa sa mga pinagkakatiwalaan niyang kaibigan at ang nakatatanda niyang kapatid.

But breaking the only phone I have since I got here is a bit extreme.

At mukhang na-realize niya iyon dahil agad siyang natigilan pagkuwa’y tumingin sa akin. “S-sorry?”

“Don’t mind it,” I said. “Let’s continue this chat in the conference room.” Tumayo ako at hinila si Jyn palabas ng dining.

At hindi ko na kinailangan pang sabihin sina Azure at Lair. Kusa na silang sumunod sa amin kaya nang makarating kami sa conference room ay muli kong tinawagan si Cassandra.

“What happened, bro?” kunot-noo na tanong ni Cassandra pagkasagot niya ng tawag ko. “Bakit naputol ang tawag?”

“Cee broke the phone that I am using.” Bumaling ako kay Jyn. “Please don’t break anything here, okay?”

He nodded and looked at the screen where his sister’s face flashed. “Explain, Andry. When did you start dating? At bakit hindi ka man lang nagsabi sa akin?”

“I once told you that I am not interested in romantic relationships, right?” Cassandra said. “It is not good for my job and I haven’t met someone that will make me consider having a relationship.”

“Yeah,” Jyn said. “I remember that.”

“All of that changed when you invited your friends to Cassiah’s sixteenth birthday,” she added. “I think it was love at first sight so I tried to approach him but he was too scared of you. He kept his distance from me to honor his promise to you.”

“Dahil gusto ka din niya at ikaw itong pilit na lumalapit sa kanya, wala na siyang nagawa kundi suwain ako.” Bumuntong hininga si Jyn at bumaling kay Lair. “Do you really love my sister or did she just threaten you to have a relationship with her?”

“Bro, kilala mo ako,” aniya. “Hindi ako mapipilit ng isang tao kung hindi ko gusto. I did love her and tried to tell you this because I don’t want you to think that I betrayed your trust but she threatened to break up with me and kill me if I told you about our relationship. So, I chose to keep it from you for the time being.”

“Iniisip ko kasi na pakikialaman mo ang relasyon namin at siguradong lilimitahan mo ang pagkakataon niya na makapag-stay dito sa Avenir kaya pinili muna naming itago ito sayo,” dagdag ni Cassandra. “But we were already planning to tell you. Naunahan lang kami niyang si Asper kaya sa ganitong paraan mo pa nalaman.”

Tumaas ang kilay ko. “For your information, hindi ang relasyon niyo ni Lair ang ginamit ko para mapigilan siya sa pagre-report kay Jyn, noh.”

Kumunot ang noo niya. “What?”

“She learned that I already proposed to you and threatened me to tell you our plan to get married first before telling Jyn about our relationship,” Lair said.

“What the hell?” Muling sumama ang tingin ni Jyn sa kaibigan.

“Bro, it was all your sister’s idea so please don’t blame me,” ani Lair. “Kapag kasal na kami, wala ka na daw karapatan na makialam sa relasyon namin kaya iyon ang gusto niyang mangyari.”

Nasapo na lamang ni Jyn ang noo at umiling-iling.

“I love you, bro,” Cassandra said. “And Lair respects you but if you try to ruin my relationship with him, I will not hesitate to fight you.”

“Tingin ko ay hindi na darating sa puntong iyan.” Tumabi ako kay Jyn at hinawakan ang kamay niya. “He was just surprised by this information because he never saw any sign that his friends were captivated by his sisters.”

Jyn sighed and nodded. “I don’t have any intention to ruin your relationship,” he said. “Well, you can thank Asper. Her presence here made me realize that I don’t have the right to meddle with your relationship. If she is not here, I might do something else because of my clouded judgment of this kind of matter.”

Kung pagbabasehan nga naman ang ugali ni Jyn noon, siguradong hindi na siya mag-aaksaya na pakinggan ang paliwanag ng mga taong naglihim sa kanya at agad na lamang gagawa ng bagay na tingin niyang tama.

Kahit pa alam niyang makakasakit siya.

But that thinking changed, well, maybe because of me. And just like what I have been doing, I took advantage of that knowledge.

I used Lair’s weakness because I was sure that Jyn would never kill him, especially when he proved that his friend was seriously in love with his sister.

“Now, you can’t just hold a simple wedding, Cassandra,” ani Jyn. “Tell Mom your relationship with Lair and let her help you plan for your wedding. If you don’t agree with that, I will keep Lair here for the whole year.”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Cassandra. “What the hell, bro?”

“I’m serious,” sambit ni Jyn. “Iyan lang ang hihingin kong kapalit sa pagtatago niyong ito sa akin. Isa pa, siguradong magkakagulo ang mga Avenir kapag nalaman nila na itinago mo ang kasal mo. Tingin mo ba ay palalampasin iyon ni Strea?”

Apparently, Avenir gave too much importance to the wedding of every member of their family. Kaya nga hangga’t maaari ay gusto nilang engrande ang bawat seremonya dahil iyon lang ang pagkakataon na mayroon sila upang ipakita ang suporta nila sa buhay na tinatahak ng bawat isa sa kanila.

Bumuntong hininga na lang si Cassandra. “Fine. As if I have a choice,” aniya. “Now that you know it, it is not impossible for them to know this too.”

“Kaya nga ikaw na ang magsabi bago pa nila malaman sa iba,” giit ni Jyn. “Sige ka, ikaw din ang mahihirapan kapag lalo silang nakialam dahil hindi mo agad sinabi sa kanila ang plano mong pagpapakasal.”

“Oo na nga!” Umirap si Cassandra na bahagya kong ikinatawa.

Mas matanda siya kay Jyn pero kung umasta siya ngayon ay para siyang batang pinagsasabihan ng nakatatanda niyang kapatid. I guess, Jyn do spoil his sisters kaya ganito kagaan ang trato nila sa isa’t-isa.

“Sige na,” ani Cassandra. “Cash said that they had already landed at Avenir Palace. Gusto ni Tito Zephyr na doon manatili si Mommy ng mga ilang araw dahil ilang taon din naman silang hindi nagkita. And I also had to go there for Cassiah so I guess I will take advantage of that chance to tell them about Lair and our plan for wedding.”

“Okay. Just call me if you decide on the date.”

We ended our call and turned to Lair.

“So? What do you want to do?” Jyn asked his friend. “Babalik ka na sa Avenir?”

Umiling si Lair. “Napag-usapan na namin ni Cassandra ito,” aniya. “Mananatili ako sa tabi mo hangga’t hindi naaayos ang gulo dito. Kapag medyo gumaan na ang sitwasyon mo, tsaka namin itutuloy ang kasal.”

Bumaling naman siya kay Azure. “What about you?”

“As I told you earlier, I didn’t pursue your sister,” he repeated. “Tama na sa akin ang makita niya. Aside from the promise that I made to you, she is way younger than me.”

Eighteen years old lang si Cassiah habang twenty-eight naman si Azure. Sampung taon din ang agwat ng edad nila kaya hindi na kami dapat magtaka na kailanman ay hindi ito nagtangka na gumawa ng kahit anong ikalalalim ng relasyon niya sa nakababatang kapatid ni Jyn.

“I will also stay here with you,” dagdag ni Azure. “Safe naman siya sa Avenir at higit na kailangan mo ako dito.”

“Then, let’s start handling our situation.”