Fifty-Two

BRAD couldn’t wait to drive the two women in the backseat to the hotel they were staying at. He felt like he had acquired dirty things he needed to dispose of right away.
Tita Lucilla’s incessant nagging about how stupid he was for apologizing to Arianna wasn’t helping. It wasn’t supposed to be like this when he drove them to give some sense to Arianna. This wasn’t how he had intended for things to go.
He only wanted the young woman to have a glimpse of how other relatives would treat her when they found out.
And he wasn’t still sold to the idea of her friend falling in love and possibly marrying a woman who couldn’t serve him in social circles. He couldn’t understand why Eric continued to shun away people who he could be allied with. And it was affecting Brad through association.
But that didn’t matter now.
Not only did he truly care about the bastard, but he also cared that Eric was the only one whom he wanted to work with. He had a lot to be grateful for when he became his friend. Yes, Brad wanted to establish a name of his own, and a company of his own, very soon.
But now, he realized that in being so pushy, he had isolated Eric. He forgot what his friend had always cared about. He forgot his trauma when his mother still lived in proximity to him.
He was going to pay for this, he knew. It could possibly alleviate some if he face up to it before word reached Eric. But… it was no guarantee he would be forgiven.
He’s made a mess of things! *What an idiot!* he angrily thought.
His cousin, Helene, was very quiet in the backseat. And Brad gritted his teeth, feeling like a fool for believing her when she’d said she was planning to talk to Eric to get back together with him.
She didn’t tell him she had already gone and tried to get back with him but was rejected, and Arianna saw it in one second.
But these two weren’t his priority now.
Arianna was right.
The only thing he could do right now was to tell Eric, even if it wasn’t going to recover what he would lose.
He dropped the two in front of the hotel. He did not even say goodbye anymore. He didn’t think he would need to see Tita Lucilla after this, no matter how many times she would ask him to come and do something for her.
And he didn’t need to say anything to Helene. He should have never let her use him again.
After he’d driven far from the hotel, he parked on the side of the road where it would be okay to park, and he took his phone out.
He called Eric’s phone.
A distracted voice replied to his call. “Yes, Brad, what is it?”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Why are you at home? You’ve no work in the office?” he asked, making time to get himself together before his confession.
He sighed. “I’m packing for a visit,” he said. “I can’t stay this long from her. I’m going crazy over here. I can stay in the house and work remotely what I can do remote, but I’ll be near her. I don’t like this feeling of being away.”
“What about your trip?”
“It’s not until the end of the week and I can fly for that. But in between, I’ll stay in the hacienda until I can bring her to Manila,” Eric informed him.
Brad closed his eyes. “You’re a fool in love.”
Eric laughed at the other end of the line. “I’ve never felt like this before, Brad. I wasn’t even like this with your cousin.” The last statement was an honest one that sounded like an apology. Eric didn’t know that he knew about his rejection of Helene yet.
“I remember.”
“I could tolerate weeks of not seeing Helene because she always traveled, or always with friends at parties. But with Arianna… I just want to be with her always. I’m always missing her. I feel when I’m with her like she’s a second skin. If I can convince her to marry me soon, that’ll be awesome. I know it’s too early and she’s quite young. That is literally the only reason that’s stopping me from strapping her to the car and bringing her to get a marriage license. ”
Brad’s smile was sad on his end. “Your father betted you’ll not last the month and you’ll end up living here more than you stay in the city. I betted against him. He won.”
“Huh. I guess you really don’t know me that well, huh?”
“I’m sorry, man. I am truly sorry about Arianna.”
There was a pause. He could feel it from the other end of the line, the tightening of Enrique’s jaws and shoulders. He could see it in the back of his head, how his friend looked when he was quiet like that.
And he expected the coldness in his voice when he next talked. “Where are you?”
“Province.”
“Why are you there?”
“I’m really so sorry.”
“What is this call about, Brad?”
“Forgive me, Enrique,” he said while massaging his forehead. He could already feel the pain of separation from his longest friend. “But I did a very terrible thing...”

WHEN Arianna got home, she didn’t show herself to her mother right away.
She knew she displayed the signs of the beating. She could feel the soreness in her neck, the pain from a scratch of nails, the stinging of her cheeks that had been slapped many times, and her swollen, busted lip.
She took a shower, squeezed out what remained of her tears there, and went to the bedroom to hide what she could while her mother stayed downstairs watching drama on the TV.
She told her by shouting down the stairs that she would not be going down for lunch and would rather take a nap, which was fine because she sometimes does that.
So, her mother ate lunch alone since Tommy was also out, minding something at the fishponds that she didn’t remember about anymore.
She was planning what they needed to bring with them first when they leave. They didn’t need to bring everything at once. She still needed to talk to Tommy.
She wasn’t sure she could convince him to go with them, but she expected he would allow her to bring their mother with her.
They just couldn’t stay here. People would be talking. She still wasn’t sure where to go, but they would have to leave tonight.
There was something else she worried about.
If Eric found out what happened today, he would be here before the day was through. It would just take three to four hours to drive from Manila.
Unless he was very busy, he would be here today.
And he might stop them from leaving.
And in between convincing him they have to leave until he lets them, someone could have told her mother.
They were seen as his mother and Helene hurt her, and their screams about how she met Eric still echoed in Yna’s ears. The news about her being a gift to Eric would be everywhere.
And her mother would be devastated.
God, she could bear it. She could bear whatever people would say. But she didn’t know what she would do if her mother found out.