The Stars Trilogy (79 page)

“It’s not a house. It’s a tiny apartment. A far cry from your mansion in the hills.”

“Whatever. I’m done in LA.”

“That’s sad. I thought you were so happy.”

“Did Mom and Dad call you?”

“Every two hours! Shall I call them now?”

“Don’t. Not yet. I’ll spend a week here with you before going back home.”

“You’ve really split?”

“Yup. Kaput. Goodbye Darelusions. You were right all along. I was crazy and stupid. Goodbye USA. I won’t come back here. Ever. This place stinks.”

“Aww, cuz. Don’t say that. You’re making me cry.”

“Please, don’t beat me to the drama.”

“Sir, can we go faster, please?” Shavonne told the taxi driver.

“As you wish, Ma’am.”

Dare had been waiting in tenterhooks for hours for Kelsey’s call. When his phone finally rang and he saw it was her, he clumsily answered it, nearly dropping it in his combined anxiety and hopeful anticipation.

“I just got the result,” she began.

He gripped the phone tightly. “Tell me.”

“Well, Dare, according to your jizz test...your spermatozoa count is low...But!!!”

He held his breath. “But...?”

“But with frequent and timely sex, meaning when a woman is very fertile and you boink her nonstop on that day,  you are quite capable of making her pregnant.”

His chest wanted to burst with the rush of joy and relief. “Kels, are you...are you absolutely sure?!” he asked her as pain slashed in his chest at the implication of what she’d said sank in.

“I had your jizz tested three times to make sure. There’s no room for mistakes on this one.”

“For crapsakes, will you stop saying that!”

“What? Jizz, jizz, jizz! Your jizz is fine, you jackass!”

“But...how...?”

“No more questions. You got Celine pregnant. That’s a fact. You’re going to be a father. Congratulations, darling.”

His tears fell. God, despite his damning guilt, he felt incredible! Reborn.“Thank you, Kels. I owe you,” he said very emotionally, almost choking on his words.

“Oh no, darling. You owe her.”

“I know. I know.”

“My goodness, Hollywood suits you, cuz!  Is this Dior?!  You look stunning here! Better than Angelina Jolie!”

“No way! Angie is really gorgeous in person. Stunning. I was starstruck the whole time, just staring at her. The rags can paint a completely different picture of a person, you know. I’ve never pegged Angie to be the goofy type but we were laughing a lot in the Dior suite. She was so approachable and warm.”

“Hmm, I’m gonna meet her when she comes to New York to shoot her new LV ad for Vogue. I’ll be assisting in the styling of that spread!”

“Really, wow! You’re doing really great here, cuz. I’m so proud of you!”

“Humph, I was planning to transfer to Hollywood, you know. To be closer to you.”

“You don’t like it here anymore?”

Shavonne shrugged. “I’ve been here for three years. I’ve done lots of things already, styling for Vogue, Elle, Harper’s and those fashion houses. I’d like to do different stuff. I want to work with real personalities. Ramp and print ad styling are getting too mechanical and boring for me. I want to work with celebs and style for movies. I think LA is much more fun than NYC. I want to experience the culture and vibe there. I think people in Hollywood  are more relaxed, exciting and adventurous.”

“Hmm, no comment.”

“Come on, one rotten apple doesn’t make the whole bunch the same.”

She bit into a crunchy peach, chewed and then casually said, “By the way, I’m preggers.”

Shavonne nearly dropped her iPad “What?!”

She patted her belly. “Six weeks.”

“Preggers...like...” Shavonne drew a huge balloon on her stomach. “Like that?!”

“Is there any other way to get preggers?”

Shavonne dropped her butt on the sofa next to her. “Oh. My. God,” she breathed like it was doomsday.

She just continued eating the peach.

“So...what are you going to do about it?” Shavonne asked her after a lengthy silence.

“What do you mean?”

“You are preggers! And you broke up with the baby daddy! What will happen to you now!”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I’ll keep this baby.” She touched her belly gently.

“Seriously, you know this is not acceptable to your family. That guy has to marry you!”

“Nope.”

“But...”

“After what he did to me, I will not let him come near me or this baby ever again. I’ve wasted almost two decades of my life with that man. I will not waste another day on him.”

“What about your folks?”

“Well, they will just have to accept me, single mom and all. If not...” she sighed sadly, “I can’t do anything about that. I’m keeping this baby. If they couldn’t accept me now and my baby, so be it. It would be just me and my baby.”

“Of course not. You’d still have me.”

She smiled at her cousin and bestfriend. “I know.” And it was only then that she allowed her pain to come forth. It was hard to keep a strong facade when she was broken inside. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Shavonne hugged her. “You know I’ll always be your BFF, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Shav.”

Celine landed at the NAIA on a Wednesday.

She was back in her country, the Philippines.

She spent close to a week in New York. When Shavonne told her that a famous internet blog disclosed her presence in New York, she immediately booked a flight for the Philippines. How did that happen? She never left Shavonne’s apartment the whole time except when she went to buy some groceries and she was always well-disguised with a blond wig. The paparazzi were really something. Their radar would rival the FBI’s.

She’d avoided the internet these past days but Shavonne had kept her up-to-date. She and Dare were still the hottest news in the gossip magazines. She’d appeared in magazines every day of the week! It was crazy! She’d succumbed to the urge one time and looked at a blog Shavonne was browsing. Their Cannes pictures were a collage of frozen moments of bliss. She was literally glowing in those pictures, her love for Dare radiating from her sparkling eyes.

She finally got a full firsthand understanding of how it was to be the woman in Dare’s life.

The media was more obsessed with the current woman in Dare’s life than the man himself. Everyone wanted to know everything about her. People were even discussing her  feet! Thank God she had okay feet as the media snapped pictures of her feet and marveled about her cute toes and shapely ankles.

The other day, pictures of her from blogs written by local bloggers surfaced on Perez Hilton with this caption.

“Die hard fan of the Daredevil dared like no other and Canned him!”
She didn’t know if she should be flattered or insulted. That did sound like she was a psychotic fan. She cringed at the image the press was painting of her. Pretty soon, public perception will condemn her.

Shavonne opened the TV and they caught a news on AZN Global. She was also the topic. Maybe she needed to hide from the local press, too!

She didn’t want to think of her parents’ reaction to this whole shebang. It would only stress her further.

She wondered who would fetch her from the airport tonight?

She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt the whole flight and huge shades she got from Shavonne’s closet full of stylish clothes. Thank God her seat mate in the business class was an old woman who snored the entire flight across the Pacific. Except for a few curious looks from a stewardess, nobody bothered her.

She wished she could have brought her BFF with her back to the Philippines but Shavonne was busy in New York. So, it was just her against the world, for now.

Terminal 1 was the most chaotic part of the NAIA Complex. There were no proper waiting lounges for departure and arrival. People flocked behind a railing like prisoners, waiting for the passengers to emerge from the arrival section.

Heart beating fast, she peeped outside, afraid to see press people ready to pounce on her haggard-looking face. She, who hadn’t slept a wink in the last twenty hours. She would look dreadful in pictures for sure! It was past midnight and she doubted if there were press people waiting for her. She hoped no unscrupulous employee in-charge of the airport manifesto was wicked enough to leak her date of arrival to the local rags.

Her phone rang.

It was her mother. Marjorie said they were waiting for her outside with their black Mercedes sedan.

Walking with her head bowed, she went outside and was greeted by Manila air, not as fresh as LA but how she missed her own country.

She saw the black Mercedes parked nearby. Bong-bong, their chauffeur immediately approached her.

“Good evening, Ma’am Celine. Welcome back,” he said cheerfully and assisted her with her luggage.

She forced a small smile. “Thanks, Bong-bong.”

The sedan’s back passenger window slid down and she saw her mother beckoning for her to get in. She hesitated as she caught a glimpse of her father sitting beside her mother at the backseat.

Moment of truth.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the sedan. Bong-bong opened the back passenger door for her. She went in.

She sat beside her mother. “Mom...?” she started.

Her mother opened her arms.

Relief flooded her. It was so easy. Too easy. And the more she felt guilty.

They hugged tightly.

She cried in her mother’s arms. How she missed her Mom.

She looked at her father over her mother’s shoulder. “Dad...?” she said pleadingly.

Her father had a resigned look on his face but a smile broke on his lips. “Welcome home,
hija.
”

She let go of her Mom and leaned over to give her dad a hug, too.

Afterward, she settled back in her seat.

The sedan started to move.

It was really awkward as both her parents became totally silent.

“Dad, Mom, I am not with Dare anymore,” she stated to clear the matter from the get go.

Her parents looked at her in shock.

“But we just saw you…” her mother’s voiced trailed off, confusion in her eyes.

“Well, we broke up as we left France. It’s over.”

Her parents were speechless.

Well, who wouldn’t be? It was totally anti-climactic.

But she was glad she already got that part out of the way. Next, she had to tell them about her pregnancy. But that can wait. One at a time.

One step at a time toward her destiny that no longer included Dare.

She had jet lag. She couldn’t sleep.

Celine felt strange lying in her own bed. The huge four-poster, queen-size bed created by her favorite local designer Budji Layug used to be her haven for sleep but now, it felt barren and empty. Strange because she’d never shared it with anybody, except when Shavonne was on vacay.

She had gotten used to sleeping with Dare…and waking up with him in the morning…and he would make love to her…

She slammed her palm on the bed to stop the rush of emotions.

What part of “we are over” can’t you freakin’ get?!
  she berated herself.

She didn’t want to cry anymore. She’d been crying for days and her tear ducts should be dry as a drought already.  After her shocking airplane break up with Dare, every breath she took was painful. She didn’t know how she was able to survive that. She was made of sterner stuff than she first thought, spoiled brat that she was.

More than a decade of delusions should stop now. Enough! Enough enough enough!

There was a knock on the door.
“Hija?”

She hastily wiped her tears with the blanket and combed her hair with her fingers. “Come in, Mom!”

Marjorie came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

She sat on the bed and rested her back on the padded headboard. She fidgeted with the hem of her blanket, unable to meet her mother’s discerning eyes. She felt so raw and emotionally ravaged. Loss, guilt, shame were rioting inside her.

“
Hija
…are you alright?” Her mother’s voice was utterly gentle.

She tried to smile. “Sure…sure, Mom.”

Her mother peered at her. “No, you’re not.”

A sob escaped her lips.

“Oh, my baby…come here.”

She went into her mother’s arms again. The embrace broke down the dam of emotions that she tried so hard to contain during her entire flight from LA. She couldn’t seem to stop crying.

Her mother rubbed her back like she always did every time she’d woken up from a bad dream when she was a little girl.

“It hurts so much, Mom. Why does it hurt so much?”

“I know, darling. I know. Shhh.”

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry! I’ve been bad... really bad. I deserve this...I didn’t listen to you and Dad....I was so selfish and stubborn...and stupid...I deserve this…I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright,
hija.
Shh, it’s alright.”

She didn’t know how long she’d cried in her mother’s arms. She was glad she came home. She needed her family. She couldn’t handle this alone.

Minutes later, she went to see her father. She exchanged a meaningful look with him.

His father opened his arms. She ran to him and sobbed her heart out again.

After talking to her father, she felt drained of energy.

Her parents tucked her to bed.

Only then did she succumb to a deep sleep.

As planned, Dare met up with Uly at the rooftop of the SLS Hotel. He was wired from head to toe.  Even his slightest breathing could probably be heard by the Feds.

“Glad you were able to fly to LA for this meeting, Uly. I know you’re busy lately with Sphinx,” he said as they settled in one of the enclosed corner cabanas dotting the perimeter of the swimming pool. Uly’s bodyguards were in the vicinity, as well as his own contingent.

“What are you saying, brother? I will fly to you anytime you want to meet. My only regret was I had to leave the company of a dozen beautiful women when you called,” Uly replied in a jest.

He was an actor but he was finding it hard to maintain a neutral demeanor knowing the man in front of him, the man he’d considered as his true friend, was trying to kill him.