#DS8Uncovered #LuMa #BearCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER 15: PROMISE

LUNA'S POV

A few years ago...

Tahimik ang bahay nang pumasok ako. Hindi rin nakabukas ang mga ilaw maliban na lang ang isang nasa kusina. I was busy looking around since it's the first time that I'm fully seeing the place with all its contents. The last time I saw the place, it was still completely bare.

This is the first day that Magnus and I will get to stay here... and live together. He got our things delivered and organized by hiring people to conveniently do it for us. I didn't mind since I was too caught up with work, and I'm pretty sure that the same goes for him.

It took awhile before the renovation of the penthouse was completed. In fact, it felt like it took forever before the building became ready for occupancy. Isa iyon sa mga dahilan kung bakit hindi kami kaagad kinasal ni Magnus.

Magnus and I didn't get married that one rainy night in Los Angeles. Hindi naman ganoon kadali na magpakasal. Maraming kailangan asikasuhin. I keep delaying it. Of course, one of the main reasons was that I was trying to convince myself that what I was about to do was complete insanity. The other was that I'm giving Magnus a chance to back out.

Not looking where I was going, I walked towards the reading nook to put down my bag and to sit for a moment so that I could take off my high-heeled shoes that have ankle straps. Ibinaba ko sa kanan ko ang bag ko kasabay nang pag-upo ko pero sa pagtataka ko imbis na ang malambot na sofa na pinili at sinubukan ko sa mall ay matigas na bagay ang naupuan ko.

I almost screamed bloody murder when I turned to look, and I saw a sleeping Magnus sprawled on the sofa. He didn't even stir with my weight. Parang kahit ata talunan ko siya at gawing trampulin ay hindi ko maiistorbo ang tulog niya.

Dahan-dahan na tumayo ako at inilipat ko iyon sa kabilang sofa. For a brief moment, I just stood there while staring at my husband's sleeping form. Husband. In other circumstances, I would have felt elated at that word. But he wasn't here because of anything but pity.

With a heavy sigh, I decided to go to the kitchen to find something to eat. Imbis na dumiretso sa fridge ay ang cupboards ang una kong nilapitan. Hindi pa naman kasi ako nakakapunta sa grocery at mas lalong duda akong nag-grocery si Magnus. But I know I sent a box of my favorite chips that's why I'm sure that they're here somewhere.

Kumunot ang noo ko nang pagbukas ko ng unang cupboard ay hindi ang mga paborito kong junk food ang nandoon. Baka kay Magnus. I opened the others, and with each door I opened, my suspicions started to increase. Pati drawers ay binuksan ko pero kahit isang chips na binili ko ay wala roon.

Naniningkit ang mga matang nilingon ko ang kinaroroonan ni Magnus. Did he just throw away all my food?

Pinalitan niya naman ang mga iyon pero isang tingin pa lang sa mga iyon ay parang hindi na ako nasisiyahan. He replaced all my happy foods with healthy foods! Kale chips, malunggay chips, sweet potato fries, baked green pea snacks, crispy guava, banana fritter bites, and crunchy apple chips.

Nanggigil na binalikan ko ang isang cupboard kung saan nakita ko ang iba't ibang klase ng soda drinks na sigurado akong hindi akin. He clearly has his own version of happy food.

Umabot ako ng dalawa ro'n at walang pag-aalinlangan na inalog ko ang mga iyon. Hindi pa ako nakuntento dahil sinigurado kong alugin lahat ng bote at can na mayroon doon. Akala mo ha?

"I wonder what I did to deserve your wrath."

Muntik kong mabitawan ang hawak ko na bote nang marinig ko ang boses ni Magnus na malapit na sa akin. I turned around, and to my surprise, he's standing right behind me. He's humongous, but he walks light like a cat.

Namumula ang mukha na binalik ko ang bote at pinagkrus ko ang mga braso ko. "You threw away all my chips."

"I didn't."

Pinanlakihan ko siya ng mga mata. "Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not a wasteful person. I didn't throw them. I gave them away to the kids that live here in the building."

"Those were mine."

"You need to start eating healthy." Nang bumuka ang mga labi ko para umangal ay inunahan niya ako. "You know I'm right."

"But—"

"I know you want to get better, and you will. But you need to help your body fight back. If that means eating healthy, is it really that hard?"

Hindi ko nagawang makasagot sa kaniya. Humalulukipkip ako. I want to argue, but he has a point. Sometimes, my addiction to chips can get out of hand. Lalo na kapag stress ako at marami akong iniisip.

"Kailangan mong bawasan ang pagkakape mo. It's not bad to drink it, but you consume too much caffeine."

Napanganga ako. "Pinamigay mo rin ang mga kape ko?"

"No. I don't have much of a death wish because I'm pretty sure if I do that, you'll kill me in my sleep. But I did buy other varieties you should try." Binuksan niya ang isang drawer at puno iyon ng mga tsaa. "You also need to eat less processed food and start integrating more vegetables into your diet."

I thought I married a businessman. Bakit pakiramdam ko nutritionist pa ata ang napakasalan ko? "You mean to say that all the food in this house should be healthy?"

"Yes."

Tinuro ko ang soft drinks niya. "Eh ano 'yan?"

He didn't even look at where I was pointing. "I'll give them away tomorrow."

I groan. He's so hard-headed. "I need my chips back, Mags. They make me happy." Hindi ako naninigarilyo at malakas man ako uminom pero hindi ko na ginagawa iyon mula nang malaman ko ang diagnosis ko. "Life is too short. Are you really going to stop me from being happy when I could die at any moment?"

"You're not dying," he said through gritted teeth. "We'll go to the grocery store, and we'll buy some. But you're only allowed to eat twice a week. The same goes for me and my sodas."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine." Nang lumapit ako sa isa sa mga cabinet at akmang kukuha ako ng boring niyang chips ay pinigilan niya ako. "What?"

"You're going to have that for dinner?"

"Yeah."

"I just told you to eat healthy."

Tinuro ko ang mga titsirya. "Your boring chips are healthy, remember?"

Nagpakawala siya ng malalim na hininga at iginaya niya ako sa isa sa mga upuan dito sa kusina. He turned his back on me, and he went to the microwave, and to my confusion, he started it without putting anything inside.

"Polluted na ang mundo, hubby bear. Hindi na gano'ng ka-healthy ang hangin para iyan lang ang ipakain mo sa akin. And I prefer cold air, so it's much better if you just put ice with it instead of heating it inside the microwave."

The look he gave me could have boiled my skin from my flesh. When the microwave let out a ping, he opened it and pulled out a small dish plate. Oh.

Inilapag niya iyon sa harapan ko. "Eat."

"Eh ikaw?"

"Kumain na ako."

Nilingon ko ang sofa. "Then why are you still here?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Shouldn't I be in here? I thought we needed to live together."

"Of course we do. We're married. Ang ibig ko lang naman sabihin ay bakit sa sofa ka natutulog?" Hindi mo tuloy alam na ginawa kitang sofa kanina.

"I don't know where you want me to sleep. You had the two rooms upstairs converted into offices. Masyado ng gabi para bumili ako ng kama o ipapadala ang nasa bahay ko papunta rito para ilagay iyon sa opisina na para sa akin."

"There's a master's bedroom."

"Then where would you sleep?" he asked.

"Well, the bedroom has a king-size bed, so I'm hoping you're not a bed hogger and give me some space to sleep on."

He blinked, his surprise showing. "We're going to sleep together?"

"Do you know how nosy my brothers and my sisters-in-law are? I'm willing to make a bet that the moment we invite them over, they will immediately ask for a tour. If they see that we're sleeping separately, they will think that they're a couple about to divorce rather than a couple that just got married."

I could see tension radiating all over him. He massaged the back of his neck while looking at the floor.

"Don't worry, hubby bear. I won't steal your virtue. We can put a pillow between us if that will make you feel better."

I WAS ABOUT TO go straight towards the elevators when I caught sight of Magnus putting plates of food on the center island. Pinasadiya ko kasing walang dining table ang penthouse dahil dalawa lang naman kami rito. Kung pupunta man ang pamilya ko ay pwede naman sa fifth floor kami kung saan nandoon ang malaking dining table na binili ko para sa malaki kong pamilya.

"You don't need to do that."

Umupo siya sa isa sa dalawang high stool na nandoon bago siya nag-angat ng tingin sa akin. "Sit down and eat."

I don't usually eat breakfast. Kung meron may ay sapat na sa akin ang kape. My mornings are the busiest, so I would rather be in the office early so I could start early.

I glanced at the elevator and sighed, then I walked towards Magnus, who had already started eating. Ibinaba ko muna ang mga gamit ko bago ako tuluyang umupo sa bakanteng upuan na nasa tabi niya.

Tinignan ko ang plato na nasa harapan ko. It has two pieces of toasted bread and a spinach frittata. "You really don't need to cook breakfast for me."

"Are you going to cook for me instead?"

Napakamot ako sa pisngi ko. "Uhh... I don't really like cooking."

"Then stop asking questions and eat."

"But—"

"I need to eat breakfast. It's rude to cook just for myself, so you're going to eat with me."

Somehow, I find it hard to believe that he's not like me, who would rather go to work than eat breakfast. Kung may mas workaholic pa sa akin ay siya iyon. Well, what do I know?I took a bite of the food, and I tried not to moan about my satisfaction when I tasted it. Minsan unfair din ang buhay. Mayaman siya, gwapo, mabait, may magandang trabaho, tapos magaling pang magluto.

We ate in silence. His attention was fixed on his phone, where he seemed to be answering a bunch of emails. I decided to do the same, but from time to time, I couldn't help but look at him.

"I need a copy of your hospital appointments."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Bakit?"

"So I can put it on my schedule."

"Why?"

He turned to meet my eyes. "Para samahan ka."

I struggled for words for a second. "Magnus... I'm thankful that you want to go with me, but you really don't have to. Malakas pa naman ako at hindi pa naman siguro ako mamamatay bukas—"

Hindi ko nagawang tapusin ang sasabihin ko nang lumikha nang malakas na tunog ang hawak niya na baso nang basta na lang niyang ibaba iyon.

I grimace. "Please don't get me wrong. It's not that I'm not thankful. Pero hindi mo naman kailangan baguhin ang buhay mo para sa akin. I just need a little help when... you know. But for now, I can do things on my own. You don't need to be inconvenienced just because we're married on paper." Binigyan ko siya ng maliit na ngiti. "I'm really grateful, I promise. So don't be angry, okay? I didn't mean anything by it."

"Angry?" His hand on the table was balled into a tight fist. "I am angry, but not at you."

"Umm... okay?" naging patanong na sabi ko.

"I still want to come with you."

The expression on his face tells me that he's not taking no for an answer. What a stubborn person. "Fine. But don't blame me if you get bored."

Muling napuno ng katahimikan ang paligid nang wala na sa amin ang nagsalita pa. Nang matapos kaming kumain ay inimis niya ang mga plato namin para hugasan. I offered to do it since he was the one who cooks, but he just gave me a look as an answer.

I could have left his grouchy ass and gone to work since he clearly looks like he's in a mood, but I couldn't do it because it feels impolite to just leave him alone.

"Is it curable?"

Napakurap ako sa malapad niyang likod. He's still washing the dishes. "Hmm?"

"What you have. Is it curable?"

I felt a lump form in my throat. It feels weird to voice it out, and it even feels weirder to talk about it with someone. "In some rare cases."

"What's the percentage?"

"Less than ten percent."

His body became still, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his mind. It's not like we're anything to each other. We're not even friends. But I understand that he's a good person. Just like I told him before, he's a carer. It's part of his nature to care for others. That's why I feel like I'm taking advantage of that fact.

"If you can't cure it, what would happen? How long..."

I immediately understood his train of thought. "How long will I live? That depends. If I'm lucky, I'll have ten to twenty years."

"If you're..." He turned to look at me, and I didn't know who he was. I would have been scared by his thunderous expression. "How can you call that lucky?"

I shrugged. "Because some will just have months. Isn't it lucky if I'm given more years?"

Ilang sandaling nakatingin lang siya sa akin na para bang basta na lang akong mawawala kapag kumurap sya.

"How can we hide it from your family? Wouldn't they recognize the change you'll have to go through if you start your treatment?" he asked after awhile.

"I have been hiding it from them for quite some time now, Mags." I found out about my diagnosis before my brother Axel got married. Ngayon ay maging si Kuya Trace ay lumagay na sa tahimik. "My doctor told me that I don't have the symptoms that tell them that extranodal sites would be involved, so it won't appear on my skin or my overall outer appearance. Though I might lose some weight."

"The chemo—"

"Oh that. I'm not doing chemotherapy. I decided not to from the very beginning."

Bumakas ang gulat sa mukha niya. "Why?"

"My main doctor and the others might put me in trials later on, but mostly I'm just doing targeted therapy. Oral medication lang ang ibibigay sa akin."

"Is that better?"

"Well, chemotherapy is still the frontline treatment, but I don't want it." Isinukbit ko ang bag ko sa balikat ko. "It's important to me, Mags. When... when the time comes that my family finds out, I need you to be firm with it. I'm not going to have chemotherapy, no matter what. Even if I just have days to live."

"Luna—"

"I need you to promise." My smile was shaky, but I forced myself to keep it on my face. "I need you to take my side whatever happens. Even if the doctors or my family pressure you. Ako lang ang kampihan mo please?"

Our gazes stayed locked on each other for what seemed like eternity. When he finally spoke, I could feel a sense of assurance in his voice. "I promise."

___________________________End of Chapter 15.