DS8Uncovered #LuMa #BearCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER 41: STEP

LUNA'S POV

Should I get one for myself?

I pursed my lips as I looked at the selection in front of me. Belaya's birthday is today, and I saw her follow Fendi recently, so I thought she might be interested in them, which is why I'm here at a Fendi store.

"I think that little meow meow will like this pale pink one." Tinignan ko ang katabi no'n. "And I like the light blue."

It's a small purse, but it's very pretty. The Baguette nappa leather bag caught my eye the moment I stepped inside the store. I want it for myself, but I don't see anything that I would love to give Belaya other than the same bag.

Ito ang problema kapag babae rin ang reregaluhan ko. In fact, hindi ko lang iyon problema kundi maging ng mga hipag ko rin. Kaya nga hindi na nakakapagtakang nagkaparehas kami minsan ng mga gamit. Kulay lang talaga ang naiiba.

"Pero kararating lang ng bag na binili para sa akin ni Kuya Gun," bulong ko sa sarili ko.

Walang problema kapag gumagastos ako para sa iba o kung para sa Maven. But for some reason, kapag para sa sarili ko ay hindi ko napipigilan na magkuripot paminsan-minsan.

Tinuro ko ang kulay light blue na bag. "Babalikan kita. Mag-iisip muna ako, okay?"

I was about to call the attention of one of the sales associates when I noticed three women glancing at me. Nagtataka man ay hindi ko na sila pinagtuunan ng pansin at naghanap na lang ako ng empleyado na pwede kong kausapin. Kaya lang ay mukhang abala pa ang mga iyon kaya binalik ko na lang ang atensyon ko sa pakikipagtagisan sa kontrol ko na bumili ng isa pang bag.

"Should I?" I asked myself again while looking at the light blue bag.

Why do I need another bag, though? It's not like I can bring it into the afterlife. But if you think about it, it could be inherited by one of my nieces. Nag-enjoy na ako tapos mapapasaya ko pa sila.

I gave myself an imaginary tap. Nice argument, Luna Alondra.

"Iba na talaga ngayon 'no? Kahit sino na lang nakakapasok sa mga ganitong lugar. If this is Hermès, she'll probably be turned away."

Nagsalubong ang mga kilay ko. May kalakasan ang boses kaya umabot sa tenga ko ang sinabi ng nagsalita. Palihim na nagpalingon-lingon ako pero bukod sa tatlong babae ay may dalawa lang na tao pa rito bukod sa akin. The other two are at the cashier, already paying, and they don't look out of place.

Nagbaba ako ng tingin sa damit ko. Sa aming lahat dito ay ako lang ang mukhang naligaw. I'm wearing black slacks and a hoodie that is far too big for me. Wala rin akong dala na bag dahil iniwan ko na iyon sa sasakyan. I only brought my phone and my wallet.

Ipabaril ko kaya ang mga 'to kay Warrick at Nevan? And turned away by Hermès? I happened to be on good terms with them. If I want to shop alone and ask them to, they'll close down a store.

"Baka naman may mayamang asawa katulad natin."

Oh. So, these are rich women who are probably bored and want to spend some of their husbands' hard-earned money. Wala namang problema 'yon. I respect housewives because it's not easy to manage a home and a family. If they want to treat themselves, good for them.

But I do have a problem with women who put down other women just because they think they have a better life than the rest. Lalo na kung ang pinagmamayabang nila ay hindi naman nila pinaghirapan.

I think women who understand the value of the money that their husbands are bringing into their homes wouldn't have time to belittle others because they are too busy appreciating their husbands' hard work.

I've known women with rich husbands who are full-time housewives who often enjoy the luxury of having the lives they have, but not once did I see them act like they are some bratty teenagers from a chick flick who don't know how to act in any other role except for a mean girl.

"A mistress, probably. She looks like she just graduated from college. I don't think someone like her can get a rich husband unless she's just someone he sees from the side."

Wow. Mukha raw akong fresh graduate. I'll take that as a compliment.

"Excuse me." Nginitian ko ang babaeng sales associate nang mabilis siya na lumapit sa akin. Even when I arrived, she was very accommodating, and she didn't hover around me as if I were going to steal one of their items. The three women weren't wrong, honestly. Most signature stores have stricter rules, and they could be really snobby if they wanted to. "How many colors does this Baguette bag have?"

"Eleven, Ma'am."

"Hmm. I only have seven sisters-in-law."

"Po?"

Magnus, with his perfect timing, arrived at the right moment. May dala siyang paper bag na alam kong naglalaman ng damit kong pina-rush service niya dahil natapunan ako ng kape habang nasa byahe kami kanina.

Dito rin sa Makati ang dinner para kay Belaya kaya umalis na kami ng maaga ni Magnus sa opisina para makapunta muna ng Greenbelt at makabili ng regalo. I should have ordered in advance, but I was so preoccupied that I foolishly forgot.

"I'll buy ten colors except for that one," I said, pointing at the bag that I like. I hooked my arm with Magnus' and smiled sweetly. "My husband will buy the light blue one for me, right, hubby bear?"

"You're going to buy ten bags for Belaya?" With a knotted forehead, Magnus asked.

"No, silly. I'll give each of my sisters-in-law one and two for Belaya since it's her birthday. Then one for Stella, and the last is for me."

He regarded me with a look. Knowing him, I wasn't surprised when he surveyed the room after, his eyes stopping for a brief moment in the direction of the other three women. Nang ibalik niya sa akin ang mga mata niya ay sigurado akong may hinala na siya sa kung ano ang naganap.

"Ano pa ang isang kulay na ibibigay mo kay Belaya? Is it the red one?" he asked.

"No. Kulay pula na ang binili sa akin ni Kuya Gun." I look at the selection of bags in contemplation. "Maybe the pink one? There's pale pink, pink, and fuchsia. I think I'll get the mid-colored one."

"And the other one for Belaya?"

"The red."

He nodded before turning his attention to the Fendi employee. "She'll buy the eight colors. I'll pay for the light blue, pink, and red." Nilingon niya ako at umangat ang sulok ng mga labi niya. "Para regalo ko iyong isa."

Napangiti ako at tinanguhan ko siya bago ko tinapunan ng tingin ang mga babaeng nakangangang nakatingin sa direksyon namin. Wait. They might think I'm bringing our home more money than Magnus.

"You know, you can buy me the whole store." Parang biktima sa horror movie na nilingon ako ni Magnus. I tried not to laugh at his expression. I know he would do it if I asked him to, but Magnus is not a wasteful person, and buying everything that store has is exactly that. The Baguette alone is three thousand and seven hundred fifty in dollars. What more the entire store? "But it's not my birthday yet, unfortunately. Your Quetzal is doing great, and so is my Maven. If you want me to buy a whole store just for you, tell me, okay?"

He blinked slowly, then nodded before leaning toward me so that he could whisper. "What I need you to buy is medicine because I'm about to get a headache."

I fluttered my eyelashes at him. "Iyong buong kompanya ba?"

Nagpakawala siya ng malalim na hininga. "You're a menace, have I told you that?"

I pouted exaggeratedly. "Me? The little innocent me?" Nang nanatili lang siyang nakatingin sa akin ay pinaikot ko ang mga mata ko. "They called me a mistress."

Danger glinted in his eyes, and the look he gave the three women was scalding. Hindi ako nagtaka nang hindi pa nagtatagal ay nagmamadali na silang lumabas ng store ng hindi bumibili.

I smiled to myself. Even before we admitted our feelings to each other, Magnus always tried to give me what I wanted, but he's not a pushover. He has no qualms when it comes to going head-to-head with me. He's also a very logical person. But despite that, I have a feeling that he would have really bought the entire store if he had known what exactly happened. He just knew that I was annoyed, but he didn't know the reason. And as much as I never get tired of correcting people when it comes to my surname, I discovered that Magnus equivalently likes to make it known that I am his wife.

"They also called me young, so it's okay."

"You look young," he agreed. "That's why I look like an old man corrupting someone so innocent."

"I'm not innocent. Not really." Sinundot ko ang tiyan niya. Grabe. Ang hard. "I have had very indecent thoughts recently."

"Not as much as I do."

Pakiramdam ko ay biglang tumaas ang temperatura ng paligid. I feel like we've been blazing for days, and it wouldn't be long before we both exploded.

"You know what we should do about that?" I asked.

"What?"

"You should corrupt me real soon because if you don't, I'm going to do the corrupting, dearest hubby bear."

MABILIS NA pinindot ko ang minimize button ng browser ko nang bumukas ang pintuan ng banyo at lumabas ang bagong shower na si Magnus. He's already wearing his sleepwear. Unfortunately.

"You know, there's a reason why a walk-in closet was invented."

"Hmm?"

Inginuso ko ang malaki naming walk-in closet. "After you shower, wrap a towel around you, then go inside the closet to change your clothes."

"I do that sometimes but I find it tedious," he said.

"Why?"

"Kasi pwede namang magpalit ng damit sa banyo," paliwanag niya.

I waved my hand with a shake of my head. "Hindi nakakatulong sa mundo ang ganiyang pag-iisip, Mags."

"Me putting my clothes on in the shower... is a world problem?"

I nodded with a serious face. "If you just wrap a towel around your waist and walk to the closet, the view will make me really, really happy. And when I'm happy, I'm more inclined to face the world with positivity. At kapag maganda ang tingin ko sa buhay, mas hahaba ang pasensya ko sa mga empleyado kong sinusubok ang pasensya ko kaya hindi sila iiyak."

Naiiling na lumapit siya sa kama at umupo sa tabi ko. Inabot niya ang sarili niyang laptop mula sa bedside table at ang salamin niya.

"You're not going to sleep yet?" I asked.

"Are you?"

Tinignan ko ang laptop ko. It's not like I can continue what I was doing now that he's here. "Maybe?"

"Are you going to work, or are you going to continue what you were doing before you saw me come out of the bathroom?"

Naningkit ang mga mata ko. "Have someone told you that you're frighteningly observant?"

"Yeah." I shook my head. I reached for the monitor to close it, but he stopped my hand. "When did we start hiding things from each other?"

"I'm not hiding anything from you." Nang manatili lang siyang nakatingin sa akin ay bumuntong-hininga ako. "I'm really not. I'm just... delaying it since we had an agreement, remember? For the list?"

That made him quiet for a moment. Alam kong agad niyang naintindihan ang ibig kong sabihin.

"Then... consider this is our break time from the list." Marahan niyang inalis ang kamay ko mula sa monitor. Without a single hesitation, he reached for the touchpad to open the browser that I had hidden.

I didn't look at the screen, instead, I watched his face. I was watching him closely that he couldn't hide the pain that crossed his eyes before he managed to get a hold of it.

"Magnus, maybe we shouldn't—"

"I can't say that I like it, LA." He glanced at me and held my gaze. "But I understand."

"It's painful for you."

"Because I love you." He reached for the ends of my hair and played with it between his fingers. "You can talk to me about anything. I don't want you to hide things because you're afraid to hurt me. It's part of life, Luna, and I told you, I want to share everything in this life with you."

"The good and the bad?"

He took my hand, and he interlaced it with his. "For better or for worse."

A sad smile curved my lips. "For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish... as long as we both shall live."

"Even then."

Selfishly, his two words give me peace. But it was also painful to hear. "Mags, don't say that."

"Even then," he repeated.

He glanced at my laptop screen before he looked at me again. "It's my heart, LA, and that's what it's telling me. Even after death, it will only be you."

I couldn't look away from him. I couldn't look at the screen so close to us, which held my future plans. One where I was carefully planning everything. From music to the venue, from flowers to the casket.

I couldn't look away because all I could think about was that I didn't want to lose the view in front of me. I want to keep looking at him for years. I want to close my eyes, knowing that I will get to open them to another day where he is the first person that I will see.

I want more. More days, more moments, and more chances to love him.

But can I have that? Can You please let me have that?

At one point, I thought death was scary. Then I realized that leaving the people I love is far scarier. But suddenly, I'm also fearing what could have been.

I could imagine the life we could have together. Get married again, get a dog, have his child, hear the first heartbeat together, and share everything with him until we have more gray hair than black. I could imagine more years to dance in the kitchen, go to work and come back home together, send our child to school, share the fear of being a parent... and just days and days that we can be us.

"The right thing to say is that I want you to be happy with someone else when I'm gone."

"Hmm."

"But I guess I need to own up to the fact that I'm a selfish bitch. My jealousy can reach the afterlife, so I'll give you a sign when I'm ready to leave the mortal world and stop being a ghost so that you can find yourself another wife and you both won't suffer from hauntings since I'm not around anymore to scare you." I let out an exasperated sigh. "Let's stop talking about this. It's making me mad."

His chest rumbled with laughter, and he pulled me towards him. "You're not a bitch."

"But I'm selfish?"

"No. But I want you to be." Inangat niya ang kamay namin na magkasalikop. Kita sa mga iyon ang suot namin na mga singsing. "Be selfish, Luna, and stay with me. Let's ask for more, want for more. Let's beat all odds and stay together."

"I'll try," I whispered.

"That's all I want, LA."

"But I'm still me, and I like to be prepared. I don't want you to think that I'm giving up. I'm not. I'm not trying to simply hope anymore. I want to... I want to try fighting again. But I need to make sure that just in case... that I lose, I want everything in order."

"I know." He hugged me tightly, my chin resting on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat. "Every step of the way, LA. Every step you can share with me."

_______________________End up Chapter 41.