#BTSEp40
My fans continued to roar like crazy up until I reach the building of my new station. Noong bumaba ako sa van ay bumungad sa akin ang mahabang red carpet. I was moved by the things that my new home are giving me. Somehow, it motivates me. Some way, it makes me realize that I chose the right decision.
Pero hindi lang iyon.
Cameras are flashing. People around us are yelling at the top of their lungs. Banners and tarpaulins with my name and picture on it are raising thru the crowded space. Para ba akong nasa sarili kong emperyo.
Naglakad na ako sa red carpet. My smile is genuine as soon as I follow the guide of the red carpet. From moment to moment, I am smiling and waving at the same time. These gestures won't be enough to show them how gratified I am for their efforts of joining me on this wild detour of mine.
Noong marating ko na ang pinto ng lobby ay si Avryl at Thorn agad ang bumungad sa akin. Thorn handed me a bouquet of yellow tulips. I gladly accept it with my smile still not fading.
"Welcome back, beh!" Avryl is so cute. She is about to cry as she hugged me tightly. Sa higpit nga noon ay nabigla ako. Para bang hindi ako nakahinga at some point.
"Right." I giggled as I hug her back. I am running my palms on her back. Our embrace was so good. Para ba kaming magkapatid na matagal nang hindi nagkita.
Pero bigla akong nakaramdam ng pagka-ilang nang maidako ko ang mga mata sa paligid namin. Nakatingin kasi sa amin lahat ng mga tao dito sa lobby. Pinapanood nila kami. Sa tagal kong nawala, hindi ako sanay sa atensyon na bininigay ng mga mata nila sa akin. Lalong lalo na ang maya't mayang pag-flash ng camera sa amin. Nacoconscious ako.
Avryl let go of our hug. She pursed her lips and glared at me. "Bruha ka! Akala ko hindi ka na talaga uuwi, masasampal talaga kita pabalik dito sa Pilipinas!" Bagama't pagalit, may pagtitimpi sa boses niya. Pigil na pigil iparinig sa media sa paligid ang pag-sermon niya sa akin.
I laugh. "Wow, nag-mature na ang baby Avryl namin?" Which was true. The way she talks. The way she moves. Para bang ang matured na niya. Well, sa hirap ba naman ng dinanas niya sa panahong nawala ako, I can't blame her.
Pareho kaming napalingon kay Thorn nang peke siyang umubo. He is smiling with his dimples as he threw me a boyish gaze. He looks flirting but I know, natural na iyon sa looks niya. Mukha kasing playboy. "Nandito rin talaga ako."
I shook my head and walk towards him to give him a hug. What I did made the people around us to cheered for us. Well, ito kasi ang plano. Thorn and I will be the new love team. Which is a good move, with my age-- I am currently 20 years old right now, I will start accepting mature roles.
Thorn is the best choice for the new path of my career. With his Adonis physique and his face that screams the idea of a hot playboy, and my innocent and good girl brand; we are a good combination. Good girls are always perfect for the bad guys.
Avryl is smiling at us. And I know, that was sarcastic. "Shit. Here we go again. I really can't get used to this kind of showbiz strategy." Her eyes travel down to Thorn's hand that he intertwined to mine just now. His palm is so soft, halatang hindi marunong kumilos sa bahay.
"Kapag nangyari talaga uli iyong nangyari sa inyo ni Liv, ay ewan ko na lang." Avryl is still smiling. Hindi pinapahalata ang madilim niyang sinasabi sa media na nakapaligid sa amin. Takot na lang nitong mapagalitan ng CEO ng Station namin. And for what I know ay jowa niya 'yon. I really don't know at ayokong mangialam. I know Avryl, she wants everything about her life to be genuine and private.
"Don't you fucking start with his name." I equalled her sarcastic smile. May pagtaas pa ako ng kilay. Obviously, giving her an indirect warning gaze.
Hinampas niya ako sa braso tapos ay peke kaming nagsitawanan. "Ano ka ba, sinasabi ko talaga sa 'yo. Kapag naging marupok ka pa, sasampalin na kita nang pasala-sala hanggang sa mamatay ka kakailag."
With still a smile that's hiding a lot of sarcasm. "Subukan mo, uunahan kita. Hayp ka."
And on cue-- noong mapatingin ako sa bandang likod niya, speaking of her alleged boyfriend, he is now walking towards us. That made Avryl to stop. She only looked away when I threw her a malicious gaze. Gosh, she is blushing! Inlove na inlove, teh?! Sana all?!
Ibinaling ko na lang ang mga mata ko sa jowa niya. He is still young. For what I read from different articles, he is a 27 years old bachelor. He is looking haughty with his asian eyes but his overall look is my real epitome of a boy next door. Pwede rin talaga siyang mag-artista.
"Good morning, Grace." He told me with his baritone voice. Sa lalim noon, pati yata ako ay kinilig. Charot!
"Nice meeting you, Mr. Antoine Zobel." I formally said as I hand him my hand. He gladly hold it and we shook hand for a second.
"Let's go? Your contract are badly waiting for you to be signed." He told me with a humor on his lips. Nawala ang pagka-antipatiko ng mukha niya sa pamamaraan ng pagsasalita niya.
I nod at him.
I am smiling while looking forward to the future I have with my new home. I really hope that this station will give me a new sky to spread my wings wider than before. I really wish that this time, I can reign an empire that will be indestructible-- the one that can never be ruined by a wrong man.
***

AsyaGrasya Woke up next to this cuddle monster.
It's been two weeks now. Marami nang show ang kinuha akong guest for publicity. And also, nagpatuloy ang pagpapanggap namin ni Thorn. Well for now, wala pa kaming kino-confirm but the management instructed us to give hints that we are fakely together.
When I hit the post botton, dinagsa agad ito ng mga fans namin ni Thorn. They are all gushing. Hindi ko na mabilang ang heart emojies na kino-comment nila.
Nireplyan ko ang ilan ng shrug emoji just to stay lowkey. Para lalo silang mag-speculate. Para lalo silang ma-curious sa totoong score namin ni Thorn kahit ang totoo naman, I am manipulating them again. Thorn and I never slept together. Sinend niya lang sa akin iyong photo this morning.
Grace_Warriors waaah mami! Sana all ganiyan ang view na nakikita tuwing umaga. Rawr. Rawr. Rawr.
AsyaNamin sherep po mami!!!
GraceSamonteOFC mamiii! Napagod ba ang cuddle monster na yan kaya ganyan makatingin?!
TinikNiThorn @GraceSamonteOFC baka papagurin palang ng daddiii namin si mami niyo kaya ganyan 😳
GraceSamonteOFC @TinikNiThorn ay shet 🤭
LivAceOFC support pa rin kami sa 'yo mami kahit hindi na si papi @LivDMoment ang magiging laman ng IG feed mo 🥺💔
LivAceAngels @LivAceOFC right. Kahit masakit pa rin nung binura na ni mami lahat ng photos ni @LivDMoment sa IG feed niya 💔
The moment I saw Liv's username, I blink. And I fight the urge of checking his IG. Nagawa kong hindi gawin iyon sa loob ng dalawang taon. Hindi ko na dapat iyon isipin ngayon.
Kumunot ang noo ko. Hindi ko maiwasan ang mainis. Kasi oo, gets ko 'yung nasasaktan sila sa nangyari sa mga idolo nila pero hindi ba't it's due time na rin para mag-move on na sila? Kasi heto na ako, may iba na akong kapareha. Mentioning Liv to my post won't do any good to me or to anyone. That's for sure.
Pero,
Mabuti na lang at nandiyan si Thorn to save my mood. After a few minutes, he commented on my IG post.
ThornHub glad I woke up next to a goddess na tulo laway haha
AsyaGrasya @ThornHub alam mo, sasapakin kita.
ThornHub @AsyaGrasya ok lang, basta sa akin ka lang. Willing akong magpa-sapak basta sa akin ka lang uuwi.
AsyaGrasya @ThornHub luh 🤷♀️
Right after that, binaha na iyon ng iba't-ibang mensahe galing sa mga fans namin. Most are happy with that at syempre hindi mawawala ang mga negatibong tao. Some are ranting me, telling me I am no good with Thorn, that I am only using him to gain my career back. May mga ilan ding hindi pa rin maka-move on sa LivAce love team. They are telling me that I am better with Liv. I only wince at the idea.
Pinili ko na lang magfocus sa mga fans ng bagong love team ko. Sa mga nabasa, hindi ko maiwasan ang mapangiti. Mana talaga sa akin ang mga fans namin, mga wild!
"Shuta oh, nakangiti na naman si Momshie Asia! Issasign na ba ito na nadidiligan na naman siya?!" Pag-tili ni Hendrix habang tinuturo ako. I turned a bored gaze at him.
Ngayon ay nandito kami sa loob ng working area ng isang sikat na fashion designer. Iyong gagawa ng wedding gown ni Billie. Yes, she is about to get married with a man na hindi ko masiyadong kilala. Isa rin si Billie sa dahilan kung bakit ko piniling umuwi. Nag-promise kasi ako sa kanya na I'll be one of her bride's maid.
"Hay naku, Grace." Billie said thru the dressing room. Sinusukat na niya ang final look ng wedding gown niya. Next week na kasi ang kasal.
Bagama't may telang namamagitan sa amin, I can clearly feel that she is giving me a poker face right now. "Ayan ka na naman sa fake relationship mo. Kapag ikaw na-fall na naman diyan, hindi na kita susuportahan." May bahid ng pagkainis ang kanyang tono.
Ginatungan naman iyon ni Avryl na nakapameywang pang tumayo sa harap ko. "I agree! Duda ako sa babaeng 'yan, marupok 'yan eh!"
"Alam mo, ibabato ko sa 'yo itong cell phone ko." I glare at Avryl who is laughing right now.
Narinig ko ang pag-taltak ni Jopay. Tumabi siya sa akin at inakbayan ako. "Ano ba kayo! Tigilan niyo nga si Asia. For sure naman, alam niya itong pinapasok niya at duh? Pinalakas na siya ng panahon! Hindi na 'yan, marupok 'di ba?" She faced me, her question is more of a demand. Iyong oo at oo lang ang pwede mong isagot.
I nod at her and I am hesitating as I said, "Oo naman."
And one second after, I chose to change the topic. Baka kung saan pa mapunta ito. "Nga pala, aattend rin ba si Ysabelle sa kasal?" She is still our friend so I assumed, Billie would want to see her on her wedding.
Billie answered, still on the dressing room. "Nope, hindi pa rin siya nagrerespond sa message ko. Nahiya na yatang magpakita."
Nagulat naman ako nang muling tumili si Hendrix! Ang sarap talaga videohan nito tapos ipakita sa mga fans niyang patay na patay sa kanya kasi tigasin siya sa TV! "Hindi naman iyon ang kaso, Asia! Ang totoong kaso dito, Liv will also attend the wedding!"
Sa narinig ay napalunok ako ng laway.
Tapos unti-unti, lahat sila ay pinukaw ang tingin sa akin. Hinawi ni Billie iyong tela at inilabas ang ulo mula doon para titigan din ako.
"Ready ka na bang makita siyang muli?" They all asked.