Those were the words I said before I left her at my house. I continued to search for Tali. Darkness enveloped me. Exhaustion, fear, worry. I didn't know what to do because until now, I haven't found her. The police still had no news about her.
Due to the mixed emotions, I decided to have a drink at a bar.
"S-Sht..."
I lost count of the shots. When I stood up, I almost fell if the bartender hadn't grabbed my arm. I stumbled out of the bar but managed to reach my car safely.
"Tali..."
I kept whispering her name as I started the engine. When I left the bar, my driving became erratic. My vision was blurry as I looked at the road. I was crying. I never thought I could cry like this. It was unbelievable.
It hurt so much.
"B-Baby... I hope you are okay... please... Come back to m-me..."
Before I could wipe away the tears from both my eyes, I noticed a car suddenly heading towards me.
"Damn!"
That's the last thing I remember. When I opened my eyes, I was inside a hospital room. I learned that a concerned citizen called an ambulance and brought me to the hospital. I thought I was going to die at that moment. I would die without seeing Tali again, and that was incredibly painful.
I went home using crutches. My foot got trapped in the accident, making it difficult for me to walk properly. My head also had a bandage because it bled. There were wounds on my body too.
When the ambulance brought me home, Manang greeted me and helped me.
"S-Sir!"
Manang was crying; I told her I was fine, but she continued to cry. She asked if I needed anything, but I said no. She kept looking at me. I sat in the living room.
My thoughts were still with Tali.
"Haven't you received any messages from Tali, Auntie?" I asked. I was hoping she might have been told something.
"N-No, sir. I'm really worried about that girl. She doesn't have family here. A-And she left her things... it's impossible for her to run away."
We didn't have any arguments. I sighed.
I won't be able to find her in this condition. Damn it, Rozzean, you weren't careful. How will you find Tali if you can't walk properly?
Two days passed, and I couldn't eat or sleep. I also didn't go to work or do any online work. My mind was preoccupied with where Tali could be. The police reports I received were always negative.
I've had several nightmares. The fear I felt was overwhelming, but I won't stop searching for her. I won't stop.
"Sir Rozzean... please eat even just a little."
"I am not hungry, Manang."
She left my room. I stayed downstairs in the guest room because I couldn't go up to my own room. I faced my laptop again and watched the CCTV footage of my house when Tali was last seen.
I watched it multiple times, examining her face. She looked troubled. Dazed even. What happened?
"P-Please be safe... I will find you... I will find you."
When I remembered Tali's belongings, I went out to see Manang. I wanted to have her things moved so that if she returns, she can stay in my room.
I am sure I will find her.
She will come back to me.
I felt like I was going crazy, seeing her in every corner of my house. I even thought it was real. There was a time I fell down because I thought she came back, but I was just hallucinating.
"Manang..."
When I reached the living room, I saw Luther. I was surprised because it was late at night, and he was still here. Did Manang tell him what happened to me? I didn't confide in anyone, not even my mom. I kept my accident a secret.
"Luther? What are you doing here?"
My eyes focused on the woman with Luther. She was facing away from me, talking to Manang. My gaze dropped to their intertwined hands.
Are they close?
"Who's with you, Luther? It's late; why did you come now? Could it not wait until tomorrow? Did Manang tell you what happened to me?" I asked my brother.
Luther didn't answer, furrowing my brows. He just stared at me. When his eyes shifted to the woman, I also looked there. The woman turned her back.
W-What...
When I saw her face, my heart raced. I swallowed hard. Her eyes... her lips... the shape of her face...
"R-Rozzean..."
I felt momentarily deafened when she called my name. Her voice... The first thing that entered my mind was Tali.
That's how my baby says my name.
W-Why am I hearing Tali? Am I hallucinating again? W-Who is this woman? S-she looks like my baby...
I couldn't move from my spot as I stared at the woman who called my name. I thought words wouldn't come out until I managed to ask her.
"Who... are you?" I asked dangerously. Her eyes and her voice... damn it.
I didn't like what was going through my mind. It felt like my chest was slowly being torn apart as I stared at her. She was crying in front of me. All I could see in this woman was Tali. Even her voice... damn it. What is happening?
"R-Rozzean, I'm sorry... so-sorry..."
I tightly held my crutch. The anger in my chest subsided as I gradually understood why she was apologizing. But that's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to know something else from her.
I wanted to hear directly from her lips who she is.
"I'm asking who you are!"
I looked at Luther. I clenched my hands as my thoughts pieced together. Damn it. No. Not what I'm thinking.
"I-I'm Thaliana... Thaliana Tangi Dela Vezca."
The daughter of George Dela Vezca? The woman I was supposed to marry?
Luther approached her, and I looked at both of them. I couldn't explain what I was feeling, but there was pain and anger. This woman sounded like Tali, her eyes looked like Tali, her lips, a-almost everything about baby...
"R-Rozzean..."
"Why do you sound like her?"
I wanted to f*cking know.
"I'm sorry--"
I closed my eyes tightly. Why does she keep saying sorry?! Sorry! Sorry! Why! I wanted to know! I wanted to know if my suspicion was correct, if she and Tali were the same person!
"Why the f*ck do your eyes look like hers?!"
She was crying in front of me. She stayed silent for a moment. I saw her take a deep breath, and when I heard what she said, my world crumbled.
"B-Because I am her... R-Rozzean."
What... is this? Did I make a mistake? Did I trust the wrong person with my love? Why? Why... why is it always pain? I trusted in love just now, but why did this happen to me?
Why am I always hurt so much?
Damn it, why?
"I-I am Tali Dela Cruz... I-I came here to pretend as a poor woman to enter your house as your m-maid. I-I did this because there was an agreement with Daddy that if I found any bad behavior from you, the marriage he wanted wouldn't push through. M-My Dad is George Romualdo Dela Vezca."
S-Stop... stop... no... s-she fooled me? B-because of that reason? Did she deceive me and make me look like a fool just because she didn't want the marriage to happen?
"B-but everything changed because I fell for you--"
She paused as I shouted.
"Luther!"
"Do you know her? Why is she saying that she's Tali?! S-she sounds like my woman... and her eyes... d-damn it."
"I miss my baby so much. Why am I seeing her with that woman? Who is she?" I may sound pathetic, but I don't care.
I refused to accept what the woman in front of me was saying. I couldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that everything was just a big lie.
"Why is she saying that she's Tali, huh? Why? Luther... answer me."
Are they close? Is it because he knows that she is Thaliana Dela Vezca?
He knows the truth... b-but why? Why didn't he tell me?
"Cyron..."
"Cyron! Cyron! Luther, I am asking you!" I was livid. I felt like they conspired to deceive me.
Luther closed his eyes tightly before he spoke. I saw him take a deep breath.
When I heard his answer, it felt like my chest was stabbed multiple times.
"Yes."
I am trembling because of anger. I was so ready to lose everything because of my love for Tali. I was willing to let go of my company, everything I worked hard for just to have a decent life with her, then to find out...
Damn it, to find out it's all lies?
She fooled me and pretended to be someone else just to prevent the marriage her father wanted?
"She is Tali Dela Cruz. Thaliana Tangi Dela Vezca and Tali Dela Cruz are the same person. What she told you is true. She pretended as a maid, and I found out about her when I came here that day. When you weren't at your house."
I couldn't believe it.
"W-What? Y-you knew?"
"R-Rozzean... I-I will tell you the truth. I was just taking my time. I wanted to actually tell everything o-once I came back as Thaliana. I-I just didn't expect that I would struggle to come back because of my feelings for you. You are not the kind of person I thought you were. I regret what I did... p-please... I know this is hard for you b-but, p-please... f-forgive me."
I angrily looked at Thaliana when I heard what she said. There's no reason for her to deceive me. What she did is not right at all!
"R-Rozzean—"
"Stop... w-what..." I looked at Luther, "You knew about her? that she was fooling me? you knew she was pretending here in my house?"
I couldn't believe that even Luther was involved in deceiving me. I couldn't accept it. Our relationship as siblings had been getting better. I thought he was okay with Tali too. But I was wrong... very wrong.
Anger rose in my chest.
"Cyron..."
I was breathing heavily. My eyes were glaring at him. When I saw Thaliana go in front of my brother, I was stunned.
It was painful. It hurt so much, thinking that my life would be better because Tali filled the missing piece I was looking for. Now I find out that everything was a lie. She deceived me.
"Yes, I am kind," I said in a cold tone, "If I hadn't been this kind when I saw you begging in front of the village, I wouldn't have been lied to. I wouldn't fall for someone like you."
I looked at her as I said that. She was crying. When she raised her hands to cover her mouth, my eyes landed on the ring she was wearing. It hurt me even more to see her wearing it.
We were doing well... I planned my future with her... and now it was ruined.
When I turned to leave, I almost stumbled, but Thaliana supported me. When we were close, I smelled her.
This scent of Tali that I always wanted to smell. But enough, Rozzean. She fooled you.
"You are not Tali," I looked at her coldly.
"You will never be her; my baby will never ever fool me. She's the sweetest and honest with her feelings. Y-You... you are not her."
"I don't know you."
I looked down at her grip on me.
"Let go of me."
"R-Rozzean... please, let's talk about this. Let's discuss it, please—"
"Luther! Get her out of my house!" I shouted because I might say something worse.
"P-Please... I love you..."
"Luther!"
"Thaliana, let's go," I heard Luther say as he tried to take her away.
"N-No! I don't want to!"
Her eyes never leave mine.
I feel extreme anger. How could she do this? She made a fool out of me.
"I-I will not leave until you say that we could work things out again... t-that you will just take your time b-because I hurt you..."
Work things out? After she deceived me?
"I will never accept a woman like you, Ms. Dela Vezca. Isn't it that your reason for pretending to be a housemaid in my house was to find an excuse to cancel the wedding?"
She shook her head, but it's too late. Regardless of any regrets she may have, she has hurt me. She deceived me. It can't be changed. She had many chances to tell me the truth. We are... l-living together. I confessed my feelings. I said I love her. I proposed to her... I was so sure about my feelings.
And she was just deceiving me?
"N-No... it's not like that anymore..."
"There's no marriage that is going to happen between us, Ms. Dela Vezca. I will never marry a woman who made me look like a fool."
My chest heaved up and down due to the anger I felt.
"You made a fool out of me in my own home. Leave. Go away. Don't ever come back. I don't need you in my life."
"I-I don't want to... I don't want to leave... I love you, I love you so much..."
Those words echoed. If only it were Tali saying those words to me, I would be overjoyed. I always wanted to hear those words. But from Tali. From the woman I love.