Sal nodded and blinked away tears.“So this is it, then?”
Rafa stood, then walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead.“Yes.Come back to me and tell me when you’ve decided.”Every word was painful, but he would endure it for her.He let himself out of her room and left.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Pieces Left Behind
SAL
AssoonasRafaleft the room, Sal let out a deep breath.She wiped away the tears, slipped on a comfy shirt, closed the curtains, and crawled into bed.Her soul was crushed, her mind was tired, her body craved rest, and she may have destroyed her relationship with a kind and amazing man.Her life was falling apart, so she might as well get some sleep.She was still wearing her engagement ring; she fiddled with it underneath the covers and slowly drifted to sleep.
***
Hours later, Sal woke up to Theola’s explosive voice.
“Oh, my God.The art show is blowing up!”Theola trilled.“Where is everyone?”
She got up, and a few minutes later, her phone chimed once, twice, then multiple times.The screen was flashing so much that she thought it had malfunctioned.She got up from bed feeling groggy and checked her phone with eyes half-open until she realized what was happening.
Sal found Theola on the second-floor sala raving at her laptop.“Theola, what’s going on?”she asked.
The young lady pulled out her iPad to show Sal an article posted online by a major news outlet:“Mysterious Grimoire Unearthed, Confirms Town’s Magical Origins to be Exhibited in the Philippines.”It had around a thousand comments and shares.She felt nervous at the sudden amount of attention.When she read the comments, it was a mix of curiosity, suspicion, and the occasional know-it-all.
Willow ran to meet them.Her hair looked disheveled, and she hadn’t fastened her blouse buttons properly.“Holy shit, you guys, we’ve gone viral!”she said, out of breath, holding her phone and showing them other articles and videos being shared on multiple social media platforms.
Baron suddenly walked past them with a phone glued to his ear.He looked disheveled, and he seemed rushed while talking on the phone.Slowly, Sal’s eyes skimmed through the many articles, tags, and notifications, and she realized that the game had just begun.
Chapter Thirty-Two
A Personal Call
SAL
Truetohisword,Rafa gave her space.He took his lodgings elsewhere, showed up when he was needed, and gave her hesitant sidelong glances when she was at the BnB.They were never alone together anymore.At first, the guilt was stabbing.She had hurt him, even if she knew he would never admit to it.Though now, the encompassing grief at her relationship going up in smoke made way for some relief.At least she had disclosed some of her reservations about married life.She reasoned out the crippling guilt.They lacked open communication between them.The type that was honest and messy.The kind that Harmon spoke of back when they hated each other while slurping noodles on a rainy day at a ramen shop in Makati.Looking back, she wondered if she had ever truly hated Harmon.There was a very fine line between love and hate, after all.She caught herself wondering if he was naturally honest and brazen in intimate relationships as well, and what that might be like.
Willow, rising from the bed, broke her reverie.“You look better today,” she said, stretching and letting out a yawn.
Sal had been staring out the window with a cup of hot tsokolate in her hand.She sported a messy bun with a knitted throw wrapped around her shoulders.Perhaps that was a more welcome sight than her tear-streaked face had been common in the past few mornings.
A knock came, and as usual, Theola let herself in.“Okay, we’re in trouble,” she said while thumbing her iPad.
What now?Sal thought.
“Spill,” Willow said.
“Good news or bad news first?”Theola grimaced at both of them.
“Whichever,” Willow waved her hand as Sal took another sip of her tsokolate.
“The good news is we have a lot of traction on social media because of the grimoire.The bad news is most of it paints us in a bad light,” she said, showing them a screenshot of articles in her iPad’s gallery.
Willow grabbed the tablet and swiped through it.Sal put down her drink and leaned over Willow’s shoulder to look as well.There were about a dozen articles written about them.
“That doesn’t include the reels and the individual posts…” Theola added and pursed her lips.
Sal looked away from the tablet and massaged her forehead.“I mean, bad press is still press, right?”She said, trying to convince herself and looking at both girls.
“There’s one more problem…” Theola said hesitantly.“The logistics company can’t send the tracking number of one of the loaned art pieces.It’s mixed up somewhere in their warehouse in the city,” she said with a pout.“What do we do?”
