The aroma of the freshly brewing coffee and the sweet flavors of french vanilla, caramel and honey filled the room as Allie entered the coffee shop where she would met Andrew. She chose the farthest corner to allow them a good conversation, most of all the most confidential one she hoped to learn.
Before she could even take a deep breath after reminiscing the moments where she and Ajie spent here, Andrew called out her name with those grin of his which almost reached his nape.
"Andrew. "
"I wish I did not keep you waiting," he began to apologize.
"Not at all," she replied with her most attractive smile.
With this, Andrew pressed the call button and a staff came over to take their orders.
"Caramel Macchiato for me and?" he glanced up at Allie to ask for her preference.
"Your houseblend."
" Got it, ma'am. Strong or moderate?"
"Moderate."
Andrew ordered some quesadillas and cheesecakes to go with their coffee before starting a conversation.
"What were you doing at the airport?" Allie asked after he leaned back on his cushioned backrest.
"Got a breakfast with Dr. Jane."
"Really? " Allie gave out a fascinated look which boosted Andrew's pride.
"Actually, she handed me a proposal to do basic piano tutorials for her kids at Beautiful Haven."
"Wow! " she exclaimed. It's such a privilege to get a contract from a famous institution which could possibly endorse him to a higher opportunities.
"I might as well accept it but I don't think I have enough patience for these kind of children." There was indeed a sense of reluctance in his expression and honesty in his part.
"Just try it. It's a great accomplishment to be able to let them learn. It only means that you're also a gifted mentor if you would be able to bring out the best in them." She cheered him up as she never doubted his potentials.
"I'll be thinking about it." He obviously dismissed the topic so Allie did not pushed about it anymore.
Thinking about the reviews and testimonials on Beautiful Haven's official page, Allie couldn't help but admire Dr. Jane's love and passion for these kind of children. She remembered how those parents of autistic children and those whose children were having learning disabilities wrote about their great change and improvement. There were even posted videos about their children's stage performances. One of those which made her cry was about a ten year old girl on a solo piano performance, whose maturity delay was three years below her actual age.
"Andrew, I think Dr. Jane likes you."
Andrew held her gaze for a while before he gave a bitter smile.
"I really wonder what kind of fate do I have. Everytime something good is about to happen to my life, Adrian is always there to snatch it up."
Then, as if he realized how it would affect Allie, he quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Lyz. Why did I forget that I am talking about your husband?"
Allie was also quick to ride on the tide. She gave out a surprised and horrified look to give him an impression that she really didn't know about him.
"Go ahead, Andrew. I want to know more about my husband. He is a silent type who doesn't like to talk about his past experiences. "
"What are those things he told you about me? " he asked.
"He only told me that you were childhood friends in your hometown and that he was surprised to meet you also in the university. But you seldom talked because you were both engaged in different activities."
"Really? Only that?" He smirked and then laughed sardonically. In the next second, his eyes turned red and tears lurked at the corners of his eyes. His expression was both of anger and sadness.
Allie stared at him and began to wonder whether or not Ajie was telling the truth. She just found out that Ajie was really good in speaking as if he was born for the stage. In that case, he could always articulate and drive simple messages to make it believable.
"When Adrian and I met in the university, it was when we needed a male vocalist. Cherry, my girlfriend was facilitating a fundraising project for the student council's charity fund. One of the projects was for our band to get engagement projects. Unfortunately, our male lead vocalist resigned and so it was how Adrian was offered the slot."
"In every performance that we had, Cherry and Adrian always performed a duet so they did rehearsals by themselves. I really had no problem with it but eventually, I noticed their closeness. In every beach outings that we had, Adrian always pretended to go home only to find out one night that he was only taking a separate room away from us. And when everyone fell asleep, Cherry would sneak out to sleep with him."
"I did not exposed them, in respect to Cherry's mom. If not because of her, I wouldn't be exposed to the music world and wouldn't get the chance to perform on different hotels. If not because of her, I wouldn't get a name."
"A week before our graduation, we again had a beach outing. In my suppressed anger and pain, I drank much more than I could handle. I vomited profusely that Miss Perez got afraid. He stayed with me in my room. I didn't know what happened, either because I was so drunk or I was just to weak to have a bikini - clad woman rubbing my back that I got out of control. You can imagine what's next, I made love to her. To my surprise, perhaps because she was also drunk, she did not resist and so we fully enjoyed the moment."
"I did not know how it happened, but Cherry found out about it. On the night of my graduation, she boarded MV Helena and in the peak of the storm, she went overboard."
Allie gaped in shock with his side of the story and even felt that he was telling the truth. He spoke with too much emotion and there were even moments where he stopped to hold back his tears.
"What happened then? Did you confront Adrian?"
"Yes, we had a fight and he was even confined in a hospital due to wounds and bruises. That's the reason why I came to Cebu much ahead of him. Cherry had mentioned about you one time and I learned that you're also from Sto. Domingo so I expected you to be a member of Youth In Action."
"I already warned Adrian that I'll do a revenge for all that he did to me.That's why I looked for you. All those offer that I did for Chloe was part of my revenge."
"I'm sorry, Lyz, I was blinded with my anger then."
Allie pondered everything that he said. All of it were factual. There seemed to be no lies at all. He was even honest of his horrible deed with Miss Perez and of his plan for revenge. He believed Ajie's side of the story but Andrew's side was more believable. He put too much emotion in every details and it was all realistic. His version supported the fact why Andrew came ahead.
Who between the two of them really told the truth?