RJ's POV
The one week honeymoon break is over. I thought it would be the most boring seven days of my life but it turn out otherwise. We may not able to go out of town but staying in the house with my two girls for seven days was a breath of fresh air.
Marami naman pala kaming pwedeng pagkasunduan ni Mendoza Girl, she is not annoying as how I expected her to be. Maiksi lang talaga ang pasensya, but I know I can live with that. She is a hands on mom, hindi rin mahilig mag-utos sa katulong. I believe she can still live without any helpers. In fact, since day one, she was the one who takes care of the dinner. She is tough but she has a good heart and in that seven days we were together, I was able to see those traits.
It is only eleven in the morning and yet I am excited to go home. I already instructed my secretary that from this day forward, my evenings should be free from work and meetings unless the instruction will come from my Dad or my Lolo. Ayokong ma-miss ang gawaan ng assignment ni Celestine at lalong ayokong umuwi na tulog na sya. I want to be there when she sleeps and still there when she wakes up. I don't want to miss her goodnight and good morning kisses. I don't want to miss the anticipation of what my wife is cooking for dinner. All of those I had for seven days and I will make sure that it will be a habit not only for the remaining 51 weeks but for the rest of our lives.
"Sir, Atty Francis Garcia is here to see you." I heard my secretary said in the intercom. I waited for Francis to come in to my office after I instructed my secretary to let him in.
"Kamusta ang bagong kasal?" He asked upon entering my office
"I don't remember asking a meeting with you, what brought you here?" I asked him while signaling him to have a seat.
"I had a client meeting just within the vicinity so I decided to drop by. Kamusta ka?" He asked.
"Ayos lang, sa Nuvali rin nakatira but in a separate house." I said.
"Pasensya ka na, hindi ako nakarating sa wedding mo, I was stucked in Cebu, and last Tuesday lang ako nakabalik ng Manila. Sayang I missed the opportunity to meet the future ex-wife." Francis said and I chuckled on what he just said.
"Lolo already knows the plan." I told him.
"Huh? Paano nalaman ni Chairman?" He asked.
"Well I underestimated his connection. I should have keep it first between the two of us para hindi nag leak. Kasalanan ko rin naman, sa sobrang engrossed ko sa pagpapa-annul ng kasal ko nakalimutan kong pwedeng makarating agad sa Lolo ko." I said.
"Anong sabi ni Chairman, nagalit ba?" Francis asked.
"You know him, hindi naman nagpapakita ng galit yun. Pero he will make sure that every piece of you will feel his disappointment. Pumayag naman sya sa annulment pero after a year pa." I replied.
"Good and bad news yan ah. Good news, kasi siguradong matutuloy ang annulment mo na hindi haharangin ng Lolo mo. Bad news, kasi kailangan mong pakisamahan ang asawa mo sa loob ng isang taon. So what's the condition?" Francis said.
"Kilalang-kilala mo talaga ang lolo ko ah. Alam mo agad na may kondisyon." I said.
"I have worked with him rin naman for numerous deals, and certainly he knows how to get what he wants." Francis said.
"He said that he will only support the annulment kapag nagka-anak kami ni Charm." I said.
"If that is the case, you can never have an annulment at all." Francis commented.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"We only have few reasons na acceptable sa korte para i-grant ang annulment request." Francis begins explaining "Pasok na sana kayo sa 'force, intimidation or undue influence' but if the marriage is consummated, you can no longer use that grounds. Dun ka na lang sa grounds na 'psychologically incapacitated' may pag-asa. Your Lolo will not be this successful for nothing, the child will be a strong bind of your marriage." He said.
"You mean, mas mahihirapan kaming makakuha ng annulment kapag nagka-anak kami ni Charm?" I asked him to confirm if I heard him right.
"Yes sa ground na 'force, intimidation or undue influence', think about it bro, how can you say that you were forced to marry Charm kung consummated naman ang marriage nyo? Ang anak ang ebidensya." He said.
"So malaki ang chance na hindi ma-grant ang annulment kung makaka-anak kami?" I asked.
"May mahirap bang intindihin sa paliwanag ko RJ? Paulit-ulit ka na eh." Francis said.
"Pasensya ka na, I just want to make sure." I said.
"Kaya if you want it granted immediately, make sure na hindi kayo mag-kakaanak at mas maganda kung hindi kayo magkasama sa kwarto." Francis said.
"Bakit pati yun?" I asked.
"Paano mo ipapaliwanag sa korte na pinilit ka lang na magpakasal kung pumayag ka namang makasama sya sa iisang kwarto? How can you prove to the court that you and your wife never get intimate even once even if you are sharing one room?" Francis further explained.
"We are actually sleeping in the same room." I said.
"Gawan mo na agad ng paraan yan, baka makadagdag pa yan sa magpapatagal ng annulment proceeding mo. Bakit ba kasi iisang kwarto lang kayo?" Francis asked.
"Si Dad ang bumili ng bahay, susi na lang ang ibinigay sa akin" I replied.
"There's still a lot to learn when dealing with the President and the Chairman. Marami ka pang kakaining bigas bro. Yan yung literal na papunta ka pa lang, pero pabalik na sila." Francis said.
"I agree, kapag nag-connive pa naman ang dalawang yon, siguradong end game na." I said.
"So what shall we do now, paano mo itutuloy ang annulment kung haharangin naman ni Chairman at President ang request mo?" Francis said.
"Sabi naman ni Lolo he will support the annulment if after one year wala pa rin kaming anak and either of us will be able to look at his eyes while saying that we could live without each other." I said.
"Therefore we need to wait for a year before we proceed with the filing of the anullment?" Francis asked.
"Yes." I briefly replied.
"Ok just call me on when we will proceed with the filing. You know where to reach me. I've got to go now bro, dumaan lang naman talaga ako saglit." Francis said.
"Salamat ha." I said and shook his hand.
"You know what to do bro, maraming pwedeng mangyari sa loob ng isang taon. I suggest start with sleeping in a separate rooms. I'm sure Charm would agree on that." Francis said before he leaves.
Of course Charm would agree in having our own separate rooms. Yun naman ang expectation nya nung una pa lang. Wala na lang kaming nagawa nung makita namin that the house was renovated to combine the two rooms.
But if Charm would agree on that set-up, I am not. We will be sharing the room until the 365 days is over. Saka na lang kami mag-usap ulit kapag tapos na ang palugit ni Lolo. Yun ay kung hindi kami magkaka-anak because I am definitely enjoying my Celestine and I don't mind having an additional four.