CHAPTER 48

                                    

                                          
CHAPTER 48
                          
LUCKY WAS STILL skeptical as she sat in front of the woman who looked like Cassie but introduced herself as Happy Aravena Quinn. She was a jewelry designer at The Velvet Box Jewelry Store located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
                          
And apparently, she was her big sister. They have different mothers, but the same father.
                          
At least, that was what she claimed to be. 
                          
And as they sat inside a famous and expensive café, sipping coffee, her sister kept on telling her how she was happy to see her and finally met her.
                          
At wala siyang ibang magawa kundi ang tumango at ngumiti. Nararamdaman niyang mabait si Happy at para talagang gustong-gusto siya nito kaya kahit paano ay napapanatag ang loob niya na kasama ito. 
                          
Happy felt like a genuine person to her. Her happiness was genuine and that meant a lot to her. It lessened the awkwardness. 
                          
"I know you're skeptical, but we will run a DNA test tomorrow for you to believe me," sabi nito, saka hinawakan ang kamay niyang nakapatong sa mesa at pinakatitigan siya. "We really do look-alike." Her eyes became teary. "We looked just like Dad. We got our looks from him."
                          
Tumango lang si Lucky. 
                          
Happy frowned. "Why do I feel like you're not interested in my stories?"
                          
"I, ahm, it's not like that." Apparently, her sister didn't understand Tagalog and still learning the language, so she had to talk to her in English. "It just... it confuses me," pag-amin niya. "The man I know as my father is a bad person and he died recently. And then someone, you, came along and tell me that we have the same father and he's in Pennsylvania?" Nauwi sa ngiwi ang ngiti niya. "I'm sorry if you think I'm not buying it... because honestly... I'm having a really hard time believing you."
                          
"I understand." Pinisil nito ang kamay niya, saka pinakatitigan siya. "I called Dad earlier. He's on his way. He'll arrive the day after tomorrow and he's excited to see you and we can test our DNAs together for a proof that we are family."
                          
Family. She had been longing for a father for a long time until she met her monster of a father. Doon niya na-realize na hindi niya kailangan ng ama para magkaroon ng pamilya. She had her grandparents and Blake's family. They were her family. 
                          
And now, she was in front of a woman claiming to be her sister, who was two years older than her and she really looked ecstatic to see her.
                          
She was having a hard time accepting everything. 
                          
Maingat siyang humugot ng malalim na hininga habang may tipid pa ring ngiti sa mga labi. "Ahm, h-how exactly did you find me?"
                          
Walang pag-aalinlangan na sumagot ito. "Well, at first, I don't know about you, though I always wanted to have a sister." She looked genuinely happy. "But three months ago, a man came to see me and told me about you."
                          
"Who?" puno ng kuryosidad niyang tanong. 
                          
"He introduced himself as Knight Velasquez."
                          
Umawang ang mga labi ni Lucky. "Knight or Midnight?"
                          
Si Happy naman ang kumunot ang noo. "Who?"
                          
Umiling siya. "Never mind. Please continue." She smiled.
                          
Her sister nodded before continuing. "When I told Dad, he was mad and explained to me that you are not his. But when I showed him your picture, given by Mr. Velasquez, Dad froze and said, 'she looked just like me.' He was shocked because he thought you're not his."
                          
Hindi niya ipinakita ritong sumama ang loob niya. It wasn't her sister's fault that their father was like that.
                          
Happy continued. "So when Mr. Velasquez came to see me again, we asked him about you and where will we find you. But he told us that the information we needed has a price. A healthy heart. For you. Dad felt so bad when we found out that you're sick. He blamed himself for what happened to you. And it's the first time that I saw Dad get drunk for a week."