C5 05

"Liar!"

My knees started to shake as I watched the mad man barging into the function hall. He wore a set of crumpled, cotton shirts and black pants on top of white pair of sneakers. He had a fair complexion and good looks, concealed by his disheveled, and untrimmed hair. Except for the crumpled shirt and messy, long hair, the man looked like he came from a prominent family. The brands of his clothes looked expensive, as well as his pair of Gucci Ace leather sneakers. I was familiar with it because of Eric.

"Mr. Sean Mark Grey, you are going to marry this woman while offering your love to someone else?"

"Have someone call the guard!" Sean instructed to particularly no one, but the hospital's security officers came running after a while.

"Mr. Grey, that is not the answer to my question. Why would you offer a whirlwind marriage to this woman when your heart belongs to someone else?"

"Take him away!" Sean ignored him, motioning for the guard to come in.

"Mr. Grey, for the love of money, and for the love of fame, you choose to ignore the one whom your heart desires."

The guards dragged him, but he looked over, laughing like a mad man. The flashes of the cameras glittered rapidly as they took photos of the incident. I trembled harder, and I knew it was no longer about my fear of that crazy man, but on what he said. There was truth to it, our engagement happened too soon, and so with the marriage. Furthermore, I knew about the truth that Sean loved the woman who first taught him how to love and the first woman who gave her the first experience of sexual bliss.

Knowing that Calla was around brought me a pang of pain that I did not realize a drop of tear had escaped from my eyes. Sean saw me and he wrapped my arms tighter around me. I could feel him trembling, and I could hear the loud dubbing of his heartbeats. Perhaps, it was anger or probably fear because he was exposed.

Sean led me back to the table, and as soon we found our seats, the lady of the ceremony took the stage and addressed the crowd.

"Our beloved guests, our apologies for what had just happened. It was beyond our control as it was something unexpected. To give your mind some peace, Chairman Fabella is here to explain it to us. Let's give him our undivided attention."

The frail, old man that I respected and adored came up the stage. His face held a complicated expression--from massive shock to anger and a sorry look.

"Our beloved guests, ladies, and gentlemen. Our apologies for having this unforeseen incident ruining our night. I am so sorry for Mr. Mark Grey because that man defamed him. I have known Mr. Grey for so long already, and I have also known that Dr. Red is always the woman of his dreams. That whirlwind romance that mad man claimed has no truth at all because I am a living witness of his love for her since the day he started to catch her attention and until today."

I looked at Eric and Calla from the corners of my eyes. They were staring at the chairman, but knowing Eric for so long, I saw that glints of disdain in his eyes. If I were to believe his claims that he loved me, perhaps, I would think it was jealousy. Yet, Calla was already by his side, and I now meant nothing to him.

"Mr. Chairman," a voice of a man at the entrance interrupted him, "I already have the report about that man."

"Please, come over," said the chairman whose forehead got more wrinkles now that he was anxious.

The man took two stairs at a time and bowed slightly before Chairman Fabella. He was wearing a suit, so I guessed he was one of the guests. We were not too many here, but I didn't remember seeing his face.

"That man is one of the patients in this hospital's psychiatric ward. Shortly after our program started, he was already sitting by the entrance. And according to the ward staff, he has escaped unnoticed again."

But how does he know about Sean's private matters? And what the hell does he mean by the love of fame and money? Isn't Sean a billionaire already?

The people gasped, and soon the hall became noisy as a market. As the noise dissipated, the lady of the ceremony spoke again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, shall we move on now to the next part of tonight's activity and put aside our fear since everything is now under control. The floor is now open for everyone to seize the moment and grace the dance floor with romance."

Beautiful music then flowed out from the background, and everyone cooperated. Couples filled the dancefloor, and in a moment, the atmosphere returned to its celebratory air. Sean also took my hand and led me out for a dance. And once we were in the middle, he held my hand and placed it around his neck. He then held me close to him, and we just swayed according to the rhythm.

"Still scared?" Sean finally brought up the topic after a long while of silence. He was still hugging me while we moved around the room.

"Yes," I admitted, and another drop of tears trickled down my face.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked, and there were glints of pain in his eyes.

"But Sean, he seems to know a thing about you. What does he mean about money?"

"I guess I know why."

I looked into his eyes while tears run freely from my eyes.

"Calla did it on purpose. No one else knows about us. And I wouldn't think she'd go around spreading the news that would only add to her shame. Babe, she also needs to hide the truth from the president. Or else, she will be in trouble. She left Eric because of him."

"Do you think she has ended her relationship with him? How can she go out with Eric in public if she hasn't?"

"Maybe. The president is facing many problems now, not to mention the fact that the whole nation already knows about his infidelity. They couldn't go on this way unless the president is willing to give up his family and his presidency."

I stopped moving as I dared to ask him more about the things that were then bothering me. "But why would she do it to you?"

"Because she wants me to marry her. Calla has a personality problem. She wants to get everything she wants. And if what her aunt said is true, she did it because she also wants my money."

"Do you think it's her way of trying to stop our wedding?"

"She already knows it."