Chapter 8

Mikha POV

Pagkababa ko ng phone, nanatili akong nakatulala sa dilim.
​Kakatapos lang mag-paliwanag ni Joanna sa tawag.

Joanna’s plan was brilliant on paper, but terrifying in reality. IVF and surrogacy—my “investment” to secure the bloodline and unlock the inheritance. My way out of the debts, the threats, and the fear.
​But deep inside, something felt wrong.

She laid everything out—donor, IVF, surrogacy. She said she already know someone. May connections. May proseso.

Ang kailangan ko na lang daw ay maglabas ng medyo malaking halaga.

“Investment,” sabi niya.

“Your way out.”

Pero deep inside, parang may mali.

Wala sa bokabularyo ko ang magkaanak.
Never did I imagine myself having a child—my own bloodline.

Will I even be a good parent?
Or magiging isa lang akong pangalan sa birth certificate?
Paano kung paglaki niya, maramdaman niyang isinilang lang siya dahil sa desperasyon ko?
Because I needed to save myself.

What if one day, he or she find out the reason why she’s was born.

That thought alone was enough to crush me.

That night, uminom ako.
Hindi dahil masaya.
Kundi dahil iyon na lang ang alam kong paraan para makatulog gabi gabi.

Habang umiikot ang baso sa kamay ko, tumatak sa isip ko ang sinabi ni Dad noon.

Na ako raw ang pinaka-walang kwenta sa mga anak niya.
Selfish.
Careless.
A walking disaster.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I was never meant to build anything—only to break things. My life, my reputation, my future… all shattered because I thought I was faster than the consequences. Now, I was sitting in the dark.

Maya-maya, tumunog ang phone ko.

Bagong number.
Wala pa akong naka-save na contacts.

Inisip ko— baka si Joanna hindi pa kasi ako nag sasave kasi bago yung phone ko.

Pero nanlamig ang buong katawan ko nang may nagsalita sa kabilang linya.

“Mikhaela Janna Lim,” malamig at diretso ang boses.
“Hide all you want. One thing’s for sure—we can hunt you down.”

Parang may humigpit sa dibdib ko.

“And if you don’t cooperate,” dugtong niya,
“we’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

Hindi ko namalayang hindi ko pala nabababa ang phone.
Hindi rin ako makapagsalita.
Nakatayo lang ako roon—nakatulala, nanginginig, parang naubusan ng hangin.

The line went dead.

At doon ko naintindihan.

Wala na akong oras.
Hindi na pwedeng magduda.
Hindi na pwedeng umatras.

Kung kailangan kong gumawa ng bagay na hindi ko kailanman inisip para mabuhay—gagawin ko.

Patawarin ako ng Diyos, sa batang isisilang dahil sa desisyong ’to.
Hindi ka isinilang dahil gusto kitang gamitin.

Isinilang ka…
dahil kailangan kong mabuhay.

……

After that call, wala na akong sinayang na oras.

I cooperated.

Ilang araw akong pabalik-balik sa ospital—parang naging second home ko na ’yon. Blood tests. Ultrasounds. Forms after forms. Lahat ng hinihingi nila, binigay ko. Wala nang tanong. 

Nakipag-meeting na rin ako sa magiging surrogate ng baby ko.
Mabait siya. Calm. Professional. Parang mas handa pa siya kaysa sa’kin.
Habang nagsasalita yung Doctor tungkol sa proseso, ako naman tahimik lang—nakatitig sa sahig, pilit pinapakalma ang sarili.

May napili na rin kaming sperm donor.
Half Japanese, half Russian.
Malinis ang medical history. Walang sakit. Matataas ang scores—IQ, physical health, genetic screening.
Parang resume ng isang taong hindi ko naman talaga makikilala.

Irony.

Pinili ko ang magiging kalahati ng dugo ng anak ko…
pero hindi ko alam kung anong klaseng tao ako bilang magulang.

After three to five days, scheduled na ang egg retrieval procedure.

Doon na ako kinabahan ng todo.

Pawis na pawis ako sa loob ng clinic.
Hindi ako mapakali—paikot-ikot, kamay ko nanginginig.
Every beep ng machine, every tawag ng nurse, parang countdown sa isang buhay na hindi ko naman pinangarap, pero ngayon ay kinakailangan ko.

This wasn’t love.
This was survival.

Gusto kong umatras.
Gusto kong tumakbo palabas at magkunwaring hindi nangyayari ’to.

Pero naalala ko ang boses sa phone.
Ang banta.
Ang oras na nauubos.

So I stayed.

I closed my eyes.
Huminga nang malalim.

I will do this anyway.

Kahit mali.
Kahit magulo.
Kahit hindi pa ako handa.

Because at this point, I wasn’t choosing a future.

I was choosing to stay alive.

….

Aiah’s POV

Last week, it became official. May UTI na naman ako.

“Mild lang naman,” sabi ng doctor. Pero kahit mild, sobrang hassle pa rin. It’s that annoying, stinging discomfort that just won’t leave you alone.

“Hay, buhay,” bulong ko sa sarili ko habang kumakagat ng mansanas. I’m really trying to be healthy this time. No more skipping water, no more too much coffee. Today, I had to file an absence sa work. Sabi ni Doc, kailangan ko raw bumalik for a follow-up check. Kapag pabalik-balik daw ang UTI, hindi na pwedeng balewalain.

They referred me to an OB-GYN this time—para raw masuri lahat.

Nagbihis lang ako ng simple—blouse, skirt, and just a little fix for my hair. Habang palabas ng bahay, napa-isip ako, “Grabe, para na akong buntis sa dami ng appointments ko. Ang hirap siguro ng ganung buhay—pila dito, check-up doon. Luckily, wala sa plano ko ‘yun.”

Buti na lang talaga may HMO. Jusko, ang hirap magkasakit sa panahon ngayon. Isang check-up lang, libo na agad ang lumilipad. I have a trip to Thailand next month, and I refuse to be that tourist na may dalang medical certificate sa beach.

Pagdating sa clinic, I filled out the forms.

Name. Age. Symptoms. Parang résumé ng katawan ko.

“Maraiah Queen Arceta,” I whispered as I finished the form.

The nurse handed me a small slip of paper with a number on it. 6. Tinitigan ko siya ng matagal. Baliktad ba? “6 ba ‘to… o 9?” Sa isip ko, 6 na lang. Para mas mabilis matawag. Hehe.

After a few minutes of scrolling through my phone, I heard it.

“Number six.”

Salamat, universe. Tinuro ako ng nurse sa isang private room. Pagpasok ko, it was quiet and freezing cold. Amoy disinfectant at kaba. I took a deep breath. Okay, Aiah. Adult ka na. You’ve survived deadlines, breakups, at toxic managers. Kaya mo ‘to.

I followed the instructions and lay down on the bed. I knew the drill for these exams. You just have to endure the awkwardness.

“Ready na po kayo, ma’am?” tanong ng doctor. Calm and professional.

“Opo, Doc,” sagot ko agad, staring at the ceiling. “Gawin na po natin ‘yan.”

While the procedure was ongoing, I counted the tiles on the ceiling to distract myself. One thought kept repeating in my head: Maya-maya, tapos na ‘to. Makakakain na ako ng lunch.

And finally, it was over.

Nagbihis ako ulit, feeling a bit lightheaded and “lutang.” I went back to the nurse’s desk.

“Sasabihin na lang po namin yung results after a week,” sabi ng nurse.

After a week? Akala ko ba high-tech ang ospital na ‘to? Bakit ang tagal? But before I could ask, she looked up at me and gave me a warm, confusing smile.

“Congratulations, po.”

I blinked, completely caught off guard. “Ha?”

Congratulations for what? For surviving a check-up? Pero bago pa ako makapag-react, tinawag na niya ang next patient. 

Bahala na. Ang mahalaga, tapos na at makakaalis na ako.

I walked out into the hallway, feeling relieved. But then… the world seemed to slow down.

In front of me, walking in the opposite direction, was a woman.

Wait parang kilala koto

Wait, parang kilala ko ‘to.

She was striking. Pula ang buhok,

makapal ang kilay, maputi. She looked like an actress or someone from a billionaire family. Well, hindi nakapagtataka, high-end hospital ‘to. But one thing stood out more than her looks—her eyes.

Pero one thing I noticed.. her eyes..

Balisa siya.

Yung tipo ng taong kahit nakatayo lang, ramdam mong may dinadalang bigat.

Nagtagpo ang paningin namin sandali. pero parang di niya din naman ako nakita.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero kinabahan ako.
 

Parang… kilala ko siya.
O baka pakiramdam ko lang ’yon.

Saglit lang.
Isang segundo.
Pero may kung anong kumurot sa dibdib ko.

Bumaling na rin siya agad ng tingin, parang may hinahanap—o tinatakasan.

Tumuloy lang ako sa paglakad.

…..

Mikha’s POV

Tumunog ang phone ko. It was Joanna.

“Mikha, hindi ko na ma-contact yung surrogate,” she said, her voice shaking with pure panic. “After natin mag-down ng 200k, bigla na lang siyang hindi nag-paramdam. No replies. No answers. She vanished.”

Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko. A heavy, sinking feeling settled in my chest.

Today was supposed to be the day. This IVF procedure was my last card, my only way to secure the inheritance and keep those people from the States off my back. Millions of pesos were already down the drain—the surrogate’s fee, the elite sperm donor, the hospital deposits, the specialized doctors. I’ve poured everything I have left into this. I cannot afford to fail this time.

Wala na akong ibang maisip. I grabbed my keys and sprinted to the garage. I drove like a madman to the hospital, weaving through the thick Manila traffic, ignoring every speed limit. I needed to be there.

Pagdating ko sa IVF wing, I felt the tension immediately. The air was thick with it. Nurses were scurrying back and forth, whispering to each other with terrified looks. Parang may nagkakagulo. I saw my doctor standing by the station, staring at his clipboard as if it were a death warrant, his hands visibly trembling.

“Doc, may dumating ba na surrogate mother? I tried to contact her pero hindi sumasagot” tanong ko.

Nagkatinginan ang mga staff. The silence was deafening.

“Ma’am… we have a serious problem,” the doctor stammered, his face pale.

Then, he told me the unthinkable. The nightmare.

The surrogate never showed up. But because of a disastrous clerical error—a simple mix-up with the room numbers—another patient was ushered into the procedure room. She was only there for a routine UTI check-up, but because she held the same queue number and the staff was in a rush, they led her to the wrong suite.

And the worst part? The procedure was already finished.

“Naturukan na siya, Ma’am. The embryo transfer was successful.”

I felt like the world stopped spinning. Hindi pwede ‘to. I didn’t back down; instead, I felt a cold rage bubbling up. Humigpit ang panga ko.

“No way,” I said, my voice low but heavy with a threat. “I don’t care what it takes. I’ll pay her double, triple—anything. Just get me her contact details.”

Napatingin ang lahat sa akin, speechless.

“Get me everything,” I ordered, my voice cutting through the room like a knife. “Full name. Address. Contact details. Medical records. And I want all the CCTV footage—from the entrance, the lobby, and every single hallway. I want every angle.”

A nurse looked at me, shocked. “Ma’am, that’s highly confidential—”

“Now!” I repeated, my eyes burning.

This was their malpractice, their massive mistake. I didn’t have time to blame them yet; I had a life to track down.

I went to the security room and watched as they rewound the footage. I stared at the screen, watching every frame with eagle-eyed focus. There she was. A girl in a simple blouse and skirt, looking completely oblivious. Normal ang lakad niya. She had no idea that her life had just been hijacked, that her future had been rewritten in a single room.

Then… a specific frame hit me.

Nanikip ang dibdib ko. The air was sucked out of the room.

Wait. I recognize that profile. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear. The way she walked.

I leaned closer to the monitor, my heart hammering against my ribs. Hindi ako pwedeng magkamali. Ang ibig sabihin nakasalubong ko siya just a few minutes ago in the hallway. I felt that weird pinch in my chest when our eyes met for a split second.

It was… Aiah.

The girl from Egypt. The girl from the night I never forgot. The one whose memory I had cherished in secret for an entire year.

Parang may bumagsak na mabigat sa sikmura ko. My head started to spin. Of all the people in this crowded city, of all the rooms in this massive hospital… bakit siya pa?

Huminga ako nang malalim, trying to process the impossible irony.

Pinaglalaruan ba ako ng tadhana?

The girl I’ve been longing to see again is now carrying the very thing that is supposed to save my life.