Chapter 6: Look-alike

—LIA —

Althea wrinkled her nose. "Ulyanin ka na!" (You're forgetful!)

"Open our GC. The one named sinigang na fries, then search the word Tarragona in the conversation. Yvette sent a picture of a woman who looks like you! Don't you remember? Or you weren't able to read her message?" she added.

I immediately opened the group chat and searched for the conversation Althea is talking about. I can't remember Yvette sending a photo like that, so I must have skipped that part when reading messages.

After some moments of backreading in our group's conversation, I finally saw the picture.

My jaw dropped. I was the woman named Dennise in the photo. He is still with a man in the photo. However, this time, it was a different man. The man looks way older than Dennise. They were outside a Gucci shop. Dennise was carrying her purse while the man was just standing beside her. There are also men in suits, which looks like their bodyguards, carrying several paper bags from different luxury brands.

"Did you already find it? The man looks old, right?" Althea asked. "Mukhang sugar daddy ni ate girl 'yan." (He looks like the lady's sugar daddy.)

"Yeah," that's all that I can say since I was busy reading the messages.

Yvette sent a photo

Yvette: Mahal @Maria Mahalia, nandito ka pala sa Spain, 'di ka man lang nagsabi. (You didn't even tell me you're in Spain.)

Jhoan: Si Lia ba 'yan? E'di ba naghohost siya ng workshop ngayon? (Is that Lia? I thought she was hosting a workshop right now?)

Jerome: Parang hindi naman si Lia 'yan. Baka kamukha lang. (I think that's not Lia. Maybe just a look-alike.)

Celsi: Gaga @Yvette. Kasama ko ngayon si Lia. Nasa Tagaytay kami ngayon for workshop. (Stupid @Yvette. I'm with Lia right now. We're in Tagaytay for the workshop.)

Yvette: Hala, hindi nga si Mahal. Tinawag na Dennise 'yung babae, eh. (Oh, it's not really Mahal [Lia]. Someone called the lady by the name Dennise.)

Celsi: Gurang na 'yung lalaki HAHAHAHA. Mukhang sugar daddeh. (The man looks so old HAHAHAHA. He looks like a sugar daddy.)

Jhoan: Swerte ni ate girl, may taga-bayad ng luho. (Girl's so lucky, she has someone to pay for her luxuries.)

Yvette: Nakakairita naman 'yung boses nung Dennise. Parang naipit na itik HAHAHA. (That Dennise's voice is so irritating. It sounds like a squashed duck.)

Jerome: Ang weird, parang si Lia talaga 'yung babae. (It's weird, the lady really looks like Lia.)

More messages went on after that. Yvette also sent a video of Dennise and the other man walking towards a car.

If I can find who that man is, I'm sure that I can also find that Dennise. I need to talk to Yvette about it. Maybe, she can also help me with this problem. Her family has lots of connection in Spain. I'm sure they can find information about the old man or Dennise.

I have a lot of questions. First, why does that Dennise looks like me? Second, why does that man is so eager to find Dennise? Lastly, why does that man is so angry at his ex-girlfriend?

After I cut the call with Althea, I put my attention back to my laptop and continued on searching more about that Dennise.

Almost all of the pictures in the internet that has my photo link to my social media accounts or to my friends'. There are some photos that I know weren't took here in the Philippines, but those photos have no link to go to.

I saw some pictures of me in front of the Eiffel Tower. There was also another one took at the Venice Grand Canal in Italy. There is also a photo of me inside a bar. But there was one photo that caught my attention.

It was Dennise and the man who kidnapped me, her ex-boyfriend. They are inside a fine dining restaurant. Both of them are smiling happily and the man was holding Dennise's hand.

If they are this happy before, I wonder what kind of thing happened to them for that man to be so angry at Dennise. Just one look at the photo and I can say that he is very in love with her, if not in love, then whipped. That kind of love is difficult to surpass, or change in the future.

I closed my eyes. Suddenly, the view of that man earlier went back to my mind. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked at me earlier like I was some kind of criminal who killed lots of people.

I'm sure that something bad happened that made him look at Dennise that way.

I grabbed my phone and checked if Yvette is online on her account. However, she has no activity status listed. I sent her a message.

Me: Hi, Yvette! I want to have a video call with you if you're available. Hindi ko kasi 'to madidiscuss through chat eh. Very important matter kasi. Thank you! (I can't discuss it through chat. It is a very important matter.)

I placed my phone back in the table and continue on searching more photos of Dennise. Like earlier, every photo of her does not have a link or account to go to. Every time I click the link of the photo, an "unavailable" or "removed" text pops up.

Scrolling in my laptop, I already reached the bottom of the page but I still haven't got any leads about her.

I let out a loud sighed. I didn't think that finding information about her will be this difficult.

Perhaps, that lady is really good at hiding. If the man earlier wasn't able to find her, I don't think I can do it. Besides, the old man with her in the photo Yvette sent to the group chat looks like someone who you will not choose to mess with. I'm sure that old man is protecting her.

Yvette smiled at me. "Hi, Mahal! It's been a long time. I'm sorry, hindi ko agad nakita 'yung chat mo. I was busy decluttering my room." (I'm sorry, I wasn't able to see your chat.)

"It's okay. I just have a question," I said while putting my earphones and connecting it to my phone. "Nag-usap kami ni Althea kanina. She told me about the photo you sent to the GC when you were in Tarragona. (I talked to Althea earlier.)

"The photo of the lady who looks like me. Do you remember that?" I asked her.

"Of course!" she responded. "I can't forget that. I still get chills whenever I remember that woman."