Patrick (Joshua Garcia) is torn between waiting for Matmat (Carlo Aquino) to come out of hiding and following Mia (Anne Curtis), whose growing stillness he senses is masking something far more dangerous as she follows Dennis (JV Kapunan), the tactless reporter who keeps threatening to expose her secrets.
Elsewhere in the venue, Mia corners Dennis, who shamelessly repeats what he claims to know about her—including her antisocial personality disorder, followed by a threat that no one would want to buy her books if people found out who she truly is, and then implies that there’s still more to uncover, particularly the truth behind what really happened to her mother, which he says he’s willing to keep quiet about in exchange for an exclusive interview and something else he reduces to a “one-night stand.”
Mia runs her hand slowly from Dennis' neck down to his shoulder and over to the breast pocket of his shirt, where she knows he keeps a pen embedded with a hidden camera, which she pulls out and points directly at his eye like a weapon. Dennis stumbles in shock and almost loses his balance on the edge of the staircase behind him.
Breath quick and heart racing, Patrick arrives too late as Mia has already pushed Dennis down the stairs. She expresses disappointment upon learning that he survived and has been brought to the hospital. While her anger simmers beneath the surface, Patrick stays by her side, reminding her that there are other ways to deal with people like Dennis—ways that don’t involve violence, because if she might just end up getting herself hurt in the process if she keeps choosing that path.
But Mia says she doesn’t care if she dies as it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to end her life anyway. Patrick then reaches for her arm and demonstrates a therapeutic grounding technique known as the butterfly hug, where one crosses their arms over the chest, places the hands on the shoulders, and rhythmically taps the upper arms like fluttering wings, which he explains is often used to calm people in the middle of panic, anxiety, or trauma.
Catch “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay” on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5, weeknights at 8:45 PM. Watch it in advance on Netflix and iWant.