“I CAN’T do it, Rona! You know I have a boyfriend! William is coming home this month. I can’t let him see me flirting with other men!” kontra ko sa pinsan.
“It’s a bet, Verena. Besides, ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi, hindi ba? You can make him fall in love within a month,” nakangiting sabi ni Rona.“Right. And we told everyone beforehand that if you ever did the job perfectly – you are going to live your life peacefully with William. It means you won’t need to do tasks like this after Remmington Accardi. It’s a win-win situation, Verena. You should not waste opportunities like this,” Taite butted in.Nasa loob pa rin kami ng VVIP Room. The music outside can’t be heard from here, and only their voices were echoing inside my head. Making me go crazy as time passes by.“This is not just about the opportunity, Taite! You never had a serious boyfriend so you don’t have anything to worry about, but I have! I will worry about what William will think of me. He will definitely see me as a woman who acts like a whore when he is not around—”“Oh, please! You are just going to flirt with him a bit, y’know? Make him see your beauty. Charm him with your smile. That is all it takes, Verena! You don’t need to let him screw you if you don’t want to!” Brooke said. She rolled her eyes at me. I can’t believe how they all started liking this task, when it is not even normal!A family pushing their girls to seduce men for their downfall is not normal at all! We are not dolls for heaven’s sake!“Guys, can you please stop fighting? I can do it instead of Verena. Please don’t make her life difficult,” singit ni Cove sa usapan pero wala ni isang lumingon sa kaniya.“Don’t even think of trying to runaway or planning to say no again, Verena. We are Lacroix for a reason. All of us are good at ruining a person here. If you even try to do something, I will make sure that William will forever see you as a whore. I have plenty of connections, Verena. Don’t even try me.”I gasped. I stared at Taite as she stood up from her seat. Sumunod sa kaniya si Brooke na may nanunuyang ngisi lang sa labi niya. Nauna silang lumabas sa VVIP room habang naiwan kaming tatlo nina Rona at Cove.“They always fight, but they sure do coordinate with each other when it comes to this kind of things,” Rona uttered sarcastically.“Whose idea is this?” nanghihina kong tanong. Hindi makapaniwalang wala akong magagawa sa mga nangyayari.“Taite, and your mother. Your mother thought that you are wasting your beauty on that William guy. And besides, you know how Taite hates your guts. That’s why she never stayed here in Philippines. You, beating her on tenth grade as a valedictorian was something she won’t ever forget, girl.” Umiling-iling si Rona.“She has a serious case of insecurity disease, don’t you all think?” tanong ni Cove. “And hey, you did not tell me about this, Rona! At bakit ka sumali sa dalawang iyon! Ang mga malditang iyon!” baling niya agad sa pinsan namin na ngumiti lang. Pero kapansin-pansin ang pananamlay ng ngiti niyang iyon.May tinanggal siya sa tainga niya. It was her earrings. I immediately realized that we were wiretap over the duration of our talk. Naka-off na iyon ngayon dahil paniguradong kuntento na ang mga nakikinig sa narinig nila kanina.About me doing the task.“You know I can’t say no against them. I’m a puppet, not a human,” Rona shrugged her shoulder’s like it was nothing.But it is something. To be used as a tool.“Anyway! I’ll call you if the papers are all ready! And I’ll send your character information later tonight. You know the drill, Verena, right?” Rona stood up as she genuinely smiled at me. “We don’t have a choice here, so make sure to ruin the guy completely, okay?”Hindi ako agad nakaimik, pero kalaunan ay tumango ako.After all, the weaker beings are always the one being trampled at by the strong ones.“YOU looked great!” Hearing my mother praised me didn’t made me feel great at all. In fact, I was looking forward for the day I’m leaving her radar.“Thanks, Mom,” tipid kong sagot habang tinitignan ang sariling repleksyon.My mother was beautiful, and so is my father. That’s why I have this long natural eyelashes. My light gray orbs often attract men too, and it is what William loves the most. On top of that was my pointed nose, and my thin lips. It suited my natural auburn hair which has body waves. But today, I changed my looks according to the profile given to me.A maid. My beautiful long hair was cut, and turned into black. I wore black contacts to hide my real eye color. And they made me wear glasses to make me look plain. They said it was to hide my real identity, because this time, I am going to face a dangerous man. A mafia boss they said based on their research, or the rumors.“You should bring some of your sexy clothes, dear. Make him see your legs. No man can ever turn down your legs, Verena!” tuwang-tuwa sabi ni Mom na ikinabuntonghininga ko.“Yeah. Do what you want, Mom. I’ll just call Rona to let them know that I’m ready for the task.” Hindi ko hinintay ang sagot niya at nauna na agad akong umalis.I did call Rona, and they told me where to go after that. Kaya tatlong oras pagkatapos ko siyang tawagan ay nakita ko na lang ang sarili kong may hawak na dalawang travelling bag habang nakatayo sa harap ng isang malaking gate. It was way bigger than ours. The image of it made me think that the man we are facing this time is not going to make my life easy.“Ano pong atin?” Bumaba ang tingin ko sa guard na bumati sa akin.I immediately let out a soft smile. “A-Ako po iyong bagong maid ni Sir Accardi. A-Ah, Honey Flores po,” uutal-utal kong sabi saboy abot ng papel kung saan nakasaad ang tungkol sa pagdating ko ngayong araw.“Ah! Ikaw po pala ang hinihintay namin! Pasok po kayo. Nasa loob na po si Sir Accardi.”Ha! That didn’t sound good at all.A HUGE mansion. Good helpers. And a jerk boss. “Is she the new hire? A maid, you say?” His deep voice sounds sexy. He has a very nice pair of brown eyes too. Halos hindi ako makaimik habang nasa harap ng lalaking tinatawag nilang Remmington Accardi. No words can explain his whole appearance so well… except that, he looks very gorgeous as hell. He was chewing something on his mouth while smirking at me. His almond eyes looked beautiful, it goes well with his wide lips. I can’t believe that he is rumored to be a mafia boss. Nanonood naman ako ng mga action movies, aside sa mga animated series sa Japan sa gustong-gusto ko. And mostly, in those action movies – the mafia bosses are always ugly looking. With bald head, a huge mustache, bad odor, and they are also short. But this guy, even just sitting – I can say that he is a six footer. “Yes, boss,” sagot ng lalaking nasa likod ng sofa na inuupuan niya. “Ha,” he lets out a soft chuckle. He even stared at me from head to foot, and sudde
TILA hangin ang galaw nito sa sobrang bilis. Nakita ko na lamang ang sariling nasa loob ng bisig niya. “What the! Shut up. I’m not a ghost!” My eyes widened. Panic filled my system as I struggle to get freed from him. “It’s me, Remmington! Calm down!” I can’t! Kung kanina ay natakot ako sa multo, ngayon naman ay sa kaniya na! How can I calm down now that he is holding me?! Bigla ay pumasok sa isipan ko ang nakita sa telebisyon. The news about the woman named Rosey Buenaflor made my whole body trembled in fear. Hinila ko ang kamay niya paalis sa bibig ko at nagtagumpay naman ako. “Get off of me! –” He immediately covered my mouth again when I started shouting. “I will, but you have to calm down. Don’t shout, okay?” At tulad ng sabi niya ay mabilis niya akong binitawan dahilan para lumayo ako kaagad. I just realized then that the reason his face was white was because of the facemask he is wearing. Now that he is close to me, I saw that the white dress I thought the ghost was weari
“ANG malas ko talaga kagabi!” bulalas ni Lera habang naghuhugas ng mga pinggan. “Anong nangyari na naman ba?” tanong ni Sheena. “Nanaginip kasi ako kagabi. Kasama ko ang crush ko na si Jungkook tapos mag-k-kiss na dapat kami noong biglang may narinig akong sigaw. Parang tinatawag si Manang Gina—” Mabilis akong naubo pagkatapos mabilaukan. Mabilis na lumapit sa akin si Sheena. “Dahan-dahan lang, Honey. Ayos ka lang ba, ha?” Naibaba ko ang hawak na baso ng tubig para lang tapikin ang dibdib ko. “O-Oo, ayos lang… nagulat lang,” mahina kong sabi sabay iwas ng tingin. “Naku, uhaw na uhaw ka ba, Honey?” naiiling na sabi ni Lera pagkatapos ay ngumiti. “So, ayon nga at narinig kong may sumisigaw ng pangalan ni Manang Gina kaya nagising ako ng kaonti—” “Ah, diligan ko muna ang mga tanim sa harden. Mauna na ako sa inyo,” singit ko at tumalikod kaagad pero nabangga ako sa isang matigas na bagay. “Anong mayroon dito?” The hard thing I bumped into vibrated when that person asked. Doon ko n
I’M DOOMED.Hindi ko inisip na mangyayari ang bagay na ito dahil hindi naman ako kahit kailan na-attract sa iba. And I’m not used to how my body reacts to him. It feels so hot every time he is near me. Pakiramdam ko ay bibigay agad ako kapag inaya niya ako sa kama. Which I can’t let happen. I have a boyfriend. William is my long-time boyfriend for six years. I’m already twenty-five and just waiting to be freed from my family’s caged, then I will asked William to marry me. We will have a family, and children. Iyon ang plano ko simula pa lang noon. Iyon ang gusto kong mangyari, pero nagkandaloko-loko lahat ng gusto ko dahil lang ipinadala nila ako rito sa mansyon ni Remmington. “So? How was it? Is he hot?” tanong ni Rona. She’s on the phone, as I tried to hide myself inside the bathroom for privacy. “Stop it, Rona. I need your help. Please, gawan mo ng paraan para mapapayag sila. Kailangan kong makaalis dito, Rona. Mababaliw ako kapag ipinagpatuloy ko ito,” bulong ko sa kaniya habang
“NAPANSIN ninyo? Parang hindi na masiyado umaalis si Sir Rem dito sa mansyon,” bigla ay sabi ni Lera. Sabay kaming lumingon ni Sheena kay Remmington na nandoon sa sala. Kausap nito si Mics, pero mula rito sa kinatatayuan namin ay wala kaming marinig na kahit ano. “Baka wala na siyang trabaho sa ibang bansa,” sagot ni Sheena pero umiling agad si Lera.“Narinig ko kayang nagreklamo si Mics kahapon. Ang rami raw kasing tumatawag kay Sir Rem mula sa ibang bansa. Gusto raw siyang makausap at ma-meet sa personal, pero sinasabi lang ni Sir Rem na marami pa raw siyang gagawin dito. Iyon nga lang ay sinabi sa akin ni Mics na wala naman daw talagang trabaho si Sir Rem dito sa Pilipinas masiyado. Ang pinakahuli ata ay iyong sa pinagawa niyang beach resort sa Pangasinan,” sunod-sunod na sabi ni Lera. Lumingon pa ito kay Remmington bago niya tinitigan ng mariin ang lalaki. “Hindi kaya ay dahil sa nangyari roon sa nagpapanggap na maid? Naaapektuhan ba si Sir Rem sa mga fake news na kinalat ng ba
“I TOLD you she was a bad news, Remmington. Look at you now, if people learns that what that woman said was really true then you will lost everything that you have. Even if she dies, she will still have the last laugh,” my cousin, Harvien Kavanagh, uttered with dismay on his face. I chuckled at that. “I don’t really give a fuck if she gets the last laugh, as long as she dies,” malamig kong turan dito.Hindi ako makapaniwala sa nangyari. That woman, Rosey Buenaflor, was a spy brought by a magazine company! She tried to get into our mansion to actually learn more things about me. To unveil the mask I’ve been wearing ever since, but that was a wrong move on her part. Getting caught in my studies, and her writing in her blog about my real identity is actually her calling for death. “Kapag may ginawa ka ngayon ay lalong pagdududahan ka ng lahat. They will think that you killed her to shut her up. You shouldn’t move unless the issue dies--”“I can’t wait until the issue dies, Harvien. I ne
“SIR!” she called. Agarang naglumikot ang mga mata niya habang ang kaniyang mga kamay ay mabilis na tinakpan ang kaniyang sarili. Pero huli na ang lahat dahil nakita ko na.She was wearing something so alluring in the middle of the night, that I was actually glad that I found her here first. Dahil paniguradong mabubulag ang kung sino mang titingin sa kaniya habang ito ang suot niyang damit.My smirk grew wider. “Hindi mo kailangang takpan. It’s actually hot... it suits you,” pabiro kong sabi na ikinasama ng tingin niya sa akin.“Bakit po kayo nandito? Akala ko ay bukas pa po kayo uuwi?” tanong niya. I am supposed to be offended by how she asked me, but I am more amused than offended. No one have ever asked me questions like she does it. “Tinapos ko agad kasi namimiss kita,” sagot ko sa kaniya. Natawa ako ng mas lalong nasira ang ekpresyon ng mukha niya. She rolled her eyes at me. Hindi ito tulad ng pinapakita niyang personalidad sa iba. She was more beautiful this way. Nagagandahan
“INIIWASAN niya ba ako?” tanong ko kay Mics na nasa likod ko lang. Abala ako sa pagtitig kay Honey na hindi lumilingon sa akin simula pa kanina. Nothing happened in between us. I respect her, so I didn’t dare to touch her while she was asleep in my bed. In fact, all I did was to stare at her until I was satisfied -- and that means until morning came. Nang magising siya ay mabilis siyang umalis sa kuwarto ko ng walang sinasabing kahit ano. She ran away from me just like that. And ever since I came down to the sala, she did all sort of things just to avoid me. Iyon ang sa tingin ko. “Sinong tinutukoy mo, boss? May problema ho ba?” Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Mics na hindi naintindihan kung sino ang pinag-uusapan namin. Hindi ako sumagot at umiwas na lang ng tingin. Pero kalaunan ay hindi ako matahimik kaya muli akong nagtanong.“How do you asked for someone’s attention, Mics? Especially, a woman’s attention. Did you asked for it directly? Or text it? Or probably write it in a piece