MasukLimang taon na ang lumipas nang pinahiya si Clarisse ng kanyang fiance sa publiko. Sinet-up siya nito at ipinakulong sa kasalanang hindi niya naman ginawa. Ngunit nagulat na lang siya na ito pa mismo ang sumundo sa kanya nang makalaya siya. "Naaksidente si Trina. Kailangan niya ang kidney mo." "May sakit siya sa puso. Hindi siya pwedeng mag-donate." Akala ng kanyang ex fiance ay namatay siya sa operasyon. Nagulat na lang din ito nang makita siya sa bahay nito bilang asawa ng nakakatanda nitong kapatid. "Drake, stop. She's your sister-in-law."
Lihat lebih banyakI had been walking on air all day.
Owen had asked to speak with me. Owen. I couldn’t stop replaying it in my head. Maybe, just maybe, this was it. Maybe he’d finally see me…not as just the Alpha’s daughter, or the girl who hovered around him quietly…but as the one who had always been there. The one who loved him. The one who would have given him everything. When I spotted him across the clearing, my heart jumped. He looked like a storm…jaw clenched, arms crossed, his entire body radiating tension. Still, I smiled. I tried to believe there was something behind the cold mask he wore. Something soft. Something that maybe, just maybe, had started to care. I took a tentative step forward, heart thudding. “Owen,” I breathed, reaching out. He stepped back like my touch would poison him. “Don’t,” he snapped, voice flat and sharp. My hand dropped. My chest tightened. "Lyra," he said, and even the way he said my name sounded like an inconvenience. “We need to talk.” “I’m listening,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice from cracking. His eyes were everywhere but on me. He stared at the trees, the ground, even the clouds…but not once did he meet my eyes. Like I didn’t matter. Like I wasn’t even worth looking at. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, arms still crossed. “About our packs. About you. About this… mistake.” My lips parted slightly, confusion setting in. “Mistake?” “This…whatever this was supposed to be. The bond. You,” he spat. “None of it makes sense. And it never will.” My throat tightened. “Owen…” “You’re a charity case,” he cut in. “Everyone knows it. You trail behind me like some pathetic shadow, always watching, always hoping. It’s exhausting. You’re exhausting.” A sharp sting hit the back of my eyes, but I held it in. I wouldn't cry. Not yet. Not in front of him. “My father’s pack is struggling,” I said, swallowing the lump rising in my throat. “But that doesn’t mean I am. I’m not weak.” “You're nothing, Lyra.” His voice was like a blade. “Your pack is a disaster. Your bloodline is tainted by failure. And you? You’re dull. Predictable. Forgettable.” I blinked hard, forcing back the moisture in my eyes. My chest burned. My lungs felt tight. Still, I stood straight. “I don’t understand,” I said softly. “Why now? Why are you saying this now?” He finally looked at me. There was no warmth in his eyes. No remorse. Only disgust. “Because I’ve wasted enough time pretending,” he said. “Selena’s back.” The world dropped out from under me. “She left you,” I said quietly, the words barely forming. “She walked away from you. You broke down because of her. I was there. I…” “And I’d still choose her a thousand times over you,” he said, mouth twisting into a cruel grin. “You were a placeholder. A distraction. I never wanted you.” I took a shaky breath. My eyes were wet, the tears now threatening to fall, but I held them back. I refused to let him see them. “I was good to you,” I whispered. “I stayed. I waited. I tried.” “And I hated every second of it,” he snapped. “You’re always waiting around like a lost pup, clinging to the smallest shred of attention like it’s love. It’s pathetic.” I felt Nira growl within me, but her strength was faint…crushed beneath the weight of our shared heartbreak. “You’re rejecting me,” I said. “Aren’t you?” “I should’ve done it a long time ago,” he said, and then leaned closer, his voice low, venomous. “I reject you, Lyra of the Blueclaw Pack. I reject you, your weak blood, your desperate little heart, and everything you thought this was. I want nothing to do with you…not now, not ever.” His words hit like a storm, one after the other, tearing through the bond I had cherished for so long. Every part of me screamed. Every breath hurt. The tears were there, hot and heavy in my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. He wasn’t worth that. “I accept your rejection,” I said, though my voice trembled. “And one day, Owen…you’ll realize what you lost.” He let out a short laugh. “The only thing I’m losing is dead weight.” I watched him turn his back on me without a second thought. No hesitation. No guilt. Just like that…he walked away. And I stood there…trembling, broken, but still not crying. Not yet. I wouldn’t give him that. Nira’s voice rose inside me, it was low but filled with rage. ‘We’ll rise, Lyra. We’ll become everything he said we couldn’t. And he’ll hate himself for ever speaking to us like that.’ And I swore then and there…I would make Owen regret every single word.Parang nakahinga nang maluwag si Clarisse habang pinapanood ang mga Giorado papasok ng bahay. Inihatid niya ng tingin ang mga ito bago siya nagmamadaling pumasok sa loob ng guesthouse. Samantala, sa loob ng bahay ng mga Giorado, nakaupo sina Drake at Christi sa upuan sa sala. Pinahatid na si Duke sa kwarto nito dahil iyak na ito nang iyak. Si Carlos naman na nagsilbing audience lang kanina ay umuwi na lang din. Halos hindi mapakali si Christi habang nakatitig ang kanilang ama sa kanilang dalawa ng kuya niya. Para silang mga batang kinakastigo. Sa gilid naman at sa pang-isahang sofa ay prenteng nakaupo lang si Luigi. Hindi pa rin makitaan ng emosyon ang mukha ng lalaki. “Anong kaguluhan ito?” kalmado pero malamig na tanong ng ama nina Christi at Drake. Umismid si Drake. “Bakit hindi niyo tanungin ang magaling niyong manugang, Dad?”Nanatiling nakayuko lang si Christi. “Why don’t you ask your son in law, Dad?” si Drake na masamang-masama ang tingin kay Luigi. Nabaling ang tingin n
“Daddy!” Mabilis na nalipat din ang tingin ni Clarisse nang makitang tumakbo ang anak ni Christi sa lalaking nasa likuran nina Carlos at Drake. Maging si Christi ay natulala rin at napatayo nang maayos. “L-Luigi…y-you’re back. I thought may business meeting ka pa sa Beijing?” tanong pa nito sa asawa.“Nandoon si Papa. Umuwi ako para asikasuhin ang divorce natin.” Napakurap-kurap si Clarisse at napatitig kay Christi. Kung kanina ay ang tapang-tapang nito, ngayon ay para itong pinagsakluban ng langit at lupa. Kahit pilit nitong tinatago ay ramdam at kita niya rito ang sakit.“Talagang minamadali mo iyan?” Dinig na dinig ni Clarisse ang pait sa boses ni Christi. Nawala ang matapang at mapangmataas na titig nito sa kanya kanina at napalitan iyon ng tila takot at sakit. Para itong nanliliit habang nakatitig sa asawa nito. “Tsk. Bakit hindi?” tanging sagot lang ng asawa ni Christi dito. Hindi napigilan ni Clarisse ang mapakurap-kurap dahil sa sagot ng lalaki. Napaawang ang kanyang bibig
“Aba, aba! Sumasagot ka na ngayon, ha!” Akmang lalapitan siya nito para sabunutan pero agad itong napigilan ni Christi. “No, Manang, it’s not worth it. Hindi worth it ang babaeng iyan,” mariing sambit pa ni Christi, idinidiin ang salitang ‘hindi worth it’. “Bakit hindi po natin icheck iyan siya! Nako, Maam, malay naman talaga natin!” sulsol na naman ng mayordoma na mas lalong ikinasinghap ni Clarisse. “Wala nga akong kinalaman diyan! Christi, hindi ko alam iyan!” “Sinungaling! Sige nga, hubarin mo iyang suot mo para makita naming wala ka ngang tinatago, ha? Ano?” hamon nito sa kanya. Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Clarisse sa sinabi ng mayordoma. Bumalatay ang takot sa mukha ni Clarisse dahil sa sinabi ng mayordoma. Hindi siya makapaniwala sa mga sinabi nito. Seryoso ba ito? Hindi siya makapaniwala sa sitwasyon na iyon lalo pa nang makita niyang tila pumapayag si Christi sa sinabi ng mayordoma. Mariing umiling si Clarisse. “Hindi! Hindi ko gagawin iyan!” Sobra-sobra na ang ginagawa ng
“Sorry, anak…sorry talaga…” naiiyak na sabi ni Clarisse habang hinahalikan ang kanyang anak sa ulo. Sinapo niya ang magkabilang pisngi nito at pinaharap ito sa kanya. Nakangiti siya sa kanyang anak habang hinahaplos ang buhok nito. “Mama…saan ka ba po pumunta? Natakot ako, eh,” nanginginig pa rin ang boses na sabi nito sa kanya. Parang may nagbara naman sa kanyang lalamunan nang marinig ang sinabi ng kanyang anak. Gusto niyang saktan ang sarili dahil nasaktan din niya ang kanyang anak. “Nasaan ba ang Tito Luis mo? Bakit ka nandito, ha?” tanong niya naman pabalik dito imbes na sagutin ang tanong nito. Ngumuso si Michael sa kanya. “Tulog po siya…lumabas ako kasi hinahanap kita…” Nasapo na lang ni Clarisse ang kanyang noo habang pinagmamasdan ang kanyang anak. Muli niya itong niyakap tapos ay hinagkan ulit ito sa kaliwang pisngi. “Ate?”Napatayo siya nang makita si Luis na palabas ng bahay. “Luis!” Nilapitan niya ang kapatid, hawak ang kanyang anak sa isang kamay. “Bakit hindi mo
“Miss Clarisse, may iilang katanungan lang po kami sa inyo.” Hindi makapagsalita at makagalaw si Clarisse sa tanong ng pulis. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang kanyang gagawin at sasabihin. Napalunok na lang siya. Ramdam niya ang titig ni Callen sa kanya. Tila gusto nitong may sabihin siya pero hindi niy
Kahit anong kondisyon ni Clarisse sa kanyang sarili na huwag magpaapekto sa mga sinasabi at ginagawa ni Drake ay hindi niya pa rin maiwasan. Kuyom na kuyom ang kanyang kamay habang papunta sila sa venue ng kaarawan ni Trina. Gusto niya na lang sanang matapos ang gabing ito nang walang gulo. Ang sabi
Takang-taka si Clarisse habang nakatitig kay Drake na noon ay nasa kanyang harapan. Kasalukuyan siyang nasa sala noon at nakaupo sa mahabang couch. Ang anak niya ay nasa kwarto at natutulog pa. Umaga na iyon at hinihintay na lang niyang matapos ang kanyang niluluto. Sobrang bait ni Callen dahil sobr
“Ito oh. Kain pa kayo…kain ka pa, boy.” “Salamat po,” tipid na sabi ni Clarisse kay Pablo, ang assistant ni Callen. Ngumiti naman ito sa kanya. “Kain din po kayo, Maam, Sir,” sabi naman nito sa kanila ni Luis. Tumango lang ang kapatid niya rito. Nginitian niya rin ito at saka siya bumalik sa pagkain


















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