KABANATA 2

Mag- aalas kwatro pa lang ng madaling araw, pero nagliliwanag na ang mansiyon na pag- aari ng mayamang pamilya ng mga Collins.

Matapos kasi ng isang malakas na tunog ng animo'y pagbangga ng kung ano sa kung saan ay agad nang nagising ang lahat ng naninirahan sa malaking bahay na iyon.

One of them was a man in his late twenties named 'Zayne'— who immediately got up and decided to go down and check what really did cause the loud and strange sound.

Pero ganoon na lamang ang naramdaman niyang gulat nang mamataan ang isang pamilyar at mamahaling sasakyan na nakabangga sa mismong pader ng mansiyon.

Alam niya kasi kung sino ang may ari at posibleng sakay ng kotseng iyon— si Ezaiyah, ang nag-iisang tunay na anak ng lalaking napangasawa ng Tita Haydie niya na kinilala niya na ring ama— si Don Rafael.

Sa labis na pag- aalala ay hindi na siya nag dalawang isip pa at mabilis nang kinatok bintana ng sasakyan. Paulit- ulit din niyang tinawag ng malakas ang pangalan ng dalaga sa pag- asang ayos lang ito sa loob. Pero lumipas lang ang ilang minuto ay wala pa rin siyang nakukuha maski isang senyales galing kay Ezaiyah.

That's when he ordered the guard to get something hard and heavy. Babasagin niya na ang bintana ng kotse nito.

He already don't care if she would be mad at her the next day. Ang mahalaga lang sa kaniya ay ang mailabas doon ang dalaga.

EZAIYAH woke up late the next morning.

And the first thing she did was to wonder on how did she got up into her bed.

She barely remember anything from yesterday.

All that she know is that after her photo shoot, she went on one of the most famous bar on town wherein she hanged out with her colleagues and friends. She had a blast there, and almost lose herself from too much alcohol. And then she went home when it was already dawn. She successfully reach their mansion without getting into troubles and such road accidents. But when she was finally trying to get in the garage...

She screamed with the glimpse of what probably happened last night. Is is true that she crashed her car right on the wall? Or is she just dreaming by that time? Oh, heck. How she wish, she was just dreaming!

"Please, let me have those only as a dream. Please!" she murmured to herself as rake her own hair in disgust.

"Oh, gosh..." she exclaimed once more before she made up her mind to go down and see the car by herself.

She almost fell down the stairs for trying her very best to get down as fast as she could.

But when she finally reach the garage, she panicked. And when she felt like she couldn't contain her emotions anymore, she screamed.

"Who the hell did this on my car?! Who the hell are you?!" she cried after seeing her car's window that was totally wrecked by someone.

There's no way she did that by herself! Because she know that there's no effin' way she could crash her car on the wall, and the damage fell on the side of her ride!

"What's with the morning scream, young lady?"

Ezaiyah looked back after hearing those phrases from someone who suddenly spoke from behind her.

And what she saw there literally add up to her already intense emotion. It was Haydie, her stepmom— who seemingly swear to ruin her life as a mission.

Since both her parents died, Haydie already made and is still making her life miserable. So thanks to her, she was able to experience hell even though she is still alive!

"Who did this?" she asked her, pointing at the ruined car's window.

"I don't know. I don't even know what time you made it at home. I'm not this house's guard." she defensively said.

And just as that, she started to regret on why did she even asked this witch. She shouldn't ask her in the first place. Why? Because of all people, this witch should be the last on whom can she expect a nice and sensible answer.

"I did it, Zai. And I'm sorry."

Her eyes flew from Haydie to someone who spoke as well all of a sudden. It was Haydie's nephew and his name is Zayne.

What he just said echoed multiple times on her mind.

"I did it, Zai. And I'm sorry."

"I did it, Zai. And I'm sorry."

"I did it, Zai. And I'm sorry."

So, it's him. So, it's freaking him?!

After processing Zayne's confession, she suddenly felt a rush coming in.

And seconds after, she felt her hand going up. And in an impulse, she just found herself giving him a hard and much deserve slap right in the face.

She heard someone gasp and even though she won't look, she can determine who was it exactly.

Like, who was it possibly other than an overreacting Haydie?

"O-Ouch. That hurts. Okay, that hurts." Zayne said after a while of being shocked and silent.

"Why did you do that?!" she shouted at his face, not giving a damn to his little complaint about the slap.

"I did that on purpose, okay? And I want you to hear me out first—"

"Yeah, of course, you did that on purpose! And that purpose is to disturb the hell out of me!" she shouted once again.

But instead of Zayne, Haydie was the one who speak.

"Do you really need to act up like you're some sort of a five-year-old kid? When will you grow up, Ezaiyah? When?" her stepmom said, which caused her to go even mad.

"Speaking all of a sudden between two consenting adults is an act of immaturity as well. And one more thing, I'm not asking you to be this man's spokesperson. Neither he did."

Haydie's eyes went wide as she heard that unexpected comeback from Ezaiyah.

"How dare you answer me like that, you...!"

"What?" she interrupted her immediately. "Why don't you just choose to shut that big mouth of yours instead of saying too much nonsensical sentences?"

"Don't talk like that to Aunt Haydie, Zai. She's still your mom—"

"No, she isn't. And she will never be."

The silence broke among the three of them as they all stared at the wrecked vehicle.

"What am I supposed to do with this now? Ride it down the city and be proud that I have this freaking car?" Ezaiyah sarcastically said.

"I'll just hire someone to get it done for you. Just stop menacing around. Or I'll just buy you a new one—"

"Using whom's money? My dad's? Oh, come on!"

"Zayne only did that to save you. It wasn't his fault that you let yourself drown in alcohol and didn't even bother to go get someone good enough to drop you home." her wicked stepmom said in return.

Ezaiyah felt shocked after hearing those words from her.

Zayne did what?

She suddenly felt her conscience kicking in. But she must not be easily fooled by these two. Breaking her beloved car's window isn't right still.

"You shouldn't have done that. You should've just let me by myself and—"

"And you should just thank this man beside you instead of blaming him for what he did to save you."

Ezaiyah closed her eyes shut, trying to prolong her remaining patience with her gossiping stepmom.

But then, she was sorry to tell them that she can't.

"Thank him? Really?" she asked before she let out a sarcastic and fake laugh. "And how about you? Should I thank you, too, for ruining my beloved family?"

The stepmom's eyes widened again as her hand raised and was about to slap Ezaiyah, but Zayne was able to catch her arm before it actually land on the young woman's cheeks.

Ezaiyah on the other hand, felt something strange. She automatically stepped back from where she was standing.

And she can't explain it in any specific way but... the thought of Haydie being so near to slapping her hurts more rather than annoying.

Shock enveloped Haydie's face, too. But she can't do anything but keep herself silent.

Ezaiyah, who was still in shock, turned her back already from those two as she run away from them.

She went straight to her room and search all her close friends' numbers. Giving only one and the same message to them all: "I won't go to work this day. Meet me at the bar we went to last night if you wanna join me in a blast."