007

Juliana

—

The sun lounger suddenly felt too small with him beside me.

I continued to stare at him in silence, but didn't give anything away.

Kung mabilis man ang tibok ng puso ko o pinagpapawisan ang mga palad ko, kahit alin do'n na simbolo ng kabang nararamdaman, hindi ko ipinakita.

"You said you wanted to bond, right?" His body shifted until he was fully facing me.

I held my breath when his gaze dropped from my face to my chest, trailing down my body, or maybe to what I was wearing—hindi ko sigurado kung alin do'n o kung pareho. But the fury in his eyes only intensified. It was dark and sharp.

Kaya nang mag-angat siyang muli ng tingin sa aking mga mata, ang tanging emosyong nakita ko roon ay poot at matinding pagkasuklam.

The lump forming in my throat begged to be swallowed, pero pati ang simpleng pagkislot ng lalamunan ay hindi ko hinayaang makita.

Damn it. Why is my confidence crumbling? Hindi pwede 'to. I willingly came here to question his fucked-up rules, not to fall apart in front of him!

I tried to move an inch away from him because I couldn't handle him being topless and this close. My mind was screaming that I needed to put some distance between him and me to think clearly, as all the alarms in my head were blaring danger.

Especially because if he decided to pin me down against the backrest of the lounger, he could easily do so.

At akala ko iyon nga ang gagawin niya nang lumapit pa siya lalo at bagyang yumuko sa banda ko. His face hovered dangerously close to mine that I had to turn my head to the side para lang hindi iyon magtama.

I internally panicked, but I forced myself not to flinch again para ipakitang hindi ako apektado, na taliwas sa totoong nararamdaman.

Sa sobrang lapit niya, his manly scent started to engulf me. The warm musk coming from him was annoyingly intoxicating, kaya kinailangan kong huminga nang dahan-dahan para lang hindi malunod sa amoy na 'yon.

Doon ko lang naintindihan ang gusto niyang mangyari nang maramdaman ko ang kanyang kamay malapit sa akin. He took the crumpled piece of paper from my hand without touching my skin.

"But before we do that... let's review this first, shall we?" aniya at umayos sa pagkakaupo pero nanatili pa rin sa gano'ng lapit.

Pilit kong hinugot ang kumpiyansang baon at dala ko papunta rito kanina.

This is just a man's body, Juliana. You see this all the time in magazines and movies. Naninibago ka lang kasi hindi ganito ang nakikita mo sa iba mong kaibigan at sa mga lalaking ka-edad mo, but this is freaking normal. There's nothing special about his goddamn muscles. Don't get intimidated by this awful bastard! Tandaan mong masama ang ugali niyan!

Hilaw akong ngumisi nang makabawi. "I'm glad that you're open to discussing these rules with me, Kuya."

His jaw ticked, and his eyes turned a shade darker.

"You already know how much I hate my name rolling off your filthy mouth, kaya hindi ko na kailangang ipaliwanag ang dalawang nauna. And you said you already understand the next two, so let's move on to number five."

Tumigil siya sandali, bahagyang tinaas ang kilay. Hindi pa rin nawawala ang matinding galit sa kanyang mga mata. "Which, by the way, you just blatantly violated by being here right now."

I straightened my back, instinctively going into defense mode, and ignoring the heat radiating from his still-damp skin so close to mine. Nagsalubong ang kilay ko dahil hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung bakit kailangang kasama ang patakaran na 'to.

It's just a pool, for Pete's sake! Ang babaw talaga ng siraulong 'to!

"You could share the pool if you're not using it. I want to swim in my free time too. Don't be unreasonable," mariin kong sambit habang pinipigilan ang sariling sumigaw.

We're only on the first one. Calm down, Juliana, if you want to negotiate with this asshole!

His mouth lifted into a cruel smirk once again. Dahan-dahan ulit na gumapang ang kanyang tingin sa aking katawan.

"The thing is..." he drawled, glancing my body with pure disdain, "the water is too clean for your dirty body, dear sister. I just don't want it to be contaminated by your filth."

There are too many thoughts going through my head, but the most profound one is with my fist badly wanting to connect to his face. Instead of making it a reality, nanatiling nakakuyom ang kamao ko sa aking magkabilang gilid.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth, trying to calm myself down. "I won't ever be here again."

It's just a pool anyway. Kung ayaw niyang andito ako, sige. Pulikatin sana siya!

I forced another fake smile, despite wanting to strangle him, to show him that I am really willing to negotiate with his damning rules.

You need this, Juliana. Wala ka namang ibang pagpipilian sa ngayon kundi tiisin ang kalupitan ng gagong 'to. Dalawang linggo ka pang mananatili rito, o hanggang hindi ka pa nakakahanap ng paraan para makaalis sa lugar na 'to. So you need to play your cards right and be a good little sister to your much older, yet irrational stepbrother.

He looked somehow satisfied with my submission. His head tilted slightly, and another wicked glint shone in his dark eyes.

"But since I'm a good brother... I'll let you off again. Under one condition."

Oh. Wow? I... didn't expect that.

I was lucky the first time he agreed with me not staying only in the basement. And then now...

Teka. Bumabait na ba siya? But that's impossible. This is Raegan Ybarro Monteverde we are talking about. His middle name is evil and cruel.

"What is it?" kuryuso kong tanong, hindi pa rin makapaniwala na hahayaan niya nga ako rito.

"Kailangan mong linisin bawat patak ng tubig na nadumihan dahil sa katawan mo."

My mouth fell open.

Is he saying that if I swim, I will need to clean it after? The whole damn pool?!

Tang ina talaga.

The fucker had some nerve to laugh when he saw my reaction. Kung lunurin ko kaya 'to?

"You should have seen your face," aniya at humalakhak lalo.

I clenched my jaw for a second, still refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me snap.

Magkakaroon lang siya lalo ng dahilan para mas lalong maging malupit sa akin kung ko-kontrahin ko siya lagi. I was confident yesterday, and even earlier, because I was still high from my rage. But right now, I have to be careful.

"That's so thoughtful of you, Kuya. Thank you," pagak kong halakhak at nilunok lahat ng iritasyon na nararamdaman para sa lalaking nasa harapan.

God, when will this be over?

His smirk stayed on his lips. I could literally see him enjoying all of these, with me trying to behave and keep my attitude in check so badly, when I was just pushing all of his buttons yesterday.

"You're most welcome," he replied with a lazy grin. "For the next one..."

I rolled my eyes while he was looking at the paper, but the moment he lifted his gaze again, I smiled sweetly.

"Yes, Kuya?"

He snorted, clearly still not buying my nice-sister act. "It will stay as it is. You're not allowed until I say so. Besides, you don't even have any means of transportation to get out of here without my permission, so good luck with that."

Tumango na lang ako. I'll deal with that after the burial and when my two weeks are up. For now, I'll agree with this bastard.

Kaya lang, biglang naningkit ang mga mata niya sa akin.

"What?" inosenteng tanong ko dahil hindi siya nagpatuloy sa susunod.

"I hope you're not thinking of running away, Juliana," seryoso niyang sambit bigla. "You won't like what will happen."

Agad akong umiling. "What are you talking about, Kuya? I still have two wee—years—with you, right? I won't risk my inheritance above all."

His eyebrow arched, pero hindi na siya nagsalita. Well, I just hope that he believes it, because the moment I find a loophole with this arrangement, I'll be gone from this place.

"You could keep that... guy," he said with a grimace, at naintindihan ko naman agad na si Cairo ang tinutukoy. "He already got a room at the personnel area arranged by that bitch before, so that's not a problem."

Huminga ako nang malalim. I hate my mother, but clearly, he hated her too, that he only referred to her with degrading words. I don't know kung anong nangyari sa bahay na 'to sa nakalipas na apat na taon para maging ganito kalala ang galit niya.

All I know is that he hated her the moment she decided to marry his father. If anything happened in between, hindi ko na alam.

But instead of dwelling on it, I smiled genuinely this time. "Thank you."

Sa lahat ata ng napag-usapan namin, dito lang ako totoong nasiyahan. I need someone to keep me sane in this goddamn house. And that someone is definitely not the man in front of me. Kaya buti na lang at pwedeng manatili si Cairo rito!

Kumunot ang noo niya sa akin. "If you ever pull that stunt with my men again, I will strangle you with my bare hands. I don't care whatever reasons you have."

Pinigilan kong umismid. Yumuko ako nang kaunti para kunwaring totoong nagsisisi, even though I'm not regretting it a bit. Fabro was the one who pointed a gun at Cairo first. I just returned the favor.

"Sorry," I croaked. I'll give myself a pat on the back later for my acting skills right now. "I won't do it again, Kuya."

I heard him snort again. "Will you drop the act, Juliana?"

Nag-angat ako ng tingin. Kunwari hindi ko alam ang sinasabi niya.

"I'm not acting," sambit ko na nagpa-irap sa kanya. "I just... realized we need to come to an agreement. After all, two years is quite... a long time."

"Hmm... since you're trying too hard, I'll humor you. And I'm glad you're finally using your brain. So, with that..." ngumisi siya ulit, "you'll be doing all the chores in the mansion. You can use the helpers, but you'll be the one overseeing everything. And by everything, I mean everything, even the stables."

"But... why?" lito kong tanong.

Kasi gusto niya lang akong alilain? Gawing alipin? Is that it? And what the hell do I know about horses? Sure, I know how to ride one. Pero alagaan, pakainin, linisan... anong alam ko ro'n?

I didn’t even get the chance to process my growing anger when he suddenly moved closer. He gripped my arm harshly, pinning me against the lounger.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko habang nakatitig sa nagliliyab niyang mga mata.

"Because your slut of a mother," he hissed through clenched teeth, "made my father decide that I won't get my inheritance for the next two years unless you stay here with me. So everything you'll be using until then... your food, your clothes, every damn necessity... comes from my wallet."

Napasinghap ako nang maramdaman kong bumaon ang mga kuko niya sa balat ko.

"And I don't intend to spend a single cent freely on someone as insignificant as you."