Chapter 26 | Rat
I literally did exactly what I said.
I didn't go home on Saturday, and I asked Marcus yesterday if he was going to be busy today. When I told him I wanted to spend my Saturday with him, he was both confused and surprised. He had always been the one to ask me out before, so me making the first move was like a cultural reset for him. He was so taken with what I did that he called last night to plan our activities for today.
We went to bed around two o'clock in the evening and planned to go out after lunch. Despite the time we ended our call, I hoped he got his eight hours of sleep. In my case, I had a wonderful sleep, presumably because I was looking forward to today. I couldn't express how happy I was just to be able to spend Saturday with him. We had a lot of activities planned for today, so I decid
Chapter 27 | Lie I assumed Janella and I were about the same height, but she appeared to be a few inches taller than me due to the black heels she was wearing. With just one look, I knew she came here just to drag me down until I reached Tartarus. She wore a fancy white panama hat over her head and a fancy white blouse with golden embroidery as designs on it. Her black high waist trousers were perfectly ironed, and she wore a gold chain around her waist for extra detail. She held her Chanel bag lazily, as if she was intending to insult me without saying anything. I couldn’t clearly see her eyes because of the sunglasses she was wearing, but the smirk on her face was enough for me to feel so belittled. Her lips were red plus she had a complete set of jewelries as her final flex. Her hair was tied in a low bu
Chapter 28 | LostMarcus said we'd talk about it after breakfast, but I wasn't in the mood to eat breakfast with him, and even more so this morning. I was in such a bad mood that I couldn't even bear listening to him speak to me. He tried everything to lighten my mood, but nothing worked. With a cold stomach, I ate my breakfast and waited for him to join me in the living room. I'd already done what he wanted, so I was hoping he'd finally openly admit to me now.“Aren’t you going to get ready first?” Marcus asked when he came near me.I swayed my head. “Hindi ako papasok hangga’t hindi natin ‘to napag-uusapan.”He sighed. “Don’t be stubborn, Ian.”“Stubborn?&rdq
Chapter 29 | LightLumipas ang mga araw pero para bang tumigil na ang oras sa akin.Wala na akong ibang matandaan kung hindi ang mga pagtatalo namin ni Marcus nitong mga nakaraang araw. Hindi na tugma ang mga desisyon namin. Wala na ang dating pagsasama na para bang may malaking pader na umusbong sa pagitan namin. Hindi na kami magkaisa tulad na noon na nadadaan pa sa usap at lambing.“It’s not their fault, Ian,” he kept on convincing me, “I told you already, it was me who first initiated to help them!”“Oo nga, kaya nga nakikiusap ako ngayon sa ‘yo na tigilan mo na ‘yang help mo dahil ako na ang gagawa ng paraan para sa pamilya ko—”“I told you it’s fine
Chapter 30 | Done While my eyes were still closed, I gradually lifted my head. My skin felt the cold water dripping all over my recently washed face. When my nerves had settled down, I let out a heavy sigh. My gaze was drawn to my reflection in the mirror in front of me, but I couldn't stare at myself for too long. My current state was such a horrible sight to behold, I didn't like who I had become. I was anxious throughout Arist's entire homecoming party because the memories that I’d buried deep all came back at once as if they just got released from a cage and were hungry for freedom. This... entire place was my biggest source of anxiety. This place, which I had only visited once, had such an impact on me that it triggered both my mind and body. I never asked Arist about his search for his biological parents be
Chapter 31 | StealI'd been touring Troyen for the last four consecutive days since I had to attend the orientation set for recently recruited models of the casino, but my eyes still couldn't get used to the casino's whole surroundings.This was the first place I had visited after a long time being imprisoned inside our old apartment and I admit that this was a bit too much for me to process. The casino always had numerous guests, it never had any empty seats, and I kept on practicing myself on how to properly communicate and handle such crowds.My attention was drawn to the magnificent interior design of the whole casino, everything was glamorous from the floor up to the ceiling as I entered the lobby. It was so sophisticated that I couldn’t decide which part to describe first. I already went to the oth
Chapter 32 | Help“Going to work, ate Ian?”Mikael Trojan, Marcus' younger brother, caught my attention the next day when he asked me that question. I thought of him as a quiet kid because he wasn't really that talkative and friendly around me, and usually we would just nod our heads lightly whenever we bumped into each other.“Ah, yes, how about you? Going somewhere?” I asked back just to have something to say.He timidly swayed his head. “I just want to ask if what I heard is real…”My body stilled. I anticipated whatever question he was about to ask. “What is it?”“Arist isn’t back yet and when I asked kuya Marc
Chapter 33 | RestIt's been three days since Arist was admitted to the hospital, and Ma'am Olivia told me last night that he'd probably be back by tomorrow, which upset me because I'd have to deal with him again.I hadn't got the chance to visit my relatives back in our compound yet due to work, and I didn't know how to get there by myself without anyone noticing. I was worried of being caught by anyone because they might tell Arist when he returned. I couldn't put my whole trust in the driver who was working for me, and I didn't have enough money to commute on my own.I woke up earlier than everyone in the household, not that I had enough sleep. Today was my last chance to escape and visit the old place we used to live, and I badly wanted to go, even if it meant walking all the way from here! But I hadn't moved an
Chapter 34 | BleedIt was exactly the same as before... that I'd wake up with no memory of what had happened before I fell asleep. On previous occasions, I'd wake up while lying on the cold floor of our old living room, and on other occasions, I'd gain consciousness inside the bathroom. I couldn't describe what happened; all I could recall was what I was doing before I was in that scenario.Gaya na lamang ngayon sa aking paggising. Magaan ang aking pakiramdam habang nakahilatay ang katawan sa malambot na puting kama. Sakto lamang ang lamig ng silid na aking nadama at ang liwanag galing sa ceiling ang unang bumungad sa aking paningin sa pagdilat. Hindi ko pa gaanong marinig ang aking paligid ngunit batid kong may dalawang taong nag-uusap sa bandang sulok ng silid.Sinubukan kong ipikit at idilat muli ang aking mga ma