1 - The Troublemaker Supermodel

VERANA CIELLE LEE

“Verena Cielle!” 

Agad akong napatakip ng tenga nang marinig ko ang sigaw ng daddy ko.

I was in my room, having my beauty sleep, when I heard him screaming. I don’t know where, but who cares? 

Narinig kong bumukas ang pintuan ng kwarto ko at nakita kong lumakad papasok ng kwarto ko sina Daddy at ang step-mom ko na si Tita Mavy na pinipigilan si Daddy na magalit.

“What is this?” he asked, angrily. He turned red. Kulang na lang ay sumabog siya sa galit.

He throws the newspaper on my bed at sa inis ko e inirapan ko si Daddy. A simple piece of paper lang pero hindi niya alam, my goodness!

“A newspaper, dad,” pabalang na sagot ko. “Are these the side effects of growing old? Nakakalimutan na kung anong tawag d’yan?” I replied sarcastically. “Why ba kasi? I’m having my beauty sleep and I badly need my rest dahil I have photoshoots pa later!” 

Hindi ko tuloy mapigilan pagtaasan ng boses ang daddy kong kumukulubot na ang balat dahil na-stress na naman siya sa’kin.

Ano pa nga ba? Wala namang ibang dahilan para ma-stress siya aside sa trabaho niya dahil ako lang naman ang bukod-tanging nagpapasakit ng ulo niya.

“Sweetheart, give Elle a chance to explain, okay? And isa pa, may photoshoot pa ang anak mo mamaya, pagpahingahin muna natin ang bata,” mahinahong saad ni Tita Mavy kay Daddy. 

Napairap ako. Such a plastic. 

How could she be so good to me pero sa sariling anak hindi niya magawang maging mabait sa kanya? 

Nahila niya si Daddy paalis ng kwarto ko at naiwan naman akong iritable kaya napasigaw ako sa inis at siyang paggulo ng buhok ko.

Kinuha ko ang newspaper kung saan nakabalandra ang maganda kong mukha. I didn’t know that newspapers still exist in this generation. 

Who would love to read newspapers? Oh, I forgot, there is… My dad.

I clicked my tongue as I read the headline in red highlights. Mas malaki pa kaysa sa litratong meron ako rito. Gosh, sana naman lang nilakihan nila ang mukha ko para palandrang-palanda talaga.

It was me with some random guy I picked while having some fun in one of the wildest bars in Siargao last week. Well, we’re kissing. But there’s nothing wrong with kissing someone, especially when I’m single. As if I broke someone’s heart with this news.

“Supermodel Cielle Lee makes love with the hottest Hollywood star, Gabriel Ducci, in public,” I read sarcastically.

What makes love? Hindi naman masyadong exagg ang sinabi dito ano? Ano ba description nila sa make love? Para lang talaga may mapag-usapan e! Ako pa talaga.

Isa pa, I don’t see any problem here. Masyadong highblood na naman ang matandang iyon! As if naman parehong hubo’t hubad kaming dalawa sa litratong iyon!

But I didn’t know he’s a Hollywood star. Mukhang normal lang naman pumorma. Parang tambay nga lang sa tindahan ni Aling Mema.

At ano daw? Hottest Hollywood star? Crazy. Ni hindi naman siya gano’n ka hot kumpara kay Rouge. 

WTF, Cielle! Bakit ba nasali sa usapan na ito ang lalaking iyon? Dmn.

Tinapon ko ang diyaryo sa kung saang bahagi ng kwarto ko. Nana Pia will picked it up later at siya na rin ang magtatapon no’n.

I hate living with my parents. I am fvking twenty-eight, yet they still controlled me as if I were still a child. Hindi ako malaya kahit na I based in New York, working as a Supermodel in the country—ay puno pa rin ako ng mga bodyguard dahil kay Daddy.

Having a name and a title as a supermodel is not enough for me to live on my own.

For my dad, hindi ko daw kayang mamuhay mag-isa. Lalo na’t kaliwa’t kanan ang mga issue ko sa buhay—but it’s my only way para tuluyan na nila akong pakawalan—pero kabaligtaran pala ang nangyayari. Still, trouble is always finding ways to reach me. 

After the pictorial, they invited me to go with them to a club. I agreed. Ano namang gagawin ko sa bahay ng matandang iyon? Ni they don’t let me live on my own! Makikita ko lang ang pagmumukha ng madastra kong napaka-inosente ng mukha pero nasa loob pala ang kulo.

The moment we stepped into the bar, I didn’t hesitate—I headed straight to the dance floor. The bass throbbed through my veins, and the beat wrapped around my body like a second skin. I let the rhythm guide me, arms in the air, hips swaying, the crowd blurring into nothing but motion and sound.

I didn’t care who was watching. For once, I just wanted to feel. So I danced.

The music was too good, too loud, too alive. My eyes fluttered shut as I lost myself in it—breathing in the haze, the neon, the heat.

That’s when I felt it. A touch—light, confident fingers grazing my waist. Then lips. Warm. Slow. Pressed against the curve of my neck.

I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t stop. Whoever it was… I let them. 

Because at that moment, I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to disappear into the pulse of the night.

Napakapit ang braso ko sa batok niya at patuloy pa rin sa pagsasayaw. His hands roamed around my body and I let him. It felt good. It felt so damn good na namalayan ko na lang na naghahalikan na kaming dalawa.

Muling gumapang ang kamay niya pataas hanggang sa mahawakan na niya ang hinaharap ko nang may humila ng buhok ko palayo sa lalaki.

“Fvk,” daing ko sa sobrang sakit.

“You! How dare you kiss my man!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, but that wasn’t enough to make people in our surroundings stop what they were doing. Of course, the sound was too loud for her little annoying voice like a crazy witch.

“Excuse me?! That man kissed me first! I just made his wish granted.” I snapped back. 

Hawak niya pa rin ang buhok ko, kaya wala na rin akong nagawa kundi hilahin din ang buhok niya. Fair game. She started it first.

Naririnig ko na ang mga bulong-bulungan sa paligid, like background noise to a scene I’ve already starred in one too many times. And I’m used to it. I live in the headlines.

“Hindi ba si Cielle ‘yan? The Troublemaker Supermodel?”

Not bad. At least they got the title right. Supermodel, darling. Trouble’s just a bonus.

“Hala, oo nga! The one na kahalikan ni Gabriel Ducci, ‘yung hot Hollywood star!”

I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw the back of my skull. Hot? Please. That man kisses like he’s asking for a Wi-Fi password.

But does it hurt my pride? Never. You can’t ruin an empire built on confidence and scandal. Besides, my team turned that little paparazzi moment into a global campaign. Headlines? Check. Endorsements? Doubled. Fame? Iconic.

"Ano?! Ang landi-landi mo! Nang-aagaw ka ng boyfriend ng iba!" sigaw niya ulit, sabay higpit pa lalo ng pagkakahawak sa buhok ko.

Bitch, please.

Hinila ko pa lalo ang buhok niya na para bang gusto kong tanggalin ang extension niya. “You should be mad at your man, not at me. He came to me, remember? You just happened to catch up late.”

Gasps erupted. Oh, they love the drama.

I gave her a wicked smirk. “Next time, control your boyfriend, sweetheart. Not me.”

I winced in pain. Damn this woman! She’s smaller than me, but she’s yanking my hair like she’s trying to rip it straight out of my scalp. Girl’s got some rage issues—and zero class.

“Excuse me?” I spat, eyes narrowing like daggers. “Mukha naman kasing kapalit-palit ‘yang pagmumukha mo! No wonder your boyfriend kissed me. Mas maganda kasi ako sa’yo!”

There it is. Full name, full power. I am Verena Cielle Lee. I don’t run from fights—I set them on fire and walk through the smoke in heels.

Muli ako nakarinig ng mga pagsinghap sa paligid The bystanders ate it up like it was prime-time television.

She went red—faced with anger or embarrassment, at wala akong pakialam. She made the first move, and now she’s choking on the consequences.

“Oh, and by the way,” I added with a mocking smile, “next time you get cheated on, aim your claws at your man’s wandering mouth. Not at the girl he begged to kiss.”

I flipped my hair—well, what’s left of it from her grip and smirked. “Blaming the other woman won’t make you prettier, darling. Nor smarter.”