CHAPTER 16: QC Circle

It was Monday morning, and I was sitting at Aling Susan’s bakery, sipping my usual cup of coffee. As always, the local regulars were glued to the TV mounted outside the shop, watching a PBA game.

Also present were Cassandra and Sussie—the two girls squealing like crazy at the screen. The guy they were swooning over was none other than the very bastard who had violated me for the second time.

If only these two knew that their golden idol was actually a massive pervert. They’d probably choke on their coffee if they ever found out what he was really like behind that spotless public image.

I still couldn't shake off the degrading feeling of what he did to me. It felt like he saw me as nothing more than dirt under his shoes. Why? Just because I’m a delivery driver and a parking attendant, he thinks he can walk all over me like that? Ha! I might be broke, but I still have my damn dignity.

"Damn, Keith is getting insane on the court!"

"Right?! Girl, he looks like he's in peak shape today!"

"Whoo! Go get 'em, idol!"

There they went again, the two fangirls gushing over their garbage idol.

Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder; if it weren't for karma, would any of this be happening to me? Would I be getting humiliated and stepped on like this?

The answer in my head was a hard yes. It was all karma. Because if karma hadn't caught up to me, I never would've presented as an Omega, I never would've fallen into poverty, and I never would've ended up working as a delivery driver—which meant I never would've met that bastard in the first place.

So yeah, I couldn't help connecting all my rotten luck back to karma. But was I just gonna lie down and let karma walk all over me? Screw that. One day, I'm getting my payback against karma. I'm getting payback against everyone who looked down on me, especially that jerk who violated me.

My grip tightened around my coffee mug as I took a sip. My eyes drifted to the screen, where they happened to be zooming in on Yuan as he dribbled down the court.

He looked so serious, acting like he hadn't pulled some sick, messed-up stunt just 24 hours ago. That's celebrities for you, they're masters at hiding their own filthy dirt.

This had to be a replay of last night's game. I basically had his entire game schedule memorized against my will, thanks to these two girls whose mouths were gaping wide open in front of the TV, practically begging for flies to land inside.

I shook my head and finished off the rest of my coffee. Once I finished my breakfast—yeah, a cup of coffee and a piece of pandesal passed for a full meal these days—I wiped my mouth.

I couldn't afford to waste money right now. Even though I managed to cover this month's loan shark payment, the next one was already creeping up. I'd worry about eating good food once I paid off my absurd debt, though God knew when that would happen considering the insane interest rates.

For now, I'd just tough it out on coffee and bread. Maybe in my next life, karma would leave me alone so I could actually eat whatever I wanted. I really hoped so.

Since it was still early and my parcel delivery shift didn't start until 10:00 A.M., I decided to take a walk.

I put on a gray zip-up hoodie over my black pants and slipped into a pair of flip-flops. Pulling the hood over my head, I shoved my hands into my pockets and started walking. Before I even realized it, my feet had carried me all the way to QC Circle.

There weren't many people around yet. I passed a vendor selling warm Malunggay Pandesal, along with a few morning joggers and cyclists hitting the park paths.

I stopped walking and took a seat on a park bench near the memorial shrine. Hands still tucked into my hoodie pockets, I watched people stroll down the paved pathway while kids laughed and zoomed past on their bicycles. And near the shrine, a few children were playing tag, chasing and teasing one another.

Whenever I saw kids looking that happy, I couldn't stop myself from wondering if I was ever like that when I was small. Was I ever that joyful playing with friends, or did I miss out on all of it because I never actually had any friends growing up? Honestly, I couldn't remember my childhood at all—whether it was happy or just completely traumatic.

The only things I could faintly recall were the times I used to tag along with my dad to his company. Back then, I'd strut around pretending I owned the whole place, bossing the employees around like a little prince.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my lips at the memory. If my life hadn't spiraled into total ruin, maybe that's what I'd still be doing today.

But I knew deep down that was never gonna happen. I could never get my old life back.

As much as I wanted to reach for the dreams I used to have, it felt completely impossible now with so many obstacles in my way—the mountain of debt being the biggest one.

My life was really fucked up. Maybe my aunt was right when she told me I deserved all of this because I hadn't done a single thing right my entire life. Maybe they were right...maybe I deserved this, maybe I deserved every bit of this karma.

But if I agreed with what everyone was saying, it meant I was just letting karma win. It meant throwing away my pride—which was the only thing I had left to my name.

While I was lost in thought, staring blankly down the park pathway, a tall figure suddenly caught my eye. He had bleached blond hair and was wearing a black face mask.

I blinked, taking a closer look.

Even with the mask covering half his face, I recognized that bastard instantly. There was no mistaking him.

It was the very guy who had violated me—not once, but twice.

Yuan Keith Yukihira.