CHAPTER 004 – The Perfectionists

Even before she could fully enter their house, she could already hear the voices of her aunts chatting on the terrace that extended from their living room.

That terrace faced a wide empty lot that was still part of the adjacent subdivision in their area. A wave of nervousness washed over her. She forgot that around this time, her aunts would usually be at their house having coffee and gossiping with her mom.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. If she went inside, they would definitely see her because the only thing separating the living room from the terrace was a sliding glass door.

Now that she had confirmed her condition, she didn’t know if she could even look any of them in the eye. If they noticed her avoiding eye contact, they’d start to get suspicious and begin probing.

She took a deep breath before continuing into the house.

She was about to head straight for the stairs when her Aunt Maya saw her.

“Rosenda Marie!”

She stopped and forced a smile before turning around. “Hey, good afternoon Titas of Manila!” she said, pretending to be cheerful. Her heart was thudding in anxiety and fear—she didn’t want them to notice her discomfort.

My God! All her life, her Aunties had been watching over her and Connie. In fact, they had a cousin, the son of their mom’s eldest sibling, but since he was a boy, he wasn’t watched as closely. Unlike her and Connie, who were monitored round-the-clock—from morning till night. All of their phone contacts were known to the aunties, even the magazines they read and their social media accounts were being tracked.

Her aunts knew every twist and turn of the sisters’ personalities, which is why she was sure they’d immediately notice if she was hiding something. That’s why she was hoping to avoid them for now—at least until she took the first step in the plan she had just made.

Her mom had four siblings. The eldest was Tita Marites, the mother of their male cousin. She was chubby and the strictest of them all. She wore glasses and rarely smiled—but she was kind in her own way.

Next was their mom, who was also strict, but sweet. Her name was Merry.

Then there was Tita Maureen. She was an old maid and a former beauty queen in the city of Parañaque. She envied her aunt’s long legs and porcelain skin, but wondered why she never got married when she was clearly the prettiest of the siblings? Well… her mom was still prettier, of course.

Fourth was Tita Marife, the kindest of them all. She was also pretty and soft-spoken. They had never seen her get angry; she always smiled at everyone. At thirty-eight, Marife was also unmarried.

The youngest, Mau, was the quirkiest among them. Also an old maid, but she didn’t care if her eggs “rotted in her ovaries,” as she joked—she was happy with her single life. She was the loudest, but also the most friendly. Because of that, she became especially close to Connie.

And all of her aunts, including her mother, were teachers. They all worked at the biggest private college in Manila—Montemayor International Colleges.

Yes. Montemayor.

And that was the worst part of her problem. Because MIC, where her mom and all four aunts taught, and where her dad worked as Head of Accounting, was owned by none other than the family of the man who got her pregnant!

And from what she had heard—Caligh Carson Montemayor, also known as Cayson, was the sole heir of the family. Which meant he was the next School Director once his grandmother retired. He would soon become her parents’—no, her entire family’s—future boss.

“Why do you look so pale? Are you sick?” her mother asked when she noticed her. She was pouring coffee from the coffee maker into cups placed on the coffee table.

She saw everyone turn to her when they heard what her mother said. She waved her hands in the air to greet them.

“I’m not sick, ‘Ma. I just got tired from the trip. I came from Ayala with…” She stopped. She couldn’t say she was with Jiggy again because her family had never approved of her friendship with him. Simply because of Jiggy’s sexuality.

Yes—even that was controlled. Even the people she befriended were subject to her family’s scrutiny. It was as if people had to submit a detailed resume before she could be allowed to be friends with them. It felt like she had no right to be friends with anyone unless they passed the standards of her aunts.

She hated it, but she couldn’t do anything about it. So, every time she saw her best friend, she had to lie. She couldn’t invite him to family celebrations or join them on out-of-town trips.

At least her sister Connie could bring her friends around and invite them to their home.

The only saving grace was that Jiggy never took it personally. He always said he understood her family. In fact, he worried when she did anything that he thought might go against the family’s rules—so he also looked out for her.

And now… here they were. Jiggy was also worried about her condition. He was concerned for her.

“Were you with Jenny Grace again?” her mom asked as she continued pouring coffee.

“My God, Rosenda! Are you still friends with that girl?” Tita Marites cried, as if she had committed a grave sin. She had a horrified look on her face.

Tita Maureen also spoke up. “Aren’t you afraid of being seen by people who know you? Or us? They might think you’re in a relationship with another girl.”

“I’ve told her many times to avoid that girl if possible,” her mom added, now seated in one of the chairs. “For goodness’ sake, Jenny Grace’s body is covered in tattoos. She practically looks like a newspaper!”

Even quiet Tita Marife commented. “The girl seems nice, but with the way she looks now, people might think she’s into drugs—and you might get dragged into gossip, Rosenda.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

See? Just her friendship with someone was already a huge issue. What more if they found out she was pregnant by a man she wasn’t even married to?

She wanted to feel hurt over what they were saying about her friend, but she was too tired to keep defending Jiggy and insisting that he was a good person and that they weren’t doing anything wrong for people to gossip about.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I’m going up to my room now, I still have things to do.” She quickly turned around before they could stop her.

If she could change families, she would have done it already!

She felt completely suffocated by all the rules and regulations, by how closely they monitored her every move, by how they interfered with her decisions, even with what she wore—everything!

She was already twenty-four, for heaven’s sake! Shouldn’t they let her be?

She loved her aunts too, but sometimes she couldn’t take how controlling they were of her—of her life.

She stopped when she reached the stairs.

Then again… it was her fault they became this strict.

Yes. It was also her doing that made her family so overbearing. But that was a long time ago, and she had changed so much since then—just for them. Now that she was old enough, why couldn’t they just let her go?

Ugh!

She wanted to stomp her feet in frustration. She climbed the stairs loudly until she reached her room.

As soon as she entered, she locked the door, pulled out her phone, and blasted ABBA songs at full volume before throwing herself onto the bed.

She clutched her head and stared at the ceiling. In her mind, she was already planning how she would explain everything to her friend and her sister.

Why and how she ended up getting pregnant by a man she had considered her enemy all her life.

How did she and Cayson even become enemies?

She closed her eyes and let her memory drift back... ten years ago, to the time she had recklessly fought against her family—all for love.