Lahat ng Kabanata ng HIS TO CLAIM: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

DIANTHAIcarus and I were both quiet habang lulan kami ng sasakyan niya, making our way to his hacienda. It wasn't odd that I am quiet since I don't want to talk to Icarus, but for Icarus to be quiet? That's the odd thing and quite suspicious as well. With how our conversation at my house went, akala ko ay patuloy niya akong bubuwisitin. But no. He was quiet at naka-focus lamang ang atensiyon niya sa daan na tinatahak namin. Don't get me wrong, I am relieved that he's teasing and pissing the hell out of me. Sadyang nakapagtataka lang talaga na tahimik lang siya. But oh well, whatever the reason is for him to be quiet, I should just be thankful for it. At least our ride to his hacienda would be peaceful.Surprisingly, the whole ride, which actually took longer than I thought it would be, was indeed peaceful. I mean, yeah, he has been quiet from the start, but I really thought that he somehow would break that quietness and would start talking from time to time, but nope. That did not ha

DIANTHA"What's with the face?" Ang tanong sa akin ni Ana nang madatnan niya ako sa aking opisina na nakabusangot ang mukha. "May nakaaway ka na naman ba sa kalye? Or is it your nosy neighbor again?"Isang malalim na buntong-hininga ang pinakawalan ko. Sana nga ay iyon lang talaga ang mga nagpapagulo sa utak ko at nagpapakulo ng dugo ko ngayon. But no. It isn't. It's worse than those Ana had mentioned. And it's something na hindi ko na kayang atrasan.My thoughts went back to yesterday, kung saan pumayag ako na makipagtrabaho kay Icarus. Yes, I agreed to work with him. And thinking about it now, hiyang-hiya na lang ako sa sarili ko. Ang lakas pa ng loob ko nang sabihin ko na walang makapagpapabago ng desisyon ko at hindi-hindi ako papayag sa gusto niya, ngunit sa huli ay napapayag niya pa rin ako. I was even so excited as I talked to him about my plans on how to make his garden beautiful, as if I just did not initially decline his work offer.Ah, gusto ko nalang talagang i-untog ang u

DIANTHAI didn't want to do it because I knew it would be rude, but I just couldn't help but stare at the three people eating with me at the same table.In a rectangular table, our sitting arrangement goes: Icarus in the middle, I am on the left side, while Ruby and Klarisse are sitting side by side on the right side.Yes, kasabay naming kumakain si Ruby and Klarisse. Don't get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with that. It's just really shocking to see because I've never seen or heard about rich people eating together with their maids at the same table. Kahit sila Ashton at ang mga magulang niya, they are good people and were treating their housemaids well, but I never saw them eat with their maids or even ask them to eat with them. And so with that, I had this thought that Icarus was just like them. In fact, Icarus would be the last person that I'd think of when it comes to this. But this scene right in front of me proved me wrong. Kaya naman talagang nakakapanibago sa akin ang tagpong

"Hey!" pagtawag ko sa atensyon ni Icarus, na nasa kusina at abala sa paghiwa ng mga iba't-ibang uri ng karne. From pork, chicken, and beef. There's also tons of seafood, which I could guess was one of the many things he bought when they went to town.Nilingon ako ni Icarus, surprise written all over his face. Well, he was so focused on cutting the meats that he probably didn't hear my footsteps."Hey," tugon niya. "Is there anything you need?" Tanong niya."Wala naman," sagot ko naman sa kanya."Okay," he responded before going back to cutting the meat.I made my way towards him and stood right beside him. I looked at the bunch of meat he was cutting and was going to cut and commented, "That's a lot. May okasyon ba?"Of course I acted as if I knew nothing, as if hindi pa nasabi sa akin ni Klarisse ang tungkol sa welcome party na para sa akin. Para just in case that it really is supposed to be a surprise, hindi mapapagalitan si Klarisse.But to my surprise, Icarus answered me with hone

DIANTHAHindi maalis ang ngiti sa aking mga labi habang nakatingin ako sa mga trabahador na nagkakantahan habang nag-iinuman.After eating, doing some karaoke, and taking the dance floor, most of the workers had already gone back to their homes. Now, there were only less than ten left on the outside of Icarus's home, where my welcome party had been held, and they had decided to drink some more.They formed a circle around the table, where two pitchers of mixed lime juice and brandy and four plates of sisig and lechon had been set. Sa harap naman mismo ng lamesa ay doon nakaupo ang isa sa mga lalaking trabahador na siyang naglalagay ng alak sa iisang baso, na iniikot sa bawat isa na nakapalibot sa lamesa."Did you enjoy your welcome party?"Bahagya akong nagulat nang bigla akong tanungin ni Icarus, na hindi ko namalayang nasa likod ko na pala.He was with Ruby and Aling Gemma, Ruby's mother, just a few moments ago, helping the two na alalayan si Mang Berto, Ruby's father, dahil halos h