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Lahat ng Kabanata ng After the Drone Lift, He Begs Me Back: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

11 Kabanata

Chapter 1 A Pet

I went back home and locked myself in the bathroom. Then, I turned the shower's heat up as high as possible. The steam fogged up the mirror and my eyes. I took off my drenched pants and tossed them into the bin, along with my panties.It was my desperate attempt at washing off the stench of humiliation and the looks everyone threw at me. Again and again, I scrubbed my body. I scrubbed my skin hard enough until it peeled off and turned red.No matter how hard I washed myself, I could not shake off the sense of vertigo and the howls of the winds ringing in my ears. I could never forget their grins.Joseph Pinscher and Wendy Wood.My mother was knocking on the door. "Jess, your father has an appointment tonight, and I'm going to Helen's for game night. You handle dinner yourself.""Yeah," I answered, my voice hoarse and drowned out by the running water. Might as well. I didn't want my parents to see me like this.I stayed in the bathroom for what felt like an eternity. The steamin

Chapter 2 Disorders

I walked into the classroom without looking any other way. Joseph was sitting with Wendy. That girl took my spot.She was leaning on the desk, staring at Joseph with a sickly sweet smile on her lips. Joseph was staring down at her, curling a lock of her hair around his finger. I'd never seen him acting so sweet.He raised his head and offered me an indifferent look. "Hey." He was calm, as if he hadn't nearly killed me the day before.Wendy sat up and gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Jess. I had no idea they would go so far. I just said I thought Jackie Chan's movies were cool, and then…"She started tearing up. I gave her no response. Joseph frowned and pulled me aside. "Hey, she already said she's sorry. What more do you want?" Impatience laced his voice. "It was just a prank. Stop looking at us like we owe you something. Fine, I know you sprained something because the drones' batteries died. I'll pay for the meds."He took out hundreds of dollars from his pockets and trie

Chapter 3 Transfer

"It's not big enough!" My aunt was shivering in rage. "Not when he nearly got you killed! What about your parents? They're just going to watch while these crotch goblins bully you?"I hung my head low. My father was the Pinschers' chauffeur, while my mother was one of their servants. They would never demand an answer from their employer's son. Whatever Joseph did was right, at least to them. They thought I deserved to suffer a little. After all, we needed the Pinschers to survive.Quietly, I said, "I want to go to a new school."This was why I came to my father's sister. My aunt was stunned, but then she realized what I was trying to say. "Yes, of course. You're leaving that hellhole this instant! So where do you want to go? I'll handle everything! How about Clementia? I can help you out if you attend a college there."Clementia was a big city and took four hours to arrive by car. It was far enough to stay away from all the things and people I refused to see again.My aunt did thi

Chapter 4 Trouble Haunts Her

He gave us a friendly nod. A little nervous, I smiled at him.I was in a new place, and all around me were new people. Things were looking nice for a chance. No one was looking at me like I was an oddity. No one knew about my humiliating past.I had a second chance at life. Here I thought my story with Joseph had come to an end, but I'd forgotten that Joseph was not someone who would let go that easily. Not especially when he thought the things that were his were coveted by someone else.…One afternoon, after school, I saw someone familiar outside the gate. Joseph was leaning on his gaudy motorcycle, a cigarette hanging from his lips.He lost a lot of weight. Dark circles hung under his eyes. He looked dejected and furious. The moment he saw me, he tossed his cigarette away and strode up to me."Had enough fun, Jessica?" His voice was hoarse, and there was fury lying underneath. "You're coming home with me."The intense situation scared Kaylee. She grabbed my arm. "Who's this g

Chapter 5 Useless Parents

Joseph's parents went through the report, and it stunned them. Joseph was paler than a tombstone too."Depression? That's impossible!" he muttered under his breath. "She seems okay all the time.""Oh, you think what happened to me is okay?" I sneered. "What will it take for you to recognize that something is already wrong? When I lay dead on the ground?"Now he looked at me. He tried to say something, but nothing came out of his trembling mouth.In the end, the Pinschers paid for Howard's medical bills and promised the admins that their son would no longer harass me. That was the end of that.My aunt wouldn’t stop cursing on the way home. "Bunch of bastards! I knew it—bad blood! Both parents are rotten! No wonder the pup turned out wrong!"I stared at the zooming street outside the window but said nothing. I thought this was the end of it, but I underestimated how obsessed Joseph could be. I thought his parents could rein him in, but I was wrong.Peace did not come back to me. J

Chapter 6 Confession

Every inch of my body was freezing up, from inside to outside. My father's job was more important than my dignity and health, it seemed. Calmly, I asked, "Mom, if I somehow die, would that get you guys a lot of compensation money? Enough for you to live your lives without any guilt?"My mother said nothing. A long while later, she started crying. I hung up and blocked her number.No one cared about me. No one but my aunt and Howard.…I was top of my year in the midterms. Howard was second place. Ms. Zimmerman praised us. "We're proud of you, Jessica and Howard. Especially you, Jessica. You're a transfer student, but you adapted to the school quickly and snagged the top spot. You must've worked really hard."My classmates applauded me. It was thunderous and genuine. I looked at the smiling Howard. For the first time, I felt safe.We had a three-day holiday after midterms were over. Kaylee suggested that we go to a hot spring resort in the neighboring town. "My aunt's the manager

Chapter 7 Accusations of Cheating

I had no idea that I deserved to be treated right, until now. So I stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I like you too, Howard."…I started going out with Howard. We told no one about it and made sure it was a secret only we knew. He was nice to me. So nice that it felt like a fairy tale.He remembered all my preferences. I hated coriander, so he would tell the waiter to remove it. I loved milk tea, but I had gastrointestinal issues, so he learned how to make homemade milk tea and made sure it had less sugar and ice.I was scared of the dark, so he made sure to take me back to my aunt's place if our study sessions ran too late. He was gentle, kind, and warm. He was pulling me out of the abyss called my past, bit by bit.I started to smile more, and I began to muster up the courage to talk to other people. My disorder was cured before I knew it.Joseph was slowly becoming a backdrop in my life. He stopped calling me or sending stuff to me. I thought he had given up, but I was

Chapter 8 Evidence

"I can't believe she cheated. And I looked up to her.""You never really do know someone until they show you who they really are.""I bet she tried to copy Howard's answer because she knew his grades were good.""I heard she was expelled from her last high school. She's infamous back in her hometown."Rumors were spreading again, and the stories got more ridiculous. As I walked across the school grounds, I was taken back to that day when I was hung in the air like a chimpanzee doing an impossible trick for an audience.Kaylee stayed by my side and deflected the harsh looks the others threw at me. "Don't listen to them! I trust you!"Howard was the same. In front of the whole class, he said, "Jessica did not cheat. I believe her. She's not that kind of person. If anyone starts any stupid rumors, I'm coming after them."Their trust could not wash off my humiliation. I locked myself in my room and refused to eat or drink even a drop of water.My aunt was crying. She was worried si

Chapter 9 Justice Served

The school's verdict came quickly. The counselor was fired and given over to the cops.The admins apologized to me in front of the whole school and reinstated my glory. The principal himself read a letter of apology aloud.I stood on the stage, staring at the faculty. The people who laughed at me, who mocked me, could do nothing but hang their heads low in shame.I neither cried nor laughed. My heart was calm as dead water.However, this was not over. My aunt sent that footage to Clementia's biggest news outlet.The headline read, 'Wealthy heir bribes counselor, creates CheatingGate to force first love back to him.'The society was up in arms the moment the news was released. The Pinscher's company was famous in Clementia, and they portrayed themselves as a symbol of positivity. This scandal was a lethal blow to their image.Their share prices dipped. Nearly a billion was lost in a single day. Joseph and his father became the butt of the city's jokes.My parents called me until

Chapter 10 Congratulations

His eyes went red, and tears rolled down his cheeks. This was the first time I saw him cry, and he cried his heart out. He cried until he rasped, but I felt nothing. My heart was already dead to him."Your minutes are up." I left without giving him another look.…The Pinschers' company did not tough it out. The court of public opinion and the market destroyed it. They filed for bankruptcy. Tom's hair turned white overnight. The impact hit him hard, and he came down with a stroke and had to be taken to the hospital.Joseph sold the house and his bike, then he moved into a rundown neighborhood.I got the news from Kaylee. All I did was grunt.My life was back on track. That past was nothing but old memories that were fading out of my sight.I did well on my SAT and got into Tretoria University with Howard. I went into journalism, while Howard went for computer science.When the acceptance letter came, my aunt was more excited than I was. She held a celebration party at her place

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