Seeing Mauricia shut her mouth without asking further questions as if she just got scolded by her parents was like I was watching an intense drama on television. To make it more annoying, I smirked at her. And it worked when Mauricia bent the tip of her brows while looking at me in the eye, filled with excitement. "I know you better than Yvanna. You are more ruthless and heartless than me. Do you think I would believe you now?" he added. "Don't blame your Mom, Norman. She knows nothing about her. Look what happened to her shopping malls. She remained clueless about her people smuggling our inventories behind her knowledge." "I already knew that, of course," she defensively replied. "It's just I felt pity for them if I am going to do something about it. Please, believe me, Norman. That woman is poisoning your mind. You shouldn't believe in anything she said." Norman removed Mauricia's grip before he departed his seat and dropped his butt on the other chair. His acti
As we walked through the crowded school hallway, flanked by two police officers, the sound of whispers and murmurs filled the air. With my hands cuffed and the weight of judgment on my shoulders, every student we could pass through stared at me with contempt and suspicion. But I know deep inside me I am innocent and didn't do anything wrong, even if I was too embarrassed to meet their gazes. "Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?" "Isn't she the mayor's wife? So, it's true that she cheated on her husband?" "She deserved to be locked up in jail. People like her must not be part of this school. I even heard that she was having an affair with one of our professors." "It's not just that. Didn't you guys hear what she did last night? That woman beats her husband's two sisters in the toilet room. She better not get back to our school. She's an embarrassment to our prestigious university." Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw their faces - classmat
Since I found Justine betrayed me, I couldn't find it in me to trust men. I started to build up walls and became hesitant to open up. It might take a lot of time and effort to learn to trust again. However, it is crucial to give ourselves and others the chance to rebuild trust. Tanner hadn't done anything wrong with me yet. He saved me from those monsters in the precinct. Fifteen years. They claimed that I'd be locked up in jail for fifteen years, the price for what I did to Jennifer and Jennie. I can't live and rot in jail without sending them to the burning hell first. "But you must tell me what exactly happened in the toilet room so I can defend your case," he added. "Can you do that for me?" "Do you really believe me that I didn't do all that to them?" I asked. Tanner was put into profound silence as he focused his undivided attention on the road ahead of us. His sudden silence tells me that he isn't similar to the police officers. "As your attorney,
But instead of pushing him away, I stayed on his shoulders and continued weeping until I woke up on my bed and found out it was another day. I looked around, trying to remember what happened last night. instead of Norman, I found a few cotton balls coated with blood, which I believed, was mine, and a medical kit. What was more startling was that my clothes were already different from what I wore yesterday. Then I hopped out of bed and went outside to look for Noah. But to my surprise, a lot of police officers are wandering the mansion. "Wha's going on?" I asked Mr. Emilio as soon as I reached the living area. "Good morning Mrs. dela Vega." To extend his greetings, Mr. Emilio bent half of his body. "It's about Jennifer and Jennie. They were arrested this morning." "What? For what ground?" I asked. Not that I hated it but I was just surprised like everyone else. "Where's Norman anyway?" "The mayor was trying to negotiate it with your attorney, Ms. Summer. Ev
"Do you need me to bring you to the hospital?" he added, this time, in a worried tone. He did not even let go of his hands from me, thinking I might fall again. "That's not necessary, Mr. Emilio. I'm good." I replied before I voluntarily removed his hands from me and stood still. "I'm just delighted that finally, for the very first time, I got the justice I deserved." Mr. Emilio frowned as he followed me to the car. "Are you sure? I mean, you might be overwhelmed after what happened to you these days." "I already lost count of how many times I was admitted to the hospital, Mr. Emilio." That's one for a fact. "Don't worry about me. Noah and Norman claimed that I was the strongest woman in the world. I'm still alive after Mauricia beat the hell out of me." We then took off as soon as we were settled into the car. Behind and ahead of us were police patrol cars assisting us back to the mansion. The reason Mr. Emilio kept an eye on me was because he got an order fro
"What do you mean what am I talking about? Aren't you the one who brought those food containers to my office?" He frowned. "If I'm not mistaken, those food containers even had our business' main logo. Those were limited edition food containers and our family only have those in the world." The first time someone delivered his office a bouquet of my favorite flowers and the second one was boxes of my favorite chocolates. What is this man really up to? Is he on drugs these days because of the never-ending problems with his evil family? So I opened one of the food containers, out of curiosity, and the smell of my favorite sweet and sour seafood dish lingered in my nose and was stuck in my throat, luring me to indulge my rumbling stomach for at least a bite. Is he fucking kidding me? Whoever delivered those things to his office knows everything about me. I started to wonder what could it be next time. Or perhaps those were supposed to be mine, but whoever that person
The heavy tension between us deepened, letting me expect that indeed something happened from their one-on-one or man-to-man conversation. "Why?" I asked. "Did he cut a deal with you? Did he offer you something I can't afford? Tell me, Tanner. The one thing I learned in life is that loyalty and truth can be bought with money. Are you one of those people?" To my surprise, Tanner stepped onto the accelerator and sped up the car. "I think it would be better if you ask Norman about it, Yvanna." Tanner defensively replied. Anger and hatred were evident in his statement. The reason Tanner cut a deal with me was that he also wanted to see and witness Norman buried in the ground. He will be the second, apart from me, who would be looking forward to seeing that day. Perrys and dela Vegas have been business rivals as far as I can remember Going back in the day, Tanner has been extremely bullied by Norman and his circle of friends. But he couldn't fight back because apart
"Come on, Mom, Dad! Can you just hear me out, please?" I insisted as I tailed them heading out of the mansion. "Get back, Yvanna!" Dad exclaimed. He and Mom doubled their pace toward the main road. "We don't have a daughter now. Go back to that hell of a place." I was about to stop them from hopping into the cab but they took off at the speed of light, leaving me alone in the road. "Please, get back inside, Mrs. dela Vega." One of the security guards followed me and helped me up as I dropped my knees to the rough surface of the ground. "Let me follow them on your behalf instead." The man next to him proposed. "We'll keep you posted once we can talk to them." They then hailed a cab and took off. I attempted to hail a new cab but two new security guards appeared and begged me to get back to the mansion as it was a strict order from Norman. Leaving with no other choice, I went straight to Noah's room. "Mom, are you alright? Are you crying? Did those evil hurt