Growing up, I have had a sense of good and bad in the world. I learned that people make choices and sometimes they make bad actions, which makes other people label them bad. Yet, there’s more to people being and choosing to do bad things. I had never seen people do the most brutal bad things until I saw men barge into our house and fired bullets at my father’s already dead body. And my mother—which wounded my soul to the point of not even knowing if I could ever get back on my feet once again, only to discover that I have been betrayed by my own mother. She’s already dead. For real this time. I have not forgiven her, but I have learned to move forward. But the sudden turn of events of my life allowed me to grow in ways I wouldn’t have imagined and led me to the arms of the man that I could trust, fight, and grow old with. And today’s our 5th wedding anniversary. Even if we had to go through hell and fight for our lives, it led us to this paradise that I wouldn’t trade for anyth
NOT A SINGLE preparation could prevent anyone from bowling into tears when you see your father on his bed fighting for his life but you can’t do anything. “Father, you got this,” I mumbled while choking in tears. “Are you hurting? Where? Let us help.” I was leaning onto my father’s shoulders and my mother sat beside him on the bed muffling her cries. Outside, the rain is pouring heavily as darkness slowly engulfs the surroundings. It was way past evening and almost midnight when I was about to help Dad take his medication, but I was horrified when I saw this. We were shedding tears as heavy as the downpour. This might be the night that I was so scared of. But I can’t lose my father like this. We have been to several hospitals in the past year. Yet we were told that his body couldn’t make it anymore—his disease had already spread throughout his organs and that any kind of operation would be futile. His medication is only to alleviate the pain he is enduring, not a cure. Thunder
“DON’T!” my mother shouted in the middle of limping from pain. She attempted to get up writhing in pain but her eyes glared at the men that shot her. “She’ll be the fiancé of the Rajiv clan’s first son! They won’t spare your lives if you kill her!” I hugged my mother as she shouted at them. She was doing her best to keep speaking but every bit of her body was already shaking. I tore a portion of my shirt to cover her wound on the side of her stomach. I pressed on it and she squirmed. She’s losing so much blood! “Please… what do you want? Why did you do this to my mother!” “Darling…” my mother’s hands caressed my face. She was still lying on the floor. “Hey!” I shouted again to the men in masks but they did not answer. “Are you robbers?! Do you want our money? I will give you a lot of money…” My anger melted into tears and my pretentious anger dissolved. This time I looked up to them, begging. “We always keep some money on the bolt. You can have them all. Just let me call an ambul
I CRIED and begged the driver. “Please. Please get me out of here. I need to get some help for my parents.” “What happened to you, woman?” No words left my mouth. Instead, I pulled out the taxi’s door. As I sat in the backseat of the taxi then I stared at the driver. His eyes stared back at me but landed on my now-drenched shirt. I suspect my boobs are now showing underneath my shirt that got drenched by the rain. Fear jolted inside me once again, making my stomach churn. I slowly covered myself as I looked out through the window and gave the address to the driver. Westbent Street. The biggest mansion I could see. It didn’t help that the streets were dark and damp from the rain. It was almost empty with only lights from the lamp posts. I kept my hope. I prayed for my safety. And my mothers. Even if it sounded impossible. With no cash in my pockets and not even a phone in my hand. I unlocked the gold necklace that my parents gave me when I turned eighteen. Soon, the driver slowed d
I SHIVERED under the piercing gaze of the man—his presence so eerie and cold, who just stared at me in disbelief. Then I saw him raise his eyebrows and scan me and my entire body once again. “You’re sexy underneath those already-drenched clothes. I could understand if you wanted to get fucked. But you’re crazy enough to tell me you’re marrying me.” Then he laughed in disbelief. His actions were timid and so were his expressions. But his words… hit a mark inside me that I have to collect my thoughts. Swallow my guilt and shame. Maybe I was indeed irrational to be right here. In the middle of the night, standing in front of a car, with guns pointing at me. But I had reasons… I had my last words and my mother’s command. The man, in a well-tailored suit, smirked at me as he motioned to his bodyguard to drag me away from their car. “Get her away. We won’t splash blood in front of our gates for tonight,” he said with a low voice. If I was not in a position of pain and panic, I would ha
THE MANSION looked unreal right in front of my eyes. It’s massive and furnished like the house of a royalty. I was sure it looked amazing from afar but no words could describe how magnificent it is right in this spot. It settled at the end of the long road, the lights from the inside glimmered in the middle of the night. Amid the coldness of the evening, the light that surrounded this area somehow gave vibrance—like some sort of warmth. It didn’t take long before the cars stopped right in front of the double doors of the mansion. I looked around as I was guided by the men to step out of the car. The last car that arrived was the car where the elderly couple settled. As soon as their car opened, I went near them and landed on my knees. I shivered at the sharp cold that the tiled floor sent onto my skin. The men stood right in front of the house in a guarding stance, they all glanced at me.I bowed down my head and pushed my eyes close. “My parents need to be rescued at our house. Ple
I COULDN’T go near our house as it was already morning. And Callan kept preventing me to even take just a single step farther from the car. “It’s not safe for you to go,” he said, his voice low. Why do you care? I wanted to blurt out but I had no voice. I had no more strength. It felt like my soul had been sucked out of me. I stared at nothing and felt nothing. “My men will inspect the house and will inquire what happened,” Callan kept saying. Even if I wasn’t responding to him, it was a shock that he was still talking to me. How could a man you don’t know be this concern after he had just blatantly neglected me the night when I was desperate for help? I glared at him and tried to stand up, but he held me by my wrist and stared back at me—as sharp as he ever could, like he was sure I could understand what he meant with just a hint in the eyes. It took long before I tore away my gaze at him then back to our house—burnt by the fire and a faint smoke snaking through the atmospher
MY EYES HAVE never stared at anybody this long. I may not be the most outgoing person but I sure do know how to be social. But standing right in front of a man knowing I was defenseless, and noticing every single change in his reaction as he stared back at me… some may call this suicide. I may think the same. Knowing that I am not even aware of what this man can do. His words failed to bring me down as my heart already weighed to my knees. But I remembered the warning that was told to me by the driver of the cab that I hailed as I ran for my safety hoping I could get rescued… ‘The people in that house are not merciful.’ ‘You’ve come a long way to meet the ravij. I hope you won’t regret that.’ I gulped, and suddenly fear started creeping in on my veins. Callan took a step towards me and I took a step back. Unexpectedly, my heart started beating erratically not knowing what he would do. Addressing him through his first name felt so strange because I only overheard his name and didn