Yes, that was what was different since he woke up.That's what he had been puzzling over and over, that it was driving him crazy. The memory of her body's willing response to his lovemaking was rapidly rousing his body as no one had ever done before, even though he wondered why she had to do what she did.How long had she been selling her body?He realized, as he didn't know the answer to that or why it was even important, that it was driving him crazy thinking that other men had been with her.He'd touched the girl.Not just touched, he'd been taken by her the moment he saw her beautiful face in what light could enter through the glass panes of the windows. That was what got through him, as drunk as he was. And when he got her inside the house, he saw a face with eyes that were about ready to cry, and he instantly changed.His heart melted against his better judgment. Suddenly, he just wanted to comfort her, bring her to his bed instead of just taking her on the couch, where he could
It was very early in the morning when Arianna and Tommy woke up to pick vegetables and fruits from their garden at the back of the house to sell.The day seemed no different from past days except Tommy now worked beside her… somber, quiet, and very focused.Tommy was the one who actually started selling fresh produce from their garden, but he hadn't done this for a while now. The money they earned was enough for food but could not completely provide for his needs in school and their mother's regular medicine prescriptions, and it frustrated him.He said it was too slow a job to earn money, and he started trying to find odd jobs from other farmers or commercial establishments in town who would let him work before or after school, even though he was just fourteen.Unfortunately, their mother had to be confined for a mild stroke and this really scared both of them. That was when he told her he would quit school. They were paying in installments for the hospital bill already, and though sh
Arianna was pulled back to the present by Tommy's voice calling her name. Her eyes focused on her brother as she felt her cheeks getting warm, silently thanking him for recalling her back to the present.“Ate, can we give this watermelon at his price?”“Ah, oh, oh. How much do you want?” she asked the patron with a smile, in a haggling mode, and was able to sell the watermelon at a higher price than what was being asked. That was the end of it, and they were able to return home with enough time to cook lunch.During lunch, both of them acted like before, especially after their mother expressed relief that Tommy was again helping his sister sell garden produce in the morning.“I will start helping tend the garden again. I was listening to the radio this morning and found this program with a doctor and his nurse-wife on it. The sun's rays and exercise should be able to help make me stronger,” she enthusiastically added.“Ay, Ma!” Tommy protested promptly. “You don't have to. You can sit
Late that afternoon, Tommy came home with enough fish to feed them for two days, and good news.“Ate! Mama! The chairman told me I can work in the fishery or in the paddy field starting tomorrow! He also told me I can start learning to drive the jeepney just inside the hacienda in case they needed a hand in transporting anything from anywhere inside here. I have a job!”They roasted enough fish for their supper and cooked the rest in herbs and spices. They had a very enjoyable dinner and after the dishes were done, their mother asked them to stay with her for a bit in the living room as she read from her Bible aloud for them and prayed to thank the Lord for their blessings before she went to bed. Tommy remained in the small living room to read one of his school books. She, on the other hand, checked to make sure every window was closed and the doors in the front and back were locked before maybe reading a book of her own. Her friends often would bring her their books once they were d
Days passed.It became easier for siblings Arianna and Tommy to live those days now.As her brother started to work in the fish ponds early in the morning and came back to help her sell whenever they had more produce from their little garden than they could use in the house, while their mother started to show more vigor, Arianna just couldn't help but hope they have left the past behind.It would become easier to act like she had forgotten about it if Tommy wouldn’t look like he had been bitten by a snake every time he remembered. She knew whenever this happened, and she pretended not to, either.Instead, she would try harder to show it did not affect her anymore, even though there were times it would hit her, and she would just feel out of bounds.Like, for a moment, she was just not herself.It had become more and more like she was a different person that night. Like it wasn't her that walked towards that dark house at the end of that road, and she wasn't the woman who had been ravis
A week later, Arianna came up to the house from town to do groceries after she had sold their morning vegetables. She found three sacks of rice laying down by the side of the front door, leaning against the wall.She stared at them, thinking she was imagining them.She was holding in her hand 3 kilos of rice inside a bag she just bought from their earnings that morning, and she was just think-ing about when they would be able to again afford to buy a sack as she walked towards the house with her two pitiful bags of groceries.What is going on? She couldn't think of anything that would bring three sacks of rice into their house!She immediately looked for her mother. She didn't even call for her, thinking she would excite her for nothing just in case those sacks weren’t even theirs. She found her in the kitchen stacking up grocery items on their shelves that had never looked that full. She was speechless and a statue until her mother turned towards her with a beaming face.“Anak! What
“No, Tommy. That couldn't be right,” she said. She was finally able to confront him that night after dinner and their mother was back to bed very early. Her chirpiness got her tired earlier than usual so she wasn't even able to do her nightly Bible reading routine. She pulled Tommy out of the house to make sure none of their voices didn't reach their mother, in case she wasn't deeply asleep yet. It really shook both of them to the core when they found out she was lightly sleeping that night.“How did you find out? They promised me they wouldn't let you know anything at the bar.” “They didn't. They only told me where you went but, I told you, I was making a scene so they'd tell me something. I didn't think it was him. I thought it was one of his friend's friends.”“Then how—”“I went back very early in the morning before you got up,” he confessed, It was still dark, and I... the door was unlocked. I had to find out who did that to my sister. I need to know... if he even recognized y
One month later, a new benefit was given to the workers.It was a health check-up for everyone conducted at the health center. And for the first time, it was mandatory.A mobile laboratory arrived for lab tests. The Quirozes wanted to make sure that everyone was in good health so if anyone turned out to be otherwise, they could then be treated early.Urine and stool samples were taken. The stool test became a source of puns for everyone.It took a few days to finish checking up on all tenants since there were older ones who took their sweet time to visit the center.But when Arianna received the result of her exams, something caught her attention.She'd had a pregnancy test? It was a pregnancy test—clear in the wording. And the result was negative.She already knew she wasn't pregnant. She got her period in time. In fact, she had been horrified to see the first spots of blood in her underwear because it didn't even occur to her during the whole confusing period since that night that s
Arianna fought, pushing him back until it was him lying on the bed and she was pulling his socks and pants off him.“There will be no other woman,” he told her urgently as she climbed on top of him breathlessly. His hands cupped her face, his movements sure, his movements silky.“Huh,” she huffed. “That’s what husbands say to their wives on the first night, yet not all of them remained faithful to the end.”He was scowling now. “What’s with you, baby?”“See? I showed a few little teeth and you’re confused about me now?” She rolled her eyes at him.He grinned, and again, she found herself on her back, under him. As they were only on their underwear now, their exposed skin rubbed against each other, and she had more difficulty breathing.And of course, he could see this. His eyes smoldered with heat and his body started to move against hers. Yet, he remained where he was, staring down at her, his eyes remaining worried.“What is it, my love? It’s our first night together as a married cou
The van was ready and people climbed in. The Señor and the Chairman were in front, with the latter driving.There was a separate car for some of the usual men who casually accompanied Eric’s father—her father-in-law now. These were, of course, his bodyguards. Father and son had bodyguards whenever they were outside the hacienda. In the past ten days, she went out with Eric several times to shop or simply dine out on a date. And though there wasn’t an obvious escort, she could spot the very same men with Eric when he had to go to work loitering not too far away from them as they shopped, but surrounding them.Aside from the bodyguards, Eric bought her jewelry, new clothes, and her own laptop and gadgets.It was like the moment she accepted the marriage proposal, although she had imposed conditions, there was no doubt she had become the woman of a Quiroz.A part of her knew that insisting on being her old self would not help her transition into her new role as a Quiroz wife, so she let
The next few days were the most surreal of all the days of Arianna’s life that it even surpassed that night she first went to Eric’s private house in the back of the hacienda.Eric used his influence to get an expedited marriage license for both of them within a week and the wedding itself was performed by a judge in the garden of the house they were staying in the next day.It was private, attended only by their immediate family (minus his mother, of course) and her awe-struck childhood friends driven from the province to witness.There weren’t adults, but she was informed the Señor had the staff in the hacienda invite tenants for a catered celebration of the day in the hacienda’s function hall, unofficially confirming the news about his only son marrying his girlfriend and shutting down any dirty gossip regarding how they met. At most, it was just a malicious charge thrown at her by Eric’s mother, accusing her of seducing her son with her feminine wiles.The fact was, most believed i
“What happened this morning here between you and… oh god, I just realized… my son’s ex and my ex—”There was a short burst of a snort from Tommy before he clamped a hand to his mouth and ducked his head towards his mother’s nearest arm, and Yna hid a smile. Or tried to.Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Dad, you’re traumatizing the kid.”There was a bigger snort from her brother that had him totally smacking his whole face on their mother’s back. “Hija, what I was saying,” the Señor, trying to get back on track as he tried not to grin at Tommy’s machinations, given his topic was supposedly serious, “was that what happened this morning was deplorable, and I swear that it will never happen again as long as you’re here with us in the hacienda. The same goes for your family, as they will become my family, too. But when you marry Eric, you are going to be living with him wherever he is. When it comes to your security, you have to compromise with him until, at least, you are more us
They all sat to eat then, with the Señor leading the prayer.And she was surprised when Eric and his father opened a conversation when they started eating, with the son giving sarcastic observations about something in hacienda transactions, or the father telling random memories about his son’s childhood that had them all laughing.If she or anyone else was worried that it was going to be an awkward dinner, they were very much mistaken.On the other hand, she had noticed a long time ago that father and son treated each other casually, but backed each other up quietly.She had caught Eric watching his father with respect and a bit of adoration a few times, which he would instantly hide into a sardonic countenance or an expression of serious consideration when he noticed being watched. As if anything softer would make him less grown-up.And observing and knowing them better now than before, she realized it was something Tommy used to do when he was little, doggedly following after their f
Yna started to feel excited about making love with him the moment he slipped inside the room, but she didn’t know how wet she was until he buried himself inside her, to the hilt… smooth and quick. He followed this with a self-satisfied, awed groan.“I miss that feeling so much,” she told him in an awed whisper. Then she closed her eyes and moaned when he pulled himself out to push back in again. Incredible sensations assailed her, stirring embers that heated her whole body and made her nerves pop.“Baby… you always feel like I’m sinking into heaven… so tight and hot that you make me crazy. This is going to be… my quickest…”She nodded over and over, whimpering at the next full thrusts until he was kissing her again to hold any noise they make inside their mouths. He was pacing himself now, moving his hips in such a way that she felt the most pleasure from his thrusts, and it wasn’t very long before she felt the force gathering.And before she knew it, the ball of hot pleasure imploded
Arianna was staring sightlessly at the wall after she entered her room, and she was aware when Tommy tried to open the door but their mother pulled him back, and there they argued in whispers outside, in the corridor.When Eric’s voice got mixed with their voices, she took a deep breath and turned her head to look accusingly and tiredly at the closed door. Did they have to do all that right behind it, where she would strain to hear what they were saying?Didn’t she say she wanted to be alone?Yet, Yna found herself standing up from the edge of her bed’s cushion to quietly tiptoe to the door to try and hear them more clearly.And she heard everything since then.Her eyes even shed a few tears, even though those were words she had heard before and knew already.Those three loved her to death, she knew all that. She also knew they would not so easily let her be.Especially Eric, who owned the hardest skull of all.Her mother and Tommy went down the stairs and left Eric there, and she coul
“Honestly, I can understand if the poor child panics at this point,” Papa said after how quiet the kitchen had become after Arianna rushed out then her mother and Tommy left to follow her. “Your mother can fucking overwhelm anyone, and she’s just a girl.”Eric was on his feet and he would have run after her, too, if he didn’t remember the panic in her eyes, the fear and confusion marring her whole face, and the pain that was in her voice when she begged to be alone. So he wasn’t sure if he should follow her.Instead, he closed his eyes and lowered his head.“Am I doing the right thing?” he asked the two men quietly. “Or am I pushing her too much? Rushing her relentlessly?”“There is no such thing as rushing to a man when he wants a woman,” his father replied. And Eric turned to him, thinking he was still making light of the mood, but he was seriously looking up at him from where he sat across the table from him. “Ask Castro here. It’s good to see that his own rush twenty-five years ago
As if by design, Señor Sylver—Papa Sylver—and Chairman Castro arrived then to check on her with a nurse from the hacienda center who lived here.Miranda was the daughter of one of the older farmers and a senior to her and her friends by seven years.She checked her carefully for further injuries, concern in her eyes apparent. After making sure her cuts and scratches were laden with antibacterial cream and she had taken in the right medicine for her body pains, she tapped her on her shoulder and smiled down at her.“You’ll be okay. The Señor and Señorito are both your allies, as well as so many other people here, Arianna. Don’t let this derail you, kid, okay?”She felt more confused after the nurse had left because, in the kitchen where the elders had retired for coffee and further apologies and discussions, she felt like she wasn’t gaining control of her own life.This feeling started quite a while now. There was so much in the future she wasn’t sure about, nor did she feel secure, sud