CHAPTER 2

“I CAN’T do it, Rona! You know I have a boyfriend! William is coming home this month. I can’t let him see me flirting with other men!” kontra ko sa pinsan.

“It’s a bet, Verena. Besides, ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi, hindi ba? You can make him fall in love within a month,” nakangiting sabi ni Rona.

“Right. And we told everyone beforehand that if you ever did the job perfectly – you are going to live your life peacefully with William. It means you won’t need to do tasks like this after Remmington Accardi. It’s a win-win situation, Verena. You should not waste opportunities like this,” Taite butted in.

Nasa loob pa rin kami ng VVIP Room. The music outside can’t be heard from here, and only their voices were echoing inside my head. Making me go crazy as time passes by.

“This is not just about the opportunity, Taite! You never had a serious boyfriend so you don’t have anything to worry about, but I have! I will worry about what William will think of me. He will definitely see me as a woman who acts like a whore when he is not around—”

“Oh, please! You are just going to flirt with him a bit, y’know? Make him see your beauty. Charm him with your smile. That is all it takes, Verena! You don’t need to let him screw you if you don’t want to!” Brooke said. She rolled her eyes at me. I can’t believe how they all started liking this task, when it is not even normal!

A family pushing their girls to seduce men for their downfall is not normal at all! We are not dolls for heaven’s sake!

“Guys, can you please stop fighting? I can do it instead of Verena. Please don’t make her life difficult,” singit ni Cove sa usapan pero wala ni isang lumingon sa kaniya.

“Don’t even think of trying to runaway or planning to say no again, Verena. We are Lacroix for a reason. All of us are good at ruining a person here. If you even try to do something, I will make sure that William will forever see you as a whore. I have plenty of connections, Verena. Don’t even try me.”

I gasped. I stared at Taite as she stood up from her seat. Sumunod sa kaniya si Brooke na may nanunuyang ngisi lang sa labi niya. Nauna silang lumabas sa VVIP room habang naiwan kaming tatlo nina Rona at Cove.

“They always fight, but they sure do coordinate with each other when it comes to this kind of things,” Rona uttered sarcastically.

“Whose idea is this?” nanghihina kong tanong. Hindi makapaniwalang wala akong magagawa sa mga nangyayari.

“Taite, and your mother. Your mother thought that you are wasting your beauty on that William guy. And besides, you know how Taite hates your guts. That’s why she never stayed here in Philippines. You, beating her on tenth grade as a valedictorian was something she won’t ever forget, girl.” Umiling-iling si Rona.

“She has a serious case of insecurity disease, don’t you all think?” tanong ni Cove. “And hey, you did not tell me about this, Rona! At bakit ka sumali sa dalawang iyon! Ang mga malditang iyon!” baling niya agad sa pinsan namin na ngumiti lang. Pero kapansin-pansin ang pananamlay ng ngiti niyang iyon.

May tinanggal siya sa tainga niya. It was her earrings. I immediately realized that we were wiretap over the duration of our talk. Naka-off na iyon ngayon dahil paniguradong kuntento na ang mga nakikinig sa narinig nila kanina.

About me doing the task.

“You know I can’t say no against them. I’m a puppet, not a human,” Rona shrugged her shoulder’s like it was nothing.

But it is something. To be used as a tool.

“Anyway! I’ll call you if the papers are all ready! And I’ll send your character information later tonight. You know the drill, Verena, right?” Rona stood up as she genuinely smiled at me. “We don’t have a choice here, so make sure to ruin the guy completely, okay?”

Hindi ako agad nakaimik, pero kalaunan ay tumango ako.

After all, the weaker beings are always the one being trampled at by the strong ones.

“YOU looked great!” Hearing my mother praised me didn’t made me feel great at all. In fact, I was looking forward for the day I’m leaving her radar.

“Thanks, Mom,” tipid kong sagot habang tinitignan ang sariling repleksyon.

My mother was beautiful, and so is my father. That’s why I have this long natural eyelashes. My light gray orbs often attract men too, and it is what William loves the most. On top of that was my pointed nose, and my thin lips. It suited my natural auburn hair which has body waves. But today, I changed my looks according to the profile given to me.

A maid. My beautiful long hair was cut, and turned into black. I wore black contacts to hide my real eye color. And they made me wear glasses to make me look plain. They said it was to hide my real identity, because this time, I am going to face a dangerous man. A mafia boss they said based on their research, or the rumors.

“You should bring some of your sexy clothes, dear. Make him see your legs. No man can ever turn down your legs, Verena!” tuwang-tuwa sabi ni Mom na ikinabuntonghininga ko.

“Yeah. Do what you want, Mom. I’ll just call Rona to let them know that I’m ready for the task.” Hindi ko hinintay ang sagot niya at nauna na agad akong umalis.

I did call Rona, and they told me where to go after that. Kaya tatlong oras pagkatapos ko siyang tawagan ay nakita ko na lang ang sarili kong may hawak na dalawang travelling bag habang nakatayo sa harap ng isang malaking gate. It was way bigger than ours. The image of it made me think that the man we are facing this time is not going to make my life easy.

“Ano pong atin?” Bumaba ang tingin ko sa guard na bumati sa akin.

I immediately let out a soft smile. “A-Ako po iyong bagong maid ni Sir Accardi. A-Ah, Honey Flores po,” uutal-utal kong sabi saboy abot ng papel kung saan nakasaad ang tungkol sa pagdating ko ngayong araw.

“Ah! Ikaw po pala ang hinihintay namin! Pasok po kayo. Nasa loob na po si Sir Accardi.”

Ha! That didn’t sound good at all.