Chapter 3

Her father, Hernando, was the one Tracy bumped into in the living room. He was sitting on the sofa looking at her. "Yes, Pa, I'm just coming home because I went shopping for groceries at Amante."

 He nodded to her. “That's good. You are obviously very tired. I can't say enough about your hard work and effort in life."

She smiled bitterly. “I have to do more for myself. All the time, my ally is myself. The more I give up, the more I lose."

The words she let out were enough to burst out her silent protest. Even though it is limited, she is somehow able to release her grievances and grudges against the family she had. And if it can be considered family.

There seems to be a glint of guilt in her father's eyes as he stares at her. What followed was the avoidance of looks. "Come here, Tracy; I just want to talk to you. That's if it's okay with you."

She nodded and then willingly sat beside Hernando. There was a moment of silence between her and him. It's obvious who will speak first to the two of them.

His father broke the silence. "H-how are you, hija?"

She turned to her father and met his gaze directly. She brightened the expression on her face despite the tiredness she felt. "Here, I am happy with the continued growth of the restaurant that I inherited from my former boss. If Ma'am Elena is still alive, she will surely be happy."

 "It means you are a good hija, especially in business. I have always seen that you are a good entrepreneur," a small smile drew on his lips.

 Instead of being happy with her father's compliment, something else changed in his feelings. 'Hopefully, you and Mama also saw my being your daughter. I'm doing all this so that you can appreciate me too.

'And she kept those words in her mind. She seems to be losing the courage to voice it. She feared Consuelo might suddenly hear what she had to say to her father. And her mother thinks badly of it.

 "T-thank you," a forced spark of happiness appeared in her eyes. She was holding back tears. "It's true that during the Anihan Festival earlier, even though there was a show in the plaza, the restaurant was still flocked by many customers. It’s a very tiring day, but we are all happy.”

And she also told her father what the two old female customers told her after entering the restaurant. To this day, she still thinks about it.

"And did they mention who the actress is that looks like you?" Hernando asked in reaction to what she said. There seemed to be an inexplicable surprise on his face.

She shook her head. "They don’t, and I was embarrassed to ask. If I had known, I would have looked it up online."

“By the way, hija, you are really beautiful. All right, go to your room so you can rest."

"All right, Pa, go to sleep too, huh." She stood up. Her body cries for her to take a rest.

He just nodded in response. She just noticed that there was a bottle of beer on the table.

She left her father in the living room and went to her room. She hurriedly washed herself and changed her clothes. She felt heavenly when she lay down in her bed. But sleepiness seemed to be elusive to her. And she couldn't help but look back on the past.

Sixteen Years Ago.

She happily went home that afternoon with very good news. She just came from school after her morning class. When she entered the house, she immediately went to the dining room. She knew her parents and sister were there because she could hear small conversations there and even the sound of cutlery.

"Good afternoon, I'm here," she happily greeted her family, who were already sitting in front of the table. There was a wide smile on her lips. She immediately approached her father, Hernando, and put her hand on his forehead. Next was his mother, Consuelo, but she moved her hand away.

"Sit down, Tracy, so that we can eat together. Let's not wait for grace," her mother said sarcastically, as if she didn't like her presence.

Her head bowed due to embarrassment. The momentum of the happiness she was carrying continued to decrease. She sat quietly in the chair next to her sister Lyra. She is a year apart from her, and they are both in high school. She was in grade twelve that school year.

"Our firstborn seems happy," said his father as he spooned rice into his plate. "Do you have good news for us, Tracy?"

She looked at her father's face. She cheered herself up and ignored her mother's coldness towards her. "I'm top two in the class now in third grading."

"Well, congratulations, hija, you're great," Hernando greeted her happily. "We should have a celebration later; we’ll eat out tonight after I get off work."

Her father is a municipal employee in their town. He came to their house every noon to eat. His work is just a walking distance from the municipal hall of Sta Maria.

"But Hernando," Consuelo interjected at what her husband said. “We're just wasting money if we eat out. Remember, we still have many bills here at home. It will be okay if Tracy’s the top two increase your salary."

 It seemed like a fire came out of his Mama's eyes as she focused her gaze on her. When her gaze is so glaring, she shouldn't object.

"Pa, it is okay for me not to eat outside. Mama is right," she tried to reassure herself as she looked at her parents one after the other. "We need to save money now."

 "But Tracy-"

 "Hernando, you heard what Tracy said," her mother interrupted what her father was about to say. "The best thing is to finish your lunch; you might be late for your work this afternoon."

 While she silently ate, there was an inexplicable sadness in her heart. There was displeasure, especially towards her mother. She is doing everything to make her appreciate her, but she seems very distant. She has been aware of such treatment since she was a child. She was often punished with her bare hand more than her youngest sister. The opposite of her father's treatment of her is that she can feel his love for her.

One night, she saw that Lyra was struggling to answer her Mathematic assignment. She approached her sister.

"Would you like me to help you answer that?" she volunteered. This subject is one of her edges, and she gets high marks.

Lyra turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Why your purpose Tracy? To show me again that you are smarter than me? And I'll be the one who looks stupid, especially to Papa."

Her teeth chattered. "That's not my intention; I want to help you as your sister."

"Damn it! I do not need your help!" She snorts at her. "You don't have to be nice to me. Don't pretend to be a good sister.”

The conflict with Lyra continued to grow as they grew older. She is jealous of her because of the greater attention that their father, Hernando, gives her. And her sister what always favored by their mother.

A big puzzled to her for being an Alcantara. The big reason why she can't fully consider their house as her home.

“What's going on here, huh?” Consuelo suddenly arrives in the living room. She and Lyra were both stunned when they saw their mother's presence. Her gaze focused more on her that. It was obvious that she would be the one to be castigated.

Lyra was the first to speak. "Ma, she's disturbing me in my studies. I was asked to go out but didn't want to because I was busy."

Her lips parted at the lying of her sister. She looked directly at her mother. " Mom, that's not true; I want to help her with her assignment."

Lyra suddenly started crying and wiped tears from her eyes. "Look, Ma, Ate Tracy, make me the one is lying. She doesn’t want me to study hard and wants to disturb me."

 Consuelo suddenly grabbed her on both of her shoulders. Her nail almost dug into her skin. "Why are you playing dumb, Tracy? You are smart, but you have no manners! Next time, let your sister study."

Holding back tears, she just nodded. She almost fell to the floor when her mother suddenly released her body. Fortunately, she regained her balance immediately.

"That's because you are trying to be nice to me," Lyra said sarcastically. Her sister took all her things and left her in the living room. When she was alone, she couldn't stop herself from crying.

She felt that she had no place in that house. If it weren’t for his Papa, maybe her Mama and her sister would have rejected her from the family she had for a long time.