Kabanata 4

KABANATA 4

ㅤㅤㅤㅤFIVE years ago, she was dubbed as the Saavedra family’s jewel, their most treasured daughter. She was pampered because besides being Saavedra’s princess, she also had congenital heart disease. Alam ng mga Saavedra ito dahil noong limang taong gulang pa lamang siya, kinailangan nyang mag-undergo ng surgery para mabuhay—she did, but barely. She still carried the burden of her heart disease.

Even so, she decided to make up for it by being a role model. Not only her family but her peers adored her for her beauty, brain, and elegance—she was truly the pride of the Saavedra family back then.

She never let her congenital heart disease drag her down, Lorraine Saavedra was the epitome of perfection.

However, on her 25th birthday, her life drastically changed. Lahat iyon, nagsimula sa pagbabalik ng ‘orihinal na Saavedra’—si Rika Vicente. On her 25th birthday, Rika revealed that she was the real daughter of Albert and Joana Saavedra, and that Lorraine’s mother had swapped them out of malicious intent.

Marami ang nagulat at hindi naniwala kay Rika pero noong i-run ang DNA tests, napatunayang hindi nga kadugo ng mga Saavedra si Lorraine. Thus it turned out that this rich and powerful family had been raising a cuckoo bird in their nest, and Rika was the poor victim.

“M—mom, dad… Please believe me, ‘di ko talaga alam ‘to,” halos namamaos ang boses nyang nagmamakaawa sa mga magulang nya noong lumabas ang totoo.

Yet, her ‘parents’ only threw her a distrustful look. When she tried to reach her beloved mother, Joana only slapped her hand away.

“Don’t touch me,” matigas nitong sabi at ang susunod na lamang nyang naramdaman ay ang palad nitong lumapat sa pisngi nya. “‘Di ka ba nahihiya sa sarili mo, Lorraine? Pinaniwala mo kaming lahat na ikaw talaga ang anak namin!”

“But mom, I truly didn’t know—”

“We don’t want to hear your alibis! Pa’nong ‘di mo alam? For all we know, you could have kept in contact with your original mother, leeching off our riches and wealth!”

But that wasn’t true. Lorraine looked at her mother solemnly yet she also knew that she wouldn’t listen to her anymore. So, she tried to look at her father to ask for some remorse, but to no avail.

“We’ve given you everything because you made us think that you’re our little princess,” malamig nitong sabi.

His voice seethed in restrained anger and that made her tremble. The fear she felt tugged her heart—her chest tightened and if she dwelled in this longer, Lorraine knew it wouldn’t be good for her.

Kumunot ang noo nito. “You’ve stolen our daughter’s life so don’t come asking for remorse when you’ve shown us none of that during the time you were pretending.”

“But I— I didn’t know that I was swapped!”

“Itigil mo na ‘yang kahibangan mo, Lorraine,” sabad ni Adrian sa usapan. “Wala kang kakampi rito. Walang maniniwala sa ‘yo.”

The way Lorraine’s life turned upside down in the speed of light had frightened her. Seeing all of her loved ones turn their backs against her, leaving her to suffer all alone without someone to rely on was scarring.

Hindi siya sanay at hindi nya alam kung paano nya pupulutin ang sarili mula sa pagkakalugmok.

Sa isang iglap, naagaw kaagad ni Rika ang atensyon at puso ng ‘pamilya’ ni Lorraine.

“File a case against her, honey,” Joana asked her husband. “She’s a criminal! She deceived all of us!”

Parang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig si Lorraine sa narinig. Hindi nya maiwasang mamangha at masaktan sa bilis ng mga pangyayari.

Kahit alam nyang buo na ang desisyon ng mga Saavedra na ipakulong siya, sinubukan pa rin ni Lorraine na ipaliwanag ang sarili… pero walang nakinig sa kanya.

They all filed a case against her and sent her to jail—and as if that wasn’t enough, before she was sent behind the bars, she experienced extreme bullying from both Adrian and Rika.

It came to the point that they ruined her image by setting her up to sleep with a stranger.

She could still remember how Adrian and Rika discussed what they planned while she was in a daze.

“Sure ka bang ‘di tayo mahuhuli ni Justin ‘pag ginawa natin ‘to, kuya?” nag-aalangang tanong ni Rika kay Adrian.

Umismid si Adrian. “Pa’no naman tayo mahuhuli kung ‘di naman din natin kilala kung sino ba talaga ‘yang hahawak sa impostor mo? Basta walang magsusumbong, sa ‘tin ang tiwala ni Justin.”

‘Stop. Make it stop,’ was all Lorraine could think about and wished to say if it weren’t for the fact that her strength seemed to slip away from her. For the love of God, she couldn’t even find it in herself to open her mouth to ask them about their evil plan.

“Sigurado ka rin na magiging akin si Justin, ‘di ba?”

“Oo naman, Rika. Sigurado akong nawalan na ng interes ang isang iyon kay Lorraine noong lumabas ang totoo na ‘di talaga siya tunay na Saavedra. Mas lalo lang ‘yong mawawalan ng amor ‘pag nakita nua si Lorraine na may kasamang ibang lalaki.”

Lorraine passed out shortly after that and the next thing she knew, Justin did find her sleeping beside a mysterious man—naked and sore all around her body.

Hanggang ngayon, parang masamang panaginip na hinahabol si Lorraine ng itsura ni Justin. Kung paanong nanlaki ang mga mata nito noong makita siya, matulala, takasan ng kulay sa mukha—bago tuluyang halos mamula ang mukha nito sa galit nang rumehistro ang mga nangyari.

“You’re shameless,” Justin said through gritted teeth. “‘Di ka pa nakuntento sa mga kasinungalingan mo, nakuha mo pa akong lokohin.”

Lorraine’s heart sank because she was tangled in this mess and could not find her way out. Bago pa rin siya makapagpaliwanag, iniwanan siya ni Justin na parang wala lang.

She also left that mysterious man alone in that room. Leaving to chase her ex-fiancé to explain—to try to convince her that she was just set up by Adrian and Rika.

But who was she to assume that he’d believe her?

“Tama talaga sila tungkol sa ‘yo…” dismayadong sabi ni Justin. “Not only that you’re a notorious liar, you’re also too desperate to save yourself from all your mess that you’d try to ruin Rika more.”

…That’s not it! But explaining was futile.

As unfortunate as it may sound, Lorraine also got pregnant. By the time she found out, Justin, her ex-fiancé had begun looking at her in a different light.

Marumi. Disgrasyada. Manlalalaki.

Justin abhorred Lorraine. From looking at her as though she was a fragile flower he wanted to protect, Justin began seeing her as torn from his past, a love he’d come to regret.

Not that she blamed him, but she knew she wouldn’t have been shouldering this burden if it weren’t for Adrian and Rika.

Before Lorraine was sent to prison, she had also given birth. No one really cared for her, besides the security guard who found her somewhere along the streets, bloodied and struggling because she wasn’t allowed to go to any hospitals.

She named her Laurence, her only hope and the sole reason why she wanted to live.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤLORRAINE slowly opened her eyes and found herself inside a hospital room. Confused, she weakly looked around and remembered what happened a few hours ago.

Nahimatay siya. It was most likely out of stress, exhaustion, and the constant heartbreak from multiple rejections she received today since everyone was so convinced on killing her just so Rika would survive.

Hindi pa ba talaga sapat ang limang taon na paghihirap nya sa bilangguan?

Lorraine slowly shook her head.

‘I can’t… die here,’ she thought.

Bagamat nanghihina, sinubukan ni Lorraine ang tumayo mula sa kinahihigaan noong mapatingin siya sa pinto at marinig ang usapan ng mga nagbabantay sa kanya sa labas.

“Tol, tawag tayo ni boss,” sabi ng isa sa mga lalaki sa labas.

“‘Di ako makaalis dito, may pinapabantay sa ‘kin.”

Pumalatak ang kasama nito. “Iwanan na raw muna natin, anong oras na at ‘di pa naman nagkakamalay ‘yon. Baka nga raw patay na ‘yon kaya ipapa-examine ulit ni boss Adrian.”

“Ah, gano’n? O sige, kung ‘yan naman sinabi ni boss.”

Lorraine’s heart began to race as hope filled her chest. She clenched her fists and watched the men outside her hospital room leave one by one, and when she couldn’t hear them anymore, an idea instantly dawned to her.

This is her chance!