Nakaupo si Kiel sa conference table sa SSL kasama ang kanyang mga kapatid. There's an ongoing meeting between him and his brothers about the annual report that they will all present to the conglomerates' board in a few weeks time. It was an important meeting subalit wala roon ang isip niya.Nakay Lauren na hindi na naman siya 'ata maalala. It's almost lunch subalit wala man lang update si Claine sa kanya. Gano'n ba talaga dapat? Not even a location update.He huffed. Mukhang namimihasa na si Lauren sa pagbulabog sa mundo niya. Lagi siyang nag-aalala rito. Na hindi naman sana dapat. He shouldn't care about her affairs. Just like how she mustn't with his. Kaya lang, hindi niya alam kung ano ang nangyayari sa kanya. Since he stepped back and agreed to give her the freedom to make choices for herself, lalong nagiging kumplikado ang nararamdaman niya para kay Lauren. If he'd be honest, Nicole didn't stir his emotions like the way Lauren does.Lauren is driving him mad whenever she's away f
Namimintig ang ulo ni Lauren nang magising siya kinabukasan. Not only that, she can feel a slight ache on her bones na para bang nabugbog ang katawan niya nang nagdaang mga araw. With a groan, she forced her eyes to open.Agad na tumambad sa kanya ang pamilyar na kisame ng guest room na tinutuluyan niya sa bahay ni Kiel. She sighed and bit her lower lip. She doesn't even know how she got there. The last thing she remembered was she's with Micha. There's a great chance that Micha was the one who sent her home. She trusts her assistant, hindi siya nito papabayaan.Maya-maya pa, nakarinig siya ng katok sa pinto."Ma'am, pinapa-check lang po ni Sir Kiel kung gising na po kayo," anang isa sa mga katulong."I-I'm awake," sagot niya, sa paos na tinig."Sige po, Ma'am. Pinapasabi po ni Sir Kiel na hinihintay po niya kayo sa lanai," anang katulong.Mabilis siyang napatingin sa digital clock sa bedside table. It's past eight in the morning on a Tuesday. Bakit naroon pa si Kiel? Dapat nasa opisi
Lauren spent the rest of the morning inside her room--pondering on how she should deal with her feelings for Kiel. She also informed Mrs. Cabral na pinirmahan na niya ang endorsement contract para sa Ace Logistics. Her manager said that the shooting for the commercial will start within the next two days.Pagdating ng tanghalian, nagpahatid na lang siya ng pagkain sa kanyang kwarto. Ayaw niyang makaharap ulit sa pagkain si Kiel. She doesn't want to risk it anymore. She knew now that she always make a fool out of herself whenever Kiel is near. And so at comfort of her own room, she hoped to spent the rest of the day in peace. Subalit pagpatak ng alas tress ng hapon, Kiel came knocking on her door again. "Lauren, it's me," anito matapoa kumatok.She took a deep calming breath before she went and opened the door."Go wear your jeans, we're going somewhere," anito, seryoso.Agad nagsalubong ang kanyang mga kilay. "S-saan tayo pupunta?" "Just somewhere. See you in fifteen minutes," anito
Lauren's jaw dropped. "What? Are you crazy? I'm not even a pilot! Thank you for believing so much in me. But doing the impossible, I think I'll have to pass," dire-diretso niyang reklamo. She knew the pay for the work she signed up with his company is good, actually, more than good. But that doesn't mean he can make preposterous requests! Sandaling tumitig si Kiel sa kanya, lalong lumawak ang ngisi pagkatapos. "Don't worry sugar, I'll teach you how," anito bago siya tuluyang hinila patungo sa private plane.Wala na siyang nagawa kundi sumunod na lang kay Kiel. She would've protested but his employees are all looking at them. She doesn't want to make a scene.Pagdating sa loob, she was welcomed by the clean interior of the private jet-- 4 seats plus a mini bar. But she didn't have much time to appreciate the interior of the private jet, dahil agad siyang iginiya ni Kiel sa may cockpit."A-are you sure about this, Kiel?" hindi na niya ito napigilang tanungin habang ikinakabit nito ang
"Akala ko nakalimutan mo na 'ko, Attorney. Isang linggo lang ang usapan natin pero pinaabot mo nang mahigit dalawang linggo. Mabagal kang trumabaho. Mabuti na lang, marunong akong magtimpi kung hindi..." Hinda na itinuloy ni Lileth ang sana'y sasabihin. Humakbang na lang siya palabas sa kulungan. She inhaled deeply, drawing in the fresher breeze of air outside the godforsaken place she has been in for almost a month. Finally, after weeks of waiting, malaya na ulit siya. Temporarily that is."Sinabi ko naman sa 'yo, mahirap kalabanin ang mga Sandejas. Kung wala lang utang na pabor sa akin ang isa sa mga nasa taas, hindi ka mabibigyan ng bail ngayon. Kaya puwede ba, magpasalamat ka na lang," paliwanag ni Atty. Valentin, iritable.Tumaltak siya, umirap. "Ang dami mong sinasabi. At utang ko pa talaga sa 'yo itong paglaya ko pansamantala. Hindi ba sinabi ko sa 'yo, alam ko ang mga sikreto mo. One call and I can ruin you, Atty. Valentin."Nagtagis ang mga bagang ng abogado,nagpatiuna nang
"You didn't tell me that Gail was your ex. Pinahirapan niya 'ko," reklamo ni Lauren kay Kiel habang magka-video call sila.It was thirty minutes past four in the morning. Subalit gising na siya at tapos nang mag-shower. She needs to be at Ace Logistics hub by 5 A.M to take the final scenes of the commercial.The jerk Kiel just grinned, irking her more."I prepared you well, haven't I? Ako pa mismo nagturo sa 'yo how to fly a plane para hindi ka mapahiya sa pilot mamaya. You might've done something to make Gail--""She's getting revenge on me! What possible explanation could there be for making me repeat the same scene over and over but that!" gigil niyang putol rito habang nagsusuklay sa harap ng vanity mirror. Bigla siyang natigilan kapag kuwan. "Or, she might still have feelings for you and... Oh my god! That's probably it!"Kiel chuckled. "You know what they say, once you've tried Kiel, you'd never recover well."She scoffed. "Arrogant much, aren't we?" aniya, pinagbuti ang pagsusu
Tahimik na binabaybay ni Lileth ang daan patungo sa opisina ng kanyang sadya. Despite spending a few weeks behind bars, hindi siya nahirapang makapasok sa building. Aside from learning na walang pumutok na anumang balita tungkol kay Lauren at sa pagkakakulong niya, talagang kilala siya ng mga tao roon kaya hindi siya nahirapan sa security check. The guard even lead her to the lift and she finds the gesture sweet. And now there she is, walking straight to the very people who will solve her current money problems. She thought that letting the 'source' know she already knows their identity would give her more opportunities to collect money from them. At kapag nangyari 'yon, ikakanta niya si Atty. Valentin. She couldn't live even just another month na may kahati pa sa sustento ni Lauren. Ano ito sinuswerte? That rotten lawyer needs to go down, she said to herself, balling her fists.Inayos niya ang kanyang suot na pulang bestida nang malapit na siya sa table ng sekretarya na naroon. She
Dumura ng dugo si Lileth matapos siyang muling undayan ng suntok sa mukha ng tauhan ng mga Nacionales na si Armando. Agad siyang nahilo at muling bumagsak sa malamig na semento ng lumang warehouse na pinagdalhan sa kanya ng mga Nacionales.Ang walanghiyang mag-ina, akala niya'y naisahan na niya ang mga ito noong isang araw nang malaman niya ang tungkol sa tunay na pagkatao ng kanyang pamangkin. Subalit lubos siyang nagkamali. Mas halang pa ang kaluluwa ng mga ito kaysa sa kanya. Akala niya nang ayain siya ng mga ito na kunin ang pera na hinihingi niya, sa bangko sila didiretso. But she was so wrong. Armando beat her up in the car until she passed out. The next thing she knew, she was already there, at the filthy old warehouse where she had endured their beatings for the past two days. But that won't break her easily. Mas malala pang pasakit ang pinagdaanan niya habang lumalaki siya nang wala man lang nagmamahal sa kanya dahil inagaw iyon lahat ni Lorraine. Tapos ngayon, naroon siya s