Chapter 01

Lauren was peacefully sleeping when she woke up from the loud knock on the door. She drowsily opens her eyes, then looks at the clock on her bedside table. It's already eight in the morning. It means that she overslept.

All she could do was blame herself for not being able to wake up from the alarm clock. She was exhausted last night from work because there are many people who need to be accommodated in her workplace. In the end all of them work overtime because of that.

“Lauren!  You bitch, open this damn door!"

Hazel continues to knock and shout in front of her room. Hearing this, Lauren quickly got up.

Her hair that almost reached her waist, was in a mess as she doesn’t have the time to comb it. Wearing her old pajamas, she lazily opens the door. "What do you want?" Lauren nonchalantly asks her sister.

Wala siyang ideya kung ano na namang problema ng kapatid niya ngayon. Bukod doon, wala rin siyang oras para patulan kung ano man ‘yon. It must be another scheme to make her life more difficult than it already has.

Hazel accusingly looked at her…. a dangerous smile was plastered on her face.

Hazel has this gentle face that it would never cross your mind that she could do something bad. That she’s able to harm… even her sister. Well, maybe it’s because Lauren was just a half-sister and on top of that, she never accepted Lauren into their family.

Lauren wants to laugh at herself. She looks so pathetic. Halos ipamukha sa kanya araw-araw na wala siyang lugar sa pamilyang ‘to, ngunit anong ginagawa niya? Hinahayaan niya lang.

Dreaming that one day, they would accept her. What an impossible dream, right?

Saka… libre lang naman ang mangarap, ‘di ba?

Let’s back to reality… looking at her sister right now, she already knows her dream won’t happen. Not now and not in the near future.

“Great! Do you think you can avoid what you've done to me?"

Listening to what her sister said, Lauren  frowned, not understanding what she meant.

Stella caught that scene while walking downstairs. Sa ayos nito ay alam na agad ni Lauren na may importanteng pupuntahan ang ginang.

Stella hastily walks towards her daughter. 

Hazel shifted her gaze to her Mother, looking pitifully and on the verge of crying.

Dahan-dahang hinawakan ni Stella ang mukha ng anak. Sa nag-aalalang tono ng boses nito ay tinanong niya si Hazel. “Baby, what's the matter? Why are you shouting?"

Kahit hindi pa nito alam ang buong pangyayari ay galit na itinuon ni Stella ang atensyon niya kay Lauren. 

“What did you do to Hazel?" pag-aakusa agad nito sa dalaga.

Sunod-sunod ang pag-iling ni Lauren upang itanggi ang pag-aakusa sa kanya. “I did nothing! She came here, then all of a sudden accused me of something I did not do."

"You're lying! You stole my bracelet!" Hazel turned her gaze to her mother. She grabbed Stella's hand, silently asking to take action against Lauren. Her hands were trembling.

Tears were rolling down her face. Her voice cracked when she said, “M-mom! She stole it! Believe me. She stole it... my bracelet... that... that was Theo's gift for me." Hazel almost fell to the floor, fortunately, Stella was holding her arms. Stella embraced her daughter and caressed her back. She’s suppressing her emotions, whose mother wants to see their child like that?

Nakatingin lamang si Lauren sa dalawa at kahit alam niyang wala siyang ginawang masama ay hindi mawala ang kaba sa kanyang dibdib.

She wants to fight back, but her position in their family won’t let her do that. She doesn’t have the power to do something like that.

Is there someone who will believe her and won’t doubt what she’s going to say? A person that can trust her and her words alone without proving herself. For sure, the people around her would contradict her statement. There’s no one she can trust. And she doesn’t have any hopes for that kind of person to come.

“So you're saying that Hazel made-up all of this? I don’t think my daughter is capable of doing that. She’s kind and well-behaved… unlike you.” May diin na saad ni Stella.

Sa kalagitnaan ng komosyon ay nakarinig sila ng yabag mula sa second floor. It seems that her father already heard their arguments.

“What's happening here? I can hear your voices up to my study room." Fernand was annoyed by the sudden commotion downstairs.

He can't focus on the paperwork, especially those papers that need his attention because it was related to their company’s project. Since he can't focus, he decided to see what's happening to them.

He saw Stella and Hazel outside Lauren’s room.

Hearing Fernand's voice, Stella was in a rage. Matalim itong tumingin sa asawa. Tingin na may halong pag-aakusa. “Look at how you raised this bastard! After what I've done to her. I accepted her, but what do I get in return? She always bullies Hazel and now, she's even stealing Hazel's things."

Kung hindi lang dahil sa pagkumbinsi ni Fernand sa kanya ay hindi naman niya tatanggapin sa pamamahay niya si Lauren. Sino ba namang asawa ang tatanggapin ng buong puso ang anak niya sa kabit nito? Wala naman siguro matutuwa roon, lalo na at ito ang nagpapa-alala sa kasalanang ginawa niya.

Upon hearing Stella’s sentiment, Fernand disappointedly look at Lauren. Kahit gano’n ay binigyan niya pa rin ng tyansa si Lauren na magpaliwanag at linawin ang sarili.

“Lauren? Tell me the truth, did you steal something from Hazel?"

He knows that Lauren is a good girl. She always obeys him no matter what. She even contributes greatly to their company.

Lauren shook her head. Why would she admit the thing she did not do? They would always point out that she is the one to blame.

“N-no father. You know that I would not dare to do that. I would never do that."

Lauren felt that after this, her world might turn upside down. Ang tanging pag-asang pinaghahawakan niya sa pamilyang ‘to ay may posibilidad pang maglaho.

Hazel wiped her tears, and shouted angrily. “You still refuse to tell the truth! Let me search for it in your room." 

Hazel pushes Lauren aside and storms inside the room. The couple also followed their daughter.

Lauren couldn’t do anything, but stand in the corner and just watch her sister search and mess up her room. Hazel searches in every corner of Lauren's room.

The room became messy. Her clothes were thrown on the floor. Her bed was crumpled but all she could do was watch the whole scene unfold in front of her. Her sister went to her bedside table. She opens every drawer and searches for it. On the final drawer, she gets something there.

Hazel secretly smiled after retrieving it. ‘Poor Lauren, this time no one would believe you.’

Hazel turned and looked at her parents. She raised her hand to show the bracelet.

“See?! Here's my bracelet! Now tell us… tell us that you did not steal this and how it ends up in your drawer."

Lauren staggers for a bit. She shook her head and then looked at her father.

“No... No, I didn't!  You deliberately put that in my drawer!" Lauren is now accusing Hazel instead.

‘Father, believe in me please! Just this time, can you believe in me?’

Fernand was shocked because this was the first time Lauren acted like that. How could she accuse her older sister when it clearly shows that Hazel’s bracelet was in her room?

“Daddy you know that I’m not that kind of person. She’s my sister how could... how could I do that to her. As her older sister, you all know that I can give what she wants.” Hazel was teary-eyed while explaining, she turns her gaze to Lauren. “But Lauren, Theo gave me this bracelet and it’s precious to me. Kung nagsabi ka lang sana sa akin na gusto mo pala ng accessories, sana... sana ibinigay ko sa ‘yo ang iba kong bracelet o kaya naman ay bumili pa ako ng bago para sa ‘yo.”

Fernand shook his head and sighed. “Lauren, I... I'm really disappointed in you. These days you are always in trouble. At first, I ignored it and just let you do what you want to do. Inaalala ko na baka masyado na akong naghihigpit sa ‘yo, kaya hinayaan muna kita sa mga gusto mo. Akala ko makakatulong ‘yon sa ’yo.”

Fernand paused for a bit. Thinking about his company, it’s stable now after Lauren made several projects. And after the project he’s currently working on, they will surely hit big time. Thus, he didn’t need Lauren’s help anymore. He no longer needs her.

His chest felt heavy at that moment and he needed time to breathe. This is the time he will let her go. His face was serious, which made Lauren feel so nervous.

“Lately, you keep on disappointing me. From now on, I will let your mother handle everything about you. I will no longer interfere with what you do, just don't drag this family in your mess. Because the time you’ll be in trouble again and even drag our family’s reputation down. I will no longer recognize you as my daughter and officially cut ties with my relationship with you as your father.”

Bitterness filled Fernand's voice and made Lauren’s hope shatter into pieces.

It’s over. It’s finally over, all her hope was gone in just a snap. This happens because they framed her, but how can she prove her innocence if the evidence was presented before their eyes? Even though it was a piece of fabricated evidence.