She wanted to cry but refused to do so in front of this man. She had no intention of being raped by him."Um, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat here?" She glanced at him."Are you not afraid of me?" the man asked, confused."You said I can't do anything about it, right? I can’t leave here anyway. So, I might as well be nice to avoid getting hurt. It would be a shame to ruin my beauty."He grinned at her. "That’s right, be good so you don’t get hurt. I’ll go buy some food... Don’t do anything foolish, or you’ll be in trouble."She just stared at him, showing no emotion. It seemed the man was scrutinizing her actions to see if she was being honest or not. She held his gaze, trying to convince him that she was serious. After a while, he turned his back and left the room.Once he was gone, she lay down on the bed, feeling relieved. She needed to come up with a plan before the demon returned.She quickly approached the door and tried the doorknob... it was locked. She paced around the r
Boy, what place is this? "This is Laguna, ma'am. Why don't you know where you are?" the young man asked her, confused. "Ah, well... I was robbed. I don't have my cellphone or money. Could I borrow your phone to make a call?" She noticed that he hesitated, as if checking if she was telling the truth. "Oh, ma'am, I don't have a cellphone either. I only borrow from my brother. You know, life is tough..." While she was talking to the boy, she saw Fernando limping as he walked, as if looking for her. He glanced around nervously... She quickly lowered her head and prayed he wouldn't see her. "Boy, can I sell you my watch? It's a Rolex, very expensive... I just need money for my fare home." "But ma'am, I really don't have money. I don't even have a cellphone, and now you're trying to sell me an expensive watch?" the boy replied, sounding sarcastic. "Even just a thousand pesos, just enough to get home. You can have my Rolex... You could sell it for around 800,000 pesos." "Really, ma'a
"How dare you, Clarisa!!!" Reed shouted, pointing at her.She fell to the floor, holding her cheek from the pain of the slap. Her cheek felt numb."What did I do?" she asked her husband through her tears. She was still holding her cheek, confused. This was not the welcome she had expected."Are you not satisfied with me? Are you willing to ruin our family because of one man???""What are you talking about?" she said, still crying on the floor."You even lied to Grandpa that you were going to visit me in Batangas, but instead, you went to meet that man??? " Reed’s voice thundered through the house."What? I don’t understand what you’re saying!!!""Look! It’s all over social media... you’re such a shameless woman!!!"He threw his cellphone at her. Trembling, she took it and looked at it.It felt like she was doused with cold water upon seeing what was on the screen... The video showed her and Fernando eating on the bed, looking very sweet. This was the time when she was trying to get al
She heard someone shouting but ignored it. She knew they were calling her. She was the only one walking around at that time. “Ma’am!!!” the man shouted again. She turned towards the direction of the shout. It was the driver who had taken her from Laguna to the mansion. She stopped walking when she saw him approaching her. “What happened to you? Why are you walking out here at this hour? Didn’t I drop you off at your house?” Her tears started to flow again, as if her heart was about to burst. “I was kicked out of my house... Huhuhu!” “Why, Ma’am?” the driver asked, concerned. She looked at the man to see if she could trust him... He seemed kind. “The reason I was in Laguna earlier is because I was kidnapped by a man... He wanted to rape me and use me. I was just trying to get along with him so he wouldn’t kill or hurt me, which is how I managed to escape, but I didn’t know he was recording us with my phone...” “I escaped because I stabbed his dick with a fork, so this is proba
“Tomorrow, I’ll go back to the mansion and tell my husband about this!” she said with hope… She just hoped Reed would believe her. She turned back to Anton and smiled. “I believe you’ll be a great lawyer someday! You give such good advice!” “I hope so, Ma’am… Helping others is really in my nature, so I won’t charge you for my attorney’s fees right now, haha…” She smiled at Anton’s joke. “Where are you heading now?” she asked the young man. “To school…” He leaned on the motorcycle. It seemed their conversation had taken longer than expected. It was nice talking to him. She briefly forgot her problems. “Aren’t you going to rest?” “I just take short naps at the convenience stores I pass by… I don’t have time to rest properly.” She felt sympathy for the hardworking young man… Her heart ached a bit. She took off her pair of earrings and bracelet and handed them to Anton. “Keep these… sell them and use the money for your studies. They’re diamonds, so they’re worth about 70
At eight in the morning, Clarisa came down from her room. She hadn’t slept at all. It felt like she was just waiting for the morning to return to the mansion. She took a shower… Fortunately, she still had some of her things in her room. When she came downstairs, her mother wasn’t around. She went straight to the kitchen to make some coffee. Her head was pounding from lack of sleep and stress. There was hot water ready in the kettle… her parents had probably just finished their coffee. While she was preparing her coffee, she heard her mother talking to someone outside the house. Her mother’s voice was unusually loud, which puzzled her. Her mother usually spoke calmly, so she was curious about who she was talking to. She hurried outside. “It’s not true!!!” She found her mother shouting at their neighbors, who were holding cell phones. It seemed they had seen the video Fernando spread last night. Her father stood quietly beside her mother, but there was visible anger in his eyes. It w
When she reached the waiting shed, a taxi arrived just in time. She hailed it, and it stopped in front of her. She first peeked inside the taxi to see if she recognized the driver—what if it was Fernando again? It seemed like her phobia was getting worse... she was starting to doubt everyone."Miss! Are you going to get in or just stand there staring?" the irritated driver called out to her.After making sure it wasn’t Fernando, she got into the passenger seat."Where to, miss?""To the Villaruel mansion, please..."The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror... it seemed like he was trying to recognize her when she mentioned she was heading to the mansion.She already knew what was going through his mind. He had probably seen the video too... She could only sigh in frustration."Sir, are we leaving or are you just going to sit there staring?" she asked coldly."Ah, sorry miss... It's just that you look like the woman from that video I saw. I just can’t believe it’s really y
Reed was lying on their bed… his shorts down, while a woman was performing a lewd act on him. They both froze, startled by the sudden opening of the door. The woman looked up, her eyes locking with Clarisa’s.It was Diana—the woman she had always been jealous of, the same woman who had gotten pregnant by Reed. They were in the middle of something, right there in the bed she shared with her husband. It seemed like they had just started, as they weren't completely undressed yet.Both Reed and Diana quickly scrambled off the bed. Clarisa remained standing in the doorway, unable to move. She couldn’t tell if it was she who should feel ashamed for barging in without knocking or if it was them for being caught in such a vile act."W-what are you doing here?!" Reed shouted, hurriedly pulling up his shorts.She didn’t respond, her eyes fixated on Diana, who was straightening her clothes, wearing a smug, taunting smile."Oh, so the dirty woman came back? Why are you even here? Haven’t you had
When they went out, her parents and Grandpa Miguel were already waiting at the dining table. Tita Grace and Blue were also there, busy watching Cocomelon on his tablet. They walked hand in hand, and the elderly people smiled as they approached. At first, she didn’t know why they were smiling. Then, she remembered that she and Reed were holding hands, and she was about to pull her hand away. But Reed didn’t let go. She had no choice but to just go along with it. "You’re here, my grandchildren... come, the food is waiting," Grandpa Miguel said. They both just nodded. She was still a bit shy. Reed helped her sit down, and then he sat next to her. "So, what’s your plan for your relationship, children?" Tatay Kardo asked. "Ahm, I’m going back to America, Tay... I’ll just finish my vacation here," she replied. "Why are you going back to America, my dear? Your husband can take care of you. And your hacienda is big enough... Isn’t that enough for you?" her mother asked. "Lolo... I have
After they ate, they walked around the hacienda. They walked hand in hand while their child ran around the wide lot of their house.A little while later, their maid, Nene, approached them. "Ma'am Clarisa, someone is looking for you... They said it's Anton.""Anton is here?" she said in disbelief."Who's Anton?" Reed asked, raising an eyebrow."Ah, he's a friend of mine... He was the one who helped me when Fernando kidnapped me. Just wait, I'll go see Anton..." she excitedly replied. It had been a long time since they last saw each other. Her mother was the one who told her that Anton visited their hacienda whenever he wasn’t busy. She didn’t have social media, so he couldn’t contact her."Anton!" she shouted as she saw him talking to her father. He smiled as he waited for her to reach him."I’ll leave you two for now. I still have a lot to do..." Her father said as he said goodbye."How are you, Ma'am Clarisa? Long time no see!" Anton greeted her happily."Didn't I tell you not to cal
It was already evening when they finished eating. They spent a long time at the dining table because of their endless stories. They missed each other. Her parents and Don Miguel were talking about the mango plantation, while she was busy taking care of her child, feeding him. After they ate, she took Reed to the room where he would be staying. Blue, on the other hand, would sleep in her room. "Sweetheart, why can't I sleep in your room? Aren’t we okay now?" he asked, pouting. "It's embarrassing to Mom and Dad if we sleep in the same room... We just got back together!" she explained. "That's actually better. They might even prefer it. Besides, we’re married. It’s normal for a married couple to sleep beside each other... And what about my promise to you that I’d take care of you later?" "Shhhh! Be quiet! Someone might hear you! You're so shameless," she scolded her husband. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Just shut up!" she said, clearly losing patience in tr
They walked together into the mansion. Blue was in between the hands of his parents, while Reed and Clarisa walked hand-in-hand, following them. She didn’t really want to hold hands with him. She was shy because their staff at the hacienda were staring at them. She tried to pull her hand away, but Reed didn’t let go."Why? Are you ashamed of me? I’m handsome, aren’t I?" he joked."It’s embarrassing, they’re staring at us.""Let them look. I want you by my side always..." he whispered in her ear and then put his arm around her. She felt a thrill from what he did; it was like they were back to courting each other."By the way, Reed, Clarisa, Don Miguel is here too," her father said."Grandpa Miguel? What’s he doing here?" Reed asked in confusion. Both of them were surprised that Don Miguel was there. Before her parents could respond, they saw the old man approaching."Well, here you are, my grandchildren?" he happily greeted them."Grandpa!!!" she shouted and ran to him. She hugged him
Here we go again... the topic from two years ago is being brought up again. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She didn’t want to revisit it because it still hurt, but she had no choice but to listen because she was driving. She couldn’t pretend to sleep. She couldn’t silence Reed with what he was saying either... She had no choice but to listen to his explanation."God knows how much I regret not believing you. I looked for you back then, but I couldn’t find you.""Is what happened with Diana also just an accident?" she asked, almost sarcastically. She didn’t believe it was an accident."I don’t know, sweetheart, how she ended up in our room. She gave me a drug to drink... before I knew it, she was holding my manhood, but please believe me, sweetheart, I didn’t want that. You’re the one I love..."She glared at him again to hide the pain in her chest. She felt her eyes starting to water, threatening to cry. She could barely see the road. She stopped the car on the side. Thankf
The next morning, they were awakened by the noise of their child, who had gotten up before them."Yehey! We're in the same bed! Mom, Dad, and me!" the child exclaimed happily. Reed was right last night—if their child found out they weren’t sleeping together, he would be upset. It was a good thing she listened to her husband."Good morning, baby," she greeted her child. Reed also woke up from the noise."Good morning, Mommy," the child said, planting a kiss on her lips."Good morning, Daddy," he added, kissing his father on the lips too."You both kiss Mom and Dad," the child commanded, giggling."L-later, sweetheart. Mommy's breath smells bad," she tried to reason."It's okay, even if Mommy smells bad, I'll still kiss her," Reed teased before kissing her on the lips. "Good morning, sweetheart," he said softly, making her blush again."Yehey!" Blue cheered with excitement."Mommy, didn’t you say we’re going to visit Grandpa and Grandma today?""Yes, sweetheart. We’re leaving today. You
She went to the closet to grab something to wear. She didn't bother opening her luggage since it would only be a hassle to reorganize it tomorrow when she and Blue left.Once she was dressed, she was about to leave the room to check on her child."Where are you going?""To Blue's room. I'll sleep there.""No need. I'll bring him here so the three of us can sleep together.""Are you kidding me? Why would I do that?" she snapped at him."Suit yourself. But if your son wakes up and we're not sleeping together as a family, he'll get upset again," he said nonchalantly. She suddenly fell silent."You stay here; I'll get Blue," Reed said, standing up and walking out the door. She was left sitting on the sofa.When he returned, he was carrying their sleeping child. She quickly stood up to greet him and take Blue from him. She flinched when their skin accidentally brushed against each other.Get a grip, Clarisa! Acting like a virgin just because of a little touch? she scolded herself.Once she
"Your dad's room is bigger, sweetheart... can he just stay there? We might not all fit in your bed," she tried to convince the child again. She still couldn’t fully grasp the idea of sharing a bed with him."Then let’s just stay in your room with Dad, Mom. I’ll move to his room as long as we’re all together," Blue replied."That’s right, baby. Let’s stay in our room with your mom so you can roll around. Our bed is big enough, right? Back then, your mom used to roll around on it too," Reed chimed in from behind them, carrying his luggage. They hadn’t noticed he had followed them. He meant something else entirely, but she chose to ignore it.She shot him a sharp look for joking around with their child. Had he and Blue already conspired on this before she even arrived at the mansion?"Mom, let’s go to Dad’s room!" Blue exclaimed enthusiastically, tugging her out of the room and leading her to Reed’s bedroom.At first, she hesitated to enter, but Blue gave her a little push, urging her in
They sat in silence in the car as he drove. She didn’t say a word either.“H-how have you been? I’ve been looking for you for so long… you and Nanay Celia and Tatay Kardo. I even went to the mango orchard, but you weren’t there anymore.”“We hid in a place where no one knew us, where no one could mock me because of the video that spread back then,” Clarisa replied, her face blank. There was no trace of her true emotions.“A-about the video… I just want you to know that I believe you now. I’m sorry for not trusting you right away back then, sweetheart,” he said to his wife.He saw her tears begin to fall. The brave front Clarisa had put up crumbled, and she started crying. He quickly pulled the car to the side of the road to comfort her.“Don’t cry, sweetheart. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Please forgive me for what I’ve done to you. I still love you…” he whispered to her. Her sobs grew louder until she buried her face in his shoulder.He kissed her to try and stop her tear