Ivy secretly felt pleased, knowing that Seymour still cared about her the most.Pero sa malas, nakita ng future in-laws niya ang eksenang iyon. Mabilis siyang kumawala mula sa pagkakayakap ni Seymour at nagpakawala ng ngiti, “Aunt, you misunderstood. May pumasok lang pong buhangin sa mata ko, and Seymour was just helping me blow it out.”Frances scoffed, sarcasm evident in her tone. “Some women are good at saying one thing but doing another. Yung mga ganyang tricks, puwedeng umobra sa mga lalaki, pero sa akin? Hindi ako naloloko.”Tears welled up in Ivy’s eyes, making her look pitiful. “Aunt, ano pong ibig niyong sabihin? I don’t understand.”“Doesn’t understand? I think you’re just pretending to be clueless…”Hindi na gustong palalain nina Baltazar at ng anak niya ang sitwasyon, kaya mabilis silang pumasok at kinausap ang kani-kanilang mga babae para hindi na humantong sa mas malaking komprontasyon.9:30 AMIlang black Passats ang tahimik na pumasok sa underground parking lot ng Marr
The other door of the conference room finally opened, and Seymour appeared in front of everyone in high spirits. Agad na naagaw ang atensyon ng lahat ng reporters kay Seymour, giving Symon and Cornelia a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.“Call—” Pinatong ni Cornelia ang kamay sa dibdib niya, huminga nang malalim, at sinabi sa asawa, “I was so scared. Seymour finally came out. Kung hindi siya lumabas, hindi ko na alam kung ano gagawin ko.”Symon glared at his wife and muttered softly, “I told you na magkunwari ka na lang na may sakit para hindi na pumunta, pero ayaw mong makinig. Ngayon nagrereklamo ka. I told you not to come to these kinds of occasions…”“Okay na nga, puro ka nalang salita pagkatapos ng lahat. Kung hindi kami pumunta, would second brother and his wife have let us go easily? Madaling magsalita, pero sa critical na moment, wala kang silbi!”They blamed each other, pero wala nang nakapansin sa kanila ngayon dahil nagsimula na si Seymour sa kanyang speech.Countless mi
Baltazar rolled his eyes and leaned back heavily on his chair with a loud thud!“Honey!” Frances ran over immediately.“Dad, Dad, what’s wrong?” Pumunta rin agad sina Seymour at Samuel para alamin ang nangyari. Agad na naging magulo ang buong conference room.Kumikibot-kibot ang talukap ng mata ni Baltazar, at agad itong naintindihan ni Frances. Mabilis niyang pinaalis ang bunsong anak, saka mabilis na sinabi kay Seymour, “Stop saying nonsense. Kung magkamali ka na naman ng salita, ni mga diyos hindi ka na kayang iligtas.”Mabilis na tumango si Seymour bilang senyales na naintindihan niya.Kahit hindi siya kumbinsido, napagtanto niyang bawat salita ni Sebastian ay puro patibong, at kusa siyang nahulog sa bawat isa. Marami na siyang natutunang leksyon. Hindi na siya magpapadala muli!Habang binibigyan ng oras ang anak para makapag-isip, unti-unting “nagising” si Baltazar mula sa kanyang kunwaring pagkakahimatay. Hindi siya maaaring pumunta sa ospital sa oras na ito. Kapag umalis siya a
Spectra's shoulders started shaking, and tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t control herself anymore and ran out of the room.“I’ll go see her.” Elton chased after her.Siya lang ang nakakaalam ng tunay na pagkatao ni Spectra, at alam din niyang naantig ito sa nakita kanina.Nang lumabas siya para sundan ito, hindi naman lumayo si Spectra. Nagtago lang ito sa isang sulok at humahagulgol nang tahimik. Agad na nilapitan siya ni Elton at inabutan ng tissue. “Here, wipe your tears. Don’t cry. You have to control your emotions—baka mapansin ka.”Tumango si Spectra at sinabi habang humihikbi, “Yeah, I know. I won’t cry.”Sinabi niyang hindi na iiyak, pero bakas pa rin ang labis na kalungkutan.Napabuntong-hininga si Elton at pabirong sinabi, “I’ll lend you my shoulder. Lean on it whenever you want.”Biglang sumubsob si Spectra sa balikat ni Elton at humagulgol nang walang pakundangan. Bago niya makita si Armando, pakiramdam niya ay matapang siya, at malaya kahit papaano sa labas.Bei
Seymour hesitated.Frances looked at her son and said, “Pumunta ka na sa itaas at magpahinga ka muna. Ako na ang bahala dito.”“Okay, pero huwag mo siyang masyadong pahirapan,” sagot ni Seymour.Seymour could never harden his heart towards women, not just Ivy, but any other woman he had had physical contact with.“Naintindihan ko. Sige na, umakyat ka na,” Frances insisted as she gently pushed her son away.Once her son was gone, Frances went to the gatehouse to meet Ivy.The young woman was curled up on the narrow bed, her face pale and her lips blue and purple from the cold. Her entire body trembled as she tried to warm herself.Mukhang kaawa-awa ang batang ito.Frances thought to herself that it was a good decision not to let her son see Ivy like this. If he did, he would definitely be soft-hearted.Without wasting any time, Frances took out a bank card and handed it to Ivy. “Here’s ten million. Iwanan mo ang anak ko.”Ivy shook her head vigorously, her eyes brimming with tears. “No
Since so many people could think of it, Elton naturally considered it too. He wasn’t going to show up now and make himself a target. Let them guess all they want. The higher their expectations, the greater their shock will be when they finally see who’s really behind everything!Hayaan silang maliitin ang iba.Many people attending tonight’s event had received favors from Mr. Hugo Villafuerte and Sebastian in the past.But during the old man’s funeral, none of these people showed up, afraid to offend Seymour. Sising-sisi sila mamaya.…The car pulled up in front of the hotel.Sebastian and Spectra stepped out. Their attire was so plain that it seemed almost inappropriate for such a grand event. They handed over their invitation at the entrance and made their way inside the hotel.Before they even reached the gate, someone with sharp eyes noticed Sebastian. The person who saw him first quickly turned away, pretending not to notice.Pero mabilis niya ring binulungan ang mga kasama.“Si
Spectra deadpanned, "Oh, I was just busy talking and didn’t have time to introduce myself." She ignored the man beside her and turned to the crowd, "Hello everyone, my name is Spectra, and I am the chairman of Nexus Ventures. I’m very happy you could attend this party today. I hope you all have a pleasant and unforgettable evening!"Walang nakakasiguro kung magiging masaya nga ba ang gabi, pero isang bagay ang sigurado—ito’y hindi malilimutan!Sa sandaling iyon, biglang tumahimik ang buong kwarto. Kadarating lang ni Baltazar at bago pa niya mapaalalahanan ang kanyang anak, napansin niya agad ang nangyari. Wala nang kailangang paalala—nangyari na ang kinakatakutan niya!After a brief silence, a voice spoke up."Hello, hello! I’m the general manager of Rising Sun Company. I’ve heard so much about you. Seeing is believing! I didn’t expect you to be so young and beautiful…"Sobra naman ang pambobola niya. Pero ito pa lang ang simula—at siguradong hindi ito ang huli.Bago pa matapos mags
Elton was puzzled. He had to ask, "Did you just say that Samuel is the chairman of Alpha? Who told you that? Not many people know about such a confidential matter. How did you find out?"Seymour, thinking he had uncovered an incredible secret about Alpha, wanted to show off.Mataas ang pagtingin ni Seymour sa sarili, kaya itinuro niya ang kanyang baba at nagsalita nang may kayabangan, "I can't tell you that. Of course, I have my ways of knowing these things. Don’t think your internal affairs are that tight. If I want to know something, I’ll find out."Matapos niyang sabihin iyon, umalis siya nang taas-noo, mayabang na naglalakad palayo. Elton, though initially confused, quickly pieced everything together after exchanging glances with the others. Hindi inasahan ni Lucas na ang kanyang simpleng komento ay magiging "inside information" na ipinagmamalaki ni Seymour. Bigla siyang nabilaukan sa tsaa at halos naidura ito kay Elton.Nagtawanan ang grupo, bagaman tila pilit ang ngiti ni Samuel