3

3

Heart is waiting for a call at five o’clock in the afternoon inside her apartment, but there’s still no call. She feels like a cat that can’t give birth in her current state. She peeks through the wooden window, gazing at the road, hoping that a luxurious Nissan Calibre owned by Vandros might pass by in front of their gate.

She can’t stay still, constantly holding her cellphone, sitting down, standing up, and then pacing back and forth. The young woman’s eyes keep darting to the clock. It feels like time is racing, and the seconds tick loudly in her ears, matching the rhythm of her anxious heart.

Her mind is far away, focused on her father, whose situation is unknown at the moment. Her thoughts are negative; she imagines the worst, that her father is already dying. She stops in her tracks and tears fill her eyes. Maybe her father is suffering right now. Oh God. Heart covers her face with her palms. Her mind should not dwell on such scenarios. It’s wrong. She should be thinking that her father will be okay and undergo a successful heart operation. They will spend a long time together in this world. He will see his grandchildren, the offspring of her siblings. He will take care of them and farm for a long time. He will have his own farm to grow vegetables.

She believes that she will still complete her education. Many joyful moments are yet to come. “Sir Vandros…” she mutters to herself when her cellphone suddenly rings and vibrates loudly.

She sits up straight, almost dropping the phone in her haste to answer it. It’s an unknown number, probably the call she has been waiting for. She answers quickly, making sure her phone is fully charged. She hasn’t called her mother yet because she has nothing to say. She wants to call when she can tell her that her father is going to be operated on.

“Hello, S-Sir Vandros?” She greets the caller, even though she’s not entirely sure if it’s him.

“Seems like you’re really expecting my call, Heart,” the voice on the other end says, sounding a bit gruff. She nods even though he can’t see her.

Her father's operation is her utmost concern. She’s willing to do anything for her family, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it may be. She remembers that when she was a child, her parents always took care of her, especially when she was sick, even if they had little money.

Now that her parents are elderly, and their situation has changed, she wants to do the same for them. It’s her mission as a daughter – to repay the kindness her parents showed her, especially their unparalleled love for her. Yes, they may be poor, but their love for each other is immeasurable.

“Meet me so we can talk personally. You have to sign something,” Vandros tells her.

Sign something? Does that mean she’ll be signing a contract? Is she getting a sideline job?

“Where, sir?” Heart quickly asks. She has no hesitation. Her focus is on her father’s operation.

“I’ll text you the address. Just take a taxi. I’ll cover your fare.”

“I’m on my way,” she says, moving quickly.

Vandros hangs up, and Heart goes to her and Gigi’s room. She hurriedly puts on some pants but doesn’t change her top.

When she steps out, she almost runs to the stairs. Franco calls her attention.

“Huy,” Franco says.

She looks at him and is left speechless. He’s holding a small plastic bag, as if he bought food from a nearby eatery.

“I’m in a hurry,” she says.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Franco replies with a smile.

She rushes off, heading towards the gate. Her fellow waitresses haven’t gone home yet; it’s still early. She knows the restaurant gets busy in the evening, so they don’t leave easily. Overtime is common.

She likes overtime. She gets paid one hundred and fifty pesos per hour for overtime. If she could, she would work ten hours of overtime today.

“Do you want me to accompany you?” Franco asks as they walk. At this hour, taxis are scarce in their area. They need to walk to the highway to find a ride. It’s only a short walk, maybe two hundred meters from their apartment to the main road.

While walking, Heart keeps checking her phone, even though it’s on vibrate. She’s nervous and excited. She doesn’t flag down a taxi immediately because Vandros hasn’t sent her a text yet.

She stops and waits near a local eatery. She gazes at her phone screen, almost obsessively waiting for her manager’s text. She knows taxis are scarce around this time, but they need to go out to the highway to catch a ride. It’s just a short walk, maybe two hundred meters from their apartment to the main road.

Finally, a text arrives, and her heart leaps with anticipation. It’s Vandros.

Heart: Why at the hotel?

Vandros: lol. I work here.

She breathes a sigh of relief. She feels foolish for jumping to conclusions. What did she think? That Vandros had a romantic interest in her?

She quickly flags down a taxi and gets in. She tells the driver where to go.

“He paid a large amount, around three hundred pesos. He held the receipt but didn’t pay much attention to it, he was at the hotel. Montesalvo Hotel, which Carmen Montesalvo also owns. Vandros is probably the manager here, she thought.

“ID, Ma’am,” said the security guard to her.

She quickly searched her bag. If she had known that she would be asked for an identification card, she would have worn it around her neck.

“No need to,” a manly voice inside the lobby.

Heart immediately looked in that direction. It was Vandros.

“Get in,” he gestured for her to follow him, so she didn’t hesitate to obey his command.

She gets in.

“I didn’t give you money. How much is the taxi fare?” Vandros asked, so she silently handed him the receipt.

He looked at it for a moment when they entered the elevator. She felt like she was escaping a great force now.

“I’ll give it later,” Vandros said, and Heart just nodded.

When they exited the elevator, she followed him to wherever he was going.

“Let’s stay in my suite because if we go to my office downstairs, many people will see you.”

“Okay, sir,” she nodded again.

Vandros stopped in front of room 109. He opened the door for her and gestured for her to enter first. She hesitated but walked inside.

“Go on. Sit in front of my desk,” he instructed.

She looked around and saw an office table there, far from a bed. She walked toward it and sat in the black chair, holding her bag tightly. She glanced at Vandros as he walked confidently toward her.

He sat at his desk and smiled. It seemed he also smiled outside the restaurant.

He handed her a five hundred peso bill, “for the taxi, and keep the change.”

“Thank you.”

“You must keep this a secret, Heart. Whether you accept the sideline I’m offering or not, I want it to be just between the two of us. If this leaks out, you’ll be the one blamed because no one else knows about it. And you know the consequences. You’ll lose your job. If you don’t want it, just continue as usual. It’ll be as if we never had this conversation.”

“You know me, sir,” she quickly interrupted him. Her father was spending a long time in the hospital, and she needed to hurry.

“You have nothing to worry about. I know my responsibilities. What’s the job, sir?” She asked, getting straight to the point.

They stared at each other, and Vandros asked, “Are you still a virgin?”

Dear God. She nodded.

She felt like he could already guess her answer from the question alone. She needed strength now. Did she want to cry? Was she going to be a prostitute?

“W-Why are you asking, sir?”

“The offer is high. A hundred and fifty thousand as an initial payment for one week. If he likes your service, it continues for two weeks, three, or a month.”

Heart’s tears welled up. She wanted to shrink. Why was Vandros offering her this sideline? Did she look like someone who could be used like this?

She bowed her head to hide her tears.

“Don’t take offense at this offer, Heart. It’s what my acquaintance wants. It just so happens that you need it. I thought maybe you’d be interested.”

She nodded. She also wanted to say that she wasn’t a paid woman, but what was the use? Nobody cared, not even Vandros. Besides, she accepted this job out of financial desperation.

On the other hand, how else could she earn over a hundred thousand in just one week? That was almost a year’s worth of salary.

She saw Vandros take money from his drawer and laid a bundle of cash in front of her, then put it into an envelope.

“One hundred fifty thousand, Heart. Do you want it in cash or through mobile payment, like SCash?”

She nodded. It would be faster, and she could transfer it to SCash right away.

“I’ll transfer the money. I’ll cover the fees when you sign.”

She nodded again, tears welling up once more. She felt sorry for herself, but even more for her father.

She took a deep breath and signed the contract of sin, almost breaking down.

All served!”