Chapter One: Shannon

~Shannon~

" Hi everyone and to my beautiful interviewer for this morning, Miss YumiHime. Sana maganda ang araw niyo."

" Siguradong maganda ang umaga ng ating mga tagapakinig dahil sa presenya mo, Drake. You know, its just that the whole thing seems surreal."

" Yeah actually me too. Akala ko tatanda ako malayo sa sibilisasyon but then, our leader has decided to let the world know that we- vampires actually exist."

Pumapailanlan ang palabas na iyon sa buong kwarto niya. It's been a month already, Shannon thought. Noong una akala ng karamihan ay isang hoax si Lucienne Ravenheart, na gawa-gawa niya lang ang lahat ng patungkol sa mga bampira. He is afterall, involved with business too. May-ari ito ng pinakamalaki at prominenteng pharmaceutical company sa buong mundo. Pero ng lumaon ay naging kumbinsido din ang majority ng populasyon sa planeta na they are authentic clan of vampires. After his revelation, nakipag-partner ito sa mga batikang lawmakers sa US, at Europe at ilang bansa sa Asia pati na sa Pilipinas upang maipasa ang bill na kilalanin bilang lehitimong mamamayan ang mga kalahi nito. Naging isang malaki iyong kontrobersya at hati ang opinyon ng mga ordinaryong tao. Half believe that they are a threat to humanity's survival as they feed on human blood. The other half are convince that humans and the vampires race can co-exist. Under the same bill aynaging lehitimo din ang kanilang existing judiciary council. The Vampire Council has its own constitution and has sole rights to investigate, and prosecute cases that involves their own kind.

Shannon was not really a fan of it all. It does not matter to her if people were now co-existing with vampires or the fact that vampires are slowly incorporating themselves into the human society. Ang mahalaga sa kanya ay ang opinyon ng kanyang Lolo Anton at ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya. She knows that even as a bastard ay siya ang magiging tagapagmana ng multi billion na assets ng kanilang pamilya. Hindi dahil nanalaytay sa dugo niya ang lahi ng mga Mijares ngunit dahil kaya niya. She has the skills as well as the abilities to ensure their wealth will last until the next few years.

When she was just 12 years old, kinuha si Shannon ng kanyang Lolo sa ampunan. Dito siya napunta matapos mamatay ng kanyang ina sa isang aksidente. It just turned out that she is actually the illegitimate daughter of the only son Antonio Mijares, an heir to a multibillion corporation. Ngunit, nang taong din iyon ay namayapa ang kanyang ama sa sakit na cancer. Since then, she became acquainted to the cruel world of riches and fame. Some people would thought that her life was like a fairytale, from rags to riches ika nga nila- but it was far from. In exchange for the convenience and financial stability she has now is the pressure to live up to her family name.

Hindi na niya pinatapos ang programa at kaagad na pinatay ang Macbook niya as soon as she got out of the shower. Wala siyang interes sa mga bagay na iyon. No matter how much this world will change, Shannon will always get what she worked hard for- she will make sure of it.

She scanned her wardrobe. Kailangan niyang magmukhang disente ngayong araw. Kakabalik lang ng kaniyang Lolo Anton mula sa Spain kung saan ito nagkaroon ng business trip ng limang araw. Kasama nitong uuwi si Venice , ang kanyang stepsister na doon ipinanganak at nag-aaral. She rarely comes home in the Philippines at makailang beses lang silang nagkita ng personal. Obviously, hindi sila malapit sa isa't isa. They have exchange a few words but only for formalities. But, there is one thing about her that she knows- Venice hate her to the very core. Tandang-tanda niya pa ang mga mata nitong puno ng galit noong una siyang tumapak sa mansyon. Pati na ang pasimple nitong paninira nito sa kanya sa harap ng kanyang Lolo at ng ibang tao. She always emphasized that Shannon is born out of wedlock at kasalan ng kanyang ina ang pagkakasira ng mga magulang nito. But through it all, she handled it well. She maintained her composure and dignity. Although deep inside of her, she knew she is also guilty. May parte siya kung bakit ito lumaki sa isang broken family. Isang katok sa kanyang pinto ang nagpabalik sa kanyang sa huwisyo.

" Miss Shannon, nandito na po ang lolo niyo at ipinapatawag ka niya sa library," ani ng isa sa kanilang mga katulong sa labas ng kwarto niya.

" Please tell him na papunta na ako."

Humarap siya sa salamin. Her gaze landed on a particular spot on her neck. It looked swollen or something. The day after the expo, she woke up in her hotel room with a fuzzy memory of what happened after she delivered her speech. All she could remember is the faint scent of that stranger and his intense blue eyes as he held her in his arms. Nang tanungin niya si Jamie kung anong nangyari ay ikinuwento nitong nagpaalam siya papuntang restroom at hindi na nakabalik pa sa party. Natagpuan siya nito sa kanyang kama at mahimbing na natutulog. They concluded na baka dahil sa sobrang pagod at kalasingan ay dumeretso na lang siya sa kaniyang kwarto. Pero sa isang bahagi ng kanyang isip, something more than that had happened.Then her eyes crawled up to her face and to her mouth. Why does it felt that she kissed someone? She shooked her head- that is impossible. She is saving her first kissed for someone special. It sound so childish but its the truth. She took in a deep breath to get rid of those thoughts. Kung saan-saan na napupunta ang kaniyang imahinasyon.

Nang makapagbihis ay muli niyang sinipat ang kanyang pigura sa salamin. She looks decent in her black formal dress and light make up. As soon as she make sure that she is ready to face her grandfather, she went out of her room and stride towards the library. Sa loob ng halos sampung taon niya sa puder ng kanyang Lolo ay may dalawang rason lang ito para ipatawag siya. Una, upang punain ang kanyang mga pagkakamali at pagkukulang. At panghuli ay kung may iuutos ito sa kanya. There was never any emotional or personal relationship between the two of them. It was out of pure responsibility at syempre, upang pangalagaan ang kanilang apelyido. As she stride across the corridor towards the library, she could not help but think which of these two is his reason.

She knocked twice on the wooden door of the library- a courtesy she learned eversince she came here. Pagkatapos noon ay pinihit niya ang seradura at binuksan ang pinto. Until now, she still gapes at the sight of the library. Sa lahat ng estruktura sa mansyon ay ito lang ang nagpapamangha sa kanya. It was spacious enough to accoumodate thousands of books along the massive shelves that enclosed them. Sa gitna ay ang personal na lamesa ng kanyang lolo na may tumpok tumpok na mga dokumento. The library also serves as his in-house office. Kapag nandito ito sa mansyon ay dito ito naglalagi o mas tamang sabihin na nagkukulong. Naabutan niyang nakatalikod ang kanyang Lolo Anton mula sa knayang kinatatayuan at nakadungaw sa hardin habnag hawak ang isang tasa ng tsa.

" Hello there, stepsis!" pekeng bati sa kanya ni Venice. She is sitting like a queen in the couch. Napaamang ang siya sa pag-arte nito na tila ba malapit sila sa isa't isa.

" Hi," simpleng sagot niya dito.

As much as possible, ayaw niyang palawigin pa ang pakikipag-usap dito. Doon na napansin ng kanyang lolo ang kanyang presensya at humarap sa kanya. His face is stern and shows no hint of emotion. At 68, Antonio Mijares remains agile and smart for his age. Sa loob ng halos 50 years ay ito ang namahala sa Mijares Group of Company. They have chains of malls, restaurants, hotels, resorts and casinos across Asia and now, they are planning to venture into America and Europe. The future of the company is up to her or Venice. Although she has proven a lot at her young age, she does not want to assume na sa kanya nga ipamamana ang negosyo.

"Shannon," anito sa pamliyar na seryosong tono. Natuwid siya ng tayo. His voice is enough to send chills down her spine.

" You disappoint me," pagpapatuloy nito saka inihagis sa kanyang harapan ang isang brown envelope. Nagkalat ang litratong laman niyon sa sahig. She looked at those pictures intently. It was her and Sir Hendrix! They look intimate in those shots as if they have any romantic affairs. She gasped as soon as she realized where those pictures came from.

" L-lolo, its nothing. There is nothing going on between us -," nauutal na pagtatangol niya sa sarili.

" I don't care about your explanations, Shannon! These pictures are enough to prove how much of a disappointment you are. Mabuti na alang at hindi na ito nakaabot sa press. I had to pull my connections para lang mawala ang mga ebidensya. It would have damage the reputaion of our family and company. Hindi mo ba iyon naisip? Kung ano ang iisipin ng mga tao once this comes out to the public? That my grandchild is having an affair with her professor?!" sigaw nito sa kanya. Hindi naman siya makapagsalita upang ipagtanggol ang sarili. She was too stunned to speak.

No!No!No! This is not happening, sigaw ng isip niya.

" Pack up your things at huwag na huwag kang aasa ng kahit anong tulng mula sa pamilyang ito. I dont care kung mamalimos ka man sa kalsada o bumalik sa ampunan. Stay out of my sight from now on," he said firmly.

Nangilid naman ang luha ni Shannon. Everything she had work hard for has been shattered. Papalabas siya ng library ng mahagip ng kanyang mata ang pagsilay ng pilyang ngiti sa mga labi ni Venice. She can feel it in her guts na may kinalaman ito.