Chapter Five
"LET ME GO! This is already abduction, Lazaro." I tried to squirm my way out of his hold as he carried me up the stairs. By now, I was starting to freak out. He was carrying me up the stairs to take me to God knows where. I was basically a lamb in the lion's den. "Damn it, Lazaro! What are you going to do to me?"
I squirmed even harder as he walked down the long, seemingly endless hallway. I had taken self-defense classes, I'd practice ju-jutsu and muay thai. If he'd only freaking let me go, I would be able to knock him unconscious.
I panicked even more when we reached the end of the hall and I lifted my head up to see him opening the door in front of him. It was an intimating black double door with gold colored strip edges. I felt like we were going through a portal to hell. Kumapit ako sa frame ng pinto nang subukan niya akong ipasok sa kwarto. Wyatt tried to pull me inside but held onto the frame even tighter. He pulled a little more harder and then he kicked the door close.
I could feel my heart rapidly. I went into immediate, full-on, fight-or-flight mode with adrenaline flooding my whole system. I attacked him the moment he put me down. Using my Muay Thai skills, my legs drew up to kick him on the face. Makikipagpatayan muna ako bago ko bago ako mapagsamantalahan ng kahit sino. I would never let myself be a statistic.
"FUCK!" He cried out in pain as his face flew to the side from the blow. Sinalo niya ang mukha niya and his eyes narrowed at me. "Jesus, woman!"
I lifted my legs up to kick him again but this time he was quick to take action. He was able to hold me by my ankle and I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me. I used my arms to try to hit me and I let out a shrilling scream when he tackled me to the ground. Nahulog ako sa sahig at pumaibabaw siya sa akin.
I tried to hit him but he pinned my wrists above my head and looked at me with a piercing glare. Blood oozed from the cut on the side of his face where I'd kicked him.
"LET ME GO!" I barked.
"Do you see now why gender equality is unrealistic?" He said in a harsh tone. "We aren't even physically equal. Madali kitang nabitbit dito and now you're under me, you see that? What you want is never going to happen. It's ridiculous."
"How dare you say that?" I said through gritted teeth.
"Newsflash, Veronica Cordova! You don't live in a bubble, you live in a world with men!"
"You think I don't know that? Ang mga katulad mong lalaki ang problema dito sa mundo. You are objectifying-"
"Yan na naman tayo, Veronica. Objectification is a dumb and pointless word made up by man-haters like you that's used to try and shame men who show their attraction to women in any way that they don't approve of. It's complete bullshit and you know it!"
"Just because you don't see the problem, it doesn't mean it's not there, Lazaro! You don't see what women have to put up with everyday."
"And you think we men live in lala land?" His eyes widened in amusement. "We get just as much bullshit. This society fails to see that men can be sexually assaulted. In fact, they're not respected at all. They aren't even taken seriously and worse they get laughed at. Men who are domestically abused by women are seen as sissies, not a real man. To put it simply, nothing women do to men is ever a fucking crime. Shit like this brings the idea that women get a free pass, a pussy pass if you will, to do to men what would never be allowed to do to women. Women and men are same and different in a lot of ways. The thing is people like you don't want to compromise."
"You get off me!" I said, pushing him away. Agad naman siyang umalis sa ibabaw ko. Realizing I was topless, I hugged myself. His shirt had slipped off somewhere while he was carrying me. He was just as topless as I was. "You are the one living in a bubble. You use your 'I'm a man' excuse to justify what you are doing. Hindi mo alam kung gaano kalaking impact ang ginagawa ng magazine mo. I'm sure there are a lot of teenage boys out there that reads your magazines, thinking it's normal to view women in such demeaning way. You are teaching them not to respect women. We're not even interested in being equal to men. As if you men are the standard of all humanity. We want a life where we are valued for our humanity rather than our body. Hindi magbabago ang paniniwala kong iyon. That is a non-negotiable part of who I am."
"I know. There is no negotiating with a radical." He shrugged.
"Asshole." I muttered.
"There is no point in arguing with you and your one dimensional thinking."
"Rich coming from you." I let out a sarcastic laugh.
"I'm going to get you something proper to wear." He said, his eyes took a quick swipe down before he averted them elsewhere.
I cocked a brow when I saw his reaction. I saw how uncomfortable it made him, seeing me topless with only my arms to cover my breasts. A sly smile stretched across my lips as I watch him get up.
"Bakit, Lazaro?" I slowly put my arms down my side and proudly held out my chest. My breasts don't look bad and they were of decent size. Bakit ko kailangan ikahiya ito? "Are you getting aroused?"
Lazaro looked back at me, his jaw clenching. "What the hell are you talking about?"
I got up and boldly walked towards him, stopping in front of him. He tensed and tried hard not to let his gaze drop to my breast. He looked at my face, trying to keep a stoic expression.
"I want you to look at me, Lazaro. Look at me." I said with a smirk playing on my lips. "Why is a topless man so much different from a topless woman? Because you and this society made it different. Do you see now how women are being oversexualized? You are turned on by the mere sight of breasts."
His eyes traveled down my body and the way he stared at me, at my breasts. The way he looked at me made me want squirm under his gaze but I didn't. I kept confidently kept my chin up even though I didn't feel as confident in the inside.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Veronica. I've seen bigger, better tits than yours." Singhal niya.
He step forward, closer to where I stood, with a playful smile on my face. "What about you? Look at me and tell me you're not aroused."
I looked down at his body with my brow arching. It looked like it had been carefully thought out and then chiseled from stone by the finest artist. He took my hand in his and guided it to his chest. I gasp when I felt the warmth of it and pulled my hand away as if I'd touched something hot.
"What's the matter, Veronica? Can't handle the heat?" He asked with a mocking smile.
My face fell into a frown. "Feeling mo!"
"There's nothing wrong with it. Men are turned on by women's body and women are turned on by men's body. It's not bad or wrong in any way and it's ridiculous for anyone to think it is."
"I am not turned on!" I exclaimed.
"Right, I'm just going to get you something to wear." He chuckled and winked at me before turning his back to me and heading to a door leading to his walk-in closet. Lumabas siya mula doon at inabot sa akin ang itim na shirt.
I harshly took it from him and put it on.
"That was a dumb move, Veronica. I want your tits printed on my magazine, not displayed all over the internet. " He shook his head as he stood in front of me with arms crossed. "I should've added that on the contract, no parading your tits around before the photoshoot."
I glared at him when I remembered what he did out there. He cupped my breasts with two hands. He groped me in front of people and the cameras.
"Hinipuan mo ko! You pervert!" I said in an accusing tone, my eyes narrowing into angry slits.
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to do that. I was trying to cover you up."
"That was already a sexual assault."
"Then let's make it even, you can touch me too. Let's practice that equality right here." He opened up his arm, as if offering his body.
"Wala ka talagang modo!"
"See why we can't be equal? Do you get my point?" He said with an arrogant smirk.
"Asshole ka talaga!"
"Okay what do you want? An apology? I am sorry for covering you up and trying to save what little dignity you have left. I mean what woman does topless shots for free?" He snorted.
"And I'm sorry your birth certificate is an apology letter from the condom factory." I retaliated, marching to the door.
"Tita, Daddy's really mad." Sabi sa akin ni Arthur pagkapasok ko pa lang sa bahay. Alam ko na agad kung ano ang kinagagalit niya. It had only been hours ago when that had happened. Ganon kabilis nakarating sa kanya iyon?
"Oooh, Tita, You're in big trouble again!" Brad said.
"Daddy said he won't allow you to go out ever again. You're grounded." Monty added in.
"I heard from Mama that there were pictures of you they don't like on the computer." Sabi naman ni Sid.
"Boys, leave your Tita alone. Magplay na lang ulit kayo ng music d'yan." Utos ni Ate sa mga anak niya. The kids started playing their instruments again. When they weren't wreaking havoc all over the house, the boys were playing their musical instruments. Of course, my Ate was their number one fan.
Ate took me by the arm and dragged me away from the kids. "What did you do? Ano na naman ba itong ginawa mo, Ronnie! You can't keep making a mess and expecting us to clean it up for you."
"I don't expect anything from anyone of you." I rolled my eyes.
"Don't give me that attitude. Dad is trying to fix the mess you made. Pinatatanggal niya sa lahat ng blogsites ang topless photos mo. Pati nga si Mark Zuckerberg gustong kausapin ni Dad para lang matanggal yung mga photos mo. It's everywhere."
"I did that because I want to. I'm old enough to decide for myself."
"You're never old enough to decide to be have your breasts fondled by a man in front of other people. What stunt were you pulling?" Ate Drey asked in controlled anger.
"I didn't decide to have my breasts fondled. Wyatt Lazaro groped me." I told her with a scowl.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Veronica?" Dad's voice boomed throughout the whole house as he hastened to where Ate and I were standing. He was livid, it kind of scared me for a moment. "Bakit mo ginawa iyon? I've been doing nothing but call every station, every site and blog with your pictures and videos."
"Nick, will you please calm down?" Saway ni Mama kay Dad habang sinusundan ito. "Your anger is not going to get you anywhere."
"OMG! You saw my boobs?" My eyes widened. The mere thought of my Dad looking at my boobs was vomit inducing.
Dad's face mirrored mine, his expression shifting between disgust and mortification. "I didn't. It was your sister who told me about it. I can't even look at it! But I'm sure hundreds of men have already seen it by now! It's all over the goddamn interney! What are you doing to yourself, Ronnie? Bakit ginawa mo yun?"
"Wyatt Lazaro made me do it. Hinipuan niya ako, Dad." Sumbong ko.
"He what?" Dad growled.
WYATT
Veronica Cordova's topless pictures and videos had quickly spread over social media. I didn't know if it was supposed to be good or bad that everyone was talking about her. And me. The photos of me with my hands over her breasts were receiving just as much attention, if not more.
"This is great, Wyatt, trust me." Dina, Sybarite's publicist, said as she walked back and forth in front of my table. "The pictures are going viral. You and her are receiving so much attention. Good, bad, it doesn't matter. Ang mahalaga napukaw ang atensyon ng mga tao. I'm sure maraming mag-aabang sa issue ni Veronica."
"Veronica's something, isn't she?" One corner of my lips lifted into a smirk. I had never encountered a woman like Veronica before. She had such strong passion in her belief and so much drive in her conviction. "She's insane but she sure knows how to draw a crowd."
"Yes, she does. Hindi ka nagkamali sa pagpili sa kanya na magpose para sa Sybarite. I didn't even think you could convince- Wait, you know what I'm thinking?" Dina's eyes widened as if she had an idea that would cure every illness here on earth.
"What?" I asked, my brows furrowing.
"You and Ronnie posing together. This will create even more controversy. Veronica the women's right activist and you, Wyatt Lazaro, Asia's Hugh Hefner. Two people of opposite beliefs posing together in one magazine." She said.
"Are you kidding me?" My face twisted into a scowl.
"No, think about it, Wyatt. Pictures of you and Veronica are making rounds on the internet. People shared it, people liked it, people had different opinions toward it. She could voice out her belief and you could voice out yours. Everybody knew Veronica had been attacking you and Sybarite since anyone could remember. This is something they wouldn't expect. They'd be even more intrigued."
I leaned back on my swivel chair, swaying from side to side. Dina knew what she was talking about. She was a tip-top publicity genius and I had never doubted her.
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