Chapter Four
"Lift your tailbone to downward dog and exhale through your nose." Said our yoga instructor.
"Napanood ko yung interview ni Wyatt Lazaro kahapon. Why didn't you tell me you were posing for his magazine? Akala ko ba you're totally against him and his magazines?" Asked Bryce as she laid her yoga mat next to me.
My brows crumpled right after I exhaled. My head snapped to Bryce's direction. "What interview?"
I was de-stressing from the horrible experience of being abandoned in jail by my parents and signing a contract to pose nude for Wyatt Lazaro's magazine. The last thing I wanted to hear was that idiot's name.
"Inhale and drop your body down to plank position." Said the instructor.
I went down to plank position and Bryce did the same. "Ano ka ba? It's all over social media. I even tagged you on facebook. Hindi ka kasi nagbubukas ng account mo. There were some negative reactions saying you're a hyprocite. I tried defending you kaya!"
"What did Lazaro said in the interview?" I asked.
"A lot." Bryce answered and rolled her eyes. "Really? Were you living under a rock?"
"I didn't have time to check. Besides I'm not into social media."
"He made it seem like you were already siding with him kaya maraming nagalit sa'yo." Sabi niya.
"Girls, stop talking. Turn off all distractions and focus your mind on your movements." The instructor scolded us.
"Halika nga dito." I grabbed him
"Hoy, teka! Kakarating ko lang sa class!" She said as I dragged her out of the yoga room.
"Patingin nga." I said when we got into the locker room.
She took out her phone as we sat on the bench in the middle of the room. She went to her account and played the video. There he was, the devil incarnate, Wyatt Lazaro. He was at the presscon of an international beauty pageant that would be held here really soon.
"Yes, Ms. Veronica Cordova and I have already settled our conflicts in a civilized way. She finally, after years of harrassing me, understood that women have more rights to express their sexuality now that they ever did. In the early 1900s there's no way women would have been allowed to pose like how they did in my magazine. Ms. Cordova took a big, brave step to advocate the sexual liberation of modern women. She had already signed a contract with us and will be posing for our magazine soon so watch out for it." Wyatt smiled his usual smug smile directly into the camera as if he was mocking me.
"Asshole." I angrily huffed as I squeezed the phone in my hand.
"Huwag mo naman pag-initan yang phone ko. Hindi yan si Wyatt!" Bryce grabbed her phone from my hold.
"That jerk! Ano'ng sexual liberation ang pinagsasabi niya? Baka sexual degration! It's not sexual liberation when you treat women like sexual objects." I shook my head as my eyes burned with fury. "I only agreed to pose for his magazine so that I could emphasize that naked bodies are not inherently sexual which is the complete opposite of what him and his magazines are doing."
"So it was true..." Bryce's mouth gaped open in shock.
"Of course, it's true!" I exclaimed, frustrated.
"I can't believe you're doing this. Alam na ba 'to ni Tito Phoenix? What did he say?"
"He already knows. Syempre nagalit si Phoenix Cordova but he'll get over it." I shrugged, apathetically.
"Oh my God, if I did that to my Dad he'd lock me in a tower in the middle of a secluded island no one had been before and he will never let me out of there for the rest of my life."
"My Dad knows what I'm capable of. If he does that to me, he knew I'd find away to get out of that tower and swim my way out of the island. It's do or die." I told her.
"You know sometimes I don't even know why we're bestfriends." Bryce shook her head.
"Because I'm awesome and gorgeous. Oh, and we have the same clothing and shoe size." I beamed a smile on her.
"Well, you're right. Except for the gorgeous part. I'm going to give you the awesome and even badass. But we both know I'm the beautiful one." She flipped her ponytailed hair that was resting on her shoulder.
"Ewan ko sa'yo! Ikaw may kasalanan ka pa sa akin!" Inirapan ko siya and I folded my arms over my chest.
"What did I do?" She asked, her brows furrowed.
"Hindi mo man lang ako binisita sa kulungan noong nakulong ako! What kind of friend are you?" My face crumpled in annoyance.
"I checked up on you naman right after you got out, di ba? Last time you went to prison, when I got there you were already bailed out. Tsaka Tito Phoenix already told me before I even knew you were in jail to never, as in never in under any circumstances, bail you out or visit you. Huwag kang mag-alala sa susunod hindi na ako makikinig sa Dad mo, I'll be the first to visit you in prison."
"Gusto mo ba talaga akong makulong ulit?" Sumimangot ako.
"Pag nakulong ka lang naman ulit. Which I think will probably happen in the next month or so..." She raised her brows and smiled a sweet, mocking smile.
Tinipon ko ang mga miyembro ng samahan namin sa labas ng Sybarite Mansion. I explained to them why I agreed to pose for Sybarite and what my intentions were. Sinabi ko sa kanila na kasinungalingan ang pinalalabas ng Lazaro na yun sa publiko. Mabilis naman silang naniwala sa akin at ngayon ay nagtipon kami dito para magprotesta laban kay Lazaro.
"Wyatt Lazaro, kahit kailan ay hindi ako sumang-ayon sa paniniwala mo." Nagsalita ako sa megaphone na hawak ko habang nakatungtong sa kotse ko na nakaparada sa harap ng gate ng mansyon niya. "Naniniwala pa rin ako na mali ang ginagawa mo. We are fighting for women's right to a life free from violence."
There were medias around our group, huge cameras were focused on us. The media were like hungry sharks that could smell fresh meat from miles away. Especially on a slow news day. Someone had told them that there was going to be a protest outside of Lazaro's mansion and here they were with their cameras rolling.
"You have significant influence, Wyatt Lazaro. You have power. But look at what you're doing! Images in your magazine that shows women in highly sexual ways is not sexual liberation. Your magazine is suggesting that women are nothing but pieces of meat to oggle at. That they are without feelings or use other than to please men. I agreed to pose for your magazine to desexual the female form. A naked woman shouldn't equalize sex. A naked woman is just a naked woman! People need to unlearn the idea that a naked woman's body only exists under sexual means! We are not commodities of pleasure! We are tired of being portrayed as a sexual object!"
It generated a roaring cheer from my sisters and we all raised our boards with our protest signs on it.
"Are we inviting sex just by being bodies?" I asked.
"NO, we are not!" They answered back in a powerful tone.
"Are we inviting abuse just by being bodies?"
"NO, we are not!" They roared.
"Are we inviting violence just by being bodies?"
"No, we are not!"
"Our bodies are not invitations to make lewd remarks. Our bodies are not your object!"
I took in a deep breath, readying myself for the grand finale. When I had gathered enough courage, I gripped the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. There was a short pause when I dropped my shirt to my feet. It was as if time stood still in that very moment and everything around me had frozen. I felt like I was floating on a clowd of disbelief. The reporters nearly dropped their huge cameras as their gasps broke that perfect silence.
I stood in front of the crowd with my breasts out. 'I am a human being' was written on my naked torso in dark, bold letters. I didn't feel a single ounce of shame. I felt a sense of confidence in myself and our efforts. As Wyatt had said before, you choose your own objectification. If women were always going to be objectified then I choose to be objectified in the way that I wanted, fighting for my right as a human being. Not just as a woman.
WYATT
"Open the gate! Tell them to go open the fucking gate, Donny!" I told my assistant as I hurriedly exited my mansion. I had been watching Veronica Cordova's protest from the window of my house while having a glass of wine, smiling and shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it. What she just did a moment ago made me drop the glass to the ground and bolt straight to the front door.
Veronica stood there with her pink, perky tits out in front of the crowd. I instantly thought of my magazine. The issue with Veronica Cordova nude on the cover of my magazine would've been one of the most iconic covers in history. She made a huge impact to the women's right movement here in the Philippines and she was the most controversial activist. The cover with her on it would've saved a spot in history. But no, she had to ruin my plan. She just had to.
I walked down the driveway to the gate and I cursed to myself for making my driveway so fucking long. It was at least a minute run from my house to the gate but it almost felt like a whole eternity. The gate that was controlled from the guard's room beside it slowly opened when I stood in front of it.
Our gaze met and my eyes narrowed at her. I wanted to wring her pretty little neck so bad right now. My eyes lowered down to her neck and further down to her tits. Those perfect tits were only meant for my magazine. Mawawala na ang value ng cover niya sa ginawa niya. Men wouldn't have to subscribe my magazine anymore to see her tits as they could already access it on the internet or wherever they could find a picture of her with her tits out.
I'd rather it was us doing tasteful shots of her nudity than have her topless photo lost among the sea of horrible, obscene, girls gone wild photos posted on porn sites.
"Wyatt Lazaro." She lifted her chin up. Her confidence was burning it was almost intimidating. "This is what I call liberation! I choose my own objectification!"
"You crazy little-" I clenched my jaw so hard I felt like my teeth would give in if I bite down a little harder.
I jumped up the hood of her car and acted by instinct. I tried to cover her tits up with my hand. I fucking mindlessly cupped her breasts in both my hands. She looked at me, her eyes widening in shock and her lips parting open. I could hear the sharp inhale of shock from the crowd. I was as shock as they were, I swear to God.
"Bastos!" She raised her hand and then I felt the stinging pain on my cheek when her palm landed on it.
Doon lang ako natauhan. My hands jerked away from her breasts as if I had touched something burning hot. I then took off my shirt and wrapped it around her naked upper body.
"Ano ba, Lazaro? Bitiwan mo nga ako!" She tried to wiggle away from my hold but I held her even more firmly.
"That should've been a straitjacket!" I whispered in her ear as I tried to keep her in my arms.
"This is harrassment! Let me go!" She wailed.
"I am covering you up, woman! This is called decency!"
"Until you men live in a world in which your very objectification leads to excessive victim blaming, unwelcome catcalling, mortifying high rates of sexual harrassment and rape and having your value in society based on what you look like, I will continue to exercise my god-given right as a woman! Wala kang karapatan na gawin ito sa akin! I choose what I do with my body, you pig!" She angrily exclaimed.
I had no choice but to lift her up in my arm and hoist her over my shoulder like a sack of potato. She was like a rabid dog, this woman. I hopped down from the hood of her car. The other activists she was with hurled insults and foul words at me while my bodyguards stood like walls around me. If it weren't for them, those women would've clawed me open, rip my balls off and feed them to me.
"Bitiwan mo ako! Bitawan mo sabi ako!" Veronica repeatedly hit my back with her fists.
I paid no attention to her and continued to walk in.
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