Chapter Three
"I bet you thought you've seen the last of me." I said in low, intense voice as I entered the theatre room. They were comfortably watching a movie like they didn't leave me in prison. Nakaupo si Dad sa lazyboy at nakakandong si Sid sa kanya. Monty and Brad were cuddled up against Mama on the big theatre lounge and Ate Drey sat next to them with Arthur's head resting on her lap. Pati si Ringo, ang labrador ng mga bata ay kumportableng nakaupo sa paanan ni Arthur. Look at them! They were a happy family without me.
Dad, Mama, and Ate Drey looked at me like they'd seen a ghost.
"TIta!" My Ate's son all jumped out of the couch and ran up to hug me. Even the dog came up to greet me.
"Did you miss me?" I hugged them back.
"Yeah!" They all answered.
"Wait, what are you doing here? Paano ka nakalabas?" Dad asked, rising from his seat.
"Oh, it's easy. I gave them all a handjob." I said, matter-of-factly. I knew it would piss Dad off which was what I was aiming to do.
"VERONICA!" Dad's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.
"You will be the death of Dad." Ate shook her head as she masssaged her temples.
"May mga bata, Ronnie." I heard the sharpness in Mama's tone.
"What's a handjob?" Monty asked, looking up at me with a pair of dark, innocent eyes.
"It's a candy." Dahilan ko. I totally forgot that there were children here. Nagpadala ako sa bugso ng damdamin ko. Gusto ko lang naman makaganti sa kanya dahil inabandona niya ako sa kulungan na iyon ng isang buong araw. I slept in a smelly, roach infested cell.
"I want a handjob, too." Sabi ni Sid.
"No you don't, Sidney!" Dad barked in controlled anger.
"Oh my God, you're ruining my kids." Ate groaned with a pained expression.
"I'm just kidding." I shrugged, apathetically. I pulled away from our group hug and slumped down the couch next to Ate. "Ah! I need a bubble bath and a massage."
"How did you get out of prison?" Dad asked, his stone sliced the air like blade. "What did you do again, Ronnie?"
"Hindi ba, Daddy, only bad people go to prison? Bakit nakulong sa prison si Tita Ronnie?" Brad asked Dad.
"Dahil matigas ang ulo ng Tita Ronnie mo." Ate Drey answered.
"I fought for what I believe is right." I confidently said. "I feel like I'm being oppressed here. Ako lang ba ang naniniwala sa karapatan ng kababaihan? Wyatt Lazaro is a horrible man. He is normalizing the sexual objectification of women. Do you want your sons to see those magazines and that it's normal? That it's okay? Because that's not the world I want the boys' to grow up in."
"Ronnie, do not try to turn this conversation into a heated debate. How did you get out of prison?" Dad pressed in a low but demanding tone.
"Wyatt Lazaro came over to visit me." I sighed.
"And?" Mama cocked a brow, sensing something was off.
"And I agreed to pose nude for his magazine." Saying those words felt like acid burning in my throat. "We're cool now. Hindi na siya galit sa akin."
"Oh no..." Dad shook his head. "Tell me you're kidding. Please, tell me you're kidding."
"He gave me a copy of the agreement. I'll give it to you later."
"Why?" Dad brushed his fingers through his hair. "Why are you doing this to me, Veronica Cordova?"
"I don't get it. You're against women posing nude on his magazine pero iyon ang gagawin mo? Don't you think it contradicts what you're trying to stand for?" Ate Drey's brows furrowed deeply.
"Because I want to make a point about oversexualization of women's body. Sabi ni Lazaro pwede akong magsulat ng article sa magazine. He said I can even take up the whole magazine if I want. I can use my body in an explicitly non-sexual way to make a statement. This is my chance to be heard, Dad. Men need to realize that women's bodies are not the sites of active desires."
"Your daughter's going to kill me. I swear, one day, she's going to kill me." Dad said looking at Mama. He was so devastated that he looked like he'd aged a couple of years in a matter of seconds.
"Take it easy." Mama massaged his shoulders. "I'm sure kung kakausapin natin si Wyatt ay pagbibigyan niya mana tayong i-cancel ang agreement."
"No, Ma, gagawin ko 'to. At first, I was kind of having doubts about posing nude for Sybarite but now I realize kung gaano kalaking impact ang gagawin kong ito." I said, my voice full of hope.
"Veronica, I did not raise you para pagpyestahan lang sa magazine ng kung sinong mga lalaki." Dad said in a low growl.
"But you raised a daughter that is self-assured enough to stand for what she believes in. Nothing and no one will ever stop me, Dad." A wry smile broke across my face.
"Ma'am..." Tarzan came up to Ate and tried to take guide down the car. Ate didn't let him. She shrugged, not hiding her annoyance towards him. They'd gotten on the wrong foot the first time she and Tarzan met. He said something offensive about her late husband in front of Arthur and since then, mainit na ang dugo ni Ate sa kanya.
"Kaya ko na." She rolled her eyes at him when he tried for the second time to help her out.
He raked his manly fingers over his soft, shoulder-length hair. His eyes sparks everytime he looks at Ate. I knew Tarzan had been secretly crushing on her. Tarzan wasn't bad looking. He doesn't have the indulgent good looks of a prince charming but he was hot in a rugged kind of way. Talagang lalaking-lalaki ang datingan. Yung tipo ng lalaking kaya kang ipagsibak ng kahoy. His real name was Soren but I kind of just got used to calling him Tarzan because of his long hair and his sheer musculinity. The name I gave him quickly caught on and the kids now calls him Kuya Tarzan too.
"Maghintay ka dito. Hanggang eleven lang kami." Ate commanded Tarzan in an irritated tone.
"Sige po, ma'am. Enjoy." Sagot niya.
She rolled her eyes at him and we walked to the entrance of the venue.
"Ikaw, Ate, ang sungit mo kay Tarzan. Di ba sabi ni Mama treat our helps like family?" I told her.
"I just don't like him, Ronnie. Masyado siyang... I don't know... I just don't like him." She shook her head as she probably couldn't think of a concrete excuse.
"I think Soren has a crush on you." I nudged her side.
Her face crumpled in disgust. "Tumigil ka nga, Ronnie. Kinikilabutan ako sa mga sinasabi mo."
"Tarzan's hot naman, Ate. Hindi naman siya pangit at okay siya sa mga bata ha, infairness. He gets along well with your sons. Well, except for Arthur. Loyal yun sa Dr. Daddy niya." I shrugged. Arthur was the only one who knew Callum but he never knew what his father did to my Ate. And I hope and pray he never finds out. I didn't want him to know what the other half of him was really made of.
Ate shook her head, frowning. "Sa lahat ba naman ng pwede mong banggitin yung Soren pa talagang iyon. I have standards. Hindi ako papatol sa driver natin."
"Ayaw mong gumaya de Lima?" I snorted.
"Gaga ka talaga." She started laughing too. "Ikaw ang dapat magboyfriend na. Twenty-four ka na but I've never seen or heard you go out on dates."
"Wala pa sa isip ko yan."
"Ronnie, I hope what happened to me has nothing to do with it. Hindi lahat ng lalaki ay masama. There's still great men out there." She gently said as if every word was made of glass.
"I know that, Ate. My decision has nothing to do with what happened to you. I just haven't found the right guy."
"Maybe you'll finally find the right guy here at the party." Ate joked, chuckling.
We walked inside the event. Mama and Dad were given an invitation to this party but they decided that they'd rather not go and had us take their place. Sila ngayon ang nagbabantay sa mga anak ni Ate habang nandito kami sa party. This was Dad's friend's charity event and they were going to have auctions later on.
Everyone were dressed in evening dresses and tuxedos. We were greeted by the party host and taken to our seats by the receptionist.
"Ate, sabi mo we're just here to show up. Sandali lang tayo ah." I whispered.
"Oo nga. We'll just stay here for an hour and then we'll leave." She said.
"Mrs. Francois!" A middle-aged lady came up to us and handshaked my Ate. "Hi, glad to see you here. Would you like to see the items we're going to auction later?"
"I would love to." Said my Ate and then she turned to me. "Gusto mong sumama?"
"No, I'll just stay here." I said. I was left there by myself. Pakiramdam ko pag nasa event at business meetings ako para lang akong saling pusa. Nobody takes me seriously. To them, I was just the youngest Cordova. The activist daughter.
WYATT
Veronica Cordova, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Asia, would be posing for Sybarite soon. The issue will sell like hotcakes, I was sure of that. The young Cordova had been making a name for herself as an activist. She had sabotaged one of my events, showered my property with pig's blood, and threw what they say was semen on me at a party. She was, in short, one hell of a crazy bitch. I knew everyone would be shock when they find out that she'd be posing for the same magazine she was lambasting.
I saw her walking towards the balcony with a champagne in one hand. I couldn't believe my luck tonight. I never thought I'd see her here. I was having second thoughts if I should come up to her and after a few seconds, I stood up from my seat and went for it.
Veronica was leaning against the balcony railing, too focused on the view in front of her to notice me. She wore a burgundy backless dress, the wind whipping her long dark hair. I could already imagine that sweet body on the cover of Sybarite.
"Hey." I smoothly said.
She looked startled as she turned her head to face me. Her face immediately turned sour when she saw me.
"What are you doing here?" She said in a cold tone.
"I'm here for the auction and to support the charity."
"The charity." Her brows lifted in amusement as she sneered.
"What? I do charities too. Many people makes this stupid assumption that I'm a one-dimensional person who cares about nothing but naked women." I shrugged.
"Isn't that what you are?" She cocked a brow.
"Come on, Veronica, I'm not that bad. You know the problem with women like you is that you're too close-minded. You have this black and white mentality. You want things to either be good or evil and it kind of becomes a sport to you to point out who's on what category. People are more complex than that." I let out a deep exhale.
"Rich coming from a man who sees women as sex objects. Hindi magbabago ang tingin ko sa'yo. You are still a chauvinistic pig to me." Singhal niya.
"It's just a parasitic dynamic. Those women I've been with wants me for my money and I want them for their body. It's sick how I'm viewed as a 'chauvinistic pig' and their viewed as 'golddiggers' or 'money hungry' by people who can't even be honest with themselves. At least we're honest with what we want. Ikaw ba, Ms. Cordova, ano ba ang gusto mo?" I leaned my head down to her, closer to her face.
Intimidated, she pulled her head away. Realizing what she had done, she quickly collected herself and looked at me firmly in the eye.
"You have beautiful lips. Beautiful." My eyes lowered to her lips. I still couldn't forget how warm and soft they were against mine. How I'd love to taste them again. "You should smile often. It's the second best thing to do with those lovely lips."
"You are invading my personal space, Mr. Lazaro." She said looking away.
I'd never seen this side of Veronica Cordova before and I was quite enjoying it. The feisty Veronica looking like a cornered coyote ready to bolt.
"I am?" I chuckled.
"Yes, you are." She was trying so hard to show me that she wasn't intimidated by my presence.
"You enjoyed the kiss we shared, didn't you? Admit it." I teased as the memory
Her lips twitched in a deep frown. "I did not! You know what? You are so full of yourself."
"Who knows? Maybe someday you'll be full of me too." I smirked.
"Bastos." She lifted her hand up and I quickly caught her wrist before her palm could even land on my face.
"Oh no, Ms. Cordova. If you slap me, I'd have to slap you back. Equality." I said with an amused grin.
"Let go of me." She pried her hand away from my hold. "Why do you think it's okay to say things like that to women? Alam mo bang verbal sexual harrassment na yang ginagawa mo?"
"Had you slapped me across the face, pwede nang matawag yun na battery."
"You are an asshole."
"Tell me something I haven't heard yet." My grin grew bigger. "Ms. Cordova, I think I'm going to enjoy working with you."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen3h.Co