Enjoy Reading! <3

~~~

TATIANA

"Shithead? Did you just speak-ill of me? "

Sabay kaming natigilan ni Butler Lee.

Oh god. Please tell me it's not him.

"Lord Connor." Saad ni Butler Lee at bahagyang yumukod sa taong nasa likuran ko.

Oh, shit. I thought he couldn't go and visit me today? This motherfucker hasn't changed at all.

"Sinisiraan na naman ba'ko ni couz?"

Natatawang tanong niya kay Butler Lee na hindi alam ang isasagot. Nag salubong ang dalawang kilay ko.

Nag aalangang ngumiti si Butler Lee kay Connor bago bahagyang yumukod sa kaniya. He looked back in my direction before bowing his head as he left my room, giving us our privacy so we could talk about whatever we want.

Nilingon ko agad si Connor, "Layas!" Pag tataboy ko at pilit na tinutulak siya paalis pero hindi man lang napaalis sa pwesto niya ang hinayupak na ikinatawa niya lalo.

"You haven't changed, couz. You're still a weakling when it comes to physical strength. " Natatawang asar niya bago umupo sa sofang butas butas na dahil sa mga balang tumama do'n.

He even sat in the same place where Bristole sat earlier! The only difference is that Connor placed his foot on the center table while Bristole didn't.

Napansin kong inilibot ni Connor sa buong kwarto ang paningin niya na para bang iniinspeksiyon niya lahat, "Hey, couz. Are you financially stable right now? " Biglang tanong niya.

"Why are you even asking?" Mataray na tanong ko.

"Are you broke? I could be your sugar daddy, you know? " Pang aasar niya bago tumawa na naman.

"Umalis ka na nga! Imbis na gumanda ang pakiramdam ko, pinasama mo lang lalo. Shooo!" Pagtataboy ko bago ko inirapan ang gago.

Umakto siyang nasaktan at nagpadausdos sa sofa na inuupuan niya habang kunwaring humihikbi, What a splendid drama, yet he turned thousands of girls' lives into a tragic one.

"Oh c'mon! I am managing your Emerald for fuck's sake, even though I'm busy with my girls! You're so mean. " He said in a dramatic tone before pouting like a duck.

I rolled my eyes. "You insisted on managing Emerald, idiot."

He rolled his eyes the way I did. "You insisted on managing Emerald, Idiot." Pang-gagaya niya sa sinabi ko at ginaya pati ang tono ng boses ko.

Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. "Stop copying me!" I hissed.

Masama na nga ang mood ko dahil kay Bristole at sa may sumpang brief niya dumagdag pa ang babaeng impakta kanina. Dadagdag pa ba siya?

Sinamaan niya rin ako ng tingin. "Stop copying me!" He hissed, copying the way I hissed.

Pumunta ba talaga siya dito para bisitahin ako o para gaguhin ako?

"Connor." Banta ko, nagpipigil ng inis.

He smirked. "Connor." pang-gagaya niya sa akin.

I smirked back. Do you want to challenge me, you moron? Akala niya ba ay hindi ako gaganti sa kagaguhang ginagawa niya? Let's see how you react this time.

"Connor Luciano Osmanek Maurer." Banta ko gamit ang buong pangalan niya.

His teasing smile and look vanished in just a blink of my eyes. He glared at me. "Stop threatening me by using my full name, couz. Just hearing it irritates my whole existence. " Reklamo niya.

Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. "Then stop making fun of me, moron."

"Whatever." Pikon na aniya.

"Anyway, what the fuck happened here? " He asked, trying to change our topic. "I know Zio Mustafa wouldn't let you stay in a place like this. Lalo na si Zia Giada. "

As you can see, he's cursing. Actually, cursing was prohibited for all of us, Maurers. The cursing rule also applies to them, too, since Connor is my cousin and is also a Maurer by blood. Of course, he couldn't curse when someone was around him who knew about the fucking rules just like me. However, if the person around us is the person we trust the most, we can curse whenever we want to. There's another person whom we trust, which is our other cousin, Dalia. Unfortunately, she's not here with us right now due to her stupidity.

"Someone has sent an assassin to kill me," I explained. I'm actually used to this kind of situation, but as a human being, I also get scared.

"Again?" Takang tanong niya.

I nodded. "Is it the same person?" Tanong niya bago saglin na napatingin sa may sahig bago inikot uli ang paningin niya sa buong lugar. nagtaka ako ng tignan na naman niya ang sahig bago hindi na mawala ang tingin niya do'n.

"I don't think so. This one is definitely a different person. The person behind this is so weird, they left an envelope which contained a letter of shit saying it's their way of greeting me, us Maurers. "

Why do I find that weird? If the person behind this was the woman earlier, she wouldn't be able to control her resentment towards me, a Maurer. Yet she's so chill about it, she even looks worried when Bristole got shot earlier. My hunch is that she's just a subordinate. They couldn't be the same person.

Weird is equivalent to peril for me.

"Hai detto a zia Giada e zio Mustafa?" He asked in Italian without looking at me. His eyes were still glued to the floor. Did you tell aunt Giada and uncle Mustafa?

"Seriously?" Natatawang tanong ko.

Italian doesn't suit him! Hindi bagay sa kaniya! I couldn't stop laughing as I recall that he couldn't speak-I mean pronounce Italian that much. I don't know, but he's having a hard time pronouncing Italian words, even before when we were just kids. That's his own version of Math, Italian. which is what I find easy to learn.

"What? " He asked innocently, which made me laugh more. Still, his eyes were still focused on something on the ground.

"Pfft. I-Italian? Seriously? HAHAHAHAAHAHA! Hindi bagay sayo! "

Nag salubong ang kilay niya. "Smettere di ridere!" Stop laughing!

"W-what the fuck? HAHAHAHAHAHA! "

Napahagalpak ako ng tawa. "What the fuck?! You're crazy! " He said, being annoyed.

"Çok eğlencelisin." I said you're hilarious in Turkish.

"B-BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Napatigil ako sa pag tawa ng marinig ko ang malakas ng tawa ni Connor. As in, napakalakas.

I looked at his direction with my forehead creased, still confused, "What the fuck is wrong with you, scum?" Takang tanong ko. I didn't even say anything funny. Why is he laughing?

Has he gone mad? He's really insane, but I still treasure him as part of mytrusted person in our famiglia.. Why am I even asking myself such an obvious question?

"Anong ginagawa niyan diyan?" Natatawang tanong niya habang may itinuturo sa sahig, malapit sa akin. Dahil nagtataka ako sa inaakto niya, wala na akong nagawa kundi tignan kung anong kagaguhan na naman ang inaatupag niya.

My eyes grew bigger as I looked down, "Why the fuck is that here?!" Gulat na sigaw ko.

Bakit nandito na naman 'tong brief ni Bristole? That thing was just with Butler Lee earlier. How come it's fucking here with us? Don't tell me there's really a bugging device there? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? But something impossible could be possible nowadays...

Because I wanted to be cautious and didn't want to look like a fool to the person behind this shit, I took the underwear from the floor, hanging it onto one of my fingers while inspecting every part of it with a disgusting look plastered on my face. I'm not even halfway through it, but I heard chuckling and laughter somewhere, as if they didn't want to discover that they were laughing.

"Pfft. B-BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! F-forgive me young--HAHAHAAHAHA young lady. It's really FUNN--BWAHAHAHAHAHAA!" I was beyond shocked after seeing both Butler Lee and Samuel peeping at us from the door while laughing their ass off.

Kanina pa ba sila nando'n? Akala ko ay nasa labas sila para kumuha pa ng iba pang clue at mga important g bagay na baka ay makatulong sa imbestigasyon na ginagawa nila tungkol sa nangyari kanina sa amin dito. About that, I didn't tell them about Bristole, but they did have an idea that someone was with me in my room because I told Samuel earlier that someone was injured inside.

I want to smash my head into my bed with my pillows in order to cover my ears, which I hope prevents me from hearing their loud chuckle and laugh. They seemed so happy while gagoing me. That's a new word, coming from me, a heiress who's not allowed to curse. Yes, fuck their rules.

"Burada ne halt ediyorsun?" What the hell are you doing here? I asked in Turkish. I didn't even bother to shout at them because I was pretty sure that shouting at these morons wouldn't stop them from having fun.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! DID YOU JUST TRY TO S-SMELL I-IT? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I-I tried to—what? Smell it? Naririnig ko pa lang ay nandidiri na ako. That's fucking nasty. Bakit ko naman aamoyin ang brief? At brief pa ni Bristole? No fucking way. Hindi man mag-asawa si Connor, hindi pa rin.

Mukhang mali ang inisip nilang ginagawa ko. Akala nila ay inaamoy ko 'yon dahil sa kabastusang iniisip nila kahit ang totoo ay iniinspeksiyon ko lang 'yon para makasigurado ako sa hinala ko. Kung sinadya ba ni Bristole ang mga nangyayari ngayon o hindi.

I don't know, I'm just doubting his actions towards the window earlier before the explosion. Naputol ang pagiisip ko dahil sa mas lumalakas na tawa nila Butler Lee kasama si Samuel at Connor na mukhang enjoy na enjoy sa nangyayari.

"Why is she staring at I-it like t-that?BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Don't tell me she's thinking of s-something l-lewd? "

"I-I should call her m-my lady from now on. BWAHAHAHAHAHA! S-she learned f-from the best! BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—HOK!HAHAHAHAHAA—HOK!HAHAHAHA—HOK!" Anong uri naman ng tawa to? Iba na talaga ang mundo ngayon, marami ng mga bagay na hindi kayang ipaliwanag ng mga propesyonal na tao. I'll leave this to professional people.

Okay, I'm so done here. I can't keep my poise anymore. My patience is not as thick as their faces, it's as thin as the strands of my hair.

"STOP LAUGHING, MORONS! I WILL SURELY KICK YOUR DAMN ASSES OUT OF HERE IF YOU WON'T KEEP YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH SILENT, YOU DAMN SHITHEADS! " I shouted angrily, and that made the three of them silent. "NOW." I took a deep breath after shouting without even maintaining my breath. "SHUT THE FUCK UP."

A moment of silence.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA--HOK! HAHAHAHAHAHA--HOK! HAHAHA!"

Sabay sabay kaming napatingin kay Samuel. "Hehe, Sorry, sinisinok ako guys! Hehehe—hok! I'll take my leav—hok!" Kinakabahang usal niya at agad na umalis. Tanging si Butler Lee na lang ang nakasilip sa pinto.

Nawala ang ngiti sa mukha niya at agad na napalitan 'yon ng kinakabahan at pilit na ngiti ng napansin niya ang masama kong tingin sa direksiyon niya."Mag dadala lang sana ako ng tsaa." Kinakabahang sabi niya.

I tsked. "I don't want one."

"But I want some tea!" Pag singit naman ni Connor.

I glared at him. "Did I say that you were allowed to order my fucking butler around? You have your own! " I hissed at him but the motherfucker didn't even bother to listen to my shits as he was already sipping his tea while butler Lee was already ready to leave.

What the actual fuck?

Connor smirked at me. "Do you want some tea, couz??" He asked in a mocking tone.

So aasarin mo na naman ako? Hindi ka pa nakuntento sa kanina, ha? Tignan natin ang tapang mo, totoy. Saying totoy is so weird, yet it suits Connor so much. I think I will call him often with that nickname from now on.

I smirked at him. "Isn't it inappropriate to have tea without a topic? You know that it's much more relaxing to drink tea while having a chat. couz. " I gave him a teasing smile. "So, how are the Emeralds? I found an interesting—"Hindi ko pa natatapos ang sasabihin ko ay tumayo na siya at inayos ang sarili.

He stood up. "I need to go." He looked at me. "Take care, couz."

He wants to escape this topic that I was about to bring out fresh from my secretary's report.

Mas lumaki ng ngisi ko. "Seriously, couz? Do you think you could break my wall by using that kind of trick? " Natatawang aniya.

Gotcha!

I chuckle. "I thought you needed to go na? Why talk about it again? " I said while smirking.

I got you, couz. "Hmm, aren't you too affected by this interesting marketing strategy I've been thinking about while I was staying here?"

"You're such a bully, couz! Fine! I'll leave if that's what you want. Hmp! " Aniya at padabog na umalis habang ako ay hindi mawala-wala ang ngisi sa labi.

Delikado ka na, couz. It looks like I might visit my Emeralds sooner than I expected.

+++

It's already Sunday. Gaya ng plano ko, pinilit ko na ma-discharge na dahil hindi naman malala ang nangyari sa akin at higit sa lahat ay wala naman akong magawa sa loob ng ospital. I want to resolve my problems as soon as possible instead of staying at this boring place. Nakahiga at nakaupo lang ako mag hapon. I want to buy some clothes! Designer bags! Shoes! Do you expect me to fucking say that? Well, I'd love to do that too, but I also want to learn martial arts or something. Sa totoo lang ay may kaunti naman akong natandaan sa tinuro ni Master Zhiang—chinese siya, pero hindi ko alam kung ano ang tawag sa kaniya--basta ang alam ko ay marunong siya ng kung fu or something.

Hindi pwedeng umasa lang ako sa mga body guards na naka paligid sa akin. They can't protect me all the time. They wouldn't be around me all the time. I should learn how to protect myself without having scars on my body. I don't like scars on my body. I should've taken Master Zhiang's lesson seriously instead of hanging out with Ariadne by sneaking out. I'm planning to visit him at his villa today because I won't be able to tomorrow since it's Monday, which means our classes are back. Sana lang ay nandito pa siya sa Pilipinas dahil ang alam ko ay pumunta lang siya sa Pilipinas noon para lang i-train ako. I really hope he's still here.

By the way, we're on our way to his villa since, after leaving the hospital, I told Butler Lee that I wanted to meet Master Zhiang right away. Of course, Butler Lee is against it, but I'm her great, stunning young lady. He couldn't say no because of what he did to me yesterday with the two idiots, Samuel and Connor. Huh, making fun of me? I don't move on to such things.

"We're here, young lady." Inporma sa akin ni Butler Lee, kasabay ng pag bukas ng pintuan ng kotse sa gilid ko. Agad naman akong lumabas at tinignan ang buong paligid.

Napanganga ako ng makita ko ang buong paligid. I was expecting it to be luxurious, but it's definitely not luxurious. His villa doesn't even look expensive, just like what I imagined it would be. Ang inaakala ko ay may mga temple o kaya naman ay mga bagay na nagreresmble ng tradisyon ng mga Chinese, pero ni isa ay wala akong nakita.

"Young lady?" Tawag pansin sa akin ni Butler Lee, dahilan para ilayo ko ang paningin ko sa nag iisang bagay na namataan ng mga mata ko.

Diretso kong tinignan si Butler Lee. "Are you making fun of me again?" Iritang tanong ko kaya mabilis na umiling si Butler Lee kasabay ng dalawang kamay niya.

"I dare not to, my lady." Sagot niya.

I was about to go to that thing, but Butler Lee's words caught my attention. "Did you just call me my lady earlier?" Taas kilay na tanong ko."See? You're really making fun of me! "

"No, No, No! I dare not to, young lady! My tongue just happened to slip itself. " He explained, slightly panicking.

What's with him?

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just leave it like that. " Sagot ko kaya nakangina naman siya ng maluwag. "Besides, you owe me an explanation about this." I stated, talking about Master Zhiang's villa.

This shit is really unexpected.

Napakamot siya sa ulo niya, "I'm no longer making fun of you, young lady. This is certainly Master Zhiang's villa. I've been here for almost ten times. There's no way I'm mistaken. It might look weird to you. It's definitely his villa. " Nakangiting aniya at iginaya ako papunta sa nag iisang kubo sa buong lugar na nakatayo pa sa pinaka gitna.

Oo, kubo. Mukha na itong sira-sira at ang ibang kahoy na parte nito ay nakalawit na. Sigurado akong isang bagyo lang ay wala na 'to. It looks small though. If I remember it right, Master Zhiang is really picky when it comes to space. He likes spacious surroundings since he had a phobia of too small surroundings.

The confusing part for me is how come he can't afford a big enough house for himself? He is a fucking millionaire, for god's sake. Maybe Butler mistook this place as his own, or maybe he had already left this country. Maybe he's in another country right now.

Babalika na sana ako sa kotse para bumalik na para magpahinga ngunit may nakakuha ng atensiyon ko. Hindi pa kami nakakalayo sa sasakyan may nakita agad ako na taong lumabas galing sa kubo na medyo may kalayuan sa pwesto namin. Agad na nanlaki ang mga mata ko ng mapagtanto ko kung sino ang 'yon.

Nakasuot ng puro Itim na leather na damit habang nakamaskara ng nakakatakot na itsura. Even though I hadn't managed to gaze at that person before, I could still recognize who it was. It's her! That bitch who broke into my hospital room through the window. The fucker who gave me another headache and the fucker who almost shot me if Bristole didn't take it, saving me.

She's walking like a normal person out there while putting her g-gun?! She's holding a goddamn gun! Again, Don't tell me where Master Zhiang is—He's in danger!

"We need to go." Sabay kaming napalingon ni Butler Lee kay Samuel. He's been with us from the start, but they're checking this place to see if there's something or someone suspicious around.

Mabilis akong umiling. "No! This motherfucking Chinese is in danger! I just saw a girl holding a gun leaving his kubo! " I silently shouted at them. I'm definitely going to disagree with him now. "Go! Help him! " I ordered it.

We might be able to save him. Kailangan lang namin bilisan at 'wag mag sayang ng kahit segundo.

Nag salubong ang kilay ni Butler Lee. "You saw what?" gulat na tanong niya.

"I don't have time to fucking explain! Go help that motherfucking Chinese! " Inis na utos ko. Mahahalata talaga na naiinis na ako dahil natawag ko pa sa kung anong pangalan si Master Zhiang.

Malungkot na umiling si Butler Lee, "I'm sorry to say this, but young lady, we can't. Your safety is our first priority, not others. " Madiin na sagot ni Butler Lee. I'm frustrated with the situation I am in right now. My subordinates won't even listen to me, I only want to save a person. What's wrong with that?

I looked at them with disbelief. "He might die! Baka buhay pa siya, tulungan natin siya! Hindi natin siya puwedeng iwan dito at pabayaang mamatay na lang na para bang wala tayong alam. What the fuck is wrong with you people? " Galit na tanong ko.

Tinuro ko si Butler Lee, "You even said that you've been here almost ten times! You must be pretty close to the motherfucking Chinese. How could you ignore him this time? Huh? " I couldn't even stop myself from saying those harsh things to Butler Lee. "Saving a person is a must, ignoring other people's suffering is not. Remember that, y'all. " I said as I calmed myself.

"Go get her, kid. Make sure she's safe. " Seryosong utos ni Butler lee kay Samuel.

Hindi ako makpaniwalang tumingin sa kanila. "No! I'm not leaving. Kung ayaw niyo siyang tulungan, pwes ibahin niyo ko. I may be a bitch, but I'm not heartless. " Nanggagalaiting sabi ko at mabilis na tumakbo papunta sa kubo na medyo may kalayuan.

"Young lady, stop right there! Go follow her! " I heard Butler Lee shouted as he ordered someone, but I didn't mind looking back or even listening to his advice.

Mas binilisan ko ang takbo at hindi na sila nilingon pa dahil alam kong nakasunod na sa akin ang mga bodyguards na kasa-kasama namin pumunta dito.

Mabilis kong sinara ang pinto ng kubo pag ka pasok ko sa loob nito. I was beyond shocked as I looked around. It's different from the outside. I didn't expect an ancient Chinese looking surroundings. I thought it would be smaller and dirty. I thought I was in ancient times while looking around. Katulad na katulad ito ng mga nakikita kong itsura ng loob ng mga lumang mga bahay at palasyo ng tsina. Napaka luwag ng buong lugar at masasabing si Master Zhiang ang nakatira dito dahil sa mga nakikita kong makukulay na vases at kung ano pang artifacts na pamilyar sa akin. Ang iba ay namumukhaan ko pa dahil nakita ko sa dati.

"Where the fuck am I?" takang tanong ko.

Shit!

Mabilis akong pumunta sa may pintuan pero hindi ko na ito mahanap. Agad kong hinanap ang parang sliding door ng maalala ko ang itsura ng mga sinauang pintuan sa tsina noon. Ang ikinakatakot ko ay baka makapasok sila Butler Lee dito.

Ganoon na lang ang pagtataka ko ng mapansin na tahimik ang buong paligid. Sa totoo lang ay mag kalakihan ang kubo na ito. Siguro, napag kamalan ko lang na maliit kanina dahil medyo malayo ako dito.

I didn't waste my time just trying to find the door. Imbis na hanapin 'yon ay ang chino ang aking hinanap.

Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko ng mapansin ko ang mga dugo sa sahig. Parang may patutunguhan ang mga patak ng dugo kaya sinundan ko 'yon. I was stunned for a moment after seeing the sliding door in front of me.

Lumabas siya? I wonder if they saw him.

I pushed the sliding doors in the opposite direction. At first, I was confused about my surroundings as they were different from outside where I came from. Agad na hinanap ng mga mata ko ang halos walong sasaksiyan na gamit namin kanina papunta dito, pero wala. Nanlamig ang katawan ko dahil maging sila Butler Lee ay wala rin. Nagkibit balikat na lang ako at binunton ang buong atensiyon sa paghahanap kay Master Zhiang na sigurado akong kailangan ng tulong.

Hindi ko na pinansin ang mga tanong na namumuo sa aking isipan at agad na sinundan ang mga bakas ng dugo.

I froze while staring at the pitiful old man in front of me. It seems that he was struggling to breathe. Even though he had aged a lot, I could still recognize him.

It's the motherfucking Chinese!

Agad akong lumapit dito at kinapa ang pulso niya at itinapat na rin ang aking mga daliri sa ilalim ng kaniyang ilong para malaman kung humihinga pa siya. Nakahinga naman ako ng maluwag ng malaman na medyo humihinga pa ito. Agad kong nilibot ang paningin sa paligid para tignan kung nandito pa ba ang babae.

I need to ensure our safety first. If she happens to be here too, we're both dead.

My face lit up as I saw a road. I immediately ran to it, hoping that I could call for help from a passerby. I looked around, trying to check my surroundings while looking for a car that could be passing this road. Halos magtatalon ako sa tuwa ng matanaw ko ang isang sasakyan sa di kalayuan. Hindi na ako nag atubili at agad na hinarang ito. I looked like a crazy bitch who was trying to get attention for myself. How unfortunate could I be?

What the fuck is wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill yourself? " Galit na sigaw ng pamilyar na boses.

Halos malalag ang panga ko ng makita ko kung sino ang driver nito.

It's the bipolar guy from Octavia High, Bristole's friend!

"Maurer?" Tumagos ang tingin ko mula sa kaniya at halos mapaupo ako sa kalsada ng makita ko siya. The worst person I could meet in this situation.

There are so many people here in this country who I could run off. Why these shitheads?

~~~

Sorry for typos and grammatical errors, hehe.