Chapter 9: Respice Finem

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And in order to get to that condition, Krystal had to be abandoned many times to create calluses in her heart.

Nanette stayed in the bed as she exhaled heavily, cursing under her breath.  Still trying to decipher the enigma, Krystal Tanchingco.

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Tres kept complaining about an allergic reaction he had in the pasta he ate. He was looking at himself in the mirror and he had hives developing all over his face.

"I think it was the scallops. Baka hindi fresh?"

Pat was in the bathroom as she looked at her bare but exhausted face. Her eyes were puffy and every air she breathed in gave vibrations in her throat.  It was the after-effects of sobbing a few minutes ago.  She still wanted to stay in the bathroom.

" Ok ka lang? Love, kunin mo nalang yung Benadryl sa first aid ko," Pat said in her sing-song tone.

"Are you gonna join me in bed?" He asked.

"Mhmm," she hummed as she still looked at herself in the mirror, her hair in disarray and drenched with water.

Tres was fast asleep once the allergy meds hit his system, and Pat spent most of the night hidden in the bathroom.  She was still in a shiny bathrobe as she slowly stepped out to head towards the quiet bedroom.  The only sound was the soft hum of the air conditioner.

Her hair was soaking wet, droplets of water dribbled on her back and she was uncaring of it.  She dragged herself to the hotel desk and opened her laptop as she looked at the blinking cursor of a Word Document. 

"The Heiress" was right in front of her as she was doing some revisions in the script.

"Kissing her again--- it felt like huge swallowtails and a rush of monarchs swirled in my stomach" --- Pat typed out on her laptop as she added descriptors for her character.

She looked at the Sony camera she brought to the cave of Calada Islands.

She looked at the turquoise waters and the massive rock formations.  The lush forest and the locals at the bonfire.  She then ended up on her last photo and it was a photo of her.

  She then ended up on her last photo and it was a photo of her

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You said it was over

But when we got closer

You cried on my shoulder

Good-bye

In the end, I'm gonna be alright

But it might take a hundred sleepless nights

To make the memories of you disappear

But right now, I can't see nothing through these tears

Krystal was half smiling in the photo with the same full lips and the mischievous glint in her eyes.

Pat could not help but laugh as her hand stroked the viewer in her camera.  Her laugh slowly turned into an exhausted sigh as she still struggled with the crossroads she knew she was always in.

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