ZWCS#10: Bad Blood

Prologue

Iphigenia Heiress is back in the Philippines.

Agad kong pinatay ang television nang marinig ang balitang iyon. Gosh. I didn't need that now. I grabbed my wine glass and poured myself another serving of Chardonnay, inismiran si Lance na nakakalokong nakangisi sa akin habang pinagmamasdan ako.

"Cut it out, Calleja!" I snapped, plopping down next to him with an annoyed huff.

"What?" Imbes na tumigil ay mas lalo pa siyang ngumisi na tila ba aliw na aliw. "You're a celebrated architect now, Violet. You've made a name for yourself. Look at you! Your projects are all over Europe—London, Paris, Barcelona. Everyone knows your designs. Weren't you happy with that? And now you're back here, proving yourself to your father. Hindi ba dapat ay masaya kang napatunayan mo sa kaniyang mali siya?"

I shot him a glare, gripping the stem of my wine glass tighter. "Bumalik ako dahil unti-unti nang iginugupo ng sakit niya ang daddy ko. Should I really be celebrating that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, completely unfazed by my tone. "I mean, you've hated the guy your entire life, so I'm tipping on the 'maybe.' Kilala mo ko, hindi ako emosyonal na tao, V."

I clenched my jaw. Damn it, he was right. Mas lalo lang tuloy akong nainis. Lance had a way of getting under my skin and cutting straight through my defenses. Kilalang-kilala niya ako. I couldn't keep a single secret from him—or at least that's what he thought. The truth was, I had a couple of secrets I hadn't told him. Or anyone, for that matter.

The sound of the television snapped me out of my thoughts. Lance had turned it back on, and there we were on the screen—an ambush interview from the airport earlier today. The media had gone crazy, making it look like there was something romantic going on between us. Isipin ko pa lang ay nandidiri na ang buong pagkatao ko. Kahit pa siguro si Lance na ang huling lalaki sa mundo at kinakailangan namin mag repopulate, magpapakamatay na lang ako. It was just gross.

Inagaw ko mula sa kaniya ang remote at muli iyong pinatay. "Masaya ka na? Almost everyone thinks there's something going on between us."

"Yeah. I'm very happy, V." Tumawa pa siya.

I rolled my eyes. "You do know that Kata and your daughter live in the same building, right?"

His smirk softened into a grin. "I miss Gabriella."

"Too bad," I shot back, standing up. "I have a lot of work to do. You're not borrowing her from her mother. Not tonight."

Tumaas ang kaniyang mga kilay, mukhang may ideya na naglalaro sa isipan. "Maybe I'll reintroduce myself to Cataliyah's life instead."

I froze for a moment, staring at him. Desisyon niya naman kung paano niya aayusin ang sa kanila ni Kata. Pareho ko silang mga kaibigan pero relasyon nilang dalawa iyon. I didn't want to be caught in the middle. Masyado na akong maraming problema para dagdagan ko pa. Maybe he should do that. Para sa ganoon ay hindi na kailangan pang ako ang humiram kay Bree tuwing may pagkakataon.

"Go ahead," I said, shrugging and walking over to my desk. "You're good at making a mess, so why not add another one to the pile?"

"Come on, V." Humalakhak siya. I heard his footsteps as he approached, but I didn't look up. "If you hate me so much, why do you still let me hang around?"

I let out a sharp laugh, finally turning to face him. "Because, Lance, you're like a bad habit—hard to quit, but just as damaging."

He tilted his head, a bemused smile tugging at his lips. "Ouch. Harsh, but fair. Still, admit it—you wouldn't really want me gone, would you?"

"Try me," I shot back, focusing on my laptop as I tried to ignore him. Si Lance ang pinakamalapit kong kaibigan. Siya rin ang dahilan kung bakit ako napalapit kanila Kata at Bree. He wanted to spend time with her daughter without Kata knowing. I felt guilty for not telling her, but what choice did I have? Nakiusap sa akin si Lance.