Me and My Fake Fiancé {HIATUS}

Chapter 5

FRELE

   10:34 AM. I could actually do this. I could win this and mock that oh so arrogant Launce. Hindi ko napigilang ngumiti sa thought ng mukha ni mayabang kapag naibigay ko sakanya yung phone niya na hindi pa 12 noon. Oh! How I'd love to see that look of defeat and shame from him.

   "Oy~ Good mood si Miss Frele. Nalalanghap mo na po ba yung ihip ng tagumpay?" biro ni Rick.

   Pagkasabi ni Rick nun, I took a deep breath. A very deep, satisfying breath. "Yes. Nalalanghap ko na. Habang pumapalapit tayo sa Moreau Company nagiging stronger yung amoy ng panalo." And I seriously mean it. I know na paulit-ulit lang ako sa aking thoughts, but what else do I have in mind other than this? Something that will change my life drastically depending sa choice na pipiliin ko. And desidido na ako na hindi ako babalik kina auntie. And if I do, I will make sure that they will not be able to control me or do that to me again.

   Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, marami ang nagtataka kung bakit ko ito nagawa. Yung "ito" ay yung paglayas ko. Almost all of my acquaintances -- yes, all those I know that are not labeled as my "friends" even if they considered me as their friend -- think of me as oh so good person. Yung kaunting "others" think of me as a person behind a façade. That in reality, isa akong rebelde sa aking relatives. Which is true.

   At first, syempre, para magustuhan ako ng auntie ko ay ginawa ko lahat upang maging katanggap-tangap sa kanila. Sunod sa mga utos, hindi nagiging pasaway. But as grow up, I began seeing their true colors. They wanted to take over the company. Inilagay nila ako sa isang posisyon kung saan ay magiging busy ako and ma-neneglect ko ang fact na the company is entitled to me. Of course, it was a part of me being a curious kitty so tinanong ko sila sa kanilang reason. They said that the position suits me because I'm hardworking and I'm still too young to run the company so sila muna raw ang bahala sa kompanya.

   Being the naive old me, pumayag ako. Yung posisyon kasi na ibinigay nila ay yung gusto kong posisyon, maliban sa pagiging CEO, which is the Head Editor. And the work was intense. But to be honest, I was having fun. No matter how stressful it was, na-eenjoy ko pa rin yung trabaho ko. That, until I learned the reason kung bakit inilagay ako ng auntie ko sa posisyon na yun. It was to slowly take over the company. True, hindi nila magagawa yun without my consent but investors and clients were used to seeing them in meetings and my aunt's signature ang ginagamit sa mga documents. And she was able to earn the trust of a lot of people, even with her bad personality -- which was clearly evident to me and the employees.

   But that still didn't matter much to me since they were doing their job well.

   "Nandito na po tayo, Miss Frele," masayang sabi ni Rick. "Yan yung company ng mga Moreau." Bumaba siya mula sa driver seat at binuksan ang pinto sa may passenger seat. "Tara?"

   I smiled before taking his hand and stepping outside. Na-notice niya na ang tahimik ko. "Nervous? Kaya mo yan, Miss Frele. Ikaw pa."

   Nag-smile uli ako sa kanya. "Medyo. Life changing yung magiging desisyon ko dito. Things could become better or worse."

   Binigyan ako ni Rick ng slight push. "Go for it, Miss Frele."  

   "You're right. Thanks." I entered the building with grace and my head held high.

   Time Check: 11:28 AM

   "What? Hindi siya tumatanggap ng visitors?" I was growing frantic. 30 minutes left.

   "Sorry po talaga, ma'am. He instructed us na hindi raw magpapapunta ng mga visitors, without appointments, sa office niya until 1 PM. If you insist on seeing him, you can do so after 1 PM, ma'am."