His Filthy Secrets ➵ 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃

3: Make friends with criminals

Dahil sa sinabi ni Marshal ay medyo gumaan ang pakiramdam ko. It's not that I'm looking forward for his compliments, but I've heard those lines from him before. Madalas nya iyon sabihin sa mga babae nya, at hindi ko alam kung bakit sila kinikilig dun e ang corny corny naman.

"You look so happy, Serenity. You're enjoying the party? " my father asked right after I hug him so tight.

Inayos nya pa ang suit nya dahil bahagya itong nagusot.

"Yes, pa. " kahit sa totoo lang ay gustong gusto ko na umuwi.

"Let's take a picture first. " he said then kissed my forehead.

Pinulupot ko ang braso ko sa braso ni papa habang nasa tabi ko naman si mama na kung sino sino ang nginingitian. Hindi na 'ko magugulat kung mamaya ay higitin nya nalang ako bigla at piliting makipag usap sa mga business partner nila.

"Smile! " the photographer said. Ngumiti naman ako agad. Nakailang shots pa kami para sa family picture bago nakasali ang ilan sa mga business partner nila.

Our family is the star of this party, so everyone is clinging on us. And this is honestly exhausting. Hindi ko alam kung paano ito nakakayanan nila mama at papa.

I won't say that our family is perfect— because we're obviously not. Nagkataon lang na swerte kami dahil mapera kami. But if you will ask me where our money came from, masusuka muna ako bago iyon sagutin.

We have a lot of businesses. Pero itong party na ito ay para sa mga underworld business namin.

There's a lot of people smiling at us... some of them are murders, drug dealers, corrupt public officers and many more. Hindi ko alam kung paano nagagawa nila mama na makipagtawanan at makipag kwentuhan sa kanila.

"Serenity, come here. " my mom called.

Malawak akong ngumiti at lumapit sa kanya. I stood beside her, at halos umakyat lahat ng dugo ko sa ulo ko nang makita ang kausap nya.

"This is Mr. Levan, I'm sure you know him, right? " yes, of course, I know this f-cking face.

Tumango ako at pasimpleng nilibot ang aking mata. Nakita ko si papa na nakikipag usap at nagtama ang tingin namin. He look at the guy we're talking with and when he found out who it is, his forehead immediately creased.

This guy in front of me, he's a criminal. Well almost everyone here were criminals, but this one is disgusting. He raped one of my classmate back in highschool, at dahil anak ng prosecutor, hindi sya nakulong.

Tumingin ako kay mama at pilit syang kinakausap sa mata, pero mukhang wala syang pakialam.

Wasn't she aware about the reputation of this guy? Gusto nya talaga akong makipag usap sa gagong 'to?

"This is my daughter Serenity, she's 19 now. " my mother smiled.

"So she's on her legal age now. That's good. " he look at me and lucifer knows how much I wanted to puke on the face.

"Yes. And you know, she doesn't have a lot of friends- "

"Ma! " sinamaan ko sya ng tingin, pero nilakihan nya lang ako ng mata bago muling tumingin sa kadiring lalaking 'yun.

Binawi ko ang braso ko mula sa pagkakahawak ni mama at halos hindi na 'ko makangiti sa sobrang inis.

"Can you accompany our guest, Serenity- "

"Excuse me. " halos mapatalon ako sa saya nang marinig ang boses ni papa sa gilid ko. Mabilis akong lumapit sa kanya at kita ko kung paano tumalim ang tingin ni mama sa kanya.

"Mr. Levan is a grown man, Zenn, he can handle himself. "

"I just wanted them to know each other. Serenity should make more friends. "

"This is not a place for my daughter to make friends. You know that, Jestin Zenn. " pagdidiin ni papa at mabilis na binaling ang tingin sa'kin. "Go to your friends. Ako nalang ang makikipag kaibigan dito sa kausap ng mama mo. " he whispered and smiled. Agad akong napangiti at nagmamadaling umalis doon.