Ruthless Beauty

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The carpet feels so soft against my bare feet as I slowly walked into the hall. It was half past midnight, and the lights are off. Papa rented an Airbnb villa that housed the Sobreval men and some important relatives who attended the funeral of my mother and grandmother.

"I feel so useless, Dad..." bumagal ang paglalakad ko nang marinig ang pamilyar na baritonong boses. It depressed me how the voice sounded so down, so hopeless. I know it's all because of my little outburst earlier. "Anna is hurting right now and I couldn't do anything about it."

Nilapitan ko ang bahagyang nakabukas na pinto kung saan nanggagaling ang boses. I heard soft noises of glass clinking and through the ajar door, I saw the Sobreval senior pouring himself a glass of brandy and handing it to Blake, who seemed in a foul mood tonight.

"It's not your fault, son. Don't blame yourself. It's natural for Anna to react that way. Hindi biro ang pinagdadaanan niya ngayon."

"I know."

"She just lost her mother and grandmother. Her grandfather is still fighting for his life. Her pet is badly wounded and her father made a colossal mistake of marrying that gold digger."

"Dad..."

He raised a weak palm to cut off Blake. "You can't judge me for being this angry, Blake. You know the story between me, Simone, and Anastasia. I am genuinely happy for both of them when they eloped and finally got married. Lahat ng mahihiling ni Simone, nasa kaniya na. Sinayang niya lang lahat."

"I don't know what to do with Anna, Dad..." he quietly murmured.

Cristophe Sobreval laughed roughly before taking a sip of his liquor. "De la Rua women are really hard to understand, Blake, let alone tame. Anna is a strong girl. She's taken after her mother. Huwag kang mag-alala at magiging maayos si Anna. But you need to be there for her."

"I feel so stupid. Sinundan ko siya mula La Union hanggang Negros Occidental at wala man lang akong nagawa para sa kaniya."

"Well, you did step into the fire to try and save Amelia Villafuerte, right? That speaks of something."

Blake let out a small groan and finally his eyes landed on the glass of brandy that was left untouched. He stared at it for a while, as if he could find answers in the amber liquid, before he let out a curse again and grabbed the bottle, downing the entirety of it in just one gulp.

Feeling really guilty for m nasty attitude earlier and for eavesdropping the conversation of the Sobrevals, I took a step back and silently walked back to my room. Namamaga pa rin ang mga mata ko sa kakaiyak. I wanted to stay in the tent and watch over my mother and grandfather, but Papa didn't allow me to. He said I needed some rest, and that I should rest well because I'm going to visit my grandfather in the hospital tomorrow.

I missed dinner earlier and slept until midnight. Ngayon lang ako nagising sa pagkakatulog at dahil na rin sa pagkirot ng tiyan ko. But when I heard of their conversation, my appetite vanished and I'm back to being sad again.

Going back to sleep didn't appeal to me anymore. I sat next to the sleeping Barin and waited for the sun to rise while I drown myself with thoughts of my mother and grandmother who both passed away in a tragic death. I tried writing a short poem for them, since I couldn't get myself to write a eulogy for my mother and grandma, but it seemed so phony to me that I tore the piece of paper angrily and threw it away.

Barin glanced at me with a worried look on his face. I smiled sadly and patted his head.

"I'm gonna be okay..." I said, convincing both myself and Barin.