Ruthless Beauty

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"V-Valerie..."

I could hear the roars of my heart, pounding wildly inside of my chest. Nakatayo siya sa harapan ko, hawak ang cellphone. For the first time, I am actually terrified of her. The fact that she had killed so many people before makes me want to run, just breathing in the same room with her.

"Alam mo bang ikaw nalang ang hinihintay sa baba?" she rolled her eyes.

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Huh?"

"What's taking you so long? Bumaba ka na at mamaya na makipag-telebabad sa kung sino man ito!" she threw my phone to the bed and then held out something. A shining black mask with glitters of silver and gold surrounding the intricate shape.

"Wear this. It's a masquerade party. It'll go well with your dress."

Hindi ko pinahalata ang panginginig ng mga kamay ko at inabot ang mask mula sa kaniya. I smiled tightly, kahit na parang kinukuyumos ng kung ano ang sikmura ko.

"Be down in 10 minutes. You're not the celebrant..." she said irritatingly, heading towards the door and then shutting it behind her.

I almost collapsed the moment she was gone. Pinilit ko ang sarili na kumalma at inabot muli ang cellphone na ihinagis niya sa kama. I tried calling Tito Cristophe again but I can't reach his number. Doon na nagsimula ulit ang kaba ko. A knock sounded on my door. Napatayo si Barin sa narinig na katok.

I remained standing silently, and watched as the door slowly opened. It revealed Samantha in her deep-red satin dress with a long slit. Sa kabilang kamay ay hawak niya ang isang puting mask.

"Samantha..."

Walang sali-salita siyang lumapit sa akin at hinablot ang braso ko.

"Strip."

I stared at her, shocked. Despite all the things that have happened today, everything still puts me into confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Just strip, for fuck's sake! Tinutulungan lang kita!"

Hindi pa rin ako kumilos. Irita na akong tiningnan ni Samantha at inilagay ang dalawang kamay sa magkabilang balikat ko saka ako niyugyog.

"Tangina naman eh! Makinig ka sa akin, Anna!"

"But I don't understand!"

"My mother is planning to kill you tonight! You need to escape!"

Naputol yata ang hininga ko at sumabog ang panghahapdi sa buo kong dibdib dahil sa sinabi niya. Nagsimula na akong manginig habang nakatitig sa kaniya.

"All exit points of the mansion are guarded by her men. Savannah, mamamatay ka kung hindi ka aalis sa pamamahay na ito ngayon din!"

"But..."

"Makinig ka sa akin, kahit ngayon lang. Please... hindi na kaya ng konsensiya ko ang ginagawa ni Mommy. For once, I want to do things right."

Napaluha ako habang isa-isang tinatanggal ang pearl earrings saka hinubad ang suot na damit. Samantha nodded encouragingly, and then she stripped her own dress too. Inabot niya ito sa akin.

"Let's change clothes."

"Pero Samantha..."

"Mom picked out the dress and mask for you so she could easily spot you tonight. She wanted to make it look like an accident and invited a lot of people for witnesses to make sure that the crime is perfectly concealed. You need to act normal. You need to act like me! Doon ka dumaan sa likod ng mansion, tapos dumiretso ka na sa kakahuyan! From there, nobody's on the look for you."