Ambisyosa

Merci

A/N: Hi guys, I just want to inform you that this will be my first time mostly writing in my 'mother tongue' which is Filipino.  Please bear with me. Matagal na ako hindi nakapagsasalita (ng purong ), at nakapagsulat ng tagalog. The truth is, may kalaliman pa rin naman tagalog ko, at nakakaintindi pa rin naman ako at nakakapagsalita dahil sa secret hobby ko na pagbabasa ng (PHR NOVELS!! WOOO! Thank Goodness for E-BOOKS!) specifically novels  nila  ni cecelib at maricardizonwrites.  Please be nice, I will do my best to make this understandable. 

WARNING: Unconventional ang heroine natin sa story.  There will be hard truths, reality bites and painful situations. So kung hindi ito ang type niyong kwento, you may move on to another. Madami naman sa WATTPAD. 

Merci

Mercedes Di Matteo or 'Merci' for short is an only child from lower-middle-class family. Isang kahig, at using tuka lamang saw sila, as her father says. Ngunit nakapagaral siya sa isang exclusive school, at ito pa ang pinakamahal na school sa Metro Manila. Much to her surprise, naka-graduate pa nga siya hanggang highschool  at nakapag-aral sa ibang bansa para sa university. 

Ngunit hindi madali ang kanyang mga pinagdaanan sa grade school at high school. Because within those ten years she had spent at that godforsaken place, kinutya, inapi, minaliit at binu-bully lang siya ng mga kaklase at iba pang mga estudyante sa school na iyon. Minsan pa nga, consentidor pa ang ibang mga teacher at nakikisali. Alam kasi siguro nila na wala silang mapapala sa pamilya ni Merci, dahil hindi naman sila mayaman and they probably noticed that. It doesn't matter gaano ka galante ang ama niya sa ibang tao. The fact that he was often around, and drove a cheap SUV to send and pick her up in school was enough evidence that they were not rich but a 'try-hard'.

Ang parents niya. Isa pang dagdag sa mga problema niya. Ang ama niya ay isang retired na sundalo and NBI agent at ito halos ang nagpalaki at nag-alaga sa kanya, kasi ang ina niya naman ay busy sa trabaho. Baliktad ang set up nila. 

Despite the fact that she knows her parents love her, ang ama niya ay napaka istrikto nito at short-tempered. Maliit na bagay lang ay lagi siya napapagalitan at minumura. He was downright verbally abusive, sometimes, nasasampal at binabatukan pa nga siya nito. Dahilan nito, ganun daw ang disiplinang sundalo, Merci didn't like how he justified his actions. Anak siya nito at hindi siya sundalo, but what can she do? she was just a scared insecure teenager. 

 Ang nanay naman nito ay halos ganun din, hindi nga lang nagmumura, ngunit masakit magsalita. Imbis na bigyan siya nito nang moral support dahil sa matinding pinagdadaanan sa school, opposite ang mga nangyayari and this contributed to her low self-esteem. 

Before she graduated grade school, pinamukha sa kanya ng isa sa mga teacher niya na wala siyang mararating. It was echoed once again in highschool by a number of her male classmates. Sabi ng mga ito, mahirap lamang siya, wag na siya umambisyon makarating sa itaas. Araw-araw, nasasaktan siya, dahil yun ang halos ipamukha sa kanya ng mga tao. Ang parents naman niya, sabi, wag na raw mangarap ng masyadong mataas, at baka hindi na daw nila kayanin financially. 

But one day, dahil sa pinapatransfer silang buong pamilya ng kompanya ng mama niya sa Hong Kong. She didn't expect na makakapagaral siya sa University of Hong Kong. Another step to reaching her dreams.

 She wanted to be a lawyer, because of the power they held. In her eyes, napaka tough ng mga lawyers, and they are good at standing up or defending themselves and others. Sa isip niya, pag maging lawyer siya, people will think twice before crossing her. Na matututo na siya ipaglaban ang sarili kahit kanino man. Ngunit hindi daw kaya ng mga magulang niya ipasok siya sa law school, so she ended up in the business faculty. She tried her best to get through, kasi nahirapan siya, dahil siya ang type ng tao na pag may gusto siyang gawin, doon matutuon lahat ng energy niya, at hindi niya gusto gawin itong cursong ito.

 When she finally graduated, she applied at a bank and became a banker. Banker man a title, ngunit glorified admin lang siya. She had worked hard, ngunit hindi siya ma promote-promote. In fact, naunahan pa nga siya ng kasama niya, who is her junior. To rub salt on her wounds, maliit pa suweldo niya compared to her colleagues. Hindi man siya kinukutya or binibully ngayun katulad nung nasa school siya sa Manila, it felt as if there was not much difference. Ang mga junior colleagues niya na  napromote ahead of her belonged to elite families with good connections. At dahil kasi nanay niya lang ang may decent job as a project manager at ang tatay niya naman ay na demote at naging janitor nang mag migrate sila, para makahanap lang nang trabaho at may kitain, her superiors didn't think her background was strong enough to consider her to get a promotion. Ano ba naman ang mapapala nila sa kanya? Oh, it felt like high school again, especially nung binabalewala siya ng mga teacher niya despite her efforts. 

But she suddenly came to a realization that there were other ways to reach her ambitions. It all started one night at a bar. Mag-isa lang siya noon, at kakagaling niya lang sa isang office function, when she decided she wanted to have a drink before she goes back home. May isang lalaking lumapit sa kanya noon at nakipagkilala. He wasn't hard to talk to kasi guwapo naman ito at masayang kausap. One thing lead to another and they both ended up in bed together. 

"Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" sabi ng lalaki kay Merci, habang pinapanood siya nito magbihis sa harap ng salamin. "You're beautiful!"

Merci chuckled. "You just want a round two? is it" she teased. Alam niya naman na binobola lang siya nito.

"Don't get me wrong, you were amazing! But my body is tired..." sabi ng lalaki. Lumingon si Merci upang tingnan ito, at halata naman na pagod na pagod ito ng sobra. " But believe me when I say that you are really stunning" dagdag nito, as he looked at her from head to toe. " If you only know how to use it to your advantage, then you can conquer a lot of hearts..." simpleng sabi into.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the saying, 'beauty is a strong weapon' and I'm very sure you have the brains too.  If you could use those two to your advantage, I bet that you will be able to climb higher. But be careful, use your beauty wisely, or it may backfire..."

Merci stopped dressing herself, and took at look at the man. Kung totoo man ang sinasabi nito, then may punto ito. Mahirap nga lang maniwala, kasi halos buong buhay niya, tinawag at pinaramdam sa kanya ng mga kaklase niya noon na pangit siya. Ngayon lang na nasa ibang bansa na siya at ibang buhay na may nagsasabi ng ganito sa kanya. 

At mula noon, tumatak na ang sinabi sa kanya nung lalaki. But who would've ever thought that what the man has said to her that night would come true, especially the last part?

A/N: Tanong ko lang, merong bang grammarly para sa Tagalog?  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter or at least... na intrigued kayo. More drama to come. Suggestions for the story are welcome too.