Gunita [EDITING]

veintisiete

I didn't speak to Uno even when I was at the house already. The whole scene of me going home was messed up—the Juarez had my whereabouts tracked, sent a bulletproof car and almost forced me inside like I was being kidnapped.

I would oblige either way. I wasn't just scared for myself. I was scared of what they might do to Uno.

Not if they didn't have guns hiding in their pockets.

Gio didn't have much power to do anything. My Lolo already called him to let it all happen. Hindi ko na rin tuloy alam kung ano ba talaga ang ginagawa nila—are they still protecting me, or what? Kasi ang gulo-gulo na ng lahat. One day Uno will tell me that they're doing everything to protect me, and then today... they're pushing me near him again, as if taunting me to finally jump if I was standing at the edge of a cliff right now.

How nice it would be if that's the situation, because I'd be really glad to jump right now.

They're just doing everything they can to make my life a living hell... knowing after everything that happened...

Wow.

How could they?

On Uno's 20th call, I chose to turn off my phone. As much as I know that he's already involved in our family's mess, I still didn't want to allow these people to hurt the people who truly loved me.

Maybe that's... the price of wanting to take care of something for yourself.

You choose to sacrifice.

Even your happiness.

My bodyguards escorted me until I reached the main door of my Lolo's mansion—I didn't want to call it ours because it felt like a sin, or maybe I just didn't feel like I belong to them, or if they ever considered me as their family member.

Maybe after all, we're just... sacrificial lambs.

And I, the grand daughter of the Vice President of the Philippines, just let them fuck my life over and over again.

I just let them... because I've always believed that they'll just grow tired of me. But until when would I suffer?

The whole place felt even more scary with the security heightened, and with all these guards from the Juarez'. Pakiramdam ko tuloy may masamang mangyayari anytime...

Shit. I remember it again.

That one time when they ambushed us...

"Bantayan niyo nang maigi si Brandi, I don't want her elsewhere but only in her classes. Wherever she goes, you have to accompany her. Understand?" Gio, the bodyguard that my dad assigned to me when I was 19, nodded. Anna was finally letting me out of this jail. It felt like I was a prisoner of my own house. I haven't stepped outside the whole compound ever since I told them what basically happened to me after the after party.

It wasn't my fault... but they punished me for it, and it felt unfair.

Because... why?

Napa-buntonghininga na lang ako at inayos na lang ang mga libro ko. For the first two years, I was homeschooled. Professors were specifically chosen and assigned to me so that they could teach at home. Laboratories didn't become a problem because I was a Science geek ever since I was a kid, so I had a science room for myself.

Basically, they isolated me from the world... without my Dad knowing. And when Anna felt like Dad was getting a hint on what's happening to me, she allowed me to finally come outside.