Ruthless Beauty

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Savia? Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and force myself to dwindle back into reality as an image of my cousin materialized in front of me, standing by the doorway and looking at me with a mother-like worried look.

"I'm fine."

"Tapos na akong mag-impake kaya naisipan kong puntahan ka dito sa kwarto mo." She smiled, looking fresh and gorgeous in her flowy Bohemian skirt and white ribbed crop top with tied knot squeezing her breasts in front.

"Pasensiya na. Tapos na rin ba si Dr. Ciervo? Baka kanina pa siya naghihintay sa baba."

"Just call him Enzo," Tina waved a dismissive hand at me and sat down at the edge of my bed. I pulled out three of the metallic clothing racks earlier from the walk-in closet of my room to choose beach outfits that I'm going to bring with me earlier. "It's so weird addressing him as Dr. Ciervo when we're not in the hospital."

"Fine. Enzo." I smiled and folded a Vera Wang lingerie set into my oversized rattan bag.

Tina eyed my clothes skeptically. I know for a fact that she's not a woman who's very conscious about brands nor will she spend thousands buying couture pieces. She's very simple and even when she's wearing a knockoff Prada, it just looks good on her. I know her salary isn't princely, but even if she could afford those designer pieces, there is no way she's getting her hands into it. She's much too frugal and practical to be wearing a two-hundred thousand Valentino silk dress for a single event. I don't even see the Chanel shoes I gifted her so I assumed she doesn't really care about luxury brands at all. I bet she doesn't even have any idea just how rich her grandparents have become after they built an impressive real estate portfolio using the money my father gave to them.

"Are you still taking Ambien?" she asked cautiously.

I nodded and folded more skirts into my bag. I don't know why I have to pack these much clothes for a day trip on the beach but I wanted to get my mind off the picture I saw earlier from Valerie's room.

"Good. But don't be dependent on it, okay? You can still try other natural methods—breathing exercises and counting lambs always work wonder to put yourself to sleep without pills."

"I will." Shoving a pair of rubberized Chanel sandals into my bag, I decided that would be it and turned to her. This time, it was a genuine smile I gave her. "Tara, alis na tayo."

Salvador drove us to the resort my father owned using one of the family's SUVs. I'm surprised it's still in a good working condition after being stuck in the garage for years. From what I heard, Valerie only drives luxury sports car with her personal driver. She doesn't want to be seen in an old vintage car. Nakakagulat na hindi pa niya ito binibenta.

We drove the coastal roads of La Union. Nothing much has changed in our little beach town. There are few establishments that weren't there when I left but aside from that, everything remained the same. I could still see the amazing sunsets and sunrises from the window of my old room. We passed by a small hut where a young man is busy feeding the chicken and a small pup barking furiously at every passing vehicle. There was a small group of fishermen ready to take off course to the sea with their small, wooden boats. Nakatingin lang ako sa bintana habang sina Tina at Enzo naman ay nasa backseat, nagtatalo na naman. They were throwing medical terms which I do not understand so I ignored the two of them. Salvador peeked a worried glance at me but did not get anything, so he decided to just focus on his driving.

We entered a narrow lane lined with huge, old trees—a beautiful transition of concrete to sand. I rolled down the windows as the road got a bit rocky, smelling salt and sea and feeling the wind in my face.