Her

"Derobe, tell me about Cara." I said as I feed myself a spoonful of soup here on my bed.

Nakaupo siya sa upuan at inaalalayan ako na para ba akong bata. May hawak-hawak pa siyang panyo, handang punasan ang bibig ko.

"Cara . . ." Natulala siya sa kawalan habang inaalala ang babae. "She is a playful girl, she loves dolls, she's cheerful and the only left sun in this castle."

"Then why did she leave?"

"We don't know that, my Lady."

"Does she have a good relationship with the Beast?" I asked, nagulat siya sa pangalang ibinanggit ko, tumingin pa siya sa pinto para siguraduhing walang nakarinig ng sinabi ko.

"You mean the young master?" She whispered.

"Yes. Maganda ba ang relasyon nila?" Ulit kong tanong. She sighed.

"The young master is Cara's hero in this castle. He's the only one who can save her, who can comfort her, who can make her happy. Alam mo 'yon? Iyong nakikita mong mas sumasaya siya kapag nandiyan ang lalake. I bet if we haven't witnessed the pinky promised they made when they were young, we would've think both of them were in love." She chuckled.

"Pinky promise?" Lito kong tanong.

"Oo. No'ng bata sila, nangako silang ituturing nila ang isa't isa bilang kapatid maliban lang sa mga araw na nandiyan ang Papa ni Adam. It was like a secret everyone knows except the Master." 

"That's a ridiculous act." I commented. She laughed.

"It's not! In fact, it was a cute scenario. The grumpy little master was forced to do a promise in front of the servants as a witness. It was the cute little Cara's idea." She sighed dreamingly while looking at nothingness.

"Why would Adam's father want Adam to marry Cara? Hindi ba puwedeng i-adopt nalang ang bata and let the both of them believe they're related?" Nalilito kong tanong.

"Hindi ko rin alam. May usap-usapan ngang .  . ." Napatingin siya sa paligid at nang makumpirmang walang tao ay lumapit siya sa tainga ko. "May saltik sa utak ang lalake." Bulong niya. 

Nanlaki ang mata ko. "Where is he?" Kyuroyosa kong tanong.

Derobe shrugged. "No one knows. After the Master disappeared, the young master took over the castle and then Cara mysteriously disappeared as well."

What could've happened?

"Bago nawala si Cara, may away ba na nangyari sa dalawa? Or any fuel?" Tanong ko, thinking of that piece of paper I saw.

Tumingin sa kisame si Derobe, tila nag-iisip. "Wala naman. Although I did notice Cara's been acting a little weird."

"Weird? What kind of act?" Lumapit pa ako papalapit sa kaniya, disregarding the soup on my bed table.

"Kay Adam. She was acting weird towards him. Hindi ko mapunto pero nakita ko ang pag-iiba ng pakikitunga niya. The last few days with her, she was very serious. Parang ang lalim lagi ng iniisip."

What did happen? Why did Cara ran away? If they made a promise to treat each other as siblings, the marriage must not have been the reason why she ran away. It looks like Adam was also not the reason because from the way Derobe narated it, she was fond of him. So why did she exactly ran away? 

A light bulb popped above my head when I suddenly remember Adam's conversation with father. How was my father related to Cara?

"Tapos na 'ko. Thank you, Derobe!" Binigay ko sa kaniya ang plato at inalis na ang bed table para makatayo.

Napakurap-kurap ang babae. "Tapos ka na? Halos wala kang kinain!"

Inilingan ko siya at iminuwestra na ang labas, kumunot ang noo niya kaya nagpanggap akong busog. I burped and massaged my stomach.

"You see, I have a really fast metabolism." I said sheepishly.

She squinted her eyes on me, she was skeptical so I pretended to yawn.

"Inaantok na 'ko. Sige na." Halos tulakin ko siya palabas. Mabuti nalang at sumuko na siya, sa huli napagpasyahan niyang bumaba para tantanan ako. I immediately locked the door and went on to search for something.

I need to search Cara's diary. May posibilidad na mayroon siya lalo na't mukhang ang papel na nakita ko ay galing sa isang notebook. Una kong tiningnan ay ang ilalim sa kabinet, maalikabok at puno ng dumi kaya nahatsing ako. Walang kakaiba kaya tiningnan ko ang mga drawers na nakita ko, I saw notebooks and pens but most of the notes were empty, lumipat ako sa kabinet, tiningnan ko kung may nakatago ba pero wala. Tumutulo na ang pawis ko mula noo papunta sa baba ko, pati likuran ko ay pinagpapawisan na rin, kanina pa ako hanap ng hanap pero wala akong nakita.

Damn it. Ibinagsak ko ang sarili sa kama at natulala sa kisame, kulay rosas ang kuwarto ni Cara, pati ang kisame ay kulay rosas, may chandelier din at malaking kurtina. Malaki ang kama na sa tingin ko'y tatlong tao ang magkakasya, teka . . . kama! Napatayo ako at tiningnan ang malambot na kama. Hindi ko alam kung ano'ng pumasok sa isipan ko ngunit tiningnan ko kung may gamit ba na nakatago sa ilalim ng kama. Sa kuwarto ko kasi, sa ilalim ng kama ko itinatago ang perang naiipon kaya may posibilidad . . .

"Yes!" Napasigaw ako nang maramdaman ang isang notebook. Kaagad ko itong kinuha at hindi nga ako nagkakamali, Diary ni Cara ang nakita ko! 

Heart pumping because of the adrenaline rush, I opened the notebook and saw Cara's handwritten. Umupo ako sa kama at inisa-isa ang papel para mahanap kung saan banda pinunit ni Cara ang papel na nakita ko ngunit natigil ako nang makakita ng isang maliit na photocard.

It was a picture of a boy and a girl, a girl that looked exactly like me when I was young was smiling on the picture, arms hugging the tall scowling boy whom I assume is Adam, they were on a Park. Adam was wearing a party hat, he looked so done in the picture, I assume he's that kind of boy who hates socializing. I smiled at that. He's cute.

Napawi ang ngiti ko nang marinig ang sariling isipan. What the fuck?

Iniling ko ang ulo ko at inayos ang sariling ekspresyon. I huffed and decided to read the first page of Cara's diary, I know it's personal but I need to see and discover what the hell happened and why I was put in this place.

🥀

Sinara ko ang notebook nang makaramdam na ng antok. Hindi pa ako nakakalahati pero inaantok na ako. Cara falling in love with Adam was the least I expected, I thought she hated him that's why she ran away but maybe because I'm not halfway through. Maybe I'll see her hating him at the very end.

I closed my eyes but then my stomach grumbled in despair, I grunted and forced my mind to sleep but my stomach won't let me. It kept on making a sound like a baby waiting for her mamma to fed her, except that I'm the mamma and I need to move. I irritatingly stood and stomped towards the door. Inaantok ako pero mas kailangan ng tiyan ko ng atensyon, napakapapansin.

The hallway was quiet and I shivered from the goosebumps I felt, lahat ng antok ko ay napalitan ng takot, wala nang tao, mag-isa lang ako at ang malala pa'y kailangan ko pang bumaba! Now I regret shooing Derobe away, I obviously didn't get to eat much. I swallowed and walked slowly towards the stair, it was awfully quiet, all I can hear was my soft feet touching the ground.

I yelped when I heard a sound, heart pumping loudly, I turned to my back only to meet a pair of blue eyes looking at me with confusion, I release a sigh of relief.

"I wish it was the ghost instead." I lied.

His brows raised, "anong ginagawa mo?"

"Tatakas." I lied again.

"That's good, let me accompany you then." He said sarcastically, I rolled my eyes.

"Not dumb enough." I repeated the words he said earlier.

"Too bad," lumapit na siya sa akin, umatras ako ng isang hakbang.

"You're hungry." He concluded.

"No, I'm not." I lied, again.

"You're such a good liar, Beauty." Napailing-iling siya.

Napakurap-kurap ako. How did he know?

"Derobe told me you didn't eat that much." He informed.

"Ano naman ngayon?" Humakbang na ako pababa, sumunod siya.

"Once you die, I'd have to bury your body. You would give me a headache."

Napaismid ako. "I thought you were already use to it." 

"I guess."

Natigil ako sa sinabi niya, he didn't deny it which means . . .

His laughter echoed around the corners of the castle, I glared at him but damn it, nag-iwas kaagad ako ng tingin. His laugh sounded so manly but above all, his genuine smile was breathtaking. Bumilis ang takbo ng puso ko kaya binilisan ko rin ang lakad ko para lang hindi niya marinig ang tunog nito.

"Chill! I'm not going to kill you, Beauty." I heard his voice from the distant.

Why is my heart acting so weird?! Ah! Maybe this is Stockholm Syndrome! This is my coping mechanism! Right! 

"See? I told you." Aniya nang makita ang direksyon ng lakad ko ay papunta sa kusina.

"Shut up and go back up there!" Sigaw ko, mabilis pa rin ang paglakad.

"Whatever. I'm hungry too." Nakasunod pa rin ang halimaw!

Lumiko ako kung saan ko alam ang kusina. May refrigerator, this castle is touched with modern although the design is victorious. Binuksan ko ang itim na refrigerator at napasinghap nang makitang puro hilaw na karne, isda, gulay, at iba pang putahe ang laman nito.

"I bet you eat raw flesh." Malakas kong kinalabog pasara ang pinto ng refrigerator dahil sa irita. He chuckled.

"That's for chefs." Aniya at tinalikuran ako, binuksan niya ang isang kabinet na nasa taas at nakakita ako roon ng mga snacks! Kumuha siya ng isa at sumulyap sa akin, napatingin ako sa kinuha niyang chichirya. He opened it and leaned his back on the counter, he stared at me as if he's making me salivate his food while he eat it. I swallowed.

"Pahingi nga." Lumapit ako pero tinaas niya ang hawak-hawak niyang chichirya.

"I don't like aggressive girls." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care if you like it or not, what I want right now is food!" Iritado kong sabi at sinubukang abutin ang kamay niya pero masyado siyang mataas.

"Then you won't have food." He shrugged and grabbed a piece of chips so he could eat it, my stomach grumbled.

"Please!" I forced my word.

He chuckled and shook his head, I glared at him. "Ang damot mo. Isa lang!" Irita kong sabi.

"Aggressive. No thanks." Ang arte!

I give up, humakbang ako paatras kaya ibinaba niya rin ang chichirya, I took that chance to grab the wrapper, malakas ang pagkakalukot ko rito kaya kaagad ko itong naagaw sa kaniya, he complained and I immediately try to flee but the small me didn't have the chance to escape, he pulled my waist back ang grabbed the chips, I grumbled.

"I don't like aggressive, Beauty." He repeat the words he said earlier with his left hand wrapped around my waist while the other was above his head. He looked amused. Damn it, tsansing talaga eh no!

"Please . . ." I said sweetly and caressed his arms, that caught him off guard. "Please, Adam." I said softer and squeezed his muscled arms. Damn, hard. He shut his eyes as if he's controlling something.

I watched as his hands slowly went down, he breathed so heavily and he looked like he's having a mental crisis and I took that opportunity to snatch the chips off his hand.

"Thank you, Beast!" I shouted before running away, he didn't chase after me, that's good.

Kaagad kong sinarado ang pinto nang makapasok sa loob ng kuwarto. Chasing my breath, I locked the door and immediately ran towards the bed. I took a bite of the chips and stared at nothingness, remembering the look on Adam's face.

Was he affected? 

I swallowed the chips and shook my head. Nawala tuloy ang gutom ko. Baka kulang lang ako sa tulog, right! Kulang lang ako sa tulog. Nilagay ko ang chichirya sa night stand at humiga na sa kama, pinikit ko ang mata ko ngunit nakita ko nanaman ang lalake kaya bumilis muli ang takbo ng puso ko. Damn it! Ang bilis naman, Arabelle?! 

I groaned, umupo ako sa kama at natulala sa kawalan. Maybe I'll write something! Inaantok ako kapag nagsusulat ako so maybe this will work. Binuksan ko ang drawer na nakita kong may walang laman na notebook kanina. I took Cara's pen and notebook.

What story should I write? Hmm . . .

Maybe a story of a girl being captive and then a ruthless man holding her hostage. And then she will fall in love with the man.

That sounds familiar, Arabelle.

Shit?! Fall in love?! The girl?? Definitely not me!

A story of a guy falling in love with his hostage.

Better! 

And then she will kill him in the end.

Excellent idea!

I scribbled the plot in my head, thinking it would be a bestseller book in the future. This will be a best book!

Gross. No. 

Sinara ko ang notebook na sinulatan ko kagabi. I scribbled a shitty plot in the notebook yesterday. I cringe at the dramatic ending I wrote, the lines were so cringy, I had goosebumps. Biglaang may kumatok sa kuwarto ko kaya napatingin ako sa bintana, kakagising ko lang at mukhang alam nilang gising na ako? Maliwanag na ang labas ngunit hindi pa ito sikat. Tumayo ako at pumunta sa pinto para buksan ito.

"Good morning, Arabelle!" Si Derobe.

"Morning." Bati ko ng may ngiti pagkatapos ay tinalikuran na siya para makuha ang notebook na sinulatan ko.

"Nag-aantay na si Sir Adam sa baba. Mag-umagahan na raw kayo."

"Mamaya na." Sabi ko at tumingin sa salamin para lang masigurong wala akong dumi sa mukha.

She giggled, napatingin ako sa kaniya kaya ngayon ko lang napagtantong nag-aayos ako sa salamin nang binanggit niya si Adam!

"Baka raw payagan ka niyang makita Papa mo."

Damn. "Fine." I sighed and looked at the mirror once more, Derobe raised her brow at me kaya kaagad akong naglakad palabas para lang maiwasan kung ano mang plano niyang sabihin.

Naabutan kong nakaupo na si Adam sa kabisera na may hawak-hawak na newspaper, nagbabasa siya nito. Natigil lamang ako nang mapagtantong tapos na siyang maligo, ha was wearing a white v-neck shirt, he looked . . . well, fresh and handsome, very unlikely from the Beast I see formally. Sumulyap siya sa akin kaya nag-iwas ako ng tingin at nagmartsa na sa katapat niyang kabisera. He still has his mask on but for an unknown reason, he looked less . . . monstrous.

"How was your sleep?" He casually asked.

"Good." Hindi ko siya tiningnan, natuon ang atensyon ko sa bowl ng sabaw na nasa harap ko. It looks like any kind of soup is his favorite.

"Why? You don't like soups?" He asked and put down his newspaper. Nag-angat ako ng tingin sa kaniya, damn it, his attentive eyes are distracting, nag-iwas ako ng tingin.

"Hindi naman. I just prefer fried foods."

"That's unhealthy." He commented, I glared at him. He raised his brow, nag-iwas ulit ako ng tingin. Pakiramdam ko'y malulunod ako sa tuwing tinititigan niya ako sa dagat niyang mga mata, it felt like a raging storm ready to swallow me alive.

"Kailan ko ba makikita si Papa?" I changed the topic.

"Later." Nagsimula na siyang kumain kaya nagsimula na rin ako.

Bumaling ako sa notebook na hawak-hawak ko, nilapag ko 'to kanina sa lamesa kaya binuklat ko ito habang humihigop ng sabaw. Nakita kong sumulyap si Adam sa akin ngunit hindi ko siya pinansin. I scribbled what the main lead would look like.

The main lead would be mysterious, he would have a black mas on his . . . left side of his face. Color of the eyes? Ocean and sky.

Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Adam only to caught him staring at me with curiosity in his eyes. Ibinalik ko ang tingin sa notebook at isinulat ang mukha ng lalake. He would have thick dark brows, a defined jaw, long pointed nose and . . . what kind of lips? Nag-angat muli ako ng tingin kay Adam at tiningnan ang labi niya, he has a red heavy lower lips. I should jot that down.

"Why are you looking on my lips?" He asked suspiciously.

"Was I?" I turned my attention back on the notebook and noted his lips for my male character.

Man's body? Ibinalik ko ang attention kay Adam, my eyes trailed down to his body. Hard chest, muscled arms, not bulky but enough to salivate. That would be a perfect description.

"Might as well strip me naked." He commented.

"My pleasure." I said absentmindedly and noted his body for the male character.

He huffed in disbelief and shook his head. Napabaling ako sa kaniya ngunit nag-iwas siya ng tingin. I shrugged and noted the things I like about my male character.

"What are you writing?" He asked after a while.

"Novel." Sagot ko, nakatuon sa notebook ang mata.

"So you're a writer?" 

"Yeah." Nasa notebook pa rin ang atensyon ko.

"What genre?"

"Depends." I sipped a soup and then proceeded with the male lead's red flag throughout the book.

"Have you published any of your works?"

"Yes." 

"Title?"

Sumulyap ako sa kaniya, nasa akin na ang buong atensyon niya, he didn't even touch the bowl of soup.

"I wouldn't tell you." I didn't even let my father read my own book, siya pa kaya?

"Then you wouldn't meet your Papa today." He shrugged nonchalantly. Natigil ako sa pagsusulat at nag-angat ng tingin sa kaniya, he looked unbothered.Malakas kong hinampas sa lamesa ang ballpen na hawak-hawak ko at itinuon na sa kaniya ang buong atensyon.

That's a red flag.

Right! My male lead's red flag throughout the story is a manipulative bastard.

Bumaling ako sa notebook at isinulat ito.

"You don't want to meet your Papa?" He asked, wanting to get my attention.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, too busy writing.

"I'd still know though even if you don't tell me." 

I didn't talk, I let all my creativity flow whenever he opens his mouth. Didn't know he would be a talkative bastard, nevertheless, he helped me build my male character, that's okay. Now all I need to do is write down the female lead. I wonder if I would change the ending as I go on with this story. Would I let them be happy? Or would I let the female lead take her revenge? 

🥀