#DS6Unwavering #CirCoal #SharkFamily #DaggerSeries

A/N: Before you continue reading this chapter, this is a warning that some scenes might be too extreme for some and might not conform to the social norm that you follow. If you wish to continue after reading it, I suggest doing some research about it.

Sabi nga no'ng isang nag-comment, this is 50 shades of Coal Dawson.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MESSY

CIRCE'S POV

Coal and I didn't drive back to the beach house when I was released from quarantine, though he was right when he told me that the travel time wouldn't be long. Bukod sa malapit lang talaga ay private road din ang dadaanan namin. Mas traffic pa nga pababa sa kalapit na bayan samantalang nasa iisang lalawigan lang naman.

Since we're going to a meeting anyway in the morning, I told Coal that we should just stay the night. I was planning on booking a hotel, but I didn't have the chance to when all of Coal's sisters-in-law invited us to stay with them.

We ended up staying over at Ember and Trace's farm house. Balak din kasing pumunta ro'n ng mga sister-in-law ni Coal kasama ang mga anak nila para bisitahin ang farm animals ni Ember at ang Embrace's Sanctuary, which is something the couple built so they could foster animals and help them find their forever homes.

Kaise was ecstatic. Kung hindi pa ako humalik sa kaniya para magpaalam ay parang hindi niya kami papansinin ni Coal dahil aliw na aliw siya sa mga alagang hayop ni Ember.

"Worried about Kaise?"

Napalingon ako kay Coal nang maramdaman ko na umupo siya sa tabi ko. Nasa conference room kami ng Dagger at kasalukuyang hinihintay namin ang iba pa niyang kapatid. Only Trace and Domino were here.

"No. I know she's safe," I said, giving him a small smile.

Apat na empleyado ng Dagger ang nasa farm house ngayon nila Trace. They were there just in case, but according to Ember, all the houses owned by the Dawsons were built like fortresses. No one would attempt to break in unless they had a death wish. Kahit kasi sa control room ng Dagger ay may mga nakaantabay sa mga bahay.

Coal's house is the same. We were safe there. It just so happened that I was the one who brought something in.

Inabot ni Coal ang kamay ko at marahang pinisil niya iyon. He didn't let it go, even when the door of the conference room opened and his brothers walked in.

Last night on the way to the farm house, nakatulog ako sa byahe. Coal didn't wake me up and instead he carried me to the bed. I woke up in the morning, and Kaise was sleeping peacefully between us. He has us in his arms, hugging us, as if he wanted to make sure that we're safe with him.

It's frightening how I'm slowly becoming dependent on him. Because I know that even if he hadn't done what he did, I would have wanted him to stay with us. I would have asked him to stay.

Thorn's gentle eye studied me for a second before he gave me a nod, Gun patted my shoulders when he passed by, and Pierce put a bottle of water in front of me.

Si Axel ang huling pumasok ng conference room. Sa kabila ng pagkarami niyang dala ay huminto siya nang makarating sa akin at inabutan ako ng maliit na box. "Cookies. My wife baked them."

They're being so sweet. These huge men, who looked like they could wrestle with bears and fight with lions without breaking a sweat, are being so sweet to me.

Coal has a wonderful family. And Kaise would have that too. She will grow up having that, and that's more than I could ever wish for.

"Here's the preliminary research and the results of the lab tests conducted yesterday," Axel informed them while handing out folders to everyone around. "We tried tracking the origin of the letter, pero mukhang hinalo lang ng perpetrator iyon kasama ng mga naka-schedule na ipadala sa bahay ni Miss Trevino. We accessed the security camera of the house, but except for the mailman, no suspicious subject had approached the premises."

He got all of that in less than a day?

"So there's a possibility that this person lives there? If he knows how to find a way to have the letter delivered while covering his tracks?" Coal asked.

"It could be that or he's blending in as a tourist, and he has been observing for a while," Axel said.

A shiver ran through me at the thought of someone watching me. I felt Coal's hold on my hand tighten. The way his face darkened tells me that he's just trying to reign in his anger.

Bumaling sa akin si Thorn. "Circe, we would be asking you some questions. But first, I want to know if you are comfortable with us handling this." Coal stiffened beside me, but Thorn's eyes remained on me. "I can't say we're going to back down even if you tell us you don't want us to work on your case. But we would be more convincing."

Kung hindi ko lang alam kung gaano kaseryoso ang mga nangyayari ay baka natawa na ako. He's giving me a choice at the same time that he's not. I have a feeling that nothing can stop them from trying to protect me.

"I'm fine with it," I answered. "I'll handle the payment—"

"That wouldn't be necessary," Gun interjected.

Umiling ako. "I insist. You'll be using your resources with this, and this is still business. You can't be giving out freebies just because I'm your niece's mother."

"Yes we can," Gun said in a way that shows that he's leaving me no choice. "And we're not just doing this because of the kid."

"But—"

"Let her," Pierce said.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Umangat ang sulok ng labi ng lalaki. "She can reimburse it from Coal when the time comes."

Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin ko sa kanila. Pagkaraan ay malakas na napabuntong-hininga ako. They could be really infuriating if they wanted to. I should read more of Lucienne's books. Maybe she has a tip on how to handle this men. Or I'll ask her directly later.

Nakangiting inabutan ako ng papel ni Domino at naiiling na lang na binasa ko iyon at pinirmahan pagkatapos.

"We would be asking you for a list of the people you know that could have done this. Kahit sino basta sa tingin mo ay may galit sa'yo o kahit maliit na problema katulad ng inggit," pagkaraan ay pagbibigay alam sa akin ni Thorn.

"We will need to investigate all the people around you too," Gun added.

"You mean the people in Siargao? Iyong mga ininmbitahan ko sa party ni Kaise?"

"Them and those that are closer to you. Like your family."

Sandaling hindi ako nakapagsalita. I bit my lower lip, thinking of how to explain it to them.

My hesitation didn't escape Thorn's notice. "Circe, it would be really helpful for us to know everything. Once our investigation started, we would be turning every rock in your life. Mas mapapadali kung sasabihin mo sa amin lahat."

"I don't think it would be helpful. It's not that I want to protect them. Alam kong malalaman niyo naman kung iimbestigihan niyo sila. But if you think it would help investigating them... I can't stop you." Nilingon ko saglit si Coal na tahimik na nakikinig lang bago ko muling sinalubong ang tingin ng panganay na Dawson. "My parents are not your typical kind of parents. I don't have a good relationship with them. My biological mom passed away years ago. My adoptive mother, no matter how crass it is to say, is a doormat. She doesn't have her own opinions or decisions. She raised me and she treated me like her own, but we don't have a normal mother and daughter relationship. Dahil lahat ng ginagawa niya para sa akin ay utos ng ama ko. Everything depends on what he wanted."

Huminga ako ng malalim at nagpatuloy ako. "My father is a shrewd businessman. He has money and influence. He's connected to powerful people. He's not in politics, but he lives and breathes it with the way he does his life."

"Olivaro Andino," Axel stated. "He's your father?"

I nodded. "He owns one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, which is Andino Pharmeceutical Industry. He also has an international reach. For a person whose business revolves around medicine, you would think that he's a good man, right? But he's not. Madali niyong mahahanap ang mga article kung saan binabatikos siya. Nine out of ten of those are right and not just an issue created against him."

My father doesn't care about anything except making money. Wala siyang pakielam kahit may buhay na maapektuhan sa mga maling desisyon niya.

"He got sued before, right? About concealing and manipulating clinical trial results?" Axel asked.

"Isa lang iyon sa mga kaso laban sa kaniya. His decisions had impacted a lot of lives and ended countless. From unsafe clinical trials, risking public health, to wrongful distribution contributing to the worldwide rise of banned narcotic drugs. Pero sa kabila ng lahat ng 'yon, nalulusutan niya pa rin. Minsan binabayaran niya iyong mga nagiging biktima ng kompanya o di kaya ay nakakakuha siya ng suporta mula sa mga koneksyon niya." Muli kong sinalubong ang tingin ni Coal. "But I don't think he's involved with this. He has no reason to. They already cut me off. You can say that I've been disowned."

"Why?" he asked.

I glanced at Coal, and he was already looking at me. It was as if, somehow, he already knew. "Because of Kaise." Mapait na ngumiti ako. "They were forcing me to end the pregnancy, and I couldn't do what they wanted. Kahit kunin pa nila ang lahat sa akin hindi ko kayang sundin ang gusto nila."

Silence shrouded the whole room. Coal's anger wasn't the only one I was feeling. It's coming from different directions in the room, so I know without even looking at them how what I said triggered it.

"I didn't take a business course and I became a surfer instead of following my father's footsteps. Through all that, I was already a disappointment. I moved out when I turned eighteen because I couldn't stand them anymore. I couldn't stand eating at the same table with a murderer that talks about it in the dinner table and tells us that it's ridiculous for him to be blamed for what his company did to a lot of people. That he brags for how he gets away with all of it. That he laughs about it."

"Why did he want you to terminate your pregnancy?" Coal asked in a voice that had a dangerous edge to it.

Damn it. "Aside from the fact that I don't know the father of my child, he also wanted me to still marry the man I was arranged to be married with. My fiancé, Eleazar Cabrera." Naramdaman ko ang bahagyang pagluwag ng kamay ni Coal sa pagkakahawak sa akin pero sa pagkakataon na ito ay ako ang kumapit doon. "We were together for years. Sa kabila ng lumaki rin siya sa mundo na ginagalawan ng mga magulang namin ay hindi siya umaakto na katulad nila. He didn't treat me the way my father treated me. There were a lot of times that he acts like a mediator between my father and I. He's a good man... or at least I thought that he was."

Axel started typing on his laptop. "Why did you break up?"

"For the most cliche reason. He cheated on me."

"Did he want to continue your relationship?"

"He did. Dahil iyon din ang gusto ng mga magulang niya."

"It could be a motive," Pierce guessed.

I'm not going to say no. They know how to do their job. "If you want to investigate them, I'm not going to stop you."

"Other ex-boyfriends?"

Umiling ako bilang sagot kay Pierce. "Unless you can count the chef at the restaurant we went to that I dated briefly. I've never been with anyone else. Well... except the obvious."

Their eyes went to Coal who stayed quiet beside me. For a moment, it was what became louder in the room. Silence.

Nagtaas ng kamay si Domino na siyang bumasag sa katahimikan. "May pinapatanong ang mga asawa niyo kay Circe."

Hinilot ng panganay na Dawson ang sentido na para bang alam niya na kung sino ang nagpasimuno no'n.

"Okay lang ba, idol?" tanong ni Domino.

"It's okay," I said quietly.

Nginitian ako ng lalaki bago siya nagbaba ng tingin sa hawak na cellphone. "May kababata ka ba na may personal na vendetta sa'yo?"

Nagtataka man ay umiling ako. There are collective sighs around me.

"Taong konektado sa trabaho mo na gusto kang takutin at pabagsakin?"

"Lahat naman ng athlete gustong manalo pero wala naman akong natatandaang nakaaway ko."

Nagpatuloy si Domino. "Creepy stalker that has been sending you gifts and wants to abduct you?"

"Uhh... no."

"Someone from your past that hurt you so badly that it still haunts you today?"

"Like I've said, my ex. By cheating on me. Does it still haunt me today, or at least still hurt me? No."

"Unknown relative na gustong kunin ang lahat ng meron ka dahilan para gustuhin kang burahin sa mundo?"

Umiling ako. "I've already been disowned. That wouldn't make sense."

Is that what all of Coal's sisters-in-law have been through? I've read Lucienne's books, and I couldn't believe what that man did to her.

"My life is pretty chill, and I rarely have problems with people. More so because when I don't like someone, I don't give that person a shred of my attention if I can help it. Family drama? Yes. But I doubt they will do any of this. I'm pretty much dead to them since getting pregnant was the last straw for their patience."

Thorn sighed loudly. "We'll start from what Circe gave us. Talk among yourselves about who will do a field investigation in Siargao. I also want Miss Trevino to be made aware of this so she can tell us more in case Circe missed anything." He looked at me, his eyes gentle. "Tell us anything you can think of. No matter how small."

"Okay," I whispered.

"We will take care of you. We'll get to the bottom of this."

I believe him.

I believe all of them.

NILINGON KO si Coal at napailing ako nang makita ko na walang pagbabago sa ekspresyon sa mukha niya. This time, I know that I'm not just with the worried Coal. I'm with that combined with the ogre one.

"Can you stop the car?"

Tinapunan niya ako ng tingin at nagsalubong ang kilay niya. Sa kabila ng kawalan sa mood ay kita ko pa rin sa kaniya ang pag-alala.

He signaled and changed lanes so that he could stop the car at the side of the long and deserted road. Pailan-ilan lang kasi ang dumadaan.

Nang huminto ang sasakyan ay hinarap ko siya. "Get it off your chest."

The knot on his forehead deepened. "What?"

"We might not have known each other that long, but you're not exactly a close book, Coal. At least not to me. What's eating you up this time?"

Nag-iwas siya ng tingin. "I'm just worried."

"I know you are. But I also know that you're pissed." Nang hindi siya nagsalita ay humalukipkip ako. "Are you really not going to tell me?"

He studied me for a moment. "Ayoko ng dagdagan ang iniisip mo."

"You think you being a quiet annoyed ogre is different from being just an annoyed ogre?"

"Circe—"

"Was it because of Eleazar? Because that was way before you, and unlike Augustin, he's not here to kiss my chee—"

"Don't finish that."

"So it is him. Kaya ka nagkakaganiyan." Bumuntong-hininga ako. "Why are you so bothered by him? I know I should have told you about him, but we weren't really talking about our exes and everything's new between us. I know it would come up someday, and I have no problems talking about him with you then if that's what you wanted. I haven't seen him for a long time, Coal, and I like it that way. I haven't even thought about him until today."

Coal's jaw went tight, and his pupils darkened. "But you thought of him when you slept with me."

"What?" I whispered.

"That first time we met. You said it yourself."

"I didn't."

"You said you wanted to forget. It was him. Ang taong gusto mong kalimutan." He looked away, training his eyes on the road in front of us. "I don't want to talk about this because I know it's not your fault. I was a stranger to you back then."

"Coal, you have it all wrong."

"Have I?"

I reached for his face so that I could make him look at me. "I loved him." Hindi ko siya hinayaan nang magtangka siyang alisin ang kamay ko. "But at that time, I had already moved on."

"You can't expect me to believe that."

"Why are you so hardheaded?" tumaas na ang boses na tanong ko. "Why is it so hard to accept for you that I slept with you that night because I wanted to?"

"Because I wasn't anything to you then! Because if you'd been given the chance, it wouldn't be me that you wanted that night!"

My hand slid off his face, and it dropped back to my lap. He's been hurt before. I am not blind to see that. I know how to recognize it because, just like him, there are things I carry from the scars of my failed relationship. Issues that emerged from it.

"Coal, listen to me. Eleazar cheating on me destroyed our relationship. When instead of apologizing, he demanded me to forgive him, and he said it will be easier for me since we're still going to get married because that's what our parents wanted... he burned whatever love I had for him. Because that's when I realized that I've been blind. Minahal ko 'yung taong akala kong siya. But he wasn't that man. He was playing his part all along and I didn't see."

If he needs asurance, I don't mind giving it to him. After all, I needed it too, and he's been giving it to me even without being asked.

"That night, I did want to forget, and yes, he was one of the reasons. Pero hindi dahil sa dahilan na iniisip mo. I didn't need to forget because I wanted to move on. I didn't sleep with you because I wanted to erase him from my life. He did that on his own."

"Circe—"

"Do you want me to prove it to you?"

Bago pa siya makasagot ay inalis ko ang seatbelt ko at basta na lang akong sumampa sa ibabaw niya. I unbuckled him from his seatbelt.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice rough.

A rumble thundered from him when I positioned myself on top of him. " That night I wanted to forget my terrible life. I wanted to forget the feeling of having no one. I wanted to feel." Inabot ko ang kamay niya at dinala ko iyon sa tapat ng dibdib ko kung saan ramdam ang bilis ng tibok ng puso ko. "Like this. I wanted to feel like this."

"Circe—"

"You said it before, remember? The look I have when you kiss me, my heart beating this fast, and my eyes glaze with want... you said it yourself. You said that it's yours. Don't start doubting that now. One look from you and my heart feels like they want to burst out from me. One touch from you, and my skin feels like they are burning." Isinandal ko ang noo ko sa kaniya. Both of our breaths are becoming heavier. "It was all you. That night, it was all about us."

He growled, and his arms went around me, pulling me tight to him. He pulled my panties to the side, but I stopped him. "What are you doing?" I asked this time.

"What do you think?"

"I still have my period."

"And?"

"It's going to be messy," I said.

"Do you want me?"

"Of course I do—"

"Then that's all I need."

Bago pa ako makapagsalita ay naramdaman ko ang pagkalag niya ng suot niya na sinturon. At the next second, he freed himself from the containment of his trousers and sheathed me on his long, hard cock.

"Coal!" Halos bumaon ang kuko ko sa balikat niya. I wanted him. I don't think there will be a time that I won't. But we're doing feels so... forbidden. "I-I'll get blood on you. It will be dirty—"

My lips parted as his length stretched me like it always does when his grip on my hips tightened and he pulled me down, impaling me until I had all of him inside me.

"Dirty? I don't care about that," he said against my lips. "Not when it's with you." He grounded my hips against him, earning a whimper from me. "Feel that? Does it feel like anything can stop me from having you?"

He helped me move up and down his hardness. Sa kabila ng sikip ng kinaroroonan namin ay balewala iyon sa aming dalawa. We moved in perfect rhythm, the sounds of our bodies hitting each other echoing around the tight space.

When his movements became rapid thrusting, and my body started to be engulfed with tremors, he sealed his mouth over mine to swallow my cries.

I felt him pull out of me, and at the next second, wetness hit my stomach and thighs when he let his warm seed coat me with it.

There's something about Coal's length wrapped around his own hand and him coming on to me that sent me shivering into another orgasm. Messy and dirty... and deliciously good.

As if he knew what had happened, he grunted and took my mouth in his. "Fuck, we should argue more."

Pinaningkitan ko siya ng mga mata. "Do you want me to choke you?"

"Is that your kink?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "Coal!"

He planted a chaste kiss on my lips. "But I'd rather have you sitting on my face, the taste of your pussy on my tongue, than you strangling me. I'm afraid I'm too vanilla for that."

Vanilla my foot. The way he fucks is too intense to be called vanilla.

"Are we going to solve every argument we have through sex?" I asked breathlessly.

"Do you still feel like continuing our argument?"

"No. You?"

"No, baby," he whispered hoarsely right in my ear. "So that means the way we solve things is perfect for us."

__________________________End of Chapter 16.