1

All men are assholes. I knew that but I agreed to date this crude asshole because he was convenient.

For all his arrogance and overconfidence, Zach Montano was good in bed and dating him had advantages. We were classmates in highschool before and we managed to reconnect a month after I lost my virginity. We met during a common friend's birthday party, and frankly, he became my second. That night with a stranger was the ticket I needed to liberate myself and it had been good.

I was a satisfied bitch ever since.

What was even better was that Zach was as good as my first. He fucked good and made me scream really good. He was a giver, always putting my pleasure first before his, so when he asked if we could make our set-up official months later, I didn't think twice.

What was there to think about? It worked to my benefit anyway. He could ward away all the unwanted attention thrown in my direction by thirsty males and he could satisfy my needs. Bonus points na lang na ayaw sa kanya ng dad ko.

"I'm telling you, Jacq. Break up with that boy or I'm confiscating your cards."

I scoffed at my father's warning.

As if that could scare me. He did the same thing six months ago but I got by. I didn't need him.

And the audacity of this man to intimidate me. He finally came home after months of not seeing each other and this was how he was going to greet me? Really? By fucking telling how to live my life again?

In front of the country, he was this blameless goody-two-shoes politician but in my eyes, he was just a predator masquerading as a sheep.

Fucking disgusting.

A lift of my lips completed the smirk on my face. "So you get to fool around with your women but I can't be with the men I want? Double standards much?" I shot back.

My father's face reddened in fury.

I knew why he hated Zach so much. His family was loaded and I wasn't oblivious to how the people in the high society talked about them. Apparently, they were involved in shady businesses.

I didn't care though. They could be hearsays for all I knew. Isa pa, why should we be dragged into their mess? Labas kami ni Zach sa kung ano mang kagaguhan nila, and I was just having fun.

It wasn't like I was going to marry this boy.

The slap stung my cheek when it hit me. Mukhang siya mismo nagulat sa ginawa niya but my ass of a dad refused to back down. Hell will freeze over muna before he'll cave in to anyone. Even to his daughter.

His angry stare was boring into mine, but to annoy him even further, I tipped my chin up.

"The next time you put your hands on me, I'll file a case against you, Senator," I warned him, my eyes squinting hard. "You want my cards? Here, get them. Newsflash, I don't use them at all."

I pulled the five cards out of my wallet and threw them onto the floor. From my peripheral vision, I saw the fright on the househelpers' faces as they watched our heated exchange from the kitchen.

Weren't they used to this bullshit by now?

"JACQUELINE!" galit na sigaw ng dad ko, his veins popping up around his forehead. "Sumosobra ka na! Have some respect for me. I'm your father and this is still my house!"

I stood my ground. Growing up, I was scared of this man. He was looming over me and with that build body, he felt like the ruler of the world in my young mind. But after my mom left, I learned to stand on my own. I saw him for what he was—a sham of a man. And since then, I changed.

The greatest scum of the planet could never scare me anymore.

No one could scare me anymore.

"Why don't you just kick me out, huh? Or better yet, why don't you just go to your women? Iwan mo na 'ko rito. I can live without you! Don't pretend to be a dad because you never were!" sigaw ko pabalik. "If only the people knew they voted for an asshole, 'no? You can't even fix your family, but you wanna make the rules for this damn country? You're a fake! Faker!"

Bago niya pa 'kong mapagbuhatan ng kamay ulit, I spun on my heel and stormed out of the house, my middle finger up in the air. His yells were following me, demanding me to turn back, but they fell on dear ears.

Manigas siya. I'd never bend to his will. I knew I was being awful and rude. But he deserved it for fucking this family over. For hurting my mother emotionally and physically and driving her away. For putting this burden on me and destroying whatever shred of love I had left for him.

Served him right.

I took my car remote out and clicked it. When the door of my car unlocked, I immediately drove away from this god-awful mansion.

White Plains was supposed to be a good neighborhood. But to me, it was the epitome of hell.

Thank fuck my lolo gave me my Lotus Elise last month. When he found out my dad was shutting me in the house again, he sent me a car without a second thought.

My lolo was now living in Switzerland. He said he'd take me in, but I didn't wanna drag him into my fight. As it was, nag-aaway na sila ni Dad madalas because he was pampering me. My dad thinks it's the root of my rebellious attitude. But Lolo was only showering me the love I was deprived of and Dad couldn't do anything about it. Lolo was still the true power here kahit na nasa kamay na ni Dad ang company.

Dad could never dream to take down the best man in my life.

Compared to Lolo, he was just a dumb kid who could never get satisfied with what he had.

Good riddance to him.

As soon as I turned eighteen, I'd do whatever I could to get the fuck out of his hands.

***

Iritable akong pumasok sa klase ko. My blockmates were used to my snappish behavior na so they didn't bother to ask me what was up when I came into the room looking like an inferno incarnate.

I was infamous for my temper and they knew better than to get in the way.

This university was one of the reasons why I was so sullen. Ignatio wasn't where I should be. I didn't belong here. This university was proof that once again, my dad managed to control my life.

Fuck kasi. He chucked me into this place without even asking me. So what was I supposed to do here? Everyone here was smart and carried a heavy load of expectations from the society. This was where diplomats, experts, and politicians were bred. Everything I didn't want. Dad wanted me to be his little shadow, his pretty little robot, and expected me to take Business Ad before pushing for Law.

But none of those bullshit for me. Ayoko. Mamamatay muna ako before he could turn me into a version of him. So I decided to fuck his plans over by taking Architecture at the last second.

That was my first taste of real rebellion. If it were up to me, I'd be taking Interior Designing. It was my lifelong dream. Either in Intersci or Centrex or somewhere in Milan.

But I couldn't have that so I went for the close second. Architecture was good too.

"Nakakagulat na umuwi pa siya sa bahay n'yo. Akala ko doon na siya titira sa babae niya," Alexa, a friend I met from College of Arts and Letters, told me after I met her in front of AS.

The sun was setting. We were walking to the parking now so we could get out for dinner. Students were milling about as we walked down the long expanse of the campus.

Maggagabi na pero napakainit pa rin, pucha.

"He probably heard about my relationship with Zach. I wasn't making it a secret so it probably got back to him somehow," I answered, getting irritated again when I remembered my father's face.

"Ikaw naman kasi. Alam mong may issue daddy mo sa mga Montano, pinatulan mo pa si Zach."

"You know what, baby girl"—I licked my lips before a half smirk occupied my face—"if you also experience how good he is in bed, I don't think you'll care much for anything else."

She only shook her head at that. I love sex. That's not a secret among our friends anymore. They're okay with it as they're all for sexual freedom too.

Because why?

Why should men be the only one allowed to explore their sexuality? This society is fucked up for holding women to certain standards that don't apply to men. They celebrate men for their toxic masculinity while they frown upon women once they embrace their sexuality.

Where's the fairness in that? I call bullshit on that.

It's a backward way of thinking. Thank fuck that's kinda changing now, with the emergence of social media. But still, it's not enough. It's a slow progress.

We drove to Maginhawa right after. That's where we met up with Hannah and Jill. Both of them were Alexa's friends from high school and eventually became my best pals too.

"Hola chica, you look upset," Hannah greeted me with a beso when we walked into our favorite restaurant here.

I put my Saint Lauren backpack down, along with my t-square bag, and sat across from them after embracing Jill. "The demon's back at the house. Of course I'm upset. I'm raging mad."

Alexa sat beside me and asked for the menu. "Nag-away na naman sila. May bago pa ba?"

"Talaga? Wow, kailan ba yung last time? Three months ago pa yata nung last na umuwi sa inyo 'yon, ha," gulat na sagot ni Jill.

"Ewan ko. Maybe they broke up. Maybe he's looking for the next dumb bitch."

"Grabe talaga daddy mo. Ang lakas din ng loob niya 'no. High figure siya kaya dapat careful siya. Once na kumalat 'yan, patay na political career niya."

I snorted.

"If he has money to spend on his women, then he has a lot of money to spend to cover all his trails too. Sana nga kumalat na nang tumigil na siya."

I'd do it myself if I was really that bitch my dad was making me out to be, but I wasn't that heartless to take down my own father. Besides, alam ko naman na tapat siya sa serbisyo niya. He loved this country probably more than he could ever love anyone.

He could stay in that position for as long as the people wanted him, bahala siya. I just wanted him to butt out of my life.

"Why don't you just move out? Ask him again para hindi kayo laging nag-aaway?" Alexa suggested.

I tried this before but my dad found it ridiculous. 'Di na nga siya umuuwi, aalis pa 'ko ng mansion. Tsaka it was barely practical. Our place wasn't that far from Ignatio so moving out didn't make sense.

Why couldn't he move out instead? Siya nga 'tong maraming inuuwian at halos 'di na magpakita. Uuwi man, para lang sirain ang araw ko. Ugh.

"As if papayag 'yon. We'll sooner kill each other before he lets me out of that house. He keeps saying Mom will still return pero asa naman siya. After what he did, she'll be dumb to go back."

"Wala pa rin bang balita kung nasan siya?"

"I stopped looking na, babe. Wherever she is, I just hope she's happy."

I wasn't angry with my mother. Sure, I was upset na iniwan niya 'ko but what else could she have done? She was up against someone she shouldn't be fighting with in the first place. Taking me with her would only make things worse for her. Marrying him was the dumbest move she ever did for herself so leaving him was good in my books.

The food soon arrived and we dug in. After Hannah and Alexa updated us about the stories they were writing and aiming to publish, Jill gave me a look, her brows furrowed.

"What?" I asked.

"Wala lang. I still feel odd not seeing you with your earrings. That's like your trademark."

She was referring to the diamond earrings I loved to wear. It was my mother's last gift to me before she ran away to god knows where.

Absentmindedly, my eyes ran up to my ears where hoop earrings were dangling instead of the pair of diamonds I was used to.

"Wala, e. I tried looking for it but it was gone. It wasn't at the club and it wasn't at the hotel either."

I was wearing that pair that night I went wild. Nawala ko yata yung isa while I was partying hard kaya tinago ko na yung natira so I wouldn't lose that too.

"Sayang naman. Gustong-gusto mo pa naman 'yon."

I shrugged. "Well, it's gone. Nakakapanghinayang but I don't dwell in regrets."

Maybe it was the payment I had to give for losing my virginity like that. Ewan ko. Mas okay na isipin na gano'n para walang regrets.

Before we finished the meal, Zach showed up, looking fresh and handsome in his brown long-sleeves and dark pants. He was cut in the right places so his clothes clung perfectly to those delicious muscles.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Alexa at sabay tumawa. I know. His body was as good as his performance. I wouldn't stay if that hadn't been the case anyway.

Jill and Hannah naman wouldn't stop staring at him and checking him out. It was their first time to see him in person.

They threw me a look, which I responded to with a grin.

He's hot. I know.

"Ladies," bati ni Zach sa kanila. He gave the girls a bedazzling smile before sitting on my left, placing his arm around my shoulder, and pressing a kiss to my neck.

Agad na napangiwi sina Hannah at Jill. Alexa was shaking her head, looking amused. She looked down and continued eating her meal, unaffected by the casual display of affection.

Hannah and Jill were not as chill as she was. They looked like they were ready to pounce on me with questions but they were staying silent.

Alam naman nilang I was dating. They just didn't know how far we'd gotten. That was only for Alexa's ears dahil masyado pang inosente sina Hannah at Jill. I respected that and I didn't wanna corrupt them.

"Behave. My friends are here," I told Zach, elbowing him in the rib.

"Shy type ka pala." He chuckled into my ear before pressing another kiss to my cheek.

"Please. We both know how false that sounds."

"Alam ko," he responded with a chuckle before turning back to my friends. "Excuse us, ladies, but I need to cut your night short. May date pa kami."

"Fine, fine. Bawal ang mga PDA dito," sagot ni Hannah. "Shoo, shoo, shoo."

I handed my keys to Alexa who raised a brow at me, silently questioning me. "Zach will be driving. Can you take care of my baby for me?" I told her.

She only nodded, a soft frown marring her face. Alexa didn't like driving my car but she rarely denied me anything.

I was a spoiled bitch even among my friends.

"Paano ka bukas? Papa-drive ka sa driver n'yo?"

"I'll take her to school," Zach answered her. He picked my bags up, his muscles rippling as he flexed and folded his arms with that slight movement.

Nagkatinginan sina Hannah at Jill. Wala pa man, I knew they'd bombard me with messages mamaya.

The girls only waved a hand to bid us goodbye. Before I could pay for our food, naunahan na 'ko ni Zach. He settled the bill at the counter and walked out of the restaurant without waiting for the change.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we're on the road.

We didn't make plans for today. After that fiasco earlier, I wasn't in the mood for anything else, but I was craving for some drinks now.

"I was thinking we could dine somewhere but I'm sure you're full. You wanna drink? My friends will be in Pobla later."

In short, he wanna fuck after. Fine by me.

"Ayoko ng maingay. I want wine."

Yeah, my white zinfandel sounded good at the moment. Maybe throw in some pink moscato too.

"Morato then," he said and drove all the way to a fancy wine bar in Tomas Morato.

I drank the night away. I didn't tell Zach about what happened with my father, but he had an idea. He knew how fiercely I hated the man and he made a point to distract me from it every change he got.

We'd been together officially for a month now. So far, he was always successful. Especially with that dirty mouth and those expert fingers.

Hours later, we ended up in his condo once again. Stumbling into bed, we fucked and fucked until we were spent, and when he was finally fast asleep, I jumped out of the bed, took a shower, and put on my clothes.

Then I moved to the room next door.

This relationship was purely physical for me. It wouldn't be good if this asshole ends up falling in love with me.