Prologue

"Zita, where the hell are you?" my cousin ask from the line.

"Chill, I'm going home."

"What the hell? This is your father's birthday celebration!"

I rolled my eyes even though she can't see it, "Exactly that party is for him not mine and besides I'm bored, just tell him I'm tired."

She groaned very frustrated again, "Make sure you're going home or else ipababalik ko ang body guards mo."

Hindi na ako sumagot at pinatayan na lang siya ng tawag. Lumabas ako ng hotel at agad na nakita ang sasakyan ng boyfriend ko na nag aantay sa akin kanina pa.

Agad n'ya akong inalalayan hanggang makasakay. Umikot s'ya at agad na akong hinalikan.

Drift Morse, my longest boyfriend so far. 3 months, I don't know but he just makes me feel thrilled. Reason why I'm still into him.

He continued kissing me as I kissed him back. 

I was still enjoying our kiss when my phone rang. Hindi ko na sana sasagutin pero hindi tumitigil sa pag tawag.

"Wait, Drift."

I took out my phone as he continue kissing me on my neck. Napairap na lang ako ng makita na ang pinsan ko nanaman ang tumatawag. Tsk, kahit kailan talaga ang babaeng ito.

"What?" I asked a bit irritated.

"Kissing inside the car? Where in hell is your brain Zita? Kapag may nakakitang media sa inyo at makilala na ikaw yan siguradong malalagot ka nanaman sa mommy mo."

Umirap ako at bahagyang tinulak si Drift na huminto naman agad.

"Yeah, like she really cares about me when all she know is about her reputation and her school."

"Stop it, Zee. Pababa na dyan ang body guards. Sila na ang mag hahatid sayo pauwi."

"No, I'll go home now. Ihahatid na ako ni Drift," naiinis pa ring sambit ko tsaka ibinaba ang tawag.

He held my hand as he started the car.

"You wanna go somewhere else?"

I sighed and shook my head, "Sa bahay nalang please, I'm tired."

"Alright. I'll go home after I drop you off," he smiled a bit.

Isinandal ko naman ang sarili ko sa upuan tsaka pumikit. He's never been demanding that's why I always enjoy his company. He's cool with anything that I want.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong napagod kahit pa wala naman akong ginawa sa party kundi ang umupo. Ni hindi ako nag sasalita kung hindi lang ipapakilala ng daddy sa kanyang mga bisita.

I took out a deep breathe, hearing about her makes me feel drained.

"Hey, Zee?"

Naalimpungatan ako ng maramdaman ang marahang tapik ni Drift sa aking pisngi.

"We're here, you want me to carry you instead?" he asked softly. I shook my head and kissed him on his lips. Matapos ang halik ay inalalayan n'ya ako palabas ng sasakyan hanggang sa makapasok sa bahay.

"Thanks for tonight, babe. Take care," I said feeling sleepy.

"You're welcome. Good night, babe" he said and kissed me again, smack.

Umalis na din siya matapos noon kaya agad na akong pumasok at dumiretso sa aking kwarto. I took off my gown and let myself relax on the tub.

Matapos ang pag babad sa warm bath ay nag handa na ako para sa pag tulog at malaking tulong talaga ang pag ligo na iyon dahil agad din akong hinila ng antok ng humiga.

-

I woke up the next day late. I took a bath and do all my routine before going down. I called my friend, Farrah. I want to have some brunch with her.

"Yes Zee, what made you call?" bungad niya sa akin.

"I'm bored, let's have some brunch."

"Aren't you going to your work?"

"I'm not in the mood. Drift haven't called me yet so I called you instead," paliwanag ko.

"Nice, I'm just an option."

"Wag ka ngang maarte, I'm on my way."

I ended the call and drove my car to her office. I have class today but I don't have the mood to teach them. Baka imbis na maayos na routine ang ituro ko sa kanila ay kalokohan lang ang gawin ko para lang mainis ang head instructor. I'll just inform my assistant so she'll take care of my students.

Farrah and I decided to take a brunch on the nearest restaurant, since she's a good boss she doesn't want to take advantage of her privileges.

"Why can't you just call your boyfriend first ba? Ginagawa mo pa akong option kapag wala s'ya," umiismid na reklamo n'ya sa akin.

"I don't want to rely on him that much okay?" paliwanag ko sa kanya.

"Zee, ayos ka lang ba? 3 months na kayo at yan ang pinaka mahabang relationship na meron ka tapos sasabihin mo sa akin na ayaw mong mag rely sa kanya?" umirap pa s'ya ng sabihin iyon.

"Boyfriend ko sya at 3 months pa lang kami. My parents are married and they are almost 15 years when they got annulled," maarteng sagot ko sa kaibigan.

"You and your hottie boyfriend aren't your parents, Zee."

"Why don't you just eat, my friend? Ang daldal mo nanaman," biro ko sa kanya para hindi na namin iyon pag usapan pa.

We ate and stay for a while before she decided to go back to her work. While Drift texted me, he'll meet a client for his car business. So I just decided to go home and book a flight to Ilocos Norte.

I just feel like going somewhere far from here. I'm bored and Thunder's birthday is near. So I spent my free time finding place to go in Ilocos Norte and book a flight right away. I will be leaving the day after tomorrow.

Drift called around 6:00 pm, asking me if we could hang out and I agreed. Boring naman dito sa bahay at sigurado din naman ako na wala akong kasama sa dinner.

I prepared myself and wore a black silk dress pairing it with my black single strapped stilettos. 7:00 pm when he arrived to picked me up.

"Hi babe, how's your day?" he asked and kissed me.

"Boring. I skipped my class today," I answered and plant a soft kiss on his lips.

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked as he maneuver his car.

"Your choice."

Like before, we remained silent. Another thing that I like about him. He's not questioning me about personal matters.

He decided to bring me on a fancy restaurant for dinner and after that we go to one of the club near BGC. This is our usual night, own plans for the day, having dinner together and a little party at night.

I was sipping on my drink when he started kissing me on my neck. He's never done more of that, just kisses so I let him, besides he's a good kisser. I gave him more access to my neck as I started to talk about my plan of leaving.

"Babe, I book a flight going to Ilocos," I just continue talking when he didn't stop.

"I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow and come back maybe after a week or two. I'm not yet sure if Faye would come with me," I explained.

He stopped kissing me on my neck and just kissed me on my cheeks instead.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked. Tumawa naman ako ng bahagya at pabiro s'yang kinurot.

"And you want my parents go to after us?" I playfully asked.

"Aren't you fond of adventure babe?" he teased me.

"If adventure means playing hide and seek with my parent's bodyguards then nah, never mind."

"Alright then, come back after a week or I'll go after you."

I nodded while giggling as he started to tickle my ears. If he's one of my flings before, I'll be mad when they did some silly acts like this but since he's Drift my longest boyfriend so far, I guess he's an exception. Though we're not like the other couples who depends on each other so much, we both know our duties as each other's partners.

We shared more drinks before we decided to dance. I was dirty dancing in front of him when someone pulled me and slapped my face. I wasn't able to move after that because of shock.

"What the hell?" I uttered after minutes of processing what happened. A drunk girl is standing not so far from me, crying. Drift pulled me closer to him and asked me if I'm alright.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" he asked worriedly.

"It hurt a little but I'm fine. Who is she?" I asked a bit irritated.

"My ex," he asked and turned to them. Napairap naman ako sa dalawang babaeng nilapitan ngayon ni Drift. Iyong nanampal sa akin na ex n'ya pala at yung babaeng nakaalalay sa nanampal sa akin.

Hindi naman ako nakatiis at lumapit din sa kanila. Drift's hand circled around my hips that made his ex-girlfriend teary eyed. I rolled my eyes again and smirked at them, pathetic.

"I want to slap you right now but I realized it's too cheap to step down and be low like you so I'll just tell you this, listen carefully," I smiled at them for a while and gave them a bitch face before continuing with my lament, "The next time you lay even a finger on me I'll make sure you wouldn't want to look in the mirror again because I will ruin your already ruined face. Get it? Now if you'll excuse me and my boyfriend."

Hindi sila nakapag salita. Crossed arms naman akong nakatayo sa harap nila habang si Drift ay naas tabi ko pa din at mahinang tumatawa.

"Tabi," maarteng sambit ko. Hindi naman mag kanda ugaga ang kasama ng ex ni Drift sa pag hila sa babaeng sumampal sa akin para maitabi.

Bahagya pa akong hinalikan ni Drift sa gilid ng aking ulo ng mag lakad kami habang tumatawa tawa parin kaya napatawa na din ako. Hindi naman kasi ito ang unang beses na may ex siyang lumapit at nanggulo sa amin kaya hindi din ito ang unang beses na nag maldita ako sa mga naging babae nya.

"Habang tumatagal, pa-cheap ng pa-cheap ang ex's mo."

He just laugh and guided me to his car. It's just 10 in the evening and we're going home already because of what happened. Pag kahatid n'ya sa akin ay naligo lang ako tsaka nag handa sa pag tulog. He texted me when he get home and after that I decided to sleep.

-

"Zita Elara!"

Halos mapabalikwas naman ako sa lakas ng sigaw ng pinsan ko na kakapasok lang sa kwarto ko dala ang duplicate key.

"What?" iritableng tanong ko dahil sa gulat.

"What the hell did you do last night?" naiinis na tanong n'ya. Bahagya pang ginulo ang buhok.

"What are you talking about Kley?" naguguluhan kong tanong.

Lalo namang pumangit ang itsura n'ya dahil sa tanong ko. Padabog pa s'yang lumapit sa akin at halos sabunutan ang kanyang sarili sa sobrang panggigigil sa akin.

"Ano ba kasing ibig mong sabihin? Ang aga aga," inis na sambit ko.

"Yun na nga! Ang aga aga tapos ganito ang bungad sakin? Ano nanaman bang gulo ang pinasok mo kagabi at nasa news ka nanaman? May babae kang nakaaway kagabi sa bar diba? Anong ginawa mo dun sa babae at mukhang basahang kinawawa!" sigaw n'ya sa akin.

Dun ko pa lang narealize na ang tinutukoy niya ay yung ex ni Drift kagabi na nanampal sa akin.

"What the hell? Wala akong ginagawa sa kanya. I didn't even lay a finger on her Kleya, what the fuck."

Inirapan n'ya lang ako kaya lalo akong nainis. Bakit ako ang sinisisi n'ya? Ano nanaman kaya ang nasa news about me, tsk.

"When will you stop all these nonsense, Zee? Hindi ka ba napapagod sa kakabigay ng sakit sa ulo at problema sa mga tao dito? When will you grow up?" bakas ang inis sa boses niya ngunit wala akong pakealam, bumalik lang ulit ako sa pag kakahiga at nag taklob pa ng unan para hindi s'ya marinig.

I get her point okay? Problema nanaman yung nasa news ako, totoo naman. Pero hindi ko naman kasalanan yun. Ni hindi ko hinawakan ang babaeng yun kagabi kaya bakit parang kasalanan ko ang gulong yun?

That girl slapped me and maybe it's not on the news. As usual iyong makakasira sa akin ang ilalagay nila sa balita para mabigyan nanaman ng issue ang daddy ko na nakikita lang naman ako kapag may hindi ako magandang nagagawa. Tss.

The reason I never run out of hope in finding my freedom is that my parents doesn't really care about me. With the list of their priorities there's only 1% chance that I'm there. Dahil ang mahalaga lang naman sa kanila ay yung pangalan at reputasyon na mayroon sila at ako ang tanging nakakadumi ng iniingatan nilang yun. But I'm fine with that, I just want them to let me do my own thing. I just want them to give me my freedom. Other fancy things are just an additional privilege, my freedom is what I really want.

I sighed as I entered my room. It's been a year since that happened but it feels like it was just yesterday.

But if only I knew that after my escapade that day my life would change, I should have been nice and a good daughter. I should have get my parent's trust so when I faced all this crazy things now I wouldn't feel stupid and alone. I wish I have my father to protect me when someone wants to hurt me and I have my mother that I can talk to with anything that I feel.

A lot had changed. The freedom I want is with me right now but I was left with nothing else than that. I'm living alone here in Vigan. Far from everyone that truly cares for me. Far from anyone I know. And definitely far from what I used to have.

"Zee, andyan ka ba? May papalinisan daw na villa. Sa left, room 8. Nag mamadali kasi yung guest may inaasikaso pa akong naunang guest."

"Sige Hans ako ng bahala," ngumiti ako at agad na lumabas sa kwarto. Nakita ko pang nag mamadaling tumakbo si Hans para siguro tulugan ang guest na tinutukoy n'ya.

This is me and my freedom. Living here in Vigan as an Assistant Hotel Manager but right now I am doing a housekeeping work dahil sa dami ng tourist arrival mula kahapon.