Off to La Paloma ni maiantheia, winner ng Golden Ticket of Love ng WattpadRomancePH.

"Why are you packing your things? Are you going to leave us?! Don't you remember what I did to this family? What I sacrificed to give you a good life?!" My mother continues to throw flimsy punches at me while I zip up my duffel bag.

"Ma, I told you she's going to leave us as soon as she gets to have her own job. Selfish bitch." My brother, who was lounging on the couch, scoffs and shakes his head.

"Shut up!" I yell at him.

"You really have no respect. I never taught you to talk back and scream at your brother!" My mother forces me to face her and before I know it, my cheeks start to sting. She just slapped me three times. "Fine. If you want to leave, then leave!" She starts to open my drawers, pick up my clothes, and throw them at me. "If I ever see your face here again, I'll kill you myself!"

I look at my mom who's fuming in front of me. This is the second time this month. They just saw me pack my things, but they quickly jumped to the conclusion that I'm leaving because I am packing some of my things. They didn't even bother to know the truth.

On the other hand, when I get angry about my older brother being an unemployed mobile game addict, I'm the bad guy. I'm the one who has no respect for elders. That I should just continue working and working as a call center agent, like all my graveyard shifts are still not enough. I don't even have time to take care of myself and go on dates. Who would want to date someone who looks like a zombie, anyway? That's why I stopped complaining. I'm done.

I quietly pick up my clothes and stuff them inside another bag. I want to cry, but I can't. I'm numb with all the same words I heard from my own mother's mouth a thousand times before. I don't even look back at the house as I hail a taxi, but I can still hear the shrill voice of my mother.

"Time will come when your pride will be the death of you. You're still gonna die, don't forget that you piece of shit! Don't ever come back here!"

As the taxi continues on its way to the airport, I try to replay the day-old memories from the office to calm myself. I should be looking forward to my vacation.

"Here. It's supposed to be the grand prize for the company's anniversary last month, but we decided to give it to you. Think of it as a form of us showing our appreciation for our most dedicated employee," my boss said, flashing me his perfect smile.

I thought it was money at first, so I didn't take it. However, he insisted and asked me to open it after my shift. Turns out it wasn't money, but a plane ticket to the Visayas. There was also a letter in the envelope, saying that there's already a room reserved for me in the only island resort there: La Paloma.

I look outside the plane to get a view of the low, scattered clouds and the great blue waters below. Don't think of anything, Twyla, I tell myself. Enjoy your vacation, you've earned it. I continue to distract myself with the view outside even if tears start to cascade down my cheeks.

・✧ o ✧・

I've been standing for ten minutes here on the docks, waiting for someone to offer me a ride because when I'm the one who approaches for a ride to the resort, they always refuse.

The ride from the airport to this town where La Paloma is was forty minutes. While I was sitting in the taxi's passenger seat, I killed time by searching for more information about this island resort. However, I only gathered a few useful pieces of information: this resort was closed to the public a few decades ago. Then it was reopened again in 2006, and it's owned by Miguel Perez, a name that sounds familiar.

"Did you wait for a long time?" A gruff voice asks from behind me, and I turn around. A man in his forties is standing with his hands in his pockets. He flashes a lopsided smile. "I'm the only one who's permitted to send tourists to and from the resort."

He leads me to his boat nearby and helps me load my bags. When we start to set for the water, he says, "You have a lot of bags with you. Staying here for a while?"

"Just four days."

"Really? Let me guess, you're from Avotrix?"

"How did you know?"

"They send their employees here every year. Come to think of it, they're all women too, just like you."

・✧ ο ✧・

Sitting on a bench overlooking the beautiful landscape of a flower garden, my mind keeps replaying what that man said. Wherever I look, from the cottages to the pools, everything seems suspicious. Now that I think of it, every year, one or two employees would just be reported leaving the company for another job. Miguel Perez is also the company's former vice president.

No. I shouldn't think of these kinds of things. For now, I shouldn't think of what happened at home, where I'll go next after this vacation, and what could be the ties of this resort with our company. I'll deal with those problems later.

I'm on a vacation. Vacations should be fun.

"Hey. Is that space taken?" I quickly turn my head around to face the man who asks me. He is in a casual outfit—white dress shirt and dark jeans—but he looks so sexy in it, especially with his ebony hair tied back in a ponytail. How could a simple outfit make someone look like a model—and a beautiful one at that?

"Umm, no," I eventually reply after about ten seconds of gawking at him.

He moves on, sits on the empty space of the bench, and looks at the thin line where the sea meets the orange sky. "Did you go here by yourself?" He asks.

"Yeah, I did. Just a few hours ago. You?"

"I've been here for two days already. I just want to get away from everything for a while and enjoy life." He smiles, still looking at the horizon. Now that I look at him closely, he has beautiful eyelashes framing his obsidian eyes. However, there's something wrong with his face that I can't point my finger on—like something is missing.

"That makes the both of us," I say, and this made him look at me. Quickly, I look away, blushing.

I clutch my chest, feeling the rapid beating of my heart. Why do I feel this way? I just met him. I don't even know his name.

・✧ o ✧・

Three days flew by, and I quickly became close with the man who approached me the first day I stepped on this island. We shared some stories of our own and now, I know his name—Lucas. He lives in the nearest city from here, and he's also a workaholic who has no time to do anything else. And little by little, I catch myself hoping we'll get our stay to be extended forever.

However, when he ran his fingers through my hair last night thinking I was already asleep, I heard everything he said.

"I know you won't hear this, but if I ask you to stay with me, will you say yes? Probably not." He sighed deeply and continued, "I'm sorry, Twyla. My people made a deal with your company—something that benefits us both. They get to be more successful while we get to continue our bloodline."

I felt a tear fall on my bare shoulder. My heart ached—confused about what I should feel first. I feel betrayed, I feel scared, yet even with all these, I still feel loved.

That night, I tried to act like I'm still sleeping. Until now, I try to act like I don't know anything even if I see everything clearly. Everything made sense. I'm just a sacrifice. Those employees who 'left' the company and I were just sacrifices to these beings. I knew there's something off with him, but I shook it off. I knew something's wrong with this place, but I ignored those kinds of thoughts.

He's missing his philtrum—something that reminds me of those stories my grandmother used to tell me when I was a kid: stories of the tamawo.

I look at him walking beside me along the sandy shore. If I leave, is there really something out there I can go back to?

Should I just stay here with him?

I look at our hands linked together between us. He must have noticed this because he squeezes mine gently. I look up at him, and he smiles.

To be honest, I still can't decide.