A/N: And we're down to the FINAL THREE CHAPTERS of PTQ's Act One!

CASTIEL

I USED to hang out in the USC office during my vacant period in the morning. But now that I had been banished by the president—temporarily, if I might add—I got nowhere else to go on campus. I was so focused in my council duties that I was not able to make any friends with my classmates. They could have dragged me along wherever they wanted to go.

Alas, I had to suffer the consequences of being bad at friendship.

It was not yet that time of the week, but I decided to leave campus and go to Clark Medical Center. I got two and a half hours to spare. Priam suspended me for two weeks so I could think back on my actions. So reflect, I must. There was no better place to do it than in the room where my thirst for vengeance began.

I entered Room 420, quietly opening and closing the door. There I found a girl who was eighteen years of age, lying in the bed unconscious for almost a year now. Noong una siyang dalhin dito, hanggang sa jawline ang haba ng buhok niya. Ngayon, lagpas balikat na niya. My lips twisted into a frown as I watched her sleep, having no idea when she would finally wake up.

She did not deserve this. She deserved to enjoy her youth. But that person snatched it away from her.

My eyes tore their gaze from her as I limped my way to the couch, making sure that my cane was not making too much noise. My mom was here almost everyday, taking care of my younger sister. Lagi niyang inuunat ang mga muscle ng kapatid ko at pinupunasan ang katawan nito. Binabasahan pa nga niya ng mga kuwento at balita kahit hindi siya naririnig. She was hoping that one day, Cassidy would open her eyes and regain consciousness. I was hoping for the same.

"Ma, ako na muna." I told her that she could take a break from observing my sister. She thanked me and said that she would be back after an hour.

When the door closed, silence ensued. Tanging ang mabagal at sunod-sunod na beeps mula sa machine na naka-hook sa kapatid ko ang lumilikha ng ingay. I put my hands on top of my cane and rested my chin there. My gaze landed again on my sister who was sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel who was in a deep slumber.

Everything that I did, everything that I had done so far, was all for her, was all for our family. My plan was too complex for most people to understand, but if they would think the same way that I did, they might have a little understanding of what I was truly after.

My hand clawed on my left leg. That guy and his family took someone and something away from me. In return, I was going to do the same to them. But it might take some time for me to accomplish my mission. Again, it was too complicated. All I needed was patience and perseverance.

But things would not be easy. Right now, I was being besieged on all fronts. Priam was disappointed in me. Fabienne was angry at me. Reynard was about to declare a checkmate on me. And Alaric the Prick must be celebrating because he did not have to lift a finger to cause me serious trouble. Again.

There was a good chance that my current plan would fail. I had overlooked some factors when I was making it. Could you blame me? I was not a perfect person. Coming up with a perfect, flawless plan was nearly impossible. I was bound to make some mistakes, though I would prefer if they were not that many and often.

Sakaling pumalya ang Plan A, meron pa namang twenty-five letter sa alphabet. I would not stop until I got what I had wanted always.

"Your desire for revenge has made you blind, Cas. Hindi mo na makita kung sino ang nasasagasaan mo. Wala ka na ring pakialam sa kanila, basta makarating ka sa dulo."

Heh. I did not care if I had to run over someone, as long as I reached the finish line. How many times must I say that the result was more important than the process? Heto ang hindi naiintindihan ng iba. Aanhin mo ang isang malinis at maayos na proseso kung hindi mo naman makukuha ang resulta na inaasam mo? This world was all about winning. You must do whatever it would take to win. If you could not have that mindset, then you would always lose in life.

But I understood why Priam was against that mentality. He would always want to exhaust all possible good options before resorting to the more extreme ones. But I could not think that way. Whichever was the most convenient, whichever was the most expedient, that was the right answer for me.

"Okay lang sa 'yo na nasaktan ako basta umayon ang lahat sa plano mo? Okay lang sa 'yo na halos ma-trauma ako sa pamba-bash sa 'kin basta may napala tayo?"

Oh, Fabienne. Isa ka pa. I forgot to remind her that she owed me the USC scholarship that enabled her to continue her studies in the university and allowed her to focus on her acting career. Yes, I was the one who handpicked her from dozens of applications. I was the one who had given her hope when she was in despair. I was the one who pulled her out of the void. And what did I get in return? Two slaps in the face?

Yeah, she was hurt and all. It was sad that she had to go through that crap. But she made it, didn't she? She got out of the dark tunnel. She braved the storms. She emerged stronger and more resolute than before. Yet she chose to shut her eyes at the benefits and focused on the costs instead. If she had given more attention to the positives than the negatives, she would not have broken down in the rain.

In retrospect, however, those were the reasons why things went this way. Priam and Fabienne were not wooden chess pieces that I could move around the board, following my command without any complaint.

Priam asked me to reflect, and I promised to do that. So maybe next time, I should take their principles and emotions into consideration when formulating my plan? Ugh. That might hinder whatever ideas I had in mind.

I reclined on the sofa and leaned my head back on the cushion. Maybe they would not truly understand. This was not their battle to begin with. This was mine alone. They got no idea what I had gone through and what I would be willing to sacrifice just to get back at those people.

At the end of the day, only I could understand myself.

The door opened. A man in white nurse suit walked in. He wore a surgical face mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"Oh! Nandito ka pala, Sir Cas?" bati ni Nurse Ris. May kinuha siyang clipboard sa may paanan ng kama. Lumapit siya sa machine at tiningnan ang ilang numbers doon. "Wala ba kayong pasok today?"

"Vacant period namin hanggang mamayang twelve," sagot ko. "Wala akong matambayan sa campus kaya naisipan kong dumeretso rito. Pinagpahinga ko na rin muna si Mama. Malamang pagod na pagod na 'yon."

"Namayat na nga si Ma'am sa kababantay sa kapatid n'yo." Pasulyap-sulyap siya sa akin habang nagsusulat sa clipboard. "Parang namumutla na rin nga siya. Dapat na siyang magpa-check up para malaman n'yo kung okay pa ba ang katawan niya. Kung araw-araw siyang kulang sa tulog 'tapos lagi pang nalilipasan ng gutom . . ."

Cassidy and I got into an accident, but we were not the only ones inconvenienced by it. Kinailangang umalis ni Mama sa pinagtatrabauhan niya para mabantayan ang kapatid ko. Si Papa naman, kinailangan niyang maghanap ng ekstrang trabaho para may pandagdag sa mga gastusin namin.

Somehow, in a begrudging way, I was thankful that the family who caused the accident was shouldering our hospital bills and other expenses. But no amount of money was enough to relieve us of the stress and frustrations brought about by what happened to me and my sister. Kahit bigyan nila kami ng isang milyon ngayon, hindi 'yon matutumbasan ang lahat ng dinanas namin sa mga nakalipas na buwan.

"Kumusta na pala ang binti n'yo?" tanong ni Nurse Ris pagbalik sa clipboard. "Tuloy-tuloy pa rin ba ang therapy?"

"May iilang sessions akong na-miss," tugon ko sabay haplos sa aking binti. "Pero ang sabi ng doktor, bumubuti na ang lagay nito. Soon, makapaglalakad na ako nang hindi gumagamit ng cane."

"That's good news! Sana'y magtuloy-tuloy ang paggaling ng leg n'yo."

If I would be asked to make a choice between my left leg healing and my sister waking up, I would always choose the latter. Hindi baleng habambuhay na akong paika-ika sa paglalakad, basta magising na ang kapatid ko.

"Kung may kailangan kayo, tawagin n'yo lang ako sa nurse station." Nagpaalam sa akin si Nurse Ris bago lumabas ng private room.

Muli na namang natahimik sa kuwarto, tanging ang machine ang narinig kong tumutunog. I somewhat found the beeps calming.

Beep! Beep!

Huh? My eyebrow raised as I checked the vibrating phone in my pocket. A familiar name and number was displayed on the screen. This was unusual. I told this person to contact me via message. If she was calling me, then there must be an emergency that I needed to know.

I fished it out and placed it near my right ear. "Hello, Sab? What's up? Na-miss na ba ako ni Priam kaya pinapa-lift na niya ang suspension sa 'kin?"

"Hindi, pero may kailangan kang malaman."

Bumuntonghininga ako bago sumandal sa couch. "Alam mo namang suspended ako kaya hindi ako pwedeng makialam sa council duties n'yo. Gusto kong panindigan ang pagiging suspended—"

"Tungkol 'to kay Fabienne at sa Herald."

My body leaned forward, my eyes looking sideways at my phone. "Ano'ng meron sa kanila?"

"Ang sabi ni Rowan, may p-in-ost ang Herald na announcement tungkol sa exclusive exposé kasama si Fabienne mamayang hapon. Walang sinabing detalye kung tungkol saan. But I thought you should know."

That girl . . . I clicked my tongue and pulled some of my hair. "Thank you for informing me. May idea na ako kung tungkol saan ang exposé na 'yan."

Then I hung up and threw my phone to the couch. Muli akong sumandal at tumingala sa kisame. So Reynard got to her, huh? This was not as surprising as it was supposed to be. I knew that he would go after her and try to convince her to turn against me, against us. Given everything that happened yesterday, he was close to accomplishing his goal.

Fabienne, Fabienne. I clicked my tongue repeatedly. Looks like I need to put you in your place.

THE AFTERNOON finally came. I had been monitoring the posts on the CampuSite. Given Fabienne's popularity and the wide reach of The Herald, almost everyone was talking about the exposé later. Some speculated that it might be about her relationship with the USC president. Some thought that it might be just a promotion for the upcoming Romeo and Juliet play.

But I got a hunch on what it would be about: Oplan First Lady. There was no way she would agree to a sit-down interview with The Herald on a random afternoon. Masyado ring suspicious ang timing. Bago kahapon, wala siyang nabanggit sa amin na may interview request sa kanya. Ang ibig sabihin, naisipan niyang magpa-interview ngayong araw lang.

Since I could not be in the USC office, I chose a place where I could watch the livestream on a television screen—in the lobby of the admin building. May ilan ding estudyanteng nagre-review at nagtsi-tsismisan sa mga katabing mesa. Some of them were muttering about the exposé, so they must also be here for the same reason.

The fact that The Herald requested to use every television screen installed in every corner of the campus for this explosive exposé meant that the subject and the content would be earth-shattering. If it was about the USC, then it was worth this level of exposure.

When the clock struck four, the roll of advertisements on the screen stopped. The logo of The Herald was displayed before cutting to a wide angle shot of two students in separate sofas. On the left was Fabienne and on the right was Reynard.

I put my cane in front of me as my hands clutched on its handle tightly. My eyes squinted at the screen. I would not lie. The show had not started yet, but it already got me nervous. I could hear my heart pounding so loudly.

What are you gonna say, Fabienne? Are you willing to throw Priam and the rest of the council under the bus?

"Good afternoon, Elysians!" Reynard greeted us with a smile. "This is a special edition of our Man of the Hour segment, being streamed on the CampuSite, on The Herald website and on every screen on campus! Today, we have an exclusive and explosive exposé. With me is the First Lady and the lead female star of Romeo and Juliet, Fabienne Lucero!"

"Good afternoon, my fellow Elysians!" Fabienne twisted her lips into a smile. She was faking it. Well, she was that good when it came to acting. "I hope everyone's doing well."

"We don't usually do livestreams of our interviews, but this one is different," Reynard spoke directly to the camera. "Given the subject of our discussion today, we thought that every student in Elysian University should know about it as soon as possible."

Fabienne's face became serious. "Yes, everyone deserves to know."

I gulped. Nang nag-close up sa mukha niya ang camera, nakita ko sa kanyang mga mata ang kinikimkim niyang galit—malamang sa akin. If her glare could kill, I would be dead by now.

"During our pre-interview at lunchtime, you said that this is about you, the president, and his officers. Correct?" Reynard asked. "Tungkol ba riyan ang pag-uusapan natin?"

"Correct." Fabienne nodded. "This involves the entire University Student Council."

I gulped again. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to stop this livestream. Pwede akong pumunta sa kanilang set at manggulo roon, but that might worsen the situation. All I could do was to hope that Fabienne would have a change of heart on whatever she initially set out to do.

"I know what this is about," Reynard said in a somber tone. "Now, it's time for the student body to hear about it, too. Fab, everyone's watching."

Fabienne squeezed her eyes shut for a second and took a deep breath. When she was ready, she looked directly at the camera. Her face was dead serious. The shot made me feel like she was speaking directly to me.

"My relationship with USC president Priam Torres is . . ."

My eyes narrowed into slits as I stared at her face on the screen.

"My relationship with the USC president," Fabienne repeated, "is going strong."

The students around me let out a sigh of relief and started buzzing like bees. I maintained my stare. I refused to cut my gaze away from her. Not yet.

"I watched the press briefing kanina. Nagulat ako nang may narinig akong nagtanong kung break na raw ba kami," pagpapatuloy ni Fabienne. "I want to set the record straight today before it gets out of control. Priam and I are still together. That photo circulating online? Nagre-rehearse kasi ako sa rooftop nang biglang bumuhos ang ulan kahapon. Mabuti't nandoon si Priam para alalayan ako pababa ng hagdanan kahit basang-basa ako."

"But Fab?" Reynard called, making her turn to him. His eyebrows furrowed so deeply, they almost formed a line. "This is not what we discussed during the pre-interview. You said that you wanna talk about Oplan First Lady?"

"Oh? I thought the pre-interview was off-the-record?" Fabienne smiled at him. "Dahil nabanggit mo na rin, let me tell you about that so-called Oplan First Lady. By the way, this was before I won his heart and he won mine. Merong internal contest ang USC officers no'n kung saan ang goal ay hanapan ng girlfriend si Priam. Ni-reject niya ang lahat ng mga inireto sa kanya kaya walang nanalo. Malas nila dahil hindi pa nila ako kilala at that time."

No, not yet. I can't . . .

"But that's not what you explained to me." Reynard shook his head. "That's not what you said during the pre-interview. What's going on here, Fab? Did they threaten your scholarship status?"

"Oh, the scholarship!" Fabienne faced the camera again, her hand on her chest. "I'm thankful to the USC for choosing me as one of their scholars. Kung hindi dahil doon, baka hindi kami nagkakilala ni Priam. It's like hitting two birds with one stone! I got a scholarship and, later on, a responsible and hardworking boyfriend."

"T-This is not what we should be talking about," Reynard tried to whisper to his interviewee, but his lapel mic still picked up his voice. "This is not what this exclusive interview is all about."

"You know what's exclusive? This." Fabienne showed her phone to the camera. Naka-display roon ang picture ng apat na taong naka-ready nang kumain. "Priam met my mom and brother last Saturday. Before that, we went to the mall and watched a movie. Ayaw ko sanang i-share ang mga ganitong ganap namin, kaso kailangan kong labanan ang mga tsismis at fake news."

I could no longer hold it. My lips twisted into a smirk as I looked at the campus journalist's confused face.

What now, Reynard? You thought you're winning, huh? You thought you've already driven me into a corner. But no! This is me pulling a UNO reverse card on you.

I wondered what The Herald would think of him after this epic fail stunt. He promised them an explosive exposé. He requested to use every medium available on campus to broadcast this interview. He even mentioned some off-the-record stuff that he should not have mentioned on the air.

Reynard took pride in his reputation, and that was his weak spot. Once his credibility took a hit, people might start finding it hard to believe him. And that's what I was aiming for.

He wasted everyone's time and resources just for a campus gossip. How was he going to recover from that blow?

"Fab, please," Reynard's voice was almost begging. "Tell them the truth. Tell them what you've told me during the pre-interview."

"Again, that's off-the-record, right?" Fabienne smiled at him.

Well, I could not have pulled this off without the First Lady's cooperation. She was genuinely angry at me. Oh, wait. Angry was an understatement. She was furious at me. But I found a way to make her reconsider the plan to expose us. She agreed to cooperate . . . for the last time.

All it took was some drama and the truth.

★ ★ ★

NEXT UPDATE: A flashback to Castiel and Fabienne's "final deal" and their way forward!

If you've enjoyed this update and you have some thoughts to share, let me know by tweeting with the hashtag #PlayTheQueenWP!

Special thanks to raze_dali and imthecentralorgan for the illustrations!