CHAPTER SEVEN

LYRICCA'S eyes slowly fluttered open as she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. It was so intense that she really had to force herself to wake up and look for its owner until her eyes landed on the man across the bed she was lying on. He seemed comfortable as he continued to stare at her, not even bothered by the fact that she was finally awake.

Pakiramdam ni Lyricca ay bumalik siya sa dati — noong gabing may malaking kasalanan siyang nagawa. "M-Mister Devereaux..." mahinang bigkas ni Lyricca. Masyado na kasi siyang hindi komportable sa uri ng tingin nito sa kaniya. It was too... hot.

Sa sobrang tahimik ng paligid ay narinig ni Lyricca ang malalim na paghinga ng lalake bago nito binuka ang bibig. "So... Miss Dela Cruz," he began, speaking her name as if it was a vulnerable vase, "I did not expect to see you again... especially here... in this... situation." He spoke slowly, calculating their situation, being very careful with the words that leaves his mouth. And so she thought.

"I... I..." Hindi malaman ni Lyricca kung anong sasabihin sa lalake. The memory of her fiance calling this man his older brother was too much for her mind, she could feel her head hurting and spinning. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. Hindi pwedeng makita ng lalake na apektado siya kahit iyon naman ang totoo. "I... I'm here as Yves' fiancee. And I..." Lyricca had to clear her throat. "I want what happened in the past to stay in the past... just between us... like what you said."

Tila kinilabutan naman si Lyricca nang makita niyang ngumiti ang lalake. It wasn't a warm or happy smile. It looked... scary... dangerous even. The man then stood up and walked in her direction. He stopped when his body was near hers as he sat down on the side of the bed, facing her. The smile on his face turned into a cold smirk before he held her chin and slowly leaned in. "I won't tell a soul about it, princesse," he whispered against her lips. "But I won't deny how I want a repeat of that." He licked his lower lip as he stared at hers. The desire in his eyes was visible and it brought fear to the depths of Lyricca's soul.

"N-No," she whispered back, trying to keep herself together. "I-I'm your brother's fiancee—"

"And you were his girlfriend when something happened to us, weren't you?" The tone in his voice held amusement. "Don't deny it, princesse, besides... you weren't drunk that night. I'm sure you enjoyed it as much as I did." Thomas' face leaned in even more, but his lips went for her ear instead. "You were screaming my name, princesse. You wanted me harder, deeper inside you. You wanted more and I gave it to you. And you... gave yourself to me," he whispered, taunting her.

Hindi na halos makagalaw si Lyricca. She didn't even know that she was holding her breath as her body went cold. Flashes of that sinful night rushed into her mind. He was right. He was very right. And that kills her inside. No matter how hard she tried to forget it, it would always come back, haunting her, eating her from the inside.

Hindi tuloy namalayan ni Lyricca na sa sobrang takot na nararamdaman ay sunod-sunod nang tumulo ang mga luha niya. Thomas pulled away and stared blankly at the devastated and guilty expression written all over her pretty face. In his mind, she deserves it. Thomas congratulates himself as he was doing a great job slowly wrecking the woman of his half-brother. With her wrapped around his fingers, he knew he could hurt his brother and then his mother.

"P-Please..." she pleaded, her lips trembling. She wouldn't want Yves to know about her infidelity. She wouldn't want to hurt him. He doesn't deserve it.

Akala ni Lyricca ay may iba pang gagawin sa kaniya ang lalake na magpapaalala pa lalo ng naganap ilang taon na ang nakararaan ngunit tiningnan lang siya nito saka umalis sa pagkakaupo sa kama. "Yves is in the living area," he said, his back was facing her before he completely left the room.

Para namang nakahinga nang maluwag si Lyricca nang mawala ang lalake, pero ang mga mata niya ay tuloy pa rin sa pag-iyak, ang puso niya ay tuloy pa rin sa paninikip. Sa sobrang pag-iyak at paglamon ng takot at pag-aalala sa utak niya ay pinili na lamang ni Lyricca na bumalik sa pagkakahiga. She curled like a fetus and covered her body with the duvet. She felt like so vulnerable, and yet, it was her fault that she was in that situation anyway, so maybe she did deserve to be miserable. But Yves does not deserve to be cheated on.

Hindi na napansin ni Lyricca kung gaano siya katagal sa ganoong pwesto hanggang sa narinig niya ang pagbukas ng pinto ng kwarto niya. Thinking it was Thomas, she remained unmoving, pretending to be asleep, until she heard his voice. "Mon amour?" he softly called out and for some reason, Lyricca's heart ached even more.

His tone was so soft as if she was a flower in need of a gentle touch. So for him to make and treat her with such care, Lyricca once again got eaten by her guilt. Noong mga oras na iyon ay gustong-gusto na niyang umamin sa kasintahan. Gusto na niyang sabihin dito ang lahat at kahit na masama ang ginawa niya ay nangangarap pa rin siyang patatawarin siya ng lalake. Hindi mawala sa isip niyang manalangin na maintindihan siya ng lalake, mapatawad, at muling pagkatiwalaan.

Ngunit kahit na ilang beses niyang sinabi sa isip na gusto na niyang umamin ay hindi pa rin naman niya nagawa. Lyricca ended up continuing to pretend as if she was in deep sleep. Naramdaman niya naman ang lalake mula sa likuran niya. He gave her a kiss on the side of her forehead when he finally laid down beside her, before wrapping his arm on her waist. "Je t'aime tant, mon amour," he whispered before burying his face on her neck and letting himself sleep.

Those once-sweet words have turned into something painful. Painful enough to make Lyricca cry herself to sleep.

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