M A R S H A N

"Where is he?" I hissed when I couldn't find Yrew. Nag-aaway kasi kami kanina then he suddenly ran away with my bag. May pagka-snatcher din pala siya. Tsss. 

"WHOAHHH!!!" I gasped ng biglang may bumaba mula sa hagdan mula rooftop at nabangga ko, I almost lost my balance but I felt him caught my back bago pa ko bumagsak sa sahig. 

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped when I saw his face. Agad akong lumayo sa kanya at humingi ng sorry. 

"It's okay." Christian sighed. I pressed my lips tightly at nag-iwas ng tingin, iniiwasan ko pa naman sila dahil baka awayin nila ako lalo't hindi ko kasama si Maxene. He looks so bothered while staring at me. 

"Why did you take away my sister?" He asked me. Kumunot ang noo ko sa tanong niya, maybe he was pertaining again about the kidnap-kidnap chu chu accusation against McNeils. 

"If ever tama man ang hinala naming Venom ang kumuha sa kapatid mo, because honestly McNeils cannot do such inhumane thing, siguro mas mabuti ng patay na siya. Hindi mo alam kung ano ang pinagdaanan namin sa kamay ng mga venom sa murang edad. If your sister is still alive, you can ask Maxene for help. One thing, I don't care if you believe us or not, your hatred on us won't save anyone." I said coldly bago ko siya talikuran at ipagpatuloy ang paghahanap kay Yrew.

*clap* 

*clap*

*clap*

"Bravo! Ang ganda ng speech mo!" I gasped sa biglaang pagsulpot ni Yrew sa tabi ko. Nakasabit sa balikat niya ang shoulder bag ko. 

"My bag Yrew!" I hissed. Kanina pa kami nagtatagu-taguan! Napapagod na rin ako at ilang klase na rin ang naabala namin. Bigla ulit siyang nagtatatakbo! I removed my heels and ran after him.

"Yrew! Ano ba?!" I hissed.

"Maxene!" Yrew shouted when he saw Maxene. He grabbed her at agad nagtago sa likod niya. I was catching my breath ng makalapit ako sa kanila. Nanlalaki ang mga mata ni Maxene na nakatingin sakin. Habang si Yrew ay nakatago sa likod ni Maxene holding her arms. 

"Hindi pa ba kayo tapos mag-away? Magsstart na ang next class natin." Maxene said. Huminga ako ng malalim para pakalmahin ang sarili. 

"That jerk stole my bag! And pwede ba Yrew! Stop touching Maxene casually!" I hissed and removed his hand on Maxene. He was about to runaway pero mahigpit kong hinawakan ang kamay niya at pinilipit ito papunta sa likod niya. 

"AHHHH!! OUCH! MARSHAN! Hindi na! Hindi naaaa!!!" He screamed. Agad naman akong tinapik ng mahina ni Maxene and I immediately let go of Yrew before I took my bag from him. 

"Ouch!!! That hurts!!!" He glared at me habang nakaupo siya sa sahig at nakahawak sa braso. 

"You should learn your lesson jerk---"

"Bakit ba?! Gusto mo ikaw lang hinahawakan ko? Ang possessive mo naman!" He grinned, my eyes widen at agad na namula ang mukha ko. 

"Y-You! Akala mo gusto kita?! Duh!!! Dream on!!" I hissed. 

Tumayo siya at pinampag ang pantalon niya. "Okay! Alam ko namang si Raven ang gusto mo!" He said loudly. Ihahampas ko na sana sa kanya ang bag ko ng biglang lumabas sina Raven mula sa corner, kasama nito sina Waldrin at fiancee niya. 

Mas lalong nanlaki ang mga mata ko especially when seeing their reaction. Alam kong narinig nila yung sinabi ni Yrew, o talagang pinarinig sa kanila yun ni Yrew.

I bit my lower lip frustatedly at nagtatakbo na lang palayo.

M A X E N E

I glanced at Yrew ng makalayo na si Marshan she even left her heels. Tinitigan ko si Yrew at napalunok siya. Alam kong alam niyang hindi ko nagustuhan ang ginawa niya. 

"I-I think that was too much hehehe." He said nervously. I picked up Marshan's shoes. 

"Is there any problem?" Lumapit samin si Yasha. I clenched my jaw at bumaling kay Waldrin. 

I know I broke his trust, naglihim ako sa kanya pero sapat na ba yun para kalimutan niya ang mga pinangako niya sakin? He chose to marry her.

And I will be giving back Raphael to them after all of this.

"Wala naman, we're just playing. Diba Maxene?" Inakbayan ako ni Yrew at hindi naman nakatakas sakin ang agad na pagtalim ng mga mata ni Waldrin samin. "Tara na nga..." He held my hand and pulled me away from them pero hindi na kami nakalayo dahil may humila sa kabilang kamay ko and it's Waldrin. 

My heart raced inside my chest. 

Waldrin pulled me pero hindi ako binitawan ni Yrew. They are glaring at each other. 

"S-Stop!" I gasped when Yasha pushed me so hard kaya nabitawan ako nina Yrew at Waldrin and my bottom hit the floor at agad na gumuhit ang sakit sa likod ko pababa sa mga binti ko. 

"YASHA!!!" Yrew shouted at her. Napansin ko ang pagkagulat sa mga mukha nila especially Yasha na mukhang nagulat din sa ginawa niya. Napahawak ako sa bewang ko dahil sa pagkirot nito. There are still some broken bones on my hips at mukhang hindi na ito kinaya ng narcotics na ininom ko kanina. 

"A-Are you okay?" Yrew cupped my face. "Namumutla ka. F*ck!" 

"I-I'm fine..." I breathed. Inalalayan ako ni Yrew na tumayo pero agad akong napayakap sa kanya sa bahagyang pagkirot ng likod ko. 

"I-I'm sorry! Hindi ko sinasadya!" Yasha said. "Nasa sayo na si Yrew! W-Wag mo ng bawiin sakin si Waldrin!" She said sharply. "Yrew is taking care of you, w-wag ka ng mang-agaw." 

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. I glanced at Yrew at pansin ko naman ang pag-igting ng kanyang panga. Waldrin is looking at us coldly, wala na si Raven at maging ang sapatos ni Marshan. 

"Ikaw muna ang bahala kay Maxene, Yasha let's talk." Kumunot ang noo ko ng bitawan ako ni Yrew and he pulled Yasha away, halos kaladkarin na rin niya si Yasha. Yrew is not that ruthless, he's a gentleman at ngayon ko lang siya nakitang magalit ng ganun. 

"H-He's hurting her..." I told Waldrin pero nakatingin lang siya sakin na para bang walang pakealam sa sinabi ko. Huminga ako ng malalim at nag-iwas ng tingin sa kanya. 

"How can you do it?" He spoke. Lito akong bumaling sa kanya. "How can you act like nothing happened? Na para bang hindi ka nagsinungaling at nanloko?" 

Nag-init ang mga mata ko as I stared at him. "Just like what I said before, there are a lot of things that you still don't know about me." I said sternly.

My heart's gonna burst. Napayuko ako dahil malapit ng pumatak ang mga luha ko and started to walk away. Sumasakit na ang dibdib ko kapag pinipigilan ko ang sarili kong yakapin siya. I never loved anyone like this, and our love story just ended in a snap in the most painful way. 

Hindi pa ko nakakalayo ay hinigit na ni Waldrin ang braso ko. Hindi ko na napigilan ang pagbagsak ng mga luha ko and he saw it. He saw me hurting, a scene that I never wanted him to see. 

"M-Maxene..." He called my name habang gulat na gulat pa rin siyang nakatingin sakin. My chest clenches painfully at mas lalong bumuhos ang mga luha ko. 

"I may look like I'm okay but I'm not! I chose to hide my identity because... because of this. Because of these reactions, and if ever... if ever I chose not to hide it, mamahalin mo ba ko? Hindi diba?" 

I bit my lower lip at hinablot ang braso ko mula sa kanya. 

"Besides my identity, wala na akong nilihim sayo." Tumakbo na ko palayo while drying my tears. Ayoko ng lumingon, I can handle physical pains but not emotional wounds. 

W A L D R I N

I never said that I would marry Yasha. Sinasamahan lang namin siya dahil iyon ang utos ni Lola samin. 

"Where have you been?" I asked Raven, kanina pa kami naghihintay ni Christian dito sa bahay. 

"Ahhh kumain lang ng ice cream." He said with a glint of smile on his face. Nagkatinginan kami ni Christian and I know that he noticed that, too.

"Why are you so happy?" Inakbayan siya papasok ni Christian sa loob ng mansyon at nakasunod naman ako sa kanila. 

"Nah! Don't ruin my mood!" Raven hissed at tinanggal ang pagkakaakbay ni Christian na inaasar siya. Dumiretso kami sa playroom, we have our own arcade room where we can play anything we want. 

Naglalaro ng pinball si Christian at dart naman kay Raven. Nakaupo lang ako sa couch and scanning my gallery. I still have Maxene's pictures in here and I don't have the heart to delete even just a single photo. I was a lowkey stalker of her, I always snap a photo of her whenever there's a chance to and my favorite was our picture on our first date.-she was crying but she looks happy. hindi tuloy mawala sa isip ko yung pag-iyak niya kanina. 

D*mn! I miss her! 

"I-I talked to Maxene a while back." Agad akong napatingin kay Christian at maging si Raven ay natigilan sa pagbato ng dart. "She's willing to help me find Christine." 

Umigting ang panga ko. "You know--"

"Yrew was right, we don't have evidence and we can't conclude that McNeils were really behind these." Raven cut me off. 

I inhaled deeply and then we heard few knocks on the door. 

"Nakahanda na po ang hapunan Sir." I heard the maid said. I put my phone inside my pocket. 

"Let's eat first before we continue this conversation." I said. Lumabas na kami ng arcade room at bumaba sa dining hall, agad na kumunot ang noo ko ng makarinig ako ng boses ng bata kasabay ng masiglang boses ni Mommy. 

Natigilan kami when we saw Raphael, Maxene's brother, na nakatayo sa tabi ni Mommy, napalingon ito samin but he just gave us a cold shoulder. 

Agad na lumibot ang paningin ko. 

"Wala dito ang mga ate ko." Raphael said. 

"W-What's going on?" I asked Mom. 

She just smiled at us. "Umupo na kayo boys, hintayin lang natin si Wilson at Mommy. Wala ang ate mo dahil may date daw sila ni Rocket." 

Umupo na kami nina Raven and I am still puzzled why Raphael is here, sitting besides Mom.  

Hindi rin nagtagal ay dumating na sina Lola at Daddy. We were just silent while eating. 

"Dito ka ba matutulog apo? We fixed your room." Lola said, napataas ako ng tingin pero agad ding kumunot ang noo ko because they are looking at Raphael. 

"Hindi po, kailangan ko pong umuwi." 

"What's really happening here?" I asked them. Bumaling sakin si Lola. 

"He's your brother, Waldrin, he's Walrick." Lola said. Napatayo ako sa gulat sa sinabi ni Lola, napatingin ako kina Raven at Christian na gulat rin sa narinig. 

"W-What? How? T-That's impossible!" 

"Maxene confirmed it upon seeing Walrick's portraits." Dad said. Nanghihina akong napaupo and stared at Raphael who is looking at me coldly. 

"D-Does it mean, McNeils really took him?" Halos pabulong na sabi ko. This is still unbelievable! My brother is here? Who has been missing for almost 10 years?! This is insane. 

"Venom did. I really hate it when people blame McNeils, I was just 2 years old, sina Ate Maxene at Ate Marshan na ang nag-alaga at nagpalaki sakin. I was just 2 years old, pero wala akong ibang maalala kundi ang mga araw na binubugbog nila si Ate Maxene sa harapan namin whenever I and Ate Marshan made a mistake." 

"Ate Maxene protected us in every ways she could, but she cannot always do that. I was 4 years old but I am already a hacker, they used me to rob banks, Ate Maxene told me not to do that but if I don't, they would beat her up again."

"Marami kaming mga bata doon, pero bawat araw pakonti kami ng pakonti. Ate Maxene warned me not to stay anywhere near the lab, but my curiosity is killing me, I went to the lab and I saw with my own two eyes how they cut those children's stomach open. I was terribly traumatized I wasn't able to hack for days and on each day they would beat up Ate Maxene."

"Until the Mafia War started, Ate Maxene took that opportunity para itakas kami. Ate Maxene never wanted me to witness violence, but that was the first time I realized why she was called a Monster. Lolo saw us and took us in, binigyan niya kami ng pangalan, binihisan niya kami, pinakain, at pinag-aral." 

Napalunok ako ng tumalim ang tingin niya sakin, "And if you were the one who made my Ate Maxene cry, then I maybe young to say this but f*ck you."