THE SECLUDED TRAILS OF DECEIT '. ruler of fate series l first book

KABANATA 11

The Secluded Trails of Deceit
written by : riyanisity

"What do you think you're saying?" I asked seriously at him.

He pursed his lips a bit, acting so innocently right now. "Sabi ko, liligawan kita, Miss."

I let out a sarcastic sigh and shook my head. "And why are you broadcasting that in front of my parents?"

He licked his lips and started reaching for something out of his bag. Nang makuha niya 'yon ay inabot niya sa'kin ang isang piraso ng pulang bulaklak. Although, unlike before, it wasn't real anymore. Hindi kagaya ng binigay niya sa'kin dati na binili niya ng sariwa, ngayon ay isang handmade na 'yon at hindi kailanman masisira. Everything was made of crystals: the petals, leaves, and stem. It looks like it reflects around me — us.

"I need them to know it first, Miss. Hindi naman ako pwedeng magtanong kaagad sa'yo habang wala pa ang blessing nila, eh." He winked at me. "I prefer to do this in an old traditional way."

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. "Let's say that they approved of it..." My eyes squinted, "But do you think I would, hmm?" may halong pang-aasar na saad ko.

His nose scrunched before he rested his forearm on the backrest of his seat, ngayon ay halos nakaharap na ang kalahati ng katawan niya sa'kin. "And that's the essence of me courting you, Miss." Umiling siya, "I never expected this to be easy anyway. I'm more than aware that you're hard to earn to begin with." dagdag niyang sabi ulit.

To earn... There's something about that word that made my heart skip a beat.

I gulped and licked my lips before I averted my eyes from him. Nang mabaling ang tingin ko kina Papa at Mama ay napansin ko ang pananahimik nila habang pinapanood kaming dalawa. My dad was eating his food while also feeding my mom, who was watching us adoringly with her hands raised up, still holding her utensils but not using them.

A grin slowly appeared from her lips, "I approve of it, Draven!" masayang sabi niya.

My lips parted before I stared at my dad, giving him signals not to. Hindi naman siya nagpatinag sa mga tingin ko at pinili na lang panoorin si Draven na naghihintay na lamang sa sasabihin niya. He had his two hands placed on top of his lap, acting like a behave child all of a sudden. 

"It's still up to Vanna if she's going to answer you at the end, so don't mind me." He showed him a straight smile before he focused on eating his remaining food. "You can do whatever you want, but don't you dare do something bad to her — one wrong move and you're dead. I'll be watching you, Draven."

I sighed with my twitchy lips. Nang tingnan ko si Draven ay malaki na ang ngiti niya sa'kin. I only shrugged my shoulders at him before I raised the rose. "Where did you buy this?"

His lips pouted before he started poking the crystallized petals gently. "You mean the materials..? I bought them at a local store, but I attached them by myself. There's a manual on how to do it." His mouth formed an 'o', "Gusto mo lego naman sa susunod..? May flowers na binubuo rin sa lego, eh. We can do that together too, if you're interested."

"That would be fun for you." I bit my lower lip as I stared at the handmade rose on my hand. "And this is actually beautiful, by the way."

He couldn't hide a big smile appearing on his face, "You love it? More than the fresh ones..?" tanong niya.

In the end, the only response that I gave was to shrug my shoulders at him, which made him nod his head repeatedly, like he could understand what's on my mind, even though I hadn't said anything.