The Golden Ruins (High School Series #2)

Chapter 21

"Ouch! That hurts!"

When Cal's fingers dug into my arm, a sharp pang shot through me, and I winced, feeling the pressure of his grip bruising my skin. With a forceful tug, he pulled me into the narrow alley.

Cal's normally stoic demeanor seemed to crack, his features contorted with anguish and anger. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, a vulnerability I had never witnessed before in him.

He always kept his emotions tightly guarded, so this sudden display left me unsettled, wondering what could have triggered such raw emotion in him.

"Ka-ano-ano mo si Lina Velez?" His voice was quiet, but the intensity of his gaze made my heart race with fear.

Lina Velez was known globally. Although her private life was kept secret, her success and achievements through being CEO of one of the largest companies in the world were evident.

If I confessed my relation to her, it would undoubtedly shatter Cal's trust in me. Living a double life was already complicated, but knowing that my true identity aligned with everything he despised made the truth even harder to bear.

"Cal, I—"

I wanted desperately to tell him the truth. But ever since he opened up about his anger to the rich and powerful made me hesitate.  He would see me as a hypocrite, someone who had lied to him all along about who I really was.

How could he not? I had been living a lie, pretending to be someone I wasn't, all while claiming to be his friend.

"Ka-ano-ano mo si Lina Velez?!" he shouted this time.

I flinched at the sharpness of his tone. He had always been the quiet one, the one who held his emotions close to his chest. Seeing him so vulnerable made me uneasy.

Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to spill over. "Why are you so mad?!" I shot back.

The weight of the argument with my mom still hung heavy in my chest, and now, to be confronted by Cal in such a volatile manner felt like too much to bear.

"Galit ako kasi 'yang Lina Velez na 'yan 'yong boss ng kumpanyang pinagtratrabahuhan ng mga magulang ko! Siya 'yong nagpatalsik sa kanila sa trabaho!" he yelled, his words laced with bitterness as his jaw clenched with pent-up fury.

My heart seemed to skip a beat as Cal's words sank in. The woman who had inflicted so much pain on him and his family was none other than my mother.

My mind flashed back to the argument I had with my mother just last night. And then, to the last photograph, the one of me and Cal, sitting together under the starlit sky.

It was clear now that my mother had targeted him too, seeking to sever the bonds I had formed in the Philippines and drag me back to China by any means necessary.

The tears I had been struggling to contain finally broke free, streaming down my cheeks in a torrent of hot, bitter emotion. "I'm her daughter..." I confessed, my voice choked with sorrow and shame. "Lina Velez is my mom."

"Nanay mo?" he muttered, every word dripping with bitterness. With a sudden burst of frustration, he lashed out, kicking the nearby garbage can. "Lintek!"

At that moment, I saw beyond the anger that consumed him. I saw a heartbroken boy, his world shattered by the actions of those in power. A boy who just wanted to defend the honor of his parents, to reclaim the dignity that had been stripped away from them.

And standing before him was a girl whose family had played a part in that betrayal, in the destruction of everything he held dear. I shared his fury, his anguish, but at the same time, I felt the crushing weight of my complicity. I was part of that family, part of the privilege and power that had caused him so much suffering.