this chapter contains sensitive themes.
kung kailangan po natin ng makakausap, maaari po tayong dumulog sa mga hotlines na nakatala sa website ng dswd:
New National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) Crisis Hotlines
(24/7 mental health crisis phone services):
09178998727 (USAP)
989-8727 (USAP)
Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) / Hopeline Philippines
(02) 804-4673 (HOPE)
0917-558-4673 (Globe)
0918-873-4673 (Smart) or
2919 (toll-free for GLOBE and TM subscribers)
Huminto kami sa tapat ng puntod ng kapatid ko, at masikip ang lalamunan na tumitig ako sa kulay abong lapida.
Baby Amelia. Six years old. Our sweet little angel.
With unsteady legs, I bent down to kneel on the grassy ground, but I stopped when I saw colorful blooms overflowing in the cemetery vase beside her gravestone.
Pink at red peonies at ranunculus din ang mga iyon. Baby Amelia's favorite flowers. I was just here about two weeks ago, and these were not the flowers I brought. Sino'ng bumisita at naglagay ng mga iyon?
Was it my mother?
Napailing ako. I didn't think my mother knew Amelia's favorite food much less her favorite flowers. Was it Yaya Poleng? But these were expensive flowers. I wasn't trying to be rude or judgmental, but Yaya Poleng wouldn't spend about fifteen thousand pesos for flowers.
Hindi na fresh ang mga bulaklak, pero hindi pa rin lanta. Tantya ko ay mga ilang araw pa lang iyon doon.
Who would...
My heart hammered and my gaze flew to the man standing beside me. Alessio stood there all dark and rigid as the weak afternoon light cast shadows across his sculpted face and bulky frame.
Did he...
It was silly to think it was him. He had no reason to visit Amelia's grave, and how would he even know Amelia's favorite flowers in the first place?
But...
The flower shop. His men had ordered there before. Same order po, ano?
"Was it you who left these flowers?" paos kong tanong.
Alessio's gaze was a flat gray. "What makes you think so?"
"Just answer me, Alessio."
Tumiim bagang ang lalaki, at may kung anong kumislap sa mga mata niya na para bang ayaw niyang sagutin ang tanong ko. Pero sa huli ay tumango rin ang binata. "Yes, it was me."
Sandaling gumewang ang paningin ko sa pagbugso ng dugo sa ulo ko. "Why?" I breathed out. "How did you even know Amelia's favorite flowers?"
"You posted them on your IG, Principessa."
My IG. He checked my IG.
But still, why would he...
But Danica's words echoed in my head.
Abused when he was a kid. Broken bones. No official charges. Mother said he fell down the stairs.
His mother denied all allegations of abuse.
God...
My heart ached, and my throat closed up.
Abused... Alessio had suffered abuse, too, when he was a child. And he had even been younger than my baby sister.
BINABASA MO ANG
TOXIC (Dark Mafia Romance)
RomanceMature | R18 | BDSM This is a dark romance. Someone wants me dead. It could be the drug cartel, it could be someone else. But as an heiress to a multibillion dollar conglomerate, I'm more useful alive to many people. Alessio De Luca has stakes in...
