Lo Siento (Hiatus)

Chapter 1: Painful Rejection

Lucián held her hand carefully as if it was as fragile as glass. He bent down his knee and was about to pull out the ring from his pocket when she stopped him by saying, "No." He froze in shock and confused, staring at her in disbelief. No?

She looked at him with tears falling down her cheeks. She shook her head and pulled her hand away from his before saying, "Lo siento. (I'm sorry) I-I can't do this. Lo siento. (I'm sorry)"

He stood up and said, "Why? Are you not ready for this? I thought...." She averted her gaze and said, "You are no longer present in my heart. I can no longer go through this relationship without ever feeling guilt and regret."

He continued to listen to her explanation even though he felt his heart shattering to pieces. "I no longer see myself with you. I deeply apologize for breaking your heart. I no longer feel the same love towards you as I used to."

He couldn't speak for a moment as he let that sink into his mind. "You are a great man but I can no longer to do this. I can no longer force myself to love you again."

"This is the end, isn't it? Why? I gave you everything that you could ask for. Isn't that enough?" he said, hoping that she'll somehow change her mind. She smiled sadly and gaze at her feet before saying, "Lo siento, Lucián. (I'm sorry, Lucián) My heart belongs to Marco now."

His eyes widened when that name was mentioned. Marco? The Indio?! His face went red as his hands turned into fists in anger. He felt his whole world crumbled apart. "I love him, Lucián." Love? How can you love an Indio? That disgusting peasant!

He stared at her, waiting for her to laugh and tell him that it was a mere joke. She was dead serious about it. The expression on her face didn't give off anything that can prove that she was lying. "How can you love an Indio? Are you certain that he's the right man for you? You would not be able to survive in this country if you marry such a lowlife man."

But even when he tried to convince her to come back, she remained faithful to her new lover. She left just before he could do anything further. He stood alone in the garden of his mansion with pure anger. He can feel his blood boiling from it.

As he walked inside the mansion, he bumped into one of the maids. An indio. He pushed her away and muttered, "Disgusting peasant." He shivered in disgust as he brushed off his clothes as if germs got onto it.

He despised Indios. They were the rats and parasites of the land. Even though the Philippines was their homeland, they didn't own it. Spain does. They were dumb idiots to him. He hated how they look. How they act. He hated every single one of them.

"They're fated to live poor and die poor. A slave is always a slave," he thought inside of his head as he walked upstairs to his bedroom. The stairs creaked as he did so. He missed home. He missed living in Spain. The temperature here was unbearable to him. He cannot stand it for just a minute.

He opened the door to his room to find it a mess. He felt fury as soon as he saw it. His face turned red before he yelled, "Indio! You dumb idiot!" Footsteps started coming up the stairs rapidly. The maid was terrified of  what was about to happen next. She was trembling in fear, afraid of getting punished.

When she arrived, she was immediately pushed towards the room that made her fall onto her bottom. She winced in pain from the impact. "Patawad po. Nawala po sa aking isipan na-" She was interrupted by a big slap on the cheek.

"I cannot understand your gibberish primitive words. I do not wish to hear your voice. My ears are going to explode from hearing it. I do not like it when servants are being disobedient," he said as he glared daggers at her. She was sobbing as she listened.