Darling, You.

The Ebony Pier

“You’re late.”

As Catalina entered the dimly lit room, she had to suppress rolling her eyes. Instead, she replies coolly, “Yeah, yeah, forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I was preparing for the meeting, Rio.” She finds the last empty space in the round table good for five, that dominates the center of the room, and places her bag on the floor as one of her family assistants pulls the velveteen chair out to take a seat on it. She is on the highest floor of one of her family's buildings. A five-star hotel is currently renting it and only the elite or the top one percent can afford to book a room.

The Ebony Pier Hotel and Residences. It is one of the last places her parents were able to strike a deal with and allow them to rent one of their most expensive buildings. It was also the last place where her parents were seen before they were sent to God in Heaven. That is…if they were brought there.

To be frank, she does not want to be here now. She knows that she was the last to be invited to the meeting. Being constantly overlooked by her own siblings has made her immune to feeling hurt…at times. Okay, she admits that even if she has learned to be the best of the siblings, it would also be nice to feel part of this group her siblings seem to have. It’s ironic that she worked hard to make it to the top to stop being overlooked, but now it seems that she’s gone way too far that she’s lost touch with her siblings.

Upon fixing herself on her seat, her eldest brother, Hilario (but everyone calls him by his nickname, Rio) huffs out tiredly, “I understand that you’ll want to fight back, but there’s no need to be blasphemous.”

"Would you think I have the right to act that way since I was informed later than the others about the meeting tonight?"

"Don't blame me. Sienna was in charge of sending the announcement." He plops down on the chair behind him and rubs his forehead. Catalina noticed that there are more lines on his forehead than the last time she saw him. That is one of the consequences of being the president of the company.

“And are you really blaming me for doing my job?” A new and disembodied voice chimes in, one that sounded offended. A woman then emerges from behind the door that led to the secret bar of the meeting room. She bears the same facial features as Catalina. The only difference is that she looks older by a few years and that is a given since she is the eldest of the seven siblings.

Sienna flashed an unbothered smile toward Catalina as another assistant quietly pulls out her respective chair to give enough space for her to sit on it. “Oh, chin up, dear Nina,” she says nonchalantly to Catalina. “I told your secretary, Tina-”

“Tia.”

“Whatever,” Sienna mutters, waving a hand of dismissal. “Anyway, I told her just in time for you to come here.” Casually she leans back on her chair and gracefully throws her hands in the air. “You have enough time to relax and fix your hair a bit, though. Narni and Loreta went out together to the toilet. Give them a few more minutes and they’ll return.”

Catalina sighs under her breath and decides not to reply. It would be a waste to do so. She has always been annoyed by Sienna.

If there is anyone who shares the same personality as their mama, it would definitely be Sienna. She has this nonchalant aura that hides a bit of an egotistical side to herself. Their mama was exactly like that and it is not a surprise that Sienna got it from her – she grew up being doted on by their mama.

"Sienna," Rio's voice came out as a warning.

"What?" She utters in defense. "Oh, come on, don't act all righteous. You're still younger than me."

"Only by a year."

While waiting quietly as Sienna and Rio engage in a conversation, or argument, on their own, Catalina decides to look out the large windows overlooking one area of the pier, the water glistening due to the light illuminating from the wide streetlamps lining the roads.