Villaverde Brothers Series 2: Jilting the Fearless✓

Prologue

I watched Dad as we are eating breakfast silently. Diretso lang ang tingin niya sa pagkain niya, hindi pa nag-aangat ng tingin sa amin kahit isang beses mula nang maupo kami sa hapag.

My gaze went to my Mom who's currently looking at me, too. Sinenyasan niya ako na sabihin na kay Daddy ang gusto kong sabihin. Nanlalamig ang kamay ko ngayon at medyo nanginginig, hindi mahawakan nang maayos ang kubyertos.

I cleared my throat, which made my Dad look at me suspiciously.

He took his napkin and wiped his mouth without taking away his stare at me.

"Say what you want to say. Don't make me wait," he said sternly.

I bit my lips. Napatingin ulit ako kay Mommy pero nag-iwas siya ng tingin. She wants me to speak for myself.

I let out a deep breath. "The entrance exam for law—"

"You won't take the exam," he cut me off.

I'm still not done talking but he already had his answer, and that is final.

I had tried talking to him about my dream to be a lawyer for so many years, but I always received the same answer he gave me the first time that I talked about it.

He's a lawyer, yet he doesn't want me to be like him.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit.

"O-okay . . ." I said to him.

Ever since I was a kid, I'm very sure of it . . . na gusto kong maging abogado katulad niya . . . that I want to stand for those who are oppressed . . . to give justice to those who need it and deserve it.

Other parents would be proud if their child wants to be like them, pero si Daddy iba. Kay Mommy ayos lang naman, pero siya ayaw niya talaga.

Natapos ang almusal nang wala nang nagsalita pa sa amin. My brother, Reneil, followed me upstairs. Iniwan kong bukas ang pinto ng kuwarto dahil alam kong papasok din siya.

I sat on my bed, while he just stood up and inclined his back on the door after closing it.

"That's fine, ate . . ." He tried to comfort me.

"That will never be okay, Reneil."

He's 16, a fresh graduate in junior high school and will enter senior high school a month from now. He doesn't know what I feel because Dad allowed him to take Aeronautical Engineering when he's already in College.

"Why won't you try to make him understand why you like to enter law school?" he suggested.

"I tried a lot of times. The answer is always no." I rolled my eyes. "I don't know why."

"Perhaps he thinks that you can't . . ."

"I can," I defended.

He shrugged. "I think the best way is to live alone and choose the things that make you happy, Ate. You're old enough and you can stand on your own."

"Yeah."

"Living on the same roof with Dad means being stopped from the things that you wanted to do," he added. "I'm not saying that it's better to walk away from this household and cut him or discard us. I'm suggesting you move out, so you can do what you want to do and prove yourself to Dad that you can be what you want to be and you're better that way."

I sighed. He has a point, but I don't know if I'm brave enough to leave. Nang hindi na ako magsalita ay umayos na siya ng tayo at hinawakan ang doorknob, hudyat na lalabas na siya.

"I'll leave you here," he said.

"Okay. Thanks, Reneil."

He nodded. He opened the door and made his way outside. Nang makalabas na siya ay napabuntonghininga na lang ako dahil sa frustration.