My Significant Bother

St. Anthony's Retreat

Warning: This chapter is full of angst. But I promise, it hurts so good.

The thing was, Regina always joked that your life will flash before your eyes before you die.

Regina had been in the brink of death before.  Reckless car accidents when she was rebelling.  A really bad case of pneumonia as a child.

She never believed life flashed before your eyes because it never happened to her.

But that moment she saw flashes.  Rapid.  Moments. 

All those suspicious times with Narda.

She saw flashes, even though she was far from dying.

She thought of the intricate web of deception beneath the sweet words.

She suddenly felt her tears, it ached to be this vulnerable for Regina.

She then faced her sister, her eyes, emotionless.

"Luna --- I want you to get in the car with Ali and I will meet you at home," Regina suddenly said, her voice still quivering.

"Ate, NO!" Luna was dragging Regina's arm, telling her to go with her.

"Luna, I know what I am doing. I want my last time alone with her."

Regina's tone was austere, almost without a smidge of emotion.   Her voice now sounding hoarse, her eyes now serpentine as she looked at Narda.

Ali, their driver grabbed Luna by her shoulders, encouraging her to leave with him.

He kept nodding and pleading, he had been working with the Vanguardias since he was a teenager.  He knew Regina's volatile and damaging temper.

Luna finally settled in the car but she chose to still watch her sister from afar. She was marred by guilt more than anything.

She knew she set this ship to shore. She knew she was a mastermind behind this manipulation.

She looked at her ring finger and she still wore Carson Chu's championship ring.  She bitterly took it off.

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There was pure silence as Regina and Narda stood there by the creek. The cold wind blew on their faces and the skirts under their hoodies.

The creek was a treasured place. So many memories were made there. Kisses, laughing while driving, and dreaming of a future together.

Now the memory would be completely tainted. Now as they reached their expiration date, it was now just tainted with deceit and a nightmare.

"Regina, kung pwede ko lang ma-explain sa'yo --- yun yung gusto ko sabihin kanina. Yun yung mga recordings na pinadala ko. Regina, I am so sorry pero hindi ganun yun.... maniwala ka --- it's not what it is like--- Regina, makinig ka saakin, please," Narda implored like her life depended on it, her eyes filled with desperation and her voice like a child begging.

She kept trying to hold on to Regina's hand but Regina kept driving it away. She looked disgusted every time Narda would even try touch her.

"Tell me. What was it like, Narda? Down payment, tapos ano? Bonus each time na nagsex tayo? Lokong loko mo ako.  Did you enjoy it? Does it make you feel like a god? Tuwang tuwa ka na? Ano nga yun? Sabi mo noon? Nakaganti ka na sa walang empathy? Ang galing mo---- Putangina mo!!"

Regina's voice was unrecognizable as she quavered.  She was screaming by the end of her sentence.  The searing tears fell to her face, her mascara mixing in.