Disturbed Serenity

26 - Extinguish the ruins

First Person Point of View.

The voices I heard since yesterday turned into echos. Seems like my mind is struggling to process each thought of what happened. I had my whole morning with Mama Diva, and our company's secretary so they could brief me how to behave like a heiress.

"This is it, Chiara, dearest. Marami akong tinuro sa'yo so you can be ready for this. We will not fail." Auntie Esmeralda held my hand while I saw a lot of people with cameras glanced at our car.

I barely slept. Punong puno ako ng emosyon sa mga nangyari, at si Auntie paulit ulit niya lang ako ina-assure na magiging maayos din ang lahat basta hindi kami susuko lalo na raw ako.

I was wearing a long white asymmetrical dress that touched enough my ankle. My auntie chose a specific color for this as white signifies clean and purity because I did nothing wrong regarding my sudden disappearance.

Also, white because I'll be announcing that I am a newly wedded woman. Napagusapan na namin kung ano ang dapat gawin. Alam na rin lahat ni Hugo dahil sila naman ang nagplano non. He will be just beside us while we do the talking.

While his team will continue their surveillance because we invited Lucy and my family. Everything is all planned out, and here I am trying to trust myself that I can do this. 

"We will never fail, Auntie." She looks proud with my answer. The best thing I can do is make my family proud.

Pinagbuksan na kami ng pinto ni Ajax dahil oras na ng pagbaba namin. A lot of flashing cameras were directly pointed to us, at dahil sa ensayo ko nung tatlong araw na halos na-isolate ako ni Auntie hindi ako nahirapan sa pagtingin dito.

It was all blinding, and they were all trying to shout out of surprised. This is the world where I don't feel like I belong. The world I wanted to escape so bad, but the journey to life is finding yourself back. You can still hate something that is part of you, but it is still yours.

"Esmeralda Morgana is still stunning in her 50s!"

"Madalang na siyang makita sa camera nang ilang taon!"

"Madame! Look here, please!"

"Madame Esmeralda! Can we get an interview?!"

"She's still a fashionista! Madame Esmeralda, please let us see you more!"

Narinig ko lalo ang mas malakas na bulungan ng mga reporters, nang lumabas na ako. I breathed so much air and gave them a smile. I have been with a lot of special press cons, but this is the biggest of them all. 

Bata pa ako noon, at pinoprotektahan kami nila Mommy, at daddy  sa mainit na gigil ng media sa pamilya namin. Suddenly my mom flashed in my mind, and I imagined her walking with me today.

"Chiara Ysela is alive?!"

"The beautiful heiress is back!"

"What about Lucy?!"

"She's an adult now and glowing!"

"Miss Chiara, smile to the camera!"

Auntie was doing her favorite part, being the center of attention. She was never seen close with our family because of the small issues we had. People know that too, kaya nga siguro lalo silang nagulat na magkasama kami. Nanatili kaming tahimik at nakangiti sakanila dahil mahigpit itong bilin ni Auntie.

Sinalubong kami ni Hugo na lumabas lang out of nowhere. He was dashing in his tuxedo. He smiled at me and offered his arms. Auntie made a way for us to look like we're a couple. Totoo naman din. Pormal kaming lahat na narito para sa plano.