Growing up in a well-known family, Celeste Aragon always lived in unending rules. And among all of the rules, there's one rule she should never violate: Never ever show her special ability to anyone. Her being illusionist should be a secret. But Cel...
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THE moment the guy named Liam clicked a button on the remote, a sudden and sharp electrical shock went in my body. I couldn't help but scream my lungs out. Dali-daling tinakpan ni Amara ang bibig ko.
"Liam, shut it," saway bigla ni Danyl.
Biglang tumigil ang kuryenteng nararamdaman ko. Amara removed her hand from covering my mouth and immediately stood up beside me. I felt my energy being sucked out. Ramdam ko ang panghihina ng kalamnan ko. I remained lying on the floor, breathing heavily.
Liam laughed as if he just witnessed the funniest thing he ever saw. He, then, turned his head towards me. "That was epic. Have you ever been electrified by these things?"
I remained my mouth shut. He was greeted by silence.
"Oh, of course, you haven't. Namuhay ka nga pala bilang normal, ano?" he added. That sounded like a pure sarcasm.
I could see Danyl out of the corner of my eye, looking at me.
"It wasn't supposed to reach this way if you just cooperate with me," he said.
Mabilis na nagsalubong ang kilay ko at agad siyang nilingon. "You think I'm dumb? Ikaw 'tong tangang lumapit sa akin at umaktong hulog ng langit na handang-handang tulungan ako na malinis ang pangalan ko. You really think that my family wouldn't know who owned the Open Secrets website?"
The expression in his face didn't change, but I saw the anger that passed through his eyes. Like a realization that his facade didn't fool me at all. Ngunit nanlaki ang mata ko nang bigla kong maramdaman ang pagbigat ng leeg ko. I moved my eyes to Amara and saw her feet touching my neck. She wasn't stepping on it, just touching it with her feet.
"You talk too much," malamig na saad niya nang magtama ang paningin namin.
I could feel the roughness of her shoe, the little dirt that fell on my skin coming from its sole. My heart skipped a beat when she put more weight on it. I was frozen in place. Hindi ko maigalaw ang leeg ko sa takot na baka bigla niyang diinan ang tapak.
"You talk like your family would save you." She let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Kasi alam mo sa pagkakaalam ko, ni mga magulang mo hindi ka binibisita kasi panay ang iwas nila sa mga press at media. Kung makapagsalita ka parang biglang bubukas 'yang pintuan at babarilin kami ng mga tauhan ng Dad mo. The rumors are really right. Mayabang ka nga. Tapang-tapangan ka lang naman kasi buong buhay mo, protektado ka ng pamilya mo. But look at your family right now. Completely messed up." Ginagalaw-galaw niya pa ang paa niya sa may leeg ko habang nakalabas ang isang mapang-asar na ngisi.
"Inggit ka lang yata e. Bakit? Kasi ba kapag nakulong ka, walang mag-aabalang magpiyansa sa 'yo?" I responded with mockery.
Her smirk dropped and immediately put more force on her feet. Bigla akong nasakal sa pagkakatapak niyang 'yon at hindi na makahinga. I was trying to grasp for air as I held her leg and pushed it away from me. Ngunit gano'n na lang ang lakas niya nang mas lalo niya pang diinan ang pagkakatapak sa leeg ko. I couldn't breathe. I wanted to scream but even a single scream wouldn't come out of my mouth. Pabilis nang pabilis ang tibok ng puso ko dahil sa adrenaline na nararamdaman.
