DETECTIVE FILES. File 2 (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 39: OVER DINNER

Chapter 39: Over Dinner

The ambiance inside the Vander Mansion is a million times scarier than in Ryu's car. Habang lulan kami ng kotse ay hindi kami nag-usap. Parehas kaming galit for no apparent reason. Maybe this is what we have in common as siblings. Little patience and bratty attitude.

Nang makarating kami sa Vander Mansion ay hindi ko pa rin siya pinansin at nagtuloy-tuloy lamang sa dining hall kung saan iginiya ako ng katulong.

Pagdating ko doon ay tila pinagsisihan kong hindi ko na hinintay si Ryu. It made me want to regret fighting with him dahil kailangan ko siya ngayon upang makapitan. When he walked inside the hall ay napaatras ako at hinawakan ang laylayan ng kanyang damit.

Bahala na kung hindi man kami
nagkasundo kanina, basta kailangan kong kumapit sa kanya. Okay he's scary when he drove with his brows meeting kanina. But these people in the long table are a lot scarier.

Did I miss to hear when Mom said that we'll have the Vander Clan's Dinner? Oh, I thought when she said Family dinner, she meant her, Rionessi, Ryu and me. When she said there are some relatives and family friends, I thought that she meant Cool with Cooler. But these people in front of me are not what I'm expecting. The long table was set for a feast, I expected it but not this lot.

I saw Artemis rose from her seat at lumapit sa akin. She hugged me and kissed my cheeks.

"Hello Amber— Oh I mean Ryle. My name is Ryza Raine Morisson! Your cousin", she said with a smile. Artemis has always been the carefree reaper that I know. Akala ko talaga dati she can identify an IQ count by merely looking at the person and how stupid I am for believing so. Sa pagkakaalala ko ay BS Psychology graduate ito, with flying colors and now she's pursuing medicine.  "Welcome to the family!"

I gave her a smile bago tiningnan ang mga tao sa mesa. There was this man who looks like Rionessi and I guess that's Artemis' father. Kasama rin nito ang babaeng walang kangiti-ngiti. Of the reapers, si Artemis at Ares lang ang nakilala ko.

Have I told you na hindi pa rin ngumingiti sa akin si Ares? He just used to look at me straight in the face. Cooler and Cronus were there too, of course they are the host of the house.

Sa kanang bahagi ng mesa ay may kambal na pawang babae. Parehong nakataas ang kilay nila habang nakatingin sa akin. It's hard to tell the difference between them by merely looking at their appearance. May tila mag-asawa din na naroon at may kasama itong lalaki. He was grinning like he's saying "I-know-what-you-did" at yung tipo ng tingin na magu-guilty ka kapag may ginawa ka.

"Is that your daughter Rionessi?", tanong ng lalaking kamukha ni Rion— I mean ni Daddy.

Dad rose from his seat at sinalubong ako. He reached for my shoulders at inakbayan ako. He faced the little crowd in front.

"Yes, everyone, I would like you to meet my daughter Ryle Vander Morisson", he said at napansin kong tila walang ni isa man na ngumiti sa kanila, well except Cronus. He was flashing his playful smile at nakikita ko ang pagkapilyo ni Cooler sa kanya.

Ayaw ba nila sa akin? Okay, I'm not expecting everyone to give me warm welcome with matching hugs and kisses like Artemis did pero di ba pwedeng magpakita man lamang sila ng konting galak? Even Cooler! He's not smiling at all!

"Rionessi, naniniwala na kaming si Sweet nga iyan after you presented us the DNA result, but how about that kid? She must undergo DNA testing too.", wika ng isang babae. She looks
like she's around 50 but still pretty and classy.

Nagulat na lamang ako nang tumayo si Mommy at ibinagsak ang palad sa mesa. "Are you doubting my daughter? I'm the one who carried her for nine months! I woke up one day without memory but I'm pregnant. I may be depressed that time but I'm really pregnant! I'm three months pregnant when the accident happened that leads to my amnesia and I carried her in my womb despite my memory loss!", galit na wika ni Mommy. "Bakit kailangan pang ipa-DNA test si Amber? I don't think that's necessary!"