DARK CHOCOLATE SERIES BOOK 2: Sugary Lies, Hearts on Fire

Mrs. Filomino - Prologue

Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies.

--- Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are two kinds of the people in the world. Those who put all their faculties in searching for the truth, and those who are ready to endure and do the most horrible acts to keep the truth concealed. They're enemies with each other, never realizing that even though their principles are diametrically opposed, they both in fact desire the same thing—peace of mind.

The day I swallowed those pills and got inside the tub, I grew tired of the struggle with truth. I took a shortcut to achieve peace of mind. Somebody blackmailed me and told me that the secret I tried to protect for so long was no longer safe.

I just grew tired of living in fear and anxiety. It was that simple.

Armado, my husband, never thought there was a blackmailer. I never told him. Too bad some of the ladies on my street found the blackmail note first before he did. He convinced these ladies no one was trying to blackmail me. He came up with a story to make them doubt the existence of a blackmailer. He told them I wrote the note to myself, saying I battled with schizophrenia during my last days.

My husband would do anything to keep the Pandora's box closed. Anything. No one should know there was a ghost from our past. And he figured the blackmailer did not really know about the secret. After all, how would Lulu know? There was absolutely no way she could.

But he paid a man to have Lulu killed anyway. Poor girl. She worked for almost two years doing odd jobs around the house. I treated her with so much love. I treat all younger women that way. I guess because my only daughter, Isabella, was never there to receive the love I yearned to give.

Ah, Isabella, my bundle of joy... who hated me.

Nakuntento na lang akong mahalin ang mga dalaga na naging malapit sa akin noon. Jaye, Alexandra, Lulu, and Shelley---the ladies who knew about the note. Shelley now doubted what my husband told them about my psychological condition though there was a time when she believed it.

Alam niya na mataas ang presyon ko at hindi aakma sa akin ang gamot na sinabi sa kanila ni Armado na iniinom ko. She wondered why my husband lied about that. She wondered why my husband chose to make them believe I was crazy and as a result, protected the blackmailer.

She had no idea the person my husband thought was the blackmailer would die.

It had been fairly easy for the man my husband hired to find out who the blackmailer was. My cat was strangled with a belt. And the belt belonged to Lulu.

Though not having any idea how Lulu got the idea that I had a secret, it had not been hard for Armado to be convinced she was indeed the one who threatened me, as a result, making me kill myself. Aside from owning the belt, she was also the one who found the box I put the note in and took it away.

Nakita siya ni Shelley at naghinala itong nagnanakaw siya. At iyon mismo ang sinabi niya sa asawa ko. Kinuha niya ang kahon dahil inakala niyang may lang alahas iyon.

It was a lie.

Nang araw na iyon ay walang tao sa bahay namin. Umalis si Armado papunta sa opisina niya. He was a businessman. He was rich. And he had no idea there was a blackmail note sitting in my box for Lulu to discover. Dahil may tiwala na kami kay Lulu, may kopya na siya ng susi sa bahay para makakapasok kung maglilinis siya. Lulu only accidentally found the box. All she wanted was to look at old photos of me. She loved me, too, you see. Isa siya sa umiyak nang umiyak noong mawala na ako.

Lulu was surprised when she saw the photo of Cattie, strangled by a belt she immediately recognized as hers. She did not send the note. She did not kill Cattie. But she knew who might have. She knew she needed to protect that person. She remembered it was only a couple of weeks ago when her sister, Katalina, borrowed her belt and never returned it.

Naisip niya agad na kailangan niyang itago iyon. Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit kabadong-kabado siyang tumalilis sa bahay. Lulu was a very nice girl. Hindi siya ang tipong makakagawa ng ganoong bagay. alam na alam niyang ibang-iba sa kanya si Katalina.

mahal na mahal ni Lulu ang kapatid at alam niyang kailangan niya itong protektahan. You see, Lulu's battle with the truth had been going on for a very long time. And the subject of it was no other than her sister.