The White in her Black

Prologue

I tried stopping myself from crying but I couldn't. The moment my niece hugged me as I receive a message of the death of my beloved sister, her mom.

Hindi man niya naiintindihan ang sinasabi ko, sinasabayan niya naman ang iyak ko. She was wiping my tears away as she was crying herself out.

"Baby..." I said as I hug Reese tighter.

She hugged me even more. She cried herself on my shoulder till I felt how heavy she became. She cried herself to sleep.

Maingat kong ibinaba ang pamangkin at lumapit kay Joshua para yumakap at umiyak. He's my sister's husband.

"I'm sorry for not being there..." umiiyak na saad ko.

He's as broken as me. My family doesn't like Joshua for my sister but she got pregnant so nobody could do anything about it. Isa pa, ayaw nila kaming pauwiin sa Pilipinas dahil ang sabi nila, maliligaw lang daw kami sa tamang landas doon.

But this time, I won't let them stop me and Reese. I am fuming mad. Ang aksidente na nangyari sa kapatid ko ay halatang sinadya niya. Her car was seen on a cliff as well as her body.

Tinawagan ko ang pinakamalapit niyang pinsan. Si Janine. Janine cried with me. She went to Korea immediately using a helicopter but left the night after the cremation of my sister.

As I look back, napapaisip lang ako kung bakit hindi na talaga ako dapat babalik doon. I hate everyone. Kung papipiliin lang, mas gugustuhin kong manatili habang buhay dito sa Pilipinas.

Malayo sa alaala ng kapatid ko, malayo sa sakit na idinulot ng pamilya ko sa akin. Malayo sa mga pwedeng manakit sakin. Saamin ng mga pinsan at anak namin.

It was an exhausting afternoon as I process the papers of my daughter. Our daughter. From now on, until our next life, kami na ang tatayong magulang ni Reese. She has five mommies now: Me, Jessica, Janine, Aubrey, and Belle.

We already discussed on how we're gonna take care of Reese. Ang usapan lang, kung kakailanganin ni Joshua si Reese, walang tatanggi. We need to understand the situation clearly.

At kung may mag tatanong man, hindi pwedeng itanggi na anak namin si Reese. Anak naming lahat.

"Imagine requesting to let Reese stay with them but hating Joshua's presence at the same time!" Nauubusan ng pasensya na sabi ni Janine.

Ayaw na ayaw talaga ng pamilya ko kay Joshua. Lalo na sa desisyon ng kapatid ko, si Cassy, na mag anak. They loved Reese but they hated my sister and her husband.

Mismong ang kasal nila ay hindi sa amin pinaalam. Kaibigan lang nila ang witnesses na naroon. They were scared that the wedding might be stopped.

Saturday night and Janine will be sleeping here in my penthouse. Tulog na si Reese sa kuwarto niya. Si Joshua ay nasa guest room, iuuwi sa pamilya niya si Reese bukas.

"Fucking family standards." Mariing sambit ko.

The anger that we have for our mother side is really high. Ayaw rin kasi nila sa sexual preference ni Janine. She's the B in LGBT. Mabuti na lang at hindi ganon ang magulang ni Jessica.

Janine and I are cousins by our father. Sa mother side naman, pinsan namin sina Aubrey, the model, Belle, the one I'm running the university with, and Jessica, her father is the known architect in town, also, her mom is the kindest of tita's that we have. Sobrang pure.

"You have been busy lately, haven't seen you in a while." Sambit ni Belle sa tawag.

She was right tho. Busy ako sa Parem kaya halos mag isa lang siyang nakatutok sa university. And I'm thankful for her. She's managing things really well.