Chapter 9

As Jace, Laszlo, Linus, and Ryker went out of the room, they were greeted by a stunning sight.

The sandy shoreline stretched out before them, with crystal-clear waters lapping gently at the

shore. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm, golden glow across the landscape.

In the distance, they could see a few sailboats bobbing on the water, and a flock of seagulls

circling overhead. Palm trees dotted the beach, swaying gently in the ocean breeze. A few small

crabs scurried along the sand, and the occasional wave would wash up a shell or piece of

driftwood.

As they walked further along the beach, they could see a rocky outcropping jutting out into the

water, and a few people were perched on top, taking in the view. To the left, a small pier

extended out into the water, and a few fishermen were casting their lines into the sea.

Nang mapagod ay napagdesisyunan nila na maupo sa tabing dagat. Habang nakatingin silang

apat sa magandang view sa kanilang harapan, ang mga tao na mapapadaan naman ay

napapatingin sa kanila dahil sa kani-kanilang aking ganda.

Despite their casual attire, it was impossible to ignore their striking looks. Maayos pa nga ang

kanilang pananamit, paano pa kaya kung makita nila ang apat na ito na nakahubad? Baka hindi

na nila tanggalin pa ang kanilang mga tingin sa kanila.

They had chiseled features, strong jawlines, and piercing eyes that seemed to reflect the colors

of the ocean. Their hair was tousled by the salty breeze, adding to their effortlessly cool

demeanor.

Ryker cleared his throat, taking a courage to ask Jace about his attitude towards Itzy. After a

few moments of silence, Ryker finally took the courage to ask. "Hey, Jace. Bakit kung kausapin

mo si Ma'am Itzy ay parang ka-level lang natin siya? Nakalimutan mo na ba na pinagsisilbihan

natin siya at ang pamilya niya?"

Dahil sa tanong ni Ryker ay hindi naiwasan nina Laszlo at Linus na mapatingin sa dalawa.

Naghihintay din sila ng isasagot ni Jace dahil napansin din nila ang pagkawalang galang nito sa

dalaga.

Jace gazed out at the waves in the sea, his expression intense as he spoke. "How can I respect

her when she doesn't even show respect for our work?" He said.

Laszlo looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean?" He didn't understand what Jace was

trying to say.

Meanwhile, Linus wore a sad expression on his face and asked, "Does she really hate us?" The

thought of being disliked by someone made him feel unhappy.

Jace casually shrugged and revealed, "She specifically asked me not to tell her father about

what I witnessed on our first day."

"Ano ba ang nakita mo" tanong ni Ryker.

Without hesitation, Jace disclosed, "I saw her coming from the restroom with her lunch box in

hand." This statement left all three of them in disbelief.

There was a moment of silence before Ryker threw another question. "Lumabas siya ro'n bitbit

ang lunch box niya? Anong ginagawa ng lunch box niya ro'n?"

"Don't tell me..." napatakip ng bibig si Linus nang magkaroon siya ng ideya.

Laszlo's voice carried a sense of gravity as he said, "Given what we've just witnessed, it seems

likely that Ma'am Itzy was hiding something from us."

"That's obvious," Jace responded.

Ryker leaned forward, curious. "So, what did you say to Ma'am Itzy when she asked you not to

tell her dad?"

"I refused, even though she offered me a tip," Jace explained.

"Pero base sa pagkakaalala ko, no'ng unang magreport tayo kay Sir Gerard, wala ka naman

sinabi tungkol kay Ma'am Itzy," sabi ni Linus, nakahawak siya sa kaniyang baba habang

nakatingin sa itaas, tila inaalala ang mga nangyari.

Jace nodded and admitted, "I didn't tell Mr. Gerard about it because I knew she had her

reasons, but she assumed that I had spilled the information to him."

Curious, Laszlo asked, "What do you think could be the reason?"

Jace took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding, "That's... exactly what our job

was—to find out. Ano ang pumipigil sa kanya na iulat ang lahat ng nangyari sa kanyang araw?

At kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa kanya tatlong araw na ang nakararaan?"

"Damn. Sa tingin niyo may kaaway siya sa school?" Tanong ni Linus.

Napabuntong hininga naman si Ryker. "Mukha namang mabait si Ma'am Itzy, malabo na may

makaaway siya."

"Pagtapos ng araw na 'to, kailangan natin tutukan ng atensyon si Ma'am Itzy. Hindi natin

mahahanap ang sagot sa lahat ng katanungan natin dahil base sa nakikita ko, wala siyang

plano sabihin sa'tin ang lahat. Hindi natin siya mapapaamin kaya kailangan natin gawin ang

lahat ng ating makakaya," tugon ni Laszlo.

"Yeah, let's do our job well," Linus said and smiled.

The sky was painted with a beautiful array of pink, orange and purple hues. The sound of the

waves crashing against the shore provided a soothing background to their conversation.

As they talked and laughed, they couldn't help but notice the curious glances of passersby.

Some even stopped in their tracks to get a better look, causing Laszlo and Linus to exchange a

knowing smile.

It wasn't the first time they had experienced this kind of attention. Their beauty was something

that had always been a part of them, and while it could be daunting at times, they had learned to

embrace it.

As the night grew darker, they reluctantly stood up to leave, bidding the ocean goodbye. As they

walked away, the eyes of onlookers followed them, their beauty lingering in the minds of those

who had been lucky enough to witness it.

As they got back to their room, they found Itzy watching a television. Itzy turned to them as they

opened the door and was about to stand up to get back to her room when her legs failed to

cooperate.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath, frustrated with her own physical limitations. She remained

seated, looking up at the four men with a mix of embarrassment and disappointment.

"Gutom ka na ba, ma'am?" Tanong ni Linus na agad siyang nilapitan. May balak pa sana siyang

umupo sa tabi ni Itzy kaso naalala niya ang ginawang pagtulak ng dalaga kay Laszlo kaya agad

na nagbago ang isip niya.

Umiling lamang si Itzy at binalik ang mga mata sa telebisyon, ngunit wala naman talaga ro'n ang

atensyon niya. Hindi siya makapag-focus sa kaniyang pinapanood dahil ramdam niya ang mga

mata ng apat na nakatingin sa kaniya.

Nang hindi na niya mapigilan pa ang sarili ay nilingon niya ang apat habang nakakunot ang noo.

"What? May gusto ba kayong sabihin? Unti na lang ay mabubutas na ang mukha ko dahil sa

nga mata niyo."

Agad na nagsi-iwas ng tingin ang apat. Si Jace ay dumiretso sa kusina upang magluto. Si Ryker

naman ay kumuha ng walis at winalisan ang kumilintab na sahig. Si Laszlo naman ay naupo sa

kabilang sofa at nagpanggap na nanonood. At habang si Linus naman ay tumalikod at

napakamot sa kaniyang patilya, hindi alam ang gagawin.

Itzy clicked her tongue. "Tapos ngayon magpapanggap kayo na walang nangyari? Hindi niyo ba

narinig ang tanong ko? Bakit hindi kayo sumasagot?"

Pagtapos ng ilang minuto na katahimikan ay wala pa ring sumagot sa kaniya, animo'y hangin

ang kausap nito. Napailing na lamang siya, pinag-krus niya ang kaniyang braso, sinandal ang

kaniyang likod at tinuon muli ang atensyon sa telebisyon.

Natapos na ang balita sa pinapanood ni Itzy kasabay ng pagtapos ng pagluluto ni Jace. Nang

maihanda na ang pagkain sa lamesa ay tinawag na niya ang kaniyang mga kasama upang

kumain. Tahimik lamang sila sa hapag-kainan. Noong una, ayaw kumain ni Itzy dahil wala

siyang tiwala sa luto ni Jace ngunit nang makita kung gaano katakaw si Linus ay tinikman na rin

niya ang pagkain na hinanda ng binata. Pagtapos matikman iyon, hindi niya maitatanggi na may

talent sa pagluluto si Jace. Pero imbes na purihin ito ay tahimik lamang siya na kumain, habang

ang apat naman ay nagpalitan ng tingin pagtapos mapansin na kinain ni Itzy ang pagkain na

niluto ni Jace.

Naputol ang katahimikan nang magsalita si Itzy, "So... Hanggang kailan tayo mag-stay dito?"

Nagkatinginan muna ang apat bago sumagot si Jace. "We'll stay until your wounds heal and the

bruises fade."

"Paano kung umabot ito ng isang buwan? Hindi ba magtataka si Dad?" Tanong niyang muli,

halata sa boses ang pag-aalala sa kung ano ang iisipin ng kaniyang ama.

"Don't worry, ma'am, sinabi naman ni Laszlo na ikaw ang may gusto ng bakasyon na ito para

makapag-unwind," sagot ni Ryker.

Tumango si Linus bilang pagsang-ayon sa sinabi ni Ryker. "Wala ring makalalabas ng ibang

impormasyon tungkol dito dahil kaming apat lang ang may alam."

Binaba ni Itzy ang kutsara't tinidor at tumingin sa apat. "Paano ko naman masisiguro na

nagsasabi kayo ng totoo?"

"Kung gusto ka namin ilaglag sa Dad mo, sana hindi na kami nag-atubili pa na dalhin ka rito at

iskreto ang tungkol sa kalagayan mo," sagot ni Laszlo, trying to persuade her to trust them.

Itzy scoffed and said, "But didn't you bring me here to save yourselves? You don't want to lose

your jobs. If my father discovers that I was injured because you failed to do your job correctly,

you will be fired. Am I wrong?"

Nagulat ang apat sa sinabi niya. Hindi nila maitatanggi na totoo ang sinabi niya, ngunit may

parte pa rin sa puso nila na kaya nila ginawa iyon ay para rin tulungan siya.

After a brief silence, Jace spoke up. "You're right, we didn't want to lose our jobs."

"H-Hey!" Ryker tried to stop him but Jace continued.

"But it's not just about us. We also did it to protect you. You have a secret that you're hiding from

your parents, right? That's why they hired us—to find out that secret."

"W-What are you trying to say?" She asked, her voice trembling with nervousness.

Jace leaned back and crossed his legs. "But here's the thing, even if we didn't hide you here, we

already had a clue about your secret. And if we didn't intervene, your parents might have found

out about it too."

Pinagpawisan ng malamig si Itzy at hindi na nakasagot pa. Tumayo siya at iniwan do'n ang

apat, bumalik siya sa kaniyang kwarto na puno ng kaba ang dibdib. Habang ang apat naman na

naiwan sa dining area ay pinalibutan ng katahimikan.

Hindi makaangal ang tatlo sa sinabi ni Jace, dahil alam nila na ginawa lang ito ng binata para

hindi sila maliitin ni Itzy, upang isipin din ng dalaga na hindi sila gano'n kadali paikutan sa

kaniyang daliri.

Ngunit ano na nga ba ang mangyayari sa kanila pagtapos ng pag-uusap na 'to? Pumasok kaya

sa isip ng dalaga ang gusto ipahiwatig ni Jace sa mga salitang binitawan niya? Magkaroon na

kaya siya ng tiwala sa apat?