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**CHAPTER 5 - THE ONE WITH THE POOL SCENE 1.0**
I'm currently sitting on the edge of the bed while I'm mindlessly folding my things which I'm putting in the open suitcase that's sitting on top of the bed. Like what I said, I quit. I really don't want to. I'm just going home to our family.
My record is good and I'm confident that I'll be able to find a new job soon. What's the point of having a job that pays a lot, but your boss is so mean. My mom didn't work hard and worked hard until I graduated, just so that my future boss could treat me like this. I know my worth. She doesn't deserve me. Her 200k is hers.
As soon as I lifted my head, I looked straight into the full body mirror. I saw my eyes swelling in the reflection of the mirror. I couldn't stop myself from crying. It still hurts to think about what she did. I felt my tears start to fall again while looking in the mirror and I couldn't stop it. I watched myself as heavy tear drops started falling down on my face.
I hate her! I feel so disappointed that I cry. Besides losing the pictures that are important to me, I know part of why I'm so hurt is how she treated me. I know the interactions we had were all stupid, but I thought we were good. She even saved me from choking. I wish I had just believed what Tanya said about her, what everyone else was saying...she has no heart.
"Sky..." I quickly turned to the source of the voice that called my name. It's Dahlia standing in front of my half opened door.
"Can I come in?" she asked even though she was almost inside.
I wiped away my tears with both hands and nodded in response to his question. After that, I went back to folding my things. I felt Dahlia sitting on the edge of the bed. When I looked at her, she had something placed behind her. It looked like a white paper bag, but I didn't look at it that way. Maybe it was just a goodbye gift from her to me...
I hope that's the cake.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry. Dahlia was the one who didn't leave me and supported me earlier until I got up to the room. She was also the one who apologized profusely even though she wasn't at fault. She also took my broken phone, saying that she'll try to do something.
"Not good." I plainly answered. I heard her heave a deep sigh.
"I'm really sorry--"
"It's not your fault, Dahlia. You shouldn't be the one apologizing to me." I quickly cut off her repeated apology.
"Is there no one who can change your decision? Are you really leaving?"
I stopped what I was doing. I didn't answer his question, instead I remained silent while staring at my open suitcase. After a few seconds, I spoke.
"Why are you saying sorry for her?" I asked initially, looking at her. She didn't look away. She was just staring into my eyes now.
"You're a decent person, Dahlia and you're kind hearted. Everyone who works here knows that. But why? Why did you still stay in this house to serve her? You saw what she did, not just to me, not just to Manang Ana, but to everyone who worked for her. That's not how you treat your people. I heard you calling her Cythera, as if you were scolding her, but after that you did nothing to correct her. I'm not putting the blame on you, Dahlia. But I don't understand, how can you hate what she does? Why don't you hate her?" I added.
"Because I know her." she answered in a low voice. It was as if the meaning of her answer was so deep. It was as if there were so many layers that you had to peel away one by one just to get what she meant.
"Cythera, she's...she's not a bad person. In fact, she was the sweetest kid that I know. It's a long story." she said while wearing a weak smile.
I frowned at her answer. Did she say she was?
"Make the story short. What happened?" I asked again.
"It's not my story to tell." Dahlia's short answer
"Maybe it's not your story to tell, but you started it. I'm intrigued. I'm already stressed out, Dahlia, it'll only add to my stress if you don't continue your story. Just tell me the things you feel you have the right to share with me." I answered in a lighter mood and then I crossed my arms.
"Now you have my attention. I'm curious."
Dahlia shook her head while an incredulous smile appeared on her face. "Just now you were crying like a child, now you want me to gossip about you?" she blurted out, making me laugh.
"Let's focus on the goal. The gossip is important. I'll cry again later." I jokingly replied. Now I'm smiling. My mood changes really quickly. Even if you make me cry for 4 hours, you can still make me laugh again. Never mind that my moods have a schedule.
"Cythera's a mommy's girl. She's very close to her mom. When she was little, she almost didn't sleep in her room, she was always there with her mom. She said she couldn't sleep without Tamara," Dahlia recounted.
Tamara Arentsvelt. She's the late wife of Mr. Eros Arentsvelt.
"I started working for this family when they moved here to the Philippines, that was 4 years ago. They were 13 years old, AM and PM, he was 23 years old. He wasn't like that before. He really has a habit of being quiet sometimes and preferring to be alone, but he is very affectionate, especially with his mother. He didn't treat the people around him like that before. Before, he would wake up at five in the morning, I would knock on the door in the room. He would wake up not only me, but also my grandmother Pamela. The three of us would go to the garden to water the flowers and then make sure they were well," Dahlia continued her story.
"Manang Pamela?" It was the first time I heard that name.
"Ah! You haven't seen her yet, by the way. She's our gardener. They live in London, she's the family's gardener. As far as I remember, Cythera is her mom and dad's daughter, and Grandma Pam is their gardener. She's just on leave now because her husband died last Sunday. But she'll be back. She's a lovely old woman."
I just nodded at what Dahlia said and gave her a look telling her to continue with her story, next time it's Grandma Pam who seems to have gotten it right away. Thera inviting me to go to the garden? I can't imagine.
"That's it. Even though Pam and I are so sleepy, we can't help but be with her. She's happy when she's arranging the flowers. You know why she loves taking care of the flowers? Because the garden makes her mom happy. Lady Tamara, she's Thera's life. When she died, it's like...Cythera's soul died with her mother." Sadness gradually appeared on her face after saying that.
"Lady Tamara died 3 years ago. In this mansion it was Cythera's birthday when it happened." I felt a pinching in my heart when Dahlia said those words.
Her mother died on her birthday. How bad is that?!
But I have many questions. According to the news, Lady Tamara was killed by a large syndicate. Seeing this mansion with so many guards and high walls, how did that happen? Inside job?
But instead of asking, I just let Dahlia continue her story. I'll just read on Google later how the break-in to this house happened.
"When the police arrived, they found the three siblings inside the master's bedroom where their mother had been killed. The three of them were behind the door of their mother's walk in closet. Thera had protected her two siblings. So instead of intervening or trying to help her mother, she stayed hidden with her two siblings. She chose the safety of the two. The three of them just watched while their mother was being killed.
That night, PM and Cythera were both stunned when the police took them out of the mansion. AM was the only one crying. Everything changed after that incident. PM developed Post-traumatic stress disorder. It was worse in the first few months compared to what you witnessed on your first day here at the mansion. She had to undergo therapy. She is better now than before, but her PTSD still attacks for a few days. AM remained the same. She was PM's support. AM told me before, from what she saw in her sister and PM, one of them needed to be strong, and that was her. She said she would be the one to be strong so that her two siblings could lean on. That precious child, she always put the welfare of others first." As Dahlia said that, her tears that had been threatening to fall earlier started to fall.
I couldn't stop my tears from falling. Hearing that story about their mother's death. I kind of remembered my own experience. Let it all happen, just don't let your parents die in front of you without you being able to do anything.
"While Cythera, she...she became an empty shell of a human. She had a bad fight with AM before. Her brother couldn't accept the change in their sister. AM's screams were etched in my mind. It was as if their sister had also disappeared that night. That Thera was no longer alive, she was just breathing. AM confronted her asking if she's blaming them for their mother's death because that's what their sister made them feel when she rarely interacted with them. Like what I said, if you've met her before that incident, you'll say that Cythera died with her mother." he continued while looking like he was remembering what happened.
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**ENJOY**