SAKI
I don’t know what to do. I’ve been staring blankly for a while now, and I haven’t been answering Gin’s calls. I’m just sitting on Grie’s bed, still unable to leave, and I’m starting not to care anymore.
Where are my nieces and nephews now that my sister is in jail? They’re in Davao, while I’m here in Manila. It’s too far, but I need to go there to get my sister’s children.
Then a thought crossed my mind—now that my sister is in jail, there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer. Fuck this place. I don’t want to live in a house where Grie is. I can’t stomach it anymore. I’m surrounded by the Ambersons. I’m on the McGregors’ side, and staying here is dangerous for me.
I snapped out of my thoughts when the door suddenly opened. A tall man entered—who else but Grie? He was holding a phone, and just like earlier, his damn face remained blank. I know he’s lying when he said he wasn’t the one who reported my sister to the police. I know it was him. I can feel it.
He closed the door while keeping his eyes fixed on me.
“It was Rexton Dela Vega who had your sister arrested,” he began. “He caught her and her kids in Davao. I had nothing to do with Saica’s capture.”
Rexton Dela Vega… my sister’s former patient. That psychopath.
I didn’t answer.
I just looked away and let him stand there in front of me.
I couldn’t think of anything to say. And honestly, I couldn't focus. I didn’t know what to think anymore because my mind was racing with too many thoughts.
“Saki.”
I swallowed hard when I felt him sit beside me.
No. I don’t want him near me. It makes me sick. I feel uncomfortable. His scent—his manly scent—is too familiar, and I hate it.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
It infuriates me how he still speaks to me in that commanding tone whenever he tells me to do something.
“Leave me alone, please,” I said firmly, finally turning to face him.
He wasn’t even dressed up. He looked simple, but I could still feel his presence—the power he exuded, the way he could make me obey him if he wanted to.
“Goddamn it, Sakina,” he muttered irritably, running a hand through his hair and letting out a sharp breath. “I already told you—I’m not the one who tipped off the police. Nor were River or Augustus.”
“I don’t care if it was you or not,” I replied. “All I want now is to go home. I’m going back to who I used to be. I have nothing left to protect now.”
Silence filled the room for a moment.
“Ah, no. I can’t allow that,” he suddenly said, his voice laced with finality. There was resistance in every word he spoke.
I immediately stood up and faced him. Our eyes met, but I couldn’t read anything from him. I couldn’t see a single emotion.
His eyes had darkened. I knew he didn’t like the idea of me running away from him. He didn’t want me to have peace.
I hate this man.
“Then what?!” I shouted at him. “I don’t want to be here anymore! I want to go home!”
I just want to be at peace! I don’t care if he was the one who reported my sister or not—I just want him to let me go!
“Ah.” A smirk appeared on Grie’s lips as he remained seated on the bed. “Maybe he’s good in bed—that’s why you can’t leave him.”
What the fuck?
My brows furrowed.
“What the hell are you talking about?!” I snapped, my teeth clenched in fury. Is he seriously implying that the only reason I want to leave is because I can’t wait to sleep with Gin?!
Seriously?!
This man has lost his damn mind!
“What?” He chuckled. Then he stood up and stared down at me.
A shiver ran down my spine at the way he was looking at me. It was as if he was planning something. Something bad.
He always has something bad planned, but this time, I felt fear.
“Why don’t I just give you what you want, huh?” He stepped closer to me.
Fuck. No…
“I’m better than that man, Saki,” he said.
“Shut up!” I backed away. “I’m not a whore, Amberson! What the hell is wrong with your twisted mind?!”
Furious, I turned to storm out the door. But before I could reach it, he grabbed my arm and shoved me onto the bed.
I wish he would just kill me. He can choke me or suffocate me with a pillow. Just kill me, damn it!
I shook my head repeatedly. “No, you can’t do this.” My voice trembled as he climbed onto the bed.
No no no. I know he’s an asshole, but he’s not a... No, he wouldn’t do this to me. He wouldn’t—
Would he?
“T-This isn’t right, Grie!” I screamed. I nearly sobbed when I felt the pressure of his thigh pressing against me.
“Why not?” he asked, dangerously. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? This is what you begged me for before—so I wouldn’t leave you. Right?”
No!
I was about to scream when he suddenly wrapped his hand around my throat.
I gasped, clutching his wrist as he squeezed—not enough to kill me, but enough to cut off my air.
He leaned in, his face now just inches away from mine.
“I can take you right here if you fight me,” he whispered darkly against my lips.
"And yeah… you’re right. I’m the reason your sister is in jail. There’s no point in lying about it anymore."
My eyes widened.
I knew it.
I want to scream at him! I want to hurt him! Damn it! I fcking hate him!
He didn’t keep his word—
He didn’t keep his word!
“I was the one who told that Rexton where your sister was hiding. It took him years before he finally arrested Saica,” he said. “I told him a long time ago. Maybe years ago?”
Tears welled up in my eyes from rage. I wanted to cry because I couldn’t accept the fact that I failed to protect the one person who protected me!
“See? I wasn’t the one who snitched to the cops—” He let out a short laugh. “Oh, right. Rexton is a cop… So yeah. I was the one who snitched to the police.”
“Y-You bastard!”
I struggled to pry his hand off my throat.
I let out a sob.
“I-I hate you! What did I ever do to you for you to ruin my life like this?!”
I broke down completely. The tears wouldn’t stop falling from my eyes. My chest couldn’t handle the rage and the pain any longer.
For a moment, Grie stilled—
For a moment, I thought he’d stop.
But no.
He leaned in closer to my neck.
I shivered. His breath hit my flesh, sending chills down my spine. My hands were trembling, and cold sweat covered my body.
This isn’t good.
I was losing control.
Tears had soaked my face, and my hair, messy and tangled, clung to my skin.
“You hate me?” he whispered between kisses. “Then I’ll make you fucking hate me more.”
“Grie…” I sobbed as I pushed him away. “D-Don’t. I-I don’t want this, Grie, not like this… not like this…”
I screamed when he grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head.
I didn’t even recognize my own voice anymore—
Not with how much I was screaming.
Not with how much I was crying.
“Grie… s-stop… D-Don’t!”
My cries and screams echoed into the night.
But no one came to help.
No one heard me.