Auntie

The American introduced himself as 'Trench', and he's friendly but I ended up not talking to him. He was telling stories about his childhood to probably catch my attention and it really never succeed. I just hoped he would leave us together with his friend. I really was not interested. I preferred to talk to girls who insulted me than be with a man.

"Okay, boys, seems like your friends are calling you," Pia said and pointed in one direction, I followed it, and she's right, many were calling the men beside us right now. The gentleman had hesitated but they stood up and requested our numbers. He seemed not to believe when I told him I did not memorize my phone number. It's awkward but he just got Pia's number so that he could contact me again.

"Don't entertain him once he calls you and asks for me, okay?" I reminded her when the gentlemen finally left us. "Thank you for saving me earlier. I am not comfortable with them no matter what I do. Felt like I can't breathe."

"That is already obvious earlier when you could not even answer his question." She tapped my back. "You really are a shy girl."

"He's kind," I muttered. "I can say he's respectful by the way he talks," I pouted my lips. "But, Pia, I feel like I am cheating."

"Then don't."

I sighed. "I promise this would be the last time I would go in a place like this."

"Hey!" She rolled her eyes at me. "Do remember that your soon-to-be husband is a womanizer, for sure last night he came in a bar to find a fling. And we don't know... Maybe he will find another one again tomorrow." Her words were plausible, and they were sharp enough to hurt me.

"So my point here is: You should not think as he owns you, because Brooks would not let someone own them." She sighed as if she's carrying the whole world. "I am serious, I only carry the family name of Madam Maricris, I am not a Brooks, but I know all of them -- mostly their personalities."

The crowd was loud, but aside from Pia's voice audible enough, I also was interested in listening. "Hans Brooks, Xlyde's father, was unkind to Madam Maricris."

"Sorry?"

"Yes, you have heard me right. Their marriage was not successful because there was no love between them."

"But, they have children..."

"That was actually being demanded by their parents as well for business purposes again."

That was horrible, my mind thought.

I wondered what my marriage with Xlyde would look like. I wondered if he would treat me like a nobody or what...

"Hey, what are you thinking?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Our marriage..."

"Speaking of which, do you really want to marry him? Do not you have someone you love?"

"I am no boyfriend since birth. I experienced having a crush but it would last for days. And no, I don't love someone now. And about our marriage, maybe I can file an annulment if I find our union horrible." I let out a sigh. "Let's change our topic. Anyway, many girls are calling you. You should dance with them."

I observed that she kept monitoring me, causing me to feel vulnerable. She was making her promise true when she said to Madam she would not leave me. "Those girls you mentioned are all plastic. For sure they will just take a selfie with me, post it on Instagram and use me to have more likes."

I was amazed because of her facial emotions. "So you are famous, then," I praised her, and she seemed to like it. "So if I post a picture with you, I will instantly get famous, too?"

"Of course!" Her wild shout joined the music playing. "I am the Instagram Queen! That is why you should also make your own Instagram account."

"Account? How long does it take to have one?" I was just curious. I was planning to create one if I was not busy.

"You do not need hours; You only need minutes. You can actually do so in just five minutes.

"That fast?!"

"Yes, that's the power of technology right now--" she stopped, I looked at her in confusion. She got her phone from her jeans. "Someone is calling -- oh, and it is Madam Maricris." I felt excited in a bad way. Xlyde's impression of me being in here was all I could think of. "Yes, Madam, we are here... Yes, She's with me. Yes, yes, thank you."

She faced me with an indescribable expression.

"So what happened? What did she say?"

"She's telling me to go back home right now with you," she flashed a lonely smile. I could sense she still wanted to dance.

"We can stay here for a moment if you like," I gauged her.

"No, she really wants us to leave this place. I do not know what is going on but let us just follow her."

I nodded.

She bid goodbye to her friends, disappointed.

"I can commute alone. You should stay in here." We're already in the parking lot.

"I may be a bitch but I am not a demon to let you go home all alone! You are too vulnerable and someone might take that as an advantage!"

She's raising her voice but I understood her point, I really felt that she was just concerned over me.

"I am wondering why she was panicking when she called me earlier..." Pia whispered as her car's machine started.

"I think Xlyde gets mad because we went out." I looked at nothingness.

"That is impossible. That man has his world for him to mind someone's business." She shook her head. "I will find out the reason. I think Madam Maricris is hiding something from me."

Minutes after, Madam Maricris, who was wearing her worried look, welcomed us. She scanned me from head to foot and a later on she sighed in relief. I was starting to believe Pia that Madam was hiding something.

"How's your clubbing, girls? I am so sorry if I needed to interrupt you."

"No worries, Madam," answered Pia. "But I am curious why you sounded panicking when we're phone calling each other."

Madam got frozen, and it doubled my confusion. I thought I was the reason why she was being like this.

"Nothing, girls, nothing." She could not look straight into my eyes. "It's just that it's too risky if you two go out without having a bodyguard."

"Okay, okay. The important is, I let Philie see what club looks like," Pia giggled, "since she only saw clubs from books and movies."

"Is that so? Did your Auntie forbid you to go out before?" Madam could not believe it. "In our families, a sixteen-year-old girl has been already gone from a club."

"Auntie is strict and she kept warning me about bad guys. Not to mention I was born to be afraid of people."

We talked for minutes until we decided to part ways. I forgot to ask Madam Maricris about Xlyde, and so I kept thinking about his possible impression if he knew I went to a bar. Okay... I wished to visit his room but my energy was not enough to do so. I was afraid thinking he would shoo me away as he did before.

"You should sleep, Philie!" I commanded myself like a crazy woman. "You're too ugly to overthink like this, okay?!"

"What's happening?" I asked in confusion when another morning came. Securities were all around the house. They were like robots guarding something important. Auntie raised me not to mind others' business, but this moment was an exemption. I wanted to know whether these were my securities or not.

"Hey, good morning, how's your sleep?" Madam asked me, while I remained looking at her, making her gasp. "Hope you don't mind this person, Philie. You know... Xlyde had just arrived and lots of people are talking about him being in here that's why I wanna make sure we are all safe."

Well... They were extremely rich. Many would surely want their wealth. Some riches might even attack them because of jealousy.

"Okay," I surrendered, that was when Xlyde entered the scene. For some reason, my face lit up at the sight of him. Looked like my day was already complete. That even though he was carrying that Pokerface again, he still looked handsome especially in my eyes. "Xlyde..." I called him, but he walked past me. I smiled awkwardly to cheer up myself.

"I wonder if he's mad at me," I said to Madam when we're alone. "He hates me."

He did not answer, and I just let it pass. Because my brain remembered Xlyde's outfit -- he's wearing a suit. Another part of me thought he was going to meet someone for business purposes while the crazy parts of me were thinking the other way around.

"He's just like that," Madam. She kept saying that yet it still was hard to understand. "If you want, you can talk to Philie or Clyde."

I swallowed hard as I heard another man's name again. Clyde was Xlyde's younger brother. "I am sorry, Madam, but I think I will just talk to Pia.'

"Okay." She flashed a reassuring smile.

She excused herself, and I asked one guard about his work, but he just looked at me without saying anything.

There were still men in the garden, especially near the gate.

"Oh, what's happening? I am sorry, I have a hangover," Pia whispered and maintained her balance as she sat like me. "Are these your bodyguards?"

"I don't know. Madam said this is for our security."

"Ahh, as usual. Last year, she also did this. Now, she's back in overthinking again--" she paused as if she remembered something. "You look too sad. What is happening?"

I blinked my eyes. She really was an observant kind of person. She could instantly notice the small details on my face.

"Let me guess it..." She beamed. "Xlyde is not here, right?'

My shoulders again dropped.

"Oh, I am right."

"I don't care, anyway," I even did not know if it was a lie or not.

"If he is going to find another fling, for sure a woman will again post their picture on social media and some might mention me in the comment section so don't worry."

"It's okay for me if he finds another woman. It's hard to forget the old doings so it's hard for him to be loyal to me." To me, he even barely knew.

"So, what is your plan for today?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Ah, that's boring! What if we talk to that Terence again?"

Hours later, I fought the urge to ask Madam if Xlyde came back home. Pia was nowhere to be found since she was now hanging out with her high school classmates to have their reunion. She even wanted to invite me, but I refused because I was afraid to meet other people again.

"Hey, dear, what's wrong?' madam's voice lingered in my ears as I made another blink. "You seem so much in thoughts."

"I am just wondering about Auntie," I expected her not to look okay as I mentioned auntie, but then, she looked the other way around.

"Before she said goodbye, I gave her enough money for her to find a good place to stay in. Actually, I am willing to send her a monthly allowance and I am hoping she would accept it," Somehow, the heaviness in my chest lessened. She sighed while smiling. "So don't worry, she's safe in where she is now."

"I want to meet her," I whispered. I wanted to tell Madam meeting Auntie was one of my birthday wishes but I did not want to use it as an advantage. "I should cook right now, anyway. Maybe Xlyde is already coming back."

We both stood up as we walked up inside the mansion again. She reminded me that his son usually did not like to have lunch in here. I liked it when she told me that for being honest, for me not to assume too much. But then, what mattered to me now was that I was doing this to serve him. Maybe he would come back here to take lunch. It's indeed better if I prepared.

"He likes to eat fish. He hates pork, chicken meat, and eggs," Madam shared as she prepared the plates on the glass-like table. "He's weird, isn't he?"

"Yes, I like chicken meat and pork and God knows how I hate fishes. I would rather eat solely rice than to partner it with a fish," I honestly said. "I am quite disappointed that we have differences about our likes and hates."

"Dear, don't worry. That won't be a burden in your relationship."

"I hope so...." I stared at my finished product -- a fried fish! This was being prepared by me and Madam Maricris! My mouth could not wait to eat it as my nose smelled how delicious it was. What made me smile even more was that Madam seemed to be amazing and proud of me.

"You are a great cook!" she praised me. And I looked away.

Many told me before that I really was good at cooking and should build my own small restaurant but I was too shy to follow all their suggestions. I would prefer to cook in a silent kitchen room without anyone knowing I was the cook. "Hey, Philie, I am not joking, taste it!"

And I did.

And it really was delicious! There was no reason Xlyde would not like this!

"Are you already hungry? If you want, you can eat first."

I thought for a while. "Thanks, Madam, but I will wait for Xlyde first."

Her eyes brightened up in delight. "That's good! So, I am gonna leave you in here, okay? For I needed to do some work in my office."

"Are you going out, Madam?"

"Yes, why?"

"People say you have a... Company?"

"Oh, yes! That's why my employees need me now. If something urgent happens, call me. If you need anything, tell the maids. And if Xlyde doesn't come, eat first, okay? Do not punish yourself."

Jesus...

Hours already had passed.

Yet he still was not here. My stomach was mumbling but my mind was beckoning me to wait for more.

"Mrs. Brooks, you should eat now," a maid.

I nodded as realization hit me.

I ate as everyone begged me to do. I cooked twenty pieces of fried fish and I only ate the four ones. I really was that hungry.

The place was again too quiet to the point I only heard my own breathing. So... This was the scene every time Madam Maricris was working.

"Mrs. Brooks..."

I looked at the maid who gave me a phone. "What's this?"

"Madam Maricris told us to let you phone-call your Auntie."

My tears were now about to fall.

"... And you only have thirty minutes to talk to her."