Chapter 14
1621 Words
As I walked out of the kitchen, Izrael happened to enter the house at the exact same time.
We looked at each other.
Neither of us seemed to know what to say or what to do.
I swallowed nervously.
“Izra!”
I immediately breathed a sigh of relief when Bulma came out of the kitchen.
To my surprise, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him.
“Good, you’re finally here. I’ll take care of your things. By the way, this is Adriana, Yoa’s stepdaughter. Sit here. Adriana, talk to Izra so he won’t get bored.”
“It’s fine. I can manage,” Izrael said.
“It’s not fine. What are you talking about?”
Bulma forced us both to sit down.
I couldn’t even complain because she wasn’t giving me the chance.
I simply closed my eyes in defeat.
“Talk to each other, okay? Don’t be shy. We’re all shameless around here anyway.”
And with that, she left.
The moment she disappeared, the awkwardness returned.
It was even worse because our first meeting hadn’t exactly been pleasant.
“Ahm… is there anything you want to eat or drink?” I asked.
“Don’t bother.”
I nodded.
“About what happened… I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have gone with Yoa.”
I touched the back of my neck awkwardly.
It sounded as though it was somehow my fault that I had gone with my stepfather when I didn’t even know why he had brought me there in the first place.
“I-I didn’t exactly want to go. Yoa was the one who brought me.”
“You don’t call him Dad?”
I shook my head.
“You don’t call him Uncle or Tito either, so why would I? Besides, he’d get angry. Sometimes I only have to say po to him and he looks like he’s about to strangle me.”
Izrael laughed.
“Yeah, he’s like that. Anyone would probably get annoyed if someone only a few years younger kept calling them po.”
My mouth fell open.
“Po is a sign of respect.”
He gave a dry laugh.
“It isn’t, Adriana. If you have money and power, that’s where respect really comes from.”
I stared at him.
“You people are unbelievable.”
“At least you know how to be sarcastic.”
I grimaced.
“Do you want something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry yet. I already ate outside.”
I nodded.
Every now and then, I glanced at him.
“You’re a famous actor, according to Bulma.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Not really.”
“But I appreciate that you know who I am.”
I shook my head.
“Not really. I only found out about you recently. I saw you in some ads on social media, so I assumed you were famous because there were so many comments.”
Izrael suddenly froze and put a hand over his forehead.
“You’re not my fan?”
“I’m not really into local celebrities. I prefer Korean oppas.”
He looked like I’d just punched him in the face.
“Am I not handsome? A lot of people admire my looks.”
“Hmm. You’re handsome.”
I looked at him thoughtfully.
“But it’s different when we’re talking about oppas.”
“Support local, right?”
“Of course I support local celebrities, but I love international ones.”
I smiled.
Izrael could only smile back.
Apparently, he couldn’t convince me otherwise.
It was probably nice for him to meet someone who wasn’t particularly interested in him.
He must’ve been exhausted from all the attention he received.
Being famous wasn’t always glamorous. There were threats and obsessed fans too. Maybe, for once, having someone treat him like an ordinary person was refreshing.
“You know, Bulma is actually a huge fan of yours,” I told him.
Izrael looked at me while I spoke.
The first time he’d seen me, he’d already thought I was beautiful.
But seeing me up close, he realized I was even prettier than he’d expected.
“I know. She’s always attended my fan events and concerts.”
I nodded.
Then he looked at me and smiled.
“About my mom…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that anymore. I’m okay now.”
I gave him a small smile.
“I’m starting a new life.”
“My condolences.”
I smiled politely.
“Sorry if I’m being too familiar with you. I just don’t have anyone else to talk to. I can’t really talk properly with your uncle because he’s too cold. And Bulma keeps teasing me.”
“It’s fine. I’d rather have someone talking to me.”
A long silence followed.
Then he spoke again.
“I’ll be living here from now on. I hope we can become good friends.”
I smiled.
“Sure. I’d be glad to.”
We looked at each other before smiling.
“Snack time, you two! With all that talking, you forgot that I’m still here.”
Bulma’s voice made us both turn toward her.
⸻
Izrael and I talked for a little while longer before he excused himself to rest.
By afternoon, I helped Bulma prepare the food.
“You’re in a good mood now,” she teased. “Looks like having Izra here gives you a reason to smile all the time. You have a crush on him, don’t you?”
“Stop it, B. I’m just happy that someone related to Yoa is actually nice.”
Bulma smiled.
“They’re nice to other people. They’re just rotten on the inside.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t trust them too much. They have terrible attitudes and plenty of secrets that only their family knows about.”
She lowered her voice dramatically.
“The Baltazar family has wealth and power that’s almost impossible to match. But the evil inside that family is terrifying.”
I stared at her.
“Why? Do you know something about their family?”
Bulma nodded and gestured for me to come closer.
I leaned toward her.
“Their servants supposedly say they kidnap people to drain their blood. Then they drink it.”
She whispered dramatically.
“That’s why you’ve never seen an ugly Baltazar. They’re modern-day vampires.”
I went completely silent.
Then I glared at her.
Bulma burst into laughter.
“I don’t know what to do with you.”
“Hahaha! You believed me, didn’t you?”
“No! I know you’re full of nonsense.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I’ve noticed?” she said.
“What?”
“When beautiful people roll their eyes, they still look beautiful. But when ugly people do it, they look like feverish goats.”
“Why would a goat have a fever?”
Bulma stared at me.
“You know, Adriana, you have two brains. The left and the right. But the right brain has left, so your left brain has nothing right.”
“Translate that into Tagalog.”
“I have the rights to remain silent.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
Whenever I talked to Bulma, I felt like our conversations could go on for an entire day.
She had an endless supply of nonsense.
“Adriana,” she said more seriously, “even if they’re cold and difficult, I know there’s still some kindness left in them.”
She stirred the food.
“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t pick a fight with Yoa, we won’t have any problems. Think carefully about what you’re going to say whenever you’re talking to him. Don’t act impulsively.”
I nodded.
“Yes, he cares about you right now, but we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We don’t control the future.”
She suddenly looked at me with a grin.
“But tell me, are you going to date him or just be friends?”
I sighed.
“Then there’s Izra. What about him? Date him or be friends?”
I shook my head.
“Izra and I are just friends. I don’t like him that way, and it’s better that we’re friends because then he won’t expect anything from me. He’d only get hurt.”
I could only shake my head at Bulma’s endless teasing.
When we finished cooking, I left the kitchen to change clothes in my room.
I was sticky from the heat of the stove.
As I walked toward my room, I almost bumped into Yoa, who had just stepped out of his own room.
Our eyes met.
His stern face was intimidating enough that I couldn’t hold his gaze for long.
“W-We’re going to eat,” I said.
He only nodded before walking toward me.
I flinched when he suddenly reached for my hair.
He raised an eyebrow.
“You have a piece of potato skin in your hair.”
His lips twitched slightly.
“Did you start bathing with vegetable peels now?”
Heat rushed to my face.
“Ahm… I didn’t notice.”
I quickly looked away.
Before I could say anything else, the door ahead of us opened.
I immediately stepped away.
“Yoa,” Izrael called.
“Y-You two go downstairs. We’re about to eat.”
I hurried into my room.
The moment I closed the door, I leaned against it and shut my eyes.
My heart was pounding so hard.
It felt like the sound of it was loud enough to burst my ears.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
Why was my heart beating like that?
I took a deep breath.
“It was nothing,” I whispered to myself.
But somehow, I wasn’t convinced.
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