A Bullied Billionaire

Chapter 2

On their way home, she experienced another ordeal. She swallowed all her resentment towards the person she considered—or rather, thought of as—her friend.

"Hey! Just because you're a student now, doesn't mean you can't wash dishes at the beer house. You're so bold to just lie down here! Get up! Go to the beer house and go straight to the kitchen. There's a mountain of dishes waiting for you to wash!"

Riri sleepily got up from her bed when she heard Aling Andeng's voice. She lived alone in a small house in the family's yard. The walls and roof were made of woven bamboo and nipa, so it was better than sharing a room with Marimar.

She endured the discomfort at night. She suffered more when it rained because the rain seeped into her hut. She didn't complain because, as Marimar said, she should be grateful that she had a place to stay—and it was even her own.

She could endure the cold and the rain. What was hard to tolerate was the smell coming from the pigpen next to her hut. However, like everything else, she just thought that she would get used to it. Eventually, it didn't bother her anymore. She just lit citronella candles, not only to repel mosquitoes but also to distract her from the foul smell of pig manure. Occasionally, she also smoked cigarettes to mask the stench.

"Hey! Don't just stand there, Riri! Get up!"

"Yes, Inay Andeng. I'll just make some coffee and—"

"Make coffee there!"

"O-okay."

"Hurry up." After saying that, Aling Andeng turned around and left the hut.

Despite the cold seeping into her body, she still washed her face. It was only 1:00 AM, according to her watch. She had barely fallen asleep. After washing her face, she changed into decent clothes and went out of the hut.

When she arrived at the beer house, she didn't get to drink coffee. She immediately started washing dishes in the kitchen. She didn't even sit down until around 4:30 AM when she finally went home.

Entering her small hut, she yawned repeatedly. She went straight to bed—only to be startled awake. She was about to get up when a hand covered her mouth.

"Shh! Scream if you want me to break your neck," a familiar voice said. It was Marimar's brother, Kuya Chris. He was already hugging her. She bit his hand covering her mouth.

"Son of a b***h!" he yelled.

He let go of her, so she was able to free herself. She quickly grabbed the baseball bat she had prepared for such an occasion. He had been making advances towards her for a long time. He had touched her inappropriately on several occasions. Dante was grumpy, but she preferred him to Chris, who was a pervert. Although Dante was also mean, he was slightly more upright than Chris.

"What are you going to do? Hit me with that?" he asked with a smirk once he calmed down.

"No, I'm going to kill you," she replied in a calm voice.

He laughed and pulled something out of his pocket. He took out a balisong. "What if I kill you here? And here?" he said, taking off his boxer shorts. He wasn't wearing briefs underneath.

She was stunned and momentarily paralyzed when she saw his erect p***s. He took advantage of her shock. He lunged at her. When he reached her, she finally snapped out of it. She screamed loudly. The people in the Bugacay house were awakened. In an instant, they rushed to her hut.

"Oh my God! C-Christopher?" Aling Andeng said in shock.

Riri huddled in a corner and cried. She felt numb. Besides the fear caused by the attack and the resurgence of the memory of her stepfather's attempted r**e and Chris's new attempt, she felt nothing. Until she finally lost consciousness.

After Chris's assault, Riri became extra cautious. Even though Dante assured her that it wouldn't happen again, she still wasn't at ease.

For a week, she kept herself busy working and studying Reflexology and other types of massage. The school administrator allowed her to enroll even though she only had a promissory note and had only paid the reservation fee because Aling Andeng, who was known to be wealthy in the area, vouched for her.

As she started studying, her workload at home and at the family's warehouse seemed to increase. Sometimes, her body gave in to exhaustion, but whenever anyone noticed her resting, she would hear endless reprimands.

One night, she vomited blood in the bathroom for the beer house employees. The next day, she went to the barangay health center for a check-up.

"I diagnosed you with tuberculosis, Riri," said the kind doctor. "One of the possible causes is your heavy workload compared to your small frame. Plus, you always stay up late. You need to rest, dear. It's dangerous."

"Just give me medicine, Doc. Inay Andeng won't let me take a vacation."

The doctor sighed. "I feel sorry for you, child. I'll give you complete medication for TB. Don't miss taking it so you can fully recover."

"Yes, Doc. Thank you very much."

After receiving her medicine, she said goodbye. She had a lot of work waiting for her, and she was sure she would get scolded if she didn't hurry home.

As she left the health center, she met the barangay social worker, Aling Mila, who was entering. She had become close to Aling Mila. Aling Mila lived just one house away from Marimar's, and Riri often talked to her when she had free time.

"Riri, are you going home?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I followed you here because I saw you enter earlier. Can we talk?"

"Ma'am? O-okay. But I can't stay long. You know my situation."

Aling Mila nodded. "Come, let's go to my house."

Riri went with her. Once they were at Aling Mila's house, she didn't beat around the bush. "I know what Chris did to you, Riri. I think you need my help."

Riri couldn't speak. "What?" She shook her head. "I don't want any trouble, Aling Mila. If Chris does it again, then I'll ask for your help."

"What are you saying, Riri? That pervert has harassed you several times, why don't you fight back?"

"I just don't want any trouble."

Aling Mila shook her head. "But if you ever need help, come to me. We can do something about this."

"Okay. Thank you, Aling Mila." Riri stood up from the chair and walked towards the door.

"Ah, Riri..."

Riri stopped as she was about to open the door. She faced Aling Mila. "What is it?"

"Be careful. To be honest, I talked to Chris. I warned him about his actions. He seemed scared, but who knows what's going on in that monster's mind? If it were up to me, we'd sue him, Riri." She shook her head. "I'm worried he'll hate me even more, Aling Mila. He'll think I reported him to you."

"He can't do that. The whole village knows about what happened early this morning. We heard the commotion, so we got curious. Don't worry about it. We're on your side. Everyone knows Christopher is a pervert."

"What did you tell him?"

"I said we'd sue him, and he wouldn't be able to return to the US Navy. Maybe he'll stop trying to attack you if he values his career. But it's still good to be careful, Riri. Go on now. Stay safe."

Riri nodded. With slumped shoulders, she walked home. She only received harsh curses and loud yelling from Chris. Aling Mila's actions were helpful because until Chris returned to the US, he didn't try anything again.

"Inay Andeng, I'm graduating next month. I finished my 6-month Reflexology course, and the school is asking for the tuition fee. I've only paid the reservation fee. They only allowed me to enroll because of the promissory note," Riri reminded Aling Andeng. Aling Andeng looked up at her. "Did you learn a lot?"

She nodded.

"If you can't pay the tuition, what will happen?"

"I'll have a debt with them, and they won't give me my certificate."

"What will you do with that certificate? You studied to learn, right? You already know how to massage, don't you?"

She didn't answer.

"It's okay if you can't finish and get that certificate, Riri. As long as you learned something, that's okay. At least you now know how to massage me."

She couldn't argue. Aling Andeng then started calculating the bar's earnings. Riri returned to the kitchen. The following month, Aling Andeng had a heart attack—and died before she could be taken to the hospital.

"Here's some money, Riri. Take care of yourself," Marimar's eldest brother, Ed, said when he returned from the country where he worked as a plumber. This was a week after Aling Andeng's funeral. "This is for helping Mom. I'm sorry, this is all I could afford. You know, I'm almost the only one who paid for Mom's funeral. My shameless siblings didn't even contribute."

Riri nodded. "This is a lot, Ed. Thank you very much." She knew what she would use the money for. She would pay her tuition fee to get her certificate.