“Lift your chin, Cassie. Ganda! Now look down a bit, pero ‘wag mawala yung eye contact sa camera. Fierce but soft, babe.”
Hawak ko lang ay confidence na pinilit kong buuin.
Yung robe na suot ko?
Champagne silk, manipis, halos parang second skin.
Yung lace underneath?
Barely there.
Yung kaba ko?
Grabe. But I pushed through it.
Because this time, I wasn’t doing it to please anyone.
Not my mom.
Not my dad.
Not even Xan.
I was doing it for me.
Click.
Click-click.
“Turn ka a little to the left. Haaaay, YES. Ang lakas mo, Cassie. Parang sinasabi mong—‘I know exactly what I’m worth.’”
I smiled. Not the fake one na pang-event.
This one was real.
This was power.
Every pose, every tilt ng ulo, every hawak sa laylayan ng robe, deliberate.
Kontrolado.
Hindi ako helpless.
Hindi ak
