Hating You Before Loving You

Kabanata 1

Jessica

My life is perfect, yun ang sabi ng marami. Pero sa totoo lang, hindi ako sang-ayon doon. For in reality, my life isn't perfect. It has lots and lots of imperfections.

Alam kong maraming naiinggit sa akin. I have riches, fame, beauty and brains but still deep down inside I'm an empty person. They say I had it all. Pero hindi nila alam kung ano ang mga pinagdadaanan ko…

My father is a business tycoon and so is my mom. The two of them are well known all over the world because of the multi-billion company we own, the Montereal Group of Companies.

Our family business was founded by my great, great, great-grandfather, Dominico Montereal, a Spaniard businessman who decided to start his business in the Philippines. And as the years went by, lumago ang negosyo namin. From a small and simple company to an empire now led by my father.

My father is known sa mundo ng business world bilang tuso, maparaan at may prinsipyong binabasehan. The company he inherited become one hell of an Empire, at ang kapatid kong si Leo ang mamamahala nun sa darating na panahon.

As for me, I also have the desires to run the company and someday become the president of MGC. Pero dahil pinanganak akong babae, hindi iyon mangyayare.

Why you may ask?

Because my family has a rule…

The son of the first family can only become the president of MGC.

I belong to the first family. Babae nga lang ako… kaya hindi pwede akong maging president ng MGC. Nasa rules iyon ng kumpanya at matagal ko ng alam 'yon. The stupid rule had existed even before I was born at tanggap ko naman na hindi ko maaabot ang hangarin ko kahit kalian. Because the day I was born, my fate was already decided for me by my grandfather. Hind ko lang alam kung ano yun…

Anyway, may dalawa akong mga nakababatang kapatid. At sa aming tatlo paborito ni Dad si Leo, because obviously, he's the sole heir to the family business. Next to the list of favorites is my younger twin sister, Daniella.

Yes, I have a twin. Fraternal to be exact. My sister and I have a lot of differences contrasting the two of us. It may be physically or emotionally, but you can easily tell us apart. Halimbawa, maitim at tuwid ang buhok ko habang kay Daniella naman ay kulay mais at kulot. Mahaba ang pasensiya ko habang sa kanya naman ay hindi. Mahilig akong magbasa ng libro kapag free time ko habang siya naman ay tumutogtog ng instruments kapag bored siya.

You see? Marami kaming pagkakaiba sa isa't isa pero mahal na mahal ko parin siya kahit ganun. She's the only person who can understand me. The only person I can trust.

Anyway, balik tayo sa list favorites. Halata namang nasa 3rd place ako. Si mommy lang kasi ang nagbibigay pansin sakin dahil hindi naman siya biased sa aming tatlo. Still, I grew up seeking my father's love and attention. Gusto kong mapansin niya ko kahit konti lang. Palagi nalang kasing si Leo. That's why I tried my very best to make him proud of me.

Kaya palagi akong nagtatop sa studies at activities ko sa school… Wala pang kahit na sinong dumaig sakin mapaacademics, sports o extracurricular activities man. Every time the results of the rankings are posted on the bulletin. I was always on top of the list. I defended my throne as the smartest student on campus for years now. And I never failed to do so.

Nang dahil sa achievements ko, sa wakas ay napansin ako ni dad. He bragged about me to his friends. He was so proud and I felt happy about it… really, genuinely happy about it. Kaya pinagpatuloy ko ang pagiging top one sa school.

That was until I met him...

The person who changed my life forever…

I was on my second year of junior high school that time. May dalang bisita si daddy sa bahay pag-uwi niya and I was alone inside the mini library reading a book on basic calculus when he entered and he wasn't alone. May mag-asawa at isang batang lalake na pumasok kasama niya…

I stared at the unknown faces in front of me. My face formal and void of any emotions. The couple smiled at me while the boy just looked at me…

Five seconds of silence went by until my dad started talking.

"Jessica, what are you doing here?"

Binaling ko ang atensiyon kay dad at nginitian ito ng matamis.

"Just doing some advance studying, daddy." I answered. Napatango-tango si dad sa sagot ko. Basta alam niyang nag-aaral ako ay hinahayaan niya nalang ako.

Dumako ang tingin ko sa batang lalake and I felt the chills on my spine when our eyes met. Seryoso siyang nakatingin sakin na parang inuungkat niya ang buong pagkatao ko sa titig niya.

Hindi ko kinaya ang intensidad ng titig niya, his blue eyes seemed to be piercing into my soul, kaya agad akong umiwas ng tingin. I picked up the calculus books on the desk and stood up. "Sa garden lang ako, dad." Paalam ko kay daddy.

"Mabuti pa nga." Dad smiled at me. "Kanina ka pa pala hinahanap ng mommy mo. Nasa living room siya kasama ang mga kapatid mo..."

"Okay, dad."

Nakayukong nilampasan ko si daddy at ang mga bisita niya. Hindi ako nag-angat ng tingin dahil nararamdaman ko parin ang titig ng batang lalake sa mukha ko.

"You have a very smart and beautiful daughter, Theo." Narinig kong komento ng babaeng bisita ni dad bago ako nakalabas ng mini library. “She's a perfect combination of you and your wife.”

Hindi ko narinig ang sagot ni dad dahil nasara ko na ang pinto. Soundproof ang loob nun kaya wala akong marinig kahit mahinang ingay man lang…

Gusto kong malaman ang sagot ni Dad sa sinabi ng babae kanina. Palagi ko kasing naririnig ang mga salitang yun sa mga kaibigan ni daddy pero wala naman siyang sinasagot rito. Tanging ngiti lang ang binibigay ni sa mga bisita pagkatapos ay iibahin agad niya ang topic nila na parang iniiwasan niyang sagutin yung tanong.

My dad’s friends always say I'm a perfect mix of my parents. I inherited my mom's straight black hair and cute nose. Habang ang kilay at labi ko naman ay nakuha ko kay daddy…

I really want to know what my father thinks about me. Hindi kasi siya vocal sa’kin tungkol doon.