DIRTY SECRET SERIES 4 | HIDING MY DADDY’S TWINS | SPG

Warning: Read at Your Own Risk! dahil ang kwentong ito ay naglalaman ng mga sensitibong senaryo na hindi angkop para sa mga bata. Pero kung mapilit ka edi go na! Basta ako ay nagbigay nang babala sainyooo! Thank you sa mga magbabasa ng aking akda! ~~ Ang dating mansyon na napupuno ng halakhak at mga kulitan ng mag-amang si Celestine at Christian. Bigla na lamang nabura ng isang malaking trahedya kung saan ito ang kumitil sa buhay ng ama ni Celestine. The air was thick with the suffocating scent of funeral lilies and the haunting silence of death. Sa gitna ng malawak na sala, nakatirik ang isang marangyang ataul na gawa sa mahogany. Doon nakahimlay ang kaisa-isang taong nagmahal kay Celestine matapos siyang iwan ng kanyang ina noong sanggol pa lamang siya. Sampung taong gulang pa lamang si Celestine, pero napaka bigat na agad ng nararanasan niya. She was wearing a black lace dress, her small hands folded on her lap. Tulala siya. Simula nang matagpuan ang kanyang ama na wala nang buhay dahil sa biglaang heart attack sa loob ng study room nito, hindi pa siya naglalabas ng kahit isang patak ng luha. Even during the interment, habang ibinababa ang kabaong ni Christian sa malalim na hukay, Celestine remained like a porcelain doll—beautiful, expensive, but empty. “Hija, kumain ka na kahit konti lang. Kanina ka pa d’yan sa kwarto ng Daddy mo,” pakiusap ni Yaya Rosa, ang matandang naninilbihan na sa kanila bago pa siya isilang. Celestine didn’t flinch. Nakaupo siya sa gitna ng malaking kama ng daddy niya, yakap-yakap ang isang silver frame kung saan nakangiti silang dalawa sa isang beach trip noong nakaraang taon. Her knuckles were white from gripping the frame too hard. “Lalamig ang sabaw, Celestine. Magkakasakit ka niyan,” muling pagpilit ng yaya niya, ang boses ay gumaralgal na sa awa sa batang si Celestine. The other maids stood by the door, whispering. “Kawawang bata. Wala nang nanay, wala na ring tatay. Sino na ang mag-aalaga sa kanya?” “Balita ko, mapupunta siya sa ampunan kapag walang kamag-anak na kumuha sa kanya. Ni wala ngang kapatid si Sir Christian.” The word ‘ampunan’ echoed in the room, but Celestine’s expression didn't change. She felt cold. A bone-deep chill that no blanket could cure. Para sa kanya, wala ng rason upang ipagpatuloy pa ang buhay. The only person who looked at her with warmth and love was gone, and she was left in a house that felt more like a haunted museum. Biglang napatigil ang mga bulungan sa labas nang makarinig sila ng tunog ng pagparada ng isang sasakyan. Kasunod nito ang mga yabag ng sapatos na patungo sa silid kung nasaan silang lahat. Ang batang si Celestine ay nanatili lamang tulala habang nakatingin sa kawalan, walang pakialam sa mga nangyayari sa paligid niya. Nahawi ang mga katulong na kanina lamang ay nagkukumpulan sa pintuan ng silid kung nasaan si Celestine. Isang matangkad na lalaki ang pumasok. He was clad in a perfectly tailored charcoal-black suit, his presence so overwhelming that it seemed to suck the oxygen out of the room. He looked young—perhaps in his late twenties—but his eyes kahit sino ay mahihigit ang hininga dahil sa lamig at talim nitong tumingin. Mabilis na tumabi si Yaya Rosa sa batang si Celestine upang protektahan ito sa lalaking bigla na lamang pumasok sa silid. “Sino po sila?” lakas-loob na tanong ni Yaya Rosa. The man didn't answer her. His gaze was fixed solely on the small girl on the bed. He walked toward her, ignoring the mess of untouched food on the side table. Huminto siya sa tapat ni Celestine, ang anino niya ay tuluyang lumamon sa maliit na bulto ng bata. Dahan-dahang iniangat ni Celestine ang kanyang paningin. For the first time in days, her pupils dilated. Ang lalaking nasa harap niya ay parang liwanag na nagbigay ilaw sa madilim niyang mundo. He is undeniably handsome, with a sharp jaw and dark, intense eyes. “Celestine,” he said. Hindi sumagot ang bata. She just stared, her grip on her daddy’s picture frame tightening until her fingers felt numb. Dahan-dahan din lumuhod ang lalaki sa harap niya para maging kapantay ang batang si Celestine. He didn't offer a pitying smile. He didn't look at her with the same annoying sympathy the others did. Instead, he looked at her like she was a responsibility he intended to keep—or perhaps, a possession he was about to claim. “Your father, Christian, was my closest friend. My mentor,” simula niya, “Bago siya mawala, he made sure you’d never be alone. He signed the papers. He left you in my care.” Lalong tumahimik ang paligid. Ang mga katulong ay nagkatinginan, naguguluhan kung sino ang lalaking ito na pinagkatiwalaan ni Christian ng higit sa lahat.“I am Dominic Valderama,” pagpapakilala niya. He reached out, his large, warm hand covering Celestine’s cold ones that were still clutching the frame. “From now on, I will be your guardian. You’re coming with me.” Celestine felt a strange spark where his skin touched hers. It was the first time in days she felt something other than numbness. It was heat. Intense, terrifying heat. “Sino... sino ka talaga?” paos na tanong ni Celestine. Iyon ang unang pagkakataon na nagsalita siya matapos ang libing. Dominic’s gaze softened, but only by a fraction. There was something possessive in the way he looked at her, even then. He took the picture frame from her hands and set it aside, then reached for her chin, tilting it up with his thumb and forefinger. “I am your Godfather, Celestine. But since you have no one else... you can call me Ninong Daddy.” The title felt heavy, strange, and somehow intimate. Ninong Daddy. A protector. A father figure. But as his dark eyes locked onto hers, there was an unspoken promise of something more—something that ten-year-old Celestine couldn't understand yet, but her soul instinctively felt. “Will you take care of me? Like... like Daddy did?” tanong niya, ang boses ni Celestine ay nanginginig na dahil sa pagpipigil na huwag umiyak sa harap ng ibang tao. Ayaw niyang mas lalo siyang kahawaan kaya naman buong tapang niya hindi nagpakita ng emosyon o kahit isang butil ng luha. Finally, the first tear escaped her eye and rolled down her pale cheek. Dominic wiped the tear away with his thumb. His touch was firm yet strangely gentle. “I will do more than that, Celestine. I will own the responsibility of your life. Hinding-hindi ka na muling mag-iisa. I will give you everything you desire, as long as you want.” He stood up and opened his arms. Without a second thought, Celestine threw herself at him. She buried her face in his expensive suit, inhaling the scent of his expensive perfume. Noong sandaling iyon, muling naramdaman ng batang si Celestine na hindi siya nag-iisa. Dominic wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He glanced around the room, his eyes cold and unreadable.He didn't just take a goddaughter that day. He took a prize that he would cultivate, protect, and eventually, crave. “Let’s go home,” he whispered. And as Dominic carried her out of Christian’s mansion, Celestine didn't look back. She clung to the man who promised to be her world, unaware that the ‘safety’ he offered would one day become the very fire that would consume her whole.