"It's nothing," she denied.
"Who did that ---"
"I said it's nothing, Manang."
"Iha ---"
"Shut up!" she yelled, frowning hard.
Jewel sprang to her feet and ran back into her room. She bit her lip as her heartbeat quickened. She stopped first in the hallway and took a deep breath, before resuming her walk to the room and entering it, slamming the door shut.
Her body trembled with fear. No one should know her secret. No one!
She quickly went to bed and sat on the bed side. Her hand reached for the cellphone under the lampshade then opened the reading app.
It's still three in the morning so she still had a lot of time to spend reading erotica. The online one-on-one class session will begin later that day. Jewel smiled, a kind of smile similar to the smile of the man in her dream.
But she didn't see nor notice it because she was so focused on reading a bedscene. A few minutes of reading erotica stories before she covered herself with a blanket, and did the 'thing' again.
After that, Jewel felt satisfied and happy. She could no longer feel the fear because lust prevailed. She indulged in erotica for a few more hours until her alarm clock rang.
It's seven in the morning. Her online class' about to start. Her face crumpled in annoyance, blaming why time was so fast!
S*** T! S*** T!
She cursed several times. She was naked again and shivering in the cold of her room. Jewel took a few deep breaths and reached for the cellphone under the lampshade on the bedside table.
Three o'clock in the morning. She has been waking up at this hour for a week now, and not surprised that she's still naked, sweaty, and gasping for breath.
Her teeth pressed hard and her sharp eyes roamed around her room. It's not good anymore! Something strange was happening. At first, she was tolerant because of her wet dreams, but she knew too well that she could not wake up in this state every day.
Her eyes looked down at her stomach that was full of kiss marks and she was even more angry. She might be drugged by someone and that someone does nasty things on her body while she's fast asleep!
Else, what could explain those marks? Clearly it was kiss marks made by someone because it's impossible for her to lust over her own body and do nasty things on herself!
She got up quickly, took a bath, and got dressed. Jewel left the room and went down to the kitchen. As usual, she sat there and sip her coffee prepared by the maid.
Today the micro-cam she secretly bought at an online store arrived. She ordered Augustina last night to take it from the gate of the mansion. Money was no longer a problem because she had already paid for the purchase online as well as the shipping fee using Gideon's credit card.
She did not notice the old maid approaching her. The woman cleared her throat. "Senyorita, don't you still have any plans to talk to your husband? He called yesterday, saying he'll be here on Saturday if you still don't come back before that day."
She put down the cup. "It's up to him."
"Senyorita ---"
"I don't know Manang what his problem is. We fought. I thought he's done with me?"
"You're his wife so he can't let you go that easy. You'll also have to be patient if he has any shortcomings but Senyorita, you should talk to Gideon so you two can get along. In your old days, you will only have him to accompany you."
She just sniffed and then sipped her coffee again. "Just don't pack my things again. I don't want to go back to Gideon's house now."
"Jewel ---"
"Even if Mama instructed you to do so. Your effort will only be wasted when you do that."
"But we can't disobey Donya."
She sighed. "Just... don't force me to leave this house."
The old maid did not agree. But when lunch came, they met her mother at the dinning table. Even though she didn't want to eat with her mom, she couldn't do anything, especially when she called her.
Her father was not present because he was taking care of the sugarcane field on the Aisle. She heard that the harvest time is fast approaching and the Sacadas are busy tending the fields in preparation of the harvest.
Jewel sat on the table, stiffed. But eventually she calmed her senses. She ate well, especially when her favorite dish was prepared on the table. She was busy eating for a while when her mother spoke. "Jewel, go back to your husband."
She coughed when she felt rice stucked on her throat. Jewel hummed and grabbed the glass of water, gulping it down. "W-What did you say, Ma?"
Donya sighed. "Go home to Gideon."
"Why?"
Donya Belinda lowered the spoon and fork and folded her arms. "Do you know why I agreed to marry you off to the Mayor's son?"
Jewel swallowed at her mother's serious tone. Never before had it spoken so seriously in front of her. Before, she would always scold her, always seeing her mistakes, so she always yell upon talking to her. But now, it was as if she were talking to someone else.
Jewel shook her head. "I don't know."
"Listen, Jewel." Donya sighed. "Your father and I know about Simoen Saavedra."
She was stunned. "W-What?"
"Rosalinda said everything you did at the University. I'm sure you thought we wouldn't know your nonsense at UDM, but ever since you stepped a foot in high school we already knew all of your activities at the University."
Jewel averted her eyes. "Umm ..." She couldn't say a word.
Was that the reason why they didn't ask her what's happening to her in the University? Alas, she's been too naive to think that her parents didn't care that's why she did nasty and unreasonable things at school. Hah. She's too stupid, really.
"Jewel, it wasn't because of Simoen Saavedra that we married you off to the mayor's son." Donya sighed again. "The truth of the matter is that there is a deeper reason. It goes deeper than the reputation of our clan."
"What do you mean, Ma?"
Donya stared seriously into her eyes. "It's been ten years since the accident on the Aisle. Nida's car crashed into a pole erected beside the Aisle, and since then she has not been able to stand nor walk. Because of that incident, Jewel..." Donya swallowed hard. "The Hernandez clan forcibly took the Aisle's land title."
Jewel blinked as her body stiffened in surprise. She didn't know about it. Her parents never told her anything. "They took the land title, Ma..."
"Your father doesn't want to sell the title but our livelihood has been affected due to the country's declining economy. If he didn't sell it, all the helpers and Sacada will surely lose their jobs."
"That means..."
Her mother nodded. "We don't have the land title of Aisle anymore. It's in the hands of the Hernandez, Jewel. So when the Mayor was looking for a woman to be married off to his son, Gideon Manasseh, we sent your photos to the Hernandez mansion without hesitation, in hope that their family will choose you."