Chapter 4 Last Day of the Wake

Chapter 4

"Karina," Zaf responded, walking over to the group to avoid seeming impolite. "Why, Karina? Is there a problem?" she asked, pretending to be concerned about her stepsister.

"Ah, nothing really, Sister. I just wanted to introduce you to Aunt Annabel and Aunt Mayeth," Karina said, gesturing to the two older women.

Why should I care about them? They're only here to snoop around and see what's happening in the Zamora family. I always wonder whether they're allies or enemies. The last time, during Mom's wake, they were also here, and I overheard them bad-mouthing her, even though she had already passed away.

Feigning sadness, Zaf looked at the two judgmental women. "Aunties, I'm sorry I wasn't able to entertain you earlier. Have you had snacks? Come, I'll accompany you to the kitchen," Zafierra politely offered.

"Oh, it's alright, dear. Karina can accompany us," the two elderly women replied in unison.

Zafierra secretly rolled her eyes at their pretentiousness. "Alright then, I'll leave you two. I need to eat," she said politely, excusing herself.

As she walked away, she noticed Nanay Edeng waiting for her by the stairs. "Dear, what did they want? They didn't insult you, did they?" the older woman asked worriedly

"You have the nerve to slap my child! Well, suffer, because this mansion will be up for sale! I will sell it whether you like it or not!" Josephine shouted at Zafierra.

Zafierra was taken aback by what she heard from her mother. "Mom, you can't do that! Daddy left this for me, so you can't sell it!" Zafierra shouted back, frustrated.

But the woman merely gave her a mocking smile. "Remember, I'm his wife, so I can sell this house. You can't do anything about it anyway." After saying this, she sneered at Zafierra and went inside the house.

Feeling defeated, Zafierra sat on the floor and cried, "M-Mom, why am I going through all of this?" She asked the elderly woman who was embracing her from behind.

"Shhh... It's okay, my child," the elderly woman said, while Raven silently observed the scene. He quickly left and went to his own room in the worker's house at the back of the mansion. It was a large house with many rooms for the household staff and drivers.

Zafierra quietly sat in her room, contemplating how she could convince her mother not to sell the Zamora mansion. She grew up here and spent her childhood with her mother, so it hurt her to think that Josephine would just sell it.

She turned her face toward the door, which suddenly opened, revealing Josephine's face. "Mom."

Josephine raised an eyebrow as she approached Zafierra. "What? Are you trying to be nice so I'll change my mind? Don't be ridiculous, Zafierra. I've given you plenty of chances to behave, but what have you done? You just keep rebelling against me, and now that your precious father is gone, you will suffer!" she shouted angrily.

Josephine immediately slapped Zafierra and, not satisfied, yanked her hair down, causing Zafierra to look up in shock at what the woman had done. "Don't oppose me, Zafierra, because you can't win. And as for being Laurence's wife? HAHAHA, he only agreed because of Zandro's offer," she whispered.

"So you have no choice but to follow what I want. After I sell this house, I'll move on to your mother's land," she said, roughly letting go of Zafierra, causing her to collapse onto the floor.

Zafierra felt helpless because she knew Josephine was right; there was no escape. B-but I can get a divorce from Laurence to break free from their control.

"I'm going to get a divorce from Laurence. That's it," she whispered, which her mother immediately overheard.

"Then do it! As if Laurence would ever agree!" she shouted in Zafierra's face. Zafierra didn't understand how her life had come to this; she hadn't done anything wrong to deserve it.

After her stepmother slapped her again, Josephine left. Moments later, someone entered, but Zafierra didn't look up because she already knew who it was just from the smell.

"Nanay Edeng said you needed to talk to me."

She looked at him. "I want a divorce. I want to be free, even if I don't have money," she said softly to the man. He remained silent for a moment, and she thought he might agree with her, but then he suddenly grabbed her jaw tightly, making her scream.

"Don't get your hopes up, Zafierra. I'm not done with your wealth yet. Divorce? You must be joking. Aren't you happy being under my control and having become my wife? Isn't that what you wanted from the beginning?" Laurence sneered at her.

Tears in her eyes, Zafierra looked into Laurence's eyes. "Then can I stay here? As long as Mom hasn't sold this mansion, you know I grew up here, and it's hard for me to think about selling this house. Don't worry, I won't run away, and I won't let anyone know I'm your wife," she said softly.

Laurence slowly released her jaw and stood up straight. "I'll tell Mom that you can stay here, but it's best if you never come back to my mansion in Surigao," he said coldly before leaving her room.

Feeling overwhelmed, Zafierra sat on her bed while crying, "I really can't escape their control." She whispered to herself and gazed at the ceiling.

"Mom, Dad, I promise I won't let them sell this, even if they hurt me over and over."

Zafierra sat in the swing, watching the beautiful flowers blooming around her. She was behind the house, where there was another small house her mother used to call the Maid Quarter. This is where their household staff used to sleep, each having their own small room and bathroom.

I MISS YOU, MOM AND DAD.

"Ma'am Zafierra! Ma'am Zafierra!" She heard one of the household staff, a niece of Nanay Edeng, shouting. She had requested to stay here since it was close to the school she attended. In exchange for her help with household chores, Zafierra would give her an allowance. She didn't have enough money to pay someone a proper salary if she were to hire help. Laurence only paid the elderly maid and the driver, and gave her a small allowance along with groceries every month.

In fact, the money Laurence gave her was so little that it often wasn't enough to cover her monthly expenses. Sometimes, she had to use her allowance to buy necessities.

"Jessica, please don't shout. I'm not deaf," she reprimanded the girl.

Feeling embarrassed, Jessica looked down. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Sir Laurence called; he sounded angry because he was shouting at me."

Zafierra immediately stood up from her seat. "What?! He shouted at you, that beast?" She couldn't help but yell.

She was already stressed from dealing with her stepmother, and now Laurence was adding to it by calling her in the middle of the night for no important reason. "Y-yes."

She quickly walked into the house and grabbed the phone. "Laurence."

"Finally, the senyorita. I'm not sending your allowance this month because Karina will receive it instead," he said bluntly.

Zafierra was stunned. "Laurence, you can't do that to me! I have bills to pay this month, like our electricity!" she exclaimed, frustrated.

"Stop complaining. I just called to let you know. By the way, Mom wants to sell that mansion; I can't change her mind," he said, and the call abruptly ended.

"Hello? Hello? Laurence Collin!" She couldn't help but cry out of anger.

"F**k this life!" she shouted in frustration and threw a decorative lamp that was near the phone.

"My God, what's happening here?" the elderly woman asked Zafierra with concern. However, Zafierra didn't respond and quietly left to return to the swing.

"Jessica, what happened to your sister Zafierra?" the elderly woman asked her niece.

"She was talking to Sir Laurence, and suddenly she threw the lamp," Jessica replied, looking sad.

The elderly woman looked sadly where Zafierra had exited.

Crying, Zafierra sat in the swing, feeling miserable. How could her sister take away the allowance that was supposed to be hers? Her sister had done nothing but make her suffer.

"Mom, Dad, I will get through this. Please guide me."

Little did she know, someone was watching her from a corner, a pair of eyes unreadable in intent and thought. Minutes later, feeling that they were being watched, the figure quietly left so Zafierra wouldn't see them.

Zafierra looked around, not seeing anyone watching her, but she wasn't wrong; someone was indeed observing her. Who could it be? Maybe it's Mom again, worried and watching me secretly.

She sighed and decided to stand up and water the plants. This was her routine every morning and afternoon, tending to the flowers behind the mansion. The elderly woman was reluctant at first, but Zafierra insisted because she was getting bored doing nothing every day.

As she was watering the plants, someone suddenly cleared their throat behind her. "Oh, a frog!" she shouted in surprise, accidentally spilling the water all over herself.

Because she wasn't wearing a bra and her shirt was thin, her chest was exposed. "Close your eyes! Y-you!" Zafierra stammered at the man, Raven.

The man immediately turned his back to her. "I apologize, ma'am. I didn't mean to startle you." He said, offering his apology. Unbeknownst to him, Zafierra felt shivers every time he called her "ma'am," especially since they had a history together. It felt weird.

"It's fine, just grab a towel and tell Nanay or Jessica," she said. "Tell them I'm going to bathe in the pool," she added and quickly walked to the pool, wanting to avoid questions from the elderly woman about why she needed a towel.

To Be Continued...