Married at Seventeen

 

August 2007.

Baguio City, Philippines.

 

Thera’s heart could not help but race the moment she laid eyes on the tall man who appeared in the glass door of Sean and Tan’s Tea Cafe. Suddenly, the music coming from the headset in her ears waned. The pounding in her chest overpowered The Carpenters’ smooth and soothing voice. The music playing was one of her favorite songs, “Close To You.” It was her parents’ theme song.

 

Thera felt Kisses’ light nudge on her side. She was looking at him, too. Kisses was aware of her secret feelings for Sean De Marco. He was too perfect and, unfortunately, way too out of Thera’s league. Well, perhaps, for now.

 

Sean was a young entrepreneur. Rich, innovative, and jaw-droppingly handsome. Every time he appeared, it was as if clouds cleared, and the gate to the heavens opened. Angels descended to sing and get a glimpse of him. That was cheesy and corny, and made Thera want to giggle.

 

Sean had thick eyebrows paired with dark penetrating eyes. Those and his signature unwavering gaze were only a few reasons why ladies and men alike fell for him. Sean was five feet eleven inches tall. Even his black long sleeves and denim jeans could not hide his well-developed muscles. It was not puzzling where he got his good traits from either.

 

His twin brother, Tan, and their father, Chase De Marco, were both dangerously good looking. That was aside from the fact that their mother, Charry De Marco was beautiful. Charry was one of the best singers in the country. But she retired early from the music industry and decided to focus on her family.

 

Sean was one of the owners of Sean and Tan’s Tea Cafe. He partnered with Tan, who was focusing on his Medicine course. Sean ran the business alone ever since it opened six months ago.

 

Tea Cafe was across the street from DM university, which was also owned by the De Marcos. Thera and Kisses went to DM University together. They were in their freshman year, both taking up HRM. They were lucky to be part of the ten students who were granted full scholarships. Thera never once saw Sean mingle with other people. He was quiet and serious. She wondered why he chose to open up a coffee shop when he was not approachable or accommodating to his customers at all.

 

Sean stopped walking toward the parked Hyundai Tiburon as two familiar women approached him. He took his headphones off and swung around to meet the women who always seemed to be orbiting around him. They were Mara and Isabelle—frequent customers of Tea Cafe. Thera doubted if there was a milk tea flavor that they hadn’t tried yet. And she was jealous. Unlike them, she could not afford even the cheapest milk tea the café served. If she had money, she’d go there every day just to catch a free glimpse of him.

 

“Would you like us to go inside sometimes?” Kisses asked.

 

Thera heard her, but she could not take her eyes off Sean. Thera could feel the pang of pain in her chest as she gazed at the three. She wished she had Mara and Isabelle’s courage to approach him.

 

If only she came from a wealthy family that owned businesses and a house, maybe she could have been confident. But she had none of those things. Thera only had two relatives left—Uncle Jaime and his only son, Joshua. Uncle Jaime was her mother, Lorena’s, older brother. Her father, Albert, died a few years ago from a road accident. Not more than a year later, she lost her mother, too. Uncle Jaime and Joshua had no choice but to take her in because she had no other relatives left.

 

Thera had to convince herself that she should be content staring at Sean from afar. She had nothing to be proud of yet. Well, for now, she was content. Catching a glimpse of Sean even just for a moment was more than enough to make her day.

 

“One milk tea is worth three kilograms of rice, Kisses. That could be our food for two days. Such a waste.”

 

“Then, are you just going stare at him forever?”

 

“It’s what unfortunate people like us do, isn’t it?” she replied.

 

Thera was supposed to smile bitterly, but she was smiling wide instead. Sean’s bored expression while listening to the two gushing women was a pleasant sight.

 

“You said that if there’s a man you want to end up with, it would be Sean. It will always be Sean even if you get lucky enough to meet Jerry Yan. But it’s too hopeless and impossible, don’t you think? Sean is heaven, you’re earth.”

 

“Do you still not believe in heaven’s will, Kisses?”

 

Kisses’ forehead creased. “Heaven’s will? To be content watching him from afar is heaven’s true will for us. You just said that.”

Thera unwillingly took her eyes from Sean, who, without a word, turned his back on the two women. She turned to Kisses, who was still looking in Sean’s direction.

 

“One day, I’ll own a mansion, Kisses. I’ll be able to buy luxury cars, and expensive clothes and Sean himself will be living in my home with our children, and me, of course.”

 

Kisses shook her head. Thera grinned. Thera believed that a person with a kind heart would be blessed by the heavens. One day, heaven and the universe would conspire to make the desires of her heart happen. She would not be doomed to be poor forever. She would be successful, and she would save Tito Jaime and Joshua from poverty.

 

When Thera returned her gaze to Sean, she found him looking at her. For less than five seconds, they held each other’s gaze. Thera’s heart pounded inside her chest. Sean’s stare was blank while Thera tried hard to hide the emotions in her eyes.

 

Sean looked away. Even when Sean had gotten inside his car and drove past them, Thera could not wipe the grin off her lips.

October 08, 2019.

The Palace Mall and Hotel.

The door of the ladies’ room swung open. Three uniformed employees of the Palace Mall and Hotel filed in. The first one proceeded to the empty cubicle while the remaining two stood in front of the wide mirror.

“Is it true that the Vice President is scary, Ma’am Lira?” asked the youngest of the three. She was twenty-one and newly hired.

“Do you think she’d have the moniker ‘Vice Devil’ from ninety-nine percent of the employees of Palace Mall for nothing, Joy?” Ma’am Lira replied. She sighed in exasperation. “I don’t understand why the Vice President has to come here so often. She should have stayed in London or on Mars and disappeared from our sight forever.”

“You know the reason, Lira. And that is to annoy, look down, and insult the employees of the Palace she has claimed as her own,” the woman in the cubicle said. “I bet she’ll once again display all the stuff she bought in London. She does not feel sorry for spending money while we employees are breaking our backs from hard work.”

“You really don’t like her, do you? Why don’t you just admit it? Vice Devil is the only devil who looks good with Prada.”

A loud smirk came from inside the cubicle.

“I hate her guts. She’s annoying and bigheaded. Do you think, if I were as rich as her, Prada, LV, and other designer items wouldn’t look good on me? She should be thankful I already had a family when Sir Sean was looking for a woman to marry.”

“Hey, even if you were single at the time, if you don’t know how to use black magic, the president would never find you attractive,” Lira teased.

“So, the rumors about Sir Sean proposing for marriage were true?” Joy chimed in.

“Does it matter? After the wedding, Sir Sean flew out of the country, right away,” said Rose. She flushed the bowl. “I can guess that even as young as twenty years old, Vice Devil’s horns and tail were already sticking out. Thankfully, Sir Sean was not so stupid that he didn’t notice.”

Lira turned to Joy. She was more than ready to tell the latter everything she knew.

“This is what happened, Joy. According to the rumors, it was a marriage of convenience. Sir Sean married Vice Devil in exchange for the business contract with Mr. Jacob Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez is our CEO, by the way. And according to the rumors, Vice Devil agreed in exchange for a huge sum of money.”

“If that was the case, why didn’t Sir Sean annul their marriage? They’ve been enduring it for ten years already.”

“Uh-uh. Sir Sean has been asking for an annulment for four years. But Vice Devil has been refusing. You know, she’ll lose everything once she agrees.”

Joy nodded. “Is that so? Didn’t they come to like each other before they got married? I mean, weren’t any feelings involved? Vice was randomly chosen, and they got married just like that?”

“As far as I know, Vice Devil was part of the contract, so Sir Sean did not have a choice. And about feeling things, I don’t see how anyone could like the Vice Devil…she probably hasn’t felt anything for years.

“Maybe that’s why she won’t agree to the annulment. She’s in love with him,” Joy uttered. She put her lip gloss back inside her pouch.

A sarcastic smile was plastered on Rose's lips, who was finally out of the cubicle. She went straight to the sink and washed her hands.

"Love is not included in her vocabulary, Joy. All she’s ever known is to boast and curse. If you ask me, I believe that the Vice Devil is using Sir Sean and that’s why she isn't signing the annulment papers. She’s smart and clever. So, I’m telling you, Joy, learn from the Vice Devil herself. If you want to be lucky in life, marry a board member or a shareholder of a company as big as The Palace. Hold him by the neck, and never agree to an annulment no matter what happens.”

“I was there on their wedding day. I saw how Vice Devil’s eyes sparkled while gazing at Sir Sean. I am betting my experience as a supervisor for fifteen years if I’m wrong. Remember that Rose, Joy. Vice was in love with Sir Sean, and surely she must still be in love.”

Rose and Joy glanced at each other.

Lira shook her head. “If love isn’t the reason, what else? Because of money? She already has that. Even if she stopped working, her money and assets are more than enough for her to live. She has no family. Maybe she’s still hoping that Sir Sean will change his mind.”

“After all those years? It’s like wishing for pink petals to replace the embers in hell. She’s not just crazy, she’s delusional.”

The two senior employees laughed together. The door to one of the cubicles opened and a woman holding a bunch of torn tissue paper came out. She let the pieces scatter to the floor and stared at the three with her death glare.

“Are you done yet?”

The two suddenly stopped laughing. They all gazed at the reflection of the beautiful woman in the mirror. They all went still when they realized who the woman was. As if losing their strength, they huddled at the lavatory sink.

“V-Vice Devil!”

The red-lipped woman smirked.

***

MORE THAN twenty staff members from the Palace Mall and Hotel were whispering to each another while they waited for the emergency meeting in Palace Hall A to start. They were all nervous and anxious. Everyone prepared themselves for the arrival of someone they did not want to cross paths or make eye contact with.

“She’s here. Fix yourselves,” Miss Yumi warned sternly.

They all fell silent. Everyone glanced at the soundproof glass door where the ‘she’ Miss Yumi was referring to would appear.

Nervous breathing could be heard as the woman with overflowing beauty, self-confidence, and indestructible arrogance finally appeared. She was the unapologetic, sharp-tongued Palace Mall and Hotel Vice President, Thera De Marco.

She actually stood five feet and four inches tall if she was not wearing her four-inch black Prada stilettos. She was wearing a Prada radzimir wool and silk dress. She paired it with her black Prada Saffiano leather shoulder bag, which she carelessly tossed to Laida, her personal assistant, who was following her long strides diligently. Thera's expensive accessories were sparkling from her ears to her ring fingers. It was as if those costly items were made only for her to wear.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” the staff greeted Thera as she walked to the center of the room.

Thera faced the employees as she finally stood in the middle. She surveyed them with her eyes. She knew most of the faces, especially the three women from the marketing department who were practically breaking their spines as they bowed.

“I suppose you already know that the Palace will be celebrating its twentieth anniversary in two months' time,” she began. She locked her fingers behind her.

No one answered. Their heads were all down.

Thera folded her hands across her chest. Her lips turned into a lopsided smile. “No one knew? How could you, guys? You all remembered the date when your ‘Boss’ left me but none of you know the anniversary of the company that feeds your family? Shame on you.”

Their gazes reverted to the three women who were biting their lips. Thera rolled her eyes. The news sure spread like fire. Everyone already knew who she was referring to. Thera sighed, still annoyed.

“The king is not in the palace yet, so the queen should take over, correct?” she continued. “I want you to proceed with the preparations for the upcoming anniversary party. Send me the proposals and prepare three or four so I could have something to choose from. Don’t send me the same shit you sent me like the previous years, oh, please. If we’re going to do all the thinking, what are we paying you for? Why should we waste our money on employees who have no use at all? If your brains are working, make it of use. If your dead from the neck up, don’t go wishing you could afford Prada and Louis Vuitton.”

There was no response once again. The employees all remained silent. Thera walked between them. She stopped in front of the three bitches who got the nerve to ruin her day.

"I can see we have few newly hired employees," she said.

Joy lifted her gaze, only to look away in guilt when she met her sharp glare.

“I’m expecting you’ll teach newbies about the nature of this business and not how to catch heirs and rich businessmen out there. They will just fail I’m telling you. Because who among you actually know what spells, love potions, and black magic this devil did before to catch your big boss?”

***

YUMI closed the massive door of the Vice President's office as soon as Thera entered. She took her stilettos off with a frown and left them carelessly on the carpeted floor. Annoyed, she walked towards the long desk in the middle of the spacious room. She sat at her Vitra grand executive swivel chair and removed her big and heavy diamond earrings that almost tore her ears. She hastily opened the drawer with a pout and tossed the earrings inside.

“Slippers, Laida,” she ordered indignantly.

Laida retrieved her lion indoor slippers inside the paper bag and handed them to her.

“Those poverty-stricken monsters haven't learned anything at all. They are still not contented with mocking me. Up until now, I'm still their favorite topic," she said, gritting her teeth as she put on her slippers.

“Big Boss! Ha! When it comes to Sean, he’s the big boss. There are courtesy and respect. While I who worked hard for this company is the devil? Fuck those ungrateful bitches’ mouths! They’re all stupid!” she added feverishly. She was talking to herself rather than the two women inside her office. “Well, anyway, why am I even surprised? They could not even trace their eyebrows right. How much more their mouths?”

After her litany, she turned to Yumi with a sharp look as if she was her enemy.

“Yumi, could you review those two crone’s background? Check if they really majored in Business Ad or in character assassinating. If you could find even the tiniest problem, make them suffer. Those disrespectful pieces of shit! They’re getting on my nerves!”

Yumi nodded with a suppressed smile. “I’ll do that.”

Thera plopped herself on the swivel chair. She was still mad. And mumbling.

“I was expecting you to fire them this time, Thera. Especially that Rose. She had been saying too much behind your back. It was more than enough to deny her a recommendation. From what I’ve heard, she was your schoolmate from high school. Do you remember her?”

Thera straightened her back. She locked her fingers on top of her desk, her forehead furrowed. That was right. That Rose was her schoolmate before. Why did she even think of helping that garbage get into the company? She was obviously annoyed at her from the beginning. She saw her as a rival. Rose was dreaming of defeating her grades.

“Firing that bitch won’t stop her from hating me. It did not stop even after I hired her six years ago.”

“So, you decided to keep her, forgive her, just like how you let go of the employees who talked and attacked you behind your back?”

She lifted her gaze at Yumi. “Forgive her? I don’t even forgive someone who regrets and asks for sincere forgiveness, Yumi, you know that.”

Thera lost count of the employees who lost their jobs because of her for the past four years. She did not fire them, though. The weaklings willingly handed their resignation letters.

“What do you want me to do with them, then?” "Do what we usually do to employees who do not know how to scratch their itchy tongues. Rose and Lira, both of them. Until they decided to leave by their own will."

“And how about Joy Ericson?”

“Spare her,” she said quietly. “You saw her credentials a while ago. She isn’t that bad. Transfer her to your team if you want. Make her your assistant. Do what you want to do with her, it’s up to you. A fresh tomato should not be mixed with rotten ones. Right?"

“Right,” Yumi answered. “Laida?” she asked her PA

“I agree too, Ma’am,” she replied.

Thera drew a breath. Somehow, she had calmed down a bit.

“But is it really necessary, Ma’am, to change and wear such grand outfits every time we come to the office?”

“You were in the restroom, too. You heard the exact words of those foul-mouthed employees. These are what they are all expecting to see—their she-devil boss boastfully wearing her Prada. Who am I to disappoint them?” Her expression turned grim. “They could not afford what I can buy, so I want to make them jealous.”

“Then, the more they will think that you really are spending Sir Sean’s money.”

“I don’t give a fucking damn. And I don’t want to hear that bastard’s name again, Laida,” she said in a warning tone.

Laida caught her mouth. “Sorry.”

She grimaced sharply. “Who cares about that jerk’s money? I have my own money that won't run out even if I spend it every day.” She calmed herself for the next moment. “We’ll stay for a few more hours. I’ll just rest my feet. Then we’ll proceed to my condo.”