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(Bea POV)
"Huu...." Mark breathed. Sleeping peacefully beside me in bed. After we showered together, he started to get very sleepy. The way he was struggling to stay awake was just so cute.
"From now on, only I can see that side of kuya Mark. Only I can have him." I mutter. I reach out, brushing his hair on his forehead. A simple gesture, but it feels so intimate.
I lean in, placing my lips above his ear. "I love you, kuya Mark... I hope one day you'll genuinely love me back." I whispered, a small grin etched across my face.
As I pull back, I hear a notification sound from my phone. "What could that be?" I mutter before reaching for my device.
[NOTICE: Repeated hypnosis can wear down a target's resistance to more difficult suggestions.]
My eyes blow wide open after reading the message. "The more I hypnotize, the more outrageous the suggestions I can implant..." the realization washes over me.
My lips stretch into a wide grin. "That means I can eventually hypnotize Mark to no longer regard me as his cousin! No- I can make him think it's perfectly acceptable for second cousins like us to get together! And not just Mark, I can make our families think the same way, then they'll give us their blessings when we get married!" the possibility of a bright, happy future gives me a sense of euphoria, and hope.
Turning back to Mark, I lean in and place a kiss on his head.
Pulling back, I gaze upon his sleeping face. My lips curling into a smile. "One day, I won't need the hypnosis app. You'll love me for real..."
.
.
The next morning.
"Be-a, wake up! It's time for school!" a familiar voice called out, accompanied by a shaking sensation.
"Mmgh..." a low grumble escapes me as I open my eyes. I blink, then turn to the source of the voice. The owner is none other than the love of my life, Mark, wearing an orange apron over his tank top, waking me up for another day of school. A routine I've loved since he started doing it. 'Ah, I just got a great idea.'
"It's time for practice." I say, and a flash of pink dashed across Mark's eyes. He blinks, and when he opens his eyes, his features soften as he looks at me with that same affectionate gaze from yesterday.
Reaching out, I pull Mark in and steal his lips. "Mm... Good morning, Mark..." a hum of satisfaction escapes me as I feel his lips on mine. "Morning, babe..." Mark hummed, returning the favor in earnest.
After a few more seconds, I pull back. A thin bridge of saliva connecting us for a second. "Thanks for waking me up. Now, let's wrap it up." I say, triggering the second hypnosis that makes Mark forget what we just did and turns him back to normal.
Mark blinks, his eyes refocusing in real time. "Huh? What was I..."
"Thanks for waking me up today, kuya Mark. I'll be down soon." my smile reaching my eyes.
"Huh... Okay." not dwelling further on his brief lapse of memory, Mark turns around and leaves. Closing the door on his way out.
"Hm~" my tongue darts out, lapping up the residual taste of Mark on my lips. "I know what I'm doing every morning from now on. ♥"
Getting out of bed, I slip into my flip-flops and head downstairs. The heels of my feet slapping against them with every step.
'Hm... What should the next suggestion be? Maybe I can make it so anything we do during "practice" is normal, but should be kept secret. That way, kuya Mark won't forget what we do.' I thought as I walk over to the kitchen where tito1Filipino for "uncle" is seated at the table, sipping on his coffee with a piece of pandesal2bread roll in his other hand.
'I need to update tito and tita's suggestion too. So me and kuya Mark can be lovey-dovey anywhere in the house, not just in his room.' after finishing that thought, my gaze drifts to Mark still clad in an apron as he prepares our lunch. Placing nuggets and hotdogs into separate lunch boxes. 'I love how boyish kuya Mark can be sometimes... He acts like a tomgirl, but still a boy to his core. I love that about him.'
Perhaps having sensed me staring, Mark looked up and met my gaze. "Bea, what are you looking at? Go make your coffee already. Remember, if you're late, then I'm late, too." he says, supposedly nagging me, but I find it endearing rather than annoying. "Hahah- Alright, alright. I'll get to it now." I say with a light chuckle.
Yet, even though Mark said that, he had already poured the coffee powder into my mug beforehand. Leaving me to just pour in hot water and mix. It's a small gesture, but I appreciate it a lot more than he probably thinks I do.
Grabbing the big thermos, I pour its contents into my mug. The coffee powder pre-maturely mixing with the hot water as steam rises up.
"Bea." Mark calls out shortly after I put away the thermos. "Yeah?" I respond simply as I swirl the coffee in my mug with a spoon. "After classes, I have something I want to tell you." he says, and my brain conjured an imaginary confession before my logic could catch up. 'One day... I'll make it happen.'
"Okay." I say with a small smile. Internally wondering what it could be that it can't be said right now.
And I never would've guessed it would be something so horrible, something that would make my blood boil.
.
.
"What did you say...?" my eyes are blown wide open. Processing what I just heard.
"Me and Rheyna started dating." Mark repeated. Staring right into my eyes when he did.
His hand, Mark's hand is holding that bitch Rheyna's.
She's looking at me too. Right at me.
'... Why? Why not me? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?' the question repeats in my head. I feel like I'm going mad, like my whole world is crumbling in itself.
And that's when I remembered why it couldn't be me. 'It's because kuya Mark doesn't see me that way. He sees me as his little sister, his family. Not as a member of the opposite sex.'
It's the wall I've been dreaming of overcoming. That damn wall that's within the realm of possibility. If I climb that wall, the other side will be a joyous future.
Yet, there's someone who threatens to take that future away from me. To take it for her own.
And that someone is the girl next to Mark, Rheyna Ortega.
"... Congrats." I push the word out as I force myself to smile. Putting on a facade, just as I have done several times before.
'I can't show signs. Not here. Not now.'
"... We just wanted to let you know. That's all." Rheyna said, eyes scanning my face behind those glasses of her.
Rheyna. I didn't realize it before, but I've subconsciously looked down on her ever since our first meeting.
She is smaller than me.
She is weaker than me.
With those arms, she can't hope to defend Mark if need be.
Yet, she still managed to become Mark's girlfriend. The position I've been aspiring to reach for years.
I hate her.
I've never hated someone so much before. Not when I've wanted to be a police officer since I was a kid.
"Bea." Mark called out, and the moment he did, I snapped out of thought. "Y-Yes?"
"You go home first. I'll be hanging out at Rheyna's house again." Mark said.
The moment I heard those words, a fresh wave of dread washed over me.
Yet, I kept smiling.
I must keep smiling.
"Sure. You two take care of yourselves." I manage to say. My right hand gripping my leg over my skirt. The sensation grounds me, helping me keep this facade up.
"You take care too, Bea." Mark says. He then turns to Rheyna. "Let's go?"
Rheyna nods. "Yeah. Let's go." the pair then started to walk, hand in hand. And I remained still even as they walked past me.
Their steps growing distant with every second until I can't hear them anymore.
"I won't give up here..." I mutter. My hands curl into fists. Nails digging into my palms.
"I can still get a happy ending with kuya Mark... With the app, I can make him mine..."
Ideas flood my head as I plan my next move.
"Enjoy it while you can, Rheyna. Because one day, I'll take him back from you."
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