“You know how Daniela is. She would chain herself to this house if she could, just so she can stay here. If Daniela moves out, I am sure she’ll leave this house with a bang. I know her pretty well. She’s the dragon in Mondragon!”
At Maxwell, Cassie sat with Fatima and LJ. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Cassie,” LJ said to her. “Now you know. Am glad you finally understand. So what now?” she wondered.
“You live in the same house, and in one room,” Fatima added. “What if you fight again? Won’t your parents be more mad at you?”
“Am not the one starting fights, Fatima,” Cassie declared. “I think as long as I don’t let her get to me, and do not trust her, I will be fine. Mama will not be mad at me.”
“But what about Maxwell Prime?” Fatima asked. “Does your mom know why you wanna be on top?” Cassie stared back at her friends in silence.
At Camila, Bonita told Mina about the speech Daniela had given at the Camilahat Project launch, saying that Danny girl had tried to take all the credit for herself.
“She didn’t even recognize you and the team,” Bonita grumbled. “Just imagine, I almost lost my mind. She made it look like the marketing strategy was all her idea.
“But that isn’t true, right? She only did a small portion of the work and gave a little contribution, right?” Mina wasn’t listening. She was lost in her thoughts. “Romina? Romina…”
Mina snapped out of it. “I’m sorry, I had something on my mind,” she apologized. “What were you saying?”
“I said, you hurt my feelings. You’re not even listening and I’ve been talking for nothing.”
“I was just thinking of Cassie,” Mina admitted.
“What about Cassie? A secret account? Romina, that’s normal for teenagers. Everyone uses secret accounts. Even I have one and I use it all the time to stalk my crush.”
Mina smiled. “Bonita, that’s not the point. I’m worried that she’s keeping secrets from me. She used to tell me everything before.”
“Well, you said it yourself,” Bonita pointed out. “She used to. That was before. It’s different now. Cassie’s already a young lady. She has her own friends, her own life, her own plans. You don’t have to know every single detail about her, Romina.”
“I need to,” Mina insisted. “Because that’s the only way I can protect her. To keep her away from harm.”
“You know what, Romina? Even the most perfect parents in the world cannot make sure that their child will not be harmed.”
“Well, am different. But maybe Daniela’s right. I’ve been too focused on proving myself to the company, I’ve neglected Cassie.” Mina sighed. “If I need to choose, I will choose my daughter, no matter what.”
Daniela came into Robert’s office, asking if he had called for her. Robert told her that she had left the house early and they hadn’t been able to talk.
“About what?” Daniela muttered.
Robert gestured. “Sit down. You know what I mean.”
“Is this about your making us leave, dad? I thought I was just dreaming, because I never thought of you as someone so petty. Are you seriously making us leave? Just because the kids are fighting?”
“Daniela, I just want to make this clear,” Robert began. “Am not asking you to leave. But I am giving you a choice. I had a dream, for us to live together under one roof as one happy family, but the kids are not in good terms. I just want to stop this from getting worse.”
Daniela chuckled. “Are you blaming me again, dad?”
“Listen. If we can’t live together peacefully, then it’s probably better for us if we live separately. That way we can avoid fighting and misunderstandings. Let’s do it for the kids. How can we tell them it’s not right if we ourselves are not getting along well?”
“Dad…you said you weren’t going to ask us to leave as long as we stayed out of trouble. You told Marga yourself. I kept my end of the bargain. But now, you’re asking me and my family to move out just because of your stepdaughter’s rebellion?”
“Daniela…”
“You know what, dad? I’ll do what you want. But I’ll only ask one thing. Tell Marga about this yourself. You need to see her face, the moment you tell her that you’ve chosen to side with a stranger over your own granddaughter. Let’s see if she’ll ever get along with Cassie after you do something like that.”
Danny girl left and Robert shook his head in frustration. Back at Maxwell, Cassie stood by the Maxwell Prime leaderboard with Fatima and LJ. Fatima wondered why Marga was on top now. Cassie told them that she still had a chance and she had to work harder if she wanted to win.
“We still have Maxwell Fair to prepare for,” Cassie added. “I’ll do my best so that I can catch up.”
Marga and the Mean Squad came up and Cassie was surprised that her niece was still hanging out with them again. Marga glanced at the leaderboard. “Oh, I guess I won,” she gloated. “Well, I expected that.”
“Maxwell Prime is not over yet, Marga. And I know we’re both aiming to get that.”
“Oh, no, Cassie. Winning that award isn’t my only goal. I will make sure am number one in everything. Valedictorian and Maxwell Prime, all will be mine.”
Mina sat at the waiting area. Cassie, who was walking with Fatima, was surprised to see her mother there. She went to greet her, asking what she was doing there. Mina told her that she was there to pick her up.
“I always do this when I can, don’t I?” Mina asked. “Let’s go?”
Cassie was unresponsive. “Ma, I will not do anything wrong,” she said.
“Cassie…”
“I know you’re still mad about what happened. But you don’t have to keep a closer eye on me.”
“That’s not what am doing, sweetie. I want to spend more time with you today, so that we can have a little chat. Do you want to go out for ice cream?”
“No, thanks. Am fine, ma. I have a lot of homework to finish. Let’s just go home.” She bid Fatima goodbye and walked away, and Mina was left staring at her.
During dinner that night, Marga passed Cassie a plate of food and Cassie thanked her. Mina seemed surprised by the gesture. She eyed Marga and her equally guilty mother.
“Do you want anything else?” Marga asked, glancing at her grandpa.
Cassie glanced at her for a second. “No, thank you,”
“Okay.”
Mina then offered her another plate. “Do you want to try this, Cassie?”
“I’ll do it, ma,” she said, taking it from her. “I can do it.” Mina was left speechless.
“Marga, so, how are you today?” Robert asked.
“I am good, grandpa. You know me. No one can stop me. And I still have a lot to accomplish in school so I hope… nothing happens again.” Mina and Cassie seemed surprised by her words.
“I hope so too,” Robert beamed. “Always let us know where you are because we worry about you, okay?”
“Yes, grandpa.”
“Carlos, how was your checkup?” Daniela asked.
“It went well,” Carlos revealed. “The doctor said I should keep at it with my therapy.”
“The driver’s available for you,” Mina noted. “I can ride with Robert anyway.”
Daniela chuckled. “How thoughtful of you, Romina. But of course I’d like to accompany my husband if that’s all right with you.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I just want to perform my wifey duties. You know my husband loves it when I accompany him, right? So I think I’ll just leave work early tomorrow.”
“Don’t even come to work at all if you like,” Neil snapped. Naana Esther nudged him. “I mean, Carlos might need you.”
Danny girl smirked. “You have a point, Neil. I’ll take the day off tomorrow. I think my plans with dad need doing.”
Mina seemed confused. She glanced at her husband. “Plans? Where are you going?”
Danny girl made a face at Robert. “Didn’t you tell Marga where we’re going tomorrow, dad?”
Robert looked conflicted and Mina stared at him in question. “I’m taking Daniela to see the new house they would be moving into.”
Marga’s mouth was opened in surprise. “We’re moving? Are you picking us out? But you told us that you would never do that, right?”
“Dad, your granddaughter’s asking you,” Danny girl spat.
“Marga, this is for the good of everyone,” Robert explained. “Am also doing this for you. This way, you’ll have your own room, and you can fix it how you want.”
“Don’t you want me here anymore, grandpa?” Marga asked, a pained expression on her face.
“You know what? No. Of course I want to be with you but, don’t worry. Even if you’re living somewhere else, we can still spend time together. And I’ll make sure of that.”
“Baby, your grandfather just didn’t want to see you and Cassie fighting,” Daniela accused, giving Cassie a look. “So he decided to make us leave.”
“You have it all wrong, Daniela.”
“No it’s okay, dad. My daughter’s a smart girl. You don’t have to sugarcoat things,” Danny girl ranted. “The fact that you decided to make us leave just so that your family could have some peace here only means one thing.”
Daniela gave her father a look. “We are not important to you.” By now, Marga was having her own personal feud with the cutlery. Mina gave Danny girl an angry look.
Cassie lay in bed reading when Marga came charging in. “Are you happy now we’re leaving?”
“Don’t blame me Marga,” Cassie replied. “It was dad’s decision.”
“But you’re the reason why he decided to do that, because you always play the victim. I was the one who got hurt but am the one getting kicked out.”
“Marga, you lied to them, remember?” Cassie pointed out. “It’s you who made me look bad. Who’s playing victim now?” Cassie went back to her reading.
“So what are you trying to say? That it’s me? You’re the reason why we’re always fighting, Cassie, because you’re so full of yourself.”
Marga glared at Cassie for a while, pissed that she was ignoring her. Suddenly, she grabbed the book Cassie was reading and threw it away. “Don’t you dare ignore me!” Cassie stared at her in surprise.
Neil entered the room. “What’s happening here?” He noticed the book lying on the floor. “Who’s throwing things around?”
Marga was speechless for a second. “We were just playing,” she claimed, putting on her ‘good girl act’. “You know, making the most of my last days here.” She glanced at Cassie, picked up the book she had thrown away earlier and gave it to her.
Cassie stared at her in silence.
“What happened?” Neil asked after Marga had left.
“Just don’t mind her, uncle Neil.”
“Cassie, you just tolerate her attitude for a little while. It wouldn’t be long when they finally leave the house. You wouldn’t need to tolerate that little Medusa anymore.”
“I just feel sad things between us ended like this. Uncle, Marga is a good person. I can see it in her, even before.”
“Cassie, am just saying that you don’t need to endure all this.”
“It’s too bad. When Marga came here, I thought we’d be good friends but…I learned a lot of things from her. That there’s a big world out there, and I can still do many things, but in the end, instead of becoming closer, we only grew apart from each other.”
“Well maybe there’s a reason why Marga acts like that,” Neil insinuated.
“I just regret it, uncle.”
“Cassie, you don’t need to force yourself on her, especially when she’s pushing you away. It’s for your own good.”
A moment later, Cassie sat by the poolside reading, her legs dangling in the warmth of the water. Mina came up to her, telling her that it was dark and it wouldn’t be good for her eyes.
“Oh, okay, I’ll just go back to my room,” Cassie said. “I need to finish this tonight.”
“It’s okay,” Mina muttered as Cassie got up to leave. “Do you need anything? How about juice?”
“No, thanks.”
Mina sat by her side. “Cassie… you might think am being too strict with you, but I have my reasons for doing this. I just want to protect you.”
Cassie bowed her head down. “Mama,” she said, looking her in the eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”
Mina sighed. “Cassie, it’s not about trust,” she replied, caressing her hair. “The world is a very dangerous place. Parents only want to make sure their kids won’t experience the things that they did. And am no different. So I hope you understand me. I lövê you, Cassie.” Romina hugged her daughter. “Mama lōvês you so much.”
Cassie hugged her back. “I lövê you too, mama.”
In the living room, Neil offered to help Naana Esther and she gave him some plates to put in the cabinet. Neil then told her that he had seen Cassie and Marga fighting earlier. “They were trying to hide it, but it was really obvious,” he added.
“I feel bad for Cassie because she waited so long to be with Daniela, but look what’s happening now. But I think it’s better they stay away from each other,” Esther mentioned.
Neil made a face. “That’s if they really move out of this house.” Daniela saw them talking and she slowly made her way to where they stood.
“What do you mean?” Esther murmured.
“You know how Daniela is, Nanny. She would chain herself to this house if she could, just so she can stay here.”
Daniela stood behind the wall now, an angry expression on her face as she listened. Danny girl looked more angrier than ever.
“But she accepted her father’s offer, didn’t she?”
“I’m not convinced. If Daniela moves out, am sure she’ll leave this house with a bang. I know her pretty well. She’s the dragon in Mondragon.!” Neil added, making a funny face.
“You’re so silly,” Esther said and Neil laughed. (Oh no! Danny girl has that look on her face again. That killer look she shows before doing something diabolic. Neil is in so much sh*t now).
Robert was in bed reading when Mina came in from the bathroom. He asked her how her conversation with their daughter had gone. Mina told him that she had tried to make Cassie understand her reasons. “But I can feel that am starting to lose her,” she added.
“Just give her time,” Robert said. “I know things will go back to normal.”
“I really hope so, love.”
“When you were young, didn’t you have misunderstandings with your mother?”
Mina thought for a moment. “Well… sometimes.”
“There, you see,” Robert pointed out. “Cassie’s growing up. She’s starting to have her own opinions and ideas about life so sometimes we can’t avoid having misunderstandings like this. It’s normal, but one thing’s for sure; Cassie loves you. Just give her space, and she’ll come to her senses.”
“I hope so, Robert. I really do.”
“Am sure it’ll happen. Let’s just give her space.”
“What about your relationship with Daniela?” Mina asked. “I don’t think she liked it when you asked them to move out.”
Robert glanced at Mina. “Why, will you miss her?”
Mina smiled. “Love…”
“You know I really wanted to be with them, but even if we live in different houses, I would not stop being a father to her. I really thought things would be better if we all lived in one house, but I was wrong, so I think I made the right decision that we will live in separate houses. It’s for the good of all.” Mina smiled again and leaned into him.
Carlos and Daniela lay in bed. Carlos told Daniela that he was glad that she had finally agreed to move out. Daniela said she was tired of trying to fit in since no one wanted them there. “And I don’t want Marga getting dragged down because of Cassie’s drama,” she added.
“Let’s leave the kids out of this,” Carlos suggested. “You’ve made the decision I wanted a long time ago.”
“Am just worried about you. What will happen when we move out? Who will help you? We’ll not have helpers anymore.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be able to recover very soon,” Carlos assured her. “I can take care of myself. I’ll also start looking for a job to support our family.”
“What about your mother? Will you still help her?” Daniela asked.
“I have to, Daniela. I have no other choice. I’ll have two jobs if I have to.”
Daniela ranted to Savannah about how Neil had gossiped about her. “To think am allowing him to stay in my house. He should be chained since he’s his sister’s pet.”
“Okay. Relax Danny girl,” Savannah said. “Are you really leaving the house, Danny girl? I know you. You don’t give up without a fight.”
“Am just making them think that am doing what dad asks. But am never leaving that house.”
“I knew it. From the speech you gave that night, I can tell you’re planning something big. Tell me, what’s your plan now?”
“It’s simple… I’ll take back what’s rightfully mine. The house, the company, and my family. And I’ll do this without Romina ever noticing…I will never leave that mansion.”
Myrna had met up with Jessa, the young woman who had gone to Kulas’ place to have her car fixed the other time. She made mention of how Myrna was pretending to have cancer. Myrna told her she didn’t have a choice because that was the only way for Kulas to have accepted her back into their lives.
“What about your son Jude?”
“That’s my concern. He still ignores me,” Myrna mumbled.
“But we need him. There are many gamblers we owe money to. We’ll need the protection of the police because they wouldn’t stop searching for us. I don’t want to die.”
“Take it easy, Jessa. We’re not going to die,” Myrna assured.
“Why don’t you ask for money from your eldest son?” Jessa suggested. “His wife is rich, right?”
“What’s wrong with you, Jessa? Carlos hasn’t even recovered from his accident yet.”
“But we still need money,” Jessa mumbled. “What you gave me earlier wasn’t enough. We can’t run forever. We have to give them back their money.”
“I know that. Just be patient. I’m even starting to feel guilty for lying to my family, especially my sons.”
At Kulas’ house, Kulas asked Gino whether he had called his mother since she hadn’t been home for a while now. Gino told him that he had called her several times but she hadn’t answered. Just then, Myrna came in and they asked where she had gone.
“I just went for a walk,” Myrna said.
“Have you eaten?” Kulas asked. No response. Kulas turned to his sons. “Go and get something for your mother.”
“Where did you really go?” Kulas asked his wife after their sons had left.
“I just went to see the doctor.” Myrna replied.
“And what did he say?”
“You know…I couldn’t really meet him because they were asking for consultation fee and I didn’t have any money.”
“I’ll go with you next time to pay it,” Kulas offered.
Myrna looked scared. “No, no. Don’t bother. It’s okay. I can go by myself.”
“Are you serious? I thought you wanted to recover.”
“Umm.. it’s just that they’re asking for my old medical records so I’ll have to go for it.”
“Which hospital?”
“It’s somewhere in town.”
Daniela came back to the mansion and Esther asked if she had been drinking and whether it was because they were moving out of the house.
“This is my house, but this is the second time I have to leave this house,” Daniela wailed. “We are like strangers in this house. Do you know what hurts the most? Dad himself told us to leave. This wouldn’t be happening if mom was still alive.”
“It’s okay, Daniela,” Esther consoled. “You always get sad whenever you talk about the past. Your mother is long gone, and things have changed here. Just focus on your family… that’ll make you happy.”
“I’ll see. But it’s like they’re snatching everything from us,” Danny girl cried. “They just want to kick me out, even in the company. No one can tell.”
In the living room, Carlos stopped Mina on her way out and asked if she was going to work. Mina asked about Daniela and Carlos told her that she was still sleeping. Mina then wished him all the best in his therapy.
“I hope I can get well soon so I can go in search of a job,” Carlos revealed.
“Okay.” Mina turned to leave.
“Romina,” Carlos said. Mina turned back to face him. “I hope our daughters get along.”
“That’s what I want too,” Mina agreed. “They’re family but I think it’s better they stay apart for now.”
“I’ll talk to Marga.”
Robert then came down from the stairs. He kissed Mina and Carlos looked away, feeling uncomfortable. Cassie joined them a moment later and Mina offered to take her to school instead.
“Cassie, do you have any plans later?” Mina asked on their way to school.
“I was planning to tell you that I might not be home early today.”
“But why? Are you going to be that late? What are you going to do? Will you need my help?”
“We’re going to fix some things for our booth for the Maxwell Fair. It would be coming on soon, so we need to put things in place.”
“Okay, but don’t forget to update me on what’s going on. You know I miss you when am at work.”
“Okay. I know what am supposed to do, mom.”
Marga was packing up her things when her mother entered the room, asking what she was doing. Marga told her she was getting her things ready since her grandpa was evicting them.
“What are you even doing, Marga?” Daniela demanded.
“I thought you went to see the new house.”
“Will you stop it? Who told you we’re leaving this house? That’s why I wanted us to act quickly. We need to help ourselves so we can remove Romina and Cassie from our way.”
“How? In what way, mommy? I have done everything in my power but I don’t think we can really get rid of them. So why don’t we just move out?”
“What did I tell you, Marga? This house belongs to us. We are the Mondragons. They don’t deserve to live here. Now tell me, can you take care of Cassie? If you can’t, then maybe you’re just not the daughter I raised.”
“That’s what you always say,” Marga complained. “To beat Cassie in everything. That’s the only thing you know how to say.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“When was the last time you asked me how I was doing? When? Why should my entire life be based on Cassie? I have already gone through a lot, all because of you…yes, I have defeated Cassie. I am now the top student in Maxwell.”
Marga then got her things to leave for school. Daniela offered to take her and she told her that she would rather go with the driver. At Camila, Bonita came into Mina’s office with Neil. She gave Mina the contract they had drafted for the media outlets for the Camilahat commercial launch.
Romina gave the contract to Neil to go over since she was having a headache. Bonita told her not to worry so much about Cassie since Neil had told her that Daniela was leaving the mansion.
“You have to be happy because you’ve gotten rid of one of your problems,” Bonita said.
“Oh that’s what you think,” Neil began. “I don’t really believe that.”
“Why?”
“Daniela gave in too easily, didn’t she? Remember when she gave her speech? She almost created a scene.” Mina was attentive, listening.
“That’s true. Something is wrong somewhere.”
At the Maxwell Fair, Marga seeked permission from a teacher for Kristoff to perform alongside her and the dance troupe. They saw Cassie and the booth she had set up with the art club.
“What’s this?” Marga mocked.
“It’s a booth,” Maureen noted, unintelligent as always.
“I know, but I mean, what kind of booth is this? It looks cheap and mediocre.” Marga walked over to Cassie’s booth.
“Do you need anything, Marga?” Cassie asked.
“No. I don’t need anything. It’s this booth that needs something,” Marga mocked. “I think it will be best if someone served coffee here, but I don’t even think that’ll help you in any way. What do we even call this… boring.”
“You know what, Marga? Why don’t you go and set up your booth before judging ours?”
“I was just speaking my mind. Let’s go,” she said to the Mean Squad. Marga deliberately knocked down some supplies from Cassie’s table. Cassie stared at her with eyes so wide. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t do that on purpose.”
“Don’t worry, but I know it wasn’t an accident,” Cassie said.
“You know me so well. Did I do it on purpose?”
Jessa came to Kulas’ place to have her car serviced again. Gino told his father that he had one good eye left yet he couldn’t keep it away from Jessa. Kulas asked what he was talking about and Gino told him that he had noticed the way he looked at her.
“She’s my customer,” Kulas scolded. “You should be glad she comes to us. Others go to different shops. It’s a good thing your father’s a good mechanic.”
“Good? Her car’s always broken,” Gino pointed out. “That’s why she keeps coming back.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing dad. I said you’re such a good mechanic.”
Myrna arrived and went over to where Jessa sat. “You’re back. Didn’t I tell you not to come here.”
“Relax. There’s nothing wrong with me coming here,” Jessa said.”
“They’ll uncover our secret all because of you.”
“They won’t discover anything if we’re careful, right?”
Back at the Maxwell Fair, Marga and the Mean Squad made their booth ready. Nadya said they didn’t need to worry after seeing Cassie’s booth.
“That’s what you get for being bossy. What a bunch of losers,” Nica commented.
“You’ll win this for sure, Marga,” Nadya added. “You’ll get a lot of points.”
“I always win,” Marga bragged, smiling.
At Camila, Mrs. Galvez asked Daniela what her plan was. Confused, Daniela asked what she was talking about.
“Well I assumed after your speech, you had one,” Mrs. Galvez said.
“Actually, am just waiting for the board to get my message, that they should take my side against Romina. And that’s when I’ll come up with a plan to have her fired.”
“What? No plan B?”
“Is that even necessary?”
“Daniela, that speech wasn’t enough to convince the board,” Mrs. Galvez stated. “Right now, they still see Romina as the head of the marketing project.”
“Am sure it’s only a few.”
“I don’t think so. I even overheard them talking, and they had assumed that Robert is grooming Romina to be the next president.”
“What? That can’t happen.”
“That’s why you need to revise the plan because if that marketing project becomes successful, Romina will step in his shoes as president when Robert retires.”
Cassie sat painting in her room. Her mother came in and complimented her, saying that her paintings looked great. “What are those for?” she asked.
“They’re for the Maxwell Fair.”
“But why did you paint so many?”
“It’s because we are going to sell our artworks, and the performance of our club can affect our standing in Maxwell Prime.”
“Cassie, sweetie, don’t get me wrong, but please don’t be too hard on yourself. All we care about is your welfare, and that’s what your father always tells you, right?”
“I can take care of myself ma,” Cassie said. “Am not a little kid anymore.” Mina was stunned. “I’ll just go wash these brushes.” Cassie stood up and left while Mina looked on.
