The Villain We Loved - CHAPTER 10: The Girl Who Bit Back

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Before she was the Queen of Spite,283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb33EXG3sXo
before the claws and the coldness,283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmd5o3Tlck
Ruthie was just a girl in a house where love walked on eggshells.

Flashback: Age 8

Rain was falling in sheets outside the window.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZf3lF3g0G
Her knees were tucked to her chest. She stayed quiet in the corner of the kitchen.

Her mother was screaming again.

Not words—just screams.

Raw, guttural, like an animal caught in a trap.

“Bakit hindi mo ako MAHAL?!”

She was screaming at the empty wall.

At no one.

At memories.

Ruthie didn’t cry. Not anymore.

She just bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted metal.

Her brother, Reese, came in carrying a broken umbrella. Wet from head to toe.

“Ruthie,” he said, quietly. “Tulog ka na, ha? Ako na dito.”

She nodded and tiptoed past their mother—still shouting at ghosts.

The floor was cracked.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsQNVeVhYp
The tiles were cold.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWwCZepoce
But the silence of her room was warmer than anything else in the house.

Age 13

Her mother had “good days.”

Days when she cooked breakfast and kissed Ruthie’s forehead.

Days when she called her "my little princess" and said they should go to the mall together.

But they were always followed by the crashes.

The rages.

The paranoia.

The long nights where her mother cried in the hallway, whispering about voices, about betrayal, about the world ending.

“Sinungaling ka,” she once spat at Ruthie. “Mananakit ka rin. Katulad ng tatay mo.”

She didn’t even remember saying it the next morning.

Age 14

Reese left.

Didn’t say goodbye.

Didn’t leave a note.

Just disappeared.

Ruthie found his room empty one day, and that was that.

She stopped waiting for apologies.

Stopped waiting for explanations.

She just learned how to smile at school and scream in silence.

Present Day

Ruthie stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Eyes rimmed with exhaustion.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4R1U2lN6OR
Neck stiff from tension.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFv12lWcgmo
Mascara flawless.

Outside, people were still calling her a monster.

Inside, she could still hear her mother’s screams echoing in her bones.

Jay found her sitting alone on a bench by the campus garden, arms crossed, face blank.

“They’re pushing for your suspension,” he said.

She didn’t look at him.

“Let them.”

“You’re not going to defend yourself?”

“No one listens anyway.”

Jay sat beside her.

Long silence.

Then he asked:

“What happened to you?”

“I was taught not to cry,” she answered. “I was taught that weakness invites punishment.”

“Who taught you that?”

She paused.

Then looked him dead in the eyes.

“The woman who gave birth to me.”

Jay didn’t reply.

Didn’t say sorry.

Didn’t offer pity.

He just asked,

“And what did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“When they hurt you… how did you fight back?”

She smiled.

But it wasn’t sweet.

“I smiled. I studied. I perfected. I made sure no one could ever touch me again.”

“And now?”

“Now… I bite back.”

A message popped on her phone.

Another rumor. Another post. Another scarlet letter.

She didn’t flinch.

But something in her eyes flickered.

Flashback: Age 15

A teacher told her she was “too cold.”

“You’ll never make friends acting like that.”

So she made a list.

Step 1: Fake warmth.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmQvFkoOX5
Step 2: Use secrets like currency.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5vLE9h2bt
Step 3: Win. Always.283Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ888gzLqwSS
Step 4: Never tell anyone about Mom. Ever.

Present Day

“Jay,” she said suddenly.

“Yes?”

“If you found out I wasn’t the villain here… would you believe me?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Then:

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you’ll finally stop hiding behind the monster you made.”

She stood up.

Brushed off her skirt.

“Monsters don’t hide, Jay. They hunt.”

But even she didn’t sound convinced anymore.

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