The Grand Mistress

Eight Years Ago

There's something good about today that Simione was quite happy about. Probably because it was her eighteenth birthday and because Lyndon promised to come home today to celebrate it with her. It had been a year already that her man had been abroad, continually chasing his dream of becoming a famous ballet dancer.

She met Lyndon when she was about the age of seven or eight, it was the same year when her world was shaken because of the sudden announcement that her grandfather was alive and that she had other family members rather than her grandmother and father. Ever since she remembered, there were only the three of them, her father, grandmother and her and so her world revolved only around them. When her grandmother started getting sick, Simione and her father moved to the white mansion to care for her and one day, her grandfather—whom she had never met before came and the rest was history. 

Her grandfather introduced Simione to a world she had never known before, the world of elite and luxury that at first she gaped open, amazed as to how new, beautiful and shining such a world was. Together with the new world came new acquaintances and Lyndon was one of them. In one of the parties her grandfather brought her, she met Lyndon who was eight that time and they became real good friends and her guide to the new world she was introduced to. Their relationship started as just plainly friends but later she knew that the Tang's were kind of a close family to her grandfather and so Lyndon and her frequently met. Everytime they do, Lyndon has always been considerate with her and made sure she never gets out of place. He had always been her escort.

Fast forward, the relationship between her grandfather and Simione turned bad and ended up in a state that it became irreconcilable. Simione, who was then under his grandfather's care, ran away from everything and ended up in the streets. She had no home or friends left to comfort her and so she thought she'd live on the streets forever alone. She has no more home to return to, no more family waiting for her, no friends. In fact at that time, she thought no single person cared about her anymore, not until Lyndon came. It turned out when Simione ran away, Lyndon looked for her and when he found her, the boy brought her to the Tangs mansion. This action of Lyndon caused a commotion and chaos, yet the boy insisted on keeping Simione despite all the consequences. Simione then lived in the Tang's mansion eversince and the Tang's became her family. 

Not long after, Lyndon proposed his love to Simione. He confessed when Sisi was sixteen years and even when they were still teenagers, the girl of course gave him her heart. Out of all the things that Lyndon did for her, how could she not fall for him too? Even when she was young that time, she knew very well how many things Lyndon sacrificed for her. He basically saved her life from the streets and so with all her sincerity, she entrusted him with his heart and things ever since had been great. Now, Sisi was to celebrate his eighteenth birthday and as always, even no matter how busy Lyndon was in London, she knew he would come home to celebrate it with her.

When Simione entered the Tang mansion, she was half walking, half running. She had seen Lyndon's ride—the car that Madam Silicia instructed to pick up Lyndon from the airport and so she knew her beloved was already home. She personally wanted to pick up her lover but then, that morning was her final defense for her thesis and since she was a graduating student, she couldn't skip it. 

The Tang's actually decided to throw Simione a debut party but Simione declined because she thought it was unnecessary and asked only for a private family dinner. So right then, Madam Silicia was already at the restaurant to make sure the dinner was set while Old Master Williams was on his way to the venue. It was agreed that everyone would meet at the venue but Simione couldn't wait so much, she decided to drop by and see her lover first before heading out. Besides, she needed an escort for the dinner, didn't she?

When Simione was climbing up the fabricated stairs of the Tang's mansion, she was really nervously excited. She held onto the books she was holding and hard and bit her lips for a while wondering how Lyndon would react to seeing her early. Suddenly she was reminded that she had gone from a very tough defense and that she must look horrendous and so she stopped at the middle of the stairs, fixed her hair for a while and made sure the dress wasn't crumpled before she continued on her way. When she was at the second floor of the house, she completely ran tiptoed toward Lyndon's room, hoping to surprise him but when she opened the door—she was the one surprised!

"Simione?" The voice of a woman whom she did not expect rang to her ears like a fireball. In front of her eyes, she saw Lyndon lying on bed naked while a woman, also naked was on top of him glowing in crimson. 

"Shit!" Lyndon, who seemed to have woken up from daze, looked at the door and saw Simione stunned. He stood immediately while the woman he was with dragged herself to the other side of the bed and pulled the blanket to cover her naked body. Lyndon grabbed some of his clothing on the floor, hoping to explain this all to Simione but when he managed to have his clothes on, Simione was no longer at the door.

"Omigod Don, I'm so sorry I didn't expect this to happen," The woman at his bed immediately cried as if feeling so guilty at what took place. Seeing her tears, Lyndon reached for her.

"It's not your fault," He sighed and gathered her in his arms to comfort her. "This isn't your fault, it's mine. I should have told her about this, it's just that…"

"Oh please don't blame yourself. I knew you didn't want to hurt because she had been through a lot already and honestly, seeing her face a while ago and how she was, I too am feeling so utterly guilty," The girl cried. "I am so sorry. I should have never come back with you today. I should have just waited for you to tell Simione. I should have never insisted on coming home with you, it's that its too lonely to be alone in London and I just wanted to be with you wherever you are….Lyndon please don't hate me,"

"Of course I won't. What happened today wasn't your fault," Lyndon tried to appease her as she was crying hard then. "Don't cry anymore. You know how I hate to see your cry,"

"I can't help it. Simione had been through a lot already and now this..." The girl's face became more worried and Lyndon had to pat her back and kiss her to ease her pain. He planned on chasing Simione but with his new lover like this, he can't just leave right then. 

Simione however ran as fast as she could. She left Tang's mansion and soon found herself in the park a few miles from their home. There in the park, there was a pond that was surrounded by black railings and the girl held on to it as her heart slowly broke into pieces. That park was inside the subdivision where the Tang's mansion was built and so because it was an exclusive one, not many frequent there. That time, Simiome was all alone and she was very glad that she was as she needed a place to cry on and pour out her heart.

What just happened?

Did she just see Lyndon in bed with another woman?

Yes she did and what's more heartbreaking was that he brought that woman inside the Tang's mansion. Their place. Their heaven. Their home. 

Simione could not believe it but what she saw was enough evidence that he somehow cheated and worse, with the woman who betrayed her too. She knew that girl well and even though she had always known that girl was up for many schemes, she did not expect that Lyndon could be a subject of it all. Worst, she did not ever expect Lyndon would fall for it. Perhaps, it wasn't just a scheme this time, perhaps they really did fall in love!

"What's all this?" Simione could not help but look up and ask God how cruel he was to her. First  he took away from her all her loved ones, one by one. The next he took her dreams and now, she took her hope. With all that had happened in Simione's life in the past, there was only one thing that she looked forward to now and that was having a happy peaceful life with Lyndon in the future. However now, even that is no longer possible. She was basically left with nothing anymore.