THE ILLEGITIMATE SON

Chapter 1

May's POV

I glared at the man pointing a gun at me. I stayed alert, quickly scanning my surroundings. There was no one else with him except for the two men behind me.

"Now, can I ask you to come with us?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

I clenched my fists.

Was he really going to shoot me?

Or was he just trying to scare me?

Could I take the risk?

"What if you put that down, man?"

My eyes widened, and I turned toward the voice. A smirk instantly formed on my lips when I saw Elmo aiming a .45 caliber gun at the man.

"Are you leaving, or do we have to take you down?"

Fillan appeared on the other side of the street, with my father, Gurong, standing behind him-along with his drinking buddies, all holding wooden sticks.

The man looked at me before signaling the guys behind me.

"Let's go."

The two men stepped beside him.

"This isn't over," he warned before they left.

My friends watched them disappear into the alley.

"May, who were they?"

"You're lucky we were here."

"You would've been done for if we hadn't shown up."

They approached me, but my gaze remained fixed on the alley.

I was sure they would come back.

"They were Sam's people, right?" Elmo asked.

"Yeah," I replied, finally looking at them. "Do they really think I have money? We're all starving every day!" I snapped.

"We told you to stay with Sam," Fillan scolded.

"There's nowhere to sleep there! I just want to rest!"

"Then sleep next to Sam!" Elmo teased with a laugh. "You two do it all the time anyway."

I smacked him on the head and grabbed him by the neck.

"You think that's funny?"

Elmo just laughed.

"Lock your door, May. We're leaving," my father, Gurong, said as he and his drinking buddies walked away.

"Okay, 'Tay. Bye!"

"Thanks!"

"Bye, 'Tay Gurong!"

The three of us exchanged looks once we were alone.

"I'm telling you, May, just stay with us. Let's live together," Fillan suggested with a grin.

"Screw you!" I shot back, flipping him off.

I walked past him and headed to my rented room.

"What? Sam's not around again? I can finally be your boyfriend!"

They followed me but stopped at the door.

I shut it, leaving a small gap so I could still peek through.

"May! Come on!" Fillan pleaded.

"You wanna end up like Sam, idiot?" I flashed him a sweet smile. "Besides, you're not even half as good-looking as Sam! You've got some nerve!"

"I'll get fairer skin! Please!"

"Whitening your skin won't make you handsome, Fil-not when you stink so bad!"

I slammed the door shut.

"Fine! Your loss!" he yelled from outside, making me roll my eyes.

"Fillan, come on! You know she's not into you!"

"What? Even you don't support me?"

"Forget it. You smell worse than she says you do."

"Elmo, I heard that!" I shouted.

"Let's go!" Elmo said nervously.

I listened as their footsteps faded away.

Finally alone, I sat on a plastic chair.

The exhaustion hit me all at once.

I sighed and started packing my things.

---

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."

My friends and I made the sign of the cross as we watched Sam's casket being placed in its final resting place.

"Where's the food?" Fillan whispered.

Good thing we were far from Sam's family. No one could hear these two idiots.

"Food comes after the burial," I muttered.

"Ugh!"

They fell silent again.

It was Sam's funeral. His family, neighbors, and friends were all here-along with some uninvited guests.

"They're here again," Elmo murmured, eyeing Giovanni's men in the distance.

Dressed in black suits, they stood out.

"They've been watching for days," Fillan added.

For days now, they had been keeping an eye on me. They never approached-just watched.