Hanggang sa Huli

5

~ SEPTEMBER ~

After the contract signing for the show, the first course of action was to remove all traces of Anntonia in Michelle's social media. Everyone knows whatever's been uploaded into the internet will always be in the internet, but the important place for it to be erased was in Michelle's personal accounts for it to fit their (or more appropriately, Pam's) planned narrative.

Michelle couldn't do it so it was Rhian who archived all of Anntonia's photos in her IG and X. The sympathetic smile Rhian offered her after handing over her phone didn't really help lessen the guilt she was feeling.  She didn't open any of her social media accounts until the next day after that.

X was the first place she knew will pick it up and even her old posts on IG was bombarded with comments.

OMG, nawala yung pictures ng gf ni MMD sa IG nya. Kahit yung NY reel nya nawala nadin. Ano kayang meron?

Break na kaya? 

Wala talagang forever!

Wala pa naman kasi silang 2 years ata, ganun talaga #EndOfPorDee

Then she starts posting cryptic stories about self-love and liking random posts about heartbreak knowing that fans will pick up on it. 

Ayan na talaga, break na yan. Sayang naman sila.

Non-showbiz naman kasi si girl, mahirap talaga yan

And where there was smoke, people often think there's a fire, so the media also picks up on this. Some reporters try to sneak in some questions to her about Anntonia but it's been tasked on her to neither confirm nor deny the issue. So she'd answer it the same way all the time, to smile politely and say, 'If you don't mind, no personal questions, please.'

Even Rhian's been bombarded with questions which she has also been politely evading with a 'Michelle's personal life is her business, I don't think I'm at liberty to answer that question.'

The issue about moving out was logical, as Anntonia said. With her glam team and Rhian's going in and out of their house, the presence of Anntonia in the house will raise suspicions. So she asked Mike to have NDAs drawn up and she apologizes to her team and Rhian's for putting them under contract, but there was no way in hell she knew she'll survive this if Anntonia moves out.

She wasn't whole without Anntonia. 

Even Rhian's boyfriend was asked to sign an NDA, just in case. Michelle trusted Ate Irma and Kuya Francis though and they both loved Anntonia as much as they did Michelle and Rhian, so they were the only exception.

Anntonia was taking things fairly well, since she's not really affected by all the social media buzz due to her lack of social media nor does she even search Michelle online. Anntonia was actually more concerned at the moment of Michelle's pending co-stars. 

"What's Miss Mexico's name?" Anntonia asks one random afternoon while they were on the couch in the den.

"Who?"

"Miss Mexico, the girl who's playing your love interest in the show," Anntonia says. "What's her name? I want to see what she looks like."

"You're prettier, baby."

"I didn't ask if she was pretty, Michelle, I just asked to see what she looks like," Anntonia rolls her eyes. "Name, please?"

"Melissa Flores," she says with a gulp.

Anntonia types in to her phone and scrolls down and down and down, her right eyebrow arching higher and higher. "Hmmm, she is pretty."

"You're prettier though, and you smell sweeter," she says almost too quickly. Too quickly that she didn't even think about what she just said, and it was too late before she can take anything back as her eyes go wide after realizing what just came from her mouth.