attempt to slander her

"She attacked me, Joseph", Donna said weakly. She looked scared and hugged Joseph.

Joseph rubbed her back, trying to console her while he was looking accusingly at Christine.

"I did not", Christine said in disbelief. Why does it keep on happening to her?

"Are you okay?" Joseph asked Donna.

"Yeah, I am okay. It's a good thing you came. If not, I don't know what could have happened to me. I might end up dead just like Aunt Celine", Donna said and started to cry. She was trembling.

Joseph looked at Christine but still did not talk to her.

"What's going on"? it was Jolo who came out of his room and heard the commotion.

"Christine attacked me when I did not do anything with her" Donna replied while adjusting her clothes and hair. Jolo was puzzled and his gaze kept darting from Christine and Donna.

"I did not do it. She grabbed me and I lost my balance. I fell and she started to act weird", Christine explained to Jolo.

"That is not true, please don't lie Christine. If you have anything against me, just tell me. I don't really know why you did it. I am not taking it against you, just don't lie", Donna was still crying pitifully and leaned on Joseph as if she is getting her strength from him.

"Enough", Joseph said coldly. Donna looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. Will he just let it pass? But she won't give up. She will let it pass this time and she will definitely get back at Christine and she will make sure, Joseph will despise her. And, he will be hers.

"Jolo, can you take Donna home?" Joseph said and it surprised Donna but she did not let it show. She looked at him pitifully. She has to agree now or Joseph will be annoyed by her. She also wanted to end the conversation now before Joseph will ask why she was here. It's better to retreat now so she can plan her next move.

"Yeah, sure", Jolo replied while he eyed Christine.

"Thank you", Donna said to Joseph and then looked at Christine. She slowly approached her with a meek smile. Christine steps backward with every step Donna takes towards her.

"Can we be friends? I'll forget what happened here. Let's just say it was an accident. You are like a sister to me. Besides, we will become sisters once Joseph and I get married", Donna said. What Donna said shocked Jolo. He looked at Joseph but Joseph had a blank expression which was misunderstood by Christine as agreement to what Donna said. Donna also felt relieved that Joseph did not disagree.

"We cannot be friends, and certainly, we can't be friends", Christine declared. There is stubbornness in the way she said it. She means it.

It took Donna by surprise and she almost shouted at her. She has so many insulting words to say to her but she held back since Joseph is there. She continued to be the aggrieved one.

"Christine, that's enough!" Joseph said in a serious tone. Donna felt happy, knowing that Joseph is on her side and Christine is now deemed as the bad one. 'I will continue to be helpless in front of Joseph until she will accept me', Donna said to herself.

"We better go now Donna", Jolo interrupted them.

"Yes, let's go", she said and sweetly kissed Joseph on the cheek and hugged him. Christine could not stand it so she left in a hurry before anyone can react. She went straight to her room and locked it from inside. She dived into her bed and covered herself with the quilt.

Donna smiled secretly when she noticed that Christine left, even if Joseph did not return her kisses, but she felt happy. She plans to pursue Joseph again now that Celine is out of the way. This time, she will not let anyone stop her.

Joseph is just recovering from the shock of what Donna did when he saw Christine left in a hurry. he planned to talk to her but he has too many things on hand right now. Tonight is the last day of wake and more guests will be attending. He has to be there. After tomorrow's funeral, he will talk to Christine.

Jolo was also stunned by what Donna did. As far as he knows, Joseph and Donna do not have any romantic relationship at all, or at least, he knows that his brother does not have romantic feelings towards Donna. But he kept it to himself, he doesn't want to get involved in this mess. He knows his brother knows what he is doing.

While Donna was so happy with how it turned out she still has things to do to make sure that Joseph will fall for her. She has been waiting for a long time. She was so happy when she heard that Celine died because she was her biggest problem when it comes to Joseph. That woman was a lunatic.

++++++++++

Christine fell asleep for almost three hours and when she woke up, it was already dark. Her stomach is rumbling. She is already hungry so she decided to take a quick shower before going down to the kitchen to find some food.

The house is so quiet but she can hear people talking in the kitchen area. She went straight to the kitchen. The maids are busy preparing food when she came. They all greeted her politely.

"Right on time Miss Christine, dinner is already ready", one of the maids said.

"Thank you", she said. She planned to make food for herself, she was used to taking care of herself when she was in M City. But here, the maids will not allow her to prepare for her own food. So she just went to the dining table where the food is served by the maids. There are three plates prepared so figured she will not be eating alone.

"Here you are Christine, just a sec while I call Jolo and Claire", Cecilia said, and then she summoned someone to call them for dinner.

"Thank you. You can join us", she said.

Cecilia smiled. "Thank you but I already had dinner".

"I see. Is Joseph here?" she asked.

"He already left. Tonight is the last wake. He is so busy with tomorrow's funeral. Poor Joseph, he barely sleeps for the past 2 days now", Cecilia continued.

"Hi, big sister Christine"

"Hi Christine"

Claire and Jolo said at the same time.

"Hello. How are you, Claire?" Christine smiled and gave Claire a kiss on the cheeks.