All Chapters of Cleo and Her Series of Heartbreaks: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Since the day I ranked first in our class, people around me started expecting more and more from me. From my parents to my siblings to our relatives and to our neighborhood. I must admit, I loved the attention and acknowledgement. But it was getting harder and harder for me to breathe. It was suffocating. 

“I don’t need to live my life to the fullest, Christian. All I just want is for this life to come to its end and maybe, in another life, find myself living for myself.” 

Maybe if someone were to ask me who was my first heartbreak, I would most probably say that it was my mom. I had no idea when did it all start. When did I start longing for her attention? The earliest memory that I could think of that I had with my mom was when she was caressing my hair, tying it up into multiple small braids. I was seven that time. 

When Christmas season came, it went like a blur. My family and I went to the city to visit some of our relatives. The whole week we were there, questions after questions were thrown to us, asking who was Lia. It made my mom a little uncomfortable but still told them the truth nonetheless. I could tell by then how my relatives did not like her answer and reprimanded her for accepting the kid. 

I was smiling from ear-to-ear after my parents had left my room. They just finished making me feel bad about myself for not passing any of my entrance examinations. Yes, I failed while Christian passed his. I knew it. He was the better student between the two of us.