After Lordes and Celeste had calmed down from their crying, comforting each other, and explaining past events to exchange information, they were now seated peacefully, sipping cold juice—something Semion had ordered his staff to prepare.“So, knowing the evil of the Allegra family after your demon of a husband abandoned you, it’s clear that you’re really separated, right?” Lordes asked Celeste for confirmation.Celeste nodded repeatedly. “It’s been two months since we separated. Even though I deeply regret not realizing things sooner, I’m still fortunate that it’s not too late for me.”Lords breathed a sigh of relief. “Good! I’m glad to hear that! Thank goodness you’re safe from the Allegra family!” Lordes then turned her attention to Semion, who was sitting across from her. “Semion, thank you so much for helping Celeste! We owe you a great debt of gratitude!”Semion insisted, “Actually, it was Celeste who saved my life. If she hadn’t been there, I would probably have lost my life.”L
“Mama!”In the middle of the conversation and laughter among Semion, Celeste, Valentina, and Lordes, a man’s voice dominated the small hut.A man walked through the wooden door, wearing worn-out farm clothes and a headscarf. He was carrying two dirty sacks that were full and looked heavy.“Ma?” His brown skin looked sunburned from working in the fields. He dropped the two sacks and looked curiously at the large people in their small hut.“Felip, my son!” Lordes, delighted, stood up from her seat beside the beautiful woman to greet him. “I’m so glad you’re finally home!”“Yes, Ma. We finished our work. And by the way, Captain Pablo gave out some corn and sweet potatoes, which should last us a few weeks.”“Wow, did you thank him? Even though the captain can be difficult, he’s still a kind man.”Felip laughed. “Of course, Ma.”“Good! But we’ll deal with that later, dear.” Lordes pulled Felip to the front of the beautiful people, making him quite nervous. “You need to meet them! This is, r
For a few seconds, Semion and Felip stared at each other with hostility, their glare crackling like electricity. Both men gritted their teeth but remained silent."Oh my goodness!" Celeste exclaimed, shocked as she processed the sudden turn of events. She felt the tension between the two and couldn’t help but cling to Semion's arm.Meanwhile, Lordes grabbed her child with a flurry of agitation. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t speak like that to a guest!” she said apologetically to Semion. “I’m sorry, dear! He doesn’t know what’s happening, so he’s just saying all sorts of things!”Semion was snapped out of his anger and turned his attention from Felip to his mother. “It’s okay, Ma---”“What am I supposed to know?” Felip interrupted impatiently. “From what I see, Celeste shouldn’t be marrying so soon after everything that’s happened because she needs to be extra careful! What if this guy is no different from Darson? Celeste is lucky to be alive now, and now she’s jumping into another
Celeste thought it would be easy to change Felip’s attitude toward Semion by telling him their ‘fake’ love story. Instead, it only seemed to worsen Felip’s mood for reasons she couldn’t quite understand.“Isn’t our love story believable, Semion?” she asked, puzzled, as she dried her wet hair with a towel.She had just finished showering in the small bathroom of their little apartment. She sat on the bed, looked at Semion, who had been fiddling with his phone and was now staring at her with a blank expression.“Why does it even matter?” he asked. “So what if that guy doesn’t believe it? What can he do to stop the wedding?”Celeste was momentarily taken aback. Was she imagining it, or was Semion really in a bad mood?“It’s not that,” she said. “But he’s like family to me, so it would be easier if he understood my side. Plus, Val said they don’t want any objections to our marriage. What if that ends up making them suspicious of our relationship?”“Tsk, I still don’t see the point.” Semion
“D-Darson… p-please don’t…”As usual, at precisely four in the morning, Semion was awakened by Celeste’s faint whimpers while she was deep in sleep.He turned on his side to look at her face. Cold sweat had gathered on her forehead, mingled with the moisture clinging to her long, thick eyelashes.“Darson…” Celeste’s face scrunched up in distress, her body trembling.Semion watched her with a cold, expressionless face. He left her like that for a while, unlike before, before he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.“I’m here,” he said without much emotion, gently smoothing her hair.“Hmm…” That was when Celeste seemed to relax. Her trembling and whimpering stopped.Semion closed his eyes again.On their first night sharing the same bed, he remembered how much worse Celeste’s sleep disturbances had been. He didn’t know what to do since nothing would wake her up. So, he simply held her, and only then did Celeste stop calling out for her former husband.When he asked her about it
“Luca, don’t be rude. Eat your vegetables,” Valentina whispered to her brother when she saw him just playing with his food.Luca whispered back to his sister, “I don’t get it. Rice and vegetables for breakfast? It feels like lunch.”“What? It’s a typical Filipino thing. Rice in the morning, noon, and night. You’ll need to adapt, since we’re not at home. Just eat your food.”With a pout, Luca reluctantly tried the vegetables with his rice. He thought it wouldn’t taste good, but was impressed when he tasted it. “Wow, what kind of vegetable is this?”Little Luca’s question was overheard by Lordes, who responded despite talking with Celeste. “That’s adobong talbos ng kamote, dear.”“What? I thought adobo only came with chicken or pork. There’s something like this too?”“Oh yes, dear. Out here in the province, you’ll find all sorts of different dishes! They’re delicious even if the spices aren’t expensive!”“Really?” Luca’s curiosity was piqued. “But too much rice might make me fat. I want
At Semion's Residence…“They killed them all,” Celeste uttered weakly after Diego handed her a document on Semion’s orders.“Yeah, it seems that eliminating lives is the easiest solution for the Allegra family,” Semion said, sipping red wine. “Your family lawyers, estate planners, accountants, and financial advisors—they’re all dead. And it can’t be just a coincidence because, according to the autopsies and investigations, they all died in car accidents—drunk driving, brake failure, rollover accidents, and even distracted driving. All ridiculously related! They didn’t even try to change their strategy.”“Even my parents and my brother were in car accidents,” Celeste rubbed her temples. “What are we going to do? We need them for the documents related to our family’s properties and assets. How can we prove the land is ours without legal documents?”“Well, before that,” Semion signaled Diego to hand Celeste another stack of papers. “These are the things you need to know first. Demetrio a
[FIGHT BACK, Don’t Be Afraid!][Kick the Allegra Family Out of Land That Isn’t Theirs!][You Will Not Silence Us!][Justice! Justice! Justice for All the Farmers They Massacred!][WE WILL FIGHT, WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN!]Governor Demetrio Allegra stared in shock, his mouth hanging open as he watched the news broadcast of the farmers rallying on their land, live on television.“Governor!” His secretary rushed to his aid as he felt light-headed and lost his balance.Demetrio grabbed the edge of his desk while the secretary supported him. “T-Turn off the screen now!” he ordered angrily.“Of course!” The secretary quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.Demetrio’s broad chest heaved up and down as if struggling to catch his breath. His heart pounded loudly, and he felt all the blood rush to his head.“Quickly, contact that damned CBN production and get them to take down the news they’re broadcasting now!!” he yelled at the secretary, full of rage.The secretary, flustered, rushed