Chapter 25The next morning was filled with extreme bliss already. I woke up witnessing the sun from our room, hitting us already on the bed, and with Elijah Luciero beside me. He slept with no shirt and he was only wearing his boxer. In front of our bed is the glass window, where we can see everything in the sky and downstairs if we go closer. The huge curtains are widely opened. It seems like I forgot to close it last night. For the first time in our marriage, I woke up in the morning without swollen eyes and with a lovely smile as I watched Elijah sleep. His arm was on my stomach while he was facing me sideways. I took that moment to examine his face closer. Nothing changed at all. He's still as handsome as before. I remember before how many girls were dying to talk with him. He was a heartthrob on our campus. A lot of students envied me, Freya and Lily to be friends with Elijah, and of course, Lucas. They were both heartthrobs during those days. The change and twist of our fates
Chapter 26“Is he okay now?” I asked my secretary when they all brought Brian back to his room. I was only outside the hotel room, waiting. Brian indeed created a scene there. His manager struggled to talk with the other people who took a video of him. He's a popular model who is still famous in the Philippines. If his video had spread earlier, we'd both be dead. My name will be dragged as well. Even Elijah's name will be included as I already carry his name with me. Faith Flamera-Luciero. It just sinks into me now. “He’s sleeping. We found out that he drank tons of alcohol in the club here,” she blew out a light sigh, in distress of the mess Brian created. “I deeply apologize for this mess, Ms. Faith. He has never been like this, I was surprised, too.” His manager said, ashamed of Brian's sudden action. “It's fine. Let's just skip his photoshoot for now and focus on the other models,” I suggested. That's the only thing we can do. He was not in his right mind yet to do the photos
Chapter 27“Shot! Shot! Shot!” I quickly grabbed the glass with bravery while they were all shouting. I shut my eyes firmly when I felt the extreme bitterness of alcohol that traveled down in my throat. “Woahhh! Let's get wasted!” I shook my head when my secretary said that aloud. We are all having fun already. Eating good food here in Siargao and drinking endless alcohol after the wine that we drank earlier. “Hey, you will be drunk later if you don't stop.” Elijah said when I was about to drink another bottle of the beer. Well, I can just smell the reek of alcohol from all of us. I'm becoming a bit dizzy, but I am still into myself. “My alcohol tolerance is strong,” I said and winked at him before I stole back the beer from him. “I doubt that,” he commented and shook his head, underestimating me. “It's true,” I said. “We'll see about that, Mrs. Luciero.” He indeed shut me up with those simple words. It was the first time I heard him calling me ‘Mrs. Luciero’. Damn. I got lo
Chapter 28“Good morning,” My eyes remained closed. I felt Elijah's face landing on the side of my neck while I couldn't yet open my eyes. “Hmm,” “You're prettier in the morning,” I heard him say. “And you're gorgeous when you're naked,” that made me open my eyes as he teased me with that. My lips parted before everything flashed back in my head. Oh, hell. I was drunk last night and we both did it here. I bit my lower lip and hid my face from him, ashamed.“What are you doing?” He chuckled. “Did I say weird things last night?” I asked with my face burning. “Nothing,” I glanced back at him and took a deep breath in relief.“But you said I'm very handsome,” my eyes almost vanished when he said that. But then, I realized that last night wasn't bad at all. It was the first time that I can call what happened between us as making love instead of sex. He didn't force me this time, I was the one who yielded. “My head is aching,” I commented as I closed my eyes again. “You were so ar
Chapter 29It was already 11 pm when we finished everything last night. It was a very long day for all of us, indeed. I'm just glad that we were able to solve all the problems before this day comes. I'm standing on the veranda with my eyes closed. I was letting the breeze embrace me and play with my hair. The sun was hitting me a bit as well and I took that moment to cleanse my mind. I could hear the waves of the ocean from here. The chirping of the birds exploring the sky became music to my ears, calming me. I could smell the ocean from the wind. It was indeed different from the air that we breathe in our country. It's peaceful here. It's serene and away from all the chaos from the community. “Hey!” I exclaimed when I heard the camera shutters on me. “What? It was beautiful,” Elijah said, wearing his broad smile again as he checked my picture from his camera. “Delete that, come on. I'm not wearing any makeup,” I tried to reach the camera from his hand but he lifted it up with his
Chapter 30“She's my wife, she's a Luciero, and no one can ever touch a Luciero.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from there. I didn't resist him anymore and allowed him to get me out of there. My head was flying already. I couldn't think properly while my emotions were eating me up. I was breaking every step that I made. “You did well,” I heard Elijah say. My eyes remained to nowhere while my parents' words satiated my head. It was almost a very successful day. I thought everything was already fine when I was called there and expressed my gratitude to my entire team. Why do they have to show up here and ruin my success as if I am not their daughter? He captured my eyes when he placed his hand on my chin and gently raised my head. Tears began to slip out of my eyes as soon as I glanced at him. If Elijah wasn't there, I would probably lose my own balance. “The event was a success. You finished it,” he said, trying to uplift my spirits. I looked away and chose to watch the o
Chapter 31“I know what happened with Freya broke all of us, especially you and Elijah.” I was all eyes at her. After welcoming us back earlier, here we go, having the girls talk alone in the garden. Can you believe it? I looked like a kid earlier when I cried in front of her after hearing those kinds of words from a mother like her. When I met her again during the planning of my wedding with Elijah, I thought she also despised me, as I know that her son is madly in love with Freya. “My son was hurting you, didn't he?” That made me pause. A lump seems to be stuck in my throat. I was lost for words the moment she mentioned that. Does she know about it? “When he told me about the marriage, I was shocked when he told me that he wants to marry you. I mean, you're the sister of the woman he's madly in love with—and you are his best friend, Faith. I've seen how you two bonded together,” she chuckled a bit, while I couldn't say anything there. She is finally addressing this issue that I f
Chapter 32“When did you learn to cook?” Marie asked while I was already doing the plating of the steak that I cooked. I was wearing this broadest smile of mine ever since I started to cook here in the kitchen. This is the first time that I use the kitchen as well as this is also the first time that I cook for Elijah. I would say that my lips can rip from smiling from ear to ear. “It's one of my hobbies; I learned by myself.” She nodded while watching me putting all my effort into the food. I always cooked for Freya when she was alive. I used to watch the maids in our house cooking our meals, until I grew up and began to indulge the smell of my own food that I make. It became a hobby for the past few years of my life. I think I just stopped when Freya died and everything in my life started to crumble. “Did he really change? I still can't believe the old him is coming back,” Marie commented. It made me pause for a second. Of course, no one would expect Elijah's sudden changes. “It
Epilogue2 years later…“Levi?” My brows were crossed when my secretary, Elise, said that. “Yes, Ms. Faith. The boy said that he needs you right now,” now, my brows just arched. This is a deja vu to me. Levi always calls me when he is in trouble. I shook my head before I stood up from my swivel chair, grabbed my coat and keys, before I leave. “Alright. I'll continue the work tomorrow. You go home early if you want, Elise.” I smiled at her before I marched out of my office. It's been two years since the chaos in our lives finally ended. After that night, justice was served to my mother, Freya, and to Marie who was raped and harrassed. Though she underwent therapy for a year with all the traumas, but right now, she's living her life. Just like what I promised, I am paying for her education. “Where are you, baby?” Elijah asked over the phone with his husky voice.“Stop seducing me,” I mumbled and chuckled. I parked my car at the University where Levi is studying before I came insid
Chapter 107 “You know what, I sometimes think that you're friends with God,” Joaquin chuckled unbelievably. “No matter how we tried to kill you, you always survive. You even tried killing yourself and yet you're still alive,” he added. He stood up as he hid his hands inside his pockets. “But not today, Faith… you're gonna die now, and I'll make sure of that.” Am I gonna die here? Is this the reason why I couldn't die when I asked multiple times to die? Only to be killed by these two psychos? “I'm not scared of death, Joaquin.” The side of my lips curled up. He can threaten me with all things, but not with death. “Why do you think I attempted suice countless times? Death, that's what I want. And if you will kill me today, then I shall be grateful because you will fulfill a wish of mine,” I might die here, but who cares? I kept asking for this, and maybe the God above is finally granting my wish. Perhaps, this is where my life ends—where all the pain ends. If my death would end
Chapter 106 Elijah's POV “Can you fucking sit, Elijah?! You're not helping!” Lily exclaimed. I kept walking repeatedly right in front of them. Faith left earlier and until now, she's not yet coming back. It's already dark, for god's sake! “Bro, maybe she's just taking a long time dealing with that ass. Calm yourself down,” Lucas commented. “She's not answering my calls,” I already called her so many times and she didn't answer. It was only ringing but she wasn't answering it. “Well, perhaps she's still with the client,” Brian said and shrugged. “Her secretary cannot be reached,” Lily mentioned. She already looks frustrated as well. “I don't feel good about this,” her father said. I could tell that he's already overthinking right now. “They are here,” Horan said from the veranda. I was the one who quickly went out of the living room to see Faith with my own eyes. I was kinda able to breathe in relief. “See? I told you, she's fine.” Lucas said and let out a chuckle.However, w
Chapter 105 “AHHHHH!” I screamed all my rage as I threw the furniture on the screen as the detective bid a goodbye to us. I was shaking in anger. I didn't stop from throwing the furniture around, trying to lessen my pain and hatred. “HE'S A FUCKING BASTARD! HE KILLED FREYA AND MY MOTHER!” I yelled as I ignored the tears that were dripping down on my face. I feel like all the pain and rage that I felt since the death of Freya was gathered inside me. “Faith, stop!” Elijah was so strong that he was able to capture me in his arms, refraining me from throwing another piece of furniture on the ground. As I met his eyes, I felt like I came back to my senses. And there I was, feeling feeble once again. My tears invaded my eyes until my knees folded on the ground. I let go of the furniture from my grasp and began to cry a river. None of them dared to approach me. Only Elijah was able to come near me. I feel so miserable. That bastard ruined my life the moment he tried killing me and F
Chapter 104 Elijah and I were left standing there as we both watched the detective leave. A minute later, I saw Lucas who came back inside our car earlier. “He's calling,” Elijah said as his phone rang and I saw Horan calling. “He left,” Elijah uttered over the phone. “Stay there. Adrian is activating the tracking device,” Horan said on the line. The call was loudspeaker. “I'm sorry for what happened. I'm gonna clean this,” a real waiter came to us and immediately cleaned the mess that we purposely created in order to plant the tracking device for the detective. When the waiter finished cleaning the mess, the device was finally activated. “It's working. You can now leave, the detective is back at the station.” I was able to finally breathe when he said that. All my worries fade away in one snap. “Thank God,” I muttered. The strength I pulled in earlier vanished my body. Now, I felt weak after acting tough in front of the detective. “We should go now,” Elijah said as he quick
Chapter 103“Are you sure you can do this?” Elijah asked the next day. Today, we're going to do the plan that we talked about yesterday. I would not deny that I feel nervous. How can't I? The detective was sharp. If he is really the culprit, then he would anticipate everything that we could do. I can't mess this up, we can't. If we succeed with this mission, we will have a chance to finally find Marie. “Of course,” I said. I gave all my best to hide my fear in front of him. I knew that if he saw how terrified I was, he would not let me do the mission. “Don't worry about me, Elijah. We have to do this in order to save Marie,” I said as I fixed his collar. I chose to look at it rather than cross his gaze that was stuck at me. I didn't want him to catch my real emotions. “This is not just to save Marie, this is also to end this war,” he added, followed by his heavy sigh as he sat on the bed, looking frustrated and bothered. He's worried, I could tell that in one glance. He doesn't
Chapter 102 “It's not his real voice,” Adrian said while he kept repeating the voice of the culprit. I was able to record it during the call and from the video he sent. I heard Lucas chuckled. “This bastard is really smart. He's not gonna let us find out so easily who he is,” “What do we do?” I asked. “I have a plan,” we all stopped when Detective Horan arrived with some of his men following him inside. They all looked exhausted but they are still doing their job to find Marie. Lily whistled. “Interesting. Let's talk about it,” “You should take a rest for a while. There's food in the dining room. You guys should eat first,” I might be so eager and in a hurry to find Marie as soon as possible, but I also care for their health. In order for them to look for Marie, they must have enough strength to do so. We let everyone rest for the meantime. Elijah and I went to our room just to spend some of our time together. We were back on the bed, cuddling, while staring at the empty ceilin
Chapter 101 With the days passed and we still had nothing to find Marie, I tried distracting myself for my own sake. But it is just really hard to do that, especially that I see all of them working so hard to look for her. “It's good to sit here early in the morning while drinking coffee,” Lily muttered. It's 6 am and we are both on the veranda, watching the peaceful view of the garden in front of us. There was still fog that covered the place a bit and I could still feel the cold that naturally comes every morning. There were no people working to find Marie yet. Well, this day is just about to begin. “Well, you're drinking milk.” I reminded her and we both chuckled with that. She was caressing her belly, which is already huge now. The aroma of my coffee is filling the entire veranda. I do love mornings like this, but I will love it more if Marie isn't in the hands of the culprit. I don't know what will happen today, but I hope we can find something that will lead us to Marie.
Chapter 100After the video was sent to us, I hired more people to look for Marie. Detective Horan didn't let his guards down, too. His entire team is working their fingers to the bone to find Marie. The video that we watched kept playing in my head. That bastard punched Marie and it crumpled my chest all the time. She did nothing wrong in life to deserve things like this. “I should have just come with her,” I said with so many regrets. I should have just disregarded my meetings so I could be with her. If I didn't let her enroll by herself, she would not be in that culprit’s hand. She would not experience that kind of thing in her life.“It happened for a reason,” Elijah said while holding my hand. We are outside the clinic of my Psychiatrist. I am here for another check up and I would not be surprised if she says that I am not getting any better. I have been stressed with everything and I could not even make a good sleep. “What reason?” I glanced at him bitterly.I don't see any