"Stuck out tongue, winking eyes emoticon!" Selene and Ares shout at the same time.Astraea was happy to applaud when the two guessed the emoji.They are playing "Guess the emoticon" that they just thought of. She was on a day off, but she was still working because she still had contracts to review before signing. She couldn't help but be distracted by the noise of the three."I said it first," Selene said, arguing with Ares like a child."Never! I said it first, "Ares said."Aunt Selene the Pretty said it first," Astraea said, obviously taking Selene's side. She saw Selene smile because of Astraea's bias towards her.She laughed when Astraea put lipstick on Ares' face because Ares looked like a clown. When it was Selene's turn, she saw Ares swallow hard because Selene had a devil's smile on her face while holding the lipstick."I will take revenge on you," Ares said, since Selene put lipstick all over his face.Ares stood in front of the two because he was the one who would take the a
"Baby, can we talk? She said that as she entered the bedroom, she saw Astraea was reading a book while lying down on the bed. "About what, mommy?" Astraea asked while still not taking her eyes off the book she was reading. She sighed and approached it. "It's about your father." Astraea was stunned by what she said, so her daughter put aside the book she was reading and faced her. She would not let her daughter be bad just because of what happened to her and Zeus. She wouldn't allow Astraea to continue her bad treatment of her father. And Astraea is still too young to be affected by her fight with Zeus."You shouldn't treat your dad like that." She spoke softly to Astraea. She didn't want to raise her voice because Astraea might be afraid of her and refuse to listen. She wants her daughter to obey because she knows what she is saying is right."But I hate him, mommy, because he promised me that he would never make you cry or yell at you. He broke his promise, and the worst part is t
She woke up when she felt herself hugging an awkward object. So she decided to open her eyes. Her eyes widened. When she saw that Zeus was hugging her, she looked down, and her lips parted when she saw that Zeus didn't have a t-shirt and they only shared one blanket. She remembers last night that the three of them slept together in one bed because it was Astraea's request.She needed to get up because her heart was beating so fast, as if it was coming out of her rib cage. So she slowly got up and removed Zeus's hands from cradling her. She held her breath as she slowly left the bed, but she gasped when suddenly Zeus grabbed her waist and, because of that, she lay on top of Zeus."Stay," Zeus said as he hugged her waist and buried his face in the hollow of her neck. Her heart was beating so fast, like it was racing. She didn't know how to get out of Zeus's hug, so she did her best to give an alibi. "I need to get up, Zeus; I have to go to work already, and you do as well, so get up,
Her lips slightly parted when she saw Zeus. She wonders why Zeus hasn't left yet. Didn't he have a job to do? Oh right, she forgot that Zeus was the owner of the ZGH company, so that's why he had a lot of time to wander around because his company could run a day without him."What are you doing here?" She asked, blinking thrice when she realized that she had called Zeus "blind."But instead of answering her question, Zeus took her bag and the papers she was carrying. "Are you going somewhere?"She blew the hair that obscured her vision and said, "You didn't answer my question. Why are you here? "Zeus sighed, "Here you left it in my car." It was her wallet. How stupid she is that she didn't know that she left her wallet. "And I have a business here around the corner.""Thanks, I need to go." He took the wallet and her things that Zeus was holding. She had to go already because Beth had something important to tell her."Wait," Zeus said, while holding her hands. "Let me drive you then.
"Let's go," Zeus said, and held her hands.As they walked towards the elevator, all the employees were looking at them. Maybe because Zeus was holding her hands, she immediately removed her hand from Zeus' grip. Zeus looked at her with a questioning look. She didn't speak. Instead, she just looked down at her hands. While entering the elevator,The elevator opened and she saw that there was no one inside, so she decided to stand on the left side of the elevator. But Zeus still stood beside her, and she didn't move anymore because Zeus might have noticed that she was avoiding him.She was standing quietly when Zeus suddenly faced her, and that made her heart beat like crazy. Their lips were just an inch away from each other."Next time," Zeus said as he adjusted her coat to cover her chest, "don't wear revealing clothes like this because your breasts are showing; instead, wear a turtleneck because it suits you better," She wants to roll her eyes. For Christ's sake, she's just wearing
When they got home, Astraea was already asleep, maybe because she was tired from going to different boutiques and playing at the playville inside the mall.For Astraea, it was a fun day.She tried to sleep but couldn't, so she got up and left the room and decided to go straight to the balcony, where she immediately hugged herself as the cold air greeted her.She was looking at the sky, still thinking about what happened earlier. The words Miguel had said earlier couldn't get out of her mind. She admitted that it hurt her when Miguel said that she was a trash. Because that's what most people looked at her before."It's already cold here; you should go inside," Zeus said, putting a jacket on her shoulder.She turned to face him. "Thank you... thank you for defending me earlier," she said.I'll do anything for you, so there's no need for you to say thank you, and that asshole has no right to say those words. ""He was my ex-boyfriend," she said, and heaved a deep breath before she contin
She's at the mansion because she was on a day off. She was in the middle of checking some contracts when suddenly her phone rang. So she answered it without looking at the caller id. "Hello, who's this?" She asked with a busy tone. "Hello, Amore. I'm sorry for disturbing you.Could you please deliver the paper that was on my study table? It was important, so I need that now."Even though she was busy, she still said yes. "Sure, I'll be there in minutes," she said while tidying up her things. "Okay, bye amore, I'll wait for you here," Zeus said, and happiness was obvious in his voice. She immediately ended the call and changed her clothes into formal ones. She was in the middle of walking down the stairs when she thought of something. "Did Zeus already eat lunch?"With that thought, she goes to the kitchen to cook something for Zeus. It may sound like confectionery, but she wants to cook Zeus' lunch because she misses doing it. When she is already done cooking, she immediately g
"Mommy! Daddy!" Astraea screamed happily as she ran towards them.Their daughter is wearing an apron, indicating that she is assisting Selene in baking some cakes and cupcakes."How's your day, baby?" She asked while fixing Astraea's hair."It's fantastic, mommy; I work at Aunt Selene's cafe. I'm their little waiter. I takes customers' orders and because of my cuteness mommy our profits today have increase" Astraea said while giggling.It was obvious tha Astraea really had an awesome day."And you know what, mommy? Aunt Selene said she would buy me some toys and I said no because I do my work as a waiter in the cafe of my own free will and I have fun doing it, but Aunt Selene was so persistent, so I said yes."She laughed at Astraea. She doesn't know if her daughter really doesn't want Selene's offer or if she's just pretending she's not interested."Well baby, your Aunt Selene will not take no for an answer." She cupped Astraea's face and kissed her nose.After dinner, they immedia
It was the last time she and her brother talked. It didn't call her again, and she doesn't know if it was because her brother was mad at her. She tried to call it, but it seems like her brother doesn't want to talk to her, so she just gives him space.On that day, she decided to leave behind all of her problems because they were going to celebrate Selene's birthday, and she wanted to make it memorable and fun because she missed having fun because of what happened to her the past few weeks.She was happy that she was going to bond with her daughter and Zeus again. She doesn't remember when they last had a family bond.They were going to celebrate selene's birthday at the Herreras' private resorts. So she immediately called Zeus because she wanted to arrive there and because she and her family were complete.She was patiently calling Zeus, but he didn't answer her call. She was curious about what he was doing. The man said earlier that he was going to the office to fix something, so she
After what she knew weeks ago, she has been avoiding having a talk with the people in the house. She knows that it's a pathetic threat, but she just can't act like nothing happened. Every time she looks at the Herrera family, she feels guilty. For a week, she always goes to her office so that she can avoid the heroine. She doesn't want to stay in the mansion feeling so guilty.On that day, she was busy finding her keys in her bag while she was going down the stairs. The moment she reached the end of the stairs, she saw Ares, who was looking at her while his hands were inside her pocket. She couldn't maintain eye contact, so she looked away."Stop avoiding us," Ares said, still not stepping in the way. "It doesn't change anything; you're a family, and what happened before will stay in the past and be forgotten."She looked at Ares, and tears were already building in her eyes. "Why are you so good to me? I mean, I just used to think that people hated me because of what my father did.""I
She couldn't believe what she just heard. Her father did what? She knows how evil her dad is, but she doesn't know that she can commit such a crime. For all people, why is she the one in that situation?She doesn't deserve to feel that kind of suffering all of her life. She has been a good daughter; she always follows whatever he wants her to do, so why has the universe made her suffer?For all the people, why should it be Aunt Grace who experienced such a traumatic event? The woman was so kind and positive in life that she even knew that she had experienced such a thing.From what she just knew, it made her hate her father more. She hated her life; she hated being an illustre. She doesn't have the right to live after what her father did, even if it wasn't her who committed the crime. Still, she remains the daughter of a criminal.She hated her damn life!"I d-don't know t-that my f-father could d-do that; he w-wouldn't do t-that, Z-zeus..." she said, still hoping that she just mishea
It was still fresh in her mind what happened that day—the day that her mama, Riza, died in front of her. She still couldn't forget how her father shot her mother, Riza.If her brother didn't bring her to the psychologist, she wouldn't move forward because every night she would have a nightmare, and that is how her father killed her mama. And as the years went by, she forced herself to forget about it and move forward so that she could be the best daughter for her father.And the day that Claire told her about Mama Riza, everything came back, and she felt guilt in her heart. She didn't do anything to save her mama, Riza. That day, everything was clear to her: why Claire hated her so much was because of what her father did to Claire's mom."I'm sorry," she said, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I didn't want what happened; I begged my father not to do it, but he wouldn't listen to me. I did everything..." she said as what happened played back in her mind.She saw Claire's eyes full of an
(FLASHBACK)She was 11 years old when her mother left; that day was the beginning of her father's evil. Her father would hurt her or say something hurtful. At first, she doesn't get why her father can do such things to her when, in fact, she loves her so much, but as time goes by, everything slowly makes sense: her father hates her because she is a carbon copy of her mother, which makes her father remember her mother.One day, after her father hurt her by lashing a belt on her, she went to the basement to hide, but little did she know that there was a lady there. No, more like a prisoner.When she reached the basement, she saw a bombshell like a prison. She twisted open the door knob, but it was locked.Hmmm. She was about to leave when she heard a soft sob from inside the house. Instantly, she became worried. Someone's inside and crying!She strongly knocked on the door, even though her body was in pain because of what her father had done to her. "Hello! Hello! I mean no harm! Please
"You don't mean that," Claire said, her eyes begging. "What about me? I'm your wife, Zeus; you can't do this to me, no!""Just go, Claire; we already talked about this, and my decision is final!""Zeus, please, I'm willing to do anything; just don't do this.""Just go!" "No!" Claire stands up, gets the vase, and throws it at Zeus; lucky for him, he dodges it. "I won't let you leave me; I will tell Freya everything; let's see if she will still love you," Claire said, laughing evilly."Don't try me, Claire; you know that I know something too that will be the cause of your downfall; your power, money, and connection—all that you have—will vanish if you mess with me." Zeus threatened, and from where she was standing, she saw that Claire's expression changed. "One call, and everything for you is over."Freya was curious about what Zeus knew. Is it Claire's best secret?"No! You can't do that to me; you know that my father is powerful; with just one flick of my hand, my father would be wil
As she was ascending the stairs, she was calling Zeus' secretary. She was trying her luck, hoping that maybe his secretary knew where Zeus was.When she reached the parking lot, she immediately opened her car and put the seatbelt on. She was getting annoyed because Zeus' secretary was not answering. She wanted to scream and pull her hair out of her head, but she reminded herself that it wasn't time to be rational. She put her phone on the dashboard of her car, then took a deep breath to calm her mind, which wanted to explode. When she was about to start the car, she heard Beth talk."Are you sure you'll be okay? Don't you want us to come with you?" She can feel that Beth was just concerned with her."I got this; I am Freya Elise Illuste. I will just give Claire the fight she wanted, and I will make sure that she will taste my wrath doubly as painful as she gives me," she said as her blood boiled, ready to lash out her fury at Claire."That's my girl; just say hi to Claire for me," Sel
"Freya..." Beth rubbed her back. "Stop crying already... shh.... Don't cry."She bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't stop crying because the pain won't stop eating my heart."Selene took a deep breath, then cupped her face and stared at her seriously. "Listen to me. Freya." She dried the tears on her cheeks. "This video hurts, we know. We can see that you are hurting right now. But don't you think you're overreacting? "Her eyes were sharp. "You think I want to be hurt like this, huh?" She couldn't stop herself from raising her voice. "How could you possibly think that—""That's not what I meant." Selene interrupted what she was going to say. "I know you don't want to get hurt. We know you avoid it. I'm saying this because I know that Bitch is a cunning woman. She's just doing this to hurt you," Selene pointed out. "What I'm saying is that the video was not true. I know my brother. She wouldn't kiss a hyena. Gross " Selene pulled a face then rolled her eyes. "Hav
Her heart skipped a beat as her cellphone fell to the floor. She didn't realize that she let it go because her chest was so tight because of the pain she felt.Her heart ached, her breathing was ragged, her hands shook, and her mind turned upside down. She wants to deny herself what she saw. She wanted to deny to herself that it wasn't Zeus. But as she watched Zeus in the video earlier, her eyes watered. She was sure it was Zeus.She has two hands on her heart. Her chest was tightening, as if she was going to lose consciousness from the pain in her heart."N-no,..." she stood up. Tears welled up in her eyes.She has to calm down. Her heart... Her heart is aching... and breaking... It hurts.She tried to suppress the pain in her heart. She tried to calm her mind. She tried to give a rational reason for what she saw, but she couldn't take the pain anymore.Her heart was in so much pain, she couldn't take the pain anymore."I...can't... take... a... breath..." She looked up at the ceili