Chapter 18: Buy"Sera, that happened a long time ago. Daddy said that he had no communication with that woman for a long time even though she was pregnant. How many years has it been, hello? Maybe the woman has another family and she is happy with her life." I stared at her with disappointment. "I thought you would be my ally here, Kira. Of all the people in my family, I thought only you could understand me. Why are you telling me this? Do you believe what Dad said? Aren't you being so gullible?" She sighed and held my hand. "Sera, don't be stubborn. Remember what happened to Patry and me before? He also kept it a secret from me for a long time that he really loves me even when at first I thought he was cheating on me for Olivia. I was also stubborn, angry, and so many bad things I said to Patry but ... look, we're happy now. I have a lot of regrets but I also have a lot of gratefulness in life. The past memories are just a life lesson that should be left behind. Don't lock yourself
Chapter 19: Fiancé "We don't own this land? I thought ---" "Your Dad told us that this land is for collateral since he can't fully repay his bank loan. His loan was overdue and the bank is certainly done with him as Mr. Fujisaki wanted to deal with the bank already. Aren't you talking to your Dad?" Attorney Domingo, our family attorney, asked me, so I just pursed my lips when I heard that. Ever since Dad let me run this company, he has done nothing but train me and tell me about the job. I don't even know why the land on which the business is built was collateral. And loan? Where did that come from? Where did he use the money he took from the bank? What is this secret again? When I finally was gradually convinced by Kira's words, then these all happened. What is Dad hiding again? "Where did he use the money? Do you have an idea, attorney?" I asked him and he just sighed. "I don't have any information about that. Didn't you talk to him about it? Not once, he hasn't told you since y
Chapter 20: Spell "How long will your pride last for not talking to Dad? There's a problem with your business and you found out that Dad has a loan, won't you still ask him where he spent the money?" "Patry, do you think he can do anything else here? He handed me the business just for me to suffer in the future! Isn't he really thinking? I have a big opponent here, that psycho Fujisaki! I don't even have enough money to save my own business." I added. He sighed. "I can offer you money to help but that won't be enough to sue Fujisaki. Our family lawyer said that he can't help you anymore because there is no other way to solve it. What did you do to Fujisaki to make him do this to you?" "Nothing." I simply answered. That short answer of mine made him cross his arms, making him react like he’s not amused with my answer. "I didn't do anything to him! I just bumped on him at the bar and that's it. But, I just rejected his offered drink but that's it. You know I don't just accept anythi
Chapter 21: Jobless "You want me to marry someone like you?" I asked him emphatically and I saw him turn my swivel chair that he is sitting on right now. We’re here now at my office. He really claimed all of the things that’s originally mine. "You will follow my rules for me to save your business. Why, you won’t comply?" Isn’t it obvious that I don’t want to? I knelt down in front of him and swallowed my pride. And now he’s saying that he has rules for me to comply? He just treats me like a robot that has to conform to what he wants. Marry? Never in my dreams did I have a plan to marry, especially to a man like him. If I feel like I'm in hell now, what if we're already married? "I don't want to marry you." I made an emphatic statement to him. "Isn't it enough that I knelt down to you and begged? How much do you want to do to me? I'm so overwhelmed! Aren't you happy?" "Rule number two, you will continue to be interviewed with me in front of a lot of media. We'll be publicly expose
Chapter 22: Clue "Sera, I like you." I just made a face when I remembered what Ivo said last time. I found it cringe so I just laughed and drank what he said. He still accompanied me to drink and what happened, he just took me home and returned again to his car at the parking lot of the bar. I could still drive but he insisted. I told him everything that had happened and as expected, he didn't seem to be able to do anything about it either. To this day, I still wonder what I really did, we did to Rye. Is it Patry? Is it Mom? Or Dad? If it was Patry, he had told me a long time ago since I told him about Rye. Eh, who knows Mom and Dad? Ugh, I’m going crazy at the thought of what the reason is. Every night, I couldn’t sleep because of that. "Mom, you've been staring at nowhere." I was shocked to see that Lip was already here in front of me and looking at me. He was still wearing the uniform and looked like he had just come home from school. I sighed and took his bag. "Change your clo
Chapter 23: Robbed "The patient is in a coma right now. We still don't know when he will wake up and talk. The operation to remove the bullet near his heart was successful. But let's not weaken our prayers and let's pray for his recovery. There's still a chance that he won't wake up if his body gives up. I'm so sorry but that's all we can do. We're not God to revive him right away." I heard Mom cry and I also couldn’t help but be emotional because of that. Kira and I continued to comfort Mom while Patry carried their son. While Lip was sitting on a bench while looking at us. "Why is all this happening to us? You haven't talked to your Dad about your past conflict and then this is what happened?" Mom asked while totally crying. "Maybe he has a big debt with someone and now that Dad is old and they know he can't fight anymore, now he's being targeted. He's going to sink even more while the person behind is alive" I said calmly. She looked at me. "Why? To whom he had indebted? What e
Chapter 24: With You I don’t know how I’m going to start again. I have very little money left and I don't want to let Mom know. I wanted to handle it by myself but how? I lost the business, lost all of my money, connections, my image was also damaged publicly, and I didn't even try to open a social media account just for the sake of just seeing an article about that Fujisaki guy! I'm really hopeless. How can I give Lip a good future if I become like this? If we suffer? My pride was telling me not to give up. I am going to look for a job because I think I am a licensed engineer so I will be hired immediately. Right, I just need courage and positive thinking right now. While Lip is not around for school, I started looking for a job fair online. I tried to send a resume to the various hiring companies I saw. I made sure that what I could show on my resume was full of my qualities so that they would accept me immediately. "Sorry, Miss Bautista, but we just can't accept you." My eyes
Chapter 25: Smiles That man must have gone crazy. I don’t know what to believe in what he says. "Miss Bautista." I immediately snapped to the present when Lip’s adviser teacher spoke. "Ah, I'm sorry if I'm blank minded right now. I've been thinking a lot these past few days." I said and she just smiled. "As I said, miss, congratulations because you are guiding your son, Lip, so well. He is in top one now and if he continues to study well, he is guaranteed to receive a medal on recognition day. Lip has a lot of potential because I already see his performance in every discussion. He is good at answering the questions we, the subject teachers, ask them. Always active! He doesn't skip a day that he doesn't answer any question. Talented and smart, Ma’am." I just nodded. "It's just a bonus for me to have Lip as the top one in the class. I know my son's ability and potential. What's important to me, is to make sure he's safe in the environment where he is. Especially with bullies. I don