Longing Hearts (Book 1 of Precious series)

The morning after the party was one of gloomy and unhappy events. Ami went to the manor wearing a second dress that week thinking she was Rain’s bride-to-be. Rain’s kiss is still fresh on her mind and lips. It felt like he branded her with his lips. Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard a car turning up the massive U-shaped driveway. As she turned around, she saw Rain helping down a beautiful merchant’s daughter known in the neighborhood as the local flirt. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She was even more dismayed when Mrs. Gonzales hailed them from the terrace overhead. Obviously none of them saw her. Ami was so crestfallen that she ran towards the back of the manor in the direction of  the gardener’s house given to them by the Gonzales’. In her distress, she did not stop to think and rationalize what happened. She passed by her uncle happily nursing his favorite cup of Benguet coffee. As soon as she got inside, she locked herself in her r

Across the miles, Mrs. Gonzales and son are busy preparing for the worst as they once again welcomed the Santiagos into their home. Fiona as always is as beautiful as ever in her pink suit while her father looked boring as usual. He rarely smiles unless they are talking about money, people don’t only describe him as boring but money-greedy as well. Well, today he is all smiles as he clapped Rain on the back saying “Well, my boy, let us proceed with this engagement then, shall we?” Rain winced as if he had been punched in the gut. He looked to his mom for help. “Come Barry, let us leave the children for a while. Let us give them time to talk,” she said motioning for Barry to go with her. “My son and I are looking into a business venture and I value your opinion.” Rain rolled his eyes upon hearing this, nonetheless, he smiled. Mrs. Gonzales and Barry were about to go to the adjoining verandah when Ronnie walked

Contrary to Rain’s belief, Ami did remember him on their birthday. She also saw an i*******m post but she ignored it telling herself maybe it is a one-off fling of Rain’s like in the past. She was busy typing an email required by her employer when Mabel barged into her room with a loud “Happy Birthday!” She was followed by Madam Mariam, Sir Abdullah, Ali and Mansour and their sister. “Since your planned trip to Ferrari World did not push through because of my emergency meeting, I am giving you this day as a gift. “ Madam Mariam uttered. “Ali or Mansour is just too happy to escort you ladies.” Ami looked to Ali who winked at her and she just rolled her eyes to hide her blush. In all the six months that she has been with them, Mansour felt like a brother to her except Ali who seems to know her more and feels something far different from that of a brother.Despite the awkwardness she feels in his presence, A

A month has passed since Rain and Ami’s birthday and still no word from her. Perhaps she had forgotten about him. Just like the previous month he immersed himself in overseeing their businesses,It’s about time he pulled his weight and lessen the burden on his mom’s shoulders. He was busy reading an email when his phone rang. Without looking, he just swiped the off button. In a few minutes, his aunt came all flushed from obviously running up the steps to see him. He still can’t understand why she wouldn’t just use the elevator to make her life easier. '`Rainaldo Lyssander!”, she admonished. “Rain got startled and leapt up from his swivel chair and looked at her with guilt on his face. '`Yes Auntie?”, he asked apologetically, giving her his most adorable expression. Obviously it didn’t work because she scowled at him and crossed her arms across her chest. Oh no, this is not going to be a normal conversation, he thought to himself. Without any preamble,

          Before they boarded the ship, Ami and Mabel couldn’t help but gawk at the massive ship. For her part, Ami had only seen photos of it when she was in college. The Gonzales’ just purchased the ship and Rain was so proud that the first thing he did was show a photo of it to Ami. Of course over the years, the ship had undergone a makeover to modernize it. It had nearly cost the Gonzales’ their fortune. If not for Mrs. Gonzales’ business acumen, they could have gone bankrupt. Now gazing at it up close, it felt surreal for Ami. Her jaw dropped at the massive size but she at once remembered who she was with so as quickly as she could, she nudged Mabel on her side which earned her a glare. “Close your mouth,” ordered Ami. “Otherwise, we’ll embarrass ourselves and our employers..” “I just can’t believe it,” owned Mabel. “We are actually spending weeks in that, that big boat?” she asked,