Even Elaine nor anyone from her family ever extended me an invitation to pay respect for being the CEO of Spencer Group and Companies. And as the person who paid her paychecks for the past eight years. They were all mad at me, there was no question about that. So I am to the world. To myself for being such a billionaire loser. None of them remember my existence. But it's alright. Once I see Elaine doing fine in the hands of my stepbrother, everything will be alright. I just hope she will be happy wearing a white long gown. Thirty minutes later, I found myself huddling in the dim corner of the church with nothing on my side but utter darkness. Good thing I did not wear something revealing to the public as I managed to sneak into the church without everyone noticing me. Unfortunately, it appeared that my arrival was already late. I missed the part of the wedding where the priest could have asked who was against Elaine and Ghino tying the knot. "My dear, Elaine F
All thanks to my stepbrother, Ghino, for letting me push through that kind of decision. My parents, especially, my dad, wherever his soul was right now, would probably understand why I did such a ridiculous thing. Six hours later, under the glimmering full moon, we reached the east side of the state, a countryside where all I could see were small houses built with light materials. My blurred eyes could barely see any three-story buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, or schools. The entire place was as if it was abandoned by time, but well-preserved. Where I parked the car, in front of us was a wide blue ocean. As soon as the window of the car was opened, the cold summer breeze caressed my exhausted skin, helping me to regenerate my lost strength after a few hours of non-stop trip. On top of that, the cold air helped me get refreshed and clear up my bothered mind. Time check. The time was already three in the morning when we finally stopped running. I catch a glimpse of her face
My silent complaints were shuttered into pieces when someone knocked on the door. Even the sounds of the knocking reverberated all the walls of the room. "Dylan, lunch's ready. Get out now." Elaine's words echoed in my ears. "Wait for me, Elaine," I replied as I moved from the floor and pulled the door open. Luckily, she stayed in front of the room. Then I pulled her inside. We talked heart-to-heart about a lot of things - my complaints to be precise. One to mention was the fact that I cannot stay in the room without an AC. However, Elaine explained to me that there was none all over the house when the people who lived in the house didn't need one because the entire place was already surrounded by towering trees. The heat of the sun couldn't penetrate the house. I also complained about having no private toilet room, but Elaine highly advised me to endure walking a few meters from our room to the public toilet room when the house only has one. She also remi
Elaine's Mom continued, "Because of that, I will extend my full support to my daughter's husband, Ghino Frost, and the deceased families with their decisions to put a bounty of five million dollars on those who can give us information about Dylan's whereabouts." Shit. The last thing I heard from my attorney was that Ghino declared a million-dollar bounty to the person who kidnapped Elaine, but it was raised to five million. I could not believe even my own stepbrother would go that far, making me the most wanted person in New York City. "If Dylan was looking at the news right now, do you have a message for him?" The reporter threw another question at her. But instead of an answer, Elaine's Mom collapsed to the floor causing a commotion at the press conference. If this news could reach Elaine, perhaps it would happen to her as well, She will hate me because of that for certain. But how am I supposed to explain these things to her? Before anyone from the press confer
And the news already reached the borders of Tennessee. What worried me the most in the peek of our relationship seems to be inevitable. It was earlier than I expected. Sooner or later, the news could reach Elaine's attention. Good thing I insisted on coming with Mr. Delaven instead of her. "Yeah, of course, I'm doing just fine, Mr. Delaven!" I defensively replied as I dragged him out of the store before he could catch a glimpse at the newspaper stand. "We better get this done as soon as possible so we could go home early." The old man did not ask me for further questions, not even glancing at the store on our left, lucky for me. As soon as we delivered the two baskets to our client, we took off to the next village right away. Right before the sun went down, Mr. Delaven finished our deliveries without any deterrent. I tripled my speed accompanied by those sharp eyes, trying to avoid seeing any newspapers around. We met a few people in the villages, old and youn
My jaws couldn't stop from dropping to the ground when the first image that was captured with my eyes on the newspaper was our faces. It says in the news that Dylan kidnapped me and was the person behind the bombing incident that killed six innocent lives. Above all, even my parents agreed to put a five-million-dollar bounty on Dylan's head, dead or alive. If these newspapers already reached the farm, the chances that they also reached the nearby villages... No! I could not help but cut off my own thoughts. Worries and fears shivered down my spine thinking about Dylan's safety while traveling with Mr. Delaven to deliver the blackberries. "How dare you two lie to us, huh?" She continued, her voice laced with dismay. "Once they're back, I want you to evacuate the room before I call the cops, do you understand?" "But everything they accused of him was all wrong, Mrs. Delaven!" I debated as I clenched the newspapers in too much frustration. "Dylan did not kidnap me. I
"You love that bastard?" Mom had no plan of letting it slide for once. "Do you even hear what you are saying, huh, Elaine? Is this how you repay us for everything that we have done for you?" Then he leaned her hands on both sides of her waistline while giving me a sharp glare and bent brows. "Fine," she added. "Let's assume I believe you on that note. What's next? Do you think you two could be happy after everything you have done, huh?" I already expected this to happen once I would be reunited with my family after being gone for almost a month with no communication with any of them. And I could do nothing about her endless motherly lectures but accept them with open hands and long forbearance. Like what Dylan told me that night when I asked him about my parents if they could be mad at me. He advised me that no matter how petrified they were to me, I was still their one and only daughter. That I have to thicken my face, lengthen my patience, and expand my understan
The continuous shuttering of their cameras even reverberated in my ears after hearing my honest confession - my truth - our side of the story. "Did he kidnap or threaten you to come with him? Or was it part of your plan to go run away with him on the same day of your wedding?" asks the reporters in front of me. "Of course, not!" I confessed one of the facts. "Dylan did not do any of those things everyone accused of him. To prove his innocence, I would like to propose a negotiation with the cops about something - I wanted to confess his whereabouts." "So you mean it was true that you and Mr. Spencer were having an affair despite he was already married to someone else?" The male reporter on my left throws another question. This time, I haven't prepared any bullet for the question. So I glanced around, searching for Maureen or Ghino from the crowd, thinking they could have been behind the question. "Yes, you can think of it that way. We're having an affair. But I fell in love with Dyl