Mom and Dad exchanged bothered glances for about ten seconds as though they were reading each other's minds while waiting for my response, I, on the other hand, took advantage of the deafening silence to gather my thoughts. Neither of my family must know about what was going on between me and Dylan. Never will be. Ghino and I already told them that everything was fine between us. We'll keep it that way until the very end of this marriage. Until then. So I eagerly announced, "It's tears of joy, Mom and Dad. Our family was gathered here today, of course, apart from Brother Noah because he was too busy with his work." "Speaking of that... What about his boss?" Dad frowned as he helped me change the subject. Perhaps he already noticed the tension that was engraved on my face. "What's his name again?" "Dex Spencer," Mom replied on my behalf. "You're getting old, honey. I told you to drink your vitamins every day. We just talked to that man a few hours ago..." Mo
"Are you alright, Miss?" The cab driver inquired of me the second I settled down in the backseat of his car. He then started the engine and took off. I was about to reassure the old man that I was just doing fine but was preceded by the continuous vibration and boisterous ringing of my phone. "Someone? Loved ones?" he scoffed. "Don't waste your tears on someone not deserving..." As the man kept on sharing his life experience, I glanced at the screen of the phone. The call came from Ghino so I slid the answer button right after clearing my throat, the cab driver also shut his mouth to respect my privacy. "Yeah, what's up?" Despite having a hard time coming up with those words, I still managed, luckily, as I kept on wiping the tears in my eyes. "I'm still on my way to the office, Ghino." The cab driver couldn't help but steal a glimpse at me from the rearview mirror. And every time I looked back at him, he quickly shifted his gaze back to the road ahead of us.
Dylan suddenly rolled his eyes as though he was avoiding making eye-to-eye contact with me. Instead of my face, he fixed his eyes on the screens above us. "Why aren't you answering, Mr. Spencer?" I added, this time, in a demanding tone. Unfortunately, my furious tone melted after seeing his wounded chest filled with bandages. "By the way, are you sure you can start working now with your condition?" Before saying a word, Dylan slid to the computer keyboard and operated the CCTV footage. He pressed a lot of keys as though he knew what he was doing until the footage stopped at the part when someone sneaked into our office. The balls of my eyes remained dilated when my instinct about Ghino had something to do with the original copies of the company's AFS (Annual Financial Statements). He opened the door of the office with a spare key, which I have no idea where he got one, and slid closer to my desk. Then he checked and scanned those documents one by one. He halted fo
"Well...," I cut him off and paused for a few seconds as I felt hesitant to make the wrong choice. But after a few seconds of considering things thoroughly, I spoke up, "You asked me to give you three days, Dylan. Let's stick to that plan first, can't we?" Using his own words as my excuse was the least I could say and do at the moment. The truth was, I couldn't get the right answer to his question - the desperate version of himself. "Then what's next after that?" He asked me again, putting more pressure on my shoulder. Similar to Ghino, his stepbrother also wanted nothing but the safety of my well-being, making my heart be in the state of being confused. "Then, you must do what you have to do for the sake of the company, Dylan. Get the justice you deserve. Get him arrested for the crime he committed. I don't care." That was half a lie. I cared, not for myself, but for my parents who started liking and had Ghino's back. Mom and Dad already have had enough on
Ghino was put into silence as he fixed his startled eyes on me. Guilty was evidently written all over his face. He knew that he could not deny my claim before we had a piece of substantial evidence to support our accusation. "Don't give me that kind of look, Ghino." I added, "Did you know what I hated the most being in a relationship with you? You're a good liar. You've been lying to me this entire time. I don't have a clue what are you up to, the reason you are doing this to me, or what your intention on marry me. I don't know." "Please, calm down, Elaine." I could not believe all the words that were slipped out of my mouth, that was his response - asking me to get calm. I gritted my teeth in disbelief as I encountered having a hard time breathing in order to let out those fucking words yet he responded to me to calm down. Is he fucking kidding me? "Yes, I took those documents from your desk last night. And I have someone carry them into my office. But that doesn
The sight filled me with a mix of anger and frustration, not only because of those women around him but because of what he said to them. What's the point of coming over when I am not the only one who he reached out to? The security guards already hurt my pride - that they mistook me for Dylan's wife. Their assumption about me was proven right when I heard the words straight from his own mouth. "Waiting for my wife, my foot," I whispered to myself. Taking a deep breath to steady my trembling nerves, I walk over to Dylan with a determined and furious face. I am not his wife like he boasted to them, but I had to intervene and put an end to whatever was happening. "Dylan," I called out his name, my voice cutting through the cacophony of the club. All their eyes turned toward me, and Dylan's gaze met mine, conveying a mix of concern and disappointment For a moment, our shared connection seemed to override the chaos surrounding us. The four women faltered for just a
"We better get going, Mom. People are watching us now. We were already making a commotion." Noah proposed before the scandal went out of hand, but his eyes were still fixed on the man in front of us. Then he pointed a finger at him, "Don't you dare follow us, Dylan. Or else I'm gonna report you to the cops." "Let's get the hell out of this place, Elaine!" Mom reached out to my hand and dragged me out of the building. Dylan and I did not get the chance to speak when I couldn't get back to the room anymore. The last thing I wanted to happen was to make another commotion, putting fuel into the fire, so I let Mom drag me out of the hotel. Five minutes later, the three of us were settled inside the cab dominated by deafening silence. Mom was seated next to me in the backseat while Brother Noah was in the front seat beside the driver. But I knew all their eyes were pointing at me. "We'll go back to the province as soon as possible, Elaine." Mom finally spoke up, breaking
Ghino piqued his curiosity as he pressed the play button of the video on my phone. Deafening silence immediately swallowed the entire room. His eyes were fixed on the screen while mine was on him. I couldn't help but curve the tip of my lips after catching a glimpse of those several long curve lines evident in Ghino's face. He could not deny it to me when I already held solid evidence of his betrayal of Elaine. The footage was supposed to be three minutes long but it took Ghino fifteen seconds to end watching it. He slid the phone back at me across from him. "Are you implying that you are going to use this to blackmail me? Should I be scared of that, huh, Dylan?" Instead of a worried face, Ghino bestowed a smiling one - ear-to-ear to be precise. The footage that I showed him was during his late-night visit to the hospital. And it was not about me but him and Maureen having an affair in the middle of his ongoing marriage to Elaine. I got the footage from the bas