Despite my eyes being fixed on the table across from me, the first thing that I noticed was that Noah and Elaine exchanged glances, especially when Judas avoided making eye-to-eye contact with any of us right after asking him that. Elaine's bothered eyes were telling me that they agreed to my confrontation. We could have done something for them if he or his Mom already told us something from our first time visiting their squatter residence. Needless to say, his Mom also died at the hands of the person behind my dad's death. "You were supposed to be cooperating with us instead of playing hard to get. After all, we have one thing in common. Our loved ones fall into the hands of the same person. So, I'll cut these nonsense demands, Mr. Nacua. Tell us the name of the person who gave your family half a million dollars." The heavy tension that hung in the air overwhelmed the entire room when all of us were put into profound silence. Judas must tell us about his truth and li
Judas' friendly piece of advice shoved an unreachable and unfathomable hole deeply into my heart as he stated nothing but a fact. I don't know if Elaine was aware of this but Maureen can sue us for having an affair. Everyone, not just our employees, but those who recognize the empire will judge us. They will humiliate Elaine, and people will blame her if something bad happens to the company. Our hidden relationship will be investigated by the cops and the board. Everyone would ask me if the rumors about us having an affair were true. And if I made a cover-up, Elaine would get hurt. On the other hand, if I tell them the truth, I may not feel guilty about it, but both of us would be imprisoned. My conscience cannot afford that to happen either. "So you mean I should stop loving Elaine?" I could not help but ask Judas. My heart, despite he hadn't answered yet, sunk into the bottom of the ocean. Elaine and I confessed both our feelings not long ago. That day was
Elaine caressed my shoulders for a few seconds before she removed them from me. Then she turned around, carrying her serious expression. "I'm afraid I can't cancel my schedule with Ghino, Dylan." she hissed. "But we already had our plan, Elaine! Have you forgotten about helping me know the truth behind Dad's death, huh?" I frowned before I insisted. "Can you just skip that part in your marriage? Maureen and I did not do that." We agreed to face all the odds together to make the impossible possible - to follow what our hearts speak - to fight for our love. But from the way I understand her case, she chose Ghino over me. Before Elaine could say a word, she lifted the corners of her lips and turned them into a half smile. Then she reached out to my cheeks and uttered, "I know, Dylan. And I love you. But, have you forgotten I am Ghino's fiancee now?" My heart could not understand and fathom Elaine's upfront response. She loves me yet she cannot be with me was what I un
"Thank you. Just give me a second, am gonna have to answer this outside." I stealth a kiss on Ghino's cheek to make sure he could not afford to get mad at me, especially when the call came from his rival. Then I looked for a perfect place outside where Ghino or anyone from the boutique store could not give attention to me talking to Dylan. "What's up? I can't talk much right now. Ghino gave me three minutes at most." "Hey? It's me, Elaine," Brother Noah's trembling voice rumbled in my ears instead of Dylan's. "Why do you have his phone, Brother Noah? Where's Dylan?" While letting out those words, my anxiety started to burst out. Several thoughts, negative ones, were recreated in my wildest brain. Dylan Spencer, either as the CEO of the Spencer Group and Companies or as my best friend for eight years, barely let anyone touch his phone unless he was on the verge of an emergency. We have been friends as far as my brain can remember, but I can only use his privat
Seeing Ghino with his eyes burning in turmoil was the first time in our four months of being in a relationship. The weird and suffocating sensation felt like he choked me hard in the neck. For some reason, I wasn't expecting someone as calm and understanding as Ghino to get mad to the point that the veins in his neck popped out. What I was about to do was simply check on Dylan but he already threatened me. Even if we have shared the same feelings, after all, I am still his secretary. And part of my job was to take good care of him. "Elaine, are you all right?" Brother Noah contorted his face while looking at me with curiosity and confusion. He slowly dragged his gaze to Ghino who shared the same expression as him. "Aren't you supposed to check on Dylan?" Ghino added, his voice was calm without a trace of his turmoil five seconds ago. Wait, everything that happened five seconds ago was simply part of my helpless daydreaming? "Is everything all right, Elaine?" B
The moment he rested his back on the bed, he cleared his throat and continued, "I mean, considering the commitments we both had. You getting married to my stepbrother soon. And I who already tied the knot with Maureen. Do you think it would be possible for us to be happy without even hurting any of them?" Those lines already popped out of my brain the second Dylan and I expressed and confessed our love for each other. Are we certainly gonna be living in peace once we break up with them? I highly doubt that. Maureen and Ghino will never forgive us. None of them will ever give us a break unless and until they get the justice they deserve for betraying them. From brothers by blood, their relationship would turn into strangers. Ghino would probably reclaim everything Dylan had including the empire, leaving him nothing but Don Romualdo's surname. Probably, I get fired from being Dylan's secretary. Ghino would turn our lives into a living hell. His undying love and care
"Do you want to talk to them over the phone first?" I proposed when it was the first idea that popped out of my brain. In that way, he could have his first impression of them or the other way around. On top of that, we don't know, if he might get discouraged once they could make a conversation over the phone. "Do you think it's a good idea?" Ghino frowned as he kept on caressing my hands. "I mean, not that I don't want to, but I think it would be better if we could talk in person, right?" I could not help but sense that he was uncomfortable with the idea so I removed his hands from me and reached out to my purse. Then I dialed Mom's digits. "Mom, this is me your daughter, Elaine. It's been a while. How's dad?" I eagerly breathed the second she answered the call. Then I glanced at Ghino who rested his head on the glass window looking at me with his anxiety apparently visible with a human eye. "Of course. So sorry if it took me long enough to reach out to you
Based on my quick observation, the distance from our spot to the main entrance of the building was around fifty feet more. If we insist on moving forward, we might get stuck in the middle. Around fifty paparazzi are gathered around to hear Ghino's statement regarding the case. They surrounded us with their cameras, phones, and speakers, and were pointed at him. Even behind us, leading us back to the car, some of the paparazzi already occupied the spot, forbidding us to get back. What worried me the most was that only two security guards were protecting me and Ghino. "You don't have to answer the questions if you have nothing to say, Mr. Frost," declares one of the security guards. But, in this kind of situation, I believed that they would not let us go without getting anything from us. I was about to confess something but Ghino preceded me when he announced, "It's true that something bad happened to my brother. However, he was already in his state of recovery."
"What do you mean you sold everything in our store?" Dad, out of the blue, appeared behind Dylan. He was drunk and was even carrying a bottle of alcohol in his hand. Never in my life, I have seen Dad getting drunk. I heard John Dave came home from school earlier but he was alone. But now he came home drunk. And it made me worried, believing he would lash out at Dylan. "Look, Mr. Fisher." Dylan insisted, ignoring Dad's zig-zag pace and twirling head. "I sold everything in your store..." To our surprise, Dad furiously smashed the bottle of alcohol to the ground with no signs of hesitation even if the fact that any of us might get hurt by it. The shattered sound when the bottle broke into pieces reverberated in my ears. Nervousness shivered down my spine as I remembered the last time Dylan visited the house. Dad, because he couldn't hold onto his anger, pointed the tip of his rifle straight into Dylan's head at that time. I don't want what happened in the past to
One month later. In the middle of our journey back to the province, I put my hand on Dylan's thigh while he was driving to see his reaction. The trip back to the province will be boring so I decided to break the ice. "Uh-ah!" Dylan quickly blurted as though he already knew what I was trying to do. "What?" I asked him teasingly, pretending to know nothing. "Don't do it." He said. "Don't do what?" I asked again, but I was trying harder not to laugh at his expression. His eyes were still focused on the road. "Don't start something you ain't gonna finish ma'am." "What are you talking about?" For the third time, I asked him, and this time, I started to laugh at his partly irritated and funny reaction. My little plan somehow worked out. To tease him. To make him laugh throughout our entire trip. I crazily missed Dylan's smile that much. It has been a month since all our problems have been fixed yet I barely see him smiling. "You know dang well what I
The armored car roared down the desolate road, its engine humming with power. My heart raced, worries and fears cursing through my veins as I gripped the handrail tightly. Our eyes were fixed on the two cars ahead of us. The last image my eyes captured was Maureen and Bernard joining in one car while the rest of them used the other car. "Since when did you know about the truth?" Dylan asked, his voice started to get calm, but the speed of the car kept accelerating. I couldn't let go of my eyes to the road, but Dylan deserved to know the truth, so replied without looking at him, "Since last night. I caught Ghino - I mean, Bernard Scarlette, talking to Maureen over the phone. And I heard his confession with my own ears. He confessed all his crimes." "And they are going to pay for what they did to Dad and Ghino," he answered back with conviction. "I'll use everything to catch them even in hell." So he stepped onto the accelerator and sped up the car twice the spee
"Elaine, can you hear me?" Another voice reverberated in my ears all of a sudden. "It's me, Noah. Listen to me, okay? The result came out. And the man who killed..." "What the hell is going on?" The head of the mission cut off Brother Noah's words. "Stop intervening, Noah. Elaine is in the middle of her negotiation now. We can't stop now." he insisted before he ordered. "Cut off everyone's line apart from mine. God damn it!" "No. Let him talk first. It's part of my plan. I need some information from him," I begged without moving the corner of my lips, and my undivided attention was focused on those men in masks across from me. "Are you deaf or something?" one of the masked men yelled. "Bring us the money." "Elaine, listen to me. What I found out was fucking insane." Brother Noah continued, making it hard for me to decide whether to answer the kidnappers or wait for his confession. "Proceed, Brother Noah. I'm listening, but I can only give you two minutes. We d
I could not believe a murderer just passed through me and acted as if nothing happened. But how? How did it happen? Since when did he fabricate Ghino's face? What did I miss? How come I did not notice it when I got back to New York? Those were the questions that remained unanswered and were running wild inside my helpless brain. Right. I remember now. On the day I went back from Tennessee. The first place that I went to visit was the office. And he wrapped his arms around me the second he saw me. I noticed that his body lost body weight. Ghino, who is in his right mind, wouldn't lose body weight that much in just a month of me being gone. "Are just gonna stand there, Elaine?" The impostor asked again without looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the newspapers he was holding. "Right, Ms. Elaine. Have you forgotten anything?" Lalaine approached me and held my hand to check if something was wrong with me. "Umm... Yeah, I forgot to bring my phone." Luckily I alrea
That was one for a fact. Maureen had every right to debate with Don Romualdo's lawyers as it was completely ridiculous. I mean, who am I to the family? Mr. and Mrs. Spencer simply hired me to be Dylan's secretary, nothing more, nothing less. It also made me wonder why me, a mere secretary, instead of Ghino who comes from their flesh and blood. No matter how hard I tried to think of one good reason to support their claim, my brain couldn't get one. Neither Don Romualdo, when he was still alive, nor Dylan told me about it either. "Please, enlighten us, Attorney," Ghino asked, breaking the awkward stares between me and Maureen. Mr. Vargas then slid a piece of brown envelope across from us. I was about to reach out to it but Maureen preceded me. She checked inside and studied it for a few seconds. All of us, including Ghino, drew several long curved lines while waiting for the piece of paper to drop on the table so we could read it. Instead of waiting, I tried to read
Before that assumption happened, I mustered the courage and broke the silence, "My apologies, no matter how many times, I know, is not even enough to make you feel better. I cannot turn back time either. But it was not my intention to harm them. They were the kindest couple I have ever known my whole life." "But why of all the places had to be my parents, huh? He's a goddamn billionaire. You two could have rented an expensive hotel, run away to other countries, or buy a house. You two were old enough not to know how risky your situations are. Why?" "From the bottom of my heart, I'm so sorry about it, I really do," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. Then I lifted my eyes to the ceiling to avoid the tears from pouring. "Dylan and I simply wanted to live a simple life, away from those who try to separate us." But no matter how hard I tried begging, stopping the tears from pouring, they were beyond my control. They flooded my cheeks like an open faucet with the ut
Dad and Mom were left with no other choice but to tell me everything Ghino told them earlier. It turned out that based on the police officer's assumptions, those people who killed Mr. and Mrs. Delaven might not heard the latest press conference I made. So they assumed that Dylan was kidnapped to ask for more from the Spencers instead of the five million dollar bounty. However, they advised us to keep an eye on our phones from time to time, believing the kidnappers, whoever they were, would call one of us sooner or later. But I couldn't wait for the kidnappers to call me. Waiting for an hour while doing nothing would be a nightmare for me. So, I asked Mom and Dad that I wanted to go to the farm ASAP to check it myself - to get anything - clues or signs, perhaps Dylan left something before he was kidnapped. At first, Mom and Dad highly disagreed as it was too risky for me to travel back to Tennessee that late. But I insisted and burst into tears because I needed to see M
"Let go of me, you fucking slut!" Maureen continued as she attempted to remove my grip. I know she was not the kind of woman who wanted to get beaten up by someone like me. She would rather use everything in her power to get rid of everyone who dared bark at her or cross her path. Just like what she did to me and Dylan. Maureen was definitely the perfect female version of the devil; arrogant, bigoted, close-minded, greedy, hypocritical, and all the negative traits in the world. She was comparable to a cute and lovely pup in front of you. But once you turned your face and back around, she shifted into a huge poisonous anaconda snake. She will use her tail to encircle your whole body, bite your neck until your blood floods the floor, gets numbed, and begs her to spare your life. That's what she really is. However, I already decided not to get stepped on by someone like Maureen. So I held her hands harder than she could ever imagine. She was about to use her left