Chapter 1: No Strings Attached Elaine's POV My morning shift schedule despite being swamped at the shareholder's meeting earlier was still close to perfection as I trip back to my apartment. The second I woke up this morning, worked in the office for a total of ten grumping hours, and had an ear-deafening group video call with my friends over the phone for two hours, I still could not let go of my excitement. I mean, who could not be? Everything went well according to my 24th birthday celebration plan apart from one thing - to finally confess my seven years of hidden feelings to Dylan Spencer, my CEO boss, at the same time, my best friend. Receiving two text messages from him was completely such a blessing in disguise. The first message stated his midnight birthday greetings with red roses and fireworks popping out of the screen while the second one told me that he had a big and life-changing surprise, giving me hope. Dylan and I have been best friends sin
Chapter 2: Her Sole Weakness The next day, I found myself waking up in a freezing hotel room all by myself. The man with me disappeared without any trace of his existence apart from the empty bottles of red wine on the table. Last night's commotion was a blast for me. A part of me wants to remember what exactly happened last night but my head keeps on spinning. On the bright side, his plan of cheating somehow worked when I manage to stop thinking about the world outside. Stop thinking about my best friend and roommate having their first monthsary the other night. However, as soon as I open my eyes, reality immediately struck me with a bolt of lightning. The excruciating feeling of being betrayed flashed through my eyes. Even Dylan was fooled by Mauren's charm. So I jump out of bed and wander the room for a few seconds before sliding to the bathroom. "Good morning, Elaine!" Dylan greeted me with an ear-to-ear smile on his face as soon as I stepped foot into his
Chapter 3: My Best Friend's Kiss That is the problem, Dylan. You always see me as your best friend and I am doing the other way around. I cannot just order myself to disregard my feelings for you. It's not as easy as counting one to three, with just a snap of my fingers, or sleeping in one night. Every time you are with me, I am terrified that I might find myself sinking in a wide blue ocean without anything or anyone that can save me. "Please, let go of me, Mr. Spencer," I replied, worried not because of my feelings for him but because a lot of his employees are now looking at us. The last thing I would do is give them the wrong idea. On top of that, I don't want to let myself believe in false hope. He is in a relationship with Mauren. "People are now staring at us." I continued before I stepped away from him, "I don't want to hear anything from them that might stain your name." Getting into the car first before the boss was inappropriate of me but I just
"Thank you for the compliment, Doc, but whatever Mr. Spencer told you about me, it's all nothing but a lie." I cracked a half smile on my face to lessen the awkwardness of the situation. "Anyway, please, advise if he was allowed to get discharged tonight. He still has an important appointment to attend to." "Who said it's a lie? I love you because you are my best friend, Elaine." Dylan insisted, "What's wrong with that?" "Am I just a joke to you, huh, Dylan?" All the doctors and nurses with us were taken aback by my response, but I simply ignored them before I added, "Don't proclaim such heavy words if you cannot carry its weight." Dylan immediately shut his mouth and he avoided getting eye to eye contact with me. I believed he sensed the sensitiveness of my words. Then we all glance at the doorway as soon as we notice Mr. Dex and Don Romualdo step foot into the room. They even lock the door to make sure no paparazzi can take a single photo of Dylan. "Doc?" I b
"But why?" I uttered without looking at him, the sound of my voice could be barely above a whisper. "Why are you still helping me, Mr. Frost?" "Because staying in that hell of a place for another minute suffocates me, the same feeling that you experience after hearing and seeing everyone in the family likes her instead of you, Ms. Elaine." Ghino slid closer and reached out to my cheeks, his eyes were mourning with mine. I may have no ability to read someone's mind, but Ghino's eyes were telling me a lot of things - his terrible story was filled with revenge, regrets, and heartaches. "For that same reason, my offer to you that night still stands," he continued, "Use me every time you need someone to share your burdens, sadness, and even heartaches. Call me even in the middle of the night. I will run to you in the blink of an eye. We don't know. Perhaps we are destined for each other. Call me if you need me. Got it?" Ghino did not wait for my response when he evacuat
The strength of my knees depleted upon seeing Maureen holding the bottom part of Dylan's black tuxedo, trying to stop him from getting closer to me. Ghino, I believe, has noticed the sudden change in my mood as I slowly fixed my gaze on the glass of champagne on the table across from us. He then smiled at me and held my hand to help me ease off my bothered mind. "I already told you the reason, little brother," he scoffed, "Elaine and I are on a date. Why? Is there such a rule that says two single aren't allowed to date?" Dylan's grip on Ghino's collar even tightened to the point that he started to have a hard time breathing. The rage through his sharp almond-shaped dark eyes was blazing in flame as though he was killing Ghino with those stares. The head of the security guards approached us and stopped the commotion before it got out of hand. Ghino did nothing wrong but I know Dylan would not stop until he gets his revenge. Dylan was left with no choice but to l
Even if we were not looking at each other's eyes, my heart felt Ghino's desperation. I may have no idea about his past and the reason he chose to be with me instead of his family, but I know he badly wanted to get out of that hell of a place. So I stealth a glance at his face for about ten seconds. He was fucking serious about his pleading. "What do you suggest?" I asked despite being skeptical. "I just don't want to be alone tonight, Elaine," he replied, his cold voice gave me goosebumps. "I'll tell you everything." "That would be a long story to tell, I believed," I giggled shortly to lift the mood. "How about your condo? Would a bottle of beer and a slice of pizza will do?" Ghino and I miraculously met not long ago but, undeniably, I started to feel comfortable being with him. I don't know if it was because I find him attractive and more mature. He and Dylan are indeed brothers of the same lineage. Because I proposed this time, Ghino finally cracked the corn
"My twenty-eight years in this world were already a mess until I met you, Elaine," Ghino replied, his drunken eyes fixed on me. "I don't want to get back to that kind of life. The feeling was exhausting and suffocating." With those longing cold words, the tears in my eyes could not stop from pouring. There was more of his life story that meets the eye apart from what he told me earlier. One of the reasons that I wanted to stay away from him was that I started to feel comfortable being with him. For me, that was a betrayal of my feelings for Dylan. And the last thing that I want to happen is to put an extension of the tension between the two. I may have not paid much attention to Ghino compared to Dylan but I cared for them both. Ghino deserves someone better. Better than me. Someone who would love him unconditionally. "Then, what am I supposed to do?" I slid closer to his spot and helped him wipe the tears from his eyes. "I am not good at making decisions. Can'
"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