Chapter 01

The News

Ella Victoria Everette's Point of View

Loveless betrothal. Some of you might think that a loveless betrothal is unhappy and you're right. Many people were entangled in loveless wedlock like it was for business only and many more.

My husband, Soren Reuben Kenzo Benavidez, and I were a creation of arranged marriage. We are wedded not because of love but because it is for business. It was fifteen years back when we got wedded to bind two families and boost each other's business but it went well.

Even though we don't desire to marry each other, we have no option but to follow our parents' orders. We didn’t know why we couldn’t reject our parents but maybe because we were terrified of them so we compromised.

We can't do anything because the business relies on us even in exchange for our freedoms.

Fifteen Years Ago

"Prepare for a dinner meeting with the Benavidez, Evie," Dad disclosed to us while we are in the middle of our lunch. I just sighed and nodded at him. To be honest, I don't dare to say no to my Dad. She's my Dad and I don't have any grounds to defy him.

He was scary

when he get enraged so I could do nothing but obey what he wanted. We are currently eating our lunch here in our dining room with some housemaids who were lining up on the other side, waiting for our command.

I took a glance at my Mom who was looking at me and smiled. I just smiled back at her too. I then resumed eating. I guess, they will be arranging my marriage with the eldest son of the Benavidez.

Because Mom told me that I will be arranged a marriage with the Benavidez Family since I was in my teenage years so I already know them but I haven't seen their eldest son yet.

I was always told that I would be arranged marriage with a man I did not know and loved so I would not be surprised if it was about my marriage later.

I don't know why arrange marriage is so popular. I mean, we don't have the freedom to choose who we want to spend the rest of our life with. Mom told me that they're a product of arranged marriage too but as time passed by, they learned to love each other and they had me. The only child of the Alejos.

I know that it is for my own good but still, I can't accept the fact that they will force me to marry a stranger man who I didn't like or love. I just sighed and took a sip of my freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Honestly, it sucks to be born with a silver spoon. Some of you might think that being born into a wealthy family is good but we'll prove you wrong. Some of the wealthy families are not happy, especially us, the socialites. Nonetheless, I'm still thankful that I was born with a silver spoon.

After we ate, housemaids fixed our plates. Dad returned to his company and said he was going to do something important. I'm already a graduate in business management. I chose this course. Good thing, my parents didn't force me to take any courses they want. They were always supportive of me. Now, I'm currently studying for a veterinary degree. I want to be a veterinarian.

After Dad left, Mom took me to a salon. I don't have any choice but to agree. Wearing my AV Off Shoulder Crop Top Sleeveless Stretchy Solid Strapless Tube Top and an AV Navy Blue High Waisted Jeans, we entered our Lamborghini.

My sling bag was hanging on my right shoulder while Mom was carrying her elegant Enarmoire Handbag. We are in the backseat now and our family driver Manong Dupe is in the driver's seat. I know that Mom loves to go to a salon.

My Mom always looks so elegant wearing a Laceal Ruffled Dress that perfectly fits her. Although she's in her late 30s she still manages to stay fit and beautiful as always. Just like Dad, they look younger than their age. Dad is still attractive and handsome while Mom is still as beautiful and sexy as before.

"Evie, are you okay with your Dad's decision? We're not selling you, princess. It's just for business. To stay consistent, princess," Mom spoke as we are in the middle of the road making our way to the salon she always booked, D's Salon.

It has services like professional hair cutting and hairstyling, manicures, pedicures, massage, makeups, makeovers, etc. It offers a variety of cosmetic treatments and cosmetic services for both men and women.

I took a glance at my Mom, I know that my marriage is for the good of the business. Also, I don't have any romantic relationships so maybe it's a good idea that they will decide. I smiled at Mom.

"I understand, Mom. Don't worry, I'm okay with his decision. I know it's for my own good," I replied making my Mom smile.

After a few minutes, we arrived at D's Salon. Mom and I seemed to enjoy our conversation to the point that we didn’t notice that we already arrived at our destination. Manong Dupe opened the car door for us. As we came out, heat from the sun immediately touches my skin.

I looked at the signage on top of the building, D's Salon.

Manong Dupe opened an umbrella for us and escorted us to enter the salon building. Mom thanked him and we went inside. I was thankful that this building is air-conditioned because today's weather is hot.

A lady in her late 30s welcomed us and Mom spoke with her. It seems that they knew each other. Right, Mom was a regular here in their salon so I'm not surprised if they knew her. The lady took a glance at me that's why I smiled at her, she smiled back.

"This way," she then said and led the way. Mom and I followed her lead. We entered an elevator to reach the second floor. After a second, the elevator opened. We stepped out and a luxurious hallway welcomed us.

There are also rooms that are already occupied because they are already closed. My signage is also ‘occupied’. The lady escorted us to our room which has signage of a 'VIP'. She opened the door and we stepped inside. I was amazed at how neat the room is. The VIP room that my Mom reserved was neat and spacious. No wonder, this is one of their VIP room.

I roamed my eyes around the room. The interior is luxurious. A mini living was located here and two massage beds. It has brown massage chairs and a vanity table that has several kinds of cosmetics. Two brown pedicure chairs were beside the massage chairs. This room is expensive but it is worth it.

When I saw Mom sit in one of the pedicure chairs, I also sat in the other chair. A knock from the door filled our ears and the door opened. Two ladies in their mid-20s are wearing a blue short-sleeve jacket and a women's suit dress. Their hair was tied in a neat bun and their grooming is good. I can see that it's their office attire.

Nice. No wonder, this salon is so popular. Their staffs are well-groomed.

With that, the ladies started their work. They cleaned my nails first and asked what color of nail polish do I want. I chose the nude color. It fits my nails because I have fair skin. While my Mom chose the color red.

"Your nails and fingers are beautiful, Ms. Evie," the lady who's in charge of my nails complimented. I just smiled at her. I won't deny it anymore because it's true that my fingers and nails are beautiful. My classmates back in college used to compliment my fingers and nails. Besides, I have beautiful handwriting.

We spent 4 hours in the D's Salon. After we went to the salon,

we decided that we would go home to change our clothes. It's already 6 pm and in a few minutes, it's time to meet the Benavidez.

I sighed and wrapped myself using my bathrobe and entered my walk-in closet. I took a quick shower. As I entered my walk-in closet, a two-story closet welcomed me. On the second floor, it has my designer bags and purses from every luxury brand.

On the ground floor, my whole body was reflected on my glass wall. At the center, there's an island counter which was chock full of shelves that offer me storage for my pieces of jewelry, accessories, and undergarments. On the right side, a rack full of my ankle-tie sandals, heels, shoes, ankle boots, and flat sandals were built-in on my wall.

Starting from AV which is Valerie's clothing line, Chicism, Glamity, Enarmoire, Stylereid, Silhoutteal, Trousseau, Apparel, Fabician, Yarnary, Zen Thread, Laceal, Pasha, Ritzy up to Flair. Those names mentioned were luxurious clothing brands.

The room is full of a beautiful chandelier. On the left side, there's my vanity table which has my perfumes, makeup, and skincare. The glowing blue backdrop adds a nightclub-esque vibe to this walk-in closet. I actually chose this design.

A silver tufted ottoman, glam chandelier, and a curved clothing rack that calls to mind the spiral staircases usually reserved for palaces make this walk-in feel fit for royalty.

Brass pendant lights suspended above a central dresser make this closet seem like an upscale boutique. I chose to wear a Nude Round Neck Bowknot Decorative Button Skater Dress and I paired it with a Nude Bow Back Zipper High Heeled Sandal that perfectly matches my dress and my nail polished.

I went up to the second floor to choose a bag. I chose a Nude Launer Judi Handbag. I went down again and went to my center island and opened the very top of my shelves.

Glittering pieces of jewelry filled my eyes. I chose Yarnary Moonstone Earrings and Yarnary Moonstone Pendant Necklace. I sat in my vanity chair and wore the earrings as well as my necklace. I decided to tie my hair into a tight bun and applied light makeup. I also sprayed an Enarmoire Perfume.

I smiled when I got satisfied with my look. I stood up and looked at my whole reflection in my full-length mirror. There, I look beautiful. When I got satisfied with my look, I came out of my walk-in closet and came out of my room.

I then made my way to the grand staircase and made my way down. As soon as I reached the downstairs, I saw my parents standing near the grand staircase. It seems like they are waiting for me. They both looked at me and smiled.

My Dad looks so handsome wearing his three-piece suit while my Mom looks so elegantly beautiful wearing a Flair Garden Print Maxi Dress and carrying her Flair Purse.

"You look dazzling, darling," my Dad complimented which made me smile. He offered me his hand and I accepted it. I looked at Mom who had been smiling at us since earlier.

"Thank you for the good genes, dad," I replied making my Dad chuckle. I'm not joking though, I was thankful because they got the looks that I inherited.

"Hmm, Soren will be stunned once he will meet you," Mom suddenly said. I just smiled at her. I don't know who

Soren is but he might be the one I will marry.

Before we left the house, Mom instructed our head maid to look after the mansion. We came out of the mansion and a Bentley Limousine welcomed us. A chauffeur opened the door of the backseat and we entered.

After a few minutes of traveling, we arrived at the place. It's a famous luxury cuisine, the Del Luna Cuisine. The chauffeur parked the car and opened the door for us. Dad came out first and escorted Mom to step out of the car. I then followed them.

Mom immediately clung to Dad's arm and started walking. I just quietly followed them. As we approached the entrance of Del Luna Cuisine, I noticed that no one was there except the crews.

Right, I think they rented the whole cuisine today. The guard greeted us as we arrived at the entrance and opened the glass door for us. We just smiled at him and went inside. A flash of soft lightning and a piece of background music filled my ears.

A hostess in her mid-30s welcomed us and escorted us to a VIP room that they reserved on the second floor. Many paintings were displayed here inside the cuisine.

I bet, Suzy will love this because she loves paintings. When I remembered him I couldn’t help but smile. I’m sure he’s happy with Adonis now. It's her longtime boyfriend.

When we reached the second floor, we followed the hostess until we arrived at a closed door. The hostess knocked three times and we heard a baritone voice inside.

The hostess immediately bid her goodbye to us and left. I took a deep breath first and fixed myself. I suddenly got conscious of my outfit.

During that fifteen years, we tried to learn to love each other but we always failed. Maybe we’re just not for each other so our marriage didn’t work as much as we want to make it work.

We have our rules. I let my husband do what he wants, same with me, he always lets me do what I want, and that is because we are trapped in a loveless marriage.

We don’t care about each other. He can have another woman if he wants, it's okay with me. He just won't bring his woman home. Even if we don't love each other, it's also horrendous when he brings his woman here to our home.

Even with that set-up, we were still pretty sweet to each other. We also sleep next to each other and we still treat each other as husband and wife.

But since we got married, I haven't noticed that he has a woman or maybe he's just good at hiding? It's the same with me, I don't have another man aside from him.

Good thing, he agreed with my conditions. We're good because of that. I was peacefully sipping from my tea when my phone rang. I gently place my teacup on a porcelain mini plate and reached for my phone that is above the coffee table. I looked at the caller's ID. It's my Mom.

I immediately answered it. I put it on my right ear and immediately heard Mom's voice.

"Evie, you need to open your TV right now. This is important," Mom spoke from the other line and with that, the call ended. I didn't even get to respond to her call because she ended it immediately as if she was in a hurry.

I wonder what happened? Even though I was confused by what my Mom told me, I turned on the TV. I placed it on the news channel and my eyes widened as I saw the headline.

Soren Reuben Kenzo Benavidez of Benavidez Corporation had a son with his former girlfriend.

I wasn't able to move and my heart beat increased as I watched the news. Oh my, this is ridiculous and huge. I was waiting for the picture of Soren's son to show but I was disappointed. No picture is displayed.

Does that mean, I'm going to be a stepmom soon? Oh, you must be kidding me, Soren. I think this time, I deserve a valid explanation and reason. I took a deep breath and stared at the television.

While watching the news, I suddenly remembered what happened years ago. Suddenly I remembered what I had heard and witnessed before.

One question immediately popped into my mind. Is it really the child that Rachel brought back then? As far as I know. She promised us before that she won’t bother us anymore. Does she want money again?

To be continued...