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FIFTY-FIVE
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RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love FIFTY_SIX
ELLEN The door to the room opened and Oliver came in with Sophie tugging at his arm. "Momma!" she squealed and ran toward me. I spread my arms and welcomed her into my embrace. She pressed a little tight and it made my side hurt. I groaned and Oliver pulled her away. "You have to let go of mommy now if you do not want to hurt her," he said. I mouthed him a thank you and turned to Lily who sat on the couch in the room watching us as we spoke. My heart was thumping badly and I wondered how I will even get out of Oliver's sight without his notice. Our eyes met and locked for a while before he cleared his throat. I knew he has a tornado of words to say to me. Lily understood the tension between us. She stood to her feet. "Who wants some ice cream?" "I want some!" Sophie said. Lily beckoned to her to come. "Let's go and get some ice cream." "But I want to stay with mommy," Sophie whined. "Mommy is tired now and needs you to get her some
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love FIFTY-SEVEN
ELLEN I did not sleep that night. I kept watching Oliver while he slept. I cried at times but never let myself sniffle. Oliver had taken me into his room and had done everything for me. He helped tuck Sophie into bed, helped me to the bathroom, and helped me to bed. He was a good man when he was close and all that sentiments and resentment I bore for him before seemed like they have never been there. I fell asleep in the early hours of the morning and did not wake until later in the day, although I was half awake when Oliver woke. I knew when he went into the shower, and I knew when he got the call to go over to San Francisco, for a meeting. I heard him cuss about it, but he still packed his bags because it sounded urgent and I heard him calling Dante and the rest to inform them about the meeting. I have forgotten that I will miss them too. I fell into another sleep and he went away. When I woke up, it was mid-morning. I took my shower and read the note Oliver
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love FIFTY-EIGHT
One year later... OLIVER I stood by the grave of my father. My eyes were hidden behind my dark shades. He had not been the best father to me, and I have wished him dead on several occasions. But now that he was actually gone, I realized I was not ready to lose him. I felt alone in this world and the whole Don thing is going to crash on me now. The voice of the priest sounded distant in my head as my eyes locked on a woman with blonde hair. She looked so familiar, and her back was to me because she was hugging a man. Ellen. I started to move but Dante held me back. “Where are you going?” he whispered. I did not reply. I stayed back, stuck my eyes on the woman, and waited for the priest’s speech to be over so that I can leave there and confront that woman. But she turned to face me, and I sighed in disappointment. She was not Ellen. How could they have the same structure? It has been a year since Ellen disappeared from me. I searched every
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love FIFTY-NINE
ELLEN “Pablo Moreno is dead.” The knife dropped from my hands. I was not surprised that he died. I was surprised at how suddenly the news came. The last time we spoke, he did not look like he was about to die. Well, it is not always written on the face. I left the vegetable I was dicing and faced my laptop. Lily was peering at me now. “How?” “He suddenly slumped and died. The hospital said it was heart failure. He is a smoker, figured it is true.” I never liked Pablo, but now that he is gone, I feel exposed. He has kept me well hidden for a year now and I have experienced nothing strange. My paranoid self still believes Tony was tracking me and is waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Pablo made it easy to hide. “Oh, my God. That is so sad. How is Oliver? Does this affect him in any way?” Lily shrugged. “You know Oliver would always be Oliver. He has moved on. Now, he is scouting for an assistant.” “What happened to
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love SIXTY
OLIVER A week after my father’s funeral and I already have a lot on my table. I would be traveling to Tokyo for a land dispute between one of their big firms and ours. Honestly, I was not even cut out for all of it. I am frustrated and unhappy. What frustrated me more was this fucking interview I had. Searching for a focused assistant was difficult. It reminded me of Ellen. I do not know if I will ever find someone like her. I have questioned five already and they could not even relate to the questions. One even had the gut to tell me the questions were too personal. What was too personal in saying if you believe in love or not? I pressed the intercom for Jerry to send in the next lady and faced the files on my table, not caring to look at whoever came in. A quick knock came on my door before the person allowed herself in. I did not speak to her. “Mr. Moreno?” she called. I wanted to tell her that she was not allowed to speak until I ordered her but once my ey
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love SIXTY-ONE
OLIVER The driver pulled up on the curb of a restaurant. Jerry was standing outside there waiting for me with two hookers rubbing his chest. I twitched my nose and folded my hands into fists. Jerry left with our rented car, and I was forced to come in a cab. I was angry and wanted to ram my fist into his face, but I restrained myself because he was so cute and spread his arms to welcome me and I did not want to cause a scene. The two girls wearing false lashes, heavy makeup and skimpy dresses eyed me as I walked up. “Where is this place?” I asked Jerry, shoving him away from me as he stepped closer with his arms spread. I looked around the area. It looked quite safe. “It is called The Clockwise. The perfect thing about it is that it has an underground club and this exquisite restaurant. They make the best lobsters in the world—oh, my bad, I forgot you hate lobsters.” “I am allergic, and it is to shrimps,” I gritted. Jerry was more drunk than
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love SIXTY-TWO
ELLEN “Ellen.” I stiffened. Oliver’s voice felt like a warm blanket over my body. I recovered quickly. If he was the one, then I had come too far to blow things up. I do not have any explanation to give him. It could not be Oliver. What on earth was Oliver doing here? And why didn’t Lily say anything about him coming here? I was certain he was not the one. But I was also sure he was the one. His voice was unmistakable, and he would be the only one in Tokyo to know me with Ellen. I gasped as he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. It was really him. The sight of Oliver took my breath away. Those deep elusive brown eyes gripped me, holding me hostage. I could not even bring myself to look away. Oliver looked tired and restrained, not the man I used to know. Something in his demeanor changed. His jaw was peppered with facial hair, his eyes although confused looked sad and hollow and I felt pity for him. But it did nothing to mar his beauty. H
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love SIXTY-THREE
OLIVER I could not sleep that night. I kept tossing in bed, and when I am not tossing, I am pacing around or looking down from my balcony with a glass of drink on my hand. If I Jerry was not drunk, I would have stalked her home. I came here as a businessman, so I did not come with men. I could take care of myself already. So, there were no men to send to stalk her I waited outside the car for a few minutes, watching the restaurant. I could see her sometimes, when she comes to attent to a table, but I could not see when she goes to the counter. After a while, when Jerry threw up again inside the car, I had to leave there, so mad at him. I managed to take him into his room and dumped him on his bed. He would be the one to clean up the mess he did in the car, and I will surely punch him so hard in the face the next morning. I freshened up and thought of going back there, but decided against it. She might not be Ellen and if she sees me around again tonight, she might
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RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED AND FIVE
ELLEN I met Dante and Jerry waiting at the reception when I was allowed to go home, but there was no Oliver. I searched around for him with my eyes, but he wasn’t there. I did not know what to feel about that, but I knew he had a very good explanation for not showing up at the station. “Where is Oliver?” I asked Dante, noticing his mood. Something was off about the way they looked at me. “He wants to see you,” was Dante’s calm reply as he took my arms gently. “You are now free from the police, and we are glad.” He flashed me a smile that I knew was fake.Cold shivers ran down my spine. Dante was a terrible actor, and I knew something was wrong. Maybe Oliver has hurt himself. I was so uncomfortable with the atmosphere around them. “What is going on? I want to speak with Oliver,” I demanded, my voice cracking with emotions. “Calm down, Ellen. There is nothing wrong. Oliver has a surprise for you and would like to meet you somewhere,” Jerry said with a much more
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED AND FOUR
OLIVER “What the fuck just happened? Why the heck is my wife being arrested?” I asked, glaring at Nicholas. “I was involved with Antonio, not my wife.” “Oliver, you have to calm down. Your wife was the last person Antonio texted. They have been talking. I am sorry, but your wife might not be as innocent as you think.”I clenched my hands and glared at Nicholas. I was only stopping myself from punching him right now because I did not want to make things worse. “The good thing is, you can bail her out since she is just a suspect. She was taken for questioning, and I will make sure I do the questioning.” “Do whatever you have to do. I want to watch when you question her.” I grabbed a bottle of drink and poured it into a glass, gulped it down, poured again, and gulped it again. I was torn in two. One part of me was thinking about whether Ellen was as innocent as she appeared. She had been jumpy lately, but there was no way she would have killed Antonio. He died
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED AND THREE
ELLEN "Okay, I don't know what this is all about, but I am getting curious as hell, Oliver," I said, waving my hands in front of me. Oliver was behind me, leading me carefully to whatever surprise he had for me. I was blindfolded, and my heart was already racing. "Just a little more time, mi amor." He carefully led me until he came to a stop. I sighed. We were finally at the surprise, and I held my breath because I did not know what to expect. Oliver put his arms around me, hugging me from behind. I could feel his breath on my neck. "Are you ready?" he whispered in my ear. "I am curious. Oliver, show me already!" I whined. He slowly took off the blindfold from my eyes. I blinked twice to get my eyes accustomed to my environment. I gasped when I saw what was in front of me. "Oh, my God, Oliver," I said as tears pooled in my eyes. "Do you like it?" Oliver asked. I walked away from his hold, reaching out for the beautiful flowers.
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED AND TWO
ELLEN I had the sweetest dream in months and woke up with a smile. I ran my hand beside me at the part Oliver was supposed to lie in but found it empty. I opened my eyes and saw that it was really empty. I will not be happy if Oliver goes without saying goodbye again. Panicked, I sat up, only to see Oliver standing in front of the dressing mirror, all dressed up. I sighed with relief. "Good morning, my queen," he greeted and stalked toward me. "I hope you have a good night's sleep?" He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips. I clutched the sheets around me and blushed like a teenager. He sat beside me and ran his fingers over my ruffled hair. "Has anyone told you that you look prettier in the morning?" he said, flashing me a sensual smile. "Okay, you are flattering me now." "I am not. I am serious." "Well, I got a little job done on my face; you cannot attribute it all to me." I looked down at my fingers as I spoke. Oliver moved closer to me and curled his foref
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED AND ONE
ELLEN I was lying on the lazy boy by the pool when Oliver came rushing back. I could not contain my laughter as he came back down almost immediately. "Are you sure you went to the room?" I asked, eyeing his bulging muscles. He wore a black vest that showed all his perfect chest and arm muscles and grey sweatpants. "I needed to be with you," he said, dazzling me with his signature smile. I stood up, walked up to him, and took his hands. "I made a special dinner for us and hope you like everything." "I love whatever you make, Elle." The table was set behind me, and rose petals were scattered around the poolside with candlelights surrounding the table. A bottle of wine was on the table with tall wine glasses and the wrap of my meal. I led Oliver to the table and made him sir. "Tonight is a special night," I whispered in his ear. It was a special night for me. It was the only night I had felt free in a year and a few months. My troubles might not be over, but I wanted to s
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love HUNDRED
OLIVER Antonio Romano is dead. That phrase lived rent-free in my head. I had seen the bastard only a few hours ago, and now he winded up dead in his apartment. All fingers would point at me, no doubt. I was the last one to get physical with him before his death, but I did not kill him, even though I would gladly have done that without hesitation. I left the house hurriedly so that no police would arrest me in front of my daughter. The police would come for us soon. Tony's father would not take the death of his remaining son lightly. Our source told us that police were swarming his house, looking for evidence. Nicholas was already in the company, and he wanted to get information from me first before the police saw anything. I walked into the meeting room. Dante, Jerry, and Alejandro stood when they saw me, but Nicholas remained seated, regarding me calmly. I ignored him and turned to Dante. "What's up? What is this I hear?" "Oliver, you should be speaking to me right now."
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love NINETY-NINE
ELLEN I made sure to wait for Oliver and his men to come home. It was way past midnight when they came back to the mansion. Once I saw their car, my heart lurched in my chest. I knew this was the time to get out with my secret. I had already braced myself for what would come next, but part of me still maintained that t was not the right time. This was past midnight, and Oliver must be stressed from wherever he came from, considering that he left so early in the morning and came back this late. I wanted to heave this off my chest, but I did not want to be selfish. I should consider his mood before breaking such news to him. I had waited for the perfect time to say it, but none had presented itself. When he was happy, I didn't want to ruin his mood. When he was sad or cold, I feared what his reaction would be. In as much as I told myself that I considered his mood, I knew that I had held back so much because I was scared of losing him. When he came into the room, looking all bloo
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love NINETY-EIGHT
OLIVER MORENO Antonio Romano. The bastard. He was already out of his car, tossing his keys to one of the men that would park it for him and hopping into the club. A few other vehicles followed the direction of his car. We got out of our car and started toward the club. One of the men we planted inside notified us that he was there already. They had gone there as harmless clubbers and took in every detail we wanted and knew where his men were positioned. We walked to the front of the club. The bouncers recognized us and let us pass. But I was sure they had notified Antonio, and if he didn't already know that we were there, he would probably be waiting for us. Loud sensual music hit us as we stalked into the club. A wave of booze and alcohol wafted toward us. I was in front while Dante and Alejandro followed closely behind me. A few heads turned towards us, especially the ladies, but I was not there for any of them. We stood by the entrance, my hands tucked into my pockets wh
RULE NUMBER ONE: Don't You Fall in Love NINETY-SEVEN
ELLEN I woke up alone. I knew that I had slept alone last night. I knew when Oliver came in last night. I didn't understand the feelings that were running inside me. I knew he was the only one I felt safe around after my attack, but when I was calm enough, I didn't know if I wanted to trust him that much. I still didn't know how to face him with a clear eye. I wanted to tell him about Tony, not to get even, but to remove this heave from my chest. Tony texted me last night when I was still in the living room with Lily, and I did not even tell her about it. I headed straight into the room, feeling worse. I thought about suicide, but I also thought about Sophie. I could not let her go through that pain because of my mistakes. I wept a little in the bathroom, with the showers on, so that everyone would feel I was taking a shower. I contemplated using the razor on the counter to cut myself until I bled out, but I couldn't. I tried Oliver's number, but it was switched off. I wanted to s
