It appears to me that even as wealthy and powerful as Norman Paul dela Vega hadn't gotten a concrete conclusion of the incident that happened night. Or perhaps he didn't put much effort into the case because it was me who got the accident instead of Veronica or anyone from his mistresses. What else could I expect from the man who cheated on me because he can't live with just one woman? Getting justice for what happened to his wife that night was a waste of his money and time. He doesn't care about me at all because it took him almost two months to know that I had an accident and discover my whereabouts in the countryside, living with white lies with Justine. "All right. I'll send you the person's information who will pick you up." Norman said. "You got to be kidding me? I'm not a fool enough to pay you in advance. What do you think of me? An eight-year-old kid?" I couldn't hear the voice from the other line of the phone so I depended on the conversation bas
Tonight was supposed to be my first day in class, and I have been planning to be as good and observant as possible, but it turned out that I will be having a hard time doing that for the rest of the semester. What's worse is that I might have gotten our professor's bad side on the very first day. I was even convinced that first impressions last. Everyone might think I'm a troublemaker in the class. "It seems that you have a long story to tell, huh?" Tanner whispered to me on our way to the Guidance Office. "Perhaps you can share them with me over a bottle of beer. We don't know, I might be of help to get rid of those that bothered you." Tanner's proposal, undeniably, tempts me, but I don't know if I should be pleased or start to get worried when his statement proves Norman and Justine's impressions of him to be true. The only thing I knew about him was when we were in college. A lot of things changed. From an introverted student seven years ago, he turned into a be
He got to be kidding me! Knowing both parties heated each other, I expected Norman would simply advise me to ignore and stay away from them as it was the best thing to do. What? Be their tutor? Is he fucking kidding me? Teaching those evil brats would be the last thing I wanted to do. I went to school to get myself a certificate, to prove to his monstrous family that I deserved to be the president. "Enough, Mom, Dad!" Noah exclaimed, putting a towering wall in between me and Norman, "This is one of my favorite movies. We must not miss this one." I don't want to ruin Noah's mood so I shut my mouth. Norman did the same thing as he started filling his mouth with popcorn. Horror movies are supposed to be not my cup of tea, but the two seemed to have loved it. Romantic movies are the ones I prefer the most. In the middle of watching the movie, Norman and I exchanged glances when we accidentally set our hands inside the empty bucket of popcorn in unison. His han
The next morning, Norman and Noah were already in the dining area along with the rest of the family. I have no idea what was the occasion but everyone was present. But imagine our surprise when Jennifer and Jennie were in a race departing their seats and offered me one next to my son. even Mauricia stopped filling her mouth with the food. "Are you two having a high fever right now?" I could not help my curiosity but ask as I settled at the table, pointed my eyes at Norman, and uttered without moving the corner of my lips, "What the hell is going on?" Instead of saying it with words, Norman lifted the tip of his shoulders and smiled at me. Wait does it have to do with what Tanner told them at the Gudiance Office? Who could have thought, huh? My plan of threatening them both worked perfectly. "Can I have my breakfast now?" I broke the awkward sensation in the dining area. After the scrumptious meal, all of us separated ways like we always do. Norman went to the c
"Are you alright? Did anyone dare lay a finger on you? Tell me, Yvanna!" Norman growled, his blazing madness toward those reporters was like an electrical current that crawled inside me. Before the sensation went deeper, I lifted my body away from Norman's hand and blazer, "I'm fine," I defensively replied even if I was not. Then I faked a smile at everyone to make sure they would not be suspecting us. "You all scared my wife," Norman said in front of everyone's cameras. "If something bad happens to her because you all pressured her with those nonsense questions, will you take responsibility for it?" Everyone suddenly shut their mouths but the shuttering of their cameras was inevitable. In some ways, Norman's threat worked somehow. "If you have questions, ask me instead of my wife. She still needs more rest these days." he announced, "I'm gonna answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge. Thank you!" Despite the atmosphere around us already changing,
In the middle of our journey, a part of me wanted to scream, to let out all the anger, frustration, and hatred that put weight on my shoulders. But the only thing I could do was grit my teeth while holding onto that thought. Good thing the chaperone did not ask me anything about how I ended up almost getting naked. Because if he did, I could have growled at him already - lashed out at him with everything that burned inside me. How dare Norman do this to me? The audacity to use me to win the bet. For what? For a million dollars? To protect his noble fat ass? He even had the face to tell me that he wanted to do everything to get me back. He even lured me with that fucking 30 million dollar evening gown to fall for his trap. Love my ass. If that woman hadn't shown up, Norman could have been smiling in silence, knowing he fooled me with the tip of his fingers. I was supposed to reach out to Justine, to come over and pick me up, but I forgot to bring my phone with me. A
There, right in front of me, the footage made the balls of my eyes remain wide open. It was footage of the incident that happened last November 13, 2023, at 7:36 in the evening. The same night I had a car accident. And what's in the footage was enough to blow your mind. And I couldn't find inside me the right path to believe it. I remembered now. Norman got the footage from the man who reached out to me claiming that he witnessed the incident. He offered the man twice the price of his original demand once proven his claim was reliable and authentic. Does this mean, he already has this footage thoroughly checked? Despite the darkness that swallowed the side roads, it was as clear as day that the other man who stood in front of the upside-down wrecked car was none other than -- Justine. He was talking to the man in a mask who, if I am not mistaken, is the one who bumped into the car I was in. Several thoughts ran wild inside my brain when they were discussing s
All parts of my body, including my brain ceased to function at the moment. Even my heart softly beats twice within what felt like an eternity. A part of me wanted to push him away but my hands were numbed. The feeling was like his kiss was mixed with a dark magic spell for me to not do anything that he called, "stupid". If my counting served me right, the kiss lasted for about ten seconds or more, long enough everyone thought that I kissed him back. "Let's get back to the mansion, Yvanna," Norman said the second he moved his face away from me. "Our son has been waiting for you to come home." He reached out to my hand and dragged me out of the club, not by force, but my entire body was like voluntarily following him to the parking lot. Then he even fastened my seatbelt and took off afterward. After the magic spell he cast on me expired, I turned my head back to the nightclub, worried that something bad might happen to Tanner. "What do you think you're doing, No
The tick-tock of the clock in our world has seemed to stop, accompanied by the heavy weight of the sensation rested on our helpless shoulders. His back rested on my chest, arms lying on both sides, and his smiling face pointing at me. "Why, Norman? You could have run away and saved your life. Why did you catch the bullet for me, huh? I'm not worth it. Have you forgotten I still hate you?" "Because I love you, Yvanna," he spoke out. "Remember those flowers, chocolates, and food containers?" I nodded as my tears kept pouring down my cheeks like an open faucet, especially when he started ejecting a bulk of blood from his nose and mouth. "Someone gave me that kind of idea eight years ago," he added. "I don't know how to make it up to you so I copied what you did when we were in college. When you confessed your feelings to me and wanted to be my girlfriend. Do you still remember? Because I do remember everything, Yvanna. That was also the day when I started to get annoye
Mr. Emilio attempted to snatch the phone from me but I swiftly dodged his grasp and held onto the phone tightly. Then I slid to the corner to make sure no one could interrupt our conversation. "This is how it is, Yvanna," he continued. "Finally, I can seek my revenge on the person who ruined my life in the past sixteen years. You should join me." "But you kidnapped him, Tanner. The police officers are also looking for you." I responded softly as if my lips hadn't moved a bit, still hesitant about his proposal even if it tempted me. Tanner's continuous laughter roared like thunder from the other line of the phone. "Police officers?" he asked with conviction. "Are you kidding me? How do you think I managed to get him out of prison without being noticed, Yvanna? Police officers are nothing but frugal. With the right amount of money, they will help you no matter how hard and impossible the jobs are." After giving it much thought, I agreed to Tanner's proposal which was
In the middle of the profound conversation, Elaine approached and showed us something we did not expect. Something I never expected to get leaked. "Mr. Emilio, are you aware of this?" One of the company's lawyers blurted in disbelief. The utter disappointment was written in everyone's faces apart from me. The news Elaine showed us was the footage of Norman having sex with another woman. "No, I'm not even aware Norman had an affair with another woman. And I barely recognize her." Mr. Emilio defensively replied. "Her name is Kristine Kate. And I am well aware of the existence of that footage because someone sent me a copy of it a few days ago." I confessed. Everyone's sharp eyes were pointing at me as if they were suspecting me. Can someone assist me to my office? I am going to check the flash drive in my drawer. And for the record, I didn't leak the footage." "I'll come with you, Mrs. dela Vega. I have to get something on my desk too." Elaine proposed. Without asking further ques
The next morning, everyone in the mansion was swamped but excited apart from me as it would also be the same day Norman and I would have our second wedding. What I discovered in front of Justine's apartment remained a huge mystery to me. Norman did not come home last night because it was in our tradition that the couple must be separated on the day of the wedding and will meet at the church. But since I have nowhere else to go, my parent's house is on the other side of the world, I used the mansion while Norman used the dela Vega Group and Companies building. "Smile, Mrs. dela Vega," says the makeup artist who has been preparing me for almost an hour. "You are about to get married but you looked like the entire weight of the world fell onto your shoulders." "Why? Do you have any regrets about remarrying the mayor, Mrs. dela Vega?" her assistant asked. Regrets? A lot. If and only my family was born as rich and powerful as the dela Vegas, only a fool would remarr
"Wait, do you, by chance, are you the one who...?" I couldn't bring up the question when we have someone with us in the car. So I decided to wait until we reached the office. Last night. It took Norman almost an hour to get back to the rehearsal dinner after sending Veronica and Malia out of the hotel. But I have no idea what he and his security guards did to them outside, and why he took almost an hour to get back. Not that I don't want the two dead, the news was just too sudden. As soon as we arrived, I quickly headed to my desk to start working. Norman followed me, lost in his thoughts, I can tell. He dropped his butt on the couch next to my desk and fixed his eyes in one direction - toward his uncertainty. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. dela Vega!" Elaine greeted us with a smile after the successful rehearsal dinner last night. Based on my abrupt observation, she hasn't heard of the news yet. "Here's your cup of coffee and tea, Mr. and Mrs. dela Vega! Enjo
"So you mean that one of those cops could have killed the man on our way to his house?" I continued his statement when that was what I believed. He nodded. "Or more. And that's what we need to know. And I highly suggest you work on it behind Tanner's knowledge." "You want me to stab Tanner behind his back? Have you forgotten he's my lawyer?" I asked, debated to be precise. "Tanner was pretty convinced earlier that you agreed to the result of the cops' investigation regarding the case. Better keep it that way. I'll recommend a loyal police officer who can work on the case with confidentiality." Then he asked me to get his phone from his left pocket to search for the contact person. I believed Norman had nothing to do with the attempt of killing me so I agreed to his proposal. And, of course, for our conversation to be put to an end. After getting the man's contact information, a deafening silence dominated the rest of the travel toward the hotel. Fifteen minut
After the call ended, we continued the photo shoot, buying enough time to better think about what to do in this kind of situation. Putting my situation into words, I was having second thoughts about whether I should tell Norman about my deal with Tanner or have to face and tell Tanner myself about remarrying Norman. Either way, I don't know the answer once I picked one when both of them were not to my advantage. There are no choices that won't hurt anyone in the middle of the process. "Do you mind if I ask what time will the rehearsal dinner be?" I asked Norman as soon as Noah and I were settled in his car. "Why? Do you have any other appointment that I am not aware of?" He asked back. "Tanner and I will have a meeting at three. He said that he had something to tell me. Perhaps it has something to do with the case he's working on. Would you like to come with me?" I proposed, with the hope that he would say no. "Why can you just reschedule that meeting?" Lik
"Let go of us, Yvanna!" Veronica cried out as she attempted to remove my hand from their hair. "We didn't do anything wrong." Malia debated. "In fact, we are someone else's escorts." A few security guards attempted to break us apart from after catching a glimpse that it was me, they backed out. Instead, they followed us outside the building. The moment we stepped foot outside, I pushed the two harder. Hard enough they both stumble to the rough and muddy surface of the ground. Their once glimmering expensive evening gowns are now stained with dirt and mud. And I have no regrets dragging them away from the event. "Do you think I am that fool enough not to notice what you two are doing to my husband?" I growled at them. "Even if you were someone else's escort, doesn't mean you cannot flirt with him." Veronica and Malia burst into tears as they looked around. Hundreds of flashing cameras surrounded us, catching every angle of the commotion. Malia tried to cover her face with her bar
"Come on, Mom, Dad! Can you just hear me out, please?" I insisted as I tailed them heading out of the mansion. "Get back, Yvanna!" Dad exclaimed. He and Mom doubled their pace toward the main road. "We don't have a daughter now. Go back to that hell of a place." I was about to stop them from hopping into the cab but they took off at the speed of light, leaving me alone in the road. "Please, get back inside, Mrs. dela Vega." One of the security guards followed me and helped me up as I dropped my knees to the rough surface of the ground. "Let me follow them on your behalf instead." The man next to him proposed. "We'll keep you posted once we can talk to them." They then hailed a cab and took off. I attempted to hail a new cab but two new security guards appeared and begged me to get back to the mansion as it was a strict order from Norman. Leaving with no other choice, I went straight to Noah's room. "Mom, are you alright? Are you crying? Did those evil hurt