Yvanna's POV It has been an hour and a half, if am not mistaken, since I keep looking at my clouded reflection on the sliding glass window in front of me, trying to keep up with my overwhelming excitement and nervousness that linger in the air at the same time. Several thoughts, wonderful ones, keep running wild inside my brain when tonight, my mother-in-law, surprisingly throws a small banquet to introduce me to her wealthy friends who missed my husband's extravagant 32nd birthday celebration two days ago. And I am, undeniably, in 7th heaven every time I glimpse at those visitors passing through behind the window. This is going to be the first time in history that Mauricia, my mother-in-law, has given recognition to my hard-earned suffering in their hands for the past seven years. Even if surrounding myself with her "so-called" circle of friends and closest family relatives is not my cup of tea, she left me with no other choice when Norman, my good-looking and considerate husba
She's the most one-sided mother-in-law I have ever known in my whole life. The idea of everyone in the mansion to hate me since the first day of my relationship with Norman begins from her. She builds it. Nails it in everyone's hearts and minds, including her twin daughters. "Are you blind, you ungrateful, whore?" she growls, her eyes filled with her overflowing rage toward me, but she stretches out her patience to prevent her anger from bursting when she is with her circle of so-called gold-digger friends. The six of her friends who were seated at the table next to her were all good and well-behaved in front of my mother-in-law, but every time they turned their backs on her, or the other way around, they stabbed her with their knives a million times. "For God's sake!" she gasps as she clenches her fists before she continues, "Sometimes I wonder if you and your entire family are wicked old witches who cast a seduction spell on my son to marry you by force." To release the anger th
There, in the lobby, Norman's smiling face greeted me. We've been in a relationship for seven years but it was the first time I saw him smiling from ear to ear. And undeniably, he looks more attractive when he smiles. He looked even younger through my eyes. His priceless smile was one of the reasons my heart puffed up and fell in love with him. I was about to approach him but, all of a sudden, I glued my feet on the tiled floor, my eyes fixed on the heart-wrenching scene in front of me. "No. It can't be." I uttered to myself, trying to understand what was certainly going on. "Happiest birthday, Malia!" Norman whispered to the woman, his smile extended. The woman smiled back while caressing my husband's cheeks, her face filled with love and longing. "Thank you, babe" she replied, "But where's my gift?" "You'll know about it later. Shall we go now?" Standing next to Norman is a gorgeous and lanky woman, I believed I recognized. Malia - his ex-girlfriend and first love. She exte
Continuous deafening screams dominated the entire coronation night instead of everyone's lively cheering and whooping two minutes ago. Most of the residents, partygoers, and foreign visitors, who managed to witness the unexpected commotion rushed both, to the main entrance and exit, where the mind-blowing fistfight had just begun. The music stopped playing, making it more obvious that an ongoing uproar was happening inside the podium. So I keep screaming, attempting to stop them from hurting each other before I see blood. Unfortunately, the man is more furious, and he appears to be more desperate and aggressive compared to Justine. He jumps on top of Justine, pins him on the ground, and blows countless of his punches. Then I see blood coming out of his nose and mouth. They flooded the surface of the ground around them. The man did not even hesitate after knowing he already won their fight. Instead, he continued punching Justine, as though he had no plan on keeping him alive.
"Thank, goodness, you're already home, Brother Norman! We have some wonderful news for you since the other day." Jennifer eagerly departed from her seat as soon as I arrived at the dining area. Jennie follows her and wraps their arms around me to extend their greetings. The last person who approached me was my son, Noah. He was about to wrap his arms around me but I dodged him and grabbed my seat next to him. "But I highly suggest we should not talk about the good news in front of the kid," Jennie added before she fixed her eager look at her twin sister, and then to Noah. "Kiddo, can you go back to your room? You aunties and dad are gonna talk about something important really quick." That's one of the characteristics I love about my little sisters. Even if Noah and I did not have the father-and-son kind of relationship as everyone does, they always gave him priority. I heard a few times from Yvanna that Jennifer brought him shopping and ate outside every time she had her free time.
In the middle of my journey back to the mansion, I clean up the tears that flood my eyes, trying to remove the remnants of my imperfection and failure, especially when I have to show my family that I wasn't affected by the result. However, my tears were like an open faucet. The more I wiped them off, the heavier the weight I felt inside me. It's burning me inside out. Failing on something wasn't supposed to be my cup of tea, but it happened. Never in my life have I failed to achieve something. Winning the election was as easy as counting from one to three for me. But how on earth did it happen? I spent billions of dollars on the campaign. To make sure our lineup could win at all costs. It just fucking happened, and I didn't get the chance to wear a life vest or bulletproof. My entire body is sinking into the bottom of the ocean. And I was supposed to get Veronica's support, to comfort me in times of crisis, but she didn't. "Get me the most expensive bottle of wine, quick!" I furi
"Ms. Ellaine, can I ask you something?" I mustered the courage to disturb my secretary in the middle of her hectic work. "Of course, Mr. dela Vega! Ask me anything," she replied without even removing her eyes from the computer screen in front of her. "How long have you been working as the corporation's secretary? Eight years? Nine perhaps? I forgot already. Sorry." I said with honesty but awkwardly. Ms. Ellaine unhurriedly walked her gaze from her computer screen to her back where I was seated. Then she smiled, but her facial expression told me the other way around. She could have been thinking that I would fire her for giving the car keys and bouquet of roses to the wrong person the other day. "It has been seven years, Mr. dela Vega. Why?" she asked, her voice trembling. So, for seven years, she could have known everything about me and Yvanna, my wife since our relationship as a married couple also started when we hired Ms. Ellaine. "Do you have any idea
Malia is my ex-girlfriend's little sister. Similar to Veronica, she was also one of those women whom I took advantage of - turning them into my sex slaves. She likes me, and I couldn't stop my lust. I am just a man with a manly need. We had sex countless times before I met Yvanna every time we see each other regardless of the place. One of those places was in the car, just like what we're doing at the moment. Needless to say, for the record, she was the one who took my virginity. And that experience with her was worth remembering. "STOP!" I yelled at her as I pushed her away from me. Then I set my hardened and drooling d*ck back behind my pants. "Get out of the car, Malia. And I am not gonna say it again." "Fine!" she heaved an abrupt sigh of dismay, yet she still had the audacity to smile at me. "This doesn't mean I am gonna stop chasing you. Deny it or not, you like the feeling when your d*ck is inside my mouth, Norman. Yvanna cannot do that for you, I bet my life on it." Afte
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