Ricardo slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh hospital lights. The throbbing pain in his body intensified as he tried to sit up, only to be met with a firm hand pushing him back down. Startled, he turned his head to see Marcus standing by his bedside, a look of concern etched on his face.“Lie down, Ricardo. You're badly hurt,” Marcus urged, his voice filled with worry. Confusion clouded Ricardo's mind as he tried to piece together what had happened. Why was he in a hospital bed? And why was Marcus here? Then, like a bolt of lightning, a memory flashed in his mind, and he jolted upright, ignoring the protests of his body.“Alana! Where is she? Is she okay?” Ricardo's voice trembled with fear as he frantically looked around the room, his heart pounding in his chest. Before Marcus could respond, Ricardo swung his legs over the side of the bed and attempted to stand, his body protesting with every movement. Ignoring the pain, he staggered towards the door, determination in h
Alana and Ricardo snuggled in bed together, despite the doctor telling Ricardo to go to his room. He refused and wanted to be beside his wife. Alana was happy to be in the man's arms.“But it was untraceable…” Alana said with a frown. She was still confused about how Ricardo and the doctor managed to know exactly the poison Rocco used on Santiago. “We did a few tests, and apparently, he was injected with succinylcholine. It's a paralyzing agent that can cause respiratory arrest and is quite difficult to detect,” The elderly doctor explained while Ricardo nodded. “It's acquired through a black market…it's illegal and quite difficult to get the current,” Ricardo chimed in as well, and Alana was stunned. “I had Dario and Dennis watching Rocco. He met with some men who provided him with it,” Ricardo added, and Alana now understood everything. It seemed Ricardo knew something was wrong. She held on to him, knowing she was so lucky to have him.“We had the team male neostigmine, which rev
(Alana)I sat in front of the mirror, contemplating what was happening. Tears filled my eyes with no way of escaping. My heart ached agonizingly. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. To stop whatever was going onI couldn't do this anymore, the nightmare seemed real, I was scared. Afraid, but I had no choice. This was my fate. I let the ladies doing my makeup and styling my hair do their work. I sat like a zombie, a string doll controlled by others. Waiting for someone to save me. Unfortunately, this was happening It was my wedding, the day I was getting married and the six women in the room with me were hired to help me get ready. It was just a week ago that I wrote my final exams. I was studying a bachelor's degree in Visual Arts. I was a few steps from starting my life as an adult and using my skills to become the best fashion designer in the country and make my parents proudI even applied for a job at a well-known jewelry company as an assistant to raise money for myself. Un
(Alana)Like a dream, I was guided outside the farm house. It was luxurious and completely beautiful. I was told all the Romero children got married here. It was their tradition to marry at their old mansion.I also met two lovely girls, they were twins. Kira and Kiara. They were Erin's daughters. They dressed in pretty white similar dresses and nice white sandals. Not only that, but they carried two lovely baskets decorated with white flowers. Erin told me they would walk in front of me while throwing some flowers Immediately we got outside, my mom dropped the veil over my face, I was grateful to her knowing I wanted to avoid being seen. Or for people to look at me and see how red my eyes wereMy dad hooked his arm with me, I heard cheering and the wedding song instrumental played. It was a BEAUTIFUL IN WHITE song. I loved the song, maybe my mom requested for it to be played knowing how much I bragged to her to play the very same song on my wedding dayI felt even more emotional, I
(Alana)After a tiresome ceremony, Mrs. Erin Romero brought me to the same room and gave me some refreshments and something to eat. I told her I wasn't hungry, but she was adamant; hence I had no choice but to take a few bites“What's this…it's very neat…did you draw this,” she said while I was busy putting the suitcases properly. I glanced up and saw her holding my sketches“Your mom gave these to me, she said they are important to you,” she said and started checking the designs, I was quick to get them from her, knowing I would burn them later“Oh no, actually just some silly drawing,” I said and shoved them in the backpack“They are beautiful, the necklaces go with the dresses… are you a designer?” She asked with interest in her eyes. I shook my head in denial“No, it's…well, I get sometimes bored so…”“I'm a designer myself, I know something beautiful when I see it… my husband runs a jewelry company, and it's now run by Ricardo…. Show the designs to Ricardo…he might need some new
(Alana)I was woken up by the noise of chirping birds somewhere by the window. Oh, how I hated waking up in the morning. I shifted a little to the left, and it was awfully cold. Grabbing a pillow I snuggled to it and attempted to ignore everything and go back to sleep. “Mom, close the darn window,” I mumbled and curled into a ball, I could feel my feet getting colder. Why was the window open, mom knew how I hated anything interrupting my sleep? Unfortunately, that was interrupted when I realized where I was.I sat up immediately, scanning the room I was in, and reality hit me hard. I was in a foreign room, decorated beautifully with red roses and some other romantic fabrics. “Darn it,” I ran my hands through my hair, of course, I wasn't at home. For one thing, I was tired after a long night at the farewell party. By the time I came to the room to sleep, it was past midnight. I recalled Erin teasing me and making remarks about a beautiful wedding night with my husband Of course, thi
(Alana)The flight was two hours and some minutes. When the jet landed, It was in the afternoon. The sun was bright and at its full peak. Throughout the journey, I was completely occupied with going through the city's brochure. I wanted to pin down some nice places I was going to be visiting. The city was huge, with countless things to explore. Paris had a reputation for being a romantic and cultural city. The city was also known for its high-quality gastronomy and the terraces of its cafés. Other than fashion, I was eager to know more and learn the French language. Although this was new to me and the people, I was going to try my best to adjust When we exited the jet, we found two cards already waiting for us. A slightly medium-height man wearing a black suit came to us. He looked to be French and well-kept“Good day, Mrs. Romero… welcome sir,” the man greeted us with a low bow. I responded with a bow, not sure how to react since I had no idea who he was. While Ricardo ignored him
(Alana)The lady told me Ricardo had a five-year-old son. I didn't believe it but, I wanted to ask him why none of his family members told me he had a sondid they think marriage was a joke, how was I going to be a mother to a five years old boy? This wasn't right, I was too angry to do anything; hence I started unpacking my things. The room they gave me was okayI didn't like big rooms, although this one was like the master bedroom“This should be burned,” I said once I took out my designs and sketchbook. I just needed to find time and a place to burn everything. “What's this?” I said once I took out a white envelope, I didn't remember having it. Maybe it was something my mom packed without knowing With ease, I carefully opened the envelope. There was some document inside. When I pried it open, I was stunned to find something I wasn't expecting, “No way, when did this come in!” It was unbelievable, it was a letter of acceptance. I applied for a job at several companies. I didn't mi