*Patricia's POV*I was in a hurry to Bubble Tea to meet my friend, Janine del Rosario-Zobel. She texted me. "URGENT!" so I could not help but worry about her."Pat!" she gave me a hug when I arrived."Janine, relax," I said as I returned her hug, "Why are you so giddy?" I continued as we took our seats."Ohemz, Patricia! You must hear this," she said excitedly. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows on her and waited for her to tell me the news. I do not know if she just had too much sugar in her milk tea or if being hyper is her only outlet for being a housewife."I have two good news!" she exclaimed, "which one would you like to hear first?"I tried not to roll my eyes so she wouldn't feel bad, I mean, how can I ever make a choice? I do not have a single idea about what she is about to tell me."Oops! Silly of me. Haha," she grinned, "the first good news is about my love life. The second is about your love life. So, which do you want to hear first?""Tell me about your love life," I
*Stuart's POV* "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and we are now taxing to the NAIA Centennial Terminal 2. Welcome to Manila! For your safety, please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until the fasten seatbelt sign has been switched off." I sighed realizing that I was finally back in the Philippines. Two years have passed since the last time I left the country but two years seems to be not enough for me to forget everything that happened. If I had a choice, I would never return to this place which reminded me of the fool I was but my father needed me. He is sick and can no longer take care of our family's business. As his only son and the only heir to his business empire, I have no choice but to come home and take over his businesses. "Stop moving around, Patricia!" I was startled when I heard her name so I looked over to see a woman trying to calm her daughter. "I am sorry," she apologized to me, "I did not mean to distur
*Patricia’s POV* I felt the tension that surrounded the entire kitchen of the bakeshop as the news about the new owner spread. Everybody’s wondering why the old owner of the bakeshop sold the rights of all the branches of this bakeshop since business was doing well and in fact, the name of the bakeshop has been a household name already. They say that it was sold to an old man, but since he got sick, his son came to take over and handle the business.“Get yourselves ready,” our kitchen manager instructed, “and show him we can handle pressure and, therefore, work naturally even if he is around.”“I heard our boss is a hunk,” Rea whispered, “and not only that,” she noted, “he is still a bachelor.”“Behave, Rea! You are still too young to think about these things,” Ryan, the cousin of Rea, interrupted.Rea rolled her eyes before going back to her station. She is assigned to the pastries station while I am in charge of all refrigerator cakes. All the cakes and pastries sold in the differen
*Stuart’s POV*I visited my father’s latest investment, which was the country’s well-known cakes and pastries shop, the Blue Plate. I was told that my father had not visited its branches because by the time he bought the bakery and its rights; he fell sick. Since its main branch is near my office; I thought that paying a visit would not harm me.I could feel the cozy ambiance of the place and the warm welcome of its employees, so I wore my most respectable smile and kindest handshake as I was introduced to each of the key personnel. I was still wearing my smile when I was introduced to the bakers, but that smile faded when I saw her. The woman I vowed never to cross paths again.“G-good morning, sir,” she pretended she was shy, but I knew the game she was playing. This is how manipulated me before. She was the same woman I had met before. She still has that expert stalking skill, but she cannot fool me. I knew she had enough money to put up her own bakery, but why was she working here
*Patricia's POV*My head aches as I think of ways to complete the one hundred blueberry cheesecake order of Stuart. Even when Miss Marjorie explained to him that his order was impossible because of the capacity of our chiller in the bakery, he still insisted and even warned my supervisor that if I failed to complete the task, I would lose my job. I can't lose my job because it is very difficult to find a job nowadays. Besides, I still need to pay my obligations in the bank by the end of this month. If I lose my job, I will lose everything."I am sorry, Patricia," Miss Marjorie sadly approached me, "I did what I could and even thought of assigning an assistant who can help you complete the task, but the CEO demanded that he wants you to complete the task alone."I don't know if I will consider this a compliment or not. Compliment because knowing that he wanted me to bake all the cheesecakes by myself could mean that he likes the taste of my recipe; however, it may not be the case. He m
* Stuart’s POV *“Pat? Why are you not wearing anything on your feet?” I heard a woman ask someone who had just arrived. I actually do not want to care, but it bothered me when I saw her barefoot. Seriously! What was she thinking? I do not know what drama she is trying to project, but I am not buying it. If she thought that looking for pity would help, it won’t.I learned she could complete the task I gave her. This means it would be difficult for me to find faults in her job, so I will have enough reason to fire her. She is considered an asset of the bakeshop and was hailed as one of the best. If I am going to fire her for no reason, it might send a wrong signal to the other employees. They might think that the change of administration would endanger their jobs.I looked at my watch and smiled. I still succeeded, even though she completed her task. She may have kept her job, but I have kept her so busy that she could not have spare time to sneak into my office and flirt with me. All
” Bro, how’s Singapore?” Kaz asked Mago, ”I heard you’ve been busy doing your business and sexy fashion models.” I looked at Arlene and saw pain in her eyes. I am familiar with that pain because I have been in her situation before. I wish she would get over being so in love with Mago. I want the time to come for her to accept that Mago will never love her the way she loves him. “Good evening, everyone,” Jannah greeted us, “we are now gathered here to celebrate the second wedding anniversary of my dear sister and her husband, Janine and Marco. Since this is an exclusive gathering, we have not prepared a formal program. As you can see, we have set up a mini bar in front. With this, we challenge all the guests to render a song to entertain everyone.” Everyone excitedly clapped their hands as Jannah picked one piece of paper to identify who among the guests would sing a song. Then she announced, “The first person to render us a song is no other than the best friend of Marco, Mago Conce
* Stuart's POV *I was standing near Marco's mini-bar when I heard someone coming. I thought it was Mago, so I glanced at the entrance, but I did not expect to meet her eyes. It was a brief exchange of glances because she immediately turned away and headed to the kitchen."Wait, am I imagining things, or did I just see Patricia avoid your stare?" I heard Kaz, who apparently wanted to annoy me."Tsk," I decided not to bother and instead sip some wine."Come on! Do you really have to treat her that way?" Kaz leaned on the counter, "by the looks of it, it shows that neither of you has moved on.""Our breakup was clear to me," I firmly replied. "I don't know about her. She still continued to follow me around.""She still follows you around?" he inquired.I did not answer, and that gave him the message that I was not interested in our topic. Kaz has spoken with Angelo while I continued to drink my wine. I saw from the corner of my eyes that she had gone to talk with her friends. There is s
*Patricia’s POV*I never expected what happened, but I am thankful that everything became clear. Because of the revelation, this is the right way for Stuart and I to start over again. We both love each other, and there are no more secrets. I could not say that I had already forgiven Sandra because I still hated the idea that she tried to manipulate Stuart so she could have someone to fall back on. But everything happens for a reason. What happened paved the way for Stuart to prove he truly loves me. He never gave up on me, even when I had already given up on him.As for Alexis, Xander came to take Alexis and Sandra. They have decided to continue Alexis’ treatment in the United States with the hopes that they will be able to find a donor there. I wish them well, and I hope that the experts in America will be able to help them.I do not want to think that everything will be perfect. Things will never be perfect in this world. What matters is that we learn to love, forgive, and change fo
*Stuart’s POV*I can’t measure my happiness while watching my wife sleep in my arms. I caressed her face as I admired her delicate features. She moved and tried to cover her face with a pillow, but I stopped her.”Stuart,” she complained, ”I am still sleepy.””What? I didn’t do anything,” I replied.”You are seducing me, mister!” she opened her eyes and squinted at me.”Seducing? I have not even started it yet,” I pulled her closer to me, ”but if you are already seduced, why don’t we do what we did last night.””You’re crazy!” he lightly punched me on my arm, ”I told you, I am still sleepy,” she pouted.”Hmm,” I kissed her forehead, ”I love you.””Love you too,” she said, now closing her eyes, ”but can your hands behave? They are being naughty.””Really?” I smiled, ”guess my hands now have their own minds.””Stuart!”Damn, that was sexy! I liked it whenever she uttered my name. I did not stop myself anymore. I held her chin and tasted her lips. She responded to my kiss and brushed her
*Patricia’s POV*A relieved smile was painted on his face as he said, ”Love, I love you too, but let me just finish my proposal, okay?”Tears flowed from my eyes as I shook my head, ”I love you so much that I can’t let you have a damaged heart.”His smile quickly faded, ”Love, please,” he pleaded.I was about to answer, but someone from behind interrupted, ”I will not allow you to embarrass my son to everyone, Patricia.”I turned to see the angry face of Stuart’s father as he said, ”Stuart, get up!”His voice was filled with authority that even when he was not holding a microphone, everyone could still hear him.”I-I’m sorry, Mr. Cordoval,” I blurted out, ”but I think this is what’s best for all of us.””Who told you that this is the best?” his voice roared across the hall, ”you signed a contract.””Is this about the contract wherein your son bought all my services?” I tried to make my voice firm.”I am not referring to that contract, Patricia,” he answered.I do not know what he was
*Stuart’s POV*I swallowed my pride and stayed persistent because I did not want to give up on pursuing Patricia. For more than four years, she has been my stalker, not giving up no matter how I tried to drive her away; now that the table has been turned, I cannot just give up this easily. Seeing her in my office daily was good, even if she treated me coldly. She wants everything kept on a professional level, so I decided to assign the preparations for the company’s anniversary party to her. That way, she will be too preoccupied to notice me watching her. There is still pain in her eyes, and I hate it because I know that I was the one that caused her all those pain.I wished I could turn back time. I wished I could undo everything I had done to her. I wished I had known better before.”Is the mini stage ready?” I heard her ask her assistant, ” How about the menu? Is everything ready?”She gave out a relieved smile every time her assistant confirmed positively. She obviously loved what
*Patricia’s POV*”Good morning, Miss Pat,” the secretary greeted me, ” Sir Stuart has been waiting for you since he arrived this morning,” she continued as she opened the door for me.”Love,” Stuart stood as soon as he saw me.”Stay right there,” I said, ”first condition, stay away from me. It would be much better if you maintain a certain distance between us.””If that will make you stay, I will do it,” he answered.”That’s another one,” I pointed out, ”I am here to work, so if it is time for work, don’t do anything that will make my work awkward. Treat me as an employee. And lastly, I demand a break. That means I should not be with you all the time. If you agree with my conditions, I can start now.””Everything’s clear,” he said, ”but I already have a secretary, so you’ll do your usual work assignments besides being a secretary.”I don’t know why I felt jealous, knowing he kept his secretary even if I was already there. I should be glad my workload will be lessened, but why am I dis
*Patricia’s POV*”Patricia Sandoval,” the agent called my name. I have tried applying for a job but to no avail. I have not received any invitation for an interview. This is why I tried relying on a job placement agency. This way, I could probably get a chance to land a job that suits my qualifications.”I am sorry,” the agent handed me my application, ”we cannot hire you.””W-what? What do you mean?” I was confused.”I am not authorized to tell you the details,” she lowered her head as if she was guilty of something.”Don’t you have anyone whom I can talk to? I need to know what is wrong with my applications. Why am I rejected? This seems to be the same with the other companies I have applied for.””I will be honest with you,” she whispered, ”your resume is good, but I think there is a problem with your employment history. When we entered your name, it says there that you are blacklisted.”BLACKLISTED. Only one person came to mind when I heard the word. Stuart is the only person capa
*Patricia's POV*I never thought I'd cause Kaz and Vivienne so much trouble because of the kiss I gave Kaz in front of many people. It speculated about their fake relationship, which is why Kaz and Vivienne are now doing whatever they can to solve the problem. Vivienne even went further by kissing Mago in front of all the cameramen to prove that kissing among our circle of friends is normal. On the other hand, Kaz has decided to bring their fake relationship to the next level, which is to pursue their fake wedding.Everyone in the house was busy preparing for their pre-nuptial photoshoot. As expected, all my friends, including Stuart, were there. I tried to keep myself away from him, even though he had tried all means to talk to me. I love him, but it is not enough for me to forgive him and my cousin." Just let me ex-"" Explain?" I stopped him." Explain what? There is nothing to explain, Stuart. Your explanation can never change the fact that both you and my cousin cheated on me on
*Patricia's POV* It didn’t take long for Kaz to arrive. I told him what happened and asked him to take me to a bar. “Patricia, that’s enough,” Kaz tried to stop me from drinking another bottle of beer. “Don’t you dare stop me, Kaz Legaspi! I simply want to get wasted. Do you hear me?” I drunkenly uttered. “What do you want me to do just for you to stop drinking?” he desperately asked. “Sing to me a song, Kaz. I want you to sing me a song you will dedicate to me only for me.” Kaz did as I asked. He went to the mini-stage and dedicated Enrique Iglesias’ “Why Not Me” to me. I watched him sing passionately to me. Kaz often proved his love to me, but I continuously fell for the wrong guy here. Why can’t I just love Kaz? He is also a good catch – rich, handsome, very thoughtful – but the best of all is HE LOVES ME. Everyone in the place thought that he was singing the song for his fake fiancé, Viviene, so I felt like being a bitch. I stood from my place and walked towards the mini
*Patricia’s POV* “Sandra!” I couldn’t contain the happiness I felt upon seeing her. “This is Alexis, my daughter,” she introduced the kid next to her. “Hi, Alexis,” I lowered myself to greet the kid and invited them both to get inside the house. I am sure Stuart would be happy to see his best friend. Her arrival is timely since I do not have a maid of honor for my wedding. “Love?” Stuart called but froze upon seeing Sandra with me. “Love,” I smiled lovingly, “Sandra’s here. Look, she has a cute little kid.” I couldn’t tell if Stuart was happy, but I think it was because Sandra’s visit was so unexpected. Besides, we have not talked about her since he came back. “I- I think we should better go,” Sandra uttered, “we may have disturbed you.” “What are you thinking?” I stopped her, “You’re my cousin, and you are the best friend of my fiancé.” “F-fiance?” she obviously could not believe what I just said, so I got so excited to announce to her our engagement. “You’ve been so away s