I brought her to my study room and she sat on the couch near my desk. I opened the small cabinet beside my desk and took out some ointment and cotton. I also got the wet wipes from the desk. When I sat beside her, her eyes were looking down."Sit still. This may sting a bit!" I gently uttered. I began curing the corner of her lips. I dropped some ointment into the cotton and dipped it gently. The first time she was startled by the impact but as it went on, she began to relax."Listen to me well, Amy Leah. When it comes to them, always call me. Don't meet them alone. Do you understand?" I sternly told her while wiping her face with wet tissues."I had everything under control before you came!" she still insisted on her narrow-minded reason."And under control means you've been slapped?!" I threw the wet tissue and cotton in the trash bin and put the medicine back in the cabinet. "Seriously, Amy Leah, when will you learn? Sometimes I think you're blind or really just ~""Stvpid, I know.
Since we were the ones who saw their bodies, we were brought to the station to be investigated. Amy Leah kept trembling beside me. "Shh! Calm down. Everything will be all right!" I whispered in her ear while kissing her hair. She had been crying since the time we found out about George's death."President Zaborowski, you said that you received a call from George Bonifacio that he would take a week's leave!" the investigator asked me. We were inside a room with a huge glass window, I was familiar with this kind of room as I had seen this scene in movies."Yes! He said he was sick. I didn't ask further considering his age, I thought it was just normal!" I honestly replied."What about you, Mrs. Bailey? Had the deceased or his wife contacted you before?""No! The last time George and I talked was a week ago in de la Frontera Group. I had never seen his wife since my father's funeral!" Amy Leah responded. She tried to speak clearly although her shoulder bounced up and down. I stroked her
When I noticed her steady breathing, I stealthily crept down the bed and turned on the lamp on the side table. She moaned and spread her body then moved to the other side. I tiptoed to the door and turned off the light before she would woke up.I entered the door of my room and locked in. I glanced at my wristwatch and it was half past twelve. Alden could have already arrived. I took the phone from my pants pocket and called his number."President?" he answered immediately."Meet me in the study room!" I sternly told him and hung up not waiting for his response.I went downstairs and accidentally bumped into Donna who was in a hurry to go upstairs. "Oh! I will just put your clothes in your closet. How's she?" she questioned with authority."She is sleeping now. George and his wife were killed so don't mention anything sad for the next few days. She's still grieving the loss of her father and then this happened!" I explained to her making her clamp her mouth in her hand in shock."Oh!
Amy Leah's POV.."Donna, do you know where did Desmond go? He didn't go home last night!" I asked his housekeeper who was busy spraying the indoor plants with water."Oh! He went on a business trip with Miss Basile. I forgot to tell you!" she halted and faced me. "You woke up late today. Did you have a good sleep?" her voice was gentle and caring. Too much to be honest, if Desmond ordered them to act like this in front of me."I'm all right, now, Donna. Don't worry!" I smiled back at her and tapped her shoulder. "Do you know when will he come back?""He'll be away for a week so he'll be here on Sunday. Come, you must be hungry. I cooked your favorite!" she gently held my hand and guided me to the dining room."Ahm! Thanks, Donna but black coffee is fine with me. I'm not really hungry!""Oh, no! No!" Desmond told me to take care of you while he's away!" Donna shook her head disagreeing with what I would like to have for brunch. I indeed slept like a log last night."How come you only
Desmond POV.."I've been invisible for the past five years and this is the only time that an outrageous media chased after me. You know d*mn well I hate the media as much as I hate exposure!" I slammed the document on the desk while my stares were fixed on Guinevere who was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed together."What?!" she raised her hands in the air nonchalantly uttering as if what she announced yesterday on the media wasn't a big deal. "I think I did a good job. If that news spread on de la Frontera Group, then they thought you have moved on with your feelings for her!""You have a point. I have moved on and if they don't believe that, I don't need to prove it to anyone. What I'm trying to tell you here, Gwenny, is our objective of coming here should be discreet!" I gritted my teeth. If only I could tell her that exposing me could cause serious trouble in our plan, but I bet if she would understand.Also, telling myself I moved on wasn't even 100% sure. I felt a pa
Guinevere POV..Using my name to make connections was thrilling, especially when the person was from a noble family or a prominent person in society. It only took me a couple of minutes to pull something off. One reason why Desmond sometimes called me his secret weapon.However, today was different. I had been waiting patiently at the lounge of Bailey International for half an hour but the person I planned to speak with was said to be swamped with his work.I already flipped through the pages of all the financial magazines on the racks, my calves were aching from these more than 3 inches high heels, and I had been yawning for 20 minutes but Mr. Weasly's assistant told me to wait...wait for a moment ...wait for a while!I was done waiting!I rose from my seat and strode gracefully to the entrance door. The assistant hastily blocked me from stepping forward."Miss Basile, you are not allowed to enter without any appointment!" she raised her chin, my heels were my advantage. Although I
Amy Leah POV..I missed him and I hated that I missed his presence. This huge villa was empty and depressing without him. Even though Donna tried to entertain me with her witty jokes and scrumptious cooking and Iñigo also did his best to keep me occupied, I still wished he would come home now. Just forget that he was with Guinevere, she was his girlfriend anyway. Our situation was beyond impossible, and there was no hope for us to be back together but my heart and my mind always screamed for him. They demanded his presence.It was 4 in the afternoon here and it's gonna be 9 PM in London now. He hadn't called since he left and that was three days ago. I picked up my phone on the bed contemplating whether to call him or not."Ah! Whatever!" I granted. "Just a simple hello!" I convinced myself as I called him on the phone that he gave me. He's my only contact there, to be honest.I was waiting but it was just ringing. I was losing hope when finally he answered or SHE...answered!"Hello
I went to my room and just decided to stay there till he arrives. I turned on the TV to ease my boredom, changing channels from one show to another. But nothing is interesting to watch except for the fading cartoon network, the story of the legendary Tom and Jerry. I could say, this show was my parents' childhood.Even if the color was already vanishing and I had watched it a thousand times I could say, Tom and Jerry still made me laugh. It still had this effect on me~ to escape from reality for a while and just laugh out loud. Who would care if my voice echoed throughout the whole villa?"Haay! You're so funny. Your creator is a genius!" I muttered referring to the show.I tried other channels but nothing caught my interest. I turned off the TV and put the remote on the side table at once. I was about to go to the bathroom when my real phone rang. I glanced at the screen and narrowed my eyes at the caller. I picked it up right away."Hello, Warren? You've called?!" flabbergasted I as
After three months! . . It's spring! Flowers were blooming everywhere in the garden. The shades of red, yellow, pink, and white color the beautiful landscape Iñigo and Elsa had created. A tribute for their loyalty and care for me and my parents. We were still at Desmond's villa. I could always go back to our mansion, but the feeling of emptiness was still there. I felt like that big house was no longer the same home where I was born and raised. It was totally a stranger to me. I was watching the morning sunshine from the balcony of our room when a gentle knock disturbed my senses. "Come in!" that could be Elsa. "Señorita, we're ready!" indeed it was her. "Yes, Elsa. I'm also ready. This is it!" I gladly told her as I hugged her tight. Elsa was like a mother to me. She saw me grow up and she was also a witness of our love with Desmond. Speaking of my man, he must be waiting for me now. "Let's go then!" Elsa uttered with a smile. As we sauntered downstairs, we saw I
A soft warm peck on my lips made me moan as I opened my eyes and saw the person carrying me. I was like a baby lying on his lap. He was just staring at me, my man, worries were cleared on those mesmerizing orbs. "Hi?" I asked, a thin smile appeared on my face. "Hi!" he answered. "You scared me to death, you know that?!" then a sweet scolding. I chuckled at his cuteness, but he furrowed his brows at my response. "I'm sorry. How long was I asleep?" I asked not cutting my stares at him. "A couple of hours. Kota already left with Martin and Gwenny is with Adam. Everything is cleaned and fixed, sweetheart. We can go home now!" Desmond answered. I slowly got up as he gently held my back. "What about Donna, Elsa, Alden, and Dante?" I asked again worried something worse happened to them, especially Donna who had blood on the right side of her head when she shot Franco to death. "They're all fine. Donna is at the ward, resting. She's with the rest. Sweetheart, let's go home. You nee
I let out my loudest scream for help when the door banged open, followed by the figure of the man I would admit scared to see. It was Franco! His face displayed the darkest night I had ever seen. His eyes were flaming red to my vision, and his sneer was devouring me little by little. If there was a real face of a monster, it was him. "Don't come any closer, Franco!" my shock was cut in by Iñigo's deep voice. I could see the face of a man prepared to die with him. "Iñigo?!" I whispered with my trembling voice. I held the hem of his shirt as he moved forward, trying to shield me from the monster. "Old man!" even Franco's voice was scary. "You think you can frighten me with that lamp you're holding?" he laughed maniacally. I just noticed now, Iñigo was gripping the lamp he grabbed from the side table. I grasped his shirt tight, wrinkling the fabric, there's no way we could survive this dawn. Till I heard a loud gunshot and saw Iñigo's shoulder bleeding. I screamed, calling his
"You've failed me, Mrs. Amy Leah Zaborowski. You need to be punished!" he gritted his teeth while he was staring deeply at me. I shivered at the tension rising around us."Des, I- I""First, we have to get out of here!""But ~ But them!""Let Dante and the rest take care of the mess you've caused!" another sharp look before he pulled me up and led me to his car parked at the entrance.I glanced over my shoulder and saw Martin's men firing guns against Divina's goons. Screams and banging of furniture everywhere.It took us only an hour to arrive at Martin's villa. The way he maniacally drove his sports car was evidence that I was in complete trouble. He slammed the door after opening it ignoring that I was still inside."Desmond, let me explain!" my voice cracked as I followed him in quick stride. He wasn't just upset, he was mad.He aggressively turned around and yelled in my face. "You planned to deceive me by fucking me! You lied to me! What the heck were you thinking, Amy Leah?""D
Amy Leah POV.Months had passed....Everything was set. My plan to enter the lion's den was final. Over the past few months that I recuperated, I also asked Desmond to help me with some self-defense and how to hold a gun. At first, he was hesitant but I finally managed to get his approval. I told him it was for my own safety. The bodyguards he hired were not enough for me."Sweetheart, are you sure about this? Don't you really need us?" my husband asked after he rolled down beside me. We just had finished our lovemaking and I took control which to his surprise and satisfaction, he had no idea I could do it. Guess those months of training and building my strength paid off."Baby, I'm just gonna talk to Divina. The spy I assigned to the mansion is 100% sure she crept there every night once in three months to visit my dad's study room. There must be something important in that room that she can't get rid of or can't bring to her wherever she's hiding!" I confidently told him."All righ
"Ams, about that case, I can't help you anymore. I've been cut off!""I told you so!" Desmond interrupted making my eyes roll."Desmond, I need to speak with Adam alone, please!" I needed to get to the bottom of this. It was almost ten years and I couldn't wait for closure and justice. Justice for my father's name and George's death."No!" my husband urged."Desmond, please!""Amy Leah, you don't need to keep your talks with him a secret, okay? Remember, my parents were also victims of that fire...and my friend, Valerie!" the word Valerie came out only a whisper as he side-glanced at Adam who secretly took a glimpse of his reaction."Our best friend, Valerie!" Adam corrected."All right, no one wants to help me get closure. Then I guess I need to continue what I had originally planned!" I was losing my patience. I felt like I was left wandering alone in the dark wilderness."What?! No, Amy Leah. You almost got yourself killed!" Desmond uttered in a loud tone."Wait! I don't follow. Wh
I drove my way to where I was raised. The nest where I spent my childhood life. Although they were only strings of stories from my ex-fiance Warren and my best friend Kota, coz I couldn't still recall most of my memories, I had these weird feelings enveloping me upon stopping in front of this huge iron gate. Emptiness, grief, bliss, rage, and love. Most were love... I shook my head and bobbed it up and down as outlines of doodled past clouded my thoughts."Mom! Dad!" I whispered in the air.My eyes were deeply shut. My temples were pounding, and my head began to hurt like hell. Flashes of memories kept raging at the back of my head. Damn! I just wanted to scream and freak out.Till...A knock on my car window cleared my messy thought. I stared at the uniformed man deeply staring at me through the tinted window. He was checking who was inside.I removed my sunglasses and slowly rolled down the screen. Beads of sweat began emerging on my forehead and my breathing was unstable. But what
"Desmond, I thought you were working at home!" I immediately got my composure and strode toward him. I took a swift stare at the woman staring sternly at me. Martin's eyes were also fixed on me. These three were like, they were skinning me alive."Supposed to be but Martin told me you want to speak with him. Aren't you going to Dakota's flat?" Desmond's tone was flat and cold but beyond that I could feel rage."Been there and she told me that!" I shifted my glance at Martin. I needed to make a new lie. "Martin is blocked in their building. Is that true?" I questioned the mafia man.He cleared his throat first and nodded. The lady in the middle was stunned that her eyes would like to pop out."You're blocked? Martin, how could that be? Did that woman order the admin to do that!""FYI, her name is Dakota, missy!" I abruptly meddled glaring at her. She just stared back at me."Señorita, you might not remember me but we're friends. Well in a short while. I'm Guinevere Basile. Gwenny for s
Amy Leah POV.."Desmond, is that you?" the clock ticked 12, it was now midnight and Desmond just got home. Where had he been?"My bad, sweetheart. It's my fault. I invited Martin to have some drinks!" he hoarsely uttered.I could see his silhouette from the mounted lamp on the wall. His legs wobbled when he walked which only meant- he was drunk!I turned on the lights and the whole wide living room lit up. My man's shirt was a mess. His hair which was always combed well was disheveled. I rushed to his side when he was about to fall on the floor. Good thing his palm pressed the edge of the table by the door."Desmond, are you all right?" my worried voice made him lift his head and he was staring at me with unfathomable eyes. "Des!"He cupped my face, his thumb gently touching my lips. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you in the past!" he uttered softly, I could feel the pain in his heart but I couldn't understand what he was saying."Des, let's go to bed, sweetheart!" I told hi