CHAPTER 7Yza still couldn’t get what happened to her last night out of her mind as she walked along the school pathway, hugging her bag. She couldn’t understand why she felt so sad because of how Adam had treated her. She didn’t feel regret, but why did she feel so heavy-hearted due to the insult she received? Did she look like a prostitute who needed payment?When she woke up, her master was gone. It seemed like he had left for another country, leaving her with a kiss she would always remember as an insult.“Hey!” Tiffany suddenly appeared by her side.She quickly turned to her friend, who had a big smile on her face.“Good morning, Ms. Brina. Why do you look like you’re mourning on a Monday?” Tiffany teased.Yza examined her friend closely and frowned, “Have you ever been paid after a kiss?”Tiffany was momentarily speechless, and then shook Yza’s shoulders. She was almost dizzy from the vigorous shaking of her friend.What the freak?“Oh my! Did DJ kiss you? Yahoo!” Tiffany scream
CHAPTER 8Yza gave DJ a simple smile as they stood facing each other at the gate of the De Lorenzo mansion. He had picked her up from school and was now escorting her home. Time was getting a bit tight because the group had to practice for their upcoming defense the next day. Due to DJ’s concern for her safety, he had called her to pick her up and make sure she would not take a taxi alone.“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning,” DJ said to her, gently caressing her cheek as she clutched her Accounting books.She was about to nod when two of his employer’s men, who had a hostile look in their eyes, emerged from the gate. “He’s my friend,” she told them, but they just stared at her.“You can’t pick her up. We’ll take her to her school,” one of them, whose name she knew to be Shelton, said firmly, while the other, named Blake, agreed.Her mouth dropped open at what she heard. She glanced at DJ, who seemed to be getting irritated by the two.“What right do you have to say that? You didn’t ev
CHAPTER 9Yza fell asleep while waiting for the doctor to come out of the emergency room and for DJ to arrive. She immediately reached for her phone as soon as she opened her eyes, but it was no longer in her bag or in her hand."What's going on?" She looked around repeatedly, searching under the chair, but her phone was nowhere to be found.Who would take it? It's an old, phased-out Nokia E51. Why would anyone be interested in her broken phone? What kind of high-class hospital was this, and who would bother with her outdated device?Not far away, she noticed Blake standing and poking at something. Maybe he took my phone.She subtly stretched her neck to see what the man was poking at, and to her surprise, it was an expensive smartphone.Darn it! She slumped into a chair in frustration. She almost accused someone wrongly. It's impossible that he's the thief, given how nice the phone he's using is.But it wouldn't hurt to ask. She got up and walked over to the man leaning against the w
CHAPTER 10Yza’s car glided smoothly through the dark road, her gaze repeatedly checking her wristwatch. It took them a while to get going because Shelton had some tinkering to do with the car’s engine, and she had no idea what he was up to. It must have been about thirty minutes before they finished, and now they were probably close to DJ’s condo.Before they even reached their destination, Shelton drove the car through a fast food drive-thru, and with the multitude of items ordered, he piled them all on her and took one for himself.“What’s this? Why so much?” She asked, puzzled, looking at the pile of food.She was clueless because it seemed like food for ten people, and there were only three of them.“It’s an order from the boss. We’ll be in trouble if you get hungry,” Blake replied, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.Now her jaw dropped. She was genuinely amazed by everyone’s actions around her. It would take a lot of courage for her to say that her boss’ intentions were dif
CHAPTER 11Yza hurriedly ran down the hospital corridor, trying to reach the Emergency Room as quickly as possible. She had just come from DJ’s worthless condo, crying all the way. Life had taken a cruel turn, leaving her abandoned by the only person she thought she could run to for help.“Miss Yza, be careful not to trip,” Shelton reminded her, but she didn’t pay attention. He and his companions were carrying the food they had bought for her, but she left them behind, causing the two of them to take big steps to catch up with her.As she turned the corner, she bumped into her grandmother’s doctor, causing her to stop running and discreetly wipe away her tears. “Yza, dear, your grandmother is already in her room. Don’t cry; we still have time for her operation,” the doctor said reassuringly. Yza forced a smile in response.“We hope that when we find the person who will match your Grandma ’s kidney, her body won’t reject it. But it’s a rare case to happen if your grandmother’s a perfec
CHAPTER 12Yza was fast asleep on the single bed, which was positioned against the wall. She held onto a pillow tightly, her body curled up to fend off the cold from the air conditioning earlier. However, she now felt warm and something was draped over her trembling body. She had been too lazy to get up, so she just clung to the pillow. But why did she suddenly have a blanket now? Who had covered her?She had to wake up early because it was her defense today. As she remembered that, she jolted awake. She closed her eyes again due to the harsh light coming from the ceiling, but she opened them once more when she thought she saw the silhouette of a man sitting alone on the sofa, facing her.Rapist! Her mind screamed, and her eyes widened in fear. She even pinched herself. However, it wasn’t a rapist sitting in her grandmother’s hospital room, but her boss.Had she made it home? She glanced at him; he was pretending to sit on the sofa, staring at her. She immediately felt self-conscious
CHAPTER 13 ADAM couldn’t believe what he just got in mind when he heard about Yza’s problem. The woman he had been watching for a long time since he saw her come to his mansion about a month ago. Yza has that pretty face he wasn’t able to brush off his mind who were talking to his trusted Grandma Eli… Adam was going down the stairs while buttoning when he heard the unfamiliar voice of a woman in the kitchen of the mansion. It was giggling and he felt like it was still young. “Boss, ten minutes before the flight leaves.” Shelton said to him while standing at the main door but he just raised his hand as a sign that he should not remind her anymore. He looked again at the opening of the kitchen but because his kitchen was so big, he couldn’t easily see the helpers there because the kitchen and working table were at the other end. “Who’s here?” He asked the staff with raised eyebrows. “Ah, Grandma Eli’s grandchild, boss.” He was still smiling so his eyes suddenly became sharp
CHAPTER 14"UY, what's that?" Tiffany nudged Yza while she was sitting in the canteen after their defense. Her friend was carrying a soft drink and four sandwiches, while Yza had only one. She had lost her appetite, especially now that she saw the marriage contract between her and Adam. Her boss moved so quickly. How did he manage to obtain a CENOMAR without her knowledge? What kind of magic did he perform? Money could indeed make people do or acquire anything they wanted.What she didn't know was whether their marriage was genuine or just for show. Maybe the document in front of her was not even registered at the municipal office. She looked at her friend and said, "Marriage contract," with no emotion.Tiffany sat down beside her and began to eat while glancing at the open folder. "For whom—yours and DJ's?" she asked, causing Yza's face to contort in frustration. "Don't mention him to me, Tiff. He's despicable. I caught him with not just one but two other women," she recounted in dis
Yza was frozen in her seat when she heard a familiar sweet voice fill the entire function hall after the wedding."I thought I wasn’t ready, For my heart to beat again But suddenly, you came into my life…"She stared at her husband as he walked out from behind the improvised stage. He had said he was going to the bathroom, but here he was, about to sing.His eyes immediately sought her face and then showed a very light but heartwarming smile.She automatically felt very emotional. Who wouldn’t be moved if someone as handsome as him serenaded her in front of everyone on their wedding day at the church?And in fairness, his voice was beautiful. He had a hidden talent for singing, but just like his personality, it was very hidden and hard to reach. And with this Tagalog song, the first words that came out of his mouth seemed to fill her heart with love—love for her and for the two-month-old babies in her womb. Everything was given to her by God. If the challenges they went through were t
Yza furrowed her brow as the taxi driver dropped her off right in front of the condominium where she was staying, after she got out.The condominium across from AD condominium? She only learned the name of that building now, despite having lived across from it for such a long time.She walked inside and the guard greeted her with a smile. “Are you going home here, Ma’am? Not to the other side?” The guard joked, to which she just smiled.What a gossip.When did Adam start living there? Was that the new place her grandmother mentioned where her husband was staying? So, they were right across from each other?She couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the thought that maybe Adam had been secretly watching her, out of her sight and knowledge.“I’m heading to my husband’s place,” she told the guard and showed her name tag, which he quickly looked at.“Ah, to Sir Adam. Go ahead, Ma’am. He told me that if any beautiful woman comes by, I should let her in right away.” The guard said, but it
53Yza was momentarily stunned by the woman in front of her. Her brain couldn't process the simple instruction the woman had just given her, telling her that Adam wanted her to go to the main building of the company again. What could he possibly need from her this time? She had just come from there. She had also just been here. It seemed like her husband's mind was slowly unraveling."Ma'am Yza?" The woman in front of her called out since Yza had been staring blankly for a while."H-Huh? O-Okay, I'll go," Yza replied, still not fully aware of what she was saying.She glanced at Tiffany as she sang while looking at her computer."Bring back the sweetness of love, let the heart that loves be heard again..." Tiffany sang, her shoulders shaking with the rhythm."Awwooohhh..." her friends joined in, causing Yza to laugh softly before standing up."Do I have to go, Tiffany?" Yza bit her finger nervously.She suddenly felt uneasy, thinking of facing Adam again.It reminded her of when she fi
52Yza went straight to branch five after talking to Adam, but several hours had passed, and her anger still hadn't subsided. She felt like she was going to explode from the mix of anger, jealousy, hurt, and love. She didn’t know why she felt this way, but it was as if her feet were pulling her back to the main building so she could slap him without stopping.She felt that her attempt to throw the vase there wasn’t enough.Frustrated, she bent over the desk and started crying again, so she grabbed her hair in frustration.“Are you okay, bf?” Tiffany asked her from the table across. She was surprised, but Yza shook her head repeatedly.“I’m not okay. It was so wrong for me to go to his office. I was so... disgusted. I’m angry because he didn’t say anything. He’s still closed off to me.” She started crying again and buried her head in the desk, crying quietly.“He doesn’t love me anymore. He thought that money could ease the pain I feel. He doesn’t love me anymore, Tiffany. He loves som
51The taxi window automatically rolled down as it reached the guardhouse entering the ADL Motors building—main branch."guard..." Yza said to the two guards, who immediately stood upright when they saw her face."Ma'am Elyzabeth Alexa," they said in unison, making her furrow her brows.Why did they recognize her?"Go ahead, Ma'am," the man said, so she nodded, though still confused.The driver continued driving into the driveway while smiling.When she got out at the main entrance of the building, she immediately saw a billboard with Adam’s face on it. He had that fierce look. So arrogant, yet so cowardly and childlike in his actions and decisions.Deceptive! Her head heated with anger.As she entered the building, she froze in shock upon seeing her own face on the large tarpaulins around the area.Why was her picture up there? Elyzabeth Alexa Brina-de Lorenzo, CEO of ADL Motors.What kind of nonsense is this? Her eyebrows furrowed, and it seemed like smoke was coming out of her nose
Yza was getting some fresh air on the apartment balcony. It had been months since she last did this, ever since she and Adam got married. Now that she was back in the apartment, she would often step out for some fresh air in the evenings to relax and clear her mind from overthinking.Lately, she's been very emotional and doesn't even know why. Maybe it's because she misses her husband, who seems to have completely forgotten about her.She was starting to fall into deep thought again. She was supposed to be relaxing, but stress filled her mind instead.She missed Adamson so much, and there were times when she wanted to call or text him, but she wasn’t sure if his number was still active. On top of that, she felt embarrassed. She didn’t want to seem desperate, especially since he distanced himself from her.She wasn’t proud, but she was discreet when it came to handling situations like that.She glanced at her phone again. She was looking at the only picture of Adam she had, and once ag
WEEKS passed so fast.Still, Yza was in the process of learning to live her life all alone. She would join Tiffany for meals, who almost always brought groceries, and never missed bringing her favorite imported chocolates. Every single piece of those chocolates reminded her of Adam. The only difference was, they didn’t come from her husband.Tiffany’s boyfriend was quite impressive. Even though they weren’t married yet, he was already spending a lot on her. Yza thought she was just lucky and happy for her friend. Maybe it wasn’t meant for her to be happy for the rest of her life with the true love she had found.She had been staring blankly at Adam’s mansion for a while now, unable to get out of the taxi. She was deeply in debt to her friend because of her daily expenses, including her allowance. What could she ask from her grandmother, who couldn’t work and was also being supported by Adamson? She hoped she could graduate soon so she could take care of her grandmother and support her
When Yza woke up, Adam was already gone. She had expected it, but it still hurt to open her eyes and not see her husband.Her eyes immediately welled up, and tears rolled down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away.Her husband was gone, but what remained was the small ache in her heart. Was last night really their last?No one knew.She longed for a lifetime of love in his arms, but she didn’t want to be trapped forever with someone who couldn’t trust the sincerity of her love. Moreover, she was hurt by the revelations he admitted, that he hurt others just to win her, but he couldn’t stand by her.She already knew. Adam had asked her to stay with him only because he needed her, but deep down, he always doubted she wouldn’t leave him for someone else. He nearly tied her down, just to keep her from escaping. But he probably felt guilty when one day, he suddenly declared his love for her.He felt so guilty to tie her in a relationship where there’s no trust because she truly believ
ADAM lovingly raked Yza's body. His eyes were filled with tears at that event in their lives but his grandmother seemed right that he needed to find himself and find where Yza was in him. Pain strikes his chest like lightning, gashing his heart several times. He saw his wife crying silently in pain. Her eyes were closed and she was waiting for him to possess her. He'll get back to it when he's ready and hopefully it'll still be there by then. He has to be strong enough and set his mind, make it ready to accept something positive especially the negative ones. He must learn how to stand in equality. He must learn how to accept failures and not just winning alone. If he is always a winner, he should learn to accept defeat. He finally took it off and kissed it on the lips. He positioned himself in between her thighs and started poking her center with his hard manhood. His hands roamed his body with no tenderness. It was as if it affected every corner of his body. He loves ev