It was almost late at night when Mariane went home from school. She was apparently around the corner from their home when she heard her parents shouting and crying. Her forehead furrowed when she listened to her mother begging her father.“Diego, please... Don’t touch it. I worked hard to save it for our daughter’s tuition fee. I’m begging you.” Anastacia pleaded while clasping her hands as if she was praying.“I’ll give you money tomorrow. Just don’t get that money I saved for our daughter. It’s for Mariane’s school.”Diego spits on her, making Anastacia flinch. “I don’t care! If she wants to study, she should work!” Diego wiggles his foot as he was struggling from Anastacia’s grip.“Get off my feet before I’ll kick you!” He warned.Mariane's eyes widened, and she immediately ran the distance from where she was standing until she arrived inside their house. Mariane was panting with her hands clenched as she saw her mother Anastacia kneeling while hugging Diego’s leg. Her jaws tensed
It was three o’clock in the morning when Mariane got home to their house. She entered slowly, so as not to wake his mother. But it surprised her to see her mom, sitting on the chair, waiting for her to come home. Mariane noticed the dry blood on the side of Anastacia’s lips, which made her sigh.“I will treat your wounds,” Mariane said and took the plastic from her bag.She sat down next to Anastacia and began treating her mother’s wounds.“Where are you from? Why did you come home late?” She asked her daughter.“I found a job at a nearby bar,” she replied.“Why did you look for a job? You don’t need to work anymore, and I can still support your school fees.”“You don’t need to. Just give it to Dad instead. So he won’t beat you again. Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself,” Mariane coldly said.When she finished treating Anastacia’s wounds, she immediately stood up and went to their room. Exhausted, she threw her body on the mat and did not mind changing her clothes. She stared bl
(Back to present)Mariane stared blankly at the ceiling of their room. After she found out about who Mr. Sponsor was, she didn’t even come back to the party and asked Agatha and the bodyguard to drive her back home. She didn’t even get a chance to talk with Kim as her mind was filled with so much information about her sponsor.‘Why did he sponsor me in my school? All this time, he knew me before he met my parents. Why is he helping me? I need to talk to him’ Mariane was in deep thought and she didn’t notice David was already inside their room.“What are you thinking?” Mariane jumped in surprise and her heart suddenly raced as she came from a marathon.“H-How long have you been there?” She asked.“Not long enough. By the way,” David started removing his clothes not minding he was in front of Mariane, making the latter close her eyes and turned around. So she couldn’t see his naked body. “Agatha informed me that you left the party even though the program did not start yet. Why?” he aske
Stacey raised an eyebrow as she looked at Mariane in disbelief. “What did you say?” Stacey scoffed.“The audacity of this woman! How dare you talk back like that? Let me tell you what your place is in this house.-”“Excuse me, Miss Lewis. I don’t want to interrupt, but Miss Ramos here is Master’s wife. She has all the right to kick you out of this house,” George said.“You shut up!” Stacey’s voice thundered as she got pissed at George and Mariane. Gnashing her teeth, she pointed her finger at George and glared at him. “You are just a mere secretary, so you better not interrupt me. Without your boss’ order. I can even fire you if I want to. So you better shut your mouth and just do your job as a secretary.” Mariane’s hands were clenched as she silently listened to Stacey, who kept insulting David’s staff.‘Who is this woman? How dare she have the courage to threaten George? Does she really have the power to fire people here?’ She wondered.Mariane looked at the person beside her, who
“Are you sure this place is safe and David could not find us?” Mariane asked.“Don’t worry, this place is safe. Even Master didn’t know about this property.” George informed them. He fished out his key and opened the door. He ushered them inside the house.George let them roam around as he was busy putting their things inside the house. She and Agatha looked around the house. It was a simple bungalow-type wooden house. As they went inside, they were stunned. The house was fully furnished and clean. As if someone had cleaned it before they arrived.The furniture was made of wood from the living room to the kitchen. There were also three rooms. And each room had a bathroom and closet.“Who owns this place, by the way? It looks like it was well maintained.” Mariane ran her hand over the cabinet and table to see if there was dust. She even mouthed an oh when she noticed no dust on the furniture.George rubbed the back of his head, feeling ashamed. “This is mine, actually. I saved my money
“Y-you’re bleeding!” Mariane got horrified at what Agatha had just said.Mariane looked at her feet and saw blood. “B-blood…” she muttered. Her dizziness worsened, and her vision began to blur. ‘What is going on?’ she wondered until everything went black.“Mariane!” Mariane lost consciousness as she fainted on the side of the street.Mariane’s unconscious body fell on the road, which made Agatha panic. “Help!” she called for help.Out of curiosity, the people passing by stopped to see what was happening around them. The audience called for an ambulance to help them.“Mariane… Madame! Wake up!” Agatha kept tapping her face to wake her up. Until the help came.“What happened?” The rescuer asked.“I-I d-don’t know.” Tears pulled down her face as she looked at the rescuers. “M-my friend… She’s bleeding,” she said with her voice stuttering.“How long is she pregnant? Maybe she’s having a miscarriage.” Stunned, Agatha just stared blankly at the rescuer.“P-pregnant? I don’t know,” she mutte
“Jacob! Don’t run!” Mariane called as she chased his son, who was running inside the mall.She’s afraid her son will go to the escalator as he loved to ride on the escalator. He thought it was a toy.“Hey, Buddy. Where are you going? You shouldn’t run around. You might get into danger.”“Daddy!” Jacob called as he raised his head and saw a familiar face. He excitingly raised his hands and asked the guy to carry him.Mariane sighed in relief when she saw Jacob stopped from running.“You silly kid. You shouldn’t let your mom chase you. She’s too old to run around.” He slightly pinched Jacob’s nose, which made the kid pout.Jacob doesn’t want to touch his face, especially his nose as it easily gets red.“No. No. Pinch nose. Bad, Daddy.” Jacob wiggled his feet to put him down as he was pissed. Jacob knew his nose was now as red as a tomato.“Let me carry him,” Mariane took Jacob.“Thanks, George,” she said.“Did you guys eat?” he asked.“Not yet. We are not yet finished buying clothes for
David hurriedly went home to change his clothes and packed his things. He was planning to go to Country C and stayed there for a while to get his possession.‘You can’t hide from me now, Mariane.’ he thought as he saw pictures of her.When he saw the picture of George and Mariane together, his rage suddenly urged. He looks like he’s ready to kill someone who blocks his way. ‘Damn, you traitor! I won’t let you slide this time. You took my woman while I was away. I will kill you… you bastard!’ David tore the picture of Mariane and George. Then he lit his lighter and burnt the image of George.Suddenly, he remembered the other person who also betrayed him. ‘I should visit her before I leave.’ He picked up his car keys from the table and drove his car to his hideout. David stopped in front of the old building, where his men were waiting for him. He asked one of his men to park his car in the parking lot.As soon as he stood up at the entrance, his men greeted him with a bow. His domineeri
“Am I pregnant?!”David frowned at Mariane’s reaction.“Why do you look surprised? Didn’t you know?”David looked at her in the eye trying to figure out if Mariane was telling the truth about her not knowing their pregnant. But Mariane couldn’t stand to lie to him. She bit her lower lip and winced.“I was about to tell you after our wedding as my wedding gift, but it seems like you knew about it now.” Mariane pouted disappointedly.David sighed. “Love, you don’t have to be disappointed. Don’t worry. I will act like I never knew about your pregnancy.” David smiled while trying to comfort his wife.“By the way, who else knew about this matter?” she asked, alarmed.“I haven’t told anyone yet, except for Stacey.”“Oh,” Mariane suddenly felt sad and frightened upon mentioning the name of the person who cause her wounds in the cheek.David held her hand. “Don’t worry about her. She said sorry and will turn herself in at the police station. I also called some reporters to clear out your name
‘She’s pregnant,’ David kept on thinking about what the doctor had just said. And he couldn’t help but worry about Mariane’s condition as well.‘I should have known in the beginning. So, I could protect them.’ Suddenly, he remembered what Stacey did to Mariane.‘Stacey, you will pay for what you did.’ he thought.His grip on the steering wheel tightened as images of Stacey smirking at him appeared in his thoughts. David stepped on the gas to accelerate his speed. He was on his way to the abandoned building where they found Mariane. As soon as he arrived at the building, John immediately welcomed him.He remembered after knowing that Mariane was pregnant, he immediately called John to stop torturing Stacey. Because he wanted to do the punishment by himself.“Where is she?” David asked.“She’s on the top floor, Sir. Like what you said, we did what she does to Madam.” John informed him.“That’s good. You can have your rest. I can take it from here.”“But, Sir.-”“It’s alright. I’m okay.
If you wish to find your beloved lover alive, you better look for her now. Finder’s keepers, baby.“Who the hell send this message to you?!” Kim asked exasperatingly.After David received those cryptic messages from an unknown number, he immediately contacted Anastacia, Geneva, Kim, and John. But since Anastacia needs to take care of her husband, Diego, Anastacia needs to stay with him. So, to get her involved in the conversation, David called her and put the phone into a speaker phone.“I don’t know yet. But I have my investigator investigate the photo. Let’s wait for his call.”“Do you know where to find her now, son?” Geneva asked worriedly. “If you do so, don’t worry about Jacob. I will take good care of him,” she added.“I’m still waiting for the investigator’s report. Once we find out her location, we will immediately rescue her.”“I want to come!” Kim volunteered.“Are you nuts? What if something happened to you? Dr. Smith will kill me.” Mark butted in, which made Kim roll her
‘Where am I?’ She wondered.After a while, his stomach suddenly started to boil. Only then did he remember that he had not eaten lunch and had only eaten biscuits in the morning. His throat was also parched with thirst. In addition to that, Mariane is no longer comfortable in the gown she is wearing because apart from being heavy, she is also starting to itch and the fabric is sagging around her chest.Mariane tried to feel the surroundings while she tapped her foot to figure out if the floor was cement, wood, or on a road. Mariane tried to turn around the post but then she suddenly felt nervous as her heart stops from breathing when she tapped her foot and could feel nothing.‘Why is there no floor? Did they hang me up?” she wondered.Trembling Mariane, makes Stacey chuckle. Mariane becomes alert upon hearing the voice of a laughing woman. Just seeing her rival struggling makes Stacey happy.“Hmm!!! (Who are you?!)” Mariane hummed as she couldn’t speak properly.From giggling, Stacey
It was a traditional church with wooden pews on each side of the aisle but because of this special occasion. They covered the entrance and down the aisle with vines and festive candles lighting the way to their future. Their chosen flower arrangement group elegantly designed the inside of a church. They created an arc at the entrance with mixed chrysanthemums and pink and white roses. People and media groups who got invited to the wedding of the century gathered inside the church.The media groups were busy preparing their camera at the back, following the other guests invited to the wedding. The wedding coordinator talked to the entourage about their position as they walked down the aisle later. Jacob fell asleep in the chair while Geneva took care of him. Next to Geneva were Anastacia and David. David was constantly blowing his breath while rubbing his hands on his knees. The groom must have been feeling anxious because of his wedding.“Are you all right?” Anastasia asked.“I don’t
After David left her alone in the room, the make-up artists and the wedding planner came to check on her. She needs to get ready, as the ceremony at the church will start soon. The make-up artist and the hair stylist started doing their assigned job. And it was too late for her to cover up the lovebite David made on her neck.‘Dammit!’ Mariane cursed in her mind.“Good morning, Miss Mariane,” the crew greeted her. But they turned all their eyes on her neck that had a love bite, and they all went silent as they looked away.Kim entered the room and was about to greet her friend when she noticed the mark.“Good morning- oooh… Seem like someone just sneaked around.” Kim teased as she walked in Mariane’s direction.Mariane rolled her eyes as she tried to hide the embarrassment she felt. Her cheeks were now as red as tomatoes. Kim suddenly held Mariane’s chin and tilted it sideward, which made Mariane slap her friend’s hand.“Stop it, will you?”But the best friend of the year grinned. “Wh
Everyone is busy with the arrangements for the wedding to be held today. David is in their house and is preparing for his wedding, along with his mother Geneva, and his son, Jacob.Since Geneva apologized to them, she has recovered from her grandson Jacob. he always borrows the child from them. At first, Mariane was hesitant to lend Geneva to their son. But when he saw a grandmother's love for her grandson and a sign of sincerity in asking for forgiveness, he allowed her to borrow his son. And now they can't stop the grandmother from spoiling the child to buy toys and food.“Mom, you can go now. But can you bring Jacob with you to the venue? I have something to do here first.”Geneva frowned as she noticed David was taking deep breaths as if he was confused and restless. He was even pacing back and forth as he was feeling nervous.“Oh-okay. Are you sure you’re okay, son?” she asked worriedly.“Y-yeah, Mom.”Geneva raised her brow while scrutinizing her son in disbelief. “I thought you
After David announced his marriage to Mariane in a press conference, the media did not stop Mariane. Everywhere Mariane goes, there are paparazzi who are following her and she even beat a famous actress because she is always in the news. Even their son Jacob can no longer attend school properly, because of the reporters and the inquisitive parents of his classmates.One day, Mariane and Kim went out to the Salon to pamper themselves. Because it will be three days before the wedding of the century happens. Mariane and David’s wedding. But as soon as they come out of the said Salon, the reporters suddenly popped out and started asking them questions.“Ma’am, can I request your interview about your upcoming wedding with a well-known businessman, David Cruz?” “Excuse me. We don’t want to get interviewed.” Kim interrupted them, but the stubborn reporters didn’t listen and continued asking Mariane some questions.“How does it feel to be married to a David Cruz?”Kim tried to cover up Maria
One year later,Mariane’s wounds healed, and she could walk properly without anyone’s help. They went back to their everyday life. Their son, Jacob, is now a grade-one student at a prestigious school. Mariane started to build her new accounting firm with the help of David. And David is back to being a workaholic aside from special occasions and holidays. He often went home late and went on business trips now and then.After a year of living together, Mariane and David’s relationship is fine. David asked Mariane to marry her for the second time. At first, Mariane refused when she let David stand up. The people around them turned silent as they thought Mariane would reject his proposal.“Why do we have to get married… again?” Mariane asked when David proposed to her while they were having a family dinner.“Because you deserve to have a proper wedding,” David explained.“But we’re already married. Plus, preparing for the wedding is just,” Mariane sighed. “Stressful and expensive.” Marian