Mariane woke up when she felt something wet on her hand. While holding it caused his forehead to furrow. When Mariane opened her eyes, she saw the person who caused her hand to get wet. Anastacia held her hands while silently crying.
“Mom? Why are you crying?” Mariane asked. She sat up on her bed and wiped her mother’s tears.
Anastacia sniffed. “N-nothing.” Anastacia’s voice broke.
“It’s just that… Today, you’ll be marrying a stranger. You can not blame me for worrying you. What if he’ll mistreat you? What if he’ll abuse you?” Anastacia stated.
Mariane heaved a sigh. “Mom… You already knew me. Did I let them bully me?” she asked, which made Anastacia shake her head. “So, you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Mariane reassures her mother that nothing will happen to her.
***
On the other hand, David woke up early to prepare for his reunion with Mariane. He was eating his breakfast while reading the file with a piece of information about the person Mariane wanted him to find.
As they discussed, David looked for the man who abused Mariane's mother, Anastacia. He found out that the man who ruined Anastacia's life had been dead for a long time. His name was Andrew Morgan.
‘I think this will be okay. Mariane will accept her father’s death.’ David thought while he looked at the folder that had Andrew’s details.
In just one snap, his secretary, George, came. “Master,” George informed him of his arrival.
“Is the ring that I ordered ready? Tell our servants to clean the house, especially my room, and make sure they will spare enough space for Mariane’s clothes next to my wardrobe. And tell them that the Queen will arrive later. Also, prepare our men. We will go to Mariane’s house to pick her up.” David ordered.
George excused himself and did as David had told him to do. He informed the servants about the arrival of the Queen in the mansion. Then, he went to the barracks and called their men to prepare.
After fifteen minutes, David finished his breakfast. He immediately went to the garage, where his men were waiting for him.
“Let’s go,” he ordered them.
In just two hours, David and his men arrived at the street where Mariane and her parents lived. The people in Mariane’s neighborhood couldn’t help but look at them with complete curiosity. They wondered why many cars came to their place with men in black suits on board. They were also wondering who will they came to visit in their area.
Later, the men in black suits formed two lanes, as if they were blocking both sides, where David would pass through. George opened the back passenger seat, and David came out of the car, making the people gasp.
“Is that… David Cruz?”
“What is he doing here?”
“Who will he pay a visit for?”
People keep gossiping about the newcomer. And they followed him through their gaze, in which house he would go. People were surprised when David stopped by in front of Mariane’s house.
“They went to Diego’s house?”
“What will they do there?”
“Will see later. I can’t wait to go to Anastacia later and ask why the famous businessman came to their house.”
George and David heard others kept on gossiping, but they just let them talk and be curious.
George knocked on the door for his boss. Anastacia welcomed them and opened the door wide so David could go inside.
“Good morning, Mr. Cruz.” Anastacia greeted him.
“Good morning, Mrs. Ramos. I came here to pick up your daughter.” He informed her.
Anastacia smiled weakly. “I know. But may I have a word with you for a second?” Anastacia asked as she looked at David awkwardly.
“Sure, madam. What is it that you want to talk about?” he asked.
Anastacia turned her gaze to George, who was standing next to David, before looking back at David. “I mean… If it’s okay, just the two of us.”
David signaled George to wait for them outside, and so George went out of the house.
“I know this was too sudden… And we only know you because we see you sometimes on tv. I honestly don't know what and who you are. I don't know if I can trust you with my daughter.” Anastacia took a deep breath.
“But as a mother of Mariane, I will ask you not to hurt my daughter. Either physically or emotionally. Mariane has been through a lot. All her life, she was looking for the protection and love of a father. All her life, Mariane did not show her weakness. Instead, she always keeps being strong and brave for me. But I know my daughter. She’s vulnerable like any other girl. Mariane has the purest heart, so I hope you take good care of her.” Anastacia asked a favor to David.
“Don’t worry, ma’am. I will treat your daughter as my Queen.” David promised.
After the conversation between Anastacia and David, Mariane came out of their room with her luggage. She looked at the two people sitting in the living room with a frown.
‘Are they talking about me? Why did they become silent after I came out of our room?’ she wondered. But later on, she shrugged her thoughts away. ‘Whatever it is, I hope he did not threathen my mom.’ She thought.
“Don’t bring so many clothes,” David told her, which made Mariane’s brows furrow.
“Why?” she asked.
“We will stop by at the mall later. I will buy you new ones.” He informed her.
But Mariane shook her head. “NO! I don’t want you to buy clothes for me. I have enough clothes. And I can buy it on my own if I have to.” Mariane refused.
David shrugged. “Alright, then… If that’s what you want.”
David called George to pick up Mariane’s luggage while Mariane bid goodbye to her mom.
“Mom, call me anytime if you need my help. I will come here right away.” Mariane said.
“Don’t worry about me, dear. I should be the one telling you that. Call me if you need me.” Anastacia said.
“Shall we?” David asked.
“Bye, mom. I will come here and visit you often.” Mariane hugged her mom tightly before they parted.
As they came out of the house, people in the neighborhood darted their eyes at them.
“So they came to pick up Mariane?” They looked at Mariane in disbelief.
“How dare she seduced the billionaire.”
“The nerve,” some of them looked at Mariane in disgust.
Mariane said nothing but followed David from behind. But David stopped, which made Mariane bump into his back.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
David did say nothing. Instead, he stood right next to her and held her hand, making the people gasp and envy her.
“George… Look at those people who kept looking at Mariane and make sure to punish them later.” Mariane got shocked at his order.
“No. You don’t have to.” Mariane pulled her hand away from his. “Don’t you dare do that to my neighbor! I know how powerful you are, but don’t use your power over those people.” She warned him.
David caressed her face and looked her in the eyes. “I just don’t want anybody to mess with my queen,” he said before he kissed her forehead, making the audience gasp in surprise and Mariane astounded.
‘What did he say? His Queen?!’
David and Mariane were riding in a car as they were heading to the mall. “What kind of wedding do you want?” David asked suddenly, which made Mariane frown. “What are you talking about?” Mariane wrinkled her nose as if she found him ridiculous at his question. “I mean... What kind of wedding do you want? Intimate, simple, fancy? Do you want us to televise our wedding?” David asked again. Mariane laughed in disbelief at David's question. “If you ask me, it would be better if there was no marriage. And I don't want my name attached to you. If you intend to tell the world that I am your possession, then don't be. I want a quiet life. So I can walk freely.” She stated. “That is not possible, my lady. You will marry me whether you like it or not.” David sternly said. “I know. That’s why I came here with you. Because I don’t have a choice.” Mariane said as a matter of fact. “Okay then. Let’s go to the mall first to buy you clothes, then will head after to the civil registrar’s office.
“Here we are. Welcome to your new palace, my lady.” David informed Mariane.Mariane couldn’t help but awe while staring at the gigantic mansion owned by none other than David Cruz.‘Wow… This guy I married is really rich. I couldn’t imagine staying at this kind of house.’ The size of this 30,000-square-meter mansion is staggering. After entering the gate, a park lawn will immediately greet you with a circular path for cars leading to the entrance. In the middle of the circle, there was a golden fountain fish design that catches Mariane's attention. Because of the light coming from the LED lights attached to the ground and focused on the fish, the fountain shines as if it were brilliant gold. “Is it made of gold?” Mariane asked, pointing to the fountain behind them.David turned to look at what Mariane was talking about. “How’d you know? Well, it was a mix of gold and cement. There’s a part of the fish that has gold. Can you guess which part of the fish has gold?” David challenged h
“What do you mean?” David asked in confusion.His brows furrowed when Mariane took a pen and a piece of paper. She sat on the cushion in the vanity mirror and started writing.‘What is she doing?’ he wondered.‘Is she talking about making a contract? No. I won’t allow her to give what she wants. I should be the one who will make terms in my own house and not her.’ He thought.David stood up and approached Mariane. He stopped behind her. David’s jaw clenched when he saw Mariane’s neckline. As if he wants to ravish her neckline and make a mark on it. And that thought makes him turned on. He suddenly has a boner just by looking at her neckline. While Marian was oblivious to what was happening in her back. She finished writing down the terms she wanted during her stay in his mansion. Mariane smiled in satisfaction as she raised her hand with a paper and turned around. But she got jolted when her hand, which was holding a paper, almost hit the middle of his thigh.Mariane looked up and gas
Mariane woke up early for her job interview. She decided to leave early to avoid the traffic because she still had a long way to go to the city, where she had an interview. A week has also passed since Mariane passed her CV to companies thru emails. Among the fifty companies she applied to, only three companies responded to her email and scheduled interviews today. Mariane is confident that she will pass the interview. Because apart from having experience at work, her school credentials were also good.But of the three companies she went to, none of them hired her after she was interviewed. And what surprised her was that after a staff member came in, while Mariane was in the middle of the interview, it immediately stopped. And they just tell her, “Sorry, the position you were applying for is already full,” or “we'll just call you.” The anxiety was evident on their faces as if they were afraid of something.Mariane frowned. ‘Couldn’t David have something to do with it? It is possible.
“It’s all thanks to you, Kim. Maybe I couldn’t get a job if it wasn’t for you.” Mariane sincerely said.But Kim shook her head in disagreement. “No, Yan. I didn’t do anything. It was you who made it. Don’t thank me. Besides, my brother didn’t do anything about it.” Kim leaned closer to Mariane and whispered, “Actually, my brother was too strict. He doesn’t want someone to dictate to him what to do.” Kim informed her, making Mariane nod slowly as if she could understand what Kim was talking about.“How about… I’ll treat you to a meal?” Mariane asked. Kim’s eyes twinkled as she felt hungry.“That’s a good idea, then! We have a lot of things to talk about too… Since we’ve seen each other in the convenience store. And you have a lot of explaining to do.” Mariane frowned at what Kim had just said.“Me? Like what?” she asked in confusion.“Why don’t you treat me to a hot pot first? I will tell you there.” Kim snaked her arms to Mariane’s and dragged her friend to the nearest hot pot along t
“Who is he?” Mariane, Mark, and Kim turned their eyes at the newcomer. “George? What are you doing here?” Mariane asked. “Who is he?” George asked again, not minding Mariane’s question. Mariane heaved a sigh and excused herself from her friend. “Excuse us for a while,” she said before she dragged George away from her companions. “What are you doing there?” Mariane pointed to the table of her companions. She was talking about George, asking her earlier who the guy was sitting beside her. She was disappointed as George suddenly appeared out of nowhere and abruptly asked who the guy was sitting next to her while looking at the guy accusingly. “You’re lucky that it’s not my boss who came and asked you that.” George simply replied. Mariane suddenly panicked when George mentioned her boss’ name. She looked around to check if David was there. ‘He’s here? Right now? But we just talked over the phone. Darn it.’ She thought. Mariane sighed in relief when she did not see David inside th
Mariane and David silently sat in the back passenger seat while George was their driver. Mariane leaned on the window while watching the stars in the sky while pouting. She was pissed when George interrupted their dinner again and sat at the table next to theirs, then she received a message from David telling her to go home. Mariane had no choice but to follow her party-pooper-husband. She didn’t even have to talk to her friend.“Why so gloomy, Mariane?” David looked at her sideways.Mariane glared back at him and did nothing to say. Instead, she chose to stay quiet and close her eyes to get some sleep while they were on their way back home. David snorted and decided not to speak with her again.The entire ride became quiet as no one wanted to speak until they arrived at their house. Mariane immediately got out of the car. She immediately went to her room, not minding David, who was following her from behind.‘I won’t talk to you anymore. Party pooper!’ Mariane snorted as she slammed
‘Give me an heir.’ Kim passed by Mariane’s desk, and she noticed her friend, who was staring blankly at her computer. She snapped her fingers to get Mariane’s attention, but it didn’t help. “Earth to Mariane!” Kim knocked on her desk as she exclaimed to Mariane’s ears, making the latter wince and rub her ears. “I’m not deaf, you know.” Mariane glared at her friend. “You’ve been spacing out for like minutes? What’s on your little brain thinking?” Kim asked, narrowing her eyes at Mariane suspiciously. “Was it a guy?” She added while giggling, making Mariane hiss. “Guy, my ass.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Mariane remembered what David had said to her one week ago. “And lastly… Give me an heir.” Mariane got astounded by what he said. ‘An heir?! Is he crazy? How can I give him an heir?’ Mariane gasped. ‘Could it be…’ Her eyes widened in horror. ‘No… No… No… This can’t be.’ She thought. Mariane immediately crossed her arms over her chest, as if she was covering all of her bo