The Haciendero

PROLOGUEAlexa almost dropped the birthday cake she was holding for her boyfriend, Maxus, when she heard the merging moans of two bodies inside his office.Oh, God. Anxiety surged through Alexa's chest. Were her suspicions about her beloved boyfriend finally about to be confirmed?She froze, afraid to peek through the small gap in the door that had been left slightly ajar and unlocked. There was no one else in the office. It was already seven in the evening. She had come to surprise him. She had pretended she couldn't make it and feigned that she had forgotten his birthday.Forget their special days? Not her. Never. Even though a storm was raging outside, with heavy rain and strong winds caused by a low-pressure area, she had pushed herself to drive home from Tagaytay. She had just attended a seminar there—her last one, as classes were about to go on break. Alexa was still a student, studying medicine. She was only in the preparatory stage at 22 years old, but she worked hard because

Chapter 2"What does she need?" Aslan asked coldly, his mind briefly drifting to the past, to the reason Alexa’s hatred for him had intensified—because of inheritance."Tuition? I just transferred money to her bank account last week," Mang Kiko replied.The butler shook his head. "She wants to be picked up."His eyebrows furrowed. Is the world about to end or is Mang Kiko playing a prank on him? Alexa, going home? Oh, come on.“I’ll cut off my manhood, Mang Kiko,” he answered flatly."Don't, it's a waste," Mang Kiko responded, making Aslan's brow furrow even more. "She’s stuck in Apalit.""And?"“She wants you to pick her up.”“She should have taken the bus, or any vehicle, and had her nanny bring her here.”“She’s alone.”God, really?He immediately rubbed his face. After seven years, here comes an interruption to his smooth life, all because of a breakdown? It’s been seven years since Alexa left him, and now she remembers him? Why the hell is she even coming back? Didn’t she swear n

Chapter 4Alexa spent the remaining hour of the journey home to the hacienda sleeping. She didn’t want to keep arguing with a malnourished leech. Isn’t that what she should call a woman like the one with Aslan? She was so clingy to the man, as if she was fighting to claim him.Ewww!Who wouldn’t latch onto a man who owned an Aston Martin, a car that was probably worth millions just by the bumper? And this Aston Martin was supposed to be hers, not this dirty, old, clingy rag’s."Alexa!" A loud shout pulled her from her deep sleep, but she suddenly felt dizzy when her forehead bumped against something hard.She held her forehead, seeing stars."Jesus!" Aslan exclaimed, which made her blink even though she was squinting.He too was holding his forehead, with one eye squinted.They had collided. Half of his body was inside the passenger side, waking her up."Did I tell you to get closer to me? This is such a disaster," she snapped at him, but he didn’t mind."Hurry up! I’m not Superman, I

Chapter 4.2Alexa couldn’t hear anything inside the house. Not even the clatter of the tin roofs outside reached her ears. The generator was completely silent, thanks to its silencer.As noisy as the roofs were outside, with the pouring rain and howling wind, the quiet inside her room was deafening.Thanks to the power of technology, the mansion’s lighting was now brighter and more efficient compared before. The Escobar estate had indeed undergone significant changes under Aslan's management. That thought occupied her mind as she stood by the window of her room, staring at a brightly lit building in a certain distance.Because the mansion stood on elevated ground, she had a clear view of the entire Hacienda Escobar. This estate had belonged to her father’s family for generations, yet it puzzled her why, according to her late mother’s last will, everything now belonged to Aslan.Her chest tightened. She felt a pang in her heart. Jealousy began to creep into her system once more. Why? W

Chapter 6Aslan let out a deep sigh as Alexa recklessly sped up his car down the driveway, exiting the garage.He licked his lips and shut his eyes at the sight of the vehicle driving away.It was his car, but he didn’t have the courage to say no. He had the power to stop her, but he never had the will.Fuck.She was still the same Alexa from years ago. No one could make her back down. He kept trying, but she was always defiant and unyielding.Earlier, he had taken a different route home. His shirt was slung over his shoulder, and though he hadn't had proper sleep, he froze when he saw Alexa hitting Donna with a broom.Jesus.He wanted to stop her and scold her, but he just ended up standing there, unable to approach and tell her to quit hitting Donna.He didn’t like the tension brewing between the two, but there was nothing he could do when both of them were so stubborn.The car finally exited through the gate and archway. It looked so small in his eyes, yet he kept staring."She sti