Chapter 24Aslan slept deeply because of his fever. By midnight, he was sweating profusely, and Alexa tirelessly wiped his sweat away.Eventually, he started to feel better.He opened his eyes when he felt something heavy on his stomach. What greeted him was Alexa’s face. Her head rested on his stomach while she sat on the floor.He smiled. This was the first time in years that her face was the first thing he saw upon waking up.He placed his hand on her head. Her arm was resting on his morning salute. He touched her cheek and lightly brushed the corner of her lips.Damn.Her eyes fluttered open, and she immediately pulled away.“You’re harassing me!” she exclaimed. Realizing where her hand had been, she quickly withdrew it.“Ew!” Alexa added, looking utterly disgusted.He was left dumbfounded, finally closing his mouth.Fine. He’d take the blame for being a pervert, even though she was the one who had her hand near his zipper.Her reactions were baffling.Was she pretending to be inn
Chapter 25HE is not into putting his actions into words. That’s how Alexa understood what Aslan had said, lingering in her mind as she drove back to the estate.Love...He mentioned love to her. Oh my gosh! Did she go deaf or did she mishear him? What love? It’s impossible that Aslan suddenly feels love for her, especially since he only arrived recently, and all they ever did was fight whenever they saw each other.What love was he talking about? It seemed so hard to believe.She glanced at the side mirror and the rearview mirror. Aslan was there, behind her, riding his motorcycle all the way home with her.Even though he wore a helmet and his face was hidden, he still looked like the kind of man women would turn to look at. In short, he was still handsome, even with just a jacket, helmet, and motorcycle showing.Was Aslan serious about what he told her? Was it right to think that maybe the son of her adoptive parents liked her?She was confused now. She didn’t know whether to believ
Chapter 26Alexa's tears fell onto the paper she was holding. Why is this happening? the young woman asked herself. Her entire life, she had been led to believe she was a heiress, set to inherit the billions of wealth passed down from her ancestors to her father. From the very beginning, she thought she was the princess of Escobar. She acted like a señorita, only to find out that even before she was born, there was no wealth left for her.Where did it all go? Was it spent or where did it end up? She wanted to believe it went into the business, but where is it now? She hadn't inherited a single thing. If she calculated it, she might be poorer than a rat.Her parents left her confused, clueless, with many questions running through her mind.It hurts to think that her parents, whom she had admired all her life—especially her daddy—had done this to her. It seemed like she had been wrong about them all along.At least they were quiet now, while she, still alive, was a mess—humiliated and i
Chapter 27Aslan could no longer do anything because the truth was being demanded by the moment. He could no longer protect Caroline's secret. Besides, Alexa was right. He wouldn't want to make her look even more foolish. He should have said something a long time ago, but he followed Caroline's request.He glanced back slightly. The girl was now following him, staring blankly at the air.He's kind of afraid of what this woman might do now that she knows everything. Will she leave?Aslan went straight to his room after going upstairs. He left the door slightly ajar. He got inside first since Alexa wasn't there yet. He opened the vault and quietly took the diary that he had only looked at the other day.Alexa peeked through the door, and Jumbo greeted her."Come in," he said to the girl."Just here. Give me whatever you're going to give me. It's too dangerous to come inside your room," she said, so he kept his smile to himself."It's not. Come here and get this thing. This is what your
Chapter 28Geronimo was accused of raping a woman. That was the allegation against his father when he worked in Saudi. It was puzzling how an only son like his father chose to work abroad instead of taking over as a hacienda owner.It was his father's choice. He didn't want to cultivate the land, according to his mother, and because of his defiance of his parents, he went abroad and worked as an engineer at an airport. But during the third year of his contract, a terrible incident happened in Geronimo's life.A woman entered his father’s life—a young woman.It wasn’t rape. That’s what his mother’s story insisted. The woman had consensual sex with his father, but when she woke up, she started screaming that it was rape. Since the woman had just turned legal age, Geron’s father was charged with a crime despite being innocent.What hurt the most—and what Alexa couldn’t accept—was that her mother, Caroline, believed it wasn’t true. Her father claimed nothing happened. Caroline believed hi
Chapter 29The moment Alexa held onto his waist for support, he inwardly smiled. She was now riding behind him. It was a huge miracle that he was able to get her on without any arguments. He felt so sorry for her. Her eyes were sad when she stepped out earlier."Have you eaten yet?" he asked her."Not yet," she replied as they passed by Sharon, who was watching over Jumbo to make sure he peed. "Bye, Jumbo!" she yelled.The dog barked, so he honked the horn as they were leaving the yard."We're going to the tower. I'm going to collect some rent, then to the mall and the commercial building. I'll have you eat at the mall," he told her."You have so much to collect. Aren't you afraid of getting robbed?""There are no robbers in Escobar, Lexa. They’d think twice if they plan to rob me. They know I own the land.""You should still have guards," she replied, making him chuckle a bit."That’s not for me. Everyone living here is part of our team. If there are any newcomers, they're just busin
Chapter 30Alexa was feeling uncomfortable while eating with Aslan. She was no longer the Alexa who acted like a boss, with raised eyebrows whenever Aslan was in front of her.She barely took a bite, as though she didn’t want to eat at all, because every grain of rice she would swallow reminded her of the effort Aslan had put in, since he would be the one to pay.She was becoming really annoyed. She wanted to cry. How did her situation end up like this? She was already putting on a brave face in front of him. How could she know if he was just pretending to act indifferent, while secretly laughing at her on the inside? She felt ashamed. Her whole life, it felt like she had been scraping ice with her bad attitude toward him, when in reality, it seemed like she was the one who was supposed to serve him."You won’t be full doing that," Aslan said, though his gaze remained fixed on the food.He continued to eat without stopping. He was wearing plastic gloves, eating with his hands. He orde
Chapter 31SO, that explains everything.That was what Aslan had in mind as he pulled Alexa out of the mall.They went to the parking area. It was raining again. He thought the weather would improve for good since the LP was supposedly dissolved, but it turned out there were still some showers. He couldn’t leave Alexa here in the mall. There were enemies around, and he couldn’t leave anything of his unattended.It was clear, and he heard it. He had figured out where the money he sent had gone, the one that vanished like smoke. It was with Maxus.He stood still for a moment, watching the rain. Alexa was beside him."Aslan..." Alexa said next to him.He let go of her and stuffed his hands into his pockets, but still didn’t look at her.Alexa blinked. She didn’t know how to explain herself. She knew she badly needed to explain it to him. It was his money, even though it came from her shares.Again, she didn’t have any right to anything in the hacienda because every penny had been paid to
Chapter 41"Even just this once, Ma, think about yourself," Aslan said with a sigh as he watched his mother cough every now and then.She had gone to the bathroom several times to spit, and even though she wasn’t saying anything, he knew something wasn’t right."What did the doctor say about your illness?" he asked, confused. He didn’t even know if she was receiving any proper treatment.And whether he admitted it or not, it made a difference when a private doctor attended to a patient with a serious condition."I have medicine from the center. Now that we're here in Escobar, I'll register here to get free medicine again.""But you need rest," Aslan insisted to his mother. "Why do you still need to help Balbon and his team? There are already three of them working construction. Don’t tell me they’re making you feel obligated.""I need to help so we can build a house and buy a small plot of land in Aklan."He shook his head, looking away in frustration. Buying land and building a house—
Chapter 40Aslan couldn't find the two friends at the hotel when he arrived. He was on a motorcycle to get there faster. Now, he was clearly impatient, unsure of where to go next. He stood with his arms crossed near the entrance of the hotel, thinking about his next destination.He pursed his lips as he observed the passersby. Maybe they went to the church, but the receptionist had told him that the two had left a while ago, almost an hour ago.He stood there, arms crossed, but his face immediately soured when he saw Donna's motorcycle. She quickly parked in the parking space and angrily got off."You, idiot!" she immediately shouted, making him scratch his head.Here she goes again, trying hard to entertain herself."Donna, come on," he said lazily."Don't 'Donna' me! You're about to marry a lunatic, huh?!" she yelled at him, her voice loud and piercing.His temper flared up again, and he thought he might strangle her if he didn't control himself."Who told you that?" he answered cal
Chapter 39Aslan’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw Lorna at the stairs."Alexa?" he asked the maid, "Is she still asleep?"His head throbbed from the hangover. He really hated drinking. Why did he even think about drinking just because of his mom?"She's awake already, sir.""Tell her we'll have breakfast together," he said, descending the stairs as his head ached."Well, the señorito can leave."He immediately stopped in his tracks, almost snapping his neck from the sudden turn of his head."What do you mean, leave? Give me my key! She can't come back to Manila!" he angrily said."N-No, señorito. You're mistaken. Leave, as in going to town. She took her car."He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he almost fell down the stairs. Damn Lorna, she nearly scared him. He swore that no shadow of Alexa would escape him now.He’s a very changed man now. He doesn’t let go anymore. He grips."Next time, watch your words, Lorna," he said irritably."Y-Yes, señorito. My apologies. I meant she
Chapter 38WHAT THE FREAK? Alexa’s eyes widened as she quickly turned her gaze toward Aslan when he suddenly got off of her and staggered. He didn’t even make it to wherever he was heading because he slammed into the wall. "Aslan!" She screamed and immediately sat up. She quickly adjusted her clothes since one of her breasts was exposed. Shameless. Even her panties seemed to have shifted, so she fixed those too. This guy was so annoying. He was able to handle her while Maxus couldn’t. Totally unfair. Even though her cheeks were flushed, she forced herself to approach Aslan. He was leaning against the wall, looking like he might vomit, so she quickly helped him. "Are you okay? You're drunk, but you only had three bottles," she said, not mocking him in that situation. "I'm not a drunk," he replied, almost making her laugh. Maxus, on the other hand, would stay out drinking until morning. When she scolded him for it, he would get mad, saying he was already exhausted from work and she was
Chapter 37Alexa peeked from behind the wall, watching Aslan drink alcohol. She couldn't sleep because his offer kept bothering her, giving her a massive headache.She had asked her friend in Manila, Bea, if she should accept it. They had just finished chatting about everything, and Bea knew her current situation.Bea had asked why she was having such a hard time deciding. It should be easy to say no, she said. Why was Alexa so affected?Why, indeed?Bea also mentioned she wanted to see Aslan. She even suggested Alexa take a picture of him.Now, here she was, peeking from behind the wall but already distracted. Aslan was drinking alcohol, his food paired with roasted lechon."Must be nice if lechon was just your snack," she thought.Her phone vibrated, so she quickly checked the chat."I'm waiting here, Alex. I want to see your brotherhood," Bea said, prompting her to prepare her camera.Alexa made sure the flash was turned off. Pretending to use her phone, she stepped out from behind
Chapter 36Aslan checked the hotel to see if it was already safe for Alexa to meet Janice. He noticed Maxus’s car parked outside, and the man stepping out while pulling his luggage.So the guy didn’t leave yesterday after all. He really stood his ground. Well, at least now the stubborn idiot is finally leaving.He got out of his car as Maxus forcefully tossed his bag into the backseat of his vehicle.Aslan just stared at Maxus as the man irritably placed his hands on his hips and arrogantly kicked the car's wheel.Maxus turned in his direction, and Aslan, hands in his pockets, just continued to look at him."You…" Maxus growled when he recognized him."What?" Aslan raised a brow. "Watch your mouth and watch your step. This is my hotel, and this is my parking lot. I’m no lawyer, but I know my rights."The corner of his lips twitched into a mocking smirk."I'm not a good enemy to have, farmer," Maxus sneered at him."Neither am I," Aslan replied."You're claiming what’s mine. I saw you
Chapter 35Alexa felt like Aslan was angry with her because he silently got out of the car, carrying the papers from Engineer Zuria. What could be in those papers that had him so engrossed? He hadn’t taken his eyes off them since he received them.“Are you mad?” she asked, unable to hold back.He shook his head at her. “Next time, Maxus will be down for the count if he does that again.”Gosh.“I didn’t like that,” she said quickly, trying to defend herself.But why was she even explaining? She didn’t owe him any explanation; they weren’t even a thing. She was just being overly defensive. She just didn’t want him to think that even though she and Maxus had broken up, she was still cozying up to him like that.“I know. I saw it. I’m thinking about something else.”Donna?He walked straight into the house without saying another word.“Oh, you’re back. Have some snacks,” Mang Kiko greeted with a smile as they entered through the door.“Yes, Mang Kiko. I’d like that,” she said, realizing s
Chapter 34Aslan stared at the paper in his hand, his eyes fixed on the names written on it. It was a list of JSSEC personnel.He had just confirmed that his mother was really one of them. He sat inside the car after they had picked up Janice and her child from the neighboring town. He was parked in front of the hotel, patiently waiting for the young woman.Apparently, this was the only hotel with available rooms out of the three hotels owned by the Escobars.He wasn’t sure if he should have Balbon and the others evicted because of what Zuria had told him—that they had nowhere else to go, which included his mother.Aslan's anger and sense of compassion were clashing. He was torn and utterly confused. His head throbbed with the weight of it all. It felt as if he wanted to retaliate against those who had hurt him and made his life miserable.He sighed and slammed the papers on the dashboard. He checked his wristwatch and looked at the hotel entrance.There was still no sign of Alexa. He
Chapter 33Alexa couldn’t understand Aslan’s connection to her at that moment. As she stared at his face, deep sadness and anger were evident in his eyes.Who could he have seen? And why couldn’t she make him talk? By the look on his handsome face, those people must have caused him immense pain. His eyes were almost brimming with tears, leaving her confused."Sir Aslan, everything is ready. The count is complete and accurate," someone reported.He nodded and let go of her hand. She subtly adjusted the chair he had pulled closer for her earlier.It was as if he had become preoccupied with her hand, which he was gently massaging earlier. She was thankful he didn’t break her hand, considering his earlier cold demeanor that had now turned into sadness.He signed something. "Deposit thirty percent into the usual account," he instructed, making her blink in surprise.It was hers, she knew. She felt a pang of embarrassment."The beneficiary, sir?" the woman asked, to which he nodded in respo