4

Chapter 4

Alexa 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 can’t withstand this heavy rain!" he told her, which made her snap out of it.

It was indeed storming outside.

"The umbrella! The umbrella!" A familiar female voice shouted from a distance.

Aslan grabbed her seatbelt, and she forced herself not to react when his hands brushed against her abdomen.

She furrowed her brows, wondering if he was staring at her belt, because it felt like his eyes were on her chest.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her down. The butler was already there with a large umbrella, but suddenly, it flipped over in the strong wind, causing them to scream in unison.

Mang Kiko nearly got blown away, still refusing to let go of the umbrella. Aslan was quick to grab it, but it was already ruined by the fierce wind. The ribs of the umbrella had shattered, and the leaves came loose.

She was getting soaked because earlier, when she was stranded, the rain wasn’t as strong, but now it was pouring, and it was probably already at a red rainfall alert.

The drops were large, and they hurt her head when they hit.

"Umbrella!" Mang Kiko shouted before running back to the mansion, probably to get another umbrella.

A dark object landed on her head, preventing her from getting any wetter. It was Aslan’s leather jacket, and he quickly threw it over her shoulders, guiding her back toward the mansion.

"Why haven’t you had the driveway relocated and renovated, Aslan? You've been here for so long, and you haven’t even thought about how far the main door is from the parking?" she scolded him.

She noticed that the driveway at the back of the mansion was likely gone, and if it had been there, he would have parked there to keep them from getting drenched.

The sound of metal sheets clanging echoed around them. Strong winds were blowing fresh leaves everywhere. She could see the devastation being caused by the storm sweeping through the vast grounds of the mansion.

"Instead of thanking me, you'd still say that? You're welcome, mi lady," Aslan said, full of sarcasm, and she fell silent.

She felt her cheeks redden from what he had called her.

Aslan really had this certain effect on her, making her blush with just a few words, even when she was angry with him. There was something in his remarks that made her quiet down.

"Go back, Mang Kiko!" he shouted as he pulled her under his arm, holding the umbrella.

She caught sight of Mang Kiko, who was about to greet them, once again carrying two umbrellas, but he was even more frazzled than a CAT member being ordered to move by Aslan.

She saw a number of housekeepers waiting under the portico.

She felt like the mansion door was so far away. Why was it taking so long? It felt like they’d been walking forever, and they still hadn’t reached it.

"Where's the leech?" she asked, irritated.

"What?"

"That annoying tail of yours. Who else? Don’t play dumb!"

"My God. I’m not playing dumb. If I don’t know something, you’ll force me to," he replied in a gruff tone.

He was bare-chested, and she wasn’t sure if she should hold onto his body. His strides were long as they walked on the wet pavement. It was like he wasn’t even worried about slipping.

"Hurry up," he told her.

"Wait a second. I might slip. Do you want me to die so you can have everything to yourself?" she snapped, though in reality, she had nothing left anyway.

Her sharp words were just a cover for how powerless she felt in everything.

"That's your thought," he said simply, tightening his hold on her.

She grabbed onto his waist, almost pulling at his shirt as he quickened his pace. Even though she was wearing rubber shoes, she was still afraid of slipping on the slick path. It felt slimy from the days of rain.

Finally, they reached the portico, and it was like a hot burn on her hand as she let go of him.

She was soaking wet. She looked at herself in disappointment when she saw how Aslan’s wet t-shirt clung to his chest.

Her lips parted as she stared at him, and her cheeks instantly burned when she realized he was looking at her.

But with a blink, he wasn’t looking anymore. He handed his jacket to a housekeeper and then walked into the house.

"I’ll get your luggage when the storm is gone. You should wear Caroline’s old clothes for now," he said, leaving her stunned.

What the heck? She was supposed to wear the clothes of the dead?

"I don’t want to!" she snapped, suddenly standing her ground. "Are you going to get it, or should I just stay like this?" she threatened, making the butler’s jaw drop.

Aslan took another quick glance at her chest. The girl blinked, as if he was implying he didn’t care whether she changed or not.

"Just take it, Aslan. You’re wet too. You might get sick," Mang Kiko urged.

"If you weren’t so slow, you would’ve just dropped off your mom at theirs. Now we’re stuck in this storm," Aslan muttered.

"His mom’s here?" Mang Kiko asked in surprise.

"Yes, Mang Kiko, the woman with big breasts and a red nose. That’s his mom," she replied, still not breaking eye contact with Aslan.

She heard some of the housekeepers chuckling.

"That’s Donna. She’s not his mom, Mahang," they clarified.

"What a ‘mom,’" she rolled her eyes.

Aslan remained silent, turning to face her, his gaze fixed on her face. It looked like he was about to grab her luggage, and she felt a little victorious. As he stepped out of the portico again, she couldn’t help but grin to herself.

"Come on, go take a bath. There’s a heater in the bathroom, so you won’t get cold," Mang Kiko said. "These are the housekeepers here, Mahang. If you need anything, you can call anyone. This is Aida, Lorna, Fe, Sharon, Cherie, and Dina."

"Hello, Miss Alexa," they greeted her, and she gave them a small, shy smile in return.

"You’ve grown," Sharon said, looking at her. She vaguely remembered the women, who were the daughters of the workers there.

"She’s even more beautiful now. I remember when she was so small, then she became a young lady, carrying that first gift from the mountains, looking for her daddy," Fe added.

Goodness.

She remembered that moment. She should’ve gone to her mom back then, but she had seen Aslan with her mom. She even overheard her mother telling him that everything he saw would eventually be his.

Instead of going to her mom, Alexa ran to her dad. She was only eleven then, and the memory stuck with her. It was a bitter one.

"How embarrassing," she muttered, but the housekeepers only laughed.

"We'll talk later; let me bathe her first. She might get sick," Kiko said, pulling her along. "You take care of Aslan. He's soaking wet too."

They climbed the stairs while she secretly observed her surroundings. There were changes inside the house, even outside. The mansion had a more modern feel, but it still held onto its old-fashioned charm. The wooden floors were still there, but now they were wood tiles. The staircase was the same as before—large and wide, made of wood, but now it gleamed.

The place was alive with paintings and plants scattered around, expensive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Her grandfather's piano was still there, along with sofas made of Narra and Mahogany. Everything had been well-preserved. Any changes that had been made only improved the place, removing the decaying things with age.

She couldn’t help but feel frustrated because she could see how well Aslan had taken care of the house, which was older than both of them. This wasn’t what she expected from him. She had thought he’d be a careless rancher. Aslan had been so young when she left, but it seemed like the hacienda had only gotten better under his management, much better than when her father had been in charge.

That thought soured her mood. Her anger toward Aslan flared again, as he always made it seem like he was better than everyone—especially her father.

"I thought Aslan wasn’t going to pick you up. I was nervous when you said you were alone. Didn’t your nanny come with you?" Mang Kiko asked.

"Yaya asked permission to visit her family while I’m here. She trusts you all, Mang Kiko."

"Of course," he replied with a smile. "We were the ones who started this together."

She knew that. The housekeepers now were the same girls who had worked at the hacienda when they were younger. They probably had families of their own now, which was why they worked as the household staff.

"I let her go home because it had been a long time since she had been with her family. She didn’t want to leave me, though. She prefers to stay with me in Manila, Manong Kiko."

"That’s good, at least someone’s there to take care of you."

She smiled and nodded at him.

"You'll be staying in your old room, Mahang," Mang Kiko said.

"Yes, Mang Kiko," she replied as he turned toward the row of their rooms.

"Aslan doesn’t stay here anymore. He’s on the left side of the mansion now. Didn’t he used to be here, right next to your room? Not since you left."

She suspected it was because Aslan probably felt guilty about taking away her inheritance. It was that simple. That was why he couldn’t bear to stay in the room that had once been theirs, because it would remind him of how he manipulated her late mother. He’d be reminded of how he made her feel like an outsider in the Escobar family when she wasn’t.

It was just as well that she was strong now. She was grateful she had met Maxus. That demon named Maxus.