CHAPTER 3

"Bella is going to stay there for just a few weeks. You know I'm busy here with the business and I couldn't take care of her. I know you can, honey."

His wife's courage was impressive, Alexander thought. If she talks it seems like they have no problem as a couple and they are very happy. There she was, having an affair with his brother in America and she had the gall to tell him all that.

But maybe that's what a woman who has long pretended to be a model wife who loves him would say. It had been three years since he "married" Mia. She had no idea that the prenup she didn't sign was invalid because they weren't actually married.

He was no fool. His plan was simple---to watch her and Mason do the five-year plan he had heard of his brother. But before that time comes they will realize their great mistake. He was going to crush them both.

A brother, a fake wife... He wouldn't have taken such a bad step with them if he hadn't found out about their plans for him. Their betrayal was not something he could easily forget. He will not rest until he puts them in their proper place.

His plan was easy enough to accomplish. Because it is easy not to pass the marriage contract between him and Mia to the registrar. It's easy to forge legal documents, but he didn't need to do that because Mia didn't need that, except for the signed marriage contract. She changed her bank records and that was it. She did not bother to change her passport as it was still valid.

“All right, honey. I’m here to help a family member,” he said. It was a lie. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her kin but it could be beneficial to him. He decided to look at the matter positively.

He also put down the headset. He stroked his chin. It was payback time. He waited three years for that. It was a too-long wait. Patience has never been one of his virtues.

For three years now, he has been being cheated by his "wife" and his brother. Mia went to America, saying she found a good business there that would help her family. She said she didn't want to let her family, which she loves so much, be his responsibility also.

He pretended to be the supportive husband. The truth was, he couldn’t care less. He knew the real reason why she went to America---there, she and Mason could free themselves. Until now they had no idea that he knew all their plans. They both thought he was really married to Mia. And he doesn't know if his brother really loves Mia or if they are just using each other. How could Mason let Mia sleep with him if he loved her?

Not that he did that often. He could count on the fingers of his hands the chances that something had happened to them. How long had it been since something happened to them? How long had it been since their last sex? Two years and a half? She always pretended to be tired and not in the mood. It was okay. He was disgusted thinking about her betrayal. It was necessary at first that something should happen to them so that there would be no doubt in his mind.

For now, he enjoyed the company of another woman, Sophie. He was a man with needs. And since his fake wife is not around and he doesn't want her either, Sophie is there for him. Sophie was great in bed and she listened to him, really listened to him. She was a colleague.

It was also possible that Mia was not really in love with Mason. Maybe she saw him as a stepping stone. The woman probably saw that she had more freedom with his brother compared to him. She knew he was in love with her and he was straight. Maybe she needed someone who was more carefree.

He no longer cares what kind of relationship they have. Whatever it was, only one thing remained true---they were playing with him and had no intention of stopping until they got what they wanted.

When he knew everything, he remembered the times when he had no vision and Mia and Mason were there in his room. There were a couple of times when Mia would giggle all of a sudden. When he asks why, she says that she enjoys his facial reactions. He felt like a fool not doubting that. He thought that maybe while he was in the room they were doing something. Not the actual thing, of course, but something close to it.

There's always a surge of rage that runs through his system when he imagines it. There he is, just missing losing his sight, almost being useless due to his physical disability, while they are playing with him and insulting him without his knowledge.

He had an accident for nothing. Mia was not in Baguio that day but in Siargao, with his brother.

Mia knows his frustrations during the times he was blind. He bared his soul to her. How was he to know she was laughing at him as he did so? How could she take advantage of a blind man? That made him mad. He prayed every night for some miracle. He thought he wouldn't be able to take it if he would never see Mia's face again.

He wanted to be there for her, he wanted to be the perfect husband, and he wanted to see the world with Mia beside him. That woman, while he is trying his best to improve himself for her, is working a miracle with his brother who also has no conscience. People like these should just be shamed and taught a lesson.

Now Mia knows more about business in America; she built some kind of spa there. He really wasn't interested to know although he always pretended to listen. She pretended it was her dream business.

Bullshit.

What is Mia's real purpose in this life, if she has her own plans, he is not that interested to know. That would do nothing to him.

“Bella…” he said. The woman is said to be there. He could use her sister against her. He knows that she loves her sister and mother very much. He saw that when they were just lovers. She doesn't talk to him about anything but them.

The sister Mia loved dearly would suffer for what she had done. After he was through, they could all rot in whatever hole they ended up in. He is about to cut the cord that binds them all. He will finish the game the way he wants. Mia and his brother could eat their five-year plan. They would not get a single centavo from him.

Later, the maid announced that Bella, Mia's sister, was already there. He told the maid to let the woman come in. He took his time and then went downstairs. When he saw a woman in the living room he was slightly surprised by her appearance.

The last thing he remembers is a woman wearing an elegant dress and well-groomed. That was when he and Mia got married. He barely remembers it before but on those few occasions, she was well dressed. Now she was wearing faded jeans, sneakers, and a blouse. She looked... very ordinary.

“G-good afternoon.”

“Hello.” He smiled at the woman. It was essential. For he had made up his mind to seduce her and have an affair with her—exactly like how Mia had an affair with his brother.