Elaine's Point of View
“Huh? W-wha—what did you say?” I stammered, confused.
We just stared at each other, and all I could think about was how unbelievably handsome he was. Is he a model? If any other waitress had heard him, their knees would have buckled. I was the first to look away, and my gaze fell on the woman beside him. She shot me a dirty look.
Had I done something wrong? Why was she acting that way?
“Baby, what are you saying? I’ll pick the food if you want,” the woman asked while holding his hand on the table. It looked like she was his girlfriend; I had thought she was his mother at first—what a mix-up.
“Can I take your order, please? It might take a while to prepare,” I said, trying to break the awkward tension. The woman glanced at me, her glare almost enough to cut through.
They had some tension going on.
“Leave,” the man ordered, pointing toward the door.
Was he kicking me out?
“Didn’t you hear him? He told you to leave!” the woman shouted, grabbing my shoulder and causing everyone around us to look.
Were they my bosses now?
“No, not you. Perry, get out!” the man muttered, making the woman, Perry, turn her head with a glare that could melt stone.
“What do you mean, baby?” Perry asked, forcing a smile. So, she was Perry. I had thought it was someone else.
“Are you deaf? I said leave, or do you want Brennon to carry you out?” the man said, and Perry sneered, shoving my shoulder. Just as she was about to leave, she shouted:
“Your taste is awful! I’m way prettier and sexier than her! And no matter your size, you can’t compete with your cousin!” Perry yelled before stomping out.
The people in the restaurant laughed as if watching a soap opera. What was that woman saying? I was still stunned when the man stood up and approached me.
I closed my eyes, feeling nervous as he approached. I couldn’t help but worry about what he might do—especially since I didn’t even know him, and here I was in a restaurant. I couldn’t make any moves to get myself out of this.
A few minutes passed without him doing anything, and I finally opened my eyes, seeing him grin. I quickly turned away, embarrassed.
Did I expect him to kiss me?
“Woman, let’s get married,” he said, catching me off guard. We had just met, and now he wanted to marry me. Was he crazy? And honestly, what about my looks compared to his?
I pinched my hand, wondering if I was dreaming.
“Excuse me, sir?” I asked, grabbing a cloth from my uniform. I pretended to wipe down the table, even though they hadn’t eaten.
“I know you're the child of Raymond Natividad. My dad says your father offers this marriage to repay his huge debt. Marry me if you don’t want to see your father rot in jail,” he whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my spine. I was left stunned when he walked away.
I should talk to my dad about this. There was no hint of a joke in the man’s words. Did my father really have this kind of debt? Why hasn’t he told me about this?
When I got home, I quietly entered my room, hoping Venice and Elena wouldn’t be there to surprise me, but to my surprise, they weren’t planning to stay overnight.
“Child,” I jumped, startled by a voice behind me.
“Ah, Dad. Why?”
“Venice and the others came over, but they said they’d stay another day because her aunt suddenly arrived from Qatar,” my dad said, and I nodded, still deep in thought.
Now is a good time to ask him about that marriage offer the man mentioned earlier at the restaurant.
“By the way, Dad. Someone spoke to me today and said you promised marriage to their family to settle your debts,” I said, carefully sitting on the bed.
It felt much softer than the bed we usually slept on in the room Sir Pedro rented out. I could see my dad was shocked and worried by what I said. I needed to know the truth.
“Oh, child. Don’t mind that. Maybe he’s just messing around,” my dad replied.
I wanted to know more, but my dad seemed unwilling to talk about it. What is it with that guy? I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Maybe,” I answered, lying back on the bed. My dad left the room, but my curiosity grew stronger.
I’d find that guy tomorrow and get some answers.
When I woke up, I got up and headed to the bathroom. But I froze when I saw Kaizer sitting in the living room with flowers in his hand. The worst part was I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet! I quickly ran to the bathroom, but he grabbed my arm.
“Elaine,” he said.
I stayed silent, knowing my breath probably smelled and I probably had drool on my face, so I quickly covered my mouth.
“Is there a problem?” Kaizer asked.
He was so clueless.
“Bad breath,” I whispered. He frowned and stepped back from me.
“Don’t you like my perfume? I’ll change it,” Kaizer said, sniffing his polo as if confused.
“No. I just woke up. I need to shower first,” I replied, still covering my mouth. But then, to my surprise, he grabbed my shoulder.
“I thought you didn’t like my perfume, but Elaine, even if you don’t shower, I’ll still kiss you, drool and all,” Kaizer murmured, pulling my hand away from my face.
I quickly pushed him away, my heart racing.
I could hear him chuckling as I went into the bathroom.
After showering, I saw Kaizer sitting while my dad came in with three plates, slamming them down on the table. Was he mad?
“Elaine, eat your breakfast,” my dad said, but I couldn’t help but smile at Kaizer’s reaction.
I sat down and started eating the rice, not wearing my glasses. I also noticed I had two new pimples on my forehead.
“You look beautiful, Elaine,” Kaizer complimented me, causing my dad to clear his throat.
When I finished eating, I grabbed my bag. “Elaine, are you leaving already? Let me drive you.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I can go by myself,” I replied, though I had no classes today.
I planned to visit the Montemayor’s Building and Company. It was where my dad used to work before falling into debt, so maybe I’d find some leads there.
“Kaizer, are you okay? You look pale,” I asked, but he just gave me a forced smile.
“Your dad’s just scary, babycakes,” Kaizer replied, winking at me. We laughed when my dad shot us a look, and we quickly straightened up.
Kaizer insisted on driving me when I left the apartment, but I refused, no matter how hard he tried. He had no choice but to hand me the flowers and say goodbye.
I nervously walked into one of the old Montemayor buildings.
This was my first time here, and I had no idea where to start looking for clues.
I was startled when a group of men in all-black clothes surrounded me. One of them suddenly pointed a gun at me.
“What do you need here?” he asked, and I felt a wave of fear.
“Come with us,” they ordered, and one of them dragged me into the building, blindfolding me.
I could only hear the pain in my back when one of them shoved me into a chair. “What, bro, should I go first?” one of them asked, sending shivers down my spine.
What did they mean by that?
“Are you stupid? Tell the boss first; we don’t want to mess up,” another voice said, sounding nervous.
I started crying when they ripped my clothes. “Please. Don’t do this,” I begged.
Before they could take anything else off, a man shouted, “The boss is here.”
“Boss is here,” another man muttered, and they laughed, adding to my fear.
I could hear the sound of shoes walking toward me, and I swallowed hard. What if he did something worse to me, like his men were planning? I couldn’t help but cry harder, my eyes still blindfolded.
I felt someone grip my shoulder. “Please. Let me go. I’m not going to do anything wrong,” I pleaded, even though I wasn’t sure who was before me.
“Let her go,” commanded the one they referred to as the boss. I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or even more scared, fearing it could be a trap.
“But, sir, this woman looks like a spy. We saw her outside our building, peeking around,” one of them replied.
Another one beside him said, “And she’s not even attractive, boss. Just leave her to us.”
“If you are Mr. Montemayor, I’m not a spy. Please, let me go; I have so much more I want to achieve in life,” I said before one of the men kicked me in the face, knocking me to the ground.
I was shocked when I heard another man crash to the floor. “Let her go!” the boss shouted, and they quickly dragged me back into a chair. My body felt weak from the kick.
They removed the blindfold and the ropes from my hands. As I opened my eyes, I saw the man from the restaurant before me.
I gathered all my strength and slapped him out of pure rage. “Are you the one behind this?” I demanded. One of his men pointed a gun at me in response to my action.
I pressed the gun harder to my forehead. “Go ahead. Shoot me. I’d rather die than let you hurt me. You’re disgusting! You’re all devils’ children!” I yelled.
One of them got angry and looked like he was about to punch me, but the man stopped him, holding his hand.
“Stop it, Brennon and Alex. What right do you have to hurt my future wife? Do you want to witness death right now?” he yelled.
I felt myself growing weaker.
“But, boss... she slapped you,” said the one who was about to strike me.
“Yeah, and I didn’t say a word. Move aside, we have unfinished business after this. You all should understand the consequences of what you’ve done. Because of you, my future wife almost got hurt—and worse, she’s angry with me,” he said, picking me up in a bridal carry.
Before I completely lost consciousness, I heard him whisper in my ear. “I’m sorry.”
Elaine's Point of ViewI woke up to the noise coming from outside. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see what was happening and noticed a woman I didn’t recognize talking to a man.“Why do you want me to add you to my collection?” the woman asked, her voice dripping with arrogance while the woman treating her seemed furious.“Excuse me, womanizer. Please don’t treat me like my cousin who had a thing for you. I’m still wondering what she saw in you,” the woman replied, which made me wonder who they were talking about.I needed to leave but was too embarrassed to interrupt their conversation.“Don’t ever talk about that woman in front of me,” Louis said, standing up and pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.“Are you still bitter, Louis? Don’t tell me that woman was just a fling. From what I heard from your mother, she’ll be your wife for some reason. I pity her! She’ll be stuck with a man who still hasn’t moved on from his ex,” the woman said, standing up to face him. Louis fired bac
Elaine’s Point of ViewI waited for Louis to return to the dining room, but thirty minutes passed, so I decided not to eat. I had also lost my appetite.As I passed by the bookshelf, I noticed the book I wanted earlier was now on the lower shelf, so I grabbed it and went up to the room where I had been resting earlier.There’s probably nothing wrong with lying down here. They have plenty of rooms.“Nerd.”I quickly sat up from the bed when I heard the man who had approached Louis earlier.“What are you doing here? Where’s Louis? And who are you?” I asked, quickly grabbing a pillow to defend myself in case he had bad intentions.He chuckled. “Chill. Louis just asked me to tell you not to wait for him anymore because he has something to do with Mariella. He missed his ex so much. Do you know that?”His words felt like a sharp sting to my heart, but I reminded myself that our marriage was just to pay off my father’s debt.“I’ll go ahead,” he said.He was about to leave when I stopped him.
Third Person's Point of ViewWhen Louis arrived at the basement, he immediately glared at Volstrige because of the disruption he had caused between him and Elaine.“You should know the consequences of what you did,” the young man growled as he slowly took out one of his favorite pistols, the Beretta 92, from Italy. Jacob had given it to him when he returned to the Philippines to celebrate his new business in alcoholic beverages.Volstrige immediately hid behind Alex, but Brennon quickly pulled him out. “Boss, please shoot this womanizer. He almost got me into trouble because of him,” Brennon complained, laughing. Volstrige's face was unreadable.“Are you an idiot? I didn’t do anything wrong to you!” Volstrige yelled. The two started arguing, causing Louis to frown.“Stop wasting my fucking time. I have things to do, lead the way,” Louis said authoritatively. Both of them lowered their heads and began leading Louis to where they had captured the spy.Louis had been thinking about going
Third Person’s Point of View“Wife, why are you taking so long to come in? Does Louis have another fling again?” asked a man who looked just like Louis, the only difference being that his appearance showed signs of aging, even though he still looked like a teenager.The man stopped locking the car when he saw Elaine. He recognized her face because he had ordered Louis to marry the young woman.“Who are you, miss, and why are you in my son’s mansion? Explain yourself,” the woman said grumpily, raising an eyebrow. She looked at Elaine, who didn’t know what to say since the young man hadn’t told her that his parents would also be coming.“M-Me? Uh... uh,” Elaine stuttered. Louis’s father stopped Louis’s mother from pulling Elaine’s hair because she was about to drag her out.“Wife, she’s the woman I was telling Louis about. For Pete’s sake, it’s embarrassing to treat your son’s bride like that,” Louis’s father said, which made Louis’s mother realize what she was doing to Elaine. She immed
Third Person’s Point of ViewSirius's butler was restless as they headed to the jail. In truth, in his six years of service to his master, this was the first time something like this had happened to him. Sirius would get mad at him when they arrived, and he was with two of his cousins. What Sirius hated the most was asking for help from anyone, especially people he knew.He didn’t want to be judged. Once, the young man almost killed him because he reported him to his parents, something Sirius hated. He tried to live without asking for anyone’s help, but Sirius had no choice now because his situation was so bad that it threatened the company he had been protecting.“Can you tell us what really happened?” Kaizer asked while Louis was busy looking at his phone. His mother had been calling nonstop earlier, telling him to come home because they were already at the mansion to discuss the wedding. As much as he wanted to go home, he couldn’t because his cousin needed him now.“This is what ha
Third Person’s Point of ViewLouis quickly accelerated the car. He was worried about the young woman, especially since his mother had mentioned that something bad had happened to her.“Damn,” he cursed while hitting the steering wheel because of the traffic. Just when he was in a hurry, traffic appeared in the area.“Can you calm down? As if you can stop the traffic with that, idiot,” Kaizer told him, but in truth, his hand had been shaking with fear about what had really happened to Elaine. He had liked her for a long time, but he always held himself back whenever they met because he didn’t want to complicate her mind with all that was going on.The truth was, he knew Elaine better than her future husband. There was nothing he could do about it, especially since he wasn’t sure if she liked him too. If he could, he would run away with her and live a simple life, but if that happened, there would be equally important things they'd lose that he couldn’t bear.When they arrived at the man
Third Person’s Point of View“Louis, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost,” said the young lady, who was staring at Louis' pale face. She didn’t understand why the young man was reacting that way to the picture of her with her mother, who was holding her in her arms.“Who is that woman to you?” Louis asked. His mind was spinning because of what was happening, but suddenly, his head began to ache. The memory of his former nanny came rushing back.*** Flashback“Lou-lou, you shouldn’t be out at this hour. Your father will surely scold you,” lectured his favorite nanny, Serena. She was kind and always prioritized his feelings. In fact, she was the first person to see him cry, especially when his father scolded him.“But I want to go to Uncle Liam’s mansion. He will probably get mad at Sirius because of what we did. I want to defend him,” young Louis said, raising his hand as if on a mission. Compared to other children, Louis was more mature, even though he was only seven years
Elaine’s Point of ViewLouis remained silent while driving. We were heading to the resort that Aunt Hacel mentioned.I couldn't help but wonder what the conversation between him and my father was about. When he returned inside, he was quiet and didn't speak much. I was also shivering from the cold air conditioning, as it was blowing directly at me. Louis was the one driving while my father and Kaizer were in the other car.At first, Kaizer didn’t want to agree, but my father insisted that they not join us.“Wear this,” Louis said, slowly opening his compartment to grab a denim jacket.He handed it to me, which I quickly accepted because I was about to freeze from the cold. Even my legs were too stiff to move.“Thank you,” I said. Louis just nodded and continued driving. I wasn’t sure if Kaizer had already arrived at the resort before us because we were stuck in traffic. They might have gotten there thirty minutes earlier.“By the way, what did you and my father talk about?” I asked bec
ElaineThe days passed quickly, and we learned the news that Zap had escaped, so our security doubled as we searched for leads on who helped Zap escape and where my real father was.I let out a deep sigh before leaning my head against the chair. I thought the evil of the Valencias was over, but we were back to square one."Everything will be fine, wife. As long as we are together, we can do anything. I’ll dispatch more people to look for leads," Louis said. He held my hand. I smiled."Thank you, hubby, for always being by my side. Even when I’m still looking for a part of my past identity, you're patient," I said and kissed him on the cheek.That evening, while I was working on paperwork that the wedding organizer gave me, Mace suddenly started crying.I quickly stood up and went to the nursery room, "Wah, Mama." I picked her up and saw Louis enter, holding Caliber in his arms.He asked, "What happened?""Hubby, can you grab the diapers? I think she’s crying because it's already full.
LouisI’ve always thought of myself as the man who knew everything. Someone who was calculated, cold, and efficient—that’s who I am. Or rather, who I was before Elaine. She wasn’t just a woman I was ordered to marry; she was the reason I started questioning everything about my carefully constructed world.It all started when I saw her for the first time walking with her friends down the street. I was in the backseat of my car, flipping through meaningless reports about the family’s business, when I caught sight of her. She wasn’t extraordinary by any conventional standard. She had oversized glasses perched on her nose, braces, and hair that seemed to have a life of its own. Yet, there was something about her laugh. It was carefree. It was pure.“Who’s that woman?” I blurted out, startling Brennon.His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, confused. “I—I don’t know, sir. Should I find out?”I stayed quiet. My heart clenched for reasons I didn’t understand. Why did I care? She wasn’t the
ElaineThe breeze was cold on the day I went to the cemetery. The sun was high, but it didn’t hurt my skin because it was already late afternoon. It was quiet, but I still felt the heaviness in my heart as I walked the path to my father’s grave. Everything that happened was still fresh in my mind, and in the blink of an eye, all the evil deeds of the Valencias were over. But I knew that this wasn’t the end because there were still organizations that wanted to get their hands on the ledger, which I still couldn’t remember.In the end, Zap was imprisoned with multiple charges while Mariella was taken by Lucas to a psychiatrist because she was almost driven insane by everything that happened.I read the inscription on the tombstone that said Raymond Natividad. I placed the bouquet of white roses down and lit a candle.He was such a good father to me, doing everything to protect me.“In a few months, I’ll be giving birth. I’ll make sure to bring them here so you can see them,” I said as m
ElaineWhen I opened my eyes, I felt the pain from the restraints tied to my hands. They were tight and cold, as if purposely tightened to cause severe pain. I trembled as I looked around. It seemed like we were in a storage room, and aside from me, there were two others—Kaizer and Father, both tied to chairs."Ely..." Kai’s voice was weak but filled with concern. "Are you okay?"I nodded, even though my heart contradicted the words. It was racing in fear and anxiety over what might happen to us."Do you know where we are?" I asked, my voice cracking.He shook his head. "All I know is that we've been kidnapped by the Valencia Organization. I don’t know how they found us, but I’ll make sure we escape."I was scared for the baby in my womb. It had nothing to do with this."Everything will be fine, Ely, trust me," Kaizer said. It seemed like he had a plan."Ugh," Father groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.When he saw Kaizer and me, his brows furrowed immediately. "What are you two doin
ElaineLouis and I stayed in Florida for two more weeks. When Louis saw me that night, he was always comforting me. We rarely went out again, and when we did, we always had a bodyguard with us. He didn’t ask me what happened, it seemed like he was waiting for me to tell him on my own.Today, Valerian will pick us up to take us back to the Philippines.“I want to stay here for a while,” I said while organizing the clothes and souvenirs we bought.“We will come back here again. This is one of our houses now, I just need to finish all my work,” Louis answered and pecked a kiss on my cheek.When we got in the car, Valerian smiled at me. “Looks like the newlyweds enjoyed their honeymoon that much. Aunt Hacel said to get both of you after three days, but someone wants to stay longer.”“Shut up, dickhead,” Louis said, and I laughed. So, he was the one who planned for us to stay here for a month.“You really hurt my feelings with that greeting, man. A gift for your godchild?” Valerian asked.
ElaineIt had been a week, and Louis and I had fallen into a routine. We were like a real married couple. Every morning, he cooked for me, and we spent our days exploring different places. Almost every night, something would happen between us. Honestly, it all felt like a dream, and I never wanted to wake up.“Wife, are you still mad at me? I didn’t mean to be rough last night,” Louis asked while trying to feed me some rice.“No. I’m not mad,” I answered briefly.“Then why are you so quiet, hmm?” he asked again. The truth was, I wished we could just stay here because I was afraid that once we went back home, things between us would change again.“I’m just thinking,” I said.His face turned serious. “What is it? You can tell me.”I forced a small smile. It was better to keep what I saw to myself for now. He might think I was involved with Zap.“I’m just thinking about where we should go today. There are so many beautiful places here. I’ll take a quick shower so we can leave,” I said, k
ElaineI woke up because the sunlight was hitting my face; it seemed like Louis was still not back. I slowly got up because my head still hurt a little, and my eyes were swollen. My fingers still had cuts from picking up the broken picture frame.I went to the kitchen and took the photo. I stared at it once more before crumpling it and putting it inside my pocket. Louis must not see this—I’m sure that only Father can answer all the questions I have about the true identity of this man.I opened the fridge, but it contained nothing except water. I sighed and took a shower so I could go out. I needed to find a grocery store.“Wife, where are you going?”My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw Louis. His hair was messy, and he had deep eye bags. His clothes had traces of blood, and there was a scratch on his forehead.“Are you okay?” I asked, touching the wound on his forehead.I quickly realized what I was doing. Why should I care? I shouldn’t, but my heart couldn’t help but wo
ElaineI was startled awake when I suddenly heard a loud ringtone coming from Louis' cellphone."Answer your call," I ordered. I saw Louis decline the call and return his gaze to me."I'm sorry for waking you up," Louis said.I rubbed my eyes to see his face more clearly since the room was dim."It's okay, I was just startled. But why are you still awake?" I asked him as I was about to get up to get a drink from the kitchen.Ouch.I immediately shut my eyes tightly when I felt a sharp pain in my lower body. The same thing happened to me after our first time. It felt like my body was being split in two.Noticing that I seemed to be in pain, Louis helped me up. "Are you okay, wife? Should I call a doctor?" he asked with concern, making me stare at him.Was he really concerned about me?I smiled in amusement, but Ashton’s words suddenly echoed in my mind.Louis was just using me. That’s all. I shouldn’t fall for his actions anymore."I'm fine, it's just that my lower part is sore. Someon
ElaineAs soon as I returned inside the venue, Venice immediately approached me.“Good thing you’re finally here, bestie. Everyone is waiting for you on the balcony so that you and Louis can receive Aunt Hacel’s gift,” she said. I couldn’t help but swallow due to nervousness.What is the Montemayor family up to this time?I quickly forced a smile when I saw Venice still looking at me. She had no idea about what was going on between Louis and me. I couldn’t blame her because I was sure Volstrige would keep it a secret from her.“Sorry, I was late again. I just went to the restroom for a bit,” I explained and was about to step forward when Venice suddenly grabbed my arm, stopping me.“Wait a moment, bestie. I was really waiting for you here because I have something to give you. Also, are you spaced out? That’s not the way to the balcony. Is that the effect of alcohol?” She burst into laughter.When I realized she was right, I couldn’t help but close my eyes in embarrassment.“I wasn’t g