Chapter Two

"Crap! Crap!" Deianne mutters under her breath when her canvas and painting tools are scattered on the floor as she bumps into another person on her way out of the building.

"I’m sorry. Are you okay?" the man asked as he helped her to gather her things again.

"Yeah. I’m sorry, I am just in a hurry." She answered while she grabbed the last piece of her paintbrush. She slid it again into the case before she looked up at the man who helped her. "Again, I apologize." she said before she turned around and walked out of the exit.

She’s running late, and she knows she can’t be. Tonight is the night when her twin sister will be formally engaged to the only son of the Montañez. She had to be there on time because of two reasons: first; it was her twin sister’s special event, and second, her mom would surely nag her for hours if she missed it. And she doesn’t want that to happen.

Deianne ran towards her car in the parking lot. She was just opening the door when her phone rang. 

"Crap!" she mutters again as she sighs. Her mom is now calling her. She can picture her mother’s facial expression at the moment. Her brows are probably furrowed together, creating a straight line. "Hi, mom," she greeted as she answered the phone.

[Where are you, Deianne Allison? You should be here now!] Her mom said on the other line, as expected.

"I’m on my way home, mom. Don’t worry. I will not be late. It’s just a thirty-minute drive. Relax."

But her mother did otherwise.

[Deianne! Mr. and Mrs. Montañez are on their way here. It would be so embarrassing if they came earlier than you.]

"I will be there, okay? I need to hang up so I can focus on driving. Bye, mom! I love you!" She said before she cut the call unilaterally. She would be late if she didn’t.

As soon as she buckled herself up inside her car, Deianne immediately drove away from the building, with a little prayer that she would not get stuck in traffic.

But of course, you can’t always get what you asked for. Hence, she found herself stuck in traffic. 

"I’m done! I am so done once I get home!" She said it a little loudly because her car has been in the same position for ten minutes now, and she has no other choice but to wait for the car in front of her to move. 

Her car only moved after another couple of minutes passed by until the supposedly thirty-minute drive became an hour.

With a rapidly beating heart, she hastily gets out of her car and locks it. She didn’t even care about her canvas and painting tools left inside. Her fuming mom was all she really cared about at the moment. 

Deianne was walking with big steps towards their house's main entrance when suddenly, a man put an arm around her waist. Her body quickly stiffened. She was about to utter a protest when the man spoke.

"You are just coming in too, Daniella?" 

Daniella? It seems like the man mistook her as her twin sister.

"I’m sorry, but-" her sentence got cut off because the man spoke once again.

"Oh, you don’t have to apologize. You aren’t the only one who is late."

And then she heard chuckles.

"Wait, I think-"

"Yeah, I think we have to hurry. We don’t want to get our parents further upset, right?" The man once again interrupts her, and this time he faces her.

So this is the man her twin sister is going to marry. He’s handsome, and she is sure that was one of the reasons why her sister said yes to the arrangement.

"I am not-"

"Enough with the talking. We can talk more inside. For now, let’s go in together to lessen their disappointment? Let’s just say that we met after work and decided to spend some time together. Let’s go?" The man then unlatched his arm from her waist and grabbed her hand to hold it.

Shocked by all of what happened, Deianne didn’t even have a chance to recover and just let the man pull her into their house. She was still processing what had just happened, but they were already in the dining room, in front of the two families that would be united in marriage in the future.

"Marcus!"

"Deianne Allison!"

Their parents said, respectively. All eyes were on them and on their hands, which were still tangled with each other.

"I’m sorry, mom and dad. I also apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Montes. Something came up at the company and I needed to tend to it." Marcus said as he bowed politely in front of their parents.

Still in a daze, she bows her head as well.

"Marcus! What are you doing? Get over here!" Daniella said, and waved her hand at Marcus.

Their eyes met, and slowly, Marcus’ facial expression changed from calm to confusion. The man then turned his head to look at Deianne, who was standing beside him, and went back to Daniella, who was standing at the table.

"Wait, you’re already here, Daniella?" Marcus asked, still in great confusion.

"Of course, this is our house."

"Then who is…" Marcus didn’t finish what he was about to say because this time, his and Deianne’s eyes met.

At that exact moment, Deianne felt something flow into her veins. She couldn’t name it, but it was something she had never felt before.

"Oh, my bad. I’m sorry, Marcus. I didn’t think it was necessary to introduce my younger sister to you, but she’s Deianne Allison, my twin sister. Yes, we are identical twins." Daniella said, as she walked towards them.

"H-hi!" Marcus said, then smiled at Deianne. His hand that was holding the woman’s hand was now at the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hi…" Deianne greeted him back in a low voice.

"Okay, enough with the introduction. Let’s take a seat." Daniella said, before she pulled Marcus away from her twin sister and invited him to sit across from her.

"Deianne, what are you waiting for? Come over here." Her mom said in gritted teeth. And her heart suddenly beats rapidly again. Her mom was fuming but holding back because they had visitors.

Not wanting to upset her parents more, and not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the Montañez, she hastily sat beside her twin sister.

The dinner started as soon as they settled. Along with the dinner, there were talks about the wedding of Daniella and Marcus. And Deianne, as a wallflower girl ever since, just stays quiet and focuses on her food. She is used to it. Her sister gets all the attention, and her being the decoration on the wall. But it was okay for her. It doesn’t matter.

Both parties agreed to hold the wedding a month from now. They also decided that Daniella would move to Marcus’ penthouse right after the wedding. They also talked about the motif of the wedding as well as the honeymoon destination of the soon-to-be married couple. 

The talks were just about to be wrapped up by the parents when Marcus asked an interesting question.

"Wait, so how will I tell who is who between the two of you, since you are identical twins?" 

Deianne kept mum because she believed that the question was not for her to answer.

"Well, the easiest way is that Deianne has a mole under her right eye and I don’t have any on my entire face. Second, is that my sister always wears her glasses. And lastly, I am more charming than she is." Daniella answered.

Marcus only lets out a chuckle as a response before he finishes the wine in his glass.

*****

After dinner, both parties decided to continue their talk in the living room. Deianne politely excused herself with the alibi that she has a deadline she has to meet at work tonight. But the truth is that she just wanted to get away from them.

Being an introvert, Deianne needed some time alone to recharge and reflect. Doing some socializing makes her tired easily because it is something that she has to do the best she can.

But instead of going straight into her bedroom, she opted to go on the veranda. She wants some fresh air. She leaned forward on the rails and closed her eyes for a moment as she felt the cold breeze embrace her.

This is her comfort zone. This is where she can be herself without pretensions. Being alone calms her. She lets out a deep sigh before she opens her eyes and stares at the night skies.

Staring at it makes her realize something.

"Indeed, a certain darkness is needed to see the stars in their brightest state," she said, loud enough to fill the entire veranda.

"I agree…"

She jumps out a little when she suddenly hears a voice behind her. She turned her head and recognized that it was Marcus.

"W-what are you doing here?" 

Marcus shrugged his shoulders before he said, "I needed some open space to breathe. It turns out you needed it as well."

The man then walked closer to her.

"Let me apologize once again for what happened earlier. It was so rude of me to prevent you from saying that you were not my fiancée. I am Marcus Montañez. And without the Montañez group behind me, I am just an ordinary man with a dream of becoming a composer and a singer." the man said as he extended his hand to Deianne.

Deianne blinked twice before she took it and introduced herself as well.

"I’m… Deianne Allison Montes. Ahh... I-I’m an artist." She briefly said before she pulled her hand from the man’s.

They stayed quiet for a few moments until Marcus broke the ice between them.

"Do you really enjoy being alone? I mean, most of the people I know hate being alone. Some can’t even stand it."

"I do. For introverts, alone time is a must. And we find serenity in being alone. Silence is calming." 

"But seriously, I agree with what you said a while ago. Darkness is necessary in order for us to burn brighter." Marcus said.

Deianne really doesn't understand why the man keeps on talking to her. She already implied that she needed some time alone, and yet, Marcus keeps on bringing up a topic for them to discuss. And she will be rude to just brush off the guy, especially since he will be her brother-in-law in a month.

So being polite, she answered...

"Yeah. Personally, I am afraid of darkness, but I can't deny its importance. It is needed. Problems are made to toughen us."

"Yet, you are afraid of it." Marcus commented. They are now both staring at the starry night.

"Who doesn't, anyway? Aren't we all cowards? We fear the darkness because we fear what we can't see; we fear the things that are unclear and unsure. Most people are afraid of what lies ahead because no one can tell what will happen tomorrow. Some are afraid to cross the bridge because they are afraid of what is on the other side. Aren't you afraid of your future?" 

It took a few seconds before Marcus could answer the question.

"I am not. Why should I fear darkness when there are things that I should be more afraid of?"

"What are you afraid of, then?"

Deianne saw the hesitation in Marcus's eyes; hence, she quickly added, "It's okay if you don't want to say it."

"I am afraid of the pressures my family is throwing at me. I am afraid of disappointing them and failing them. I am more afraid that I am not being good enough or obedient enough." Marcus pauses for a while as he lets out a deep breath. "Being an only son, I grew up pleasing them. I always do the things that I know will make them happy. Before I do something, I always think of how it will affect my parents and my family. Since I was a child, I was already aware of the weight on my shoulders of being the heir of the Montañez group. And that is the reason why most of my moves are calculated." 

Deianne didn't know what to do or what to say after that. Marcus turned out to be the man she didn't expect him to be. He is an heir. He grew up hearing how great his family was and how he would be the next in line. Something she'd never heard from her parents.

There was nothing left to say. Both of them just stayed still and stared at the stars in the sky.

They were both enjoying the silence when a couple of knocks broke the comfortable silence between them.

It was Daniella.

"Hey, there you are." Her twin sister then walks up to her fiancé. 

"Hey," Marcus smiled at Daniella.

"They are looking for you in the living room. I think it's time for you to go." The woman then wraps her arms around Marcus's waist.

"Then we better go ahead. We shouldn't let them wait any longer. I already did that a while ago." the man said before he turned around to Deianne. "It was nice meeting you, Deianne." he said, as he smiled briefly at her.

Deianne could only nod and watch as Daniella pulled Marcus out of their veranda. 

Left alone again, she sighs and goes back to her bedroom.

*****