Chapter Seven: The Scripted Confrontation

"Here it is..."

I paused, watching the television in front of me when Dark just swayed himself over towards my direction. His nonchalant expression greeted me as he placed some women's clothes beside the sofa where I was sitting. I looked up at him and caressed the clothes he had just brought.

"You can wear all of these while you are here," he said, and demonstrated his hands.

"These are not new. Whose clothes are these?" I curiously asked when I noticed that there were no tags, and they looked like they were already used.

On that question, he avoided his gaze and transferred it to the ongoing show on television. I squinted at his reaction. That was suspicious. 

"No questions. Just wear them," he said, avoiding the question. "Anyway, are you comfortable here? Or do you want me to transfer you to another room?"

"No, I am good," I said and smiled. 

"Tomorrow, we will go to your place where you and your supposed husband reside." 

I feel like I was caught red-handed. What? Why does he need to? That was just a story I made as my personal background! I just faked a chuckle to hide my anxiety. 

"W-What do you mean?'" But I could not hide my stutter. 

"I will talk to him and check if he is truly your husband. Just like what you said, he just claimed that he is your spouse without your memories intact," he said and placed both of his hands on his hips like he was reprimanding. "That is why I want to confirm it myself." 

Shit. 

When he left the room and reminded me about the dinner we would have in a while, I dialed my dad on my phone and told him about Dark's plan. Dad assured me that he would take care of everything, and I shall be given the necessary information later.

"But are you not busy, though, at your work? You did not have to waste your time to resolve my issue, sir," I said during the dinner Dark and I had in the dining hall. 

He arched his right eyebrow. "I said that I wanted to help," he firmly stated and looked at me while drinking his glass of water. "Why are you here in the first place if I have no intention of helping you, right?"

"I... I know..." I agreed, my eyes were fidgeting, "but am I not disturbing you?"

"I have a lot of men to assist me in my jobs. No need to worry about it," he said. "Be early tomorrow. I will focus on you and your case."

"Hmm, okay," I said and surrendered in trying to stop him.

I dropped my gaze on the food in front of me, but my thoughts were lingering.

I cannot fail on this one. Dad said that he would hire an actor as my abusive husband, but the two of us should have a briefing before we meet each other tomorrow. It seems like Dark is investigating me and my background without our intentions aligned. He cannot find out about my real identity as Caroline Dela Vega, one of the daughters of Senator Carlos Dela Vega who is one of his enemies.

"Go to this address, and here is the number of Hector, your supposed abusive husband. I have already stated your situation. You can talk to him through a phone call, so you can discuss what will happen tomorrow," my dad said from our video call as he sent me important emails. "Good luck, Caroline."

I nodded and looked at the silver moon above through the window of the guest room. It was beautiful that I got distracted a bit. When my father called me again, that was when I looked at him. 

"Thank you for your help, Dad. I promise that I will act accordingly tomorrow," I said. 

"Okay, then. I am counting on you. Be careful, darling," he bid goodbye before he dropped the call. 

I was about to close my curtains while I was dialing Hector's phone number, when I saw someone walking on the pavements of the pool area from the outside. I thought it was one of the maids, but when I saw an apparition of a man with a black shirt and shorts; black ruffled hair; his hands behind his back formally, I immediately recognized Dark Vergara. 

What is he doing there late at night? It is already past twelve pm, right?

He turned his back on my window and faced the pool. Its sky blue color was radiating because of the numerous mixed violet and dark blue lights in the right places underneath the water. The still water's lights reflected the posture of Dark. His head was hanging, so he must be looking at the moon above him. I squinted my eyes but decided to just disregard what he was doing. I have to talk to Hector right now. 

"Are you sure you are not hungry? We can have lunch first before we go," Dark offered while he was fixing his seatbelt on the car.

I only smiled at him. "I am still full from the breaking of fast we had last morning. I suggest that we go to my husband now," I said. 

Dark stared at me intently in my face. His gaze casually looked over my ripped jeans and white off-shoulder top that I am currently wearing. It was one of the pairs of outfits he gave me last night. I saw him gulp and avoided his gaze like he always does every time he looks at me.

"Let's go," he declared, his voice hoarse and authoritative. 

Both of us had a good night's sleep, so we are alert and active today in order to work on our agenda - talk to my supposed, scripted husband. His name is Hector. He is one of the entrusted men of my father, and thankfully, he is already a prodigy at being a con artist. I did not have to worry about faking information and giving him instructions. I told him my situation briefly, and he instantly understood his role. Quick and precise. 

"You look good in your clothes," I heard Dark comment. 

"I am still confused how you guessed my size," I pointed out the fitting of my clothes he gave me last night and glanced at him. "You did not even ask me. So I wonder how you guessed it?" 

"I..." He paused a bit, and despite his gaze on the road, he seemed so deep in his thoughts. "I just know someone who is close to me that might be your size. It was a wild guess." 

"Okay," I nonchalantly said and then switched to being worried. "Anyway, I suggest that you do not go near my husband. He is a drunkard. He might hurt you!"

But, of course, I have the knowledge that he can defend himself. He is a mafia boss, after all. Only a few know that, though. 

"I can handle myself," he said. 

I arched my eyebrows secretly and chuckled. "But you do not know my husband. He sometimes acts crazy, especially if it is about me," I said. 

"What do you think will be his reaction if he sees you now, then?" he asked with his hand still gripped on the steering wheel. "He might be angry right now that you are gone. What if I suggest that you stay here in the car to avoid you getting hurt?"

"But he will not believe you unless he sees me himself. I think that I should go with you when you talk to him. I do not want you getting hurt, sir, on the other hand," I said in a worried, meaningful tone. 

"I already said that I can handle myself, as well as protect you from him," he replied and threw a sharp glare at me. 

"I know my husband very well, sir," I retorted, and could not restrain myself from being sassy. 

He scoffed. "You cannot even confirm to yourself that he is truly your husband. We will have to ask for a marriage certificate to prove that you two are married," he said, "or else, I will have him to be questioned by police officers and be arrested."

I gasped dramatically and even threw my hands on my mouth, acting shocked and nervous. "N-No! Why would you bring the police into my situation? I am afraid, sir!" I said, even though I already knew that he would do that.

He furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Who are you afraid of? Your husband? Or the justice that you will have from the violence that you have encountered?" he said. "Also, I am here to help you."

I flinched a little bit because of the statement of justice that he just stated. A mafia boss who cares about justice and injustice? Well, that is odd. He is supposed to be a bad guy, not a justice seeker. Dad has condemned Dark for being a parasite in our city due to his notorious deeds.

"This street, right?" he interrupted my thoughts by taking the car to the right side of the road, entering a street that I informed him about. 

"Yes," I answered when I redirected my focus on this mission. "Just straight ahead and I will tell you when to stop."

So Hector and I have already talked about the foreseen scenario. If I see a house which has a red flag on a green gate, then that will be the setting. We will knock on the gate, and he will go outside with a beer in his hand. He will act out aggressively if he sees me and tries to hurt me. After that, it is up to destiny.

"Stop in front of that gate," I announced, and pointed at the green gate I was seeing with a red flag waving on it. "That is our house."

"Okay," he answered and slowly stopped in front of the gate. Without saying anything, he stepped out of the vehicle to circle around and opened the car door from the passenger's seat where I was. "Get out."

I almost rolled my eyes because he sounded so arrogantly demanding. Thankfully, I bowed my head as I got out, and he did not see me mumbling badly about him. 

"Do you think he is here?" he asked and rang the doorbell when we had walked towards the green gate.

"Yes..." I almost confidently answered, but then remembered that I should not be. "Ummm, unless he is out gambling with our neighbors," I added with a soft voice.

Dark nodded at me. "Then if he does not answer, we will have to ask the people in this street," he said, and pressed the button for the doorbell again. 

After a while, a furious voice from the inside emerged. 

"You damn wait, you little imbeciles!"

It was Hector who shouted and almost cursed from the house. Dark and I looked at each other, silently confirming that my husband was inside. I smirked behind my thought. 

The show begins now. 

The green gate aggressively opened and Hector's huge body was revealed. Based from my father's description, Hector was one of the former bodyguards he had before. It is not a dubious conclusion that Hector can also fight, not to mention that he had huge muscles and is very gigantic. He is even taller than Dark. 

Just like we had talked about, Hector was holding a beer, looking so drunk in his expression, but we both knew that he was beyond sober. It is just that he has to stay in his character. 

"Who are you?!" Hector shouted and leaned his hand with the beer on the gate while looking at Dark. And then, he acted like he accidentally saw me behind Dark and widened his eyes. "You... where have you been, you bi- Ah!" 

Before Hector could even lay his hand on me, Dark swiftly moved from being a statue to catching Hector's wrist firmly to stop him from getting me. Even I, myself, parted my lips because of how fast he was at blocking me. 

"Try to lay a hand on her, and it will be the last time you will have a hand," Dark stammered coldly and emphatically, making my skin crawl because of how dangerous he sounded. 

Hector did not budge, as if he was used to being threatened, and snapped his hand away from Dark's grip. "And who are you? Why are you with my wife?!" he shouted at Dark and glanced at me. 

The right side of my lips rose and winked at Hector when our eyes met. He remained infuriated and glared at me because Dark was watching him. 

Ooohhh, he is a good actor, indeed. The way he moves with anger, his swaying of his body because he is acting like a drunkard, and his eyes fidgeting repeatedly - he just fits the role of an abusive husband! He is also topless, which made his bulging chest and abs caused by training exposed, and his household shorts slightly tilted, visualizing a part of his v-line. 

"Is Rose really your wife?" Dark asked in a constricted and authoritative voice. 

"Of course! She just escaped from me the other day. I tried finding her with the help of the police, but she was nowhere to be found!" Hector answered aggressively with his forehead confidently rising and pointed at Dark's face using his index finger. "Don't tell me that you are his lover, huh? Because I will smack you, you moron! Did you touch my wife?!"

Dark just stared at the pointing finger of Hector, but later on, twisted it, making the con artist scream out his pain and bent his body where his finger was being twisted by Dark. It angered me after gasping and immediately meddled in between them. 

"Dark!" I exclaimed angrily and slapped his hand away from Hector. "You are hurting him!" 

I saw his eyes sparkle in anger for a moment at me before he blinked and thinned his lips. He did not say anything. Forgetting what I was supposed to do, I turned my back on him and checked on Hector who was caressing his finger in pain.

Argh, it must have hurt him!

"I am so sorry-" I was about to say.

Before I could react completely, Hector held both of my shoulders and pushed me against the wall of the gates. It was not included in what we had talked about, so I was surprised by his sudden move! I was hanging my mouth, helpless with my position. He raised his fist and attempted to punch me. By instinct, I was about to raise my knee to kick his ass. It was too late to do that, though. 

Dark had already pulled Hector's shirt from behind and knocked him down on the ground hardly. The next thing I knew, they were fighting. Hector rained punches on Dark, while Dark defended himself by his dodges. I stood there, speechless, but when I composed myself, I used all my strength to pull Dark away. With my might, I pushed Hector and widened my eyes at him. 

"I told the both of you to stop!" I exclaimed. "We could have talked about this calmly. Do you two have to hurt each other?"

Hector panted, and I warned him with my gritting teeth and fierce glares. He sighed and avoided his gaze. When I looked at Dark, his expression was still darkening and his fists clenching. He must have sensed my gaze at him, urging him to look at me. His breathing pattern slowed down, his fists opened, and he gulped at the very end intensely - a sign that he had already calmed himself. 

Just like we had planned out, Hector did not have any papers about our marriage. As if I was a fool to believe in the first place. He just confessed that he was a stalker of mine and kidnapped me from a hospital in another city. Description of my family and my personal information were out his knowledge, an alibi he made to the police before he was arrested.

"Rose Echavez," Dark stated in the police station while he was conversing with a police officer. "That is her name."

Dark gazed at me while I was sitting on the waiting chair in the station. I gave him a wry smile as if I was not mad at him earlier, while he tapped his fingers on the table of an officer. The police officer then typed something on his computer before he gave an answer to Dark.

"There are no records about her, sir. It only comes to the conclusion that the suspect gave her a fake name," the officer stated.

The mafia boss' jaw clenched, and when he looked in my way again, I immediately meant to disorient my face in order to appear sad and disappointed. That I am just a nobody. That I do not know who I am. I lowered my head, stood up, and left the waiting chairs to act as if I was going to the bathroom to loosen up my "dramatic sadness" for a show to him.

But when I had turned to the right hallway of the station, I went straight to the cell where Hector was put in. An officer had just left him after a talk. He was leaning against the black cell, his two hands were out, while following the officer's departure. He heard me approaching, so he glanced in my way and straightened out his body. An immediate panic expression scattered around his face. 

"M-Ma'am-" he almost called me. 

Without letting him continue, I pulled the neckline of his shirt and hit both his body and face against the cell, which made him groan. I leaned over to his face while gritting my teeth and killing him with my fierce glares. 

"I told you to do your job properly. Why did you have to push me against the wall?!" I exclaimed in a whisper. 

A sweat fell from his hair on his forehead. "I am sorry, ma'am. I just got carried away," he reasoned out. 

"You could have just at least informed me beforehand. I almost knocked you down if Dark Vergara did not interfere first. What if he finds out who I am because of you? Do you want to die?" I sarcastically asked. 

He shook his head with his shivering mouth and scared eyes. 

"Then act accordingly next time, or I will make you pay. You don't want to make that happen, right?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," he stuttered. 

"Good," I said and let go of his neckline. I looked sideways, checking if someone was watching. After that, I withdrew the white envelope from my bag to give it to him. "That is your payment today. I will just give you a call if I need you again. I have already bribed the police officer that is currently talking with Dark to release you after we leave." 

"T-Thank you, ma'am," he muttered and accepted the white envelope before I turned my back on him. "I will not fail you next time, ma'am!"

I rolled my eyes as I walked my way back to Dark, who was now currently waiting for me outside the police station. He was turning his back, so he couldn't see me from the inside. I regarded the police officer who was in charge of the information desk. He immediately stood up when he saw me walking towards him.

"Thank you for your service, chief officer," I said and nodded at him. 

"You're welcome, Miss Dela Vega," he said with my surname. 

"I will make sure that you are to be commended by my father for your service," I assured him. 

"I am beyond grateful, ma'am."

Without saying a word anymore, I turned my back on him and opened the door of the station. I fixed my expression into an innocent one to face Dark who was waiting for me. 

"Hey..." I called him and tightened the grip of my bag. "I'm sorry if I took too long in the bathroom. I just had many thoughts."

Dark regarded me and threw his cigarette he was taking far from where we were standing. He nodded indulgently and stashed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"I understand," he said and sighed. "I hope you are okay."

Of course, I am okay. Duh! 

I bowed my head and faked a smile, a gesture that would steal his sympathy. I sighed heavily and shrugged. 

"I admit that I was a bit relieved that Hector was not my husband. But I did not know that it would be worse to know that no one could find any identity of me," I stated and looked up to him with sad eyes. "What am I going to do now when the police themselves cannot help me?"

The clear blue sky was illuminating his eyes, making his eye color exposed. Because his height was towering over me, I had to look up to him.

He was about to respond to my worries, but his attention was diverted. Suddenly, his eyes wandered quickly to every corner of our surroundings. He cussed firmly after he fixated his eyes on something from afar. Before I could even express my curiosity because of his sudden reaction, a loud shot of a gun engulfed my ears after he pulled me into the back of his car. 

What was that?! 

A series of shots were heard as people around the side roads started screaming. Several police officers also went outside the station and ran towards wherever they were. I was too shocked to comprehend what was happening while we were hidden behind Dark's car. He cussed beside me before he withdrew his cellphone swiftly from his pocket. 

"Jachrimo," he called his cousin's name from the other line, "they are attacking us in the police station. Where are you? What? What do you mean the gang is still in the headquarters? I told you to assemble them in order to take care of Tolentino's men. You did not listen to me!"

The next thing I knew, he was already dragging me inside the car that was being rained with numerous shots from guns that I do not where are coming from. Without saying anything, after he had closed the door of my backseat, and he went inside the driver's seat, I peeked over the car's window to see who was shooting a gun. 

"Rose! Do not look! You might get shot!" Dark said while he was starting the engine. 

I wanted to look, but because I did not want to make the obvious that I was not scared, I just laid down on the backseat while we were getting far away from the station. Dark, on the other hand, was still on call with Jachrimo while driving fast. 

Tolentino's men, huh? He is being attacked by a person with that surname. I wonder if my Dad knows Dark's another enemy.

"Okay, let's meet in the mansion, then," Dark said and immediately dropped the call. He threw it on the passenger's seat and gazed at me from his rearview mirror. "Are you okay?"

"Is..." I mumbled and slowly got up from the seat. "Is someone trying to kill us?"

"No," he abruptly answered and sighed. "It's just that... ummm.... it's complicated." 

How is it complicated to comprehend that you are a mafia boss, and it is only a normal scenario that you are being hunted down by other gangs? 

But of course, an innocent flower with an amnesia like me would not be expected to understand his identity and situation. 

"I will just explain to you everything when we get to the mansion," he finally said. "For now, I should take care of this matter before we talk about everything."

Rose was obedient, I thought. When we got to the mansion, he just went straight to his study after he tasked a maid that we passed by to escort me to my room. I heard Jachrimo was in his study. 

"Yes. It was done, Dad," I said while I was calling him from the other line of my phone. "Hector did a good job all in all. The only thing that matters is that Dark will not have to doubt my identity's story. The further matters will be easy for me now that he is slowly trusting me."

"I am glad to hear it," Dad said. "It still has not been a week and you are doing your mission like it is a piece of cake."

I checked if my room's door was locked before I continued talking to my dad. Everyone in the mansion was busy with their business, especially Dark and Jachrimo talking in the study. Must be the shooting incident that transpired in the police station. 

"Dad, do you know any familiar person that has a surname of Tolentino?" I asked as I sat on the bed. 

I heard him flinch from the other line. "Tolentino? Yes. Kris Tolentino. He is my co-owner of the Pablo Casino in our city. We are good partners in business, and he is also a reliable accomplice in politics. Why do you ask?"

"We were almost shot by the police station earlier. It was like their target was Dark because Dark called his cousin to check on his gang's mission that was supposed to happen today. It has something to do with a Tolentino person. He mentioned that surname in the parking lot."

My father fell silent. I don't know if he was surprised by the news I had given, or if he was just thinking about the relationship between his business partner and Dark Vergara. 

"I have no idea that Mr. Tolentino and Dark Vergara have encountered each other. Mr. Tolentino is very private despite him being close with public servants in our country," he explained. "But I will surely investigate. Just do your mission and report to me the indispensable information."

"Yes, Dad."

"Thank you, Caroline."