The manager gestured with his hand to let me follow him to the elevator. Once we were there, he took me to the seventh floor. He waited until I stepped out before he came up by my side. Then he led me to a room at the end corner of the floor. It had mechanical locks that seemed difficult to break in, but the manager keyed in the codes with deft fingers. In less than a minute, the door opened, and he led me inside.
My eyes caught the huge screen right away, displaying multiple windows that showed different areas of the hotel. The manager then ran his fingers on the keys, and the lobby where the president and his men were dining, zoomed in.
“Did you hear something from them that scares you?” he asked, turning his head to look at me.
I just held his gaze, but I did not nod nor shake my head.
“Is this the reason?” he asked again, and after some clicks, a window opened to an area by the outskirts of the forest.
My eyes flew
"Thanks, God! You're finally awake!"I shut my eyes back when the blinding light of the sun entered my eyes. I then opened them slowly until I got adjusted to the glare. I stared at the woman who stood by the bedside, brushing the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand."Mia?" I exclaimed, my eyes glowed at the sight of my rival in my love for Sean."Why are you here?"Her lips trembled right away, and her eyes welled with tears. "You scared us so much, especially Sean. I got so worried that he might not be able to handle his grief."I furrowed my brows as I gathered back my thoughts on what happened before I drifted off to sleep. The ache on my back, the muscle pain, and my grogginess told me I had been in bed for days. Then, I remembered I was running after Sean and ended on escaping from the president through the cave. And I recalled everything that followed after that. A bronco bug bit me, and Philip's voice was the last thing I heard befo
I ran to the window and parted the curtains to the side. I looked over the direction of the Kalasag Hill, and just as I anticipated, I saw black clouds of smoke rising from the forest. Instead of losing my strength in fear, I felt an adrenaline rush from within me. I stormed out of the room, and without heeding the manager's yells, I ran towards the direction of the forest.I felt within me a prodigy of strength that none of the resort’s staff was able to stop me. Not long after, I heard the sound of the galloping horse’s hooves.“Ma’am, hop in!” the manager yelled at me while I moved to the side to give way.I saw him pulling short both the reins. Then he braced one hand on the horse’s neck, holding the rein tightly and grabbing its mane. Raising the other rein up and back, he then pulled it toward his shoulder.The manager then got off quickly from the horse as soon as it pulled to a stop. Without waiting for his inst
I furrowed my brows while I took the paper bags from her hands."Dr. Mia would like you to be there at her garden wedding this afternoon."I froze in my seat, unprepared to take the big blow. Sean and Mia are getting married today? Why hasn't she told me about it? Is she afraid to break the news to me because I am sick?I felt a lump sticking inmy throat, summoning the floodgates of tears behind my eyes to open up. I chuckled loudly, but my tears trickled endlessly that I couldn't brush them enough with the back of my index fingers."Look, Dr. Red, the garden is already ready," the nurse said as she walked towards the glass wall, peeping throughthe narrow slits betweenthe curtains.I jumped off the bed after a while then sauntered towards the glass wall. A beautiful flower garden greeted my eyes, and there were rows of chairs and tables indeed, wrapped in cream and burgundy pleated skirts.I scanned the place furth
"This is a mistake," I said, breaking the silence and awkwardness. "Because you thought that another man is coming in?" he said, and his lips broke into a tender smile. He strode fast towards me, then wrapped me right away in his arms. "I miss you, babe," he said in a hoarse voice, hugging me tighter. "I missed you so much." "You have no right to say that. In the next few hours, you will already have a new bride." Sean then held me at arm strength and looked into my eyes. "Mia?" "Who else?" I replied, my voice startingto crack. "My mother has long adopted Mia as my little sister. I'm sorry for not telling you this because it was part of the plan to mislead President Ric and his allies." My goodness! I felt like a candle, melting in too much shame. "I have always told you that there's no one else in my heart, long before I found you." Sean cupped my face, and when he was about to bend his h
Author's Note:I got the inspiration to write this book whenthe COVID-19 outbreak started to hit my country. I just imagined a love story that grows amidst the virus outbreak, but I realized later that this storyline could be a sensitive issue to those who are affected. So, I changed the name of the virus to make it fictional and diverted the course of the story from what I originally created in my mind."Red, can you please spare me a box of face masks?"I frowned at this message from a friend as I opened my messenger app. I crossed my leg over the other as I slumped over the couch in our physician's loungeas soon as I finished writing orders. I was already exhausted from those non-stop admissions. It was already past three in the morning when I returned to the quarters, and yet, all the ER beds were still full. Others were even helping thems
All of a sudden, there was chaos among the staff in the emergency room. They ran back and forth, wearing their N95 face masks in a snap of a finger. Those vigilant watchers of the waiting patients at the ER started to panic. They began to ask questions while putting themselves, as well, into their protective gear. Some sprayed alcohol on themselves, almost emptying the contents of a bottle in just a single use. Some of them even wanted to cancel their admissions and go home right away or transfer to other health facilities."Everything is under control. No need to panic," I heard someone from the infectious control department addressing the crowd, standing tall from the nurses' counter. She had power in her voice, however, the glints of fear reflecting in her eyes betrayed her inner feelings."What's happening?" someone from the watcher's lounge asked as he slid himself into the main ER's entrance."Someone came over here for a consultation. Just because h
My shift finally ended after a few hours Mr. Grey left the hospital premises. I gave him an antihistamine for five days but encouraged him to consult his physician if symptoms persist. I took a shower before leaving, planning to dive into my bed as soon as I arrive home. It had been a long shift, and all I wanted was to sleep for another 24 hours. I was already in my third year of medical residency training, specializing in Internal Medicine. I planned to pursue a subspecialty program, also known as fellowship training, and perhaps, I choose either Cardiology or Infectious Diseases. I was already a few months away from completing my residency, but still, I had not made up my mind yet.I took another shower as soon as I arrived home. I didn't want my boyfriend, Eric, to blame me if he ever gets sick. I was already tired of his foul mouth as I was becoming more and more worthless in his eyes. Yes, he had reasons why he looked down on me. He rescued me from the pit of financial
"See you at the Amara Hotel tonight, 7 pm. Don't be late.""Alright."Throughout those five years we were together, I learned to submit myself to his plans and decisions. I never questioned him though sometimes, I felt suffocated. I even accepted the fact that if he brings me to any function, it's not because he wanted my company but because I was like a trophy for him to show off. He was always far from the man I knew every time important men in his social circle surrounded us. He became the gentleman that he never was, sweet and caring like a thoughtful sweetheart. Sometimes, I even wished there would be more events to attend.I set my alarm clock to three hours before the event. It should be enough for my preparation, knowing that Eric was so meticulous. Perhaps because his call disrupted my train of thoughts, I drifted into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head hit my soft pillow..._____I was in a boat, enjoying the sceneries around me. We wer
"This is a mistake," I said, breaking the silence and awkwardness. "Because you thought that another man is coming in?" he said, and his lips broke into a tender smile. He strode fast towards me, then wrapped me right away in his arms. "I miss you, babe," he said in a hoarse voice, hugging me tighter. "I missed you so much." "You have no right to say that. In the next few hours, you will already have a new bride." Sean then held me at arm strength and looked into my eyes. "Mia?" "Who else?" I replied, my voice startingto crack. "My mother has long adopted Mia as my little sister. I'm sorry for not telling you this because it was part of the plan to mislead President Ric and his allies." My goodness! I felt like a candle, melting in too much shame. "I have always told you that there's no one else in my heart, long before I found you." Sean cupped my face, and when he was about to bend his h
I furrowed my brows while I took the paper bags from her hands."Dr. Mia would like you to be there at her garden wedding this afternoon."I froze in my seat, unprepared to take the big blow. Sean and Mia are getting married today? Why hasn't she told me about it? Is she afraid to break the news to me because I am sick?I felt a lump sticking inmy throat, summoning the floodgates of tears behind my eyes to open up. I chuckled loudly, but my tears trickled endlessly that I couldn't brush them enough with the back of my index fingers."Look, Dr. Red, the garden is already ready," the nurse said as she walked towards the glass wall, peeping throughthe narrow slits betweenthe curtains.I jumped off the bed after a while then sauntered towards the glass wall. A beautiful flower garden greeted my eyes, and there were rows of chairs and tables indeed, wrapped in cream and burgundy pleated skirts.I scanned the place furth
I ran to the window and parted the curtains to the side. I looked over the direction of the Kalasag Hill, and just as I anticipated, I saw black clouds of smoke rising from the forest. Instead of losing my strength in fear, I felt an adrenaline rush from within me. I stormed out of the room, and without heeding the manager's yells, I ran towards the direction of the forest.I felt within me a prodigy of strength that none of the resort’s staff was able to stop me. Not long after, I heard the sound of the galloping horse’s hooves.“Ma’am, hop in!” the manager yelled at me while I moved to the side to give way.I saw him pulling short both the reins. Then he braced one hand on the horse’s neck, holding the rein tightly and grabbing its mane. Raising the other rein up and back, he then pulled it toward his shoulder.The manager then got off quickly from the horse as soon as it pulled to a stop. Without waiting for his inst
"Thanks, God! You're finally awake!"I shut my eyes back when the blinding light of the sun entered my eyes. I then opened them slowly until I got adjusted to the glare. I stared at the woman who stood by the bedside, brushing the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand."Mia?" I exclaimed, my eyes glowed at the sight of my rival in my love for Sean."Why are you here?"Her lips trembled right away, and her eyes welled with tears. "You scared us so much, especially Sean. I got so worried that he might not be able to handle his grief."I furrowed my brows as I gathered back my thoughts on what happened before I drifted off to sleep. The ache on my back, the muscle pain, and my grogginess told me I had been in bed for days. Then, I remembered I was running after Sean and ended on escaping from the president through the cave. And I recalled everything that followed after that. A bronco bug bit me, and Philip's voice was the last thing I heard befo
The manager gestured with his hand to let me follow him to the elevator. Once we were there, he took me to the seventh floor. He waited until I stepped out before he came up by my side. Then he led me to a room at the end corner of the floor. It had mechanical locks that seemed difficult to break in, but the manager keyed in the codes with deft fingers. In less than a minute, the door opened, and he led me inside.My eyes caught the huge screen right away, displaying multiple windows that showed different areas of the hotel. The manager then ran his fingers on the keys, and the lobby where the president and his men were dining,zoomed in.“Did you hear something from them that scares you?” he asked, turning his head to look at me.I just held his gaze, but I did not nod nor shake my head.“Is this the reason?” he asked again, and after some clicks, a window opened to an area by the outskirts of the forest.My eyes flew
I tuned in a sharp ear while I was sipping from my cup, listening to their conversation. Pretending to be occupied, I picked up a magazine from under the table. These men were just a few meters away from me, though a pillar blocked me from their view. I knew they saw me, but perhaps thinking I was harmless, they did not seem to mind my presence.“Have the troops arrived already?” one of the men asked, his voice louder than a whisper. But because of the deafening silence of the place, you can hear even a needle dropping.“Yes, they are already surrounding the forest of Kalasag.”“How far is it from here?”“It’s the next hill from here.”So, I am now in a resort close to Kalasag, Sean’s homeplace. Mr. Ian and all his allies must have brought me here to blackmail me into selling the other half of my shares by using Sean as a pawn. But of all places in the face of the earth, why does Mr. I
I got up from my bed and walked towards the window. Parting the curtains to the side, the blinding light of the sun piercing through the window panes made me close my eyes for a moment. I closed my eyes tightly then opened them slowly until I got adjusted to the glare. The moment I gazed into the distance, all I could see was the rich and sprawling greeneries below the wide canopy of the sky, animated by its sailing, fluffy clouds. From where I stood, it looked like I was on top of a hill overlooking the rolling stretch of farms and plain below.I then looked around the room. My huge bed satatop a carpeted floor under a chic ceiling design illuminated by white, LED lightings underneath a rectangular frame. Aside from a set of couches, a coffee table, and built-in lockers, only a set of television, a phone, and a refrigerator graced the room. But what caught my interest in being here was the glass walls that allowed me to see the spectacular views of the rows of trees, t
I couldn’t seem to imagine that my grandfather had other women. Perhaps, he did it while grandmother was still alive. But who am I to judge him anyway?“It was a short-term relationship with his secretary, back then. When your grandmother found it out, she almost left; but luckily, your grandfather was able to persuade her to save their marriage. From then on, he never had a female secretary, and that was how Philip came in.”“So, Philip was grandpa’s secretary?”“And Sean’s, when he passed away. He is your grandfather’s most trusted assistant.”My heart sank as I heard it. I still remembered how Philip affirmed Hazel’s confession about my real identity. If it were not for him, I would not have trusted Hazel’s claims. If it were not for him, I would not have come to believe that Sean was making lies all along.“Sadly, he has betrayed them,” I said, my lips tur
“Dr. Red, I just received a report that Prospero City is now on complete lockdown,” the pilot told me after I climbed into the plane after our last stopover for refueling and engine checks.“Is it because of the spread of the Bronc X virus?” I asked, stiffening in my seat; my eyes unblinking.“Your city is the only place negative of Bronc X infection,” the pilot replied while his hands were fumbling over some keys on the cockpit. “But it is heavily guarded since Mr. Sean Grey’s business establishments are there. No one is allowed an entry or exit for the moment.”My thoughts then went on Sean and I was wondering if this pilot beside me was the one who transported Sean to wherever he may be at this moment.“Is Sean in Prospero now?” I tried to sound dry, presuming that everybody already knew our status. And surely, this pilot who brought every dignitary to each of their destinations had also