Marissa’s POVThe meeting ended well with the businessmen and ladies in high positions shaking each other’s hands. I don’t even know what to say about the tension inside the conference room. I just knew that it was a hell of a stress.Some of the businessmen that Diego talked to congratulated me on the presentation, but I knew they were just impressing the Chief Executive Director. I kept looking at Zeana Tan who was talking with Chairman Karlos Montero.“Let’s eat in the restaurant after this,” he whispered to me after he briefly dismissed a businessman.“Okay,” I said. “I will book a restaurant.”“Please do,” he said and smiled at me.I nodded as he continued conversing with the high-falutin men and ladies in business. I walked out of the conference room as I crossed my arms to book his favorite restaurant and prepare our orders. After over three minutes of talking with a nice lady over the phone, I heaved a deep sigh and closed my eyes, refusing to go back into the conference room
Marissa's POVWe watched Zeana Tan turn her back on us. She was approaching the board of directors who immediately attended to her. Even though Diego was already in front of me and patterning his plans for us tonight, I could not remove my gaze off the successful woman who just talked to me a while ago. I looked at the calling card she just gave me and caressed its surface. "Do you want to change your clothes before we go to the restaurant?" Diego asked. I smiled and shook my head, now regarding him. "Uhh, no, I'll just wear this," I said. "Okay," he said and smiled, now placing his hand around my shoulder. "Let's go."We were about to walk away, but before we could even proceed, Mrs. Margarita Montero blocked our way. My smile immediately faded. Our eyes met, and I could already sense her dismissal towards me. Diego called out to her and kissed her cheek. She instantly bestowed her sweet smile. "Good job on your presentation, my son. You even impress Ms. Zeana Tan. I assure you.
Marissa’s POVI played with the food in front of me with a solemn face. Diego’s plate was making subtle sounds because of the movements of his cutleries. My sighs were not loud but emphatic. The dinner was silent, and everyone inside the restaurant was elegantly eating.“Are you okay?” Diego could not help himself anymore and asked because of how I was so down in front of him. “You seem thinking about a lot of things.”I smiled and looked at him. “Yes,” I answered. “I am sorry. I am just so tired right now…”He chewed his food and stared at me for a long. After that, he straightened up.“Are you still thinking about our meeting?” he asked.“No. It’s just that exhaustion can really dominate my body so easily,” I explained. “You should not mind me.”I watched how he placed his hand on my knuckle. “If you want to share something with me, I will always be willing to listen to you, okay?”“Thank you,” I said.For some reason, Ms. Villanueva’s confession went through my mind. That it was Ni
Marissa’s POVMs. Gonzaga stared at me for a moment and blinked numerously before her gaze went down to my hands. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the shimmering diamond ring on my ring finger.“May I… touch the jewel, Ms. Dela Cruz?” she asked as if I was royal to her.I giggled at how I saw her so cute. “Of course, Ms. Gonzaga!” I said enthusiastically.She smiled awkwardly but her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she began to hold my hand and twisted it gently, studying every detail of the ring. While I was watching her with amusement, we both heard a pair of high heels coming towards us. Before we could even check who it was, it already had spoken.“Looks like you are enjoying that luxurious ring which is much more expensive than you do, Secretary Dela Cruz.”I felt like I was bathed in a basin of cold water when I heard Madame Margarita’s firm and angry voice and saw her standing right in front of us. Ms. Gonzaga gasped and went away from me, letting go of my hand. I gulp
Marissa’s POVI stared at the photograph on my hand in discernment. The sun was already setting in front of me. It is dusk. I went outside from my grandmother’s hospital room to get fresh air and retrieve the photograph she had taken when I revealed it to her.Ever since I was a kid, she hated talking about my parents. She would only say that they are dead to us. They left me.I wonder why she resented them when in fact my mother died due to childbirth, while my father left us like a bubble popping. I don’t even know why, and I don’t remember them anymore… if there were possible times when we interacted. I sighed and stood up, planning to go back to my grandmother’s hospital room. With my shoulders down and a deep sigh, I made my way to the glass doors of the garden where I had been. As I was thinking about a lot of things, I suddenly saw Diego with Madame Margarita beside her passing by through the hallway.Madame Margarita was wearing a hospital gown with a dextrose attached to h
Marissa’s POV“Thank you for your time joining me tonight, Ms. Dela Cruz,” Ms. Zeana Tan said to me when she dropped me off at the hospital. “I hope I did not waste it.”“I am even grateful towards you, ma’am, for choosing me as your company,” I said and smiled. “Is your husband not going to be mad at you for being late, ma’am?”She arched her eyebrow with a slight smile. “It is funny that you think I have a husband,” she said. “I am still single and not planning to marry anytime soon!”My eyes widened in fractions and panicked. “Oh, my god. I am so sorry. I did not know,” I said.“Don’t worry. I am not offended. Everyone, though, assumes the same.”“Who would not, ma’am? One, I think you are very beautiful, intelligent, wealthy, and successful. It is an obvious fact that many people would admire you, especially men!” I exclaimed.Ms. Zeana Tan only meaningfully smiled, like what I said was just a big deal to her. She stared at me for long. I wanted to avoid my gaze because she migh
Marissa’s POVJust by the mention of Brylle’s name, I had to face her and slap her in the face. I heard Ms. Gonzaga gasp because of what I did. Nica ticked her jaw and held the cheek I just slapped. She glared at me. “Stop talking to me as if we are okay!” I whispered loudly. “We were not okay the moment you stabbed me in the back. And what did you say? Brylle wants to talk to me. After what the both of you has done to me?” “That is why I want to “But I cut her off again. “And would you also deny that you scattered rumors about me just because I married my boss? Did you enjoy the fact that the employees where I work are talking behind my back? Have you always been threatened by me?!”“Yes!” Nica inhaled sharply and widened her eyes hugely because of the frustration that was pent up within her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath tremblingly. When she opened them again, there were already tears pooling at its sides. “I hated the fact that the man I love was in love with my
Marissa’s POVMy eyes stayed on the cup of hot lemon tea being poured by the maid, but I could still sense how Madame Margarita was staring at me suspiciously. When the maid transferred to her cup, I raised my eyes to her again. She squinted her eyes, while I still instilled my deadpan stare. “I will still not believe that you intend to not marry Diego after you said yes to him,” she said. “If so, what made you change your mind? Were you scared because I did not approve of you?” “No,” I confidently said. “I was willing to win you over.”“You will not win me.”“I know,” I also agreed, making her left eyebrow raise. “That is why retreating to the marriage would also be a good thing.”“I see where you are going.”“And I also know that you are only faking your illness,” she said. “You don’t have cancer.”Because of what I revealed, she flinched a little bit and was motionless for a minute. She tried to not make it obvious, but when she tried to open her mouth, it was trembling. In the e
MARISSA’S POV“Are you really sure about talking to him?” Brylle asked as he hid my view of Diego who was sitting on the couch in the living room.I sighed while I was crossing my arms. “He wanted to see and know about our daughter,” I said. “What should I do? Deny? He already knew before he could even reach here.”“But you vowed to yourself that you will never see him,” he said firmly and furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t tell me that you still have feelings for him, Marissa.”I remembered how Diego kissed me a while ago, and I felt so guilty in front of Brylle. Ever since I left the Philippines, he was the one who comforted me together with Nica. They were both supportive of Lilith and I. So I know that he is just worried about me seeing Diego.I could not help but avoid my gaze. I saw from my peripheral vision that he nodded, as if he just confirmed something.“You still love him,” he reckoned.“I have been prepared for making Lilith meet her father,” I stated, meeting his gaze again.
I felt my heart drop when I saw Diego Montero entering the backyard with Lilith holding his hand and pulling him to her friends. Diego’s expression was mixed with confusion and surprise. The guests barely cared, because in their minds, Diego must just be a guest. “What is he doing here, Marissa?” Nica asked as I followed her going outside the house. “Do you think I know?” I exclaimed and muttered a crisp curse. “So why is he holding Lilith?” “I don’t know!” Nica and I kept exchanging frustrated mumbles because we have no idea why Diego was here. How did he even know my address? “Sir, you can get a slice of cake at the buffet table,” Lilith even said and pointed at the table with her head looking up to Diego. I was taken aback that I could not help and snatch her hand away when I got to the both of them. Diego parted his lips as he looked at me, his eyes digging into mine and searching answers from the questions he must be having in his mind. Out of urge, I held Lilith and moved
MARISSA’S POV“We have nothing to talk about,” I firmly said and dropped his hand. “Why don’t you go home to your family now, huh?”Before he could see the tears stinging at the sides of my eyes, I turned my back on him and went straight to my car with my heart beating fast and my mind so cloudy with memories. When I got inside my car and looked in front of me, his car was already running towards the exit, leaving me in the indoor parking lot of the company.I wanted to break down and hold my chest while mentally saying that everything would be alright. Whatever the reason he is here is solely none of my business. Whether he has a family or not, I don’t need him in my daughter’s life.But wait a minute, how did he know that we had a daughter? And did Madame Margarita Montero tell him about what we both agreed on in order for me to leave Diego?Nonetheless, what is done is done. I can’t go back to the past anymore. I have a life here in New York with my daughter. I may not be happy jus
MARISSA’S POV I only snapped when Mrs. Rivera called me. I regarded her who was eyeing me up and down, weirded out by why I was wet. Even Diego was also coldly staring at me, couldn't care less that I was in front of him. He did not even flinch, as if he had already expected that I am here. In New York! “I… I’ll just change, madame. I’m sorry. Excuse me…” I did not waste time and immediately turned my back in order to escape from that stupid embarrassment. My little run with my high heels was awkward as I made my way to the washroom. I gave a message to Ms. Desmon to find me a pair of clothes from my locker and fix myself. “Shit, what was he doing here?!” I said in panic as I paced back and forth inside the cubicle. “He can’t be here. I mean, he can, but for all the places on Earth, why here?!” And he has a wife. And a child. It’s just five years, and he has already moved on? Or am I the only one who distinguished five years to be a shorter time? “Ma’am, here are your clothes.”
“Are you okay, ma’am? You seemed stressed. Do you want me to get you some coffee?” an assistant of mine asked me when she noticed me staring at the wall of my office.“Huh? Oh!” I exclaimed and almost panicked, but I stopped myself and just grabbed the paperwork in front of me. “Don’t mind me. Just please get to work.”Shit. I did not like the idea of not focusing on my work enough and being distracted by what had happened last night with Madame Zeana. Everything she said seemed so absurd to me and impossible.How could she be my mother? She lives in the US, and I lived with my grandmother in the Philippines. I had a simple and convenient life as an assistant, while she is the most luxurious woman who people have known, bringing success from her business and showbiz. Now I could not imagine her kneeling yesterday in front of me, just so I could forgive her.I clenched my fist, crumbling the paper inside my hand.“Ma’am, you are destroying the contract…”“Oh, shit…” I cussed and looked
Marissa’s POV“I don’t understand why you are here,” the first thing I said to Madame Zen who was in front of me. “I don’t even have an idea how you tracked me.”The nanny of my son placed the two cups of tea on the dining table. I am currently sitting in the capital opposite to Madame Zen. She was wearing a fancy cardigan and above the knee leather skirt. Her Louis Vuitton mini bag was even boasting itself that she put on the corner of the dining table. Her sparkling success was very shiny that I had to clear my throat and mind who I was talking to.Madame Zen stared at me for a while before the corners of her lips rose a little. “I have tracked you down ever since you came here in New York. The last minute that I could not see you in the Philippines, I got worried, so I hired a private investigator just to find you.”I was so overwhelmed by what she spilled that I laughed in amusement and sipped on my tea. My head was shaking in disbelief because I thought she was just throwing a jo
Marissa's POV For five years, I only wanted to take care of Lilith, my daughter, as we left the Philippines to start a new life and a new career. After my grandmother died last year, I knew that I had to be strong for the steering wheel that I had been controlling all my life to be steady. Grandma was the reason I wanted to live for a long time. Now, it was Lilith. "Mom, I told you that I wanted to play in the park with my nanny. Why would you not let me?" Lilith said as she stomped her little feet under the dining table. I turned to her while fixing the valuable things inside my bag. Her nanny, on the other hand, was helping her eat breakfast. My beautiful daughter was looking up at me while pouting her lips. Her hair was already done into ponytails and is currently wearing the dress I just bought for her in the mall. "No," I said and smiled at her. "The park is too dangerous, my love. You have to understand me." "Nanny! Help me!" she said and then looked at Nanny Elisa. Nanny
Marissa’s POV I could feel the discrete and watchful stares of Nica and Brylle in front of me. I was just staring at the hot coffee inside a huge mug in front of me. They made sure I ate today, even though it was not a lot. It already satisfied them that I had something in my stomach. “I know you won’t open up to us,” Nica said in the middle of the deafening silence. “But I want you to know that Brylle and I will be here for you.” My eyes slowly darted on both of them. They were beside each other and their hands underneath were obviously intertwined just by the visual of their hands together. The only thing that was separating us was the dining table. Currently, we are in the dining area in front of me. The night was still young. “I am leaving tomorrow,” I started with a lump on my throat, but my eyes are already tired from crying. “And I don’t know if I will be back.” “What?” Brylle exclaimed. “What do you mean?” “Madame Margarita was the primary reason why my contract with Di
Marissa’s POV“Brylle! Oh, my goodness! What happened to you?!” Nica exclaimed in shock.The moment I let her inside the apartment, Nica rushed to Brylle who was caressing the white plaster on his right cheek. She was pressing his wound, while he kept telling her that it was alright. I could not help but furrow my eyebrows at how they care for each other. I can see it. “Marissa,” Nica mumbled my name and stood up so he could face me. “Who did this to him?”I crossed my arms after I locked the door of the living room. “It was Diego Montero,” I answered. “I am sorry.”Her expression changed from a serious one to a concerned one. The moment she did that, I already retreated. I shook my head.“We can talk tomorrow. For now, you should rest together with Brylle. Spend the night. I already prepared everything in my grandmother’s room. You can use it,” I said. “I’ll go to my room now.”I did not let her speak anymore and turned my back on them already. I could feel her stares following me