Marissa's POV“Wow, I can’t believe I am seeing you here. Is it your break?” he asked. “Or are you going home after this?”Oh, since our interaction at the hospital, the exchange of our texts has become rapid and interesting. He must have been excited because I was not like that to him for over the years. I was too nonchalant, but he coped with it just to be with me. Now that I am seeing his efforts, I seem to reciprocate it, because that is what he deserves.“I am going home after this,” I said. “How about you? Just got off from work?”“Yeah, I was just about to call you so that I could invite you for a coffee. But I did not expect that destiny has already planned about it in advance,” he said, his tone expressing a half-meant joke.“Oh, uh,” I said and caressed my nape. “Why do you want to invite me for a coffee?”“It’s just that, um,” he said and looked down at his intertwined fingers, his thumbs playing against each other, “I missed you.”My cheeks immediately flushed when he had t
Marissa's POVGoing home was heavy, knowing that my day did not end well. The coffee Diego Montero ordered for me might have been thrown away. Or maybe he canceled and paid for it. Not this time, though. He cannot upset me and Brylle and then just pay for it just to compensate for what he has done.When I opened the door of my apartment, my head became even more heated as I forgot to pay my visitation for my grandmother. Instead, I just called the number of her caretaker and inquired for her. This is all Diego's fault! He messed it all up!My phone kept ringing on the side table, but I just ignored it, for I knew that it would be only Diego who flooded me with a lot of texts and calls. I read his texts. I glared at his name from the screen whenever his name shows up as he calls. In the end, I just did not mind him, because I do not want to forgive what he did. I sighed and stared at the wall of my apartment room, my mind was busy recalling the encounter I had with Brylle a while ago.I
Marissa's POV"You see..." I played with my fingers. "I have a contract with Mr. Diego Montero. If I agree to it, he would pay all of my grandmother's hospital bills. He would also refer me to a good job in New York, and you best know that it is my dream city, right? So I signed it, for my grandmother's sake and the achievement of my long time dream...""Okay?" she simply said and prepared the wine bottle from the marble table in front of us. She opened it and began to pour the two wine glasses. "What is the contract all about, Marissa?"I bit my lower lip. "I will marry him, and give him a baby," I revealed, which she slowly turned around and dropped her jaw. I immediately explained the details before she fully reacted. "Look, it will just be a quick marriage. After I give him a baby, he will make me leave. The reason is that her mother is dying months from now, and his father is having an affair. His mother's wish before she dies is seeing him have a family, because she believes her
Marissa’s POVThe beauty of the night was distracting me from focusing on his annoying face. The color of his corporate attire matched the silver moon above, illuminating where he was, like a spotlight. Even though I do not want it to look like it was me hallucinating, I cannot deny that everything around him makes him attractive, and yet he is the person I know who has the darkest, insensitive heart.“We don’t have anything to talk about,” I said coldly and started to walk, planning to avoid his direction and almost pass by him, but he only grabbed my hand to stop me. I glared hard at him so he would know that I did not like the situation here. “Can you let me go now? I said I have no time for you!”The more I protested, the more his hand tightened on my wrist. I could sense that he was beginning to be pissed. He was gritting his teeth, widening his eyes, and his face shaking. I know that expression. He will eventually rain many insults on me. It has been a thing he does to me and ot
Marissa’s POV“I am m sorry,” he mumbled. “I cannot go back to when you and your suitor were arguing because of me. But let me make it up to you. I will do anything for you to forgive me.”“How? By giving me stupid flowers and gifts? Or offering me huge money in exchange for invalidating my feelings right now?” I sarcastically said while raising my eyebrow.“You think lowly of me,” he concluded. “I thought you know me, Marissa.”“Yes, I know you! You tend to blame others instead of taking accountability!” I said.“Then you are just only looking at my bad sides,” he said and smiled in pain which made me confused. “I guess I was wrong.”Awkward silence interfered with us, and it made me uncomfortable. I have said a lot of things and did not even once think of taking them back. He has to know what he did because I am so sick of understanding him.But why do I feel so guilty suddenly?“I know that what I did was bad, causing you to react like this. That is why I did something that could m
Marissa’s POVI opened the main door of my apartment and locked it when I was ready to leave. The gate was wide open, so I could see the Aston Martin Diego Montero owned beside him while he was waiting for me. I sighed before I started walking towards him.Again, I touched every part of my dress and felt my purpose, trying to breathe every minute. Okay, Marissa. You just have to be strong. Remember what Nica said? You have to just apologize to Brylle and explain your side. Do your best to make him understand. He will not have second thoughts just to forgive you. You can’t endure not forgiving someone you love. If the heart wants it, it will be able to do its best to get you back.I took a deep breath while still walking. Diego must have heard my heels, so he immediately turned his head to me. His lips parted as if he was amused, his gaze hovering over my entire appearance. It was awkward because it was as if I was displaying myself to impress him. Tss.“Hi,” he greeted with a ghost of
Marissa's POV“I see that Brylle likes you. Men nowadays cannot endure pursuing women that long. They tend to jump from one to another,” he shared. “Why?” I smirked. “Are you one of these stupid men?”I crossed my arms and comfortably leaned against the backrest of the passenger’s seat. I sighed.“That is why I do not trust men generally. I have a best friend whose name is Nica. I witnessed her cry with multiple men she dated and how they just left her like she was trash they could throw anytime. I mean, why do they say that to women who genuinely love them through best and worst times?”“Hey, so are you considering me one of them?” he asked.“Well, I do not. I did not hear anyone say that you fell in love with someone,” I said. "You seem like a lone wolf who does not find socializing interesting. So it only leads to a conclusion that dating is just not indispensable to you."He furrowed his eyebrows briefly, glanced at me meaningfully, and then shook his head. "That is where you are
Marissa’s POVMy heart and my mind were both cloudy as I stared through the car window. Questions haunted me as we left the restaurant, asking myself what just happened.What did Brylle mean that Nica is his girlfriend? And why did Nica stand up like she was even proud of it? What the hell happened?Brylle and Nica. They were both important to me. We have been together for so long. If my trust was placed in people, it would be them as my first choice. Even though they never got along together because Brylle acted as my suitor, while Nica served as my confidant, they were the ones I entrusted my care and devotion to all my life. I had no parents. No mass of friends. No relatives. No people see me as a dear person to me.An independent woman would only lean on people who truly care for her and would trade anything in the world just to display loyalty. In that way, she would also return the favor. Even everything that she has for them.My grandmother is currently hospitalized. My best fr
Marissa's POVFor 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 Elis
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
Marissa's POV"If I could follow the contract, he would answer all of the hospital bills for my grandmother. I will also go to New York and have my dream job. In that way, I would reach my dreams and make my grandmother feel better," I explained."Marissa," he mumbled, and felt his hands on my shoulder. "Why did you not tell me? I could have helped you.""No," I said and shut my eyes. "I could never dare to involve you and Nica in my problems. You have done everything for me, and I would be ashamed to reach out to you.""Why would you even think about that? You are important to Nica and to me. If you didn't like Diego, you could have just reached out to us. How dare you think it would be shameful! Oh, goodness, Marissa. I am so sorry you have to put up with that situation."Before I could even completely react, he had already pulled me for a warm and tight embrace. The sadness and loneliness have already pent up inside my heart, making me sob against his chest as I feel his hand at th
Marissa’s POV“You said you wanted to talk to me,” I said coldly as I watched the stars above me with deadpan eyes. “I am free tomorrow. You can bring Brylle over. I will text where.”I heard Nica inhale sharply. “Brylle would be grateful to talk to you,” she mumbled from the other line. He said he wanted closure.”“I know,” I said and looked down at the pavement. “I also need that, too.”The silence stretched as we shared it through the lines of our cellphones. I bit my lower lip as I realized that I had just killed my pride by deciding to talk to Brylle and Nica. Maybe I was also too hard on both of them over the years I was friends with them. Nica maybe was right. I was selfish and self-entitled.The call briefly ended. My sightseeing through the stars prolonged and I was too drowned in them that I barely recognized how late the night was already.Or maybe because I was still recalling how Madame Margarita and I negotiated that I will have to cut my connection with Diego. Because w
Diego’s POVI played with the red wine inside my glass as Tito George and Ms. Zeana Tan were talking business in front of me. The customers inside the restaurant were filling my ears, but I barely cared about the conversations surrounding me. Only the words of Marissa were circling around my mind, repeating, again and again.She will never love me.She doesn't love me.And I should stop dreaming.Then were her smiles when she was in Palawan with me all fake? Was she just pretending that she was genuinely happy with me?“Hey, Diego…”I snapped out when I felt my uncle’s hand on my shoulder, shaking me a bit. He was furrowing his eyebrows at me and parting his lips, bestowing confusion across his face.“Are you okay? You look like you're occupied,” he concluded.“O-Oh,” I exclaimed and noticed that the both of them were just watching me thinking deeply. I had to clear my throat and straightened up while sitting on my chair. “What… Uh, I was not catching up. Where are we?”“We are talkin
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 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 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