Even though Chiavelli assured them that he would handle the situation, Shantala did not like the idea. So even though she was told to hide, she just went inside her room and grabbed her gun before walking back downstairs while Melanie was trying her best to stop her.
While she was on the staircase, Chiavelli opened the door and the man standing before them was someone he did not know of. He suspected him but upon seeing that he was holding a bag full of strawberries that Shantala had always been eating ever since she got pregnant, he creased his forehead."Oh, wait. I think I got the wrong house," Gavin said, totally confused to see different people in the cottage that he was sure Shantala, aka Kierra, had bought from his father."Wait," Valerie said as she pointed at the strawberries. "Those are for Kierra, right?""Ah, yes, they are. I heard she is obsessed with them so..."Shantala, who was ready to shoot her gun, immediately hid her wThe next morning, Shantala did not go out for her morning walk because she was too afraid to meet Gavin again. Who knows? She might suddenly find herself face-to-face with the man who thought that their baby was gone and the man who also put a huge bounty on her head. It would be something she could not even imagine so she chose to stay within the comfort of the cottage. Eating her strawberries like usual, she heard a knock on the door."Kierra, it's me, Gavin!"Not wanting to get involved with him any further, she pretended that she did not hear anyone knocking or speaking. Grabbing the melted chocolate, she dipped her strawberry and took a satisfying bite."Kierra, I know you are awake! Can we speak for a while? I mean... I do not know why you suddenly left after knowing what my work is but let me tell you. I am not a bad person."She rolled her eyes and still ignored him but little did she know that the curtain at the kitchen's window was tied
Jasper Lavina, the police officer who called Hyperion regarding Shantala's case, arrived at the mansion of the mafia boss upon getting the instruction to see him there. Upon his entrance with one of Hyperion's men, he saw Stacey Arceo-Ranford. At first glance, he thought that she was Shantala who did not have a scar on her right cheek. But after a few minutes of staring at her, he came to realize that Shantala looked more mature physically. He shook his head, realizing that that was probably the reason why it took Hyperion a while to know that the woman he first married was not actually Stacey."Officer," Stacey called out, snapping Jasper out of his thoughts. "Is something wrong? Why are you here?""Ah, Hyperion called for me," Jasper replied with his casual smile. He was about to follow the lead of his escort but then, they halted when Stacey spoke."Tell me honestly, the matter you are going to discuss with my husband, does it have s
Nodding her head, she asked, "How much are you willing to pay for the cottage?" Gavin looked at her with a creased forehead. "As I said, you won't have to sell it back to me if we date." "Dating is not connected to my question, Gavin. Just answer it." Still not wanting to name his price, the officer stood quiet for a while and tried to read the expression of the woman who showed no interest in him. But even though he tried his best, he did not get anything at all. "Why do you want to buy it back, anyway?" Shantala asked, breaking the silence hovering over them. "It's an ideal house for a family and since you already have it and you are still single, why don't we just get married?" She scoffed. "We just met and you are proposing? Really, Gavin, you should tighten that loose screw in your head. It's quite worrying to see you being too careless. You might find yourself being played
When Chiavelli arrived, he immediately checked on Shantala whose temperature went back to normal, and fortunately, she regained her consciousness. She felt okay but still, Chiavelli advised that she should have some more bed rest and avoid leaving the cottage because she might faint again. Before he left, he spoke with Gavin who was in the living room alone. "It's a good thing that she is fine after what happened but can you tell me what exactly occurred when you were with her?" he asked after taking his seat across from him. "I am quite certain that her hand was cold when she saw the police car. She started to act weird around that time so we hurried back here before she fainted," Gavin briefly explained. Since Chiavelli seemed to know more about Shantala, Gavin wanted to confirm to him if she was indeed Shantala Vien Arceo, the woman who got the highest bounty on her head. However, some part of him was telling him that h
"I do not know what is really going on but you are that person he was looking for, right?" he asked.But she did not want to openly admit that even though she was already exposed. She shook her head and said, "I am Kierra Valerian, not Shantala Arceo."After saying those words, she dismissed him and got inside the cottage. Even though some of his questions were answered, Gavin was still left with a lot more questions regarding Shantala but since he was not able to meet her because he was once again on duty the next day, he simply left her another bouquet of red roses with a letter. He left them by the gate before he left for Estermouth City.Upon entering the office, the first thing he heard was yet another operation that their team had to finish as soon as possible. The members of his team seemed to be not thrilled at all so he was curious about what their operation was all about. When their commander arrived, they were all called for a meeting
Upon entering, Gavin was greeted by a nurse whose eyes closed and open like the fluttering wings of a butterfly. He leaned on the counter, ignoring the flirty gaze of the nurse, and asked if Chiavelli was there."I will go and call him for you, sir," the nurse replied and was about to leave her station. But, then, the doctor came out from his office first and saw the SWAT officer in his uniform."Can we speak in private, doctor?" Gavin asked. "It has something to do with Kierra so I hope you'd spare some time."Doctor Wilburn's instinct told him that Gavin must have come to know about Shantala's case so he could not dismiss him at that time. He nodded his head in response and motioned him to follow him into his office. When the door was shut, the tension between them started to brew."What did I tell you, Mr. Killa? Have you forgotten that I want you to stay away from Kierra?" Chiavelli asked with gritted teeth."You mean, Shant
After that quick goodbye, Chiavelli and Valerie immediately left the airport since they still needed to clean up the cottage and sell it before either the police or Hyperion would find it. On the other hand, Shantala and Melanie were already queuing up to enter the plane going to Vesuvia. It had been quite a while since they were in a public place and it made Shantala way more aware of what was going on around her. She became too conscious of people walking by and even those who looked her way."I do not look way too out of place, don't I?" she asked in a whisper."No, your belly is not even sticking out that much so I guess no one will suspect us," Melanie replied. Their conversation was, then, interrupted when there was an announcement made in the airport regarding a slight delay in the plane's takeoff due to some emergency inspection. That being said, it somehow made Shantala feel more worried and anxious about what was about to happen.
Shantala started to feel restless as she noticed the prying eyes of some men in almost all of her directions. She did not want to overthink but she could not ignore her gut feeling as well."Melanie, how long are we still going to wait to board the plane?" she asked as she once again made quick eye contact with a man standing just across from her. Even though he was trying his best to be as casual as he could, she felt that his presence itself was odd because he had been standing there ever since they queued up hours ago."We still have 30 minutes. I hope they get everything ready faster than that," Melanie replied, noticing how uneasy Shantala was. "I do not know if I am thinking too much but don't you think there are suspicious men around us?"Melanie clenched her fists because she had also been taking note of that and she had been quiet about it because she did not want her to get worried. It seemed that she had underestimated her k
Hyperion and Stacey were currently in his office while tension lurked around them. Even the mafia boss' secretary could feel the ominous aura trapped inside the office so he never dared go in. The couple had just finished arguing about what happened with the meeting with Mr. Devon."Are you really being serious about this? Have you not even considered my feelings? I already let the fact that you fucked my sister slide but taking her son to take care of him... no!" Stacey asked for the nth time. She just could not sit still and wait for her sister to take away what she already had. She would never let her take her husband away. NEVER. Even if Shantala had already given birth to the son of her husband, it was still not enough for Stacey to let go of her love. Hyperion, who was already tired of this argument, chose to remain quiet. He just knew that if he said another word, they would be shouting at each other again.Just then, a knock was heard on the
"Hi! I am Tricia Miller, the substitute nurse sent by Sir Helios," the guest greeted. Linda was unsure of what to do so before letting her in, she went back inside to consult the nurse and Shantala. "What's the matter?" Lily asked. "A young woman came and said that she is the temporary substitute nurse," Linda replied. Lily stood from her seat since she had been expecting the nurse Helios mentioned before. She went to the door and escorted Tricia inside, however, when the guest and her patient saw each other, she noticed the change in Shantala's expression. "Replica A1?" she muttered, wondering why she would suddenly appear again after some time. Tricia smiled and replied, "That used to be my name but my real name is Tricia. And I will be your nurse for the upcoming days." Shantala actually doubted her since they were not on good terms during
It was almost midnight and Hyperion had just gotten back from the company after dealing with the trouble that one of his employees brewed. Though, it was not fully resolved so he had to return anytime soon. It exhausted him but still, it did not stop him from heading to the Devon's residence to check on Shantala.It's already been almost a week since he last visited and he wanted to see how she was doing. Upon arriving at the house, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the kitchen lights on. Curious about whoever was in there, he took careful steps in order not to alert the person inside. Though, he was quite sure that it was no burglar or anything of that sort since he had the entire house under surveillance.When he stood by the entrance, he immediately recognized Shantala even though her back was facing him. She was wearing a white dress shirt which was obviously not hers but Gavin's since it was oversized, falling right to the middle of her thighs, covering her
"How dare you show up in this place!" Mr. Devon roared. "Up until now, can't that fucking tiny brain of yours realize that the cause of my son's death is you? Or do you just have no shame at all that you still chose to stay even though you ruined his life?!"The stinging pain on her cheek did not really matter to Shantala because it was not any more hurtful than losing her husband. The accusation that her father-in-law made against her did not affect her as well because she knew who was really at fault.Despite having the chance of getting another slap from him, Shantala still looked back at him with no sign of fear. She could see how enraged he was but, for sure, it was not because he lost Gavin but because he lost the chance of marrying him off to Phoebe Romalia.She scoffed. "Instead of pointing your finger at me, why don't you reflect on the actions you did? Didn't you threaten him to divorce me that was why he returned here? Didn't you want him to mar
Back in Vidale City, Mr. Devon was currently playing golf with his business partners. It was his usual hobby whenever things were going quite well. In the middle of their conversation, he received a call from one of the bodyguards staying in his son's residence."Sir, I just spoke with the attorney. Both Sir Gavin and Miss Kierra signed the divorce papers," he reported."That's great, that's great," Mr. Devon responded with a smile before ending the call. "We should celebrate.""For what occasion?" one of his business partners asked.They knew that Mr. Devon rarely held any sort of party so it made them curious as to why he would initiate a celebration."For a new beginning."Thus, in no time, the mansion of Mr. Devon was filled with people from different elite families. He was a bit disappointed, though, since Mr. Romalia was not there to celebrate the beginning of their soon-to-be prosperous business. "Hey, Dad," Amelia c
Mr. Romalia was quite puzzled. The successful separation of the couple should be something that his daughter should be happy about. However, she looked rather exhausted and no hint of happiness was on her. Plus, he noticed a bruise on her cheek."What happened? Shouldn't we celebrate such great news?""Gavin is rushed to the hospital. It... It seemed like his condition worsened because of my negligence. I just realized that Kierra is the only fitting woman to be his wife. I'm giving up."Upon hearing her reply, Hyperion immediately stood."Mr. Romalia, I apologize but let us discuss this matter further some other time. I will contact you as soon as possible." Even before Mr. Romalia could respond, Hyperion immediately ran out of the mansion and got into his car. At full speed, he rushed to the hospital. He very well knows that he promised himself that he should stay away from Shantala until her relationship with Gavin was legally severed
Gavin could only look away while Shantala left the living room. Staring up at the ceiling, he tried his hardest not to let a single tear escape from his eyes.A little while later, Phoebe came in together with his attorney. The first thing that the Romalia heiress looked at was the divorce documents. Upon seeing the signature of Shantala, she was over the moon that she immediately pounced on Gavin."We are getting married!" she exclaimed.The attorney cleared his throat to notify the young heiress that he was still there. He gathered the papers and put them back in his case before returning his gaze to Gavin."I will take care of the rest and make sure that Ms. Kierra will get her alimony as soon as possible." After saying that, the attorney left rolling his eyes to the side upon meeting the gaze of Phoebe.The young heiress was about to charge toward him but she calmed herself with the thought of acting as the perfect wife and partner fr
This was where Shantala got confused. She was sure that the dead person in that room was her mother but how come her death was not reported? And how come the police confirmed that she was that person instead?"How did you do that?" she asked. "You know, the thing wherein the police saw that the body was you?""Chiavelli actually paid the officers who investigated the scene. Thus, they ended up confirming that I was indeed that person. But as for the body..." Valerie looked away as she pursed her lips.She waited for her, not wanting to rush her or anything.After a minute, Valerie added, "It was someone else's body with the same face as mine. It may sound absurd but a few hours before the engagement party, she suddenly came out of nowhere and told me to help her. She was beaten up and clearly, she was so scared. What was even weirder about that incident was that she introduced herself as Replica A0."Shantala's eyes widened as she remembe
Since Shantala got into an agreement with the attorney, she let him go to the house first. She will, later on, be going back home to make it look like she has gone somewhere else. She simply feared that if she and the attorney went together, Gavin would become suspicious. Wanting to take her time, she was about to go to the grocery store only to bump into Valerie and Chiavelli.And now that she saw the person who claimed herself to be the original Tricia Vexmore, the questions she had on the day her trial turned into chaos came rushing back to her. Only weeks had passed ever since that day but Shantala felt like it was already years ago due to the consecutive stressful events she had gone through. And instead of greeting her, she just stood there staring at her with wide eyes.Thus, Valerie took the initiative to start their conversation. Besides, this might be the last time they will see each other. Chiavelli also left for them to have some privacy."It's