Chapter 1

In a gasp, Audrey found herself waking up inside the car. She looked around to examine her surroundings and was relieved when she realized she was only dreaming. It had been five years, and she still couldn’t completely get over what happened that day. The fact that she was able to ride a car again was the fruit of her daily battle against the trauma she had from the accident, though it took her more than a couple of years to overcome the anxiety she felt whenever she rode a car.

“Are you all right?” Nathan asked with concern painted on his face. He pulled over the car to the side and checked on her. His green eyes eagerly assessed her sweaty, pale face.

Audrey nodded her head as a response. She met Nathan in Italy a few months after she recovered from the accident. The guy was then unemployed and wandering around the park near her rented apartment. She often saw him in a daze when she was in her daily jog routine. The first time they had a conversation was when she was almost about to get hit by a motorcycle. That was when he helped her and at the same time, scolded her for being careless.

As if friendship was as simple as 123, they hit it off in a blink. She was new to the place, had no friends to talk with and Nathan was the enthusiastic type. Plus, the guy kept tailing her after the incident happened in the park. She shooed him many times, but he was more stubborn than she thought. In the end, she took him in, to work for her. The guy was quite reliable in almost everything that she didn’t regret keeping him by her side. If there was something about him that bothers her, that would be his good looks.

Nathan had such a compelling Italian charm that could make girls swoon over him with his sweet smile and expressive green eyes. He was the type that could seduce the opposite sex by simply moving his head slightly to the side while his lips were quirked upwards.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there,” Nathan said while fixing her seat belt. He gave her an assuring smile before starting the engine.

Audrey nodded her head and held her breath as she browsed on her phone. One of the video clips caught her attention. She tapped on the screen and waited until it finished loading while putting on the earphones.

“What about your future marriage, any plan about it?” the show host asked Shane.

Years had passed, but she couldn’t get rid of her habits. She shoved the earphones deeper into her ears, making sure that she wouldn’t miss his reply. Her heart skipped a bit, anticipating something out of nothing. There she went again, assuming to have a place in his life.

“Hahaha. It’s too early to think about that,” Shane’s gentle laughs resounded in her head as she was attentive to his response to the earlier question. “But if I ever fall in love with someone, I don’t mind planning about our future right away.” The audience cheered on what he said. His statement earned applause from everyone else inside the studio.

Shane’s voice seeped through her ears. The familiar delight in his tone seemed to invade her system. She heard a loud thump in her chest for a second, an undeniable sign that she was enchanted by just his voice. Audrey closed her eyes, trying to relax her wavering heart.

“Eh,” Audrey made a face. She rolled her eyes in dismay. “Fall in love my ass,” she muttered and grumpily turned off her phone before shoving it inside her handbag. With a long face, she turned her attention around and tilted her head to the car window. The blooming wildflowers by the sidewalk made her smile. That was when she realized that they’d already reached her parent’s estate.

“Slow down, Nate.”

Nathan peeked at her when she spoke. “I can see the gate ahead. Do you think it’s the entrance?” He asked her.

Audrey scratched her head. “I don’t remember having an entrance or an exit gate but I’m certain that it’s the only gate we used before,” she answered, looking at the old bougainvillea plant arching on top of the iron gate, flaunting its purple flowers.

“Oh. By just looking at the gate, I could tell that you were born with a silver spoon. That reminds me how abundant your life was when we first met,” Nathan smiled while focusing his eyes in front. “You were like trying to dispose of your extra carbs taken from your daily dose of fats, right?” he continued.

“Really?” Audrey responded with a glare. “Do you want me to send you back to Bologna? I’ll try to be generous and book you a first-class plane ticket right away,” she added with a smug face.

“I was only telling the truth, Bella. Why do you need to be upset?” Nathan tried not to laugh when her face reddened in embarrassment. “If I wasn’t patient enough to help you lose weight back then, I doubt you'll get the curves you have right now.” He looked at her and winked before honking the car.

“Patient? You mean strict,” she grumbled while making a face.

“Patience Auddie. I was patient,” he stepped on the brake and rolled down the window when a security officer came towards their car. “Good afternoon, I’m with Audrey Fuentes. Would you be kind enough to open the gate for us? We’ve called the house several times but it looks like the telephone number was changed,” Nathan said politely with a beaming smile on his face.

“Excuse me, Sir. This is a private residence and I don’t know anyone with that name living here. We don’t allow anyone else to enter the estate without the young master’s permission,” the man in his early thirties replied. “The young master is currently out of town and won’t be back until tomorrow. You can come back and visit him when he’s around,” he continued with an arrogant smirk.

Audrey’s forehead wrinkled when she heard what the officer had said. She gaped at the man beside her and was amused at how composed he was.

The cold treatment he got from the security officer was not enough to wipe away the bright smile on Nathan’s face which made her feel at ease. “I don’t know who’s your young master but I’m driving home the only heiress of this estate you’re working for. Could you please call the head security officer of this estate? I bet he would be able to recognize my employer by her name,” Nathan insisted but the tone of his voice remained the same as how he spoke earlier. It was just that his voice got a bit louder, in a good way.

“Tch. Do you think I would allow you to get inside by just making me call my superior? I’ve been working here for three years and never heard Audrey or whoever's name. But since you really want to embarrass yourself then I’ll see you try,” the officer muttered and called someone through the walkie-talkie in his hand.

“I never thought that your family would hire someone as rude as him.” She heard Nathan remark, causing her to shake her head.

“My parents died six years ago and I don’t remember hiring his kind either,” she responded. Her lips curled up when she recognized the older man walking beside the officer with whom Nathan talked.

“I brought my superior with me. You can ask him whether he knows that person with you so you could stop dreaming about getting inside and drive home instead,” the officer blurted out which made her lose her cool. Audrey removed her seat belt and got out of the car.

“Let’s get things sorted out here,” she started as she walked in front of the security officers. She looked at the officer who’s been rude to them ever since they arrived. “You’re fired,” she told him. Her eyes drifted to the elderly who were surprised to see her. “Richard, it's been some time. How are you doing?”

“Madam,” the elderly bowed his head. “I wasn’t notified by the young master that you’re coming back. My apologies for my subordinate’s rudeness. I’ll proceed with the procedure to fire him.” He held his head and stared at her with a warm smile. “And thank you for asking. I’m doing fine, Madam.”

“That’s good to hear,” Audrey mumbled. She faced her back towards them and got inside the car.

“W-wait… who do you think you are to fire me just like that? I was personally recommended by Miss Solis to work for her,” the officer mumbled when he realized that Audrey just fired him.

A deep sigh escaped her mouth. “I’m sorry but I don’t know what Miss Solis you’re talking about. If you need the job, you can ask her to give it to you in a way she did before,” she uttered without sparing a glance at him. “Let’s go, Nate.”