KATE was biting her nail anxiously as she paced back and forth in the living room.
“Dear, could you please stop doing that? I’m starting to get dizzy seeing you pacing like that,” Nana Talia told her and sighed. She even lightly hit her leg with her cane.
“I can’t help it, Nana… I’m worried why Angelique and Mom still haven’t arrived here at this hour!” She was almost hysterical when she said that. “Their plane landed at ten this morning. It was already two in the afternoon!”
“Then why don’t you call Madam Martina and ask her where they are now instead of worrying here?” Her nanny leaned against her seat and massaged her forehead. “You’re not just making my head dizzy. Now it throbs.”
“Right.” Kate fished her phone frantically from her pocket and called Jan’s mother.
The other line kept ringing until she heard the operator say th
JAN checked in at the same hotel where his brother was staying. He emptied the envelope the moment they got it and looked at its content one by one. He caressed his chin and looked at her afterwards. “When did you get all of these, Katherine?” “Steel delivered them to me before your dad died. I… I decided to keep it hidden at my family’s ancestral house in the meantime.” “And are you carrying them now? Are you going to give them to my brother?” “No…” Kate shook her head and clasped her hands. “Winona called me. She told me there’s a possibility that you’ll come here to see your brother. And she was right… I have it with me because… I want to show it to you in front of your brother and—” “You don’t have to do that, Katherine.” Jan rose from his seat and sauntered towards her. he held her by the arms and looked at her straight in the eyes. “What’s between Fernan and me will remain between us. I don’t want you to involve yourself with that. Do yo
KATE halted from pacing back and forth and looked at the dress her Aunt Bernice brought before leaving her again. It really looked expensive, which bothered her. How come her aunt, who treated her like a servant for years, bought her such an expensive dress? There was something wrong with it; Kate could feel the ominous vibe since they left home for the banquet. “Kate!” Her aunt’s voice roared at the back of the closed door of her suite, followed by three loud consecutive bangs. “Katherine, open the damn door!” Sighing, she strode towards the door and opened it. Aunt Bernice gave her a once-over before poking her hard on the forehead. “Didn’t I tell you to get dressed? Why are you still dressed in a robe?” “A-auntie… I-I…” She shut her eyes tightly and cussed to herself. She could not even say what she wanted to say. Kate was afraid that if the wrong words escaped from her mouth, her aunt would hit her. Aunt Bernice grasped both of her
JAN attended the banquet because he had an important business. But things did not go on smoothly, which annoyed him. He could not convince Mr. Abel to sign cooperation with their company no matter what he did to persuade him. So, Jan left the banquet early and went to the hotel’s bar and drank a few glasses of whisky until he was tipsy. Minutes before heading up to his suite, he called Daniel, his annoying friend, to inform him of his failure. He said that a surprise awaits him in his suite to cheer him up. That was why when he saw the woman inside the bathroom suite, he jumped at her like a lion to his prey. Jan was so ready to spend a night of ecstasy with his present. But when he brought her to his bed, the woman started crying. That was when he realized that she was not the kind of woman he expected her to be. Jan held the woman’s chin that made her flinch. “Who are you?” he asked with a deep knot on his forehead. He did not get any response from
KATE’s mouth suddenly became watery as she stared at the food on the table. She never thought she would have the chance again to taste such delicious cuisines. All thanks to Jan, who ordered food after hearing her stomach rumbled. “Dig in,” Jan told her and left the table with his phone on his ear again. He was such a busy man, Kate mused. Jan kept receiving and making calls. Some were work-related, but most calls were from reporters. She did not expect that the video scandal would be that big in just a few hours. She heaved a sigh and picked up the utensils. There was nothing she could do about the scandal. What she was worried about was her Aunt Bernice. Now that she had a scandal with Jan, who happened to be the son of a well-known family, it was obvious that it would also affect her. But unlike Jan, she knew that the damage on her part would not be as big as his. Kate sliced a generous size of the steak and popped it into her mouth. Then she took
“MADAM, the Sir wants to know if you are done,” Rose asked behind the bathroom’s closed door. “He is waiting for you in the lobby.Kate pulled up the neckline of her dress once more. She was raised in a conservative family. Wearing a sophisticated dress that revealed half of her breast made her a little uncomfortable.“Y-yes, I’m coming.” She covered herself with a shawl that she saw in one of the paper bags Rose brought last time. It was not really part of the dress, but the color was somewhat bearable since white blends well with other colors.Rose was smiling at her when she opened the door.“I will escort you to the car, Madam.” Rose strode towards the main door and opened it for her.She grabbed her pouch from the side table and went out of the hotel suite.That day was her wedding day.Even though Jan’s mother threw a fit at the banquet a week ago, he managed to arrange
JAN left her to the master’s bedroom after unpacking his luggage. He got an important call from she did not know who. Kate did not bother to ask. She knew she had no right to stick her nose on his affairs, especially when their marriage was nothing but on papers. But then, Jan demanded that they consummate it so his mother would not suspect. Was she ready for that? Kate did not know.She heaved a sigh and started unpacking her luggage. Kate could not help but grimace as she took the clothes out of the suitcase one by one. She did not own a single thing inside that suitcase, so she did not know if she could really call them her own.“Jan bought all of these. We’re married,” she told herself for consolation.With her clothes in her hands, Kate sauntered to the walk-in closet.Jan told her that she could use half of it. But now that she saw it, she doubted she could use the half because his clothes took up almost three-fourths of the
KATE stayed awake for a couple of hours, waiting for her husband to come back. But Jan did not return to the masters’ bedroom that night. She just thought that he slept in another room. His mansion was big enough; there were a lot of rooms for just the two of them.It was already dawn when she woke up to the creaking sound of the closet. She knew it was him, but she did not leave the bed nor talk to him. Kate pretended to be asleep. She did not open her eyes even though she felt the cushion move.“I know your awake, Katherine,” said Jan.Her body shivered with just the sound of his voice. It was as if his voice had hands touching her.Damn it…Perhaps it was the after-effect of what happened between them last night.Kate opened her eyes when she felt his hand caressing her side. She looked at him straight in the eyes and immediately got lost in them. She could not help but wonder… why were his eyes ha
“JAN, can we talk?” Kate said as soon as his mother went up the stairs.“Sure.”He tugged her to the study room.She heaved a deep sigh and made sure that the door was locked before turning in Jan’s direction.“I don’t like what you told your mother. She already doesn’t like me as your wife, and now….” Kate breathed exasperatedly. “You made me feel like… I’m one of your… whatever you call those women.”He raised a brow.“I’m sorry if I have offended you.” He cleared his throat and sauntered toward the swivel chair. “I don’t know what to tell her to drive her away because I don’t usually do that, you know.”“I… I’ll try to adjust,” she told him.“Well… that’s good.” Jan sat and clasped his hands. “Maybe you and Mom will learn to like each ot