THE house was peaceful again after the Festival of Lights. Triana’s family returned to the Philippines after enjoying their vacation. Akhil requested a family meeting inside the library on the third floor.“We will proceed with the European trip. You will join us to meet different investors and attend several business conferences as part of your training before I appoint you as the top-ranking executives of the company. Being the Chairman and the CEO of AGC is no joke, I’m telling you,” Akhil explained to the couple. Gracia was seated beside him, listening in silence.Triana and Devance tilted their heads. “We’ll do everything to help you grow your empire, Dad.”“With my guidance. I know you will,” Akhil was confident.“I admit I’m easy-go-lucky, but I took my studies seriously when I went to Oxford.” Devance sounded proud. He looked at Triana and winked. Because aside from the flight school in Amsterdam, he also attended a business course at Oxford University.“I promise to help as w
INSIDE Caleb’s office in Makati, everyone was busy with the preliminary bidding on the conference room. He was not obliged to attend because he had already assigned this task to his Project Manager. Caleb sat comfortably on his swivel chair while browsing pictures from Lara’s social media account. She was with Triana. The latter had no penchant for this kind of update because she valued her privacy.It appeared that she was already in Paris. Triana must be waiting for his arrival so they could celebrate the Christmas holidays together. Caleb was only fixing his schedule so that everything would still be in order when he left for a few days.Then something popped into his notification that Lara posted a story. Caleb’s jaw immediately flexed when he saw Devance kiss Triana in the background. It could be a simple gesture, but it stirred his jealousy. They looked so sweet, like a real couple having fun.Caleb hardly clasped his cell phone and harshly sighed. He almost broke it when he put
ONE week had passed quickly, and the moment Triana had waited for so long came. At last, she’d meet Caleb tomorrow in Paris. It was a perfect time since their parents went to Barcelona for a few days’ vacation. And after that, the Chaudharys would travel to Iceland for the holidays. It was Triana’s idea to celebrate Christmas Eve under the Northern Lights. Then they’d return to the Philippines for the New Year’s celebration and the fourth death anniversary of her father.“You’re beaming today,” Devance complimented her while fixing her things.“Of course, finally I can see the love of my life after almost three months! The well is getting dry.”Devance looked at her, confused. “The… what?!”“Oh, never mind.” Triana giggled. It seemed that Devance’s dirty humor was contagious. Unlike before, she could joke around with him like this because she was comfortable.“Did I hear it right? The well is getting dry?” Devance laughed out loud. “Sorry for being slow. I didn’t know you had this sen
TRIANA remained stoic as her tears slowly cascaded down her cheeks. She held a white rose and gently put it in her father’s metal casket. They were inside the mausoleum of the Allende family. And most of the people who attended the burial had already gone home. Only the immediate family remained. It took her a while to accept that this was real. Everything that happened to her father was unexpected. She went home on vacation from the United States for Christmas Eve, but this bad news greeted her. Trevor had suffered a cardiac arrest, and he died on arrival at the hospital. Triana couldn’t believe it, since her dad was too young to die. He was only forty-nine! And now, he couldn’t even be with his family to celebrate the holiday season. Celebrating New Year’s Eve without him made her heartbroken. “Ria…” She looked down at her ten-year-old twin brothers, Travis and Tristan. Their eyes were swollen from crying so much since they were so close to their dad. Trevor al
Three years later TRIANA immediately kissed Caleb’s lips when she saw him waiting outside the door of her friend’s house, Lara. Caleb fetched her since they agreed to see each other tonight. She had to see her friend immediately when Lara called her. Her house was only a few blocks away from hers. Lara was heartbroken when she found out her longtime Nepalese boyfriend got married when he went back to Nepal a few weeks ago because of an arranged marriage. She didn’t want to leave her tonight because she needed a shoulder to cry on, but her boyfriend was adamant that they couldn’t cancel their date tonight. “I’m sorry for being pushy today, darling,” Caleb claimed her lips again. Her lips turned up to smile after they broke the kiss. “It’s all right, I understand.” Triana was dating her dream man, Caleb Ortega. He was the CEO of a well-known construction firm in the Philippines. They had be
TRIANA immediately went home after her date with Caleb. She was still stoked! She couldn’t help herself from smiling while walking going inside the house. But she halted when she saw the twins standing near the main door, waiting for her. “Where have you been?” Travis asked, looking bored. Beside him was Tristan, holding a tablet. The twins were identical, and the only noticeable differences were their haircut and height. Travis was taller but chubby with short curly hair, while Tristan was slimmer with messy curls. Triana already visualized these two being a girl magnet once they grew up. At their age, a lot of girls from their class had a crush on them. “Mom is waiting for you,” Tristan seemed impatient. He immediately turned his back on her while Travis held her arm. “I think Mom is kind of mad,” Travis pointed out to their mother, sitting on the couch while her arms crossed. “Why, what happened?
AFTER arguing with her mother, Triana did not hesitate when she booked a flight to Nepal the next day. She never expected that she would face this harsh reality. She came back to the Philippines a month ago after finishing her master’s degree at Harvard, majoring in Business Administration. Bullshit! She wanted to discern. The future of her family would depend on her decision. She needed to make the most of her vacation. She joined an international team scheduled to trek to the Everest Base Camp. It would take her two weeks. And it was enough for her to think before making a decision. Caleb wanted to join her, but he couldn’t go due to his busy schedule. Triana hadn’t told her boyfriend about her current dilemma. The only thing Caleb knew was her going to unwind before they married.And have her trek of a lifetime. And surprisingly, Lara joined her. She immediately agreed when Triana told her about the de
DEVANCE immediately sat on the black leather couch when they arrived home in Bhaktapur. The house was only a ten-minute drive from the airport. The traffic was tolerable, and they didn’t have a stressful trip.“Shall I call Vijay to check the chopper for tomorrow?” Austin asked. He referred to their private pilot, who maintains the family-owned choppers in Nepal.They had two helicopters at home. Both were parked at the helipad of their mansion on the sixth floor. They often used it when the whole family was on vacation here and usually when they wanted to see the Everest Region from above.“Yeah, let him check the engine. I’ll pilot the chopper going to Lukla.” Devance breathed out.Devance might be easy-go-lucky, but he was a licensed private pilot. He had the rank of captain, carrying four stripes in his uniform. He attended a prestigious aviation school in Amsterdam a couple of years ago.