Alodia said goodbye to Nicu when she already made sure that he was in his classroom. She went to the mall to buy the necessary ingredients that she was going to use for baking and cooking to prepare for her employer’s birthday. She was totally going to prepare a surprise for Nicoleta’s birthday. She was sure that the latter would be happy about it.
While looking for the ingredients in mind, she didn’t notice the man who was pushing his cart that was filled with groceries. She bumped into it and some canned goods hit her shoulder, making her groan in pain while massaging that assaulted part.
“Pardon!” She heard the man’s voice who spoke in Romanian. He continued to profusely ask for her forgiveness. Her mouth suddenly hung open. That familiar voice!
Harman! her mind shouted, making her heart thump so loud against her rib cage. Shit! Why is he here in all places?
She tried hard not to look over her shoulder. But damn that neck of hers. It seemed to have its own mind and turned toward the owner of that sexy baritone voice. It seemed that time and space didn’t exist as they looked into each other’s eyes. Those black curly lashes and dark brown eyes…
“Alodia?” He recognized her instantly.
She looked in front of her to escape from his staring eyes. She quickly took the things she was going to buy and walked away fast. She wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. But he chased her and held her by the arm.
“Let me go!” she said firmly without turning and looking at him.
“I have been looking for you for years!” he told her.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking him in the eyes then. He what? He was looking for her for years? When was it? Since she was gone? But why? Didn’t he understand why she went away? He should have known it by now! And he should have hated her! Was that why he stopped her because he wanted to confront her?
She swallowed the huge lump in her throat and blinked fast. She raised her chin because he was way taller than her five feet two.
“And there’s nothing to talk about, is there?” Even though she was a bit guilty, she didn’t want to show it to this man.
She tried hard to take back her arm and went to the cashier to pay.
But he was still on her heels. She could hear the soft steps of his shoes against the white tiled floor of the mall. She knew that his strides were longer than hers but she tried hard to ignore him.
She paid everything and he followed her quickly without paying. But the staff there chased Harman to make him pay for the goods. When she looked over her shoulder, she could see that he took in a deep breath and took some money from his wallet and paid everything. Afterward, he chased her again outside the mall, ignoring the people’s stares.
“Alodia!” He called her name.
But she didn’t turn around like she never heard anything. She hailed a cab and got in quickly. She shook her head at the taxi driver when he thought they were together. She told him the address and they were off.
“I think he’s calling you, miss,” he said in Romanian while peering at his rear view mirror.
“I don’t know him,” was her only reply.
But the driver grinned at her. He obviously didn’t believe her but she didn’t care.
“Looks like he knows you well, then. Besides, he’s after us now, driving his car,” he revealed.
“What?” Her jaw hung open and her eyes widened.
She looked behind them and she could tell that it was that brand and make of the car that she saw in his garage earlier this morning.
“Shit!” she cursed. She then turned to the driver. “Could you lose him, please? I will pay you handsomely,” she requested the driver.
“Well, if you say so,” he said and grinned at her again. He stepped harder on the accelerator as long as the traffic could permit.
However, Harman was still close on their tail. She calculated the money that was on her. Could she really pay for the taxi? Why was he being so persistent? She was pissed. She ground her teeth and her heart was beating so hard. What did he want with her?
She then decided to tell the middle-aged driver to just send her to the address she’d given him. She paid him before she got off from the cab. He then winked at her.
“Seems like he won’t let you go, miss.” The fat driver grinned widely.
She didn’t answer and the driver waved at her before he drove off. She quickly took the keys from her winter coat and shoved one inside the keyhole of the gate before Harman could park his car.
“Alodia!” he called her again. But she was already inside the gate and locked it fast enough before he could even grab her. She ran toward the big house, and when she was in, she also locked the door as if he could still follow her inside.
She took a deep breath and rested her back against the door. She was out of breath after their chase. After a few minutes, she then decided to peer from window. She could see that he was still out there, staring at the big house of her employer.
“My God! Why wouldn’t he just go away?” she murmured to herself.
Her heart seemed to be crumpled so tightly in her chest. His face looked so sad and his shoulders were slumped. She swallowed hard and blinked away the tears that formed in her eyes. She had to stand her ground of not going to see him and talk to him again in spite of what she felt for him until now.
After a few moments of watching him, he turned around and walked away. But she knew damn well that he was going to come back. He already knew where she was. And should she get out of Nicoleta’s haven of a home? Her employer knew of her story with Harman. It was because she thought of her as a friend. And she was a good person and a good soul. Nicoleta understood why she did it to Harman.
“But wouldn’t you need to talk about it before you decided to do what you had to?” Nicoleta asked her then.
It was like only yesterday. But it was already three years ago. And she blinked again to try to shake it off from her memory. She went to the kitchen instead. She had to keep herself busy so that she wouldn’t think about Harman and what was in the past when they were still together. She had to remind herself that it was all a game and nothing more!
She just had to forget everything that was between them even though he was just nearby. Even if he was going to confront her about it—or not…
She sighed when all the “ifs” started to appear in her mind.
Alodia’s sister was buried in her grave without the priest’s blessing. It was the church’s rule that whoever died in suicide weren’t given the privilege to have a church mass and a grave blessing before the dead body was buried. That made her loss even worse. But what could she do? No one would bless her sister and guide her to the Purgatory for what she had done—killing herself. But she didn’t want to imagine that Alyanna was now straight in hell. She couldn’t take it!Alodia was filled with hate for Emerson. She thought hard what she could do while she waited for her new two-year contract in Romania. She had at least two months of vacation in the Philippines. And not long afterward while grieving, she found this time to be of use to her as she thought about her sister’s death. She had to make it worthwhile even if it was the last thing she’d ever do.She went to Greenhills, where there was a rich condo area that w
The twenty-two-year-old Alodia searched for something to tie Emerson up with. And she found a duct tape in one of his dresser drawers. How it got there, she had no idea. She just took off his clothes and tied his hands and ankles apart to the headboard and the foot of the bed.She surveyed her accomplishment. He was splayed naked in front of her, in full view! His eyes were still closed and his grin was just wasn’t wiped off from his fuckboy face. She looked at him with hatred and she wanted to puke because of his nakedness. His huge manhood stood so erect, and she never saw something so horrendous as he in her life that she grimaced.In reality, she’d never seen a naked man in her life. She never thought it could be so ugly like this! He was unshaved down there. She wondered how her sister could take it, and how could she have sex with this man with an ugly member!She never understood why her sister killed herself because of this hateful and unwort
Alodia finally stopped the video from his own cellphone camera and she sent the pictures and video to all his contacts that were on his phonebook. She smiled with triumph afterward.The phone’s alert message tone beeped.“Hon, someone’s just sent me a text,” Emerson said while his eyes were still closed.She turned off the message alert tone, so that he wouldn’t get distracted or even get curious why the messages continuously flooded his inbox. She stepped in the direction of the bathroom and from there, she answered sweetly. “You check the text later, hon! I’ll be out in a few moments and I’ll take you to heaven! Okay?” She turned on the shower as if she was taking it.She then read the text messages as a reply to the pictures and video that she sent to all his contacts.Dude! What happened to you? Why did you send me your scandalous pics and vid? I’ll post these on my social media! H
Alodia didn’t notice that she already stopped walking, gawping at him. Her face was flushed. She could feel the heat that spread all throughout it, including her forehead.Wow, she’d never seen such a man with cherry lips! And they looked so kissable! She suddenly wondered how many women tasted those striking lips.Wait. What am I thinking? Why do I seem to be attracted to this stranger? She didn’t want to be attracted to someone. After everything her sister had done? Not to mention what she did to take her sweet revenge on Adam’s sons.She swallowed the non-existent lump in her throat and cleared it. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I should go for a coffee or something with… a stranger,” she answered carefully. And she had no idea why when she acted like a bitch earlier.“If you think that I know your name and I’ll let you know my name, then we’re not strangers anymore, are we?&r
Alodia readily settled in the home of her new employers, Iustina and Petru, a Romanian couple who worked as professors. The house was big with two stories, which she admired. It was made of concrete and the floor was of white tiles. She stayed on the ground floor, at the room close to the kitchen and living room. Meanwhile, the couple who had an offspring stayed upstairs. She thought it was a nice home when she was toured by the couple. The second floor had three rooms, two bathrooms and a study, where they could bring work to home, if necessary. It had a couple of shelves filled with different types of books, including fiction and technical ones. On the ground floor was a cozy living room complete with appliance, as well as the kitchen, dining room, a bathroom and a game room.Since it was a Sunday the next day, Harman called Alodia. She was a bit surprised, not really knowing what to expect of him.“Hey, I never thought you’d call,” she said with a
Alodia was brought to reality when her employer, Iustina, knocked on her door and told her that her visitor just arrived. She hadn’t even realized the family had already returned, since she took a long bath and pampered herself. She hadn’t realized until that moment that she did prepare wholeheartedly for her date with Harman later.She smiled and thanked forty-year-old Iustina for letting her know. After looking at herself in the huge standing mirror in her room, she went out. She thought letting her natural long dark brown hair down and wearing a black tube top sundress with blue print hibiscus paired with flat sandals were good enough for this summer night. Her feet were light when she walked out of her cream-walled room. She couldn’t almost believe she was anticipating this date. But she knew deep inside that it was way different from going out with those men she had in the past.When she appeared in the living room, where the th
“That’s fine by me. How about… kids? Do you have any?” That was Alodia’s another question thrown at him before she took a sip of sparkling water.“No kids, no adopted children, no wife, no live-in partner and no girlfriend or the so-called fling,” he answered in deliberate detail.Her eyes sized him up before she spoke. “I see. The same for me, I have none.” That was all she could say for now.“No boyfriend ever since?” he bluntly asked her, clearly want to know her relationship history.She was reminded of the string of men that she left in the midst of scandal she instigated. “No, ever since my birth on this planet,” she answered and smiled at him.“Seriously?” It was his time to raise an eyebrow. It was his turn to size her up.“I know, right? I’m twenty-two but I never had a boyfriend ever since.” She softly laughed at that and sh
Alodia laughed hard at that out-of-the-blue proposal. Their eyes held for long though, before she shook her head. “You have a weird sense of humor, Harman. But I like it. And about your proposal, no, thank you. I’m happy with my job and I love kids.”He stared at her face for a long moment before he spoke huskily. “Then… perhaps we can remedy that part where you love kids…” He deliberately let the sentence hang in the air, and she could get what he said between the lines. It was even as bright as the shining sun during the day but it was way hotter than the summer temperature in the Philippines!She laughed again; it was tinkling animatedly. Yes, she was enjoying his company! Pretty much. She had truly never enjoyed anyone’s company than his. Ever. What could Harman have that she liked him very much, that he was so different from all other men? This, she kept on thinking like an unsolved puzzle. It wasn’t just bec