"But I do." Brother Noah insisted as he looked at me sharply. I could barely see any sign of sympathy in his stares. "No matter how many times you will kneel in front of me, Mr. Spencer, you will not get anything from me." Then he reached out to me and helped me up. "Stay away from her, I'm begging you," he added, "My sister and Ghino are getting married in three days. Can you just be happy for them?" Brother Noah did not wait for my response when he left his spot and went back to Uncle Dex's office, leaving me alone with a heavy heart, lost in thoughts, asking myself if I could be happy for them. No. I can only be happy with Elaine on my side. She loves me, and I am well aware of that. It's just that the two of us were caught up by undesirable circumstances. My feelings for Elaine were of no question. I love her. I needed her in my life. And I am willing to risk everything I have for us to be together. After a few minutes of sobbing, I went back to my office

All thanks to my stepbrother, Ghino, for letting me push through that kind of decision. My parents, especially, my dad, wherever his soul was right now, would probably understand why I did such a ridiculous thing. Six hours later, under the glimmering full moon, we reached the east side of the state, a countryside where all I could see were small houses built with light materials. My blurred eyes could barely see any three-story buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, or schools. The entire place was as if it was abandoned by time, but well-preserved. Where I parked the car, in front of us was a wide blue ocean. As soon as the window of the car was opened, the cold summer breeze caressed my exhausted skin, helping me to regenerate my lost strength after a few hours of non-stop trip. On top of that, the cold air helped me get refreshed and clear up my bothered mind. Time check. The time was already three in the morning when we finally stopped running. I catch a glimpse of her face

Elaine's Mom continued, "Because of that, I will extend my full support to my daughter's husband, Ghino Frost, and the deceased families with their decisions to put a bounty of five million dollars on those who can give us information about Dylan's whereabouts." Shit. The last thing I heard from my attorney was that Ghino declared a million-dollar bounty to the person who kidnapped Elaine, but it was raised to five million. I could not believe even my own stepbrother would go that far, making me the most wanted person in New York City. "If Dylan was looking at the news right now, do you have a message for him?" The reporter threw another question at her. But instead of an answer, Elaine's Mom collapsed to the floor causing a commotion at the press conference. If this news could reach Elaine, perhaps it would happen to her as well, She will hate me because of that for certain. But how am I supposed to explain these things to her? Before anyone from the press confer

My jaws couldn't stop from dropping to the ground when the first image that was captured with my eyes on the newspaper was our faces. It says in the news that Dylan kidnapped me and was the person behind the bombing incident that killed six innocent lives. Above all, even my parents agreed to put a five-million-dollar bounty on Dylan's head, dead or alive. If these newspapers already reached the farm, the chances that they also reached the nearby villages... No! I could not help but cut off my own thoughts. Worries and fears shivered down my spine thinking about Dylan's safety while traveling with Mr. Delaven to deliver the blackberries. "How dare you two lie to us, huh?" She continued, her voice laced with dismay. "Once they're back, I want you to evacuate the room before I call the cops, do you understand?" "But everything they accused of him was all wrong, Mrs. Delaven!" I debated as I clenched the newspapers in too much frustration. "Dylan did not kidnap me. I

The continuous shuttering of their cameras even reverberated in my ears after hearing my honest confession - my truth - our side of the story. "Did he kidnap or threaten you to come with him? Or was it part of your plan to go run away with him on the same day of your wedding?" asks the reporters in front of me. "Of course, not!" I confessed one of the facts. "Dylan did not do any of those things everyone accused of him. To prove his innocence, I would like to propose a negotiation with the cops about something - I wanted to confess his whereabouts." "So you mean it was true that you and Mr. Spencer were having an affair despite he was already married to someone else?" The male reporter on my left throws another question. This time, I haven't prepared any bullet for the question. So I glanced around, searching for Maureen or Ghino from the crowd, thinking they could have been behind the question. "Yes, you can think of it that way. We're having an affair. But I fell in love with Dyl