But in the next few moments, Arianna remained petrified. She could hear Ruel's worried voice calling her name, but she couldn't react.“Arianna? Arianna? What happened to you?”Her eyes finally focused on his worried face. She tried to smile but failed.“I seem to be right about Mt. Olympus, huh?”She tried to smile again as she moved her numbed limbs, but she cringed when he placed the bills in her hand.“Go home,” he told her gently. “That's where he'll get your goods.”Goods. She cringed more, her insides trembling because, to her, goods meant something more than her vegetables. But she managed to reply. “Y-Yeah.”“Arianna? Are you okay? You're very pale.”She looked at him. “I'm going to be fine. I'm going home, anyway, so I can take a rest.”“What's wrong? You don't look good. I'd like to take you home,” he said, looking in the direction of the guards at the gates.“I'm okay. I'm feeling better. I guess I stayed up too late to sleep last night,” she lied. “'Bye, Ruel. Thanks for
He brought her to that house of that unforgettable night.This house was also far from the mansion and other structures and tenant housing except our little hut, which was also far from the same, so it was very private from any prying eyes. It had its own exit through a private road at the back only accessible to its owner. He could get in and out of the hacienda without anyone the wiser.According to rumors, Señor Sylverio had this house built for his introverted son so he could avoid visitors he did not want to face. It was when his mother lived here way back when he was still twelve years old. He could move whichever way, whenever, without anyone noticing in the mansion.Doña Lucilla always had guests and held parties, and this irritated her son. He allegedly showed dislike towards her liberal lifestyle and her circle of friends.He disagreed and argued with his father, too, but as a necessary evil to get work done. He didn't have and would not show patience for his mother as he wou
“I didn’t know what I was doing... I was so drunk,” he continued to explain himself. “I was angry about some-thing that night and I took it out on you. I didn't mean to hurt you, Arianna. Do you hear me?”Of course, she could hear him, but she couldn’t speak as she wrestled with her own emotions, her tears. He pulled her closer again, tightening his arms around her shaking body. But his image remained behind her eyelids as she closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down.His presence, the warmth of his body, the familiarity of his smell... was threatening to crush her sanity.Why was he acting as if he cared? It was making her feel things she didn’t have a right to feel. But the relief to know he wasn’t angry at her was overwhelming that she couldn’t breathe.Again, she remembered how gentle he'd suddenly become when, despite his drunkenness, he’d noticed how frightened she was that night. She took deep gulps of breath and the sobs subsided.A few moments passed, and she tried to
Arianna slowly woke up.She opened her eyes and, for a puzzled moment, she just stared at the slowly rotating fan on the ceiling.When everything came back to her, she sat on the bed, then had to close her eyes because the rush made her feel heady.It was still light outside, thank goodness! It was late morning when they came here, she remembered. How could she fall asleep so early? She felt like she'd slept for hours!Where were her clothes? She had to go home before Tommy could get ahead of her.Mama! She would be worried about why she still hadn't come back!She looked out the window, hoping it wasn't lunchtime yet even though she could see that the sun wasn’t directly above the sky anymore.Holding the blanket carefully over her breasts, she slid down the enormous bed and picked up the pieces of her clothes on the floor. Her face was blushing at the memory of how they got there as she dressed quickly.She had just gotten out of the bathroom where she washed her flushed face when a
“Are you okay?”Yna opened her eyes and resisted the urge to smile at the señorito. Which happened anyway, since his smile was infectious. “I don’t know if I can stand up. I’m so full, sen—Eric.” Her smile disappeared at the almost mistake.He laughed. “You’re so cute.”Yna sighed and mumbled. “You’re so weird.”He clearly heard that and laughed some more. When he started to get up, Yna moved, too.“What are you doing?”She blinked. “I’m going to help you with the dishes.”“Sit. I’ll do it myself.”“You’re going to wash the dishes?”“I’ll just load them up in the dishwasher.”“You have a dishwasher?” She looked in the direction of the kitchen. “I thought you said there was nobody else here?”He paused. “I meant the dishwashing… machine. I have kitchen equipment that can wash dishes for me.”She felt her cheeks warming up. “Ah… yeah. I’ve heard of those, of course. I just don’t know of anyone… except you… now… who actually has it, of course.” She closed her eyes, hoping she could just m
It wasn’t a long ride. He didn't even make the horse run. Instead, they plodded along as if they were strolling in the countryside, which in retrospect, was exactly what it seemed like if you take away all the mess of the last weeks, especially the one that just happened.If it was all taken away, then there would be nothing, Arianna was thinking. He wouldn't even know her, would not try to look for her, and she wouldn't be riding with him on this horse.So what were they doing?She closed her eyes as she arrived at the most obvious thing.He still wanted her.There was no mistaking that after what happened in his house that he wanted for things to continue. Her cheeks felt like it was getting more and more inflamed as she remembered. There was no question that she had no willpower to fight him off after her reaction to his touch. Even now, as he held her, she still felt her body reacting to him. She caught herself leaning back towards him a few times then got rigid at what she was
“Enrique? Enrique? My god...!” She tapped his cheek. “Enrique? Are you hurt? Don't faint. Enrique?”He opened his eyes, then he tried to grin, so she thought he really was hurt.In the head.Like gone mad.“The horse... stupid... horse...” he mumbled in a rough voice.“It got scared of our fight... I'm sorry it's my fault.”He still looked confused as he tried to sit up. “That's the first time I ever fell from a horse...” he said groggily.She cringed. He folded his legs as if he was going to get up but she held him down tighter. “No... wait. Let me see first...” she told him. “Where are you hurting? Let me see your back.”“Sure...” He was still smiling. Her hand froze from reaching for the back of his head.“Enrique?”He winced. And then, he used the ‘royal highness’ tone again. “Enrique's really a mouthful. I told you, Eric or Ric. Choose for the last time.”“I forgot, okay?” He’s injured and he still had the time to nag?“Say it.”“What?”“My name.”She stared at him stupidly. Reall
It turned out they did not need to ask for help. There were people already in their house. As soon as they made the turn, she could see them in the short distance.Someone was removing their curtains from the windows. Someone was also lowering their bamboo sofa down the small porch's stairs. And some of their stuff was already inside a truck.“Why? What is that? What's happening?”“Because I'm supposedly working in the hacienda, we need to move to a house closer to the fishery,” Tommy told her in a casual voice while his face said differently. He wasn’t buying the excuse of the century.He also looked as confused as she was. His mind could not keep up with what was happening, but he was willing to wait for it to catch up. Meaning, that he was waiting for someone to explain further.That would be her. She turned towards Eric. He remained silent, not looking back at her. But Tommy wasn't finished. “They also said it was timely because... the Señor has plans. The land is needed,” Tommy
Arianna fought, pushing him back until it was him lying on the bed and she was pulling his socks and pants off him.“There will be no other woman,” he told her urgently as she climbed on top of him breathlessly. His hands cupped her face, his movements sure, his movements silky.“Huh,” she huffed. “That’s what husbands say to their wives on the first night, yet not all of them remained faithful to the end.”He was scowling now. “What’s with you, baby?”“See? I showed a few little teeth and you’re confused about me now?” She rolled her eyes at him.He grinned, and again, she found herself on her back, under him. As they were only on their underwear now, their exposed skin rubbed against each other, and she had more difficulty breathing.And of course, he could see this. His eyes smoldered with heat and his body started to move against hers. Yet, he remained where he was, staring down at her, his eyes remaining worried.“What is it, my love? It’s our first night together as a married cou
The van was ready and people climbed in. The Señor and the Chairman were in front, with the latter driving.There was a separate car for some of the usual men who casually accompanied Eric’s father—her father-in-law now. These were, of course, his bodyguards. Father and son had bodyguards whenever they were outside the hacienda. In the past ten days, she went out with Eric several times to shop or simply dine out on a date. And though there wasn’t an obvious escort, she could spot the very same men with Eric when he had to go to work loitering not too far away from them as they shopped, but surrounding them.Aside from the bodyguards, Eric bought her jewelry, new clothes, and her own laptop and gadgets.It was like the moment she accepted the marriage proposal, although she had imposed conditions, there was no doubt she had become the woman of a Quiroz.A part of her knew that insisting on being her old self would not help her transition into her new role as a Quiroz wife, so she let
The next few days were the most surreal of all the days of Arianna’s life that it even surpassed that night she first went to Eric’s private house in the back of the hacienda.Eric used his influence to get an expedited marriage license for both of them within a week and the wedding itself was performed by a judge in the garden of the house they were staying in the next day.It was private, attended only by their immediate family (minus his mother, of course) and her awe-struck childhood friends driven from the province to witness.There weren’t adults, but she was informed the Señor had the staff in the hacienda invite tenants for a catered celebration of the day in the hacienda’s function hall, unofficially confirming the news about his only son marrying his girlfriend and shutting down any dirty gossip regarding how they met. At most, it was just a malicious charge thrown at her by Eric’s mother, accusing her of seducing her son with her feminine wiles.The fact was, most believed i
“What happened this morning here between you and… oh god, I just realized… my son’s ex and my ex—”There was a short burst of a snort from Tommy before he clamped a hand to his mouth and ducked his head towards his mother’s nearest arm, and Yna hid a smile. Or tried to.Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Dad, you’re traumatizing the kid.”There was a bigger snort from her brother that had him totally smacking his whole face on their mother’s back. “Hija, what I was saying,” the Señor, trying to get back on track as he tried not to grin at Tommy’s machinations, given his topic was supposedly serious, “was that what happened this morning was deplorable, and I swear that it will never happen again as long as you’re here with us in the hacienda. The same goes for your family, as they will become my family, too. But when you marry Eric, you are going to be living with him wherever he is. When it comes to your security, you have to compromise with him until, at least, you are more us
They all sat to eat then, with the Señor leading the prayer.And she was surprised when Eric and his father opened a conversation when they started eating, with the son giving sarcastic observations about something in hacienda transactions, or the father telling random memories about his son’s childhood that had them all laughing.If she or anyone else was worried that it was going to be an awkward dinner, they were very much mistaken.On the other hand, she had noticed a long time ago that father and son treated each other casually, but backed each other up quietly.She had caught Eric watching his father with respect and a bit of adoration a few times, which he would instantly hide into a sardonic countenance or an expression of serious consideration when he noticed being watched. As if anything softer would make him less grown-up.And observing and knowing them better now than before, she realized it was something Tommy used to do when he was little, doggedly following after their f
Yna started to feel excited about making love with him the moment he slipped inside the room, but she didn’t know how wet she was until he buried himself inside her, to the hilt… smooth and quick. He followed this with a self-satisfied, awed groan.“I miss that feeling so much,” she told him in an awed whisper. Then she closed her eyes and moaned when he pulled himself out to push back in again. Incredible sensations assailed her, stirring embers that heated her whole body and made her nerves pop.“Baby… you always feel like I’m sinking into heaven… so tight and hot that you make me crazy. This is going to be… my quickest…”She nodded over and over, whimpering at the next full thrusts until he was kissing her again to hold any noise they make inside their mouths. He was pacing himself now, moving his hips in such a way that she felt the most pleasure from his thrusts, and it wasn’t very long before she felt the force gathering.And before she knew it, the ball of hot pleasure imploded
Arianna was staring sightlessly at the wall after she entered her room, and she was aware when Tommy tried to open the door but their mother pulled him back, and there they argued in whispers outside, in the corridor.When Eric’s voice got mixed with their voices, she took a deep breath and turned her head to look accusingly and tiredly at the closed door. Did they have to do all that right behind it, where she would strain to hear what they were saying?Didn’t she say she wanted to be alone?Yet, Yna found herself standing up from the edge of her bed’s cushion to quietly tiptoe to the door to try and hear them more clearly.And she heard everything since then.Her eyes even shed a few tears, even though those were words she had heard before and knew already.Those three loved her to death, she knew all that. She also knew they would not so easily let her be.Especially Eric, who owned the hardest skull of all.Her mother and Tommy went down the stairs and left Eric there, and she coul
“Honestly, I can understand if the poor child panics at this point,” Papa said after how quiet the kitchen had become after Arianna rushed out then her mother and Tommy left to follow her. “Your mother can fucking overwhelm anyone, and she’s just a girl.”Eric was on his feet and he would have run after her, too, if he didn’t remember the panic in her eyes, the fear and confusion marring her whole face, and the pain that was in her voice when she begged to be alone. So he wasn’t sure if he should follow her.Instead, he closed his eyes and lowered his head.“Am I doing the right thing?” he asked the two men quietly. “Or am I pushing her too much? Rushing her relentlessly?”“There is no such thing as rushing to a man when he wants a woman,” his father replied. And Eric turned to him, thinking he was still making light of the mood, but he was seriously looking up at him from where he sat across the table from him. “Ask Castro here. It’s good to see that his own rush twenty-five years ago
As if by design, Señor Sylver—Papa Sylver—and Chairman Castro arrived then to check on her with a nurse from the hacienda center who lived here.Miranda was the daughter of one of the older farmers and a senior to her and her friends by seven years.She checked her carefully for further injuries, concern in her eyes apparent. After making sure her cuts and scratches were laden with antibacterial cream and she had taken in the right medicine for her body pains, she tapped her on her shoulder and smiled down at her.“You’ll be okay. The Señor and Señorito are both your allies, as well as so many other people here, Arianna. Don’t let this derail you, kid, okay?”She felt more confused after the nurse had left because, in the kitchen where the elders had retired for coffee and further apologies and discussions, she felt like she wasn’t gaining control of her own life.This feeling started quite a while now. There was so much in the future she wasn’t sure about, nor did she feel secure, sud