Chapter 4

“YOU can’t be serious, Mamita.”

“Oh, try me Alessandro Francisco,” she said in a challenging tone. “You know I am.”

The old woman gave the other man a scary look, causing him to slightly back away. Never in his 35 years of existence has his grandmother looked at him like that. He was the apple of her eye! But now, she gazed at him like a fierce lioness ready to devour her prey.

If looks could kill, he was probably dead by now.

This was probably what they say was the fierceness of their family’s matriarch—the fearsome Lioness of the Dela Vegas.

His grandmother has been alive for six decades but her fierceness was still intact. She was not a terror business owner. And she was not impoverished either. She just has an aura that even dominant men were bound to be affected by. No one has ever questioned the authority of Anastacia Dela Vega! Even him—her only grandson.

Sandro sat down violently on the soft sofa and massaged his temple. 

Marriage? How was his grandmother able to reconcile him with a woman he only knew by name?

Lyvette Castillo.

He could still remember that poor lady. She was trembling in fear; completely traumatized by everything. What’s worse was that she’s carrying the fruit of that horrible night. A constant reminder of an incident that destroyed both of them.

She’s carrying his child.

He didn’t know what to feel. They both didn’t like what happened. They were only forced to follow the order of that bastard. To live. And they did, thanks to the efforts of the police officers assigned to look for them. The police easily found where the kidnapper was hiding them before they were both robbed of their lives.

When the kidnapper pointed the gun at him, Sandro thought it was the end of him. But before it could be fired, the police had overtaken the kidnapper. It’s just sad to think that he escaped while in the hands of the police. How? He didn’t want to know. All he knew was that he was still suffering because of what that man did.

He couldn’t help but remember the face of the woman he was forced to sleep with the night they were abducted. They were taken separately to the police station after they were rescued. He hasn’t seen her since. There was no reason for them to meet anyway.

Unfortunately for him, he was left with a damaged reproductive organ after the incident. As a result, he could no longer bear an heir.

“Why do I need to marry her, Mamita?” he asked. “There are plenty of ways to legitimize the child without me mar—”

“Because that’s what I want!” she cut off what he was going to say. “You are thirty-five years old, Sandro. It’s about time that you settle and start a family with the woman who’s carrying your child!” the lady answered bluntly.

The young man sighed. He couldn’t speak anymore. He knew very well what his grandmother could do for that matter. When his parents tragically died, his Mamita was left as regent of their business empire until he reached the right age. A great sacrifice for an aging individual like her. Despite being rich in everything, Sandro felt like she has not been able to enjoy the twilight of her life and always think about the future of their family.

But asking him to marry the girl he accidentally impregnated was too much. No offense to her, but he would never marry anyone he wasn’t in love with. Not now, not ever.

“I am sorry, Mamita. But you’ll know that I would never marry anyone except for Vana.”

“Oh, that girl?” she scoffed. “Your actress girlfriend?”

“Mamita, please stop it!” he scolded his grandmother. “Please don’t talk about her that way. Vana is a decent woman!”

“And why not?” she sneered. “If not for her selfishness, we would not be in this situation. How many times did she turn down your marriage proposal? She knew exactly what is going on in our family! She knows about our bloodline crisis and yet she remains indifferent! I would never accept her as a part of this family!” she said hard. 

Sandro just brought his palm to his face while calming himself down.

If only her Mamita knew about his lover’s condition, she would be ashamed of the accusations she hurled against Vana. He knew very well how much Vana wanted to be his wife. However, she has infertility problems. He knew that his Mamita will not allow him to marry a woman who could not conceive. This was one of the conditions that she told him when he reached the age when he started dating girls. 

Sandro just closed his eyes thinking about his beloved. Vana Helena Enriquez was his longtime girlfriend. She was a theater actress. When he laid his eyes on her, he was sure she was the woman he’ll end up with. When he met her, she was an actress who dreamed of performing on Broadway. But when she found out about the condition of their clan, she voluntarily left the stage. She traded her dream for him.

They have been trying to have a child for ten years but they always fail. They have tried all the modern technology but still nothing happened. From artificial insemination to IVF. It got to the point where they were ready to try surrogacy. They planned to hire a woman to carry his baby. Unfortunately, this will no longer happen because he will no longer be able to ejaculate due to that incident.

Sandro felt the old woman approaching where he was. He was expecting his grandmother would hug and pacify him like she always did. Or at least apologize for those harsh words she threw at Vana. But he was wrong. His Mamita held his chin. Her expression was serious and firm.

“I did everything for you, Sandro. You didn’t ask for anything from me that I didn’t give. I asked for nothing in return except for one thing . . . that you give this family an heir.”

After speaking, the woman hands something to Sandro. It was a golden ring. Engraved on top of it was the Dela Vega coat of arms, an image of a red lion standing proudly on a rock. Written underneath it were three latin words:

Familia Supra Omnia.

Family Over Everything.

“Whether you like it or not, you will marry Lyvette Castillo. You are a Dela Vega and it is time for you to fulfill your duty.” That was it and the old woman left the room completely.

***

“LYV, let’s talk.”

“Sure, brother. What’s it all about?”

Tri swallowed at his sister’s innocent question. It has been three days since that visit from Anastacia Dela Vega. Only now did he have the courage to talk to her sister about it.

“Brother, you’re spacing out. Is there a problem?” her question was full of concern.

Tri heaved a sigh. He even slightly pulled out his hair. He turned his back slightly to hide the tears that were about to fall. After taking another deep breath, he bravely faced his sister. “Let’s talk about the future of your unborn child. The future of the both of you.”

“I don’t understand, brother. Everything is okay. I will stand up for the child. What is—”

“You will marry Sandro Dela Vega.”

“What?”

“You will marry the father of your child. Sandro’s grandmother and I have talked. We will arrange your marriage as soon as possible.”

The whole house was silent. No one dared to speak. Lyvette just stared at her brother and tried to understand what he meant.

“Just a moment, brother. What marriage? What are you saying?”

“You heard me, Lyvette. You will marry the man who impregnated you.”

She had never once heard her older brother call him Lyvette, so she knew very well that he was not joking regarding the old woman. The girl held her stomach. Honestly, she still didn’t know how she should feel. She was certainly not excited to be a mom but she would never hate that child. She was still in her right mind to think that like him and Sandro, that child didn’t want to end up in that situation either.

Her brother knew how important the word marriage was to her. As a child, he already knew that she was obsessed with the idea of “happily ever after”. He even agreed to be her Prince Charming in their games back then. So how was he able to ask such a thing to her? Marrying the man that she only spent one night with!

“Brother, what marriage? Why do I have to get married? There are many single moms but their children are raised well. I can still pursue my dreams even though I got pregnant unexpectedly!”

“But not everyone! Not for you who were raped! Don’t you think about the future of your child? What are people going to say to him? That he is a child of a rapist?”

“Stop! I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say!” Lyvette finally sat down holding both of her ears. “How could you say that to me, brother?” she said with abundant tears flowing down her cheeks.

Even if Tri wanted to attend and tame his sister, he restrained himself. Instead, he continued to speak. “That’s the truth, Lyvette. The memories of that night are forever attached to you and your child. But there is still a way to save your dignity. Sandro is ready to take responsibility for the child you’re carrying. Also, he would make your child the heir. You will both have a prosperous life. You will no longer suffer the judgment of society because the Dela Vegas is ready to correct everything,” he explained.

The young woman was crying after another blow in her life. 

When will it all end? All her plans were slowly falling apart. What about her dream of becoming a flight attendant? What about her promise to Aylo?

Lyv bit her lip. The thought of her marrying another man other than the young man who has been in her heart for a long time was another nightmare. Their love has been through a lot. But she couldn’t do anything. Even if she wanted to object, her brother Tri was right. No matter what she does, she could never run away from his past. The worst part is, her child would share this burden with her.

You have been through so much at your age,” her brother continued. “And as a brother and guardian, I will not allow the little honor left for you and the child you are carrying to be defiled.” That was all and he left the room completely.

Lyv was left there crying. From a sheltered 22-year-old fed by the love of her brother, this was what her life would be like now. A contract wife, a woman carrying only her husband’s last name on paper. But for someone like her who was a victim of the past’s tragedy, it will be enough. It hurts to be married to a man you don’t love. This was not what she dreamed of in life.

She knew that her brother, for the nth time, was just protecting her and her unborn child from the judgmental society. It’s difficult but she will accept the destiny set for her with closed eyes.