DARREN’s P.O.V.
“Shit! Elijah! Please answer the phone!”
Damn it! I throw my phone away as I heard the beeping sound, indicating that he doesn’t answer my call, as usual.
Since the evening of the welcoming party, I cannot contact my bestfriend. I don’t know why. Maybe he change his mobile number or something. Shit. I badly needed his help.
I was on my way down the stairs when I heard my father’s voice, calling my name as if he was looking for a missing thing.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Darren. Thank God you’re here. We have an emergency meeting, with Kate and her whole family. We’re gonna fix everything about your wedding.”
“Do I really need to be there, dad?”
“Of course, son! You’re the groom, by the way...”
“But I need to find Elijah. He’s not answering my calls.”
“You’re still talking to that guy?”
“What’s wrong with me talking to my bestfriend, Dad?”
“Bestfriend huh?” He chuckled mockingly. “We are Herrera, son. Always remember that. People shouldn’t see you talking to anyone below our level.”
My brows arched as I heard those words coming from him. That’s one of the reason why I don’t like my father. He often overlook the person by their social status. Elijah was my friend ever since grade school, and I don’t know if I can survive my mother’s death if he’s not there. I treat him as my own brother. He’s always there by my side when my father doesn’t give a single damn about me.
“You already chose my future wife, dad. Now let me choose my friends. Elijah is a nice person.”
“Being nice doesn’t have a value to this world, son. Can’t you see? I’m preparing you to be the next CEO of our company. You should always know the things that you need to prioritized. Like now. You have to choose between the company and your friend.”
“Company, huh?”
“Yes. After your wedding vows with Kate, the company will be yours. So treat this meeting as a pathway for your success. I know you wanted to be the CEO that bad.”
After that, he left. I gritted my teeth as I recall all of his words. If only I could find another way to get out of this trap. I swear I’ll grab any opportunity to escape this stupid marriage.
I went inside of my shower room in order to cool down my head. As the water rushed down to my body, I could only think of one way to stop my Dad’s plan. A plan versus his. A plan that will surely take him down.
After preparing myself, I got in our limousine, bored. My father sat beside me, an evil grin forming on his lips. As he turned his eyes on me, he saw how badly I glare at him. Suddenly, his expression became confused.
“What’s the matter, son? Don’t you want to see Kate? You’re lucky it is Armando’s daughter. I’m doubtful you can find another woman like her.”
“And what if I did find another woman like her?” I asked, as if I’m challenging him.
“Hmp. Then nothing will change. You still have to get married... To the gal you’ve met instead.”
Now it’s my turn to flashed a devilish grin out of nowhere. While we’re on our way to one of those famous family restaurant, my mind was fully occupied by something else. I was cooking a plan that my Dad will surely bite, not now, but soon enough.
“We’re here, Mr. Herrera.”
We stepped outside of our car and as expected, we can’t escape the stares and whispers from other people. My Dad just smile at them. I didn’t bother to be looked at, it’s just that I feel anxious whenever I heard people saying my first name like they can read what’s going on inside of my mind.
“Armando! You’re already here! Are we late?” my Dad asked, unconsciously.
“No, you’re not, Darrel. You’re just in time. I hope it doesn’t bother you that I already ordered our food.”
“That’s fine, Armando. I trust your taste.”
My father greeted Kate and Mrs. Katheryn Frias, her mother. I also did the same. First, to Mr. and Mrs. Frias. And then, to Kate. I was surprised when she suddenly gave me a peck of kiss on my lips. I can see the surprised look on my Dad’s eyes too although he tried to hide it. Damn this woman. Does she really think that I’m in to this stupid game?
“Let’s sit, everyone. We have a lot of things to talk about. From their engagement party, to prenuptial, and up to their wedding day.”
“Are you looking forward to this, Darren?” Mrs. Frias smiled at me. I smiled back, not bothering to answer her obvious question.
“I can’t wait for our wedding day!” Kate exclaimed, looking excited at that thought.
As if I will allowed that to happen. Wait until I talk to Elijah and this dream of yours will surely turn into a nightmare.
“How about if our children will have a beach wedding? Wouldn’t it be nice, Armando?” Again, it was Mrs. Frias.
They talked almost about everything. From where the venue’s gonna be and what are the foods they’re gonna serve to the huge number of guest. I just nodded and laugh with them in order pretend that I’m listening even though I’m not. After our dinner, we decided to bid our goodbyes to each other and headed home.
Kate tried to kiss me again, but this time, I was fully aware and alert to avoid it. As she tries to reach me, I averted my gaze towards the other direction. In that way, she wouldn’t think that I was doing it on purpose.
“Darren, why are you doing this?”
I looked at my father, confused. We are now here inside of our limousine.
“Doing what, Dad?”
“Do you honestly think that I didn’t saw what you’ve done earlier? You acted there as if you didn’t care about your own marriage!”
“Because that’s the truth, Dad! I don’t want to get married. You know that since day one. But still, you are forcing me to do it!”
“I’m only doing this for you, Darren.”
“No, Dad. You’re doing this for yourself.” I sent death raging glares to his direction. “Stop the car. I want to get out,” I added.
“Please continue driving,” my father contradicts me.
“Stop the fucking car!” I shouted.
I was surprised when our driver did stop our car. Or maybe he just accidentally hit the breaks because of my angry voice. I immediately went outside and started to walk towards the different direction.
“Darren! Come back here, son!” I heard my father’s voice yet I didn’t bother to look behind me.
I promised to my late mother that I will have the biggest company on our country before she died. And I will do anything to fulfill that promise. Even if I need to put an act.
As I was about to enter a coffee shop nearby, my cellphone rings. I looked at the caller’s number carefully. It was Elijah, at last.
“Elij...”
“Hey, bro! What’s up?” What a perfect timing.
DARREN’s P.O.V.“Are you sure about that, Darren? I mean, no offense but... Finding a woman that will act as your wife? Seriously?”“Well, how bad could it be? Any woman would love to play along as my wife. And in fact, I will be paying whoever it is.”“Don’t be so full of yourself, bro. I have read tons of stories about this kind of situation and stuff and guess what?”“What happened?”“The protagonists fall for each other in the end.” I chuckled before answering him.“That’s hilarious. I will never fall for anyone below my level. That kind of story will never happen to me, Elij.”“Yeah. Whatever you say, bro. But just so you know, I’m not sure if I can find that someone you are looking for in just a short span of time.”“Yes, you can. Just show them the money and I’m
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. After stirring my coffee, I inhaled the rich aroma coming from the black hot liquid inside of the cup. I savour the bittersweet taste before I came back to my senses. I need to start walking from our house to the school building that I was working at now.“Alexa? Did Dad already took his meds?” I called out to my little sister.“He’s done!” she proudly stated, revealing a thumbs up out of her tiny fingers.“Please take care of him. I’m gonna go to work now. I’ll be back soon.” I kissed the top of her forehead before picking up my stuffs from the small chair behind our door. I sighed as I started walking towards our school. Our life may not be as good as others but I can proudly say that I worked very hard to provide our daily needs. There’s no shame in that. And one more thing, I
CLAIRE’s P.O.V After my class, I went to the teacher’s lounge to meet Teacher Elijah. I thought I was late but when I saw him standing there, flashing a nervous smile, I instantly know that something was up.“Hey. Why are you smiling like that?” I suspiciously asked.“Nothing. Maybe we should go. My friend was already waiting for you.” I nodded before motioning him to start walking. I can’t help but to think that Elijah was hiding something from me. What’s the deal with this guy?“Are you really sure about this, Claire?” he asked, for several times I guess.“Yeah. But if you’re hesitating like that, there’s a higher chance that I will cancel this meeting.”“I’m sorry for being uneasy. I’m just nervous. Anyways, let’s go.” We got insid
CLAIRE’s P.O.V.“Are you okay? You want me to get you a food or something?” Elijah asked me, for a hundred times I think.“I’m fine, Elij. You can leave us here. I know you’re tired. Get some sleep. I can handle this.”“Are you sure?” He looked at me, worried.“Yeah. And thank you for helping us.” He nodded before walking towards Alexa.“Hey,” I heard him greeted my little sister. Alexa just smiled at him. A few moments later, after he realized that my sister wasn’t planning to say a word or anything, he just tap her head before saying goodbye.“Bye, Alexa. Bye, Claire.” He waved at me and I waved back. As soon as he was out of sight, Alexa came near me and hugged my legs. I instantly knew that she’s crying because my jeans was starting to
CLAIRE’s P.O.V.“We can’t lose Dad, Claire. Please do something.” Alexa looked worried, with tears still streaming down her cheeks.“Don’t cry. I’ll do anything as soon as I find out what happened.” The doctor came towards us, a sympathetic look plastered on his face.“Ms. Braganza, your father needs to undergo a surgery. We need to operate him as soon as we can. His heart has two holes, and he’s in a very dangerous state right now.” At that moment, I instantly knew that Mr. Herrera was right. I think it’s time for me to beg. It is time that I set my pride aside and be a good daughter even just for once.“We will perform the surgery as soon as we receive your permission. For now, I think you need to prepared a huge amount of money for the operation expenses.”
DARREN’s P.O.V. I called my lawyer as soon as Claire agrees to my own terms and condition. I looked at her, feeling guilty every time that I remembered her crying face. I’m not sure if she did cry earlier. Though I could see the sadness on her eyes up to now.“Do you need anything, wife?” I asked, trying to put a facade of arrogance again. I don’t know what’s with me, but everytime I saw her face, I feel nervous. That’s why I’m trying to act cool and dominant whenever that she’s around.“Wife? Is that an endearment?” she asked, arching one of her brows.“Maybe... What do you think about it?”“Can’t you understand sarcasm, Mr. Herrera?” I stopped as I look at her face. She was seriously mad at me for calling her that way.“Well, after an hour or s
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. He called me wife for a second time today. But instead of feeling pissed by his voice, I felt warm crept into my cheeks and I don’t know why. He pulled me inside of a jewelry store before calling the saleslady on the counter.“Hey, miss. I wanted to buy the diamond ring with the highest value in here. One for me, and one for my lovely wife.” Again, I felt butterflies on my stomach. The saleslady looked shocked at first but after a while, she smiled at him before pulling out a small vault from the locked wall of the store.“Here you go, sir. This diamond ring cost one hundred thousand US dollars each.”“I’ll get it.”“Darren!” I looked at him, shocked at how he unwisely spent his money. He just smiled at me as a response. Amusement was al
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. I wake up at the smell of roasted bacon and garlic fried rice. What a great way to start anyone’s morning. I slowly sit up from laying down the bed. Darren’s not in this room anymore. I decided to use his bathroom since he’s not here and I wanted to prepared myself before seeing his Dad. I grabbed my towel and toiletries before opening the bathroom door.“What the hell?!” It was Darren, half naked. My eyes widen as I saw his wet masculine body. The water streaming down from the shower also make an intense effect to the view I am seeing right now. I can’t help but to bit my lower lip.“I’m s-sorry.” I stood there like a statue, unable to move my feet.“Stop watching!” I closed my eyes shut and run as fast as I can away from him. I slapped my