-=Ram's Point of View=- My dad kept on talking, but only a fraction of what he said registered in my mind. The only thing that is clear to me is the possibility that we might lose everything we have worked on—our company, this house, everything we own! I didn't want to blame my dad because of what happened because I know he just made a mistake, and he deeply regretted his wrong decisions which led us to lose everything if we didn't do something about it. He chose to proceed with the business he intended to establish in the United States, despite my initial objections. First, since it was still too early to enter that type of business, and second because this industry is so large, the risk is significant not just for us but also for all of the businesses we have in the Philippines and other parts of the world. Finally, we are not prepared to take on a new business venture, especially one as large as my father's investment was, because we just finished building a port in the provin
-=Ram's Point of View=-"I see; please inform him of my call," I said to the guy on the other end of the line.I exhaled a sigh of exasperation as I hung up the phone.I've lost count of the number of times I've called banks to request a loan, and I believe they are already aware of my circumstances, which is why they declined my request.Three weeks have passed since my father told me about the danger we were in, and the banks have given us only two months to pay the money we owe them, leaving us with only one month and one week to raise the necessary funds."Damn it!" I mumbled indignantly as a result of my frustration.I told myself not to blame my father, but if he had told me about it before he left for the United States, I might have been able to do something about it; now, with the limited time we have left, I feel helpless.When I heard a ruckus outside my office and then Tricia's voice, I was roused from my deep thoughts.Tricia told Miranda, "Sorry, Ms. Miranda, Sir Ram cann
-=Ram's Point of View=-I knew it was too good to be true when I heard my dad telling me that someone was willing to help us.As a businessman, I know that someone with that capability will not just lend his money unless he gets something he wants in return, but what I didn't expect is for that person to ask me to marry someone I didn't even know—he was asking for my freedom!I value my pride more than anything, so how could I possibly agree to his demands?"Please tell them that we won't need their help and we can find other solutions," I answered emotionlessly.I could see the panic on my dad's face when he heard what I said."But, Ram, think about it. We only have less than two months to come up with the money. I already reached out to some of my friends to borrow money, but they couldn't," he said while shaking his head.He appeared to be sure that the only solution we have is for me to agree to this fixed marriage and for us to accept the charity work of whoever that businessman
-=Ram's Point of View=-I could feel the fresh air on my face while we were driving. We decided to just open the windows so we could breathe in the clean, fresh air instead of using AC.I felt so relieved as we headed to Batangas. Tricia was right—I badly needed a break from all the stress I was experiencing because of the problem we were facing.I felt a gentle hand caressing my hand, and a smile formed on my lips when I looked in her direction.Seeing her serene expression is such a sight to behold; she was looking out the window and enjoying the view.Aside from taking my mind off work, I can also spend more time with Atilla since we decided to take a vacation for three days.It took us more than two hours before we arrived at our destination; it was exactly eleven o'clock am when we got to the hotel where we will be staying, and since we were already hungry, we decided to have an early lunch. Good thing there is also a restaurant in the hotel where we checked in.After having our
-=Ram's Point of View=- I just left Agnes with some instructions and told her to call me when dad wakes up. I finally decided to agree to the terms that the person willing to help us gave me, and that was for me to agree to marry whoever he wanted me to marry. Now that I've finally decided, I just need to know how I can tell him my answer. I couldn't rely on my dad since he was still unconscious, and I wanted to do this now or else I might change my mind. The only way for me to find out his contact information is for me to check on my dad's belongings; maybe there is a number I can find, so I decided to go to dad's house to look for any clues. When I arrived, I immediately went to my dad's room and started looking for anything I could use; maybe he wrote a number somewhere. I immediately searched his room for any clue but didn't find any, so I decided to check the phone in his room as well as the one in the study room but didn't find any new numbers. Are you looking for somethin
-=Atilla's Point of View=-I've been waiting for Ram to come home from the hospital, and I couldn't help but worry about him, remembering how concerned he was when he learned that his dad had been rushed to the hospital.Instead of waiting, I turned on the TV to distract myself from my worries, and that's when Ram found me.I stood up and approached him; I could see the stress on his face, which led me to believe that something bad had happened to his father, but he assured me that his father's condition was already stable and that there was nothing to worry about.Even though he didn't say anything, I could tell he was agitated."Is there something bothering you, Ram?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, and just as expected he appeared surprised after hearing my query."Atilla... I have something to tell you," he answered hesitantly.The seriousness in his voice, as well as the expression on his face, baffled me.I decided to wait for him to speak because I was particularly worried
-=Ram's Point of View=-Damn it!" I kept on cursing while driving back home.My mind is a complete mess after what I discovered in the restaurant, especially when I found that the girl I thought was a prostitute was actually the sister of one of Asia's wealthiest businessmen.A part of my mind tells me I should be happy, but that is not what I am feeling right now because I have been betrayed!I feel like the biggest fool in the world, and this was by far the biggest blow to my pride because of how Atilla deceived me."Shit!I couldn't help but yell when I noticed the traffic light had turned red, so I stepped on the brakes quickly.My phone started ringing at this point, and I immediately scowled when I saw it was Atilla calling, and instead of answering the phone, I angrily threw it in the backseat of the car.My dad remained silent while staring at me; he didn't say anything as we left the venue of my engagement party, which I appreciated.To be honest, I didn't know how to explain
-=Atilla's Point of View=-Ram had been gone for a while, but my gaze stayed glued to the closed door, while the tears still kept on flowing from my eyes.I never thought that this is how it was going to end between me and the man I love the most when all I wanted was to be with him.This is exactly the reason why I was hesitant to tell him the truth, but I guess this would be much more acceptable if I told him the truth myself.I kept on staring at the door, hoping and praying he would come back, but more than thirty minutes had passed, and he never returned.So I decided to go to my best friend Nicole's house, which is not that far from Ram's place.I decided to take a taxi to go to Nicole's place. It's just a short walk, but because of all the things running through my mind right now, I might get into an accident, so I should take a cab."We're here," I didn't even notice that we had arrived at my destination, and if it weren't for the driver telling me, I wouldn't have realized it