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• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN   Epilogue

  Cheska The thought of Drake purchasing a gun still bothered my mind the entire night, but I decide not to question him again about that. I keep wondering why he suddenly decides to carry it now. We've been living in California for two weeks, and so far, everything is fine. This morning, he leaves for work, as usual. While I'm about to finish blow-drying my hair inside my bathroom, I hear footstep sounds from downstairs. That makes my heart thump hard against my chest. Ever since the incident of Andrew breaking into our house in England, the smallest sound and the slightest movement can make me become a paranoid again. I'm sure that Jake has locked the door, so if it weren't him, who else would enter this house? Slowly, I step out of my room and head downstairs, almost tiptoeing so that I won't make too much sound. My pulse quickens as I finally reach the ground level. When I see the person entering the living room, I yelp in surprise. My eyes widen as I see Prince standing before m

• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN    67

  Prince I open my eyes, only to find an unfamiliar ceiling. My vision is still quite blurry, but then, it becomes better. My head pulses with pain, but it’s so much better than what I felt before. Abruptly, I sit up and find that I’m sitting on a bed that’s not mine. What the hell has happened to me? I snap my head around and find Jake standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. “Shit,” I involuntary curse. “You passed out,” he says, as if it can’t be any clearer. “When I still saw you again this morning, I thought you were crazy. You looked like shit.” “How could--” “Cheska,” Jake answers before I can finish my question. “You’re lucky. She found you, brought you inside and treated you.” I freeze for a while before a sigh leaves my mouth. So, it’s not a dream. It’s really her. I thought that I was hallucinating. Damn. I even thought that I’d died and entered heaven. Cheska stayed here, by my side. She saved me. I suddenly feel so stupid for not waking up at that ti

• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN   66

  Cheska The moment I close the door behind me, my sobs finally break. I’ve never thought that I would say those words to him, but I had to. We can’t be together anymore. I’ve promised myself that I’m going to forget everything about my painful past, about him. I need to be strong, and I can only be so without him. I’ve planned my future, and he won’t be in the picture. Our future doesn’t work together. Mine will destroy his. Drake leans back against the wall, his arms crossed on his chest, his eyes closed. He has heard everything as well. When he turns to me and walks closer to hug me, I bury my face in his chest and cry my eyes out, hugging him back. I can’t bear the pain anymore. Hurting Prince breaks my own heart, worse than when he broke mine. He came all the way here for me. He waited for days, standing on the street outside. He still waited for me even when the rain had been pouring hard on him. He was crying when he said that he loved me. But then, I just crushed him with m

• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN   65

  Prince It’s been three days since I arrived in California, and the first thing I do once I get up this morning is to visit Drake’s house again. I look up to the same window, only to find that the curtain is still shut. Drake steps out of the house to go to work again, but this time when he looks at me, he just sighs, shaking his head in disbelief. He gets into his car and drives. Clenching my fist on my sides, I call her again, “Cheska!” But still, there’s no response. I find myself standing alone on the street again, but my yearning to see her doesn’t change. In fact, it becomes even stronger. I will wait, Cheska. I will. I will still be here. The afternoon passes by, and now, the sky has become dark. Earlier, I was away just to grab some lunch, and now, I’m still standing in the same spot, in front of this house. I turn my head when I notice Drake’s car pulling in. And the first thing he does after he comes back from work is scrutinizing me. He shakes his head again before wal

• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN   64

  Cheska As soon as Drake comes back from work, he visits my room. I sigh, closing my laptop. Drake leans back against my door frame, still in his office attire. “ Are you sure, Ches?” he asks me the question once again. I nod. This past week, I've been spending time with my laptop to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. And finally, I've found a light, filled with hope for my future. A way to achieve my dreams. "You know, I never thought that something like this would ever happen, but-" he falters, and I give him a hopeful look. A soft smile touches his lips. "As long as it makes you happy, I'm fine with it." Relief washes over me. I thought that he would be reluctant to accept my idea at first, butI always know that he's going to be supportive, as long as it's the best for me. I stand up from the chair, approach him and hug him, making him sigh. "Thank you, Drake. I always know that you're gonna be on my side." When we pull away, I do see the sadness in his eyes. Regrets

• MARRYING A RUTHLESS MAN   63

  Cheska Later in the afternoon, Fiona and I finally finish settling all my belongings in place. It's time for her to get back to her apartment, and I can sense that Jake's mood darkens once he knows that she's going to leave soon. Too bad for him, Fiona doesn't seem to consider another option. There's this mystery about Fiona that makes me understand why Jake is drawn to her. It's like she's doing this push-and-pull thing with my brother, which rarely happens because girls usually fall hard and fast when it comes to him. There's definitely so much more than meets the eye between them. When he sends her off at the front door, Drake says, "Thanks, Fiona. Couldn't have done it without your help." "No problem, Drake." Fiona smiles, and haven't I told you before how breathtaking her smile is? It's the kind of smile that belongs to the supermodel Barbara Palvin. So pretty. "Bye, Cheska." She waves her hand at me, and I wave back. Drake looks like he wants to give her a goodbye kiss, but