LOGINEvery passing second felt like eternity as I waited in the dark. Heart hammering. Blood pounding harshly against my ears.Miller turned to look at his watch for the hundredth time. He's impatiently waiting for his shift to end. I wish he'd leave before his replacement comes. But I know he won't do that.I almost gasped when he suddenly flinched. My whole body froze as I watched him become more aware of his surroundings, more alert.Fuck. Did he notice me?I pressed myself to the wall, holding Mira tighter to my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath."Who's there?" I heard him ask threateningly. I didn't dare take a peek until I heard his retreating footsteps.He's walking away!I quietly slipped out the back door and stealthily moved in the shadows. The back wall of the estate was ten feet of stone topped with elegant, lethal wrought-iron spikes. No way out if you didn't know the one flaw in the masonry.The old coal delivery door.It was rusted shut and hidden behind a th
"We owe your grandfather so much," he said after the long stretch of silence between us. "This is the least I could do to make it up to him.""Does it mean..." I murmured, my heart beating like crazy inside my chest."I'm going to help you," he decided."Thank you!" I almost cried right then and there! Relief washed over me. "Thank you, oh God! You don't know how much this means to me!""Relax, Camilla," he chuckled lowly. "Save your gratitude after I get you out of there. You can thank me in person."For the first time in a long while, my lips lifted into a small smile."Okay," I exhaled. "Now, what's the plan?"***I slowly released the breath I didn't know I was holding this whole time. I quickly hid the phone despite my trembling hands. I just finished talking with David.We quickly came up with a plan. It was simple, nothing elaborate. Exactly what I needed.I'd been quietly monitoring the hacienda's security routines for the past few days. I just needed to get right past the gat
My whole body shook as it slowly sank into my dumbfounded mind.Sofia is pregnant...I can feel my heart slowly breaking into pieces. Each piece is now violently throbbing inside my chest, causing a thousand sharp, needle-like pains spreading through every fibre of my being.Why am I still so shocked? It's not like I was blinded by their affair. Ares never fails to slap reality into my face. He would always choose Sofia. Yes, I was the one he married, but he was a hundred percent committed to her.A stubborn tear slipped down my cheek as I remembered all those cold nights when Ares didn't come home. I always wondered where he was spending those nights. I have that nagging suspicion in my gut, but I tried my best to push it aside.I thought it was just my insecurity talking. I thought he loved Mira enough to respect what we have.Sometimes, I tell myself that it doesn't matter. As it is, we are only married in papers. As long as he plays his role as Mira's father well, I am willing to
A couple of days had passed, but I had never heard a word from Nana Luisa. I was getting more and more agitated as Ares kept pushing me to sign the divorce papers.I am running out of excuses to stay. I have no bargaining chip, so we could at least come up with a compromise. He's really driving me over the edge."Aagh!" I groaned while pulling my hair in frustration. I'd been creating scenarios inside my head. Trying to figure out a way out of this place together with Mira, but none came. I wanted to just straight up argue with Ares. Fight for my right as her mother. But I know I am at the losing end.I have nothing. No one. I didn't stand a fucking chance against him! Against them...He could just kill me, and no one would even bat an eye. Damn it!"What are you still doing here?!" Sofia suddenly hissed out of nowhere, snapping me out of my pessimistic thoughts."What do you care?" I glared at her, wanting to claw her face so badly. Maybe that way, I could let off some steam."Why ar
"Camilla!" Nana Luisa gushed when she saw me. "What are you doing here?" she looked around frantically before pulling me inside her house."You know your husband would go berserk if he finds out you're here," she worriedly said.I am not allowed to go around and talk to the other ranch workers. It wasn't hard to do since everyone around here has completely shunned me after Ares took over, except for Nana, of course. But we still haven't talked in a long time, since I barely have time to go out of the villa."I'm sorry, Nana," I looked at her pleadingly, hoping she would understand what I was about to ask of her.As soon as Mira took her afternoon nap, I immediately sneaked out to go here. I tried my best to stay away from prying eyes. It's a good thing that almost every worker is busy with the harvest season, even Ares. I was able to go to her house without any hiccup.It was also an advantage that her small hut was located away from the others."But..." I pulled her aside, motioning
What the fuck did he just say?I turned to glare at him incredulously.He held my gaze as if he wasn't asking me for the impossible. His expression was unfathomable. I don't know what's going on inside his head, but mine...For fuck's sake, my mind was still reeling from the explosives he just threw at me. First, a divorce petition sat comfortably in his drawer, waiting to be signed at any moment. It was as if he were just waiting for me to commit the slightest mistake before throwing the papers at my face!Second, Hacienda Camilla was no longer mine. It was already transferred under his name. I don't know what kind of illegal transactions he made to make it possible, but the papers he showed me seemed legit. I lost my inheritance just like that.And now, he's telling me to leave my daughter?"Why don't you kill me instead?" I muttered defiantly under my breath, just enough for him to hear.My gaze held fury while his eyes widened a fraction. The words that left my mouth seemed to have







