The festive season was over. It was a new year and all seemed well and in its usual with Lana back in the apartment. However, torment from the just ended holidays hovered over Andrea, like a dark mist waiting to consume her. After the donation to the orphanage, that very night, Antonio mailed her the contracts which she refused saying, "I'm not about to jump into the lion's mouth."He responded, "I'm not going to persuade you anymore. Where persuasion fails, force is applied. You will work for me Andrea Cabrera. I'll see you next year."These words have been haunting Andrea ever since. 'How far is he willing to go? I can't just give in when I know he just wants to punish me. What do I do now?' she thought distressed. She didn't feel she could confine in Lana about everything because she didn't want the lecture on 'self-control' and 'avoid trouble'. Most of all, she feared her sister would get involved in order to help her out.★★★Meanwhile...Antonio's study...Antonio and Lauren whe
In Andrea's attempt to help the woman, she took her over to the back seat and before she could open it up, the door flung open and she felt a sting on her neck. In the blink of an eye, there was complete darkness."Take the wheel," Lauren said to the man who opened the door while the man who sedated her carried her into the car. "To the warehouse," she said and they immediately sped off.★★★The apartment..."She's still not answering," Lana said, pacing back and forth. "I shouldn't have sent the text first. She's not gonna pick. She's upset.""Calm down love," Jackson said soothingly as he tried to console Lana, rubbing her arms. She however gave him a sharp look before moving out of his embrace. "Maybe Andrea's not coming back right now because she's infuriated by the fact that I'm here. She probably doesn't want to come and meet me here. You could text her and tell her we're stepping out to talk. We won't be long so long as you don't want to.""We definitely won't be long," she sai
"Miss, you need to stop this. The..." Before Dan could complete his statement, Eric flipped the switch and Andrea dropped into the water, still bonded to the chair. At that very moment, the other door flew open, almost coming off, startling everyone in the room."Boss!"Antonio scanned the large room eagerly in search of Andrea when he suddenly spotted the cable in the water with ripples forming at the surface. A second's glare should have been good enough to tell Eric, 'If you truly intend to continue living, you had better lift the lever.' Unfortunately, the terrified man, paralyzed with fear, stood mouth and eyes wide open, as he watched Antonio approaching him with quite some speed for a walk. Finally realizing his certain predicament, Eric immediately lifted the lever to pull her out. Unfortunately, it only managed to bring out her head before the cable snapped sending her back in. Antonio, in the twinkle of an eye, dived in to pull her out. He tried to get her out of the seat but
When she could hear no more footsteps, Andrea took a peek outside. Seeing that there was no one around, she left the stand behind and made her way down the stairs as quickly as her weak body could go. She took the hallway behind the huge staircase and saw a slightly open door. She slid the door to open up a little more. It was the kitchen. The best part was seeing another door on the other side of the kitchen, fully opened and leading to the great out doors. She smiled to herself and rushed to the open door but..."And where do you think you're going?" she heard a familiar hoarse voice ask from the other side of the large kitchen."A-Antonio," she whispered. 'How didn't I see him earlier,' she thought, staring at him as tears formed in her eyes. There and then, she felt all hope was lost...yet she didn't want to accept that fate. In an attempt to defy all odds, her little weak legs made an attempt for the light but unfortunately, a pair of large strong arms lifted her, her feet wobble
Andrea saw so much worry in Wanda's eyes. Suddenly she murmured to Andrea, "Don't dare him. He'll do it!"Once they stepped out, Antonio locked the door manually. Each click of the locking door made Andrea feel regretful."Now that it's just the two of us," Antonio said deviously, "...how shall we deal with a naughty girl."Andrea's heart started to race intensely, seeing Antonio unbuttoning his shirt. "W-W-What are you doing?" She panicked sitting up in bed. He merely looked at her with a horrifying grin."There are so many ways I can get you to eat," he said putting his hands into his pocket after unbuttoning halfway. Andrea couldn't help but take a peek at his gorgeous chest. His firm tanned broad chest and a little if his abs."You wanna see it better?" He teased with a cheeky smirk. Andrea's face turned red. She lay back down and shut her eyes hard."Listen Liliana...""Andrea," she interrupted sharply."I don't care. Your name is your name. If you hate it so much, take it out al
Night time...."Boss," Arnold greeted Antonio who just walked into the study. "You seem exhausted.""Try dealing with a brat like that," Antonio murmured with a scoff. "You've got something for me?" Antonio fell on his seat, sighing in exhaustion and relief."Yes boss. We just found her phone a few hours ago. It was still unlocked and she had many messages and calls not replied. It was her sister," he said, handing over the phone."When you found it, it wasn't unlocked?" Antonio asked, expressing a bit of shock. 'This only means Lauren didn't cover her tracks,' he thought, rubbing his temples. 'This means her actions weren't well planned. It's almost as though she wanted to be done with Andrea quickly. If that is the case, why did she put her through that much hardship? What were your real intentions Lauren,' Antonio thought, troubled, yet with an unfazed expression."No need to be disturbed about that sir. I already dealt with the situation. Apparently, the lady has a course to be an
Robles Construction Company...'Today is the meeting with the partners. Antonio should be here soon. I haven't heard from him since. I bet he's still upset,' Lauren thought, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. She looked to the package on her desk. It was a box of cookies. 'Gifting him this as an apology seemed like a good idea when I was making them. He'll definitely see me as pathetic for that. Even the fifty thousand dollar watch I had saved for his birthday would be even worse. What do I do? Just apologize?' she thought and began sulking. She was still baffled by his reaction. 'Who on Earth is Andrea' was the question eating her up.Snapping Lauren from her thoughts was a call from Wanda. "What the heck do you mean by he's not coming today? There's a board meeting in a few hours. Is he unwell? I bet that filthy woman in his house must have infected him with something," Lauren spat out."Quite the contrary. He's fine health wise but he's staying to take care of the Miss," Wanda s
Evening...."Wanda, I really need to step out for a bit. I won't cause you any trouble. I'm tired of being locked up," Andrea pleaded."I wouldn't want to get into trouble with the boss...""But you won't. I'll stay out of his sight. I won't try to run away. Now I know that he isn't really trying to kill me. I assure you, Wanda, that I'll be very good and I'll stay out of trouble. He won't know.""He's gonna kno...""He won't know," she pleaded with her iconic puppy eyes.Her pleadings yielded great results. Wanda allowed her to follow her out and led her to the back yard. She served her with some juice and cookies and left to attend to her duties. Andrea sat with her feet in the pool while she enjoyed her snacks.About an hour later....Andrea overhead Antonio's voice approaching and hid. She really didn't care what he would say to her but she certainly didn't want Wanda in trouble. She tried to avoid him as she made her way for the stairs to avoid attention. Suddenly, a familiar fem