Chapter 2

"Mama, is it true that the divorce of Ate Arya and Kuya Damon is on-process?" Dionne, Damon's younger sister, asked.

Divina Walton, the current vice president of Walton Insurance Incorporated, smiled. Damon is the current president of said company.

"Yes, what you heard is true. Greta is back and because your grandpa is gone, there is no more reason for your brother to continue his relationship with that woman. Besides, she's worthless. Arya is just an obedient housewife. She's nothing compared to Greta."

Divina was fixing herself. Her lips were very red, so were her cheeks. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw Dionne's pouting face in the mirror.

"Why are you sad? Don't tell me, you pity that woman?"

"Mama, she has a name. She's ARYA. For three years you've been calling her 'that woman'. And, she's not worthless. Did you forget how she saved our company from the verge of bankruptcy? She's great at sales and numbers!"

Dionne held her cheek when her Mama Divina suddenly slapped her.

"Since when did you side with that woman? Dionne, we all dislike her! No one in this family, except your grandpa, treated her well. When she is no longer in this family, that's when you'll say those things? Are you stupid? And wake up! That woman is poorer than a rat. You will get nothing from her so stop that. I have no compassionate child."

Divina continued fixing herself. Dionne bowed her head. She was holding her reddened cheek.

"I'm sorry, mama," she said softly.

She had long wanted to get close to Arya but she was weak-hearted. She couldn't disobey and fight her family. She is only a college student. She doesn't have the ability to stand on her own feet yet so she needs to be obedient to her parents. In all her actions and decisions, she always considers what they will feel and think.

"Get back to your senses, Dionne. Starting now, I don't want to hear that woman's name anymore." Divina stood up. She took her expensive bag.

"Are you leaving, mama?" Dionne asked.

"What do you think?" Divina replied rudely. Dionne didn't speak anymore. Divina walked towards the door.

"Oh, by the way. When your papa comes from his business trip, tell him to follow me. I can't be late so I will go ahead of him." She was about to close the door when Dionne spoke again.

"Wait, mama. You haven't told me where you're going. How will papa follow you later?" Dionne held back laughter.

"Oh, right. I'm going to the Armanis' Villa. Tonight, I will meet who the one and only heir of Don Fridman is. Our family is one of the lucky ones given an invitation. As far as I know, only their VVIP business partners and clients are invited to the event. We're not even one of them, we're so lucky! Then, tomorrow, your Kuya Damon has a business meeting immediately with Don Fridman's granddaughter. Right? Luck has poured in since that woman disappeared from our lives!" Divina laughed loudly. "I can't wait to meet those multi-billionaires!" She giggled before she left her room.

Dionne was left stunned. "Our family has been courting the Armanis for a long time. What happened? Why did they suddenly become open to us?" She shook her head. "I shouldn't be thinking about that. Mama is right. This time, we're lucky." She sighed. "I should just review. It's our prelim next week. Mama will get mad again if I'm not top of the ranking."

Before Dionne went to her room, she thought of going first to her Kuya Damon's mansion. It was just opposite their mansion so she arrived there quickly too.

"Ate Arya is a good wife. She got my respect because she's firm and kind. Despite how we Waltons treated her, she still lasted three years in this house." Dionne went up to the second floor. She knows where Arya's room is in the mansion because she secretly goes there whenever her mama and papa embarrass her.

Dionne slowly held the doorknob. She was surprised when it suddenly opened. She saw an unfamiliar face!

"Who are you? What are you doing in my brother's mansion?" Dionne shouted.

"Are you Miss Dionne Walton?" the man asked. Dionne's eyes widened. She stepped back when the man walked closer to her.

"Wh-Who are you? How did you get in here? Se-Security! Security!" she shouted in panic.

"Don't shout anymore. We are the only ones here." The man gave money to the guards in the mansion to let him enter there and then they left. They will only return after ten minutes.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. I just want to give you something." He handed a usb to Dionne.

"Wh-What is this?" Dionne's knees were already trembling with fear.

The man smiled. "See it for yourself."

Dionne's gaze shifted to the luggage the man was carrying.

"Are you a thief?" she asked directly.

The man laughed. "These are my sister's belongings so..."

"Si-Sister? You're Ate Arya's brother?" Dionne said in disbelief. She suddenly breathed easily. The fear that had been bothering her system melted away.

"Aha. And I just came here to get some of her other things. By the way, I'm Aiven but you can call me Ven." He winked at Dionne.

Dionne looked around. "Are you with her? How is Ate? Do you have a place to stay now?" she asked worriedly.

"As far as I can remember, no one in the Walton family cares about my sister." Aiven's jaw tightened. His eyes darkened. "You and your family never treated her well."

Dionne spoke with her chin up. "What do you expect? We will treat her like a queen? As far as I can remember too, she was just paid by my brother to be his wife. And oh! Didn't Ate Arya use the money she got from us for you? She had you treated, right?" She smiled when she saw Aiven's eyebrows furrow.

"Ate Arya married your brother because she loves him and also because your GRANDPA begged her. It's his dying wish. Paid?" Aiven laughed loudly. "Not a single cent did your family spend for my treatment. Another person paid my medical bills back then."

"You're lying. You don't want to accept that it's your fault why your sister's life became miserable?" Dionne stepped back again when Aiven stepped closer to her.

"Believe what you want to believe but, I am telling you the truth." Aiven smiled when he cornered Dionne against the wall. He stared into her eyes. "Tell your brother with no balls that he will regret breaking up with my sister. Also tell your mom and dad to start praying to all the saints they know. Your family's downfall is about to begin. You don't know who you oppressed."

After saying that, he left Damon's mansion, carrying some of the important things left by his sister.

Dionne's breathing quickened. She didn't know why the words Aiven said brought fear to her again. She sat on the floor. She thought of checking what was in the usb. When she saw its contents, she was out of herself for almost twenty minutes until her brother arrived.

Damon quickly ran when he saw Dionne. She was in a daze and seemed out of herself. Her hair was also messy!

"Dionne, what happened to you? Are you okay? What are you doing here? Why do you look like that?" Damon asked in succession. Worry for his only sister was written all over his face. His treatment of Arya is cold and not good but when it comes to the women in his family, he is very caring and very protective!

Dionne came back to her senses when she felt someone holding her shoulders. She looked up and saw her brother's worried face. She suddenly cried. She hugged her Kuya Damon tightly.

"Kuya, it's good that you came," Dionne said crying.

"Please, calm down. What happened? Why are you crying?" Damon asked, confused.

"Aiven came here." Dionne sniffled.

"Aiven? Arya's brother?" Damon asked. Dionne nodded. Damon's eyes widened. He immediately looked for bruises on his sister's body. "Did that thug hurt you?" he asked angrily.

"I'm okay, kuya. He didn't hurt me," Dionne immediately answered.

"Then why are you crying?" Damon asked puzzled.

Dionne slowly showed her cell phone to her brother. The usb was already plugged in there. Damon quickly took it. Damon's eyes almost popped when he saw the photos in the gallery of Dionne's cell phone.

"Where did you get this?" Anger was evident in his tone of speech.

"Aiven gave it to me earlier. Kuya, tell me that those photos are not true. Those are just edited, right? Right?" Dionne's tears continued to fall.

Damon sat on the floor. He dropped Dionne's cell phone. He didn't know what to answer his sister because even he was surprised by what he saw!

"Kuya, mama wouldn't do that to us, especially to papa! SHE WOULDN'T CHEAT!" Dionne couldn't contain her emotion anymore.

Damon clenched his hands. His mother is one of the personalities he admires. He thought he already had a perfect family. He only thought so!

"Dionne, I'm sorry. I don't know how to answer your questions. If anyone can answer those questions, it's only mama." Damon clenched his jaw. He really wanted to shout. He hates cheating women, especially gold-digging women! Looks like her mother is one of those kinds!

Damon took Dionne's cell phone again and continued browsing its gallery. For the second time, his eyes widened again when he saw the official receipt of Aiven's hospital bills. It was written on the receipt that Ruben Dela Cruz paid for all the medical expenses of Arya's brother. He had long wanted to get hold of that official receipt because he didn't want Arya to suddenly back out of their agreement but he failed. His grandpa had asked him to marry Arya in exchange for Walton Insurance Incorporated and he thought he convinced Arya because of their family's lies.

In short, Arya is the reason why he is recognized as president in said company.

"Arya has long known that the money that saved her brother's life didn't come from our family? But why?" Damon massaged his temple. "Why did she stay here? Why did she endure all the maltreatment of mama and papa towards her? Why did she endure my attitude?"

Dionne stopped crying. She didn't know about that yet. For three years, she believed that the woman her brother married was a gold digger as her Mama Divina always said.

"Is what Aiven said earlier true? They owe us nothing?" she said.

Damon only nodded as a response. He looked at his cell phone when it suddenly rang. He received a notification from his bank.

{"Your account number ending in 234 received Php 500,000.00 from account number ending in 789."}

"Arya, what are you up to? Why did you return the half a million pesos I gave you? Are you mocking me? Is this not enough?"

Because of Damon's ego, he again transferred one million pesos to his wife's bank account! He laughed loudly when Arya didn't immediately return it to him.

"I'm right. Half a milli—"

His cell phone rang again.

{"Your account number ending in 234 received Php 1,000,000.00 from account number ending in 789."}

Damon angrily threw his cell phone on the floor.

"That bitch!" He looked at Dionne when she spoke.

"Kuya, you're wondering, right? Why did Ate Arya stay here? Why she endured all the maltreatment of mama and papa and why she endured your attitude?"

Dionne stood up and picked up her brother's cell phone from the floor. Damon was just looking at her.

"The answer is too obvious. She loves you. Ate Arya loves you very much and her returning the money you gave her is proof that she is not a paid woman." She gave her brother's cell phone to him.

Damon couldn't speak.

"I'll leave you first, kuya. I will follow mama. She owes me an explanation." Dionne left Damon's mansion.

Damon pulled his own hair when he suddenly saw Arya in his imagination. He got used to her presence so now, wherever part of the mansion he looks, he sees the smiling Arya. If there was something he liked about her attitude, it was her being gentle, obedient and calm.

"Damon, wake up! You need to prepare for tomorrow. You need to focus. Don't think about everything that happened today. You have nothing to think about except your business presentation," he said to himself. He sighed.

Damon slapped himself when he heard his former wife's calm voice again. He quickly stood up and walked towards the shower room. He needs to get rid of his thoughts about Arya but after a few minutes of soaking in the bathroom...

"Arya, please bring my bath towel here. I forgot it. Thank you," Damon said. He closed his eyes tightly. He turned the shower on again.

"What is happening to me? Why is it only Arya running in my mind since I came home to this mansion? Am I just not used to it or do I miss her?" he whispered while feeling the water touching his whole body.