She Belongs to Me

"But why?" I uttered without looking at him, the sound of my voice could be barely above a whisper. "Why are you still helping me, Mr. Frost?"

"Because staying in that hell of a place for another minute suffocates me, the same feeling that you experience after hearing and seeing everyone in the family likes her instead of you, Ms. Elaine." Ghino slid closer and reached out to my cheeks, his eyes were mourning with mine.

I may have no ability to read someone's mind, but Ghino's eyes were telling me a lot of things - his terrible story was filled with revenge, regrets, and heartaches.

"For that same reason, my offer to you that night still stands," he continued, "Use me every time you need someone to share your burdens, sadness, and even heartaches. Call me even in the middle of the night. I will run to you in the blink of an eye. We don't know. Perhaps we are destined for each other. Call me if you need me. Got it?"

Ghino did not wait for my response when he evacuated his condo right after that, leaving me all alone in the same spot. His condo itself was one of the living proof that Ghino indeed had Don Romualdo's blood.

Thirty minutes later, I plummeted to his kingsize dressed white bed. The warm ambiance of the room was refreshing as my heavy feelings started to subside.

Ghino's aromatic perfume was denoted all corners of the room, leaving traces of his sole existence. I found him a very decent man with just a glance at his mild and dominant face. It was also the main reason I got terrified to use him like he wanted me to do.

Dylan and I may not be in a promising relationship right now, but he still is my best friend, my shoulder to cry on. Nothing can change that. Not even Maureen. And I think I can still endure the pain no matter how unbearable it is.

However, as soon as the phone landed in my hands, Ghino's digits first popped out of my brain. The worst part is that I dialed his digits. It rings in a matter of seconds. I was about to press the end call button, but his soft sleepy voice preceded me.

"What's up?" he uttered from the other line of the phone. "We just separated for an hour, Elaine. Did you miss me already?" he was even forced to produce a cackling sound to hide his sleepiness.

I hung up for a few seconds, still in the middle of deciding whether I should lie to him that I dialed his digits by accident or end the call without him hearing my voice.

Like I said, Ghino is a better version of his younger brother. He was more mature and had more experience with everything in life compared to Dylan. But I cannot do this anymore. My helpless heart was in an excruciating pain.

So I replied with conviction, "Let's do it, Mr. Frost. Be my boyfriend. Let's prove to them that I can live without them in my life. A month of being in a fake relationship. Do you think would that be enough?"

Ghino suddenly hung up the other line of the phone. He did not say a single word but I can still hear his soft and slow breathing. Perhaps he was gathering his thoughts about my agreement. Or maybe he already had his second thoughts.

After all, the two of us will surely end up getting hurt in the middle of the process. A month of fake relationships. That's what I proposed to him for revenge.

"However," I continued, "I have only one condition if we have to make it. You should not fall in love with me because I am not going to betray my feelings for Dylan. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Ghino replied, however, he hesitated for a few seconds to bring that word. "That was also my allotted time in the city before I got back to France. What if I can make you fall in love with me within a month? Are you going to take responsibility for that?"

Ghino's question somehow confused me to the point that I was the one who hung up the phone this time. I believe in possibilities and destiny.

What if I fall in love with him indeed? A lot of things could have happened within thirty days. What if Dylan realizes that he falls for the wrong woman? On top of that, what if Dylan realizes that he had also his feelings for me?

Don't want to assume my uncertainties toward Dylan, but I love him, and I cannot live without him in my life. That's for a fact.

"Just tell me when and where you are going to use me, Elaine." he continued, "You already have my number and hotel address. All you have to do is dial them and boom! Your knight in shining armor would be there in an instant."

"Tomorrow at two in the afternoon." I stuttered, "Dylan will be attending an annual auction. He hasn't told me about who he is to bring. But I was pretty convinced that he might bring Mauren instead of me."

"Noted, Ms. Elaine. Send me the details after the call so I can arrange my schedule for tomorrow. I'll get back to you once I can finalize my schedule."

After the call ended, I sent a message to Ghino about everything he needed to know about the said auction. I also told him that I already messaged Dylan that I could not go to work tomorrow and that he had to bring someone to the auction.

It was already late and he was with Mauren so I did not expect to get a response from him. What mattered to me was that I already delivered the message.

The next day, Ghino went back to his condo and discussed to me his plan. In the middle of our profound discussion, we were interrupted when my phone rang all of a sudden. It was Dylan the way I expected.

At first, I hesitated to answer the call when I already agreed to Ghino not to go to work as part of the plan. But to my surprise, he snatched the phone the moment I slid the answer button.

"If you are looking for Elaine, she's with me right now." Ghino smiled at me before he continued. "We will be on a date the entire day. Your secretary needs her rest day. She has been loyal to you for years and never complained about it. After all, she's also a human like us. She gets hurt, worried, and most of all, she gets jealous."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Dylan's response was loud and clear to my ears even if Ghino did not put the phone on loudspeaker mode. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her, Ghino? I know you are not the kind of person who would care and love someone."

"Or else what, huh, Dylan?" Ghino threatened him, "Are you gonna break up with Mauren if I am going to lay a hand on her?"

"What?" Dylan raised his voice.

"Of course, not, right?" Ghino replied his voice remaining calm to make sure the person on the other line of the phone gets irritated. "You already introduced her to the family as your fiancee. And guess what? Everyone likes her including me. She's perfect to be part of the Spencers."

Ghino moved out of his seat, grabbed my hands, and dragged me to the parking lot. "Anyway, I heard that Elaine will be leaving your company in a month. Will you get mad if I am going to hire her as my secretary?"

"Please, enough of that, Mr. Frost!" I exclaimed. Before the plan got out of hand, I snatched the phone from him and ended the call. "You don't have to go that far to intimidate your brother. Let''s stick to the plan, okay?"

"You need to harden yourself for real, Elaine," Ghino curved the upper corner of his lips and turned them into a half smile. "I know you have feelings for Dylan but you have to set aside those feelings."

Four hours later, Dylan was caught by surprise when he found me and Ghino, holding hands, while marching the red carpet. The way we expected, the woman seated next to him was none other than Mauren.

As we continued marching toward our seats, everyone could not help but fix their glances at me. But I believe it was not me they were more intrigued about but the two million dollars off-shoulder white long gown that Ghino brought for me.

Ghino was also one of the VIPs in the auction similar to Dylan so the management also provided us our seats next to them.

"Play safe, Elaine. Act cool," Ghino uttered closer to my left ear, "Dylan and Mauren were looking at you. Smile, if you don't want to ruin our revenge plan."

"Elaine, what are you doing here?" Dylan moved out of his seat the second we dropped our butts on our respective seats. To our surprise, he grabbed Ghino's collar by force which caught everyone's attention, including the security guards.