Chapter 3

Lirah knows the Gomezes. Don Manuel Gomez is her only godfather. He’s the only one she remembers who always greets her whenever he visits her father. In fact, Don Manuel is kinder to her than her own mother. However, she doesn’t know Don Manuel’s eldest child because that person is always absent from their mansion. Besides, the eldest child is ten years older than her and, as far as she knows, is already married.

“M-Mama! Please don’t joke about this!” Lirah protested.

Paulina raised an eyebrow, and Liza’s smile vanished.

“Do I look like I’m joking, Lirah?” Paulina asked.

Lirah swallowed. She exchanged glances with them and felt like she had no choice. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

“I-Isn’t Ate supposed to be the one to marry because she’s the eldest?”

Liza gasped. “Are you questioning Mama?”

Lirah clenched her hands tightly, trying to hide her trembling.

“N-No, I just–” She paused when she felt someone standing beside her. When she looked, it was Paulina, which made her shift slightly. However, Paulina held her shoulders and stared into her eyes. She was acting calm, but to Lirah, it was scarier.

“Lirah, my dear. I thought you loved your family. Your dad? Do you want the company to disappear? For us to suffer?”

Lirah hesitated before weakly shaking her head. Paulina smiled.

“See? No one likes it. You are doing this because you love this family. Your dad will be disappointed if you don’t do this.”

“B-But Mama. I’m only twenty-three. I’m too young to get married.”

Paulina laughed. “Lirah, I was twenty-one when I had your sister. Age is not a problem. Just think about your family, especially your Papa. You’re doing this for him.” Paulina settled into her chair. “Or, we could sell the hacienda, right? Maybe we can get a few million from that. I’m sure the company can recover at least a little from that.”

Lirah’s eyes widened. She suddenly felt weak. If her father couldn’t bear losing the company, it would be even worse if they lost the hacienda. Like her father, she loved their land, which had been passed down through generations. If they lost it, many of their employees would lose their jobs.

Tears welled up in Lirah’s eyes. She lowered her head and didn’t answer. The thought of marriage hadn’t crossed her mind, and she preferred to focus on taking care of her beloved animals on the hacienda rather than marrying someone. But she also loved her family. She couldn’t bear seeing her father upset with her or her family suffering because of her. Despite the strained relationship with her mother and sister, she still loved them dearly because they were her family.

“Lirah? You will do this, right? For us?”

With teary eyes, Lirah nodded. She couldn’t do anything else but listen to them; otherwise, her mother would get angry with her again.

Paulina hugged Lirah tightly and said, “Very good! At least now, you can do something for your family!”

Liza rolled her eyes. Inside, she was relieved that she wasn’t the one marrying the Gomez’s eldest child. She heard that person was the ugliest among the siblings, so they rarely showed themselves to people. That explained why none of their previous spouses stayed with them for long.

Days passed, and Lirah became sadder. Her father still didn’t wake up, and her wedding day was approaching. Until now, she couldn’t stop wondering who the person was or what kind of person that young man was. Tomorrow, Don Manuel would visit the hospital to plan their wedding.

“Lirah, I’ve already fed the horses and other animals,” Alvin, one of her hacienda workers, said.

Lirah looked up from her favorite book as she sat outside the mansion in a hammock. She often rested there during siesta time. She closed her book and glanced at him.

“What about Chuchay?”

“She’s fine now. She already rested.”

“Okay, Alvin. Thank you for your help. You can rest now.”

Alvin nodded and bid Lirah goodbye.

Hacienda Clarita. The largest piece of land owned by the Sarmientos. It was named after Don Fernan’s grandmother and had been in the family for a long time. Initially, it was small, but it gradually grew and expanded into other lands as well. Among the siblings, only Lirah showed interest in the hacienda. She loved it so much that she even chose a course close to it during college.

Lirah was about to enter the mansion when she heard some rustling nearby.

She looked toward the side of their mansion. They didn’t have a gate, just well-arranged plants around the area. Since they owned the small mountain, there was a fence surrounding it. Lirah approached the kennel of their dogs nearby. There was a German Shepherd, black and chocolate in color, which they tied up at night because it would disturb their other animals like the chickens. It was also quite alert and would bark at anything suspicious.

“Hush. What’s wrong?”

The dog continued to bark. Lirah heard some rustling again from a dark area of their land. She noticed that the other animals were also agitated and making noise.

“Why?” Lirah wondered aloud. She decided to get her flashlight and cautiously walked toward the noise. The dogs seemed to be warning her, but she had no fear as she walked closer.

“Is there someone there?” Lirah asked. She tried to illuminate the area, but she couldn’t see anything. She continued to walk a few meters until she reached the pigpen. She saw the pigs were sleeping. She then checked the chicken coop and noticed that the chickens seemed disturbed and were making noise.

“Why is that?” Lirah asked herself. She froze when she noticed that the gate was open. “Oh no! It’s Alvin, isn’t it? He didn’t properly close the gate. What’s this?” Lirah furrowed her brow when she saw a wet spot on the gate. When she touched it, it was thick and had a slight smell. “Blood?”

Her eyes widened, and she stepped back. But then, something hard hit her from behind. She quickly turned around and was about to scream when she saw a man standing there, staring at her intently. He quickly covered her mouth, and Lirah struggled. He groaned, but he didn’t let her go.

“Who are you?!” Lirah asked, trembling. She tried to illuminate the man and saw that he was lying on the ground, clutching his side and moaning. There, Lirah noticed that his polo shirt was turning red. “My goodness! What happened to you?!”