Chapter 3

"I kept this letter for years," Attorney Castillo explained. "Your father entrusted it to Don Alejandro before he passed away."

I looked at him in confusion.

"Why didn't he give it to us immediately?"

Attorney Castillo released a deep sigh. "Because your father specifically requested that it should only be given to you when the time was right."

My eyebrows immediately pulled together. What did he mean by the right time?

"Right time?"

He nodded. "And according to Don Alejandro, that time is now."

I looked down at the letter in my hands again. There was only one handwritten letter inside the envelope. The moment I recognized Papa's handwriting, my vision suddenly became blurry.

Eighteen years. It had been eighteen long years since I last heard his voice. Eighteen years since I last saw him smile. But seeing his handwriting again somehow made me feel as if I could hear him speaking to me.

As if Papa was sitting right beside me, reading every word himself. I swallowed the painful lump forming in my throat before I finally started reading.

My dearest Windy,

If you're reading this, it means I'm no longer there to see the wonderful woman you've become. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. If I had one wish, it would have been to watch you grow up beside your mother. But life doesn't always give us what we want. There's something I never told you.

Don Alejandro Domingo wasn't just my kumparé. He was my best friend. We built our dreams together when we were young. We made a promise to each other.

If one of us ever needed the other... we would never turn our backs. If one day Don Alejandro asks something from you... I hope you'll at least listen. Trust him the way I trusted him.

That was where the letter ended. I read the last sentence again. Maybe I missed something. I even turned the paper over to check the back.

Papa hadn't explained anything clearly!

"I-Is that..." I looked at Attorney Castillo. "Is that all?"

He slowly nodded. "Yes."

I carefully placed the letter back inside the envelope. My mind was now filled with even more questions than before.

"What exactly does Don Alejandro want from me?"

Attorney Castillo took a deep breath. The gentle expression on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by seriousness.

"Miss Guanzon, according to Don Alejandro's Last Will and Testament, he wants you to marry his grandson."

I stared at him. For a few seconds, I didn't move. I didn't even blink. Maybe I hadn't heard him correctly.

Yes. That had to be it.

Maybe something had blocked my ears for a few seconds. Or maybe the long English conversation had finally damaged my brain.

"I'm sorry..." An awkward laugh escaped my lips. "I think I misunderstood something." I pointed at myself. "He wants me to marry his grandson?"

"Yes."

"Me?"

"Yes."

I stared at him again. Then I slowly pointed at the old photograph of Don Alejandro.

"He's rich, right?"

Attorney Castillo blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Don Alejandro," I explained. "He's a Don. So he's rich, right?"

"You are correct."

I nodded seriously. "And his grandson is also rich?"

"Yes."

"So, of course, his grandson will inherit something from him?"

"That's also correct."

A loud laugh suddenly escaped my mouth. Mama immediately tried to pinch my arm, but luckily, I moved away just in time.

"Windy!"

"What?"

I turned back to Attorney Castillo.

"I'm sorry, Attorney. I'm not laughing at you." I pressed my lips together, trying my best to control myself. "But this is impossible!" I stood from my chair. "I haven't even met that man! I don't know him. He doesn't know me. And that's exactly why I'm refusing. Because I don't know him! And why would—"

"I understand your reaction," Attorney Castillo calmly interrupted.

"No, Attorney." I shook my head repeatedly. "You don't understand." I stepped away from the table and pointed around our small house. "I've lived here my entire life. I belong here in San Isidro. I don't belong in Manila." I started pacing around the small dining area. "I don't belong in mansions. I don't even know how rich people eat soup!"

Mama suddenly smiled despite the tears still visible in her eyes.

I continued before anyone could stop me.

"I plant vegetables." I raised one finger. "I ride a tricycle." Another finger. "I buy my slippers at the public market."

I even pointed at the rubber slippers I was wearing. One of them already had a small hole near my big toe. Perfect evidence.

"I've never attended a business meeting like the ones I read about in magazines and pocketbooks." I placed both hands on my waist. "Oh, dear Lord!" I looked at Attorney Castillo in disbelief. "How do you expect me to marry a billionaire?"

Attorney Castillo remained silent. He simply listened to my entire speech. When I finally ran out of things to say and air to breathe, he calmly spoke.

"I had the exact same questions."

"Huh?"

"When Don Alejandro told me about his final wish."

I blinked. "You mean..." I slowly sat down again. "You also thought the idea was crazy?"

A small smile appeared on his face. "A little."

I almost pointed at him and shouted, See! Even the lawyer agreed with me!

"But Don Alejandro believed in something," he continued.

My excitement disappeared. "What?"

Attorney Castillo turned his head and looked toward the window.

"He believed you were the only person capable of saving his grandson."

I frowned. Saving? What happened to his grandson? Was he trapped somewhere? Kidnapped? Drowning?

"Save him..." I slowly asked. "From what?"

Attorney Castillo continued looking outside. Then he quietly answered.

"From loneliness."

Silence filled the room. I stared at him. For once, I didn't know what to say. How could someone I had never met decide that I could save another person I had also never met? It didn't make sense.

Actually, this entire situation didn't make sense.

"I'm sorry." I slowly shook my head. "I can't do it."

Attorney Castillo looked at me.

"I respect Papa's friendship with Don Alejandro. I really do. But marriage..." I gave him an apologetic smile. "...isn't a simple favor you can just give to someone."

I looked at Mama, silently asking her to help me. But even she seemed unable to find the right words.

Great. It looked like I was the only person fighting for my freedom here.

Attorney Castillo slowly nodded. "I expected you to refuse. And that's why Don Alejandro left one final instruction."

He reached inside his briefcase again and handed me an invitation letter. I stared at it suspiciously.

"Come with me to Manila."

My eyebrows immediately pulled together. "For what?"

"Meet Winston Domingo."

Winston. So that was the grandson's name.

"Don Alejandro specifically instructed that neither of you should make a final decision until you've looked each other in the eye."

I slowly turned toward Mama. This was getting worse. I wanted to scream. I already said no! Why did I still have to travel all the way to Manila just to say no to someone's face? Couldn't I just video call him? Messenger was free!

But Mama remained quiet. Then she gently reached for my hand.

"Windy," she said softly. "If this is your father's final wish, maybe we should at least listen to them."

I closed my eyes. This was madness. Complete madness. But if one trip to Manila would finally put an end to all of this… Maybe it was worth it.

I released a long breath. "Fine."

Attorney Castillo smiled for the first time since he arrived.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning."

I stared at him. Tomorrow? That fast? I looked down at Papa's letter in my hands. I really hoped I was making the right decision. Because something inside me was already saying that this trip would bring nothing but trouble.

And my instincts were rarely wrong.

~

I stopped walking. My mouth slowly fell open as I stared at the largest mansion I had ever seen in my entire life.

No. Calling it a mansion didn't seem enough. It looked more like a palace.

A palace!

The garden was so wide that I was pretty sure our entire vegetable farm could fit inside it. Maybe even twice. Colorful flowers covered different parts of the property, perfectly arranged as if someone measured the distance between every single plant. A huge fountain stood in the middle of the garden, sparkling under the bright sunlight.

And the cars, my eyes slowly moved toward the driveway. Luxury cars were lined up beside each other. I didn't know their brands. But I knew one thing. Those cars were probably more expensive than our entire farm.

I immediately looked down at myself. A simple white blouse. Light blue jeans and rubber slippers. My eyes stopped at my feet.

Oh. The slippers with the hole. Perfect.

Very elegant, Windy.

My long hair was tied in a messy ponytail after our six-hour trip. Several strands had already escaped and were now hanging around my face. I didn't bother fixing them.

Whatever. I wasn't here to impress anyone. I was here to meet some rich man, reject him, and go home.

Attorney Castillo led me inside the mansion. The moment I stepped through the entrance, my rubber slippers made a soft sound against the shiny floor.

I looked down. Was that marble?

Oh, Lord. What if my slippers left dirt on it? Would they make me pay? Because I only had enough money for my trip home. Every step we took echoed through the wide hallway.

Several housemaids stopped what they were doing to look at me. Some smiled politely. Others stared at me with obvious curiosity.

I wanted to tell them, Don't worry. I also don't know why I'm here.

"This way, Miss Guanzon."

Attorney Castillo stopped in front of two enormous wooden doors. He knocked once and then he pushed them open. The moment we entered, several people inside the room turned toward us.

But I barely noticed them. Because there was one man standing in the middle of the room.

He was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit. He was tall, broad shoulders and dark hair that looked perfectly styled. And a face that—

Oh. My. Lord.

He was the most handsome man I had ever seen in my entire life. Unfortunately, he was also the most terrifying.

His sharp eyes immediately met mine. His jaw seemed to tighten the moment he saw me. Then, very slowly, his gaze moved down my body. And finally, to my slippers.

I almost looked down too. Was the hole really that noticeable? He looked at me as if he were examining an investment he had absolutely no intention of buying.

Then a mocking smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"That's Windy?"

No one answered. He turned his cold gaze toward Attorney Castillo.

"There has to be some mistake."

Then he looked at me again. His eyes stopped at my messy ponytail. Then at the loose strands of hair surrounding my face. He gave a small shrug and released a quiet, mocking laugh.

"Check your records again." His cold eyes returned to mine. "I'm not marrying a woman who doesn't even know how to brush her hair."