CHAPTER 1: HATE

LEON POV

[I've already told you, Leon, that you should pay a visit to Mariel in the hospital. What's wrong with you?! Don't you care about your fiancée, hijo?]

I rubbed my temples involuntarily.

"It's not like that, Mom. I'm just busy with the company right now. I'll visit her when I've finished everything I need to do here," I said while still massaging my temples.

I leaned back in the backrest of my swivel chair and harshly loosened my necktie.

Damn it!

I don't need to let my mother know that I already went to the hospital earlier. Because I know she'll get angry again if I didn't stay there long.

I switched the cell phone I was holding to my other ear and slowly turned the chair to face the large window. I could clearly see the sunset outside the large window. It was as if darkness and light were fighting in the sky.

[You're just all about work, Leon. It's been 3 months since Mariel got into the accident. And until now, she's still in critical condition. How can you manage to work knowing your fiancée is in the hospital fighting for her life! Think about it, you're the main reason why she's in that situation now.]

I clenched my fist tightly at what I heard.

Really? I'm the main reason now? Tss!

"I'll hang up now."

[Don't you dare hang up on me, Leon. You know me very well, hijo. I'm just telling you and reminding you to visit Mariel. Is it difficult to do what I'm telling you? I've never even seen you show concern and love for your fiancée!]

My brow furrowed even more at what she was saying now.

Concern? Love?

Tsk! Do I have that for that woman?

She's like a sore eye to my eyes. No! A bitch to be exact. That woman is annoying.

She's a wild and spoiled brat. Picky and bitchy. Above all, she's also too vulgar with the words that come out of her mouth, and when she clings to me, it's like a leech. She's not ashamed to spread or shout to everyone that she really likes me.

I really hate that kind of girl.

I will never forget how she insisted and pestered her parents just to make me her fiancée.

Her mother and my mom are friends, so she really pulled some strings to get what she wants.

I gritted my teeth when I remembered how Mommy told me that Mariel would be my future wife. Who are they to interfere and choose who I will marry? I don't like that woman just by her actions and clothes.

When she gets better, I will definitely make sure that I cut off whatever connection I have with her. Even if my mother gets angry at me, I don't care anymore.

That kind of woman is really what I hate the most.

"Do I have really to care for her, Mom? Or do you want me to remind you again that you've just dragged me into this mess? You knew from the very beginning that I have no intention to be engaged with that woman. Just because she told you that she likes me doesn't mean you can immediately agree to marry me off to her. What am I to you? A toy? Things that you can easily give to someone?"

[There you go again with that attitude of yours, Leon! Her mother is my best friend, and I really like Mariel for you. We have already talked about this.]

"Tss."

[Don't you answer me like that, Leon. I thought we already understood each other about this matter.]

I heard the door open, so I slowly looked at it.

I saw my friend Zackeriel enter the room together with Brandon.

"Need to hang up now, Mom."

[Wait! What I'm telling you-]

I didn't listen to anything else she was saying because I immediately ended the call.

"Ah! This day is so tiring," said Brandon, who had just arrived, and lay down on the sofa.

Zack quietly sat down.

"Tita scolded you again, huh?" Brandon asked me with a sneer.

"Nah! She was just nagging at me again about Mariel," I replied as I stood up and put on my coat, which was hanging on the back of my chair.

"How is she? I heard you visited her at the hospital," Zack asked as he flipped through a few pages of the magazine on the table.

"Really? You visited, Leon?" Brandon added.

"Why? Is it wrong for me to visit her, Brandon?" I asked him back.

"Ahahaha, no. It's just natural for you to do that because she's your girlfriend." He answered, laughing.

"She's not my girlfriend, dumbass!" I sneered at him with so much disgust.

"Ah, not girlfriend because she's your fiancée," he added while grinning at me.

"Fiancée, my ass."

"You really don't like her?" Zackeriel asked as he downed a familiar liquor.

I didn't notice that they had brought alcohol.

I straightened up and approached them to sit next to them. I accepted the alcohol from him and immediately drank it.

"Who wants to be engaged, anyway? We're too young for that," Brandon said in a serious voice.

"Instead of your parents getting mad at you about getting married, why not just your older brother Zamrick? After all, he's the eldest, right?" Zack asked.

I'm starting to space out again. It looks like I'll beat my older brother to getting married if I don't make a way out of this soon.

Damn it!

I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm not marrying that girl.

ALLYS POV

My mind is open, and I'm trying to remember the events before I became like this. And I wasn't disappointed. Because I remember everything that happened to me now.

(Flashback)

I woke up when I felt something stroking my legs. With blurry eyes, I looked at it, and I was so shocked when I saw my stepfather Arsing raising the sleeve of the skirt I was wearing.

"W-what are you doing, Dad? Why are you here inside my room?" I asked him fearfully, even though I already had an idea why he was here.

He wouldn't hurt me, would he? He's my stepfather, so even though he's very strict with me, he probably still has some respect for me, right?

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

My shrill voice broke out when he suddenly climbed on top of me and took off his clothes.

His sweat glistened from the small light coming from my small lamp on the altar. I tried to push him away from me while struggling with my feet to get him off of me. But he was really heavy, and his thighs were tightly clamped on me.