C2 - The Wedding

Eleven years later...

"It’s still very early for such a grumpy face, Señorita!"

Lara looked up frowningly at the source of the voice — it was Chester Salas, one of her two best friends. He was tall, dark, handsome and a typical playboy at one glance.

"So? What do you care, Mister?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do care, Señorita, because when you’re grumpy like that, the whole world is affected!" He said dramatically while slapping his own forehead before sitting down beside her.

"Go away, Chester! Get out of my sight!" She remarked irritably. She was not in the mood for his unfunny jokes. Every time she wakes up on the wrong side of the bed like today, she just can't control her temper. Why was she not in the mood? Well, there’s really no reason. She was just bored with her life.

"Hey, what is really wrong with you?" Chester asked her, not minding her bad mood. "Wait, where is Tasya? Class is about to start, but she's not here yet."

“She’s not coming to school today," she answered. Tasya, or Anastacia, was their other best friend. She often neglected attending their class as she was already the heiress of her family fortune.

"Again? That is not how a real heiress should act! Why couldn’t she be like you, Señorita? Even though you're rich, you still go to school every day!"

She irritably pushed him, making him fall from his seat. 

She hated it so much whenever Chester teased her by calling her Señorita. Besides, she wasn’t rich to be called in such a way. Ever since Miguel Villareal adopted her eleven years ago, she has never seen him again. It was true that she was living luxuriously now. Why wouldn’t she if her guardian was a billionaire? But nevertheless, she was living a lonely life. If it wasn't for her close friends, she might have died of sadness.

"Okay, I’m sorry, okay?" Chester laughingly conceded. "What are you even doing here? Let’s go or we might be late. I'm not rich like Tasya."

She made a face while mimicking what he said. She stood up and followed him. Of course, Chester wasn't poor. He’s just pretending to be humble. 

Lara and her friends were all taking up a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. This was because Migo had said that one day she would work in his company. So, she had to study harder. Ever since he adopted her, she had been doing her best to please him, even though she had never seen him again. 

He only talks to her on her birthday. Actually, it couldn’t even pass as talking with each other, because he would just send her a gift with a note wishing her well on her birthday. It would be nice if it was handwritten, but it wasn’t. Apparently, it's not even his personal message written on the card. Maybe the assistant did it, even the typing and printing of the notes.

And even when he has something important to say, he passes it through Uncle George and Auntie Rosette, his caretakers, who were like her parents while she was growing up. The two have been serving the Villareals for a long time and were just transferred to Migo's own mansion when he took her there. She lived in his house. Yet, there was not a single time that he went home.

"Your eighteenth birthday is coming up, will you have a party?" Chester put his arm around her shoulders as they walked to their class.

"No," she answered bitterly. She was not even sure if Migo knew that she would be eighteen on her next birthday. Every time he greeted her, it was just a plain happy birthday. There was no sign that he knew her age.

"Why? Didn’t Mr. Villareal know that you will be of legal age on your birthday?"

"None of your business!" She stepped on his foot and walked away from him quickly.

"Ouch! That's the reason Mr. Villareal doesn't want to see you because you have a bad attitude, Lara!" He shouted, stopping to look at his injured foot.

She just ignored him and carried on walking. She was not that bad. In fact, she could already pass like an angel with her kindness. She was really very careful because she wanted Migo to let her see him. She was already a perfect girl in the eyes of Uncle George and Auntie Rosette. She’s kind, smart, obedient, and beautiful. What else could she still be lacking?

It's not for any reason that she's upset that Migo’s not letting her see him. She just wanted to say thank you to him personally. Besides the fact that his face was already blurry in her memory. She was just seven then when she last saw him. She is almost eighteen now. Though her memory of him was still vivid, she was sure he looked different now. He was just nineteen at that time when he was supposed to marry her sister.

Lara's walk slowed down when she remembered her sister who was raped and killed in front of her. She clenched her fists as she halted her steps. If she could just see that demon who did that to her sister again, she would make sure that he would rot in jail.

"Hey, Lara! I'm just kidding!" Chester caught up with her. 

She looked away. Neither Chester nor Tasya knew that part of her life. It was a dark past that she would only feel safe to share with the man who pulled her out of that darkness. That was Miguel Villareal, who also became very mysterious after that incident. Even though his name was very popular, there was not a single write-up about him that showed his face. Her guardian was a very private man. And Lara couldn't help but wonder why... Couldn’t he move on from the loss of her sister?

"Earth to Lara!" Chester snapped his fingers in front of her face. She came back to her senses. But she just pouted at him and continued walking.

_____

"Marriage?!" Lara's voice echoed throughout the house. Just now, an important message from Migo was passed to her by Uncle George. They were in the study room and the fifty-one-year-old man, who was already like a father to her, spoke to her solemnly.

"Yes," Uncle George confirmed. "On your eighteenth birthday next month, you and Mr. Villareal will get married."

"B-but…" she was very confused and did not know what to feel. Was he serious? Marriage? As in her guardian, Miguel Villareal, will be her husband???

"Please pinch me, Uncle," she said, bringing her arm closer to him, which made the old man's face frown. "I just want to make sure I'm not dreaming," she added.

"Do we look like we’re asleep?" Uncle George slapped her arm lightly. "Be serious."

She pouted. "I'm serious. But I think you're the one who’s joking."

"Miss Lara---"

"Lara, it’s just Lara" she quickly corrected him. She didn't want to be considered a boss when she was just adopted by the boss.

"Miss Lara, when you and Mr. Villareal are already married, we can't just call you Lara. And even then, right from the very beginning, Mr. Villareal made it clear to us that you are the mistress of the house, because you are his future wife. " Uncle George didn't hold back and gave a long explanation, making Lara more confused.

"Future wife?"

"Yes, Miss Lara. Mr. Villareal must only take a wife from your family. When your sister passed away, the agreement was transferred to you."

"Agreement?" She repeated, her eyes widened at what she had heard. Why didn’t she know about those things?

"Your late Grandfather and Mr. Villareal's Grandfather made the agreement… No one told you because you were still young. But now, you have to know."

"But Uncle George, as far as I can remember, Migo and my sister, Lena, loved each other!"

"Yes, it's true, Miss Lara. That's why Mr. Villareal was badly hurt by her loss. But that didn't stop the agreement. The marriage will continue and now it's between the two of you."

Seriously? But could there be a way out of it? She was not about to marry her legal guardian, was she? Migo was like thirty years old already if she wasn't mistaken!

"But—"

"Miss Lara, listen very well. Mr. Villareal is a good man. You will not regret marrying him. Also, whether you agree or not, the wedding will go ahead as planned on your eighteenth birthday."

"Would Migo be there?" She didn't know., but the thought of seeing Miguel after so many years made her excited. She forgot that they were talking about her marriage.

“It’s your wedding so I think he's going."

She found herself nodding in agreement.

_____

Lara looked grimly as she stared at her image in the mirror. It was her and Migo's wedding day that afternoon in front of the judge, Atty. Baltazar. It was just a civil wedding. There was no preparation whatsoever except maybe the documents that she didn't know how they were able to process even though both of them didn't have any participation.

Maybe that's what money can do.

Lara was excited because, according to her research, they needed to work together to prepare the marriage papers. She thought she'd get to see Migo, maybe spend a day or two with him before their wedding.

But that didn't happen. Now she doubts if he will come to face the Judge later.

Imagine, he’s very rich, but it's just a civil wedding? If she remembered correctly, Migo and her sister’s planned wedding was grand. An announcement was even released for everyone's knowledge.

But now...

Lara sighed and reminded herself of the difference between when he was about to marry her sister and now that he was marrying her.

Love.

That they don't have.

Lara stood up and pulled on the simple yet elegant white dress that Migo had bought for her. At least, he bothered to choose a dress for her.

And yes, it's just a dress. Not a wedding gown of any sort.

But that's not really important to Lara. All she really wanted was for her groom to come.

Because she really had no other reason for agreeing to that marriage than to see him again. Besides, of course, she knew she had no right to refuse. Migo raised her. She owed her life to him.

And marrying him was more like an obligation for Lara rather than a choice that she could turn down.

"Come in," she said when she heard a knock from her bedroom door.

"Miss Lara," Auntie Rosette was smiling widely at her when she saw her wearing her white dress. "You are so beautiful!"

"Thank you, Auntie," she replied with a sad smile. Of course, that didn't escape Aunt Rosette's eyes. The old woman had been beside her since Migo took her under his care.

"He said he would come. But whether Mr. Villareal comes or not, the important thing is, your life will be better after marriage. Everything you have now will be legally yours." She had a small gift box placed in her palm. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Miss Lara."

"Oh, Auntie, thank you so much for bothering to give me a present. Can I open it now?" For the time being, her sadness disappeared.

"Of course. That's from all of us," she said, referring to their household help, which was not less than ten.

When she opened the box, she saw a beautiful gold necklace inside.

"Wow…"

Auntie Rosette put it on her and it matched her dress perfectly.

An hour later, Uncle George and Auntie Rosette accompanied Lara to Atty. Balthazar.

The old lawyer said that Migo would be late, so they should wait for him. It made Lara tense. So, was Migo really coming? Would she finally see him again?

They waited. One hour, then it became two. Honestly, Lara was already sleepy. Her eyes were about to close when, suddenly, someone came.

"I'm sorry, I'm late..." The man said, announcing his presence.