“Annalise!” Zeno exclaimed when we arrived at this luxurious house.I can’t tell if I can be happy now that I have finally seen him because of the incident. I wanted to cry about the situation we have because things are now getting worse than I expected. I thought we would live peacefully, but it seems like it’s now impossible.“How are you? Are you hurt?” Zeno asked when he reached for me before glancing at Czyanne. His eyes became soft and tried to touch Czyanne.Zeno’s face and body are still the same as the last time I saw him. Good thing he’s doing his best to maintain his body and health while dealing with our enemies.“How’s Jake?” Ciara asked, so our attention darted to her, who was now looking at Kazimir.“He survived. He only got a slight wound, but he will come here immediately when he is sure that no one will follow him,” Kazimir replied.I examined our companions and noticed that there were a few people I didn’t know. Maybe it’s their allies, but I have no time to know th
Annalise Ysia Villareal’s Point of View“I apologize for my hectic schedule. You know, I’m currently striving hard on my novel and I feel delighted when I accomplish it. I submitted it to my editor a few days ago, and I was simply waiting for the results—”“So you’re concerned with your profession and neglecting your partner? Annalise, did you truly love me, or do you merely enjoy the thought of loving me? Because I can’t feel it,” Fitz said. “You always claim you have affection and concern for me, but I fail to sense it. Your behavior seems to indicate otherwise.”I was simply gazing at him, speaking with those aggravating remarks that I had never imagined I’d received from him. For three years, he’s been a nice, caring, and affectionate partner, but now I can no longer recognize him. Did I neglect him, causing him to be like this?I hadn’t predicted this since I assumed he’d understood me in attaining my goals, but it turned out that he was left with no option but to acknowledge me.
“Are you sure? He executed people who dared not to follow him. I’m afraid that you can survive if you become his wife.” “I’m sure, and that’s impossible. He can’t kill people. All of that is just fiction or hearsay. You don’t have any evidence,” I uttered and waved my hand at her. She was just looking at me, shocked and hesitant. She blinked her eyes many times, trying to regain her poise. “This is not a simple situation—” “Every situation isn’t easy and yet I’m true to my words. If you’re going to agree, I offer myself to become a substitute,” I said firmly while looking into her eyes. I saw her let out a deep sigh before nodding her head. “I agree, but there’s no turning back. Are you sure about this?” I smiled at her to assure her, “Yes. I’m sure about this.” .... “So you are saying that you wanted to be the substitute?” Rose’s father asked. Rose, the woman I saved from ending her life by jumping into the deep river, invited me to their house to talk about the offer that I h
“Did you see how she looked at me? Damn! Does she think that I will acknowledge her as my bride? The hell! In her dreams!” That phrase has been bothering me for the past few days. I tried to ignore it, but I just couldn’t. Does that mean he also doesn’t want this marriage? “Ma’am Rose, this is your iced coffee.” I heard someone say something that caught my attention, so I stopped typing and turned my head to look for the person who entered my room. When I noticed that it was the head housemaid, holding a glass of iced coffee that I requested a while ago, I smiled at her. “Thank you so much. You can just place it beside my laptop.” I looked at my laptop again and started typing. I was just working on the outline of my novel first so I could recall it if ever I had writer’s block. It would be easy for me to finish my novel, especially if I’m getting lazy sometimes to write. I always force myself to work and imagine sometimes which leads me not to be satisfied with my work and looks l
The vase fell because it startled her, so I lowered my head to help her, “I apologize. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I just wanted to talk to you since—” “What happened, Leia? What’s with the noise?” someone shouted from the first floor. “I accidentally broke the vase, Kendyll,” she shouted. As far as I know, she’s Leia. “Wait! I’ll help you,” she replied and after a few minutes, a beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere while wearing a maid’s uniform. Leia and Kendyll feel like they came from a well-known family, but I’m not sure although they are familiar. When Kendyll noticed my presence, her face showed shock as if she didn’t expect me to be there. I had been locking myself in my room, trying to finish the novel. However, ever since I received that text message, negative thoughts blurred everything, and I couldn’t even create a scenario in my mind. I tried listening to songs and instrumentals, but I ended up having writer’s block and I can’t even feel satisfied after reading
“Ma’am Rose, the makeup artist and hairstylist, will be here in a few minutes,” the maid informed me outside of my room. I let out a deep sigh and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Tonight, the announcement will be made that Rose is engaged to the Arrogant and Rude Heir of the Mercedes Clan, but in reality, Rose is Annalise Ysia Villareal, the Substitute Bride for her fiancé. “Let us all welcome Zeno Myer Mercedes with his fiance, Rose Vergara!” the host announced. All the visitors rise and clap their hands, making my hands wet and trembling. Even if I’m not Rose, I can still feel the pressure with their eyes as if they are expecting something from me because I’m his fiance. “Don’t do any stupid stunts here, woman or else. You will experience my wrath,” he whispered, which made me clench my jaw. If he doesn’t want me to be his wife, then why did he accept this arranged marriage? I can’t believe him! He can just back out if he doesn’t want to rather than get angry with me. “Why
“You’re so beautiful, Ma’am Rose! I’m sure that Mr. Zeno will fall in love with you!” the stylist said. If only they knew how rude he was, they would not tell that to me. However, since his looks are captivating, I bet that they will not believe what they see and they will eventually defend him rather than the victim. That’s how people think. Once they see how handsome and powerful they are, they will be on their side, even if they are the ones who did something bad or unforgivable. It’s kinda unfair for us, who don’t possess that kind of status, but what can we do if that is what they want? Funny, right? “You think so?” I asked, trying to enlighten the mood so people wouldn’t think something about our relationship. Since he’s the most influential entrepreneur, I can’t taint Rose’s name and my face, of course. I need to ride on their topic because they will surely be on his side once I do something off, so I should make my act more realistic so they wouldn’t sense it. “Ma’am Rose,
“Congratulations to the both of you, man! I’m so happy that you’ve finally found the right one,” someone said, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s his friend. After the wedding ceremony, we rushed to the wedding reception. Zeno was driving his car seriously and didn’t even bother to glance at me after entering the driver’s seat. His eyes were on the road and I could also see his jaw clenching since I was looking at his side profile. He still looks handsome and I understand why many women were admiring him as if he’s like the Prince Charming of their life. Who wouldn’t have thought that? His face is so handsome, he also has an athletic body and height. But you can sense his coldness with his eyes. My eyes landed on his red and pouty lips. That lip met mine when the priest announced to everyone that the groom could now kiss the bride. I admit, that kiss was sweet. It only took seconds, but he managed to brush his lower lip to mine, kissing me passionately in front of his friends, relatives,