-=Ram's Point of View=-It's hard for me to believe that it's already been three weeks since Atilla moved into my condo unit. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would have a relationship with a prostitute or even pay a woman just to sleep with me.As time passed, I became more at ease with Atilla; there is a certain familiarity that I can't explain, which is strange given that the night I met her on that footbridge was the first time I met her."Ouch!" I muttered with more surprise than pain when I felt someone flick my forehead, and when I turned, I saw Miranda looking at me with her left eyebrow raised.She said, "Earth to Ram, I've been talking to you for a while, and you still don't listen; if you don't want to be with me, just tell me, ok?"She asked me to accompany her somewhere in Makati because she wanted to spend time with me, but my mind is elsewhere, with Atilla back home.After three weeks, my attraction to Atilla hasn't waned; in fact, I believe it has grown str

-=Ram's Point of View=-I decided to miss work that day and spend time with Atilla, and it was such an amazing experience.The following day, I didn't feel like going to work, if it weren't for Atilla literally pushing me to work, because according to her, how could I possibly support her if I would just stay home as if I really needed to work?She kept on telling me as well that she was already feeling well, and I shouldn't have to be worried about her, so I have no choice but to agree with her."Why have you been looking at me?" I suddenly asked her.Before going to work, we decided to share breakfast together, and while we were eating, I noticed Atilla kept looking at me when she thought that I wasn't looking.The emotions on her face are both endearing and scary at the same time since I didn't know what she expected from me."I'm not looking at you! I'm busy eating," she answered forcefully, and when I looked at her face, I immediately noticed her blushing.I couldn't stop myself

-=Atilla's Point of View=-"Atilla..." I heard Ram's voice calling my name, but I pretended to be sleeping.Honestly, I'm finding it hard to lie to him; I'm feeling guilty every time he asks me something and I lie about it, but I don't know how to stop and tell him the truth.For about thirty minutes, I pretended to be asleep until I felt the car slow down and stop, and Ram carefully brought me up to his unit; he didn't even wake me up, so I just continued pretending.He carefully laid me on the bed, and to be honest, I was expecting something to happen between us, especially since he had taken off my clothing, but when he laid down next to me and brought me closer to him, a few minutes after I heard his steady breathing, I realized he had fallen asleep.When I finally opened my eyes, I looked over at Ram's calm face, which was already in a deep sleep. I couldn't help but let out a sigh.After so many years had passed, I had given up hope of ever seeing him again. I continued staring

-=Ram's Point of View=- My dad kept on talking, but only a fraction of what he said registered in my mind. The only thing that is clear to me is the possibility that we might lose everything we have worked on—our company, this house, everything we own! I didn't want to blame my dad because of what happened because I know he just made a mistake, and he deeply regretted his wrong decisions which led us to lose everything if we didn't do something about it. He chose to proceed with the business he intended to establish in the United States, despite my initial objections. First, since it was still too early to enter that type of business, and second because this industry is so large, the risk is significant not just for us but also for all of the businesses we have in the Philippines and other parts of the world. Finally, we are not prepared to take on a new business venture, especially one as large as my father's investment was, because we just finished building a port in the provin

-=Ram's Point of View=-I knew it was too good to be true when I heard my dad telling me that someone was willing to help us.As a businessman, I know that someone with that capability will not just lend his money unless he gets something he wants in return, but what I didn't expect is for that person to ask me to marry someone I didn't even know—he was asking for my freedom!I value my pride more than anything, so how could I possibly agree to his demands?"Please tell them that we won't need their help and we can find other solutions," I answered emotionlessly.I could see the panic on my dad's face when he heard what I said."But, Ram, think about it. We only have less than two months to come up with the money. I already reached out to some of my friends to borrow money, but they couldn't," he said while shaking his head.He appeared to be sure that the only solution we have is for me to agree to this fixed marriage and for us to accept the charity work of whoever that businessman