I was lost in thought for a while. And I would not have realized it until my phone rang. My brows furrowed when I saw Sierra’s name on the screen. She and Gianna were supposed to be together. My heart was pounding when I answered the call.
“You could have at least let my best friend change her dress before taking her away, Ric! I didn’t even get to talk to her first! Did you get married or something without informing me?”
I stood up. My knees were shaking. “What are you talking about? Gianna is not with me right now.”
“What?!” Sierra’s voice became louder. “But the Guard said that when I left to buy lunch, he saw you came to pick her up. He couldn’t have made a mistake. He knew you for a long time already.”
“But I really didn’t take her-“ My voice trailed off when I suddenly remembered Caleb’s warning the last time we talked. “I will call you again, Sierra.” I said before ending the call.
“I can’t really escape the past... can I? No matter how much I run away from it, it runs with me and hunts me every time.” I whispered bitterly before running away from the cemetery. While I was on the road, I tried calling Gianna’s number but again, it was Sierra who answered the call. She said that Gianna left all her things in the boutique, including her phone.
I punched the stirring wheel out of exasperation. “Damn it, Caleb! When will this end?”

(Caleb)
“THREE, TWO, ONE...”
Right after I finished counting, my phone rang. I grinned when I saw Alaric’s name on the screen. I slowly got up on the bed. Gianna was still sleeping when I picked up the phone.
“It’s exactly two hours before you called, Ric. What took you so long?”
“Damn you, Caleb! Where did you take Gianna?”
“That’s for you to find out, brother.” When Alaric screamed on the other line, I had to put away the phone from my ear from a while. “I told you to guard her well, didn’t I? You ignored my warning. Poor Gianna.” I clacked my tongue. “Imagine how surprised she was when she saw me instead of you.”
“Dammit! I swear if something happens to her, I will kill you!”
“That was a little harsh, brother. But don’t you think you should be careful with your words since you know, she’s with me?” I answered before I came closer to Gianna and sat beside her on the bed. My hand seemed to have a mind of its own. It moved to caress her cheek. I felt my anger subside a little while looking at her innocent face.
I had almost forgotten about my plans when I saw Gianna at the dress shop. She looked like a goddess in her immaculate white wedding dress. The dress emphasized her creamy-white skin. She had no make-up. Her face was bare. And she just let her long, wavy hair loose. Her beauty stood out, nevertheless.
“For crying out loud, Caleb, leave Gianna out of this.” Alaric’s voice mellowed. “Bring her back to me and I promise I will do anything you want.”
I gritted my teeth upon the simplicity of Alaric’s words. “Fine. You know damn well that I’m so easy to talk to, Ric. Bring back Erin’s life and I will bring back your beloved Gianna.”
I did not give Alaric the chance to answer anymore. I ended the call and put the phone back in my pocket when I saw that Gianna was about to wake up. She opened her beautiful amber eyes and looked at the surroundings with a disoriented expression on her face.
I cleared my throat before greeting her. “Hello again, Snow White.”
Gianna quickly got up on the bed after seeing me. “You tricked me!”
“Don’t worry; I apologized before I did that to you.”
Her eyes narrowed in fury. “Where am I? Why did you bring me here? I’m supposed to get married in six days!”
“Not anymore. We are in my paradise. This is a private property so don’t waste your time asking for help. No one would hear you aside from the guards and the maid who would not even try to help you.”
“What exactly is it that you want?”
Gianna’s eyes were now brimming with tears but I refused to be affected by them. “Good question. I want to steal you from my brother. Would you let me steal you?” I winked at her which infuriated her more. “I would treat you better.”

(Gianna)
I TRIED to ignore Caleb’s words. Instead, I looked at the gown I was wearing. Sierra put her mind and heart to it knowing that it was my dream gown. When I was a little girl, I dreamt of finding my own Prince Charming just like the ones in Mother Annita’s bedtime stories. And since I never got to experience having a family, I dreamt building a family of my own with that Prince. I longed for that family. I longed for that dream.
But in a blink of an eye, Caleb ruined those dreams. My throat started to clench. My eyes burned with the tears I could not contain anymore. “Why are you doing this to your own brother? Why do you hate Alaric so much?”
Caleb’s expression hardened. “Quit looking at me as if I am the worst man on the planet, Gianna. Because between Alaric and me, he is the real monster. Who knows? All these years, he might just be playing with you.”
I shook my head. “That’s not true! Alaric would never do that to me. He loves me and I love him!”
“Wow. Love is really blind, deaf, and stupid.” He bluntly said before leaving the room.
I was left dumbfounded until I heard a knock. After a few seconds, the door opened and a middle-aged woman appeared. She was holding a couple of paper bags.
She seemed confused after seeing me. But after a while, she tried to smile. “Good afternoon. My name is Rosita, you can call me Manang Rosing.” She put down the paper bags beside the bed. “Sir Caleb asked me to give you these. He said that you can find all the things you need in the paper bags. And if you’re hungry, I’ve finished cooking. You can come with me downstairs to eat.”