ESMERALDA sprang when she felt someone shaking her.
“Ma’am, you have fallen asleep here in the living room,” Mrs. Delia said.
She looked around her, half-awake. “What time is it?”
“It’s three-thirty in the morning.”
Esmeralda ran a hand through her hair. “Is Aiden here yet?” She had fallen asleep while waiting for him.
Delia shook her head. “He’s not yet home.”
“Did Lexie call?”
“She didn’t. As if you’re not used to it. They always work till the morning hour. You should go back to sleep, Ma’am.”
She shook her head. “No. I’ll wait for Aiden.”
“It’s up to you, Ma’am,” Delia said, looking a little confused. She did not usually wait for Aiden when he came home late.
She must have thought that there was an emergency at work. She had no idea that they had a really huge argument.
She was even more worried when she could not reach Aiden's cell phone. She drank some coffee while waiting. Esmeralda was hoping that they could finally talk when Aiden arrived. The truth was she did not know what to say to him. She wished she had told the truth sooner, so he did not have to hear the truth from someone else. The fact that Amadeus only made up.
When she heard the door open, Esmeralda rushed to the living room. She saw Aiden walking weakly. His tuxedo was already hanged on his shoulder. He looked disheveled, and his hair was unruly. She would not be surprised if he was drunk.
That evening, before the party started, he was thrilled because he thought his relationship with Amadeus would change for the better. Now he looked like a defeated soldier, betrayed by the closest people in his life.
"Aiden, I'm glad you're home. I was so worried about you. Are you with Lexie? Did she take you home?" she asked as she attempted to help him because he was hobbling.
He shook off her hand to dismiss her. He did not want to be touched. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with my brother? you don’t need to ask for my permission if you want to be with him.”
“B-But I’m not going with Amadeus.”
“Whyever not? Did he not tell you he loves you? He was bragging to the whole world about how romantic your meeting was. While I was worried about you during the typhoon, you were happy together in each other's arms." His eyes glared. "Did you do it to make a fool of me?"
She shook her head. "No. I did not know that he would do such a thing."
Aiden grabbed her shoulders. “You did not know? Tell me that my brother is lying. Tell me that you do not really know each other. That you did not save his life. That something did not happen between you.”
She sobbed. "P-please forgive me. I made a huge mistake against you. I kept a secret." She should have told Aiden about the man she had saved before and about the man she gave herself to. Amadeus would not have used that secret to destroy them.
Aiden shook her shoulders. “Damn you! I trusted you. I thought we’re in this together. That you’ll help me fulfill my dreams. I didn’t expect that you will betray me like this.”
Esmeralda bit her lower lip. “I did not betray you in the way you think. I had no idea that it was Amadeus whom I saved from the car that was swept by the flood. He introduced himself as a different person. He said his name was ‘Richard Infante.’”
“You did not recognize him?” he asked, confused. He looked unconvinced since she already saw Amadeus in magazines.
She shut her eyes tight. “He looked different. He had long hair, and he did not shave. Aiden, what are the odds that Amadeus dela Merced would be in a remote place like San Luis in the middle of the typhoon? You said it yourself that he always spends his vacation abroad."
Anger erupted in Aiden’s face, but it was not for her anymore. “Unless he purposely came to get rid of you.”
Somehow, hope sprang in Esmeralda’s heart that Aiden would not see her as an enemy. “That was his original plan. But it failed when the bridge broke while he was crossing. He could have died if my neighbors and I did not come and saved him.”
Aiden clenched his fist and placed it against his closed eyes. "That son of a bitch. He still wanted to ruin after what you've done to save him. It's really hard to keep a snake. I am ashamed of having a brother like him. Someone must teach him a lesson." He turned around and headed to the door.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I will give my brother the pummeling that he deserves.” When she grabbed his arm, he was already shaking in anger. “This is too much.”
She stopped him by the arm. “D-don’t hurt him for me. It was my fault that I let my emotions carry me. I was deceived…”
“Don’t tell me that you still care about him after what he did to you? He fooled you, and you’re still blaming yourself?” he snarled.
“I’m not worried about him. I just don’t want you to fight with him because of me.”
“We have long been fighting even before you came into our lives. It doesn’t make any difference now.” He looked at her closely. “Do you love him?”
Esmeralda sucked a breath. She was not expecting that question. “Aiden…”
"Our marriage is just a business agreement. You're still free to love who you want. We will get an annulment after all. You were not the first woman who lost herself because of my brother's charm. I understand you. Nobody can resist him," Aiden said in a mild voice as if he understood her dilemma.
Her expression hardened. “I don’t think I could love a man like him. He does not have a heart.” And she would never forgive herself because she let Amadeus use her to destroy his brother. “I would understand if you call off the wedding, Aiden. You should not trust someone like me. I failed you just when you needed me most.”
He squeezed her hand. “I would never let Amadeus win. Don’t ever think that you’re weak. You are a strong woman, Esmeralda. Amadeus would not be that someone who could bring you down.”
“You’re still going to marry me? But he just declared that he loved me…”
Aiden grinned. “I don’t care. We’ll defeat him in his own game. We’ll make our dreams come true. Jeremy will get better, and I will put up my Mama’s dream business.”
Esmeralda wrapped her arms around him and cried. “Thank you for trusting me, Aiden.”
The battle between them and Amadeus had just begun. He could never use her weakness against her anymore. And whatever special feelings she had for him will be just things in the past.