I woke up as the sunlight touched my face. My eyes slowly opened and saw the unfamiliar room I am in. The room was still dimmed even with the light surpassing the big windows. Then I immediately remembered what happened last night. Kian called me and asked if I could see him. He brought me here and told me things about my husband. That Denver is a gangster and a part of a gang—The Falcon. How is that possible?

Last night was surely mind-blowing for me. One part of my mind doesn’t want to believe that Denver is a gangster unless he confirms it himself. The back of my mind also says that all the strings in the spider web are directly pointed at him, the connections and possibilities that he is really a member of a gang. A dangerous person.

I couldn’t even believe it myself. The only thing I need is to confirm it with him. It will still not change the fact that the ‘dangerous man’ that Kian and my sister are asserting to be is the man that I like so much. Also, it was who he was. Before I even entered his life, He was already a gangster.

One thing I am sure about is, I will still accept him. Realizing those actions he showed, and the words he uttered for the months we were together, it kinda makes sense to me now. As what Carmienne told me, Denver is protecting me. He may be aware that I will get distant when the time I will know this information about him... or maybe he would care.

In the end, what is between us is just a marriage on paper.

I am the bait, and already know the consequences of this arranged marriage. I thought this will just affect the company that our family owns, but the scope of this marriage widens.
Now, I am curious why the Velasquez family would invest exorbitant effort in our business which is not their metier. As Kian told me, they also want something from us. Their help is not free.

I need to be more cautious. I don’t want to doubt my husband’s family, but I really need to figure out the reason behind this binding they’ve proposed. The reason why Denver doesn’t want to be tied with us, and the answers to how the two gangs that are also a. piece of the tragedy happened three years ago. It’s a mystery that I want to extrapolate.

“Sharmienne?”

A knock from the door disturbed me from my deep thoughts followed by Carmienne’s voice calling my name. That’s my cue to get up from bed and walk towards the door to open it. With a smile plastered on her lips, she walked inside with a tray she was holding.

“Good morning!” Kian followed behind her and I almost blundered to where I was standing. Before I could even get near him, he already chortle his ass out while holding his stomach. “Your reaction was epic, Sha.”

“You’ve been poking fun at me lately,” I quibbled as we both walked near Carmienne. She smiled at us as she turned on the television.

“I just missed you.”

“Enough with that, you sweet potato.” I giggled at what Carmienne called him. I instantly saw Kian roll his eyes as he sat next to me on the bed. “Let’s have our vacation.” Carmienne opens up the topic.

“Huh?” I reacted as I started consuming my food. “You’re not busy?”

“Of course not, I emptied my schedule.” She winks at me. I turned my head at Kian and he sneers at me, liking the idea of my sister.

“I’m in,” he seconded. “It’s been a while since we came to the beach, huh?”

“Okay.” I nodded as I also liked the idea. “I’ll tell Denver about it.”

“Uh, no.”

“Eh?” I glanced at Carmienne who was munching a cookie as she shook her head. “We discussed this last night, Sha. You’ll be with us for at least a week… Spend time with us before your husband takes you back.”

“But Denver might look for me,” I uttered. “I didn’t ask permission from him last night.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure he won’t mind.” My sister gave me a knowing smile. “Let us test his patience.”

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

Kian and Carmienne both looked at each other as if they were pointing fingers at who will speak next. I waited for them before they both puffed out a sigh. Sometimes, I thought that their minds are linked as they can converse even with just their eyes. They were already close before I even met Kian, and I doubt they would be separated.

“We’ve been eyeing you since the day you got married,” Kian said as he was glancing at me and then at Carmienne. “Before you even told me about your secret marriage, we already knew that. We were worried so we stalked you for the last few months.”

“It was a reckless move and an invasion of privacy, but we were worried especially when we saw how you changed...” Carmienne held my shoulder as she sighed deeply. She must be pertaining to how I lost a little weight in just a few weeks. “We didn’t know what you’ve been through, but you seem more understanding than before, nonchalant.”

“I’m okay, guys… I’m struggling with how to keep up with Denver these past few weeks. He became busier compared to the last time you’ve seen him in Cebu. Don’t worry.” I smiled to assure them, but deep inside I was tempted to lay back in bed as I remembered my husband.

“We better bring you to Madrigal’s Resort, then,” Carmienne said as she flashed a smile. “You need to loosen up from being a wife.”

“Okay.” I beamed. Maybe, she’s right. I need this break.

“Your husband should bring you to dates too,” Carmienne muffled after we finished eating breakfast. “He’s busy, huh?”

“It was confusing that he became casual to me and then sometimes acted cold.”

“He is?”

“Yes, I confessed but he didn’t give me an answer to that.” I smiled at them before I stood up. “He wants me to stop liking him.”

“He’s also confused,” Kian muttered as he stood up next to me. “Don’t think about your husband for a while. I will bring you back to him after you unwind and clear out your mind, hmm?” He patted my head. “I’ll get downstairs to prepare what we need.”

Carmienne and I both nodded. As Kian left the room, my sister immediately breathed out a sigh. I glanced at her, but she was looking at the door.

“Do you trust your husband, Sha?” she asked as she looked at me. “Are you afraid that he might get mad at you because you left without his approval?”

“Yes.” She sighed and handed me a phone. My eyes widened when I realized that it was my phone. “If you want to call him, then go.”

“Thank you…” I smiled as I accepted it from her.

“So… what’s your answer about last night? Will you help us?” she asked as soon as I turned on my phone. Missed calls and messages from Denver flooded my phone. But what caught my attention was the last message he sent.

I glanced at my sister who was waiting for my answer. I bit my lips as I already knew the answer to her question, but it was hard for me to stick to my decisions.

“You know that I will always help you, Carms…” I started. “It’s for our cousins, so I will help you.” I smiled at her, and she smiled back as her eyes began to tear up. She sniffs as she nodded at me.

“Thank you, Sha.”

She embraced me one last time before she left the room. I was alone again as I was holding my phone. A call appeared with Denver’s name, but I didn’t answer it. It rang for seconds until it ended on its own. I just typed a message to him before I turned off my phone and left it on the bedside table. I sighed to remove the unwanted feeling inside my chest as I stared at it.

I’m sorry, Denver… but my sister needs me.