CHAPTER 7

After meeting Leona with the customer who complained about their product, it was only then that she felt the gradual deterioration of her feelings. She immediately returned to the hotel where she was staying temporarily with her family. It was the second day of their vacation, but she did nothing else but work anyway.

Leona was just opposite the hotel building when she felt very dizzy. Eventually, she stopped walking when she felt she could no longer breathe, so she violently hit her chest. She was about to fall to her knees when she felt someone hold both her shoulders to support her, so she was stunned.

"Leona, are you okay?" She heard her stepmother say, so she immediately re-arranged herself.

She forced a sarcastic smile at the woman and ignored the chest pain she was feeling.
"Of course. Did you soak in the hot spring? Isn’t the water here really nice?" She asked as if she didn't feel anything, but her stepmother Amelia didn't answer that. She even saw its concern.

"You don't look too well," she told her worriedly, so she grinned even more. Leona did not know why Amelia even pretended in front of her even though she knew she did not like her at all.

"I'm trying to look like I worked really hard. Where's Dad? Is he still in his room?" She changed the subject and then looked at it directly.

“He left with Mr. Alegre an hour ago. He had to attend a luncheon in Blue House,” This was a serious answer to her while examining her wholeness. Later, Amelia suddenly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Leona’s forehead. There was still a trace of concern on her face, so she wanted to laugh.

"He told me to wait and come back with you," she added.

"Does that mean everyone from the company left?" Leona asked but she still ignored her. Instead, she touched her cheek.

"You have a fever. Let's get you to the hospital,” it told her full of concern. Leona felt that she was about to get annoyed. She took her stepmother's hand and looked it straight in the eyes.

"You can drop the act now. The audience is gone," Leona said coldly to Amelia and violently let go of her hand.

"Leona..." She called to her which made her smirk again.

"Let's say I won today. I think my acting was a bit better than yours," she said sarcastically and stared at Amelia deeply. Like it was a knife that is slowly stabbing her pretentious stepmother.

"Mommy!"

Even before Amelia could speak to her, they both heard that call. Leona turned the caller over to her stepmother and saw her half-brother running towards her mommy. Leona felt even more annoyed when she saw it, so she just turned her gaze around.

"I told you to wait. Why did you come here?"

"I was bored." She heard the child answer to his mommy.

Sometime later, she felt its sudden embrace on her thigh, so she looked at it lazily.

"Sis, do you want to play the monster game with me?" The kid asked her. She was completely stunned and laughed sarcastically then turned to Amelia. She even rolled her eyes at her.

"It must be hereditary. Being clueless and tactless, and throwing himself onto anyone as necessary," she said directly. She felt intense anger and annoyance in her heart as she looked at Amelia.

Its forehead furrowed at her. 
"You're not anyone. You're his sister. He just likes his sister—”

“I’m not his sister,” she said emphatically and pushed the boy away from her then looked
at it innocently looking at her. 

"I don't consider you as my brother. I must have told you that over 100 times already. You still don't get it?" Annoyed, she said to the boy and even patted its forehead. 
"Are you a moron?" Leona added.

The child kept crying and quickly hugged Amelia, so Leona just smiled again. She even rolled her eyes again and turned in the other direction again.

“What is wrong with you?”

Amelia looked at her so badly, but she didn't pay attention to that at all.

"Lance is only four—"

"He may be only four, but he's your son. At the age of 28, you become the mistress of a man old enough to be your father. Eventually, you kicked out his devoted wife. You're the legendary Amelia Madrigal and he's your son…” Leona said emphatically to Amelia. Once again, anger revived in her heart when she remembered what had happened to her real mother.

Every time she sees Amelia, she remembers the hardship and pains her mom went through then. And she would never accept it as her second mother. Leona's gaze deepened on Amelia before she turned to the child. She went down to level it with her, and she looked at it deeply.

"That's why he scares me, too. Who knows when he'll bare his teeth and bit my neck? It's scary," she said emphatically while looking sharply at the child.

She stared at it badly for a long time before looking at Amelia again. She rolled her eyes and finally left there still carrying the fire of anger in her heart that no one could calm.
 

-

Adan stopped walking for a moment when he saw his friend Marco near that five-star hotel. He was already sitting and seemed to cry, so he was just shaken. He lazily approached it and looked around.

"Are you going to keep crying?" He asked his friend.

Marco quickly looked up at him and stopped crying like a child then suddenly laughed.

"I wasn't crying," he replied to him, so he turned his gaze to Marco.
"I really wasn't crying. I have dry eyes, so I was just rubbing them. That’s all,” he added which made him shake his head even more.

He looked around again and lazily sighed. Adan felt tired that day just now. He wanted to lie down and sleep for a long time so that he could regain his strength, but he could not because of Marco.

"Hey," it calls to him.
"I might be a doofus, but I won't cry over a temptress who lied to me, stabbed my back, and took all my money. Do you think I'm not over her or something? Do you think I still have feelings for that reptile? You think I’m an idiot?” Marco ranted to him again that it made his ears hurt.

"Yes," he answered Marco without hesitation.
Adan just smirked when he didn't answer. He took a passbook and wallet from his pocket and handed it to his best friend.
 
Astonished, Marco took them from him and examined them while still sitting. Marco was surprised to see that he owned them. That's what the woman took from him after seducing him.

"Whoa. Did you succeed already? You only made a move a week ago.” Unbelievably, Marco told him, but Adan didn't even pay attention to it. Instead, he looked up at the sky.

"Take out the money that she scammed you out of, and put the rest in Annalise’s account," he said coldly to Marco as he closed his eyes and felt the sunlight.

Adan felt drowsy at that time, but Marco didn't seem to care about what he said because he was busy counting the money stated in that passbook.

"She gave you her whole account? She let someone like you trick her? Was she that stupid?" Marco said to him annoyingly, but he just ignored it.

He even continued to look around as if he didn't care what his friend said. That was no longer a big deal for Adan because he had been doing it for so long. The women who want to be fooled because of his looks are different and he can't blame himself because they give to him voluntarily. He did not ask for anything, so when Marco asked him for help, he immediately granted it.

"Let's go back to Manila. We're done here," he said lazily to Marco and walked away from his friend.

But before he could get away, Marco called him again.

"Did you kiss her?" Marco stupidly asked him, so hesitantly he looked at it.

"What do you think?" He asked his friend again. The annoyance on the latter's face was obvious.

"You did. I'm sure you did. I know you.”

Adan was shaken by what his friend said and just smirked.

"Did you sleep with her?" Marco added again, so he looked at it again.

"You did. Of course, you did! I know you! How many times did you sleep with her?"

The continuation of this was so irritating that the rope of Adan's patience was finally severed. He turned his back on it again and continued walking while he could still hear his friend cursing.

"Two? Three? Four?" Marco continued and chased after him.

“Multiply that by four and add ten,” Adan said to him tiredly, which annoyed Marco.
 
"You son of a bitch! I told you to get my money back, not sleep with her!" Marco shouted at him, but Adan just ignored that and continued walking while wondering if it was right for him to continue being friends with the two of them.