[Margaret]

From what I knew, I didn't walk that far. So how come it felt as if I've walked for miles with the way my heart was pounding at the moment?

Great! Just great!

Why in the world did I have to feel this again?

"Margaret, are you okay?"

I looked at Oliver who asked me that question. I just nodded.

"You really looked like you're not yourself for quite a while now. I couldn't help noticing."

I could only show him a forced smile. "I'm okay. It's quite a hassle at the school a while back." Especially when that Brent was the one to blame for me to be like this again.

Seriously! This was frustrating.

"I have to apologize to you, Margaret... for everything," Oliver started.

It was more than enough to catch my attention. He wasn't looking at me. His head was raised and he was looking at the sky. He had that melancholic look on his face, truly emphasized by the red orange color of the setting sun coming from the seaside.

"You know that... just an apology won't actually fix what you've broken. You left me hanging... and totally crushed when you ended everything between us that time..." Once again, I felt a surge of pain in my chest upon remembering all that had happened at the time.

"I know. I was aware of the pain I inflicted to you that day. I wasn't asking for you to forgive me that easily. I just... want to apologize to you so badly... and also to explain. Like you said, I left you hanging. But I did those things for a deeper reason, Margaret," Oliver said in a grave tone.

Okay... What the hell was going on?

"I had to protect you, Margaret. That's why I did it."

I was frowning when I looked at Oliver. "What do you mean?"

"It was Rachel Sandoval... She was the reason why I was forced to give you up, the person who made me happy, just so I could protect you."

Rachel Sandoval...

Wait a minute! It seemed that her name was familiar. Hold on... Where have I heard it before?

Jeez! Why couldn't I remember?

"She was your brother's ex-girlfriend. They were together, but only for a short while because what your brother hated most of all when it comes to girls were the clingy ones."

And it hit me!

That was right! Rachel Sandoval was my half-brother Joseph's ex-girlfriend!

"Don't tell me, that was the reason why she even included us?" I asked him when I thought of something. What if Rachel was doing this just to exact her vengeance because of what my brother did to her?

"That was just a part of the reasons, Margaret. It was true that she wanted to get to your brother but she had no idea where to find him. His current location was kept a secret. She just discovered about your true relation to Joseph. I played a different role to her, though."

"A different role?"

Oliver nodded. "Are you familiar with the murder case of Vance Esguerra?"

Vance Esguerra... Murder case...

Wait! "Are you talking about Vivian Esguerra's brother Vance?"

"You know her?"

I nodded this time. "But why are you asking me about that case? Don't tell me Rachel was also involved there? As far as I know based on what they told me, only Vivian and... Brent knew that. What was the reason that made you become imvolved in that?"

"A lot. I gave the investigators a breakthrough with that case. I was the witness to Vance's death. But neither Carol Sanchez nor Brent knew about it. Our family once owned the abandoned building where Vance was killed. It so happened that I was hiding there somewhere when it all occured," Oliver explained.

"But I know that case doesn't connect to Rachel at all."

"That's what I thought of, at first. I managed to locate Carol's hiding place after the incident. It so happened that I learned about Brent Allen Villaruz also conducting his own investigation with regards to that girl. On their investigation, they also learned the truth that Vance was killed and didn't commit suicide, therefore contradicting the police's initial conclusion. I decided to tell the truth because keeping it all hidden didn't really sit well with me. And that includes mentioning Carol's location at the time. After that, I didn't have any news about Carol. That is, untilー"

"Until the news came out that she killed herself..." I added to the words that Oliver probably wanted to say about the aforementioned case. "Are Rachel and Carol related to each other?"

It was the only connection I could think of about the two girls that got Oliver and I caught up in this mess.

"They're not merely related, Margaret. They're biological sisters separated at birth," Oliver revealed in a grave tone that made my heart stop besting for a few moments. "And Rachel threatened me that she would hurt you if I didn't break up with you. The guys who tried to rape you that, it was Rachel who hired them. The moment I broke up with you, she inflicted to you the same pain and heartache she received from your brother. As for me, my actions made me live in pain and guilt because I hurt you without even telling you any reason at all. That's what Rachel wanted to happen since it was the same pain that Carol received from Brent. Aside from that, I was the reason why Brent was able to finally locate Carol. Rachel wanted to include everyone involved with me, that's why I ended our relationship just so I could protect those people important to me. And you're one of them, Margaret."

So now it came to this... My mind was running in circles, it was getting harder and harder for me to think properly.

Should I say that this was serious information overload? Definitely.

But at last, I became aware of the real reason why Oliver and I broke up years ago. But then, I still couldn't believe it. And a sudden thought hit me!

What if...

"So there's a possibility that Rachel will also try to exact her vengeance on Brent?"

Oliver shook his head. "I'm not sure. But if she does have a plan to do something like that, maybe it's not going to happen right away. It might not be obvious but the security with regards to guarding the members of the Cervantes clan and the Dela Vega clan was really tight. Rachel could possibly be doing all that she can to make her plans a success that would be undetectable by the police or any of the agents of the Twin Rose Agency."

Oh, no!

"So I'm making a request to you now."

"A request?" I asked with a frown. He couldn't possibly be requesting about...

"Don't leave Brent's side, Margaret. Right now, you're the only person who I entrusted with this information. And Brent had been keeping an eye on you since the day you two started here. We had to do what we can to protect him at all cost from Rachel."

What the heck? Are you freaking kidding me, Oliver? Did you really want me to lose my sanity sooner than expected, huh?

I could've shouted those words at him. Seriously!

Just what kind of trouble did Oliver want me to plunge myself into right now?

Waah! This was total torture! I hated this!

"Can you do it, Margaret?"

To be honest... I don't know.

Could I really do it?