Chapter 55

"This is a mistake," I said, breaking the silence and awkwardness.

"Because you thought that another man is coming in?" he said, and his lips broke into a tender smile.

He strode fast towards me, then wrapped me right away in his arms.

"I miss you, babe," he said in a hoarse voice, hugging me tighter. "I missed you so much."

"You have no right to say that. In the next few hours, you will already have a new bride."

Sean then held me at arm strength and looked into my eyes. "Mia?"

"Who else?" I replied, my voice starting to crack.

"My mother has long adopted Mia as my little sister. I'm sorry for not telling you this because it was part of the plan to mislead President Ric and his allies."

My goodness! I felt like a candle, melting in too much shame.

"I have always told you that there's no one else in my heart, long before I found you."

Sean cupped my face, and when he was about to bend his head and kissed me, I moved my face to the side.

"No, Sean, not before telling you that Eric and I had sex in Brisbane." My heartbeat seemed to stop as I waited for his reply. It didn't matter anymore if he was doing it first with Calla. Revenge never yields any good.

I thought I was dropping a bomb, but he placed a hand over my mouth, stopping me from talking.

"I understand. You don't have to explain. All you saw in those videos about Calla and me were real as well, but with the barrels of guns pointing at us."

I gasped in surprise, but this time, I chose to believe him.

"Sean, what about the baby?" The pilot's revelation about Calla's escape to Papua New Guinea replayed on my mind.

"Don't worry. Even if Eric isn't there for them, Calla can still raise him well."

"He?"

"Yes, a baby boy."

"Oh." How I wish Eric would know about the baby. I didn't believe he was too evil to abandon his child.

"President Abella has been following our moves ever since the reading of grandpa's will. And your meeting with Eric is not a coincidence. Someone is watching over you. Only that Eric is just a puppet, the president's pawn. All because his main interest is more wealth and fame."

Sean held my hand and led me to the couch. He wrapped me in his arms so tightly like he was afraid of losing me again.

"Can we start all over again?" he whispered into my ear.

"But can you forgive me?" I was dying to hear his assurance that he was still willing to forgive me despite everything I did.

He planted a kiss on my temple before he went on. "You never did any wrong to me. I was even afraid that you might not be able to take all those stress you went through."

"Sean," I said, looking up to him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I lost the business to Mr. Ian of Riddance Corporation. You and grandfather worked so hard for it."

"Come," he said, holding my hand. He then stood up and led me to the wall that overlooked a river below.

"Do you see that white building? "he said, pointing to a white mausoleum, concealed by the thick foliage of the trees.

"Why?"

"Ian was once TAG Corporation's competitor, but somehow his business plummeted. I helped him save the company from bankruptcy, providing him all the means he needed to rise again. He became one of TAG's investors later, but a year ago, I received a call from his lawyer."

"What happened then?"

"The lawyer showed me Ian's will, stating that instead of donating the company to some charitable institutions, he chose me, instead."

"He died?"

Sean's eyes turned red suddenly, and he took a couple of deep breaths before he replied.

"Ian never told me that he was suffering from a heart failure called dilated cardiomyopathy. He refused to receive treatment when he was deteriorating. And when he felt his time was almost coming to a close, he asked me to bring him here, instead."

"He started building this resort after the company started to get off again," Sean added.

"What?!"

"He asked me to tell no one about his coming demise. I didn't understand him, but I had to respect his directives. I started posing as him the day he passed away but through the representation of his pilot."

"Pilot?" I stared at Sean with wide eyes as my thoughts ran some scenes in my mind. Then, something occurred in my thoughts. When I was talking to the pilot, I felt I had already met him somewhere before. Who would expect that he and Mr. Ian were just one?

I hated myself for being too slow in picking up names and people's faces. The cues were there, but my mind was too blunt to pick them.

Ian let out a soft laugh, pinching my nose so lovingly. "The company is not lost. It is still all yours. While I bought your share, I also signed a transfer of ownership back to you once the issues with President Abella are cleared."

I stared at him for a long while before I snuggled into his chest. He enclosed me again in an embrace, making my face glow in happiness.

"Sean, we indeed have so many things to talk about," I said, gazing at his beautiful eyes, "but can we do it next time?"

"Of course, baby. Let's set aside everything for now. We have a whole lifetime to talk about it."

He then cupped my face again, and this time, I did not wait for him to bend down and meet my lips. I tiptoed and raised my hands to hold his head, pulling him down to me. Our mouths then met in a hungry and passionate kiss until Sean's hands were starting to roam over my breasts.

"Can we still attend the wedding if we continue this?" I said in between shallow breaths. I also found it hard to get separated from him. Looking at his tall and lean build made me yearn to strip him right now and explore those routes, my hands and lips had missed for so long.

"Mia and Philip would understand," he said, his hands lifting the hem of my dress.

"Say it again?" My heartfelt like bursting already from those many surprises.

"Mia and Philip," he chuckled.

"Where's Hazel?" I asked further, my eyes growing larger.

"Babe, please stop asking," he said, his hands finally lifting off the dress through my head.

He held my shoulders and let me lean my back on the glass wall. Then, he knelt in front of me and kissed my abdomen.

"Baby, thank you for staying strong for us," he mumbled while raining kisses on my abdomen.

I was smiling while watching him, but my tears immediately made their way into my cheeks. Somehow, it trickled endlessly until Sean forced then to stop when his lips traced its path down below my navel. My suppressed urge to cry was then replaced with loud moans and groans, silencing the voices of lies and betrayal that had almost ripped us apart.

The End