Chapter 17

The Montoya residence in Tagaytay was not a typical rest house. It was a compound comprised of several structures sitting on five large blocks of prime land overlooking the Bay. The main house, or The Villa, as everyone called it, sat squarely at the center of the property. Behind it was the servants' bungalow and a little to its left stood a two-story guest house. With only five bedrooms on the second floor, it was a bit smaller than the main house. The Villa itself had seven bedrooms on the upper floor. On the ground floor were the master suite, the study, the music room, two powder rooms, and two guestrooms. Further down the compound, before reaching the stone barrier near the cliffs, was a stable housing five, magnificent horses, one for each of the Montoya men. Doña Aurora had long given up riding and needed no mount of her own.

Lunch had been set up in the white-fenced, wooden gazebo, all dressed up for the evening festivities. Situated at the end of the pathway leading to the house, it offered a breathtaking view of Taal Lake and the famous Taal Volcano. Alternating rows of white and pink pygmy roses, cultivated by Doña Aurora herself, surrounded the gazebo and was in itself a sight to behold. Together with the bright-green crabgrass blanketing the grounds and the cool breeze blowing from the lake, the gazebo was indeed a magical place, a place of relaxation and tranquility.

Yet, it offered none to Angelo. From the moment he'd taken a seat at the large dining table, he had been a bundle of nerves. He knew Gabriel and Louisa were right behind him and he'd been sorely disturbed when they failed to show up immediately. It had taken a lot of self-control to refrain from returning to the villa and search for them himself.

The information he'd extracted from three of the liveried maids he'd cornered and questioned about the couple's whereabouts didn't help, either. None of them had seen either of the two inside or outside the villa. Which only meant one thing. They were inside one of the locked rooms, unchaperoned. The thought of Louisa alone in a room with Gabriel brought gut-wrenching images to Angelo's brain, pushing him near the edge of insane jealousy.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, Angelo's patience had reached its limit. He was about to give in to his urge to search them out when he caught sight of Louisa walking down the path, her face clouded and inscrutable.

Only his father's voice calling his name stopped him from rushing towards Louisa. Turning to reply, he was instantly greeted by his father's stern eyes. Not wanting to anger him any further, Angelo slumped back in his chair and returned to murdering his carrots.

"There you are! I've been wondering where you went, hija," Ramon said without pausing from slicing his steak, blissfully unaware of the incident at the foyer.

Louisa practically jumped at her father's voice.

"I-I was just in t-t-the, uhm, hmm, p-powder room, f-freshening up," Louisa stammered, her cheeks flushing a bright pink shade, her fingers pointing nervously back at the villa. Her father nodded and smiled, motioning at her with his fork to take a seat.

Louisa turned and walked down the length of the table, tripping on her feet twice before finally landing safely on the last empty seat to Matthew's left, which was unfortunately right across from Angelo.

She obviously had not been too conscious of her choice since she gasped when she looked up and found Angelo's eyes boring into hers. She immediately broke contact and bowed her head, purposely avoiding him.

Angelos's earlier suspicions had been confirmed. It almost made Angelo's heart stop. He'd promised himself he would not pry, but Louisa's strange behavior made him too angry to keep it.

"You certainly took your time freshening up, Louie. You've been gone for more than half an hour," Angelo said, his calm voice belying the storm raging inside him.

Louisa looked up, her eyes pained and bright with unshed tears. Angelo's ire immediately changed to concern. Something was not right. If anything inappropriate did happen, it wasn't consensual. Without a second thought, Angelo reached out to hold Louisa's trembling hand.

"What's wrong, Louie? Are you alright?"

Matthew, who had apparently been listening to their conversation, immediately turned to Louisa with concern.

"Why? What happened? You don't look well," he said.

"I'm okay. I-I think I j-just n-need to r-rest," Louisa answered, gently pulling back her hand from Angelo's.

"Come on, I'll take you to the guest house so you can lie down," Angelo rose and went behind Louisa's chair. He saw that Matthew was instantly on his feet as well, holding Louisa by her elbow.

"I'll come with you. I don't want her getting trapped in any powder rooms again," he said, his last sentence coming out in a low grumble.

Angelo's head snapped to the other man, stunned that they shared the same conclusion regarding Louisa's tardiness.

"I'll make sure she doesn't," Angelo assured him.

"I'll come with, nonetheless. Can't be too careful, you know," Matthew's lopsided grin told him the other man didn't trust him either.

"Suit yourself. Come, Louisa. I'll just have food brought up to your room later," was Angelo's retort.

Louisa rose unsteadily to her feet, the quiet chatter around the table instantly stopping as all eyes swiveled to the three of them.

"Where are you going?" Doña Aurora asked. Don Fernando and the others looked on with interest.

"Louisa's not feeling well. We're taking her to the guest house," Angelo replied, taking hold of Louisa's arm as he led her away from the table with Matthew closely following behind them.

"She won't be staying at the guesthouse. I've already fixed a room for her at the Villa," Gabriel's deep voice boomed from the gazebo steps. Heads turned towards him, each one surprised at his sudden appearance.

The trio froze at Gabriel's fierce look. He quickly crossed the distance between them and before Angelo could react, took Louisa's hand and pulled her gently towards him. He draped an arm around her shoulders and slowly led her away from the questioning looks of everyone present.

"Come on, chica. We'll eat later. I already gave instructions for food to be sent up to the Villa," Gabriel whispered to her.

Louisa's head twisted towards him, her brows crinkled in thought. Then, her face clouded over, and to the astonishment of all, she pushed Gabriel away from her and stomped back to Matthew's and Angelo's protective circle.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather stay in the guest house with my father. I think I'd be safer there," she said, her voice laced with venom. Gone was the stuttering, bewildered girl of a few moments ago. In her place was a furious, gorgeous, little spitfire, all riled up for battle. Gabriel's presence had given her anger the necessary fuel.

"I think you'd be pretty safe in the Villa as well, my dear,��� her father piped in, chuckling softly at her seemingly absurd remark.

"No. I want to stay in the guesthouse with you, Papa," Louisa said.

"I've already prepared your room in the Villa, Louisa. I'm staying at the Villa, so that's where you're staying," Gabriel said through gritted teeth.

"Says who?" Louisa said, lifting her chin defiantly.

"Says I, your fiancé," Gabriel said, striding towards Louisa.

Angelo blocked his path.

"Get out of the way, baby brother. This doesn't concern you,"

"Well, I'm making it my concern, Gabriel," Angelo replied, shielding Louisa from Gabriel.

"Por Dios! What's this all about, Angelo? Gabriel?" Don Fernando roared as he pushed his wheelchair between his two sons.

"Can anybody care to explain what's going on here?" Doña Aurora said, hurriedly getting up from her seat to join her husband.

Gabriel moved away from Angelo, his face a mask of barely controlled fury. Angelo also stepped back, shooting Gabriel with an equally hostile look before taking his place beside Louisa.

"Louisa's not feeling well, Papa. I was just about to escort her to the guesthouse," Angelo replied, his eyes darting towards Gabriel.

"And I was about to escort my fianceé to the villa," Gabriel said, locking eyes with him. Angelo bristled at the word fianceé.

"Well, then, you two get going now so Louisa can rest," Don Fernando said, throwing a questioning look at Louisa.

"But Papa, she doesn't," Angelo started to protest. He stopped short when he felt Louisa's hand on his arm. When he glanced down at her, she shook her head and smiled.

"It's okay, Angelo. I'll go with Gabriel. I think I really need to rest for a while," she said before turning to Fernando, "I'm sorry for causing such a fuss, Tio. I think I'm not feeling myself today."

"It's okay, hija. Go with Gabriel and get some rest. I'll have food brought up to you," Don Fernando smiled while motioning for Gabriel to escort Louisa.

Angelo's stomach clenched into painful knots as he watched Gabriel take Louisa by the arm and lead her back into the Villa.

He made to follow the two, but his father's hand stopped him midstep. He expected to see his father's angry face, but what he saw was sadness and quiet understanding instead.

"Hijo, I think it's time we had a talk," his father said, looking up to his wife who quietly nodded and slowly pushed her husband's wheelchair towards the ramp.

Angelo followed behind his parents without protest. He had prayed for the chance to present his case to his father. He'd planned for it, had even rehearsed the speech he would give his father. But now, he felt no relief at all.

What he felt was a disquieting premonition that his much-anticipated talk with his father would bring him nothing but pain and grief in the end.