Chapter 23

CASEY looked at the hacienda’s high fence covered with vines of crawling plants. When she’s in Manila, she never had time to look out of her window and smell fresh air because of her work. Even she’s always isolated in her house and working on a remote schedule, she never had a relaxing time for herself.

She never had a moment like this in her life since she started working on Speedy Online News. She was always preoccupied and on the run of hitting her word count quota to get her monthly bonus. As a scandal news writer, Casey forgot about chilling in the afternoon like this. Drinking coffee and thinking about nothing but your next move.

“When will Alexander give me a new phone?” she asked, staring at the hibiscus blooms on the fence. “I’m bored as hell. I missed my old self…”

She drank her coffee and looked at the newspaper on the table. The content was always the same: filtered news and sugar-coated opinions of so-called content writers. Casey made a ‘tss’ sound. Information shouldn’t be filtered. The public deserved the truth, she said in her mind and threw the newspaper on the nearest trash bin.

“Having a bad day?”

Casey doesn’t have to look over her shoulders just to know who it was. The sexiness in Alexander’s voice is quite distinct for Casey. How she wished that she could hear that voice forever, but everything has its end, just like her time here as his beloved changed wife.

Casey wanted to cough on the term that she used to describe Amara. Changed wife? They should be thankful because the monster woman was dead. Even so, she knew that she has a price to pay for her lies… Casey sighed. She never thought that Montefort Family can be this… vulnerable. They didn’t mind that the body they got from the accident is a different woman. Why they didn’t do DNA testing? How could they be so naïve?

“Amara, is there something bothering you?” Alexander reached for her hand on the table. She didn’t notice that he has seated in front of him.

Casey forced a smile on her lips before she turned to Alexander. “Nothing… You’re early today. You don’t have a meeting?”

“Corporate world tires me,” he said and leaned on the table. “I decided to go home because I’m thinking of you. I’m worried that you were traumatized with your encounter with David last night.”

She pressed her lips together to prevent her smile. Alexander Montefort is thinking of her. Anyway, she wasn’t traumatized, but she’s curious about the man and why he acted as if he knew Amara so well. “I’m not,” she said. “But I’m bored. Is this really what I’m always doing here? Sitting at the garden and having coffee while looking at the walls?”

Alexander laughed. “You’re always outside,” he said, then suddenly became serious. “Sometimes, you won’t come home in a few days. You will just text me that you’re out with a friend and might take some days to come home. And, I’ll just respond ‘okay, do whatever you want.’”

Casey couldn’t control herself from reacting to what he said. “I’m such an irresponsible woman. How could you love a woman like me, Alexander?”

“You’re not like that when we first met,” he said with a sad smile on his face. “You were shy and quiet back then. When Esperanza introduced you to me on my father’s burial, I thought you were an angel that will pick me up—”

“Esperanza introduced me to you?” Casey asked on a knotted forehead. Now, the blur picture in her mind is starting to clear up. With the way Esperanza talked to her, she felt as if something is connecting them together. “So she’s the one that played cupid between us…”

“She introduced you to me on the day that I was devastated, and you saved me…” he paused. “But then, you changed—”

“And, I become a monster…” Casey finished. The woman that you loved is up to something, she thought.

“But that was before, Amara,” Alexander held her hand. “I’m happy that you’ve changed now.”

Casey wanted to snort, but she controlled herself. “What happened to your mom and dad?”

“Mom died of cancer when I was in high school. Then, dad remarried after I graduated from college, but he died in a heart attack when we first released our branch in Luzon, which was just four years ago.” Alexander’s expression saddened, but he still forced to smile at her. “Building a winery was my mom’s plan, but she died before we could finish the wine cellar on the basement. It was meant to be her tasting room…”

“Alexander…” Casey squeezed his hand. “I’m sure, wherever your mom was, she’s so proud of what you’ve become.”

The man looked into her eyes. “It’s the first time that I heard comforting words from you…” he said, then smiled. “This is also the first time that you asked me about my mom.”

“Really?” She shook her head. “Then, I’m such an insensitive person before. How could I not ask about it? Our mom is the most important woman in our lives.”

Alexander laughed. “I couldn’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.”

Casey folded her arms in her chest. “It’s because you’re always busy, and when you get home from work, you’re always locked up in your plain and boring room.”

“What makes you say that my room is plain and boring?” He looked at her questioningly.

Casey bit her lower lip. “Well, remember the day that you gave me a new phone, but I refused it? I looked for you to apologize…” she explained. “But, it was useless because you dump the phone in the well.” She made a ‘tss’ sound. “I still can’t believe that you actually did it.”

Alexander laughed at what he said. “You’re so cute,” he said while staring at her face. “I feel like I was talking to a different person…” He knotted his forehead. “Actually, your personality reminds me of someone.”

Casey cleared her throat. “Of course, you’re familiar with your wife…” she said, then tried to think of an escape topic. “So did you get me a new phone? You promised it to me when we talked on the cellar.”

The man shifted on his seat and took out something from his pocket. Casey gasped as soon as he placed the new smartphone on the table. “It wasn’t the same model but—”

“I love it!” Casey grabbed the rose gold colored smartphone. “It’s so beautiful.” She tried to operate it and got amazed by its features. “Wow! Look at the camera. I think I can see my pores here…” She stood and transferred to the chair beside Alexander. “Let’s take our first photo on this cell phone.”

At first, the man was hesitant, but Casey insisted and scooted closer to him. In the second shot, Alexander wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Are you going to post it on social media?”

“How will I do that? I forgot my accounts and passwords,” she said and pursed her lips. “I’m a changed person, so I’ll make a new one.” She looked at the phone and checked its other features. “This is perfect…” Perfect for my plans… she added in her mind.

“I’ll be able to call you when I think about you,” he said and smiled. “Sometimes, I don’t know what I’m going to do in my office.”

Casey’s heart fluttered. Hearing Alexander says that he thinks about her made her heart skipped a beat. But she has to stop this before it destroys her.

“Amara...”

They both looked back and saw Esperanza sauntering towards them. With the woman’s dull expression, Casey suspected that another piece of information is coming on her way.

***