Chapter 15

Aldous could not sleep, so he sneaked into his room to get his laptop. In times like that, the only way to make use of the time was to write.

Nova was already asleep when he went inside the room. She was lying on her side with a hand beneath her head. Strands of her hair covered her face, but it did not even affect how beautiful she looked at that moment. He tried to remind himself that he came there for his laptop, but then he could not resist the urge to touch her face. Carefully, Aldous sat on the edge of the bed. He heaved a deep sigh before he reached for her face.

“What are you doing?”

He flinched upon hearing her soft voice. “Y-you’re awake?”

“Yes,” Nova said without opening her eyes. “Why did you touch my face?”

Aldous panicked, for he did not know what to say. Telling him about what he truly feels towards her might make her feel awkward, or worst…angry.

“T-there is something on your face.”

“And what is it?” Nova finally opened her eyes.

“I’m not sure what it was.” Aldous rose and walked towards his table and picked up his laptop. “I’m sorry for bothering you this late. I need to get my laptop.”

He waited for her to respond, but she did not utter a single word and just looked at him.

“Goodnight, Nova,” he said as he closed the door.

Aldous opened his laptop and its writing app when he got back on the sofa. But minutes passed by, and he was just staring at the blank page. He could not type a word. There was nothing on his mind now except for Nova’s image as she lay on his bed.

He groaned out of frustration and buried his face in his palms. Then, he heard footsteps going down the staircase. He thought it was his sister, but when he raised his head, he saw Nova standing in front of him in Natalie’s pajamas.

“W-what’s the matter?” he muttered and moved on the side so that she could sit.

“I can’t sleep,” Nova said and plopped down on the sofa. She turned to him with pouted lips. “Your fault.”

Aldous’s mouth dropped open. Why was she blaming him when she was just pretending to be asleep when he went inside the bedroom?

“How come it was my fault?” He chuckled.

“You touched me. Breach of contract.”

***

Aldous looked at her straight in the eyes. He must be trying to read what was on her mind again. But Nova was a pro at hiding her thoughts, or that was what she thought.

She raised a brow when she saw him smile lopsidedly. His reaction was more intriguing to her than annoying.

“W-what?” She cleared her throat.

“You said breach of contract.”

“Yeah. We have this term that states—”

“But I haven’t signed any contract yet.”

Nova’s eyes widened as the realization hit her. No contract has been signed yet, which means whatever he did was not against anything.

He put his laptop on the table and moved close to her. She gasped when he suddenly cupped her cheek and gently caressed it. Darn, why does his palm feel so warm and comforting? She closed her eyes and opened them again when the realization hit her.

“Aldous, this is…” Her words trailed off.

“Wrong? This isn’t wrong, Nova…”

She gasped the moment his lips touched hers. If his palm felt warm against her skin, his lips were hot, and it brought tingles running up and down her spine. It was thrilling. She kinda liked it. The only problem was that this voice at the back of her head kept telling her she must stop. Go on with her foolishness, or she will regret it later. But Nova was not strong enough to push him away. It seemed that Aldous sucked all her strength, making her weak. So, she just kept her lips closed until he stopped kissing her. Then, he moved away and looked at her straight in the eyes with that look of disappointment on his handsome face. There was also a glint of pain in his eyes that he managed to hide in an instant.

“I’m…sorry…” Nova said and stood up. Biting her lip, she turned around and went back upstairs.

When she entered the room, she made sure to lock the door.

“Gosh, what’s eating you, Nova?” She pulled her hair so hard to punish herself. “I must be crazy…”

Despite all the things that kept bugging her, she tried her best to sleep.

She woke up early the next day and prepared herself to leave. When she went down, Aldous was still asleep on the sofa, covered with a duvet. But she did not bother to wake him up and just walked out of the house as if she saw nothing.

“You’re leaving?”

Nova almost screamed when she heard Natalie’s voice from a distance. She turned in her direction and found the lady watering the plants on the side of the garden. She gave Natalie a slow nod in response.

“Why don’t you join us for breakfast—”

“No, thanks. I don’t eat breakfast this early.”

Since she was working in a different time zone, even her appetite had adjusted to it. She should be sleeping at that moment. But then, she had to leave early to escape from Aldous. After that kiss, Nova did not know how to face him. Well, for now. She needed space, so she could muster the courage.

“Oh. I see.” Natalie turned off the water hose. “Wait, I will wake my brother up—”

“Don’t—I mean, no need. I bet he write till dawn. He needs a decent sleep.” Nova tried to smile. She just hoped she did not look like a ghost in a horror movie. “And tell your mother that I’m grateful for her hospitality.”

“I will.” Natalie waved a hand with a smile plastered on her face. “Bye, Nova. Drive safely.”

***

When she arrived at the apartment, she received a call from her paralegal that the marriage certificate from the civil registrar was already released. She immediately went to their office to get it, and right after that, she went to Atty. Recinto to submit the marriage certificate. Nova was feeling ecstatic. She can now buy the land, and the animal shelter will be at peace.

The door to Atty. Recinto’s office opened, and the woman who assisted her last time emerged from the room. “Ma’am, Attorney will see you now.”

She rose from her seat and confidently walked inside his office.

“Nice to meet you again, Miss Velasco,” said Atty. Recinto when he saw her.

“Call me Mrs. Santiago from now on.” Nova slammed the brown folder on his table.

Her aunt’s lawyer picked up the envelope and opened it. He just took a peek of what was inside and put it down again, then leaned on his seat. She did not like his reaction. Perhaps it did not catch his interest. But, on the other hand, what for, right? He was just doing his job.

“What now?” she asked and plopped down on the visitor’s chair. “Won’t you ask me if that marriage certificate is legit? Do you want to see our wedding photo? How about a meeting with my husband?”

He tapped his finger on the envelope. “If you have this made somewhere, I will know. Just give me time to check for its legitimacy. My secretary will give you a call one of these days.”

Her shoulders dropped.

“Ah, right. Of course, you have to check it first.” She chuckled. “Anyway, aren’t you interested in how I…you know…got married that fast?”

“I don’t stick my nose on the matters that do not concern me or my work. As for you, Miss—”

“Mrs. Santiago.”

“As for you, Mrs. Santiago, my job is to make sure that you fulfill the terms in your aunt’s last will and help you get what is yours.”

“I’m glad to hear that from you.” Nova grinned. “So, that’s it. All I have to do is wait for your call, and we will process the…you know…claiming my inheritance.”

“Yes. We will process the transfer of titles and other necessary things. Then, your parents will transfer the money—”

“Wait. What? What do my parents have to do with this?” Her brows furrowed.

“Oh. Well, you know that we cannot let your aunt’s money stay in the bank for too long under her name, so I had to ask your parents to take care of it until you’re ready to claim the inheritance your aunt left you.”

Nova scoffed. She could not believe her parents hid that from her.

“I feel betrayed,” she muttered.

“Just because your parents kept that a secret means they betrayed you. It’s just that there’s this term in the last will that you have to fulfill.”

“Well, that issue is between my parents and me. I will be waiting for your call, Atty. Recinto.” Nova stood up. “Goodbye.”

She went out of the law firm and got in her car. Before leaving the place, she tried to call her parents. But no one answered as if they knew that she would throw a tantrum about them keeping her aunt’s money which was technically hers.

“Should I pay them a visit?” She started the car’s engine. “Ah, maybe next time…”

She did not want to see them with her mood already ruined by what she learned from Atty. Recinto. So, she sped the car away and went back to her apartment.

There was a car parked right in front of her apartment when she arrived. Nova’s heart hammered hard against her chest when she realized to whom it belongs.

“Jayden…” she uttered while gritting her teeth. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Nova honked continuously to send him a message to move his car so that she could enter inside the garage, but he would not move his car. Blood immediately went up to her head. This man was really getting into her nerves. Too bad for Jayden because she was in the mood for a war now. She got off her car and marched towards his.

“Hey! Get off there!” she yelled as she knocked on the windshield.

She heard the car was unlocked, and Jayden got off from the driver’s seat. But even before she could yell at him again, Jayden immediately pinned her to his car and kissed her forcibly.

Nova fought so hard and tried her best to push him away, but he was stronger than she was.

“Jayden, stop!” she pleaded when his lips went to her jaw.

He did stop but did not let her go. Jayden looked at her in the eyes with dark and blazing eyes. It frightened her to the bones. That gaze seemed to rip her soul out of her body. Nova had never been scared that way before. Now she felt she was an unfortunate little prey who was trapped on a predator’s den. Her mouth opened. She was ready to scream for help when someone pulled Jayden from behind. It was Aldous. He grabbed Jayden’s collar and hit him in the face, making the side of his lips bleed.

Jayden went furious and tried to hit Aldous back, but he failed because he was drunk, and the latter was sober. And when Aldous pushed him hard, he fell to the gutter.

“How dare you did that to my wife, sonofabitch!” Aldous snapped.

Nova was shocked at how he reacted in that situation, but she was beyond shocked by how he addressed her. The way the word wife rolled on his tongue with so much rage made her heart beat fast. Funny how she felt that way at that moment. But the overwhelming feeling was cut short when she saw Jayden stood up and fished something from his pocket—a knife.

Jayden smiled like a mad man.

“Why are you doing this, Jayden?” she cried.

“If I cannot have you for myself, Nova, no one will!”

Jayden was about to assault her, but Aldous stood in his way and stopped him. He held the knife with his bare hands. Nova screamed out loud when she saw blood dripping from Aldous’s hands. Blood…she was afraid of blood. She started feeling light-headed. Her eyes slowly closed as her body lost its balance and fell to the ground. Nova heard Aldous’s voice calling out her name, and there was this sound of a siren in the background, but she was feeling too weak to open her eyes. Soon, everything went black.