Axel's POV
Jaime was looking at me with eyes like steel. Cold and hard. He was very different from his warm and welcoming demeanor, the one I was used to seeing. I couldn't blame him though. I had hurt his daughter, his princess. We were in his study. I was sitting on the single armchair sofa in front of his desk. The fact that he had let me in their home again, I take that as a good sign.
He cleared his throat. "You're willing to do anything for my daughter, huh?"
"God knows there's nothing I won't be willing to do for her, Jaime." I said.
"I want my daughter back as much as you want her back." He looked at me with a serious gaze. "She hasn't been the same since she came back here. She used to be a vibrant woman, going out and doing things. Her smile and laugh was amazing."
I nodded my head in agreement. It was to die for.
"Now it's as if she's lost her spirit. She smiles and laughs but it isn't the same anymore. I know she's only doing it for me. Alam niyang ayaw kong nakikita siyang malungkot." His face fell and my I could feel my heart in my throat. I did it to her. It was my fault that she was hurting.
"I'm sorry." My voice cracked.
"Your sorry doesn't anything to me. It's what you do about it." He said in a stoic voice. "You know, I didn't start out rich. I had to work way up to where I am now. This whole hacienda, it was just a small land back then. Wala kaming trabahador noon, kami ang gumagawa ng lahat ng gawain dito. I worked from dawn to dusk with my father. Your a man born of privilege and wealth. I doubt you've done labor work."
"I haven't." I honestly said.
He gave me a slow nod and he rubbed his chin. "I want my daughter happy again at kung ikaw ang magpapasaya sa kanya, then be it. But that doesn't mean I would let you off the hook easily. Are you willing to work for me?"
A smile of relief and joy found its way on my lips. "I... I'm more than willing to. Kahit anong sabihin mo gagawin ko para kay Val."
I agreed to work at Jaime's hacienda. This turned out far better than I expected. Gagawin ko ang lahat bumalik lang sa akin si Valerie. Kaya kong gawin ang lahat, higit pa dito. Jaime took me to where I would be staying at. It was an old, run down tool shed near where the horses were. It didn't have any light or electricty. It had enough room for just a bed and a little space to walk. May lumang kama na gawa sa kawayan na nakaimbak doon, iyon ang magiging kama ko. It was old, it didn't have a matress and it had holes and it looked like it was ready to collapse any minute.
It was already late and Jaime left me alone. Humiga na ako sa bagong kama ko. It wasn't the kind of bed I was used to. It took me awhile to find a comfortable position. It made some parts of me sore. There were bugs climbing over me, flies biting me but I had never felt this happy. This was better than going home in an empty house with Valerie. All these didn't matter to me, all I cared about was Valerie. Now she was just within my reach. Kung ito ang paraan para mapatawad niya ako at ng pamilya niya, gagawin ko.
I had never slept better since Valerie left until tonight.
Valerie's POV
I had been doing the same routine everyday. Wakeup, eat, sleep and in between those, I try to distract myself. I tried not to think about him, I tried my hardest not to let my mind wander to the times we spent together, times I was in his arms. I tried to ignore what I was feeling but it was hard when it hurts so much. All I could do was momentarily distract myself from the pain I feel. It wasn't so bad once you get used to it. You go on with your life and you learn to live with it.
I had a quick breakfast and after that, I went to the horse stable to take Mitsy out. It was a nice day today. The sun was up but there were high clouds filtering the light. It was warm but not blazing hot like yesteday. Pumasok ako sa kwadra. I was just a few steps in when I saw a familiar figure of a man. My feet stopped like I had hit a glass wall. He had his back turned to me as he was putting food in the horse feeder. He was wearing jeans folded up to his knees and a black tanktop. His muscley back, his biceps, his veiny arms, I was familiar with every part of his body.
I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't imagining him but the he was still there. I inhaled a sharp breath when it finally sunk into me. He must've heard it because his head snapped to my direction. Axel looked at me with his dark and intense eyes. His expression softened when he gazed at me. I just stared back at him wide-eyes. He slowly walked towards him and my heart started pounding hard and loudly.
"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I've missed you." He gently said. He stopped a few inches from where I was standing and he just looked at me as if memorizing my face for a few moment. "Nandito ako para sa'yo. My marriage with Guilianna is over. I'm divorced."
I opened my mouth but no words came out. It was too late. I had already given up and once I give up, I give up completely. I don't give up easily and I fight with everything I have but this time I couldn't do it anymore. I could only take so much.
Everything had changed. I grew up. I no longer looked at him through rose-tinted glasses. I no longer see him like I used to. It was different now. He'd lied to me and I just couldn't trust him anymore. He said he loves me. Was this what he does to people he loves? He had all the time in the world. Ang dami niyang chance para sabihin sa akin na kasal na siya pero sa sariling asawa niya pa ko nalaman ang totoo. After everything that happened, how could him? How could I even make sure he was telling the truth this time?
"Please, go." I said, walking past him and towards Mitsy.
"Hindi mo ba narinig ang sabi ko? I said I'm divorced." Sumunod siya sa akin.
"I heard it loud and clear." I took a deep breath. "Pero ayoko na, Axel. Tama na."
"Val..." He said in a weak voice. "No, you don't mean that."
"But I do." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "I gave everything to you, Axel! Everything... and you didn't even think I was worth the truth."
My back was turned to him but I could feel him getting closer and closer... so close, I could feel his body's warmth and his breath on my hair.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." He quietly said. "I got scared. Natakot ako na baka pag nalaman mo, iwan mo ako. Naisip ko na sabihin na lang sayo kapag napirmahan niya na ang mga papel, pag maayos na ang lahat. But things didn't turn out the way I planned. Matagal na kaming tapos ni Guiliana, we'd been estranged for three years. I never bothered divorcing her because I didn't think I would want to marry again. Marriage meant nothing to me until I met you. God, there's nothing more that I want but to spend the rest of my days with you." He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair.
I chewed on my bottom lip and tightly shut my eyes to keep my tears in. It was so nice to hear but I needed more than words. I guess you could say that what had happened jaded me. I became less trusting, more cynical. Natuto na ako.
"Let me go." I said, shrugging his embrace. "Iwan mo ako at umalis ka na dito!"
He grabbed me by my shoulders to face him. His eyes were pleading and so vulnerable. "Say you don't love me anymore and I'll go."
My eyes began to water again, my chest tightening and my knees weakening. I felt my emotions exploding. "I hate you! I hate you so much!" Tears fell from my eyes as I punched him on his chest, muttering 'I hate you' like a mantra.
He cupped my face and kissed me on the forehead. He showered me with small kisses all over my face as he whispered sweet nothings. I grew weaker and wearker until I eventually stopped. I felt his lips move to the side of mine. I turned my head, away from him. His lips landed on my cheekbone which made it damn worse. My want for him was just as strong, if not more. We both know where this was heading but I had no will to stop him.
He layed me down on a stack of hay in the corner. His hands wandered around my body. He touched me with familiarity. He knew my body more than anyone and better than I do. He knew where it ached, he knew where to touch, he knew where to kiss, he knew what made me crazy. One touch and I was goner. He took out my clothes without me realizing it. I was so drunk with his touch and kisses that I hardly notice until I felt the wind brushing through my naked body.
He layed his equally naked body on top of mine. His face were leveled to mine. We looked at each other in the eyes. My heart couldn't possibly beat any faster. His face slowly descended down to mine but before his lips touched mine, I turned away.
"Don't kiss me..." I whispered. "This isn't... personal. It's just sex."
His body went still, taut with tension. I looked at him and met his eyes, he looked at me with a flash of hurt on his face. I hardened my face and my expression. I toughened myself up mentally.
My fingers brushed through his hair, my fingers tightening on the back of his, tugging at the roots. I pushed him down and down between my open legs, not letting go of his hair. I shivered with pleasure at the feel of his lips against my sensitive and aching womanhood. His tongue lapped against my aching clit then he sucked it gently. I let out a low scream. I propped my upper body with my elbow and looked down at him. I pulled him closer as I thrusted my hips up. I wanted more contact, more of him. His lips covered my womanhood. He kissed, sucked, and tongued me until my eyes were rolling at the back of my head. A wet pool of heat flooded out of me with my orgasm. My whole body spasmed.
"Fuck me." I softly whispered after recovering from my orgasm. His head went up and he looked at me, his gaze unreadable. I shifted, lying down to my stomach. I didn't want to look at him in the eyes. I wanted no intimacy. This was just sex. He positioned himself behind me and eased into me. His hands dug on the either side of my waists as his hardness pushed through my wet folds. I moaned at the fullness and the stretch of him being inside me. It felt so good, it was almost too much for me. He pumped in and out, making animalistic moans and groans.
A deep clench in my core triggered wave after wave of ecstasy, flooding me with goosebumps and heat. I orgasmed for the second time. My whole body trembled under him.
"I love you, Val." I heard him say like he always does when he was close to coming. This time I didn't say it back. I almost responded to his I love you just like I used to doing before but I bit my tongue.
"Pull it out..." I said when his thrusted faster and harder, slamming his body against mine. I knew he was close and I hadn't been on the pills since I left him.
He pulled out of me and I sobbed at the emptiness. I could feel him rocking, he let out a loud groan and I felt his warm essence on my back. It dribbled down my ass and my slit.
"Val..." He whispered. Still limp and exhausted, I forced myself up. I picked up my clothes, put it on and hurriedly left.