MY ANGEL

CHAPTER 5: Agree or Disagree

Within the first week that Seth was in Rogan, Hannah was able to balance her work and visit her aunt. She visited her aunt in the morning and then worked on various ad campaigns and marketing strategies in the afternoon until evening. Tita Carmen did not ask her too many questions even if she already knew that people were gossiping about her and Seth. It wasn’t her way to interrogate. Hannah about her personal life. She preferred her niece telling it to her on her own accord. She also felt that people were just making a mountain out of a molehill. Seth has always cared for their family. If ever Seth and Hannah had developed romantic feelings for one another, only the two of them could confirm such to her.

As for Seth, his family had interrogated him when he attended the family dinner one time at their ancestral mansion. He usually stayed in his condominium penthouse at Victoria Condominiums at Veda City whenever he needed to report for work in Rogan.

Mommy Elizabeth, his mother, asked happily, “Is Hannah really your new girlfriend?”

He answered, “Yes, Mom.”

Eliz asked, “When did you start dating her?”

He replied, “After my hookup with Bea. I started pursuing her first after Christmas. So it has been more than two months already.

Then the relationship just followed naturally. We’ve known each other for a very long time, anyway. We first met when I was 18. You all knew that.”

Avi inquired, “How about Beatrice Lim?” Avi is already married to Jimmy Ramirez. Together, they have a son. Jimmy is currently abroad for an international football tournament. That’s why Avi and their son were at the mansion.

Jimmy used to be a pilot for Filipinas Air Force before he became the team captain of Filipinas National Soccer (Football) Team. The national team had been making it big internationally. He was an only child. His parents died years ago when he was still at Filipinas Air Force. Jimmy also earns a lot through product endorsements.

Seth casually answered his younger sister’s inquiry, “We just hooked up once sometime before mid-December. It was just a casual thing for me. But up to now she is still stalking me. I tried to be discrete about my relationship with Hannah all along, then suddenly Beatrice moved into the same condominium building and then all those news reporters and photographers just suddenly appeared when Hannah and I went out of the building together.”

Lolo Severino, his Dad’s father, had queried, “So when will you formally introduce her to us? We did not get to know her much when she worked for Eliz. We only met her on a few occasions. She seems like a very kind-hearted girl but we wanted to know her much better.”

Lola Victoria, his Dad’s mother, seconded, “I also want to know her more, hijo. I never got to see her that much when she worked for Eliz. I saw her on TV last Friday. She has a very angelic face.”

Peter, Eliz’ husband, vouched for Hannah, “She is not just a pretty face, Lola. She is also very intelligent. Our kids also like her so much because she has been playful, thoughtful and caring towards them during her stay.”

His mother asked again, “When will we formally meet her, Seth?”

He told everyone, “She is still busy with the work that Ate Eliz assigned to her, plus she still has to look after her aunt. I have already told everyone about her medical condition. I will tell her that you all want to meet her again when I get back to Missi. So, as soon as I finish those corruption cases, then I can make an arrangement for all of you to meet her. She is still in shock at all the media attention. My driver and two bodyguards in Missi are maintaining her privacy and security. So, I don’t want to shock her even more with all of you barging into her life right away just because we are in a relationship. I do hope that I can count on all of you to be discrete about everything between me and Hannah. I will release an official statement when I get back to Missi. For now, I just want my girlfriend to have the peace and quiet she needs.”

His family agreed. They all knew how stubborn Seth could be. He always got his way anyway. They were all just very happy that he seemed to be very serious about Hannah. It had been a while since he had been in a serious relationship. They all fervently wished that Hannah would already be the lady who could tie him down to marriage.

March 16, 2016. Wednesday. Hannah presented three ad campaign proposals with different detailed marketing strategies to the top executives of Villacorta Lands via videoconferencing.

Some of the comments were –

The CEO, who was Seth’s father, commented, “I like all your three proposals. I think we can all use them. One for this summer and the other two for some other time. Or we can go for your suggestion to fuse those three proposals in just one major campaign.”

Eliz agreed, “Dad is correct about his evaluation. So we shall pay for all the three proposals. You will receive a check thrice the amount of what we had agreed upon for one campaign. Thank you very much, Hannah. Rest assured that your name will be rightfully cited for all the three campaigns. Should we also need some revisions, then we’ll seek your services.”

Hannah agreed, “Yes, the revisions are included on the job contract, anyway. Thanks to all of you.”

Seth did not comment much and his father and his older sister knew why.

Criticizing or praising her works might complicate things. Although Seth hadn’t confirmed or denied their relationship publicly yet, the other top executives were already assuming that Hannah got special treatment because of her connection to the Deputy CEO.

March 18, 2016. Friday. In the morning, Seth returned to Missi and then immediately visited Tita Carmen at FGH. He even brought flowers for Hannah’s aunt.

He then asked, “So when will the first round of chemotherapy be?”

Hannah answered, “After the Holy Week. She can already be discharged tomorrow. Then we will just be back for her chemotherapy.”

He then recalled, “Anyway, I brought the check for the work you had done for the company. You may already use some of that as the starting capital of your business. You should have it registered already as an OPC. You may already look for a small office space and hire a few staff. As for the medical expenses of Tita Carmen, don’t worry about them. I’ll settle everything first, then just pay me back when your business is already doing very well. I also want to talk to you in private later on.”

Hannah just agreed, “Okay.”

As they left the hospital, they proceeded to his penthouse, which was much nearer to the hospital compared to her apartment.

Seth introduced her to his personal staff: Pablo, his butler; Raul, his chef; Gene, his secretary, Cynthia and Mariel, Gene’s two assistants.

Then they all had lunch. Everyone was just eating silently and observing their boss and Hannah.

Seth was putting food on Hannah’s plate, “You should eat more. You have lost weight. Your face did not look like this two weeks ago.”

Hannah just said, “Thanks.”

It was the first time his employees had seen him very doting towards a lady. They were also all wondering what the real score was between the two.

After lunch, Seth escorted Hannah to his home office and they talked there privately.

He started, “I have committed a grave mistake to you.”

She was surprised, “How?”

He explained, “The news about us had never died down, even if two weeks had already passed. My attempts to protect your privacy and security have compromised your dignity even more. So the only solution I have thought of is to confirm that we are in a serious relationship.”

She blurted out, “What?!”

He added, “You keep on saying that you want to pay me back.”

She affirmed, “Yes.”

He went directly to the point, “I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend. I will then propose afterwards and we will also get married. Then, after a year, we’ll end it. That is the p*****t I want. After a year, you will be free of all your so-called debts of gratitude from me.”

Hannah was shocked but still managed to ask, “Why?”

Seth explained, “This is the only way I can think of to protect your dignity. You have been compromised the moment we had been photographed together. You will also be helping me out if you agree. My parents are already planning to set up me on dates and resort to an arranged marriage just to see me married. Plus, Beatrice Lim might already stop stalking me once we’re already married.”

Hannah asked him further, “Why do you need to fake it? You can just find a much more qualified girlfriend, propose to her, get married, and live happily ever after. Why go on this path?”

Seth told her honestly, “I do not think I am cut out for married life, Hannah. I will still continue with my career as a visual artist even if I am already the CEO of Villacorta Lands. I had been in two serious relationships in the past before I had these strings of one-night stands. Those ladies I had been in serious relationships with couldn’t understand my life as an artist.”

Hannah was still not agreeing, “But why me?”

Seth replied, not giving Hannah any choice but to agree with his plan, “I have to protect you. You do not deserve to be branded as one of my flings. You are still very young and inexperienced. If I do not announce that we are in a serious relationship, then everyone will think that you are just one of those liberated ladies that I had bedded and then discarded. But if we marry, then everyone will treat you with the respect that you deserve. And even if we end the marriage, all the blame will just be on me. Besides, I already told my family that you are my girlfriend. This is just for a year, Hannah. Please consider it.”

Hannah then asked, “Can I still work once we get married?”

Seth lay down everything, “You can go on establishing your own firm. I will support you. You can also pursue your MBA. A post-graduate degree can boost your qualifications. I will support that too. You do not have to worry about money. I will provide for you.”

Hannah said, “Money is beside the point here. I will not be able to play the part well.”

Seth told her, “You just need to be yourself. I will take the lead and you just need to follow. I will not go beyond...,” he tried to rephrase, “We won’t have s*x, if that’s what you are worried about. I do respect you a lot, Hannah. I would not do anything to dishonor you.”

She was still undecided, “Is there another way that I can pay you back?”

Seth answered, “It is not the issue of paying me back or not, Hannah. I am doing this primarily to protect you. Tatay Herman made me promise to look after his angel before he died. He died saving me. I have stolen a lot of his time from you. I am the one who has a lot of debt of gratitude from you. So I cannot just allow you to have a difficult life because you got compromised. The promise I made to your father is also a promise I made to myself. Valuing my commitment to such a promise is tantamount to valuing myself. I have my word of honor, Hannah. So please agree. You will also be helping me in return this way. The setup dates must not happen. I also want Beatrice Lim to stop stalking me.”

Hannah countered, “If Beatrice Lim has decided to have you, then I don’t think announcing me as your girlfriend will stop her.”

Seth affirmed, “True!” And then he added, “That is why you and Tita Carmen would have to live here with me. I will propose and then we’ll eventually get married. Just a year, Hannah. Please consider.”

Hannah looked him in the eyes. He was so decided about everything. “Will you take no for an answer?”

He told her, “The moment we entered this room, I already signaled Gene to release my official statement. I stated there that I started to pursue you formally after Christmas. And because we have known each other for a very long time, we eventually agreed to be in a serious relationship. It is also stated there that I have no serious relationship with Beatrice Lim. You have no other choice but to agree, Hannah. I can only live up to my promise of looking after you and Tita Carmen this way. I will shoulder all the medical expenses of Tita Carmen. I will provide you with clothes and other stuff. You’ll receive a substantial monthly allowance. I will pay for your schooling. And you can go on establishing your own firm and make a name for yourself.”

She remarked, “You really planned everything very carefully. You have trapped me. You know that I cannot forsake my aunt. I need to save her and I need your help for that.”

Seth added, “Pablo is already at your apartment sorting out all of your stuff as well as that of your aunt. He will settle all the bills with your landlord. Now, you need to go with Cynthia and Mariel to shop for your extensive wardrobe. Gene had already hired a private nurse for Tita Carmen. I already told her about our relationship this morning when you were not around. I also told her that we would go to Rogan to spend Holy Week with my family. Tita Carmen will be provided with a tablet. You can regularly talk to her whenever we are not here in Missi.”

She asked him, “Who else knew about this setup?”

Seth answered, “Nobody but the two of us. Nobody else must know about it.”

Hannah finally accepted her defeat. In the battle of wits, Seth was at great advantage. He could have just ordered her around, yet he pleaded to her even if he had already staged everything. She kind of appreciated it. He really got so much respect for her and so much concern for her well-being, “My aunt is my top priority. You beat me there. So, I formally agree with your plan.”

Seth smiled, “Thank you.”

Hannah then asked, “Do we need to share a bedroom?”

Seth had answered carefully so as not to frighten her, “Other than hugging, touching, and kissing in front of other people, I will not take advantage of you. Yes, we have to share the master bedroom to make our act more realistic. My bed is too big for the two of us anyway. Most of the time I am also at my art studio, which is just beside the master bedroom. Do you have other questions?”

She asked, “What will we tell people if they asked how it all started?”

Seth gave her an answer, “Tell them that we often met at your father’s grave during our visits. Then it just blossomed there,” he even told her, “I know that you have avoided me so many times whenever our visits coincide.”

She admitted, “I do not have the courage to face you because ever since you hired my father, you have constantly helped us without asking anything in return.”

He told her, “Helping your father realize his goal of giving you the best possible education was my joy as well. I would like to be just like him if I ever have a child. My family is closely-knit but yours was even more.”

Meanwhile, Beatrice felt so aggrieved as she heard on a flash news the official statement of Seth Andrew Villacorta which was read by his secretary, “Good afternoon everyone. I will soon be reading the official statement of National Artist Seth Andrew Villacorta regarding all the news that has been circulating for the past two weeks. It reads…”

A pleasant afternoon to everyone. My past casual affairs have always been chronicled all over all forms of the media. So when I was suddenly seen with a beautiful lady two weeks ago, everyone thought that she was another one of my conquests. The beautiful lady I had been seen with two weeks ago is my girlfriend. I have already known her for a very long time but it was just after Christmas last year that I realized that she was actually the ideal lady that I had been searching for all my life. We have a nine-year age difference. And so perhaps I had just seen her in the past as a younger sister. But she is already quite emotionally matured for her age. And on top of everything, she understands the real me the most. I also want to clarify that I am not in a serious romantic relationship with Miss Beatrice Lim. We did hang out once during the birthday party of a common friend. But other than that, we had no further connection. As for my girlfriend, I do hope that you will already stop following her around. So she can go about her usual daily routine hassle-free. She is a very private person. She is not used to this kind of media attention. That is the reason why we kept our relationship a secret. For those who were digging into her personal background, let me all tell you that you cannot measure an individual by his or her status in life. My girlfriend may not have been born to have a much-privileged life, but she has not stepped on others just to achieve her goals. She is intellectually-gifted in as much as she is a very kind-hearted lady. I deeply respect and love her. So I implore everyone, please respect her privacy. Thank you and good day.

Beatrice could not believe it – So I was, after all, just a one-night stand for you. You were just really after a hookup that night. I could never ever accept this! What Beatrice wants, Beatrice gets!