Chapter 2 LTMWAH: 2

She stared at Lexie as if asking for help, whether she should talk to Amadeus or hide. When she nodded at her, she accepted the cordless phone. "Excuse me," she told Lexie and Shawie.

She sauntered to the villa's balcony, where she could see the green fields and the blue lake and sky. Somehow, her anxiety lessened. "H-hello." A simple word gave her away.

"Esmeralda Solomon?" said a baritone voice. "This is Amadeus dela Merced, Aiden's brother."

Her hand trembled at the sound of his voice. It was hypnotizing and full of authority. Very manly. That if he told her to jump into the crater, she would jump without hesitation. She did not know she would get affected by just simply mentioning her name.

"H-hi, S-Sir Amadeus!" she said in a cheerful voice. "Aiden's not here. He was taking care of something in Manila, but he will be home a while later."

She needed to treat him well because she did not want him to criticize her. Aiden, too. If a problem would occur between them, she will make sure it was not because of her.

"I know," he snarled. "It's you that I want to talk to."

She leaned on the railing for support. His tone indicated that she wouldn't like what he's about to tell her. "About what?"

"Stay away from my brother, opportunist!"

She straightened her back. "W-what?" she uttered, unable to absorb his words.

"I said stay away from my brother," he stressed. "An opportunist like you does not belong in our family. I know you are after my brother's money. You are just a good-for-nothing bitch that he picked up somewhere. You are unworthy."

She tightened her grip on the phone. "Hang on, Mr. dela Merced! I think you have crossed the line," she said in a controlled tone. "Just because I'm poor doesn't mean you can insult me. You don't even know me."

She was already anticipating he'd ask her to stay away from Aiden, but she was not expecting that he was this cruel. What she hated the most were rich people who act like they own the world. And poor people were just as small as ants that could be crushed easily.

"I already know you, Esmeralda Solomon. I have no idea where my brother picked you up. But I know you don't belong together. You don't even have a college diploma," he mocked.

She took a deep breath as she controlled the rush of anger. She had not finished college because she was still a freshman in Education when her parents died in a huge flood, leaving her and her younger brother Jeremy orphaned. She had to raise him and set herself aside. She needed to cultivate the piece of land their parents left to survive.

"Well, that is not the basis of being a good person, Mr. dela Merced," she said firmly. "If you have a problem with your brother's wedding to me, it's best that you talk to him. If you wanted to stop the wedding, it should come from him and not me. It was your brother who wanted to marry me."

Accusing her of not being in love with Aiden may be right, but she had a heavy reason why she needed to marry him. It was the same case for Aiden. He was not in love with her, too.

If Aiden was marrying her, it was Amadeus who pushed his brother to do something that would make him mad. And she should fight for whatever interest she had with Aiden. She won't let anyone ruin their plan.

"How much do you need to stay away from my brother?" he asked. "Five million? Ten million?"

If she was a different person, she would probably be tempted by his offer. It was more than enough to solve all her problems. She did not have to marry the man she did not love.

"That's not enough to buy me."

"How much, you greedy bitch?"

"If you could not convince Aiden to cancel the wedding, we'll just see you, then. You're invited to the reception."

"Everyone has a price. Don't be so pompous about this, or you won't even get a red cent!" he snarled.

"Thank you, Mr. dela Merced. Don't bother giving as a gift," she said in a light but mocking tone.

"You had just declared a war, Esmeralda Solomon," he said in a dangerous tone. The silent warning in his voice brought shivers all over her body. "I'm going to destroy you until you return to the mud you came from."

She turned the cordless phone off because she did not want to argue with Amadeus further. Good thing she'd live with Aiden only for a while. She would not want Amadeus to become a part of her life forever.