A Diamond Heart

Fernando's POV

As I sat at my private bar with my bestfriend Antonio, suddenly I zone out of our conversation and flashback of that fateful night resurface in my head. I'll never forget June 13th 2008, that's the worst day of my life. Even though thirteen years has passed the incident happened, it just keeps getting fresher in my head. Sometimes is hard to forget your past. I wish I had the power, I would have completely erased that day out of my head, but I don't have the power. Getting raped on my 15th birthday is the worst birthday gift I've ever received all my life.

"C'mon Fernando, we're not asking you to kill someone, just for you to have fun" the voice of Miguel one of my friends in highschool echoes in my head said as we were playing basketball on that fateful day.

"Fernando is a puppet, he's too chicken out" Alverez another of my friend deadpans. The echoes of their voices dragged me down to memory lane and that's exactly where I'll take you to.

Alverez threw the ball to Antonio my bestfriend and he caught it. "You guys should let him be, he has the right to make a choice" Antonio argued with them and threw the ball to me.

"Exactly, I don't know why they're forcing me into this" I replied and threw the ball to the basketball net and it entered.

"Hey guys" a voice yelled behind us and our heads snaps up to the direction it came from. It was no other than the richest guy in my school named Raphael Gonzalez who always shows off just because his dad is one of the richest politicians in Mexico.

I wonder what he was doing here with his automatic five students bodyguard which he made for himself. I really don't understand why some students get freaked out with rich kids, I guess is because of the little presents he gets for them.

"Happy birthday, Fernando!" he exclaimed and I furrowed my brows at him. Did Raphael just said 'happy birthday' to me? This is quite unbelievable, what has changed for him to acknowledge my date of birth? Is unlike him, I know for sure this guy hates me from day 1 that I got into this highschool, so why the change?

"I see you're surprise. Well, I'm inviting you to a party tonight at a private club in town with the name Luciano so you could have fun and celebrate your fifteenth birthday. See you there!" he smirked and turnaround to leave with his little guards.

I was dumbfounded, Raphael was inviting me to a private party hosted by him on my fifteenth birthday? That's really weird.

"Wow!! Someone got a big birthday surprise!" Alverez exclaimed excitedly.

"That's amazing! We'll all be having crazy fun tonight!" Miguel exclaimed.

"That's new with Raphael" Antonio said staring at me weirdly.

"So new! This ain't going to end well, so I'm not going to anywhere" I replied and went to pickup the ball.

"What do you mean you're not going? Are you kidding or what?" Miguel asked.

"He's definitely kidding" Alverez answered.

"I'm serious, I'm not going to anywhere, I'll just celebrate my birthday at home with my mom" I replied.

"What?!!" Miguel and Alverez exclaimed and I shrugged.

"You guys heard him" Antonio responded on my behalf. Antonio is my best friend and he's always in agreement with whatever I say as far is something that is not going to hurt anyone.

"Shut the fuck up, Antonio, no one asked for your opinion" Alverez shunned my best friend.

"You're taking this too serious Alverez, just forget the party thing and let's continue with the game" I said to them and threw the ball at Miguel for him to catch but he let it fall to the ground. "What's up dude, pick it up" I half-yelled and he frowns at me.

"So, just this once you can't grant us the wish to be among Raphael wealthy friends? I should have known you're not a good friend all this while. Alverez let's go" Miguel said and turned to leave, so also Alverez.

"What's up with them?" I whispered to Antonio.

"I don't know, I guess they just want to belong even if is just for a day" Antonio replied with a shrug.

"They can go to the party if they want to but I can't go with them" I said and went to pickup the basketball.

"They can't go without you, you were the one that was invited and not them, if they should go they'll not be accepted in" he explained to me and I felt weak instantly and shut my eyes closed.

"Are you saying we should accept the invitation because of them?" I asked staring at my friend.

"It's your decision to make not mine" he replied and I sigh heavily.

"This sucks! I'll call them and tell them we're going to the party" I said unhappily and brought out my phone and called them.

Later in the evening, at around 8pm we were standing in front of a Luciano private club and we were accessed by the bouncers before we were let in. Immediately we got inside Raphael saw us and he walked up to us all alone without his little bodyguards.

"You came! Estupendo! Come with me" he said grinning widely and he led us to the VIP bar. There we saw other of his friends and his bodyguards smoking and drinking like they were above eighteen. Seeing them this way made me want to turn my back and leave.

"Have a sit" Raphael instructed and my friends took a sit while I stood there contemplating of sitting with them. "Fernando, sit down and drink with us. Remember today you're meant to have fun, so let the fun begin" he continued and everyone laughed except Antonio and I.

I slowly went down to sit beside Antonio but then I heard....

"Come sit over here with us, today is a special day for you so I have to treat you special" Raphael said and I stared at him suspiciously. Something seems awkward with his kindness, but I don't know how to make it come plain, so I walked over across the table and sat in their middle.

There was different alcoholic beverages on the table for them to drink. "C'mon take any drink of your choice" Raphael said and he kissed a girl that was sitting beside him.

"No, I'm fine. I don't drink alcohol, I'm still underage" I replied nervously and they all burst into laughter. I'm beginning to feel pissed over this game of theirs.

"Don't worry, I know what is best for you and your best friend because I can see your two other friends are already having fun" he said and I gazed up to see Miguel and Alverez both making out with some ladies.

He ordered one of his boys to go get a drink for us and I wondered what kind of drinks he was bringing. A few minutes later he was back and he handed me a red disposable cup filled with orange colored drink and then he gave the second to my best friend. I smelled it and it wasn't having alcohol smell so I took a sip of it, it tasted really sweet like some juice. I gazed up to my friend and he raised a brow at me and I nod and told him to go ahead and drink that it was just a normal drink.

"Do you like it?" Raphael asked beside me and I nodded. "I knew you'd like it" he smirked and continued his make-out session with his girlfriend I guess, the girls look like someone in our school but I can't really tell since I hardly glance twice at the girls in my school.

I took another large sip of the drink and I held the cup in my hands. Suddenly my eyelids started closing but I shook my head and opened it. I took the remaining content of drink in my cup and placed the empty cup on the table. I tried to gaze directly at my friend but my eyes was so dizzy that I couldn't see clearly if he was there or not.

Voices were beginning to become distinct for me and I couldn't understand why. I felt some arms carried me to somewhere. Then I was laid down on the bed I guess and then I heard some feminine voices sounding like giggles, or they were either singing or quarreling, I can't really tell. I groaned softly and try to stay awake to hear the conversation but my eyelids keep getting shut off.

"How could you be so mean and heartless? Fernando is innocent, you can't take away his pride and also take mine. Please, let him go" I heard a faint voice and I tried to force my eyes open to see who these girls are but I think not this time because my eyelids got shut closed again. The last thing I felt was hands touching my body. I was too weak to say a word nor move my body and I knew that was my call to blackout.

Waking up the next morning I noticed I was in an unusual room that wasn't mine. Surprisingly I was all alone in the room covered with a duvet, when I looked down my lower part, my boxers were gone and my shirt as well, I was stacked naked. It then dawned on me I've been defiled. I screamed and cried like a little child for hours in the room before I stood up and found my clothes on the floor. My pride has been taken away from me forcefully.

I was so pained knowing there's no way I'll ever know who exactly did it.I wanted to report and file a complaint against Raphael and his gang but I remembered he was a rich kid and his parents could easily buy those in authority or they might even eliminate me to silent the whole sexual assault. So I let it go and leave karma to do the revenge.

I was upset over the girl or girls that would have comply to Raphael's plan and that made me grew hatred on the female gender. From that day onward I vowed not to ever love any woman except my mom.

I'm still hurting, and the nightmares still comes and goes sometimes.

To be continued......

Thanks for reading episode 01 of A Diamond Heart! More interesting episodes are coming your way! Please don't go anywhere.

Fernando's POV Cont'd

"Fernando Perez!" Antonio yelled to my ears and hits his fist on the table and I jar out of my deep thoughts and glance at him with a frown.

"What? You don't have to scream like that" I said and took a sip of my whiskey.

"That was the only way I had to bring you back to our conversation, man. You were lost in thought while I was here talking to myself all along. Where the hell was your mind?"

"Uhmm, nothing...i mean I was just...just thinking of my business. You know owning a big hotel and having a mining industry isn't a child's play, sometimes you need think we'll you know" I lied. Of course I had to lie because I don't want to bring up my past or let me say our past because Antonio was also badly affected that night of the incident. Those son of bitches lay him on the frontage of his house like some stray dog!

"Oh, I thought is something big. You of all people shouldn't even complain about that because you're a genius in every thing you do. Like buddy, seriously I can't handle all that you except from being an attorney here in Madrid".

"Don't hype me bro, you are as good as I am that's why I partnered with you in the mining industry because you have the skills I seek for" I replied.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better" he fake frown and I chuckled and shook my head.

"Stop acting like my kid bro right now, it doesn't suit you, you're a father of two remember" I said and we both burst into laughter.

"That reminds me, do you remember Micaela Alvarado in highschool?" he asked and I thought for a moment trying to recall her face.

"Micaela Alvarado? I don't really know if I can remember her. You do recall I made up my mind to cut off all friendship and non-friendship ties back in highschool after that unfortunate incident that happened to you and I. Not even Miguel and Alverez escaped my wrath back then.

"Buddy, of course I do remember all that. I was just thinking maybe you'll remember the nerd girl with brown hair".

"Nerd girl? Is it the nerd girl that was always being bullied?" I asked with a brief description I could remember.

"Exactly! She's the one" he exclaimed and I shrugged.

"What about her?" I asked wondering why he was bringing up her topic now.

"I saw her on TV earlier this morning. She's now a famous author and her book came #1 this week on New York bestsellers" he replied with a wide grin.

"Okay, that's good to know" I replied in a bored tone and took another sip of my drink.

"Well, that's not the only thing I want you to know about her, there's more to it" he said and I glanced at him. What would be more of importance in knowing more about some author? I wondered inwardly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Hey handsome, would you like to get some massage?" A lady's voice rang in my ears beside me.

I gritted my teeth with anger, I hate to have stupid conversations like this with women. All they think about is sex, there's no time I'll step out that a lady won't act all flirty with me, it really pisses me off. Was she just hired in my club? Doesn't she knows I'm the boss? Who even gave her access to my private bar room? I squint at my left and I saw the lady dressed in some shining curvy gold gown that exposed half of her boobs and her thighs were damn exposed. Her face was overly masked with make-up. I almost wanted to call my guards to escort her out, but I kicked against it guessing she might be one of my club strippers.

"How about if I give you the best massage instead?" I asked smirking at her. She bent lower and brought her lips closer to my ears. If only she knows who she is trying to flirt with. Is quite unfortunate for her to think I'm a customer here, I really don't get what Araceli was doing before she allowed her to commence work here as a stripper.

"I'll really love that" she replied and almost kissed my ears but I doged it.

"Would you like to know what my massage would be like?" I whispered to her.

"I'm dying to know, my sexy king" she whispered sexily and her breath fans my face. I sat up and brought my lips closer to her ears.

"If I go up there with you, I'll tie you down and use a dagger to slice all your goddamn body into pieces then I'll call my guards to clean it up and bury your useless body somewhere no one will ever know what happened to you. How about that? Erotic isn't it?" I whispered to her and she stared at me petrified.

"Now, before I shut my eyes closed and snap it open, I don't want to......" My words hung on the air as she scurries off before I completed my sentence.

"What happened? What did you say to her?" Antonio asked staring at me weirdly.

"I told her to go find someone else that I'm not interested" I replied and took a large gulp of my drink.

"You're lying, that wasn't what you told her that got her so scared and scurries off" he argued and I shrugged.

"Just forget about the bitch and tell me about your author friend. You said there's more to your story, what else is there to know?" I asked switching to our initial discussion before the interruption.

"Do you really intend to stay single forever?" he asked me and I raised a surprise brow at him.

"Is that part of what I needed to know or find answer to about your author friend?" I returned his question.

"I'm serious about this Fernando Perez" he said sitting up while I relaxed my back to the couch.

"You're already married Antonio, you have two lovely kids and you made me their godfather. So what again am I looking for?" I asked in an exasperated tone. I'm tired of always having this conversation with him.

"Buddy you can't keep holding on to your past, you have to let it go. All women are not the same, there is still someone out there who is ready to love you wholeheartedly. Stop torturing yourself with meaningless vow you made thirteen years ago. It's not...."

"Enough, Antonio! I'm sick and tired with your constant reminder of my past and my vows. I owe you no explanation whatsoever with the vow I made. If you're not cool with it, then go drown in the sea!" I barked at him and stood up. I grabbed my jacket from my seat and I stormed out of my bar.

The story continues.......

Your sincere comments and ratings are appreciated! Thanks for reading! Please kindly add to your library so you can get updates of each episode.

Author,

Maryel

Fernando's POV Cont'd

Getting to my home of luxury, I took off my clothes and got into my Jacuzzi to have a warm bath. I put on a slow music and soaked myself in the foamy water and relaxed my body in it while my head was up high and eyes shut closed and my mind wanders far away.

Is it really necessary for one to have a love life? Why can't my best friend just get over the idea of seeing me married? My mom is also pestering me of wanting to have a daughter in-law and nuturing my child. Should I also make mention of many of my business partners that always wants me to appear in their gathering with a woman beside me? Why has society made the world to seem as if without this things you're living an incomplete life? Fuck them all!

The next morning, the first person that visited me in my office was my best friend. Apart from owning a hotel I also owned a mining industry which fits perfectly well with my field of study. It's a joint company by my best friend and two other mature partners that introduced and encouraged us to start it up. I shot him a cold glare while he rolled his eyes at me.

"Not even a good morning to your buddy?" he asked flashing me a goofy grin and I glanced away.

"What do you want this morning? Are you here again for your relationship counseling?" I asked while my gaze was fixed on my laptop screen.

"Come off it buddy! I'm sorry about last night, I didn't mean to offend you with my words".

"Yet you did" I retorted and he shrugged at me and took a sit across the table.

"That's why I'm here to apologize. I'm really sorry. I promise I won't say a word about it again".

Those words got me to gaze up at him and I sat up. "You promise?".

"Yes, except you bring it up that's only when I'll talk about it".

"You already know I'll never talk about marriage with you".

"I hope you keep to your words" he smirked at me and I scowled at him. "That's by the way, are our investors still coming today?".

"Yes, our meeting is scheduled by 12pm today. Why, won't you be present in the meeting?".

"Well....if you'll cover up for me I'll love to take my wife and my child to visit her parents in Avila. They've been nagging all along that they haven't seen their grandchild".

"That's the drama that comes with being married you know" I scoffed and he frowns at my comment. "Sorry, just kidding. You can have a three days off so you can spend time with your in-laws. I'm sure you wouldn't want to go and come back same day, they'll definitely crucify you if you do" I joked and he laughed.

"Hell yeah! Thanks for always being there for me".

"I told you to stop thanking me when I do things for you" I groaned.

"You can only tell me but you can't stop me" he winked at me and relaxed his back on the chair.

"So how's your client's case going?" I asked wanting to know how his lawyer profession was going.

"Mehn, the Gonzalo's case is really getting hot and each day there's a hearing more false witnesses are showing up to testify against him. It makes me wonder if we'll win the case, I've never had such a complicated case like this one" he sighs exasperatingly and sat up.

Antonio is among ten of the best attorney in Madrid, hearing him say this makes me wonder if his client is really innocent of the crime he committed.

"Are you sure your client is innocent as you claim?" I voice out my thoughts and he stared at me with a deep scowl.

"Of course he his, Gonzalo is not capable of raping a young girl of the same age with his daughter. I can see it in his eyes when we talked, if he's ever capable of such his wife and daughter will be the first to testify against him".

"How would they know if he's really innocent? Do they go out on a daily basis with him?" I asked dumbly but accurately.

"Ferd! Stop thinking that of my client. Gonzalo only happens to be there at the wrong time, his kindness and acts of humanity made him wanted to rescue the poor girl after he saw her lying lifelessly along the road side. If he ever did that I will know, I've been in this field for ten years now and I know when someone is lying and when he's saying the truth!".

"Calm down Bud, I'm just offering an opinion not that I'm concluding he's guilty. I just hope he's saying the truth so he won't go unpunished".

"Not Gonzalo my client. I'll proof to everyone that he's innocent, just a little more time is all I need".

"Okay, good luck on that" I replied smiling.

"Yeah, thanks. Let's talk about something else, we were having a conversation yesterday before we got interrupted by one of your girlfriends" he wiggled his brows at me and snorted and I shook my head.

"Is it about your author friend?" I asked and he nods.

"Yes! There's something intriguing about her story" he said and I raised a brow at him.

"Don't tell me you're brooding over a fictional story that someone wrote" I chuckled.

"It's not a fictional book. It's non-fiction and the story is quite touching".

"Since when did you become a softy over books being read?" I asked still amused.

"Is not really the matter of being a softy dumbass. I just find the story similar to what happened to you".

"Oh please, no one knows about my past except you and those dumbass in that party who must have forgotten completely about it" I replied kicking against his thoughts.

"I'm dead serious! You've got to read this book, perhaps after reading you can tell me if I was wrong or right".

"But you do know I don't read those kind of books except motivational books".

"Just read this one" he insisted and I groaned.

"Fine I will try but at my own convenience. What's the name of the book and where do I read it?"

"Shattered Hearts by Micaela Alvarado. It's on Amazon, it's the #1 best selling book so far" he answered.

"This book better meets my expectations" I said tapping my fingers on the table.

"Trust me it will" he replied smiling and then he checked his wristwatch, "I think is time for me to leave. We'll get in touch when I arrive there".

"Alright, safe trip. Greetings to my goddaughter and godson and then to their beautiful mom who got married to an ugly jerk like you" I teased and his nostrils flares up.

"Is such a shame you don't appreciate how handsome I am. Do you know how many modelling industry are seeking for my photos to put in their magazine?".

"They're only deceiving you Antonio" I laughed.

"No, you want me to show you my mailbox?" he continued trying to proof his point and I grinned widely.

"Just go already, you can show me when you return safely. Perhaps by then you'll be able to have proofs".

"Asshole" he cussed and we both laughed. He stood up and I stood up as well and walked over to him.

"Please drive safely, don't drive like I'm the one in the car. I still love you a little" I winked at him and he hit me on the chest lightly.

"I hate you, how did I even have a buddy like you?" he laughed and we did 'bro handshake' and hugged ourselves. "Remember to give your review of the book when you eventually read it" he reminded and I snorted.

"You're good in advertising, perhaps you should be advertising my hotel so I'll get more customers".

He shot me a playful glare and I chuckled. "I'll be back for you" he said and walked to the door. "Make sure you have fun a little while I'm away, don't get locked up in your own world" he winked and slammed the door closed.

I shook my head and smiled and then my desk phone rang. "Speak Tatiana" I said when I answered the phone. It was my secretary on the line, I guess my investors are around.

"Your investors are here with me sir, should I send them to your office or to the board room?" she asked.

"How many are they?".

"Five of them, sir".

"Send them to the board room. I'll join them shortly".

"Okay Sir".

After the call I quickly googled the book Antonio has been blabbing about and I saw the cover book. Instantly my heart started throbbing fast for no reason and I immediately exited the page without reading the plot and shut my laptop down. I stood up and exited my office to go see my investors. That mystery book can wait.

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