The Rancher

PROLOGUE

Alexa almost dropped the birthday cake she was holding for her boyfriend, Maxus, when she heard the merging moans of two bodies inside his office.

Oh, God. Anxiety surged through Alexa's chest. Were her suspicions about her beloved boyfriend finally about to be confirmed?

She froze, afraid to peek through the small gap in the door that had been left slightly ajar and unlocked. There was no one else in the office. It was already seven in the evening. She had come to surprise him. She had pretended she couldn't make it and feigned that she had forgotten his birthday.

Forget their special days? Not her. Never. Even though a storm was raging outside, with heavy rain and strong winds caused by a low-pressure area, she had pushed herself to drive home from Tagaytay. She had just attended a seminar there-her last one, as classes were about to go on break. Alexa was still a student, studying medicine. She was only in the preparatory stage at 22 years old, but she worked hard because she truly wanted to become a doctor.

She wanted to be Maxus's equal. She wanted to earn a title so she wouldn't embarrass him in front of his parents, who were part of high society.

Her family was well-off too, but she didn't have access to any of their wealth. Everything was in a joint account.

Alexa had driven for over an hour just to make up for Maxus, but now it seemed she was the one getting the surprise of her life because of what she overheard.

Maxus was a lawyer, and they had been together for three years. He was older than her-about the same age as the famous Jewish figure, Aslan-both were 34 years old. Alexa had been there for Maxus even before he took the bar exam, supporting him in every way possible. She was his one and only inspiration.

But after his wealthy parents set up his own law firm for him, it seemed everything had changed.

His sweetness had disappeared. He no longer talked to her the way he used to. Alexa could feel that something had changed. Her intuition had warned her before that Maxus might be cheating, but she refused to believe it. She convinced herself that he was still loyal to her. Maybe she was a fool, but she loved him deeply.

"Oh, fuck! That was mind-blowing," a moaning voice echoed from inside the office.

Oh, God. She covered her mouth in shock, tears welling in her eyes. Now, she was certain-Maxus wasn't alone in his office. He was with another woman.

Wait. That voice sounded familiar. It was Iris's voice, one of the lawyers at his firm.

Alexa summoned every ounce of courage and pushed the door open. She was trembling with pain and fury, but she was determined to confront her cheating boyfriend.

"You shameless people!" she screamed, her voice breaking as tears spilled down her face.

The sight before her was devastating. Iris was straddling Maxus, her skirt bunched up around her waist and her upper body completely bare. One of her breasts was in Maxus's mouth, while his hands were greedily clutching both.

The weight of the betrayal crushed Alexa's heart.

Maxus froze in shock, and Iris scrambled off him in a hurry. Neither of them bothered to cover up, leaving their naked, sweat-drenched bodies exposed despite the cold air conditioning.

"B-Babe," Maxus stammered, standing up quickly, but Alexa's anger consumed her.

Sobbing uncontrollably, she rushed at him and smashed the birthday cake in her hands against his face.

"You monster! You devil!" she screamed, hitting him with her fists. Unsatisfied, she turned her rage toward Iris, who was hurriedly picking up her clothes.

Alexa's eyes caught a creamy white trail running down Iris's inner thigh. The sight felt like a dagger piercing her chest, but she refused to back down.

She stormed toward Iris and grabbed her hair in a tight fist.

"Ouch!" Iris cried out, but Alexa yanked her violently, dragging her across the room as Maxus struggled to wipe the icing off his face.

"Ouch? Do you think that's all I feel right now? What I'm feeling is far worse than 'ouch,' you slut!"

Her rage burned hotter, and she slapped Iris repeatedly.

"Alexa! Stop it!" Maxus shouted, but she didn't care.

Iris fought back, but Alexa was too furious to let her win.

The two women clawed at each other, rolling across the floor as their fight escalated. Alexa scratched Iris, who fought back just as viciously. She was at a disadvantage, though-her nails were too short compared to Iris's.

She felt a sharp sting on her face, as if a cat had raked its claws across her skin, but she refused to back down. Their fight continued, Iris still naked, until someone grabbed Alexa's arms and forcefully pulled her away.

"Stop it! I said!" Maxus shouted angrily, but Alexa redirected her fury toward him, slapping him hard across the face.

She could hear him muttering curses under his breath as he grabbed her and shook her to stop. But she didn't relent. She continued to lash out until a strong slap landed across her face.

"I said, stop!"

The force of the slap made Alexa stagger. She instinctively touched her stinging cheek, feeling utterly dazed. It wasn't just her head that reeled from the impact-it felt like her entire world had been turned upside down. But more than the physical pain, it was the heartbreak that hurt the most.

Maxus had hit her.

She froze, her mouth hanging open in shock. Her eyes, blank and unfocused, stared at Maxus, who seemed equally stunned by what he'd done. He looked at his hand, disbelief written all over his face.

"B-Baby..." he stammered, taking a hesitant step toward her, but she didn't give him a chance.

Alexa turned and ran out of the office, her sobs echoing in the empty hallway.

The pain was unbearable. She kept asking herself: What did I do wrong? Why did he hurt me like that?

She had been the one betrayed, yet it felt as though she was the one at fault. She had been slapped, and by the man who had been making love to someone else just moments earlier.

Wasn't she enough? Was there something she lacked? What else could she give? She was beautiful and sexy. What more could he possibly want? Was it mind-blowing sex?

Chapter 1

From the position between the legs of Aslan's partner, his face lifted as he heard countless loud knocks on his door.

"Shit!" Donna muttered irritably because she was left hanging, unable to reach her climax.

She was almost there. Women usually finish quickly, whether through oral, manual, or intercourse. During their one session, she had orgasmed multiple times, but today it seemed like she couldn't even get one.

Donna Miranda had been his constant bed partner since college. She was four years younger than him. She was from the neighboring town, the daughter of a couple of entrepreneurs. Her family was the wealthiest in that town, aside from the Escobar estate, which he managed.

Yes, he is a caretaker. To put it simply, he's a farmer, but he doesn't just tend to fifty hectares of land. He manages 6,823 hectares, spread across eleven villages. Their biggest crops were vegetables and sugarcane, which provided for the people under his care. The average net income from his vegetable plantation on just ten hectares was sixteen million a year. That's not counting the sugarcane fields and other fruit plantations.

Managing a hacienda isn't easy. He makes sure to pay attention to every detail. Along with that comes the responsibility of overseeing the workers. He ensures that they are properly compensated. He values good relations with his employees because their welfare is tied to the prosperity of the land. When it comes to modern times, he wasn't left behind. He had already brought in well-known fast-food chains inside the Escobar estate. There were also famous shopping malls, but he only rented out the land. He hadn't sold a single inch of it. He brought a city into his hacienda. He did this so the people of Tarlac wouldn't be left behind in civilization. Hacienda Escobar is the largest hacienda in the world. Just from renting out the land, he had enough income to sustain generations of his descendants.

"Who's that damn person, Aslan?" Donna asked irritably, but she sat up, wiping her lips with a white towel.

She wrapped it around her body to cover her still-erect manhood.

He walked straight to the door with a stern aura, as always. That was his usual expression, which made him so hard to read. No one could tell if he was happy, sad, or angry because his face always maintained the same expression in every situation.

He opened the door, and in front of him was the effeminate butler, Mang Kiko. He had been with them for so long. Since Aslan arrived at the estate, after being transferred from another province, Mang Kiko had been their butler. He was still young back then. He wasn't the typical effeminate man. It was said that he had been hurt before and never loved again. The children he cared for were the children of his siblings who were farmers on the estate.

In terms of caregiving, he was just like a woman. He was also kind and genuinely trustworthy. Aslan considered him family because, despite his quiet nature-he wouldn't speak unless spoken to, unless it was to share something regarding the work or the estate-Mang Kiko had taken great care of him.

Aslan's brow only furrowed. He didn't need to speak; his facial expressions did all the talking for him.

Mang Kiko was holding the phone, with the mouthpiece covered.

"It's Alexa..." he said, and Aslan's brows immediately furrowed in confusion.

Alexa...

His lips twitched slightly and curled into a subtle, almost sardonic smile as he licked them.

When was the last time he heard the name Alexa mentioned in Hacienda Escobar?

It seemed like a lifetime ago, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was during Caroline's funeral, their mother. That was seven years ago, when Alexa was only fifteen and he was twenty-six.

What could his spoiled brat of a sister want, remembering their ancestral land?

In front of the Escobar family's lawyer was the young Alexa, the youngest child of the Escobar couple. Beside her was her nanny, Guada, who had been with her since she was a baby. Alexa stared off into space, looking furious at the world, while Aslan stood by the window, his back leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his muscular chest.

He was already twenty-six. It felt like just yesterday when he had arrived at the estate from the province of Aklan, where he grew up in poverty, struggling without the protection of his mother's love.

Life, indeed, was full of surprises. Who would have thought that Caroline would also be gone? She had been so kind to him and loved him deeply. That was the last message from his late father, Ferit Faik Erdemoglu, a Turkish man.

Caroline and Ferit had been childhood friends. He was shocked one day when Geronimo and Caroline arrived, bringing papers from the court stating that he had to go with them to be adopted.

He went with them, even though it was painful to leave his mother behind. Why? It was all because of his stepfather. There wasn't a day from his childhood when he didn't bear the marks of a beating or bruise. He didn't understand why, but whenever his stepfather got drunk or lost at gambling, he would take it out on him, and he was only eleven at the time.

Alexa was just a baby when he first met her, but now she had grown up to be rebellious and spoiled. She seemed angry at him for reasons he couldn't understand. She ignored him, and when she did speak to him, it was always with sarcasm. Perhaps it was because he kept forbidding her to hang out with the monkey, Lucas. Many men were interested in her. Even when she was in elementary school, men followed her around, which is why Geronimo asked him to watch over Alexa, worried she might go astray at a young age. But there was only one boy she seemed to like, Lucas Barrameda, who was three years older, a Filipino-American. She was furious when she told Caroline she was going to the fair with Lucas. Caroline allowed it, but he didn't.

She threw everything back at him and said hurtful things.

Maybe it was because he was just an adopted son that Alexa felt she could treat him like that. He never had the power to defend himself from her foul mouth. It wasn't a secret, though, as even the whole estate knew he was adopted and not a biological Escobar.

The lawyer cleared his throat, causing both Aslan and Alexa to look at him.

The funeral had just ended, yet they were already in the large library, which also served as Geron's office.

"You all probably know that Caroline left a last will," the lawyer began, looking at Aslan.

Aslan nodded.

"This is what she had prepared, signed during the time when she knew her cancer was getting worse. Alexa, my dear, are you ready to hear your mother's last words?"

Aslan glanced at Alexa again. Her beautiful eyes were blinking rapidly. She was sitting up straight, her thick, black hair flowing down to her waist. She wore a white headband and a matching white dress.

"I think I know what my mother said, but go ahead and read it," she said, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed and Aslan lowered his gaze, staring at the marble floor beneath them. He sighed too, feeling as though a volcano was about to erupt.

The lawyer cleared his throat once more. "All the Escobar properties will go to Aslan."

"What?!" Alexa stood up in anger, her sharp eyes glaring at him.

He knew this was coming. The storm had exploded.

"Please listen, Alexa, sweetie," the old lawyer tried to calm her, but the young girl's fists were clenched so tightly, it looked like she wanted to devour Aslan whole.

Unable to contain the tension, Aslan pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"My daughter Alexa will still receive her share from Hacienda Escobar's annual earnings, about thirty percent..."

At that, Alexa's face turned an even deeper shade of red from anger. Tears began to form in her already puffy eyes. She was probably thinking that it was so unfair, even from her own mother.

The lawyer continued speaking, but Aslan doubted Alexa was still listening. It seemed like her focus was entirely on her frustration and anger.

"The earnings designated for Alexa cannot be accessed or spent without Aslan's approval, unless she gets married."

"That's so unfair! Tomorrow, I'm marrying Lucas!" Alexa shouted, her sharp gaze fixed on Aslan.

Aslan simply took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke upward.

"You're so arrogant! Thief! I hope you suffocate on your cigarette smoke!" Alexa spat, and Aslan just stared at her.

He still wore a blank expression. He didn't even know if he was angry at those words. After all, he hadn't stolen a single cent. Everything he had was given to him willingly.

Alexa ran away, slamming the door behind her. Both she and the lawyer stared at the door, which had lost a hinge.

"Take care of her, just like how her mother took care of you, Aslan," the lawyer said to him.

Aslan didn't nod, but he didn't shake his head either. He had always taken care of her, even though she had practically cursed him for being too overprotective.

It weighed heavily on Aslan's chest as he looked at the suitcases on the portico. Was he really going to ask whose they were? It was almost laughable. The funeral had only been yesterday, and here she was, already packing her things. Where could she be going?

He glanced at the door when Alexa came out, but she stiffened when she saw him.

"Are you happy now?" she asked bitterly, while he just stood there, hands in his pockets.

"No one's forcing you to stay here, Lexa."

"Stop calling me that!" She snapped. "I don't want to hear your fake endearments, thief!"

"There's no thief here. I haven't stolen anything from you. That was your mother's decision."

"A decision you could have rejected but didn't! I can see through you, Aslan! You wanted all of this, so you did everything to take it from me! I can't believe my own mother would give all of this to a stranger, to an adopted son! You're not even blood-related! It's so suspicious what you did to my mom! After Daddy died, here you are, acting like a haciendero on his behalf!"

He sighed and briefly raised one corner of his lip. "I didn't do anything wrong. If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do. The moment you step out that door, I'll forget you're from here."

"I don't care!" She fumed with anger, her face almost turning red. "Shove this up your chest! Lucas was right!"

His temper flared at what he heard. What did Lucas have to do with this? That animal was probably filling Alexa's head with nonsense, making her angry at him.

"Yaya, faster! I want to get out of this estate of thieves!"

Aslan clenched his jaw when the young girl shot him a glare.

She violently dragged her suitcase, hitting his foot, but he ignored it.

A white van, owned by the Hernandez family, pulled up in front of the house. It was rented out whenever people needed to go somewhere else.

Aslan wanted to ask where Alexa was going, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He doubted she would answer without sarcasm. She'd probably throw the suitcase at his face if she could lift it.

"Will you make me carry this?!" she snapped at the conductor, who was staring at her.

He was probably stunned by Alexa's beauty.

"S-sorry, ma'am. I was just a little mesmerized," the conductor stammered.

"I don't care! It's so heavy, and you're just standing there!"

"Are you really sure about this?" he asked as she finished, noticing the sadness in his heart as he watched her prepare to leave.

Aslan had watched Alexa grow. He had seen her first crawl, her first steps, her first run, and her first play. He knew everything about her life, from being a baby to her fifteenth birthday. It was painful to think that the child who had been left to him to care for was now choosing to leave, all because of the wrong belief that he had stolen and manipulated Caroline.

He didn't get any answer from the young girl, except a deathly glare.

Okay then. That answered his question.

Chapter 2

"What does she need?" Aslan asked coldly, his mind briefly drifting to the past, to the reason Alexa's hatred for him had intensified-because of inheritance.

"Tuition? I just transferred money to her bank account last week," Mang Kiko replied.

The butler shook his head. "She wants to be picked up."

His eyebrows furrowed. Is the world about to end or is Mang Kiko playing a prank on him? Alexa, going home? Oh, come on.

"I'll cut off my manhood, Mang Kiko," he answered flatly.

"Don't, it's a waste," Mang Kiko responded, making Aslan's brow furrow even more. "She's stuck in Apalit."

"And?"

"She wants you to pick her up."

"She should have taken the bus, or any vehicle, and had her nanny bring her here."

"She's alone."

God, really?

He immediately rubbed his face. After seven years, here comes an interruption to his smooth life, all because of a breakdown? It's been seven years since Alexa left him, and now she remembers him? Why the hell is she even coming back? Didn't she swear never to step foot in the Escobar estate again? What made her think he'd pick her up? Who does she think she is, a princess?

"Are you going to pick her up, or is she going to walk home here?" Mang Kiko asked.

Aslan knew Mang Kiko wasn't just making things up. Alexa was the type to demand things like that.

"She can start walking," he replied.

He saw Mang Kiko's jaw drop.

"There's a storm, Aslan."

"I don't care, Mang Kiko. She's so stubborn, and if she wants to travel in the middle of a storm, she should face the consequences," he said as he slammed the door shut.

Who is Alexa trying to scare?

His face was wrinkled. Alexa even scared him to walk home. Ever since that got out of his power, he no longer cares about his life. He told himself that once she walked out the mansion's main door, he'd shut her forever in his life, too. That's what he did. He only gives support but he knows all the expenses. He brings even more. In the past, he sent a full share to the hacienda, then only a few bwan, asking the bank again.

He didn't understand where Alexa took the millionaire and didn't ask any more questions. What he did again was he budgeted. That doesn't get money in the bank if he has no notice again.

They have no communication. Alexa also shut herself from him. He accepted it because he felt bad for the inheritance that went to him, instead of the one and only true child of Caroline and Geron.

"Who's the intruder?" Donna made it difficult for him. The woman is leaning back and smoking her cigarette.

He sat on the bed and leaned in on the headrest. He also lit a cigarette and smoked it.

"Mang Kiko."

"What's wrong with the old gay?" Donna begins to hold his manhood.

She played with it so he stared at it, watching how it slowly came to life.

"Alexa..." he sniffed again.

Donna got down on his manhood and bit his head.

Oh fuck. He closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He held her by the hair and climbed down there himself.

"Go ahead," he ordered the woman who followed his order.

Donna is an expert bed warmer. She knows how to blow his dick perfectly. The size of his manhood is irrelevant here. It can swallow that whole. It's also a story, he was only fifteen when he was having sex with the so-called lord of the fraternity he joined. He doesn't care about that. All that matters is that Donna makes him happy.

"What does your brat brother need?" Donna asked while licking the body of Aslan's penis.

"Let's not talk about it."

He immediately pulled her to sit on top of her and then violently inserted his manhood into her.

A loud growl escaped Donna's mouth. He held her by the hip and guided her in the movement he wanted, back and forth.

Alexa's stubbornness will not work with him now, not when she forgot him for the entire seven years of their lives.Alexa's nose was long as she sat inside her car. Few vehicles were passing by due to the strong rain and wind. She was probably the only "fool" who traveled despite the storm that had hit the country.

She was crying because Aslan wouldn't pick her up. What would she do? Her network connection was completely cut off, and she didn't know why. She was lucky to have called Mang Kiko, but as soon as she started walking, her bastard adopted brother said the signal was dead.

All she could see at that moment was the universal "no" sign. Network is prohibited-that's what it meant. What now? Because of what happened, she made a rash decision.

When she arrived home last night after the catfight with Iris, and after being physically hurt by her boyfriend, she packed some of her clothes.

While driving, she thought she needed to get all of her shares from the bank's vault to confront Maxus. It was all Aslan's fault that Maxus chose someone else over her. She was so useless. She had invested her money in that law firm. She helped build that building because she loved the man so much, believing they would be together until the end.

But things changed when he became the boss.

Her nanny was very surprised by her sudden packing, especially since she had bruises on her face. Alexa told her she had gotten into a fight at a seminar. She didn't know if the nanny believed her or not.

Maxus had been calling her so many times last night. She had fallen asleep with her phone vibrating nonstop, until it probably died because the battery ran out.

She couldn't answer his calls because she was so angry. Yes, she loved him, but it wasn't enough to cover up her hurt feelings and the way he had raised his hand against her.

She had to run away from him. Maxus would bother her if she stayed at her nanny's house.

Earlier, before she left, they had crossed paths, but she hadn't told him she was going to the hacienda. She almost threw the glass door at her boyfriend out of pure rage.

Maxus quickly got out of his car when he arrived in front of Alexa's condo. She had just come out of the main entrance, so she signaled her nanny, Yaya Guada, to stay inside. Yaya was pulling her suitcase.

"Baby," Maxus rushed toward her, "She already left. She's gone."

"And what, am I supposed to be grateful that she's gone? And if she comes back, what? You're going to undress her again?" She smirked bitterly.

"Baby..."

"Do whatever you want, Maxus. Return the money I invested in your law firm, and we're even."

"No!" He immediately replied, "We're not officially over. You're still mine, Alexa. I haven't agreed to break up yet."

"Oh, really, Attorney Wilson? Is that the new deal? You'll keep womanizing when I'm not around, and we're still 'official'? Sorry, I didn't inform you, but I'm done."

"It's not like that," he angrily scratched his head, "It will never happen again. Please, forgive me, baby."

She shook her head. All she wanted was one word, "sorry," but it was nowhere to be found. She felt sorry for him, for his appearance, but when she remembered seeing Iris in his car, the pain was overwhelming. While she was restless, sitting in that hall yesterday, worrying about whether she could make it to his birthday, he was out there enjoying himself.

That was so unfair.

She decided to turn her back and head back inside the building. She'd leave later, once Maxus was gone. Maybe she could forgive him, but not now.

Her teeth clenched. All men were annoying! That's what she thought as she slammed the steering wheel. What now? She tried to change the smoking battery, but she burned herself in the process. She could see the water gathering under her skin. She couldn't even touch or hold anything. She grabbed a tissue and wrapped it around her fingers. She got out of the car and locked the door.

She had to wait for some vehicles that would take her to Hacienda Escobar. Over an hour had passed, and she was still staring blankly inside her car. Even though it was raining, there was nothing more she could do. She had an umbrella, but she screamed when the wind blew so hard that it flipped the umbrella inside out, and she almost broke her ribs in the process. She had no choice but to let it go. The umbrella flew off to who knows where, and she scrambled back into her car, but a series of honks made her look up.

The vehicle was circling behind her car, and her smile appeared involuntarily. It was the latest model of an Aston Martin SUV, a 2023 model. So rich. If her mother hadn't been manipulated, she could have easily bought a car like that too.

Her anger never left her. Even now, she carried the deep resentment in her heart for the parents who stripped her of her rights to everything. Plot twist, maybe she was the real adopted one.

Duggghhhh.

Everyone knew she was the real child, and the reason she left was that she had no face to show the people. It was shameful how they took away her inheritance and gave it to the man they adopted. Not to mention that the people at Hacienda Escobar had no idea what Aslan did to brainwash her mother. It was disgusting!

Then again, the ages of the two weren't that far apart. Her mother was younger than her father. When her father died, Aslan was already twenty-three.

She gaped at the grandeur of the car. It seemed like she was going to get a ride, since it circled around. Even if she had to pay for the gas to the rich owner of the car, it was fine-anything to get out of Manila.