“No, thanks.” She answered coldly. “I would rather starve myself to death.”
In an instant, I was able to pull her up. My hand was on her left arm while my other hand supported her on the waist. “All right, you choose. It’s either you eat or I will kiss you again.” She was obviously testing my patience. Heck, if only she was not Gianna Rodriguez, if only she was not my brother’s bride-to-be, I would really rather starve her to death and would not even think twice about it! “Though to be honest, I would prefer the latter. I mean, it’s okay to go on a diet once in a while, right?”
Gianna glared at me as she tried to break free from my grip. When I let her be, she quickly ran towards the bed side table as if she was being chased by a demon. Well, that was probably what she thought of me. She took the tray, brought it on the bed, and started eating.
“As you can see, I am already eating. Now, please get out of here.”
I smirked. “I’m surprised. You are quite easy to talk to.” I headed towards the door and was about to leave when I turned to her. “I’m a little disappointed, you know. I thought you would prefer my kiss considering that it’s limited offer only and I’m giving it for free.”
Gianna’s cheeks became as red as a cherry which amused me. And when I noticed that she was about to snap again, I immediately went out of the room. When I closed the door, I found myself smiling. I think it was my first genuine smile after several years.

(Gianna)
WHEN CALEB finally left, I stood up and made sure to lock the door this time before going back to the bed. There were so many crazy things that took place after I met Caleb. That’s why I could not understand why I keep remembering his kisses. There were many things I had to think about, too. And yet, his kisses kept going in and out of my mind.
Caleb’s kiss took me by surprise because it was different compared to the first time he did it to me. He kissed me gently as if he was trying to appease me. It was as if he was trying to reach out to me... in his own way. It did not work, though, because it only bothered me even more.
It made me question the real man behind the tough façade of Caleb Montero because if he was somehow capable of giving tenderness, then why would he think of destroying his own brother’s wedding? What happened to the twins in the past? I have so many questions and right now, only Caleb could answer them. But I doubt if he would tell me the truth. Because Alaric’s brother was like a human switch that could easily turn on that human mode of him when he wanted to and then quickly turn it off and be a monster flirt the next moment.
I sighed. When I looked around the room, I noticed the paper bags beside the bed. I took them and looked into them one by one. I was flustered when I saw dozens of branded lace underwears in different colors. There were also night gowns, pajama sets, dresses, and two pairs of sandals in the bags.
Every single thing inside the bag was branded. I’d only heard about those brands before. The only expensive things in my possession were all gifts from Alaric. With my salary, I would not even have thought of buying any of them.
I shook my head before I took out a dress and went to the bathroom. Manang Rosing told me about that before she left earlier. She said that she put all the things I needed inside so I would not have to worry anymore. And just as she said, everything that I would need was there and more. There were expensive toiletries inside. They were things that I would not have been able to buy for myself.
Still, those were not enough to pacify me.
I looked at my reflection one last time while wearing my wedding gown before I removed it with a heavy heart.
“Goodbye, family life...” I whispered as tears fell down my cheeks. “And welcome to the unknown.”

THE NEXT morning I woke up, I was dazzled by the sunlight coming from the open windows. All the window blinds inside the room had been pulled up.
“Now that you are awake, do you want to come with me downstairs for a cup of coffee?”
I was still sleepy when I turned to look at Manang Rosing. I didn’t notice that she was inside the room as well. She must have been the one who opened the windows. After a while, my forehead creased. I remembered locking the door last night.
“I’m sorry to ask this Manang Rosing, but how did you get in? I knew that I locked the door last night.”
“Sir Caleb made sure that he would have many duplicate keys for this room, Gianna.” Manang Rosing answered in an amused tone. “In fact, he gave me three keys so that in case I lost one and you decide to hide the other key, I would still have a spare left.”
My lips parted in disbelief. “What? Then he shouldn’t have given me a room in the first place. Your Boss has no sense of privacy.”
Manang Rosing scratched her nape. “That was what I thought, too.”
I took a sharp breath before getting up. That was when I noticed the interior of the room I was occupying. Because I was too caught up in my anger yesterday, I did not have the time to observe the surroundings.
The room’s wall paper was the color of the sea. If I would disregard where I was, I would find the room relaxing to look at. And it was three times bigger than my room in my own apartment in Manila. The furniture spoke of wealth and elegance from the chandelier, the carpet, the paintings, the hairdresser, the queen-sized bed, the shelf, down to the library. But then again, Caleb Montero did not strike me as the guy who would buy just anything.