“JEREMY, let’s get inside. It’s foggy in here,” Esmeralda implored when she checked her brother at the balcony. “The doctor said you should rest and avoid staying outdoors, especially when it’s cold.”
“Sister, I’m just watching the castle from here.” Aiden had a huge telescope on the balcony. “Can we go there with my friends? I know they’ll be happy.”
From Aiden’s villa in Tagaytay, they could see Fantasy World, a theme park that was not fully constructed. It was supposed to be the Disneyland of the Philippines. They went there when they transferred to Aiden’s resthouse in Tagaytay. He lived in Manila, but he said it would be best for Jeremy’s health to be exposed to fresh air.
They used to stay at Childhaus that served as a home for children with cancer and their families while undergoing treatment in Manila. He had become friends with the kids there. That was why he still went to see his friends even after leaving the facility. There were no other kids around the place. Maybe that’s why he was lonely.
“I’ll have to check first, okay? After the wedding maybe,” Esmeralda said and hugged him from behind.
He frowned. “Sister, that’s not going to happen sooner.”
“We’ll tell Miss Laly if you want to visit Fantasy Land with your friends.”
They both turned to the voice that came from behind. “Brother Aiden!” Jeremy ran and hugged him. “Are we really going to take my friends to Fantasy Land? I wanted to show them a castle.”
“Of course. Leave it up to me. For now, go shower so we can have dinner.”
She turned to face him. “You shouldn’t have made a promise to Jeremy. You might spend too much if you treat his friends. You already have spent a great amount of money for his treatment.” Instead of chemotherapy and radiology, she chose to use the alternative treatment where Jeremy drinks medicine from different herbs. She did not want to subject his brother to other therapies that would weaken his body. He was only ten. The said treatment was expensive, but it was already proven that it could improve the cells of the body. That was the reason why she had to endure such sacrifices for the better recovery of her brother.
“Let him enjoy his youth. Let him have fun with his friends. I’m sure that there are things in life that they could not enjoy much because of their illness. I’ll get him a private tutor so he could catch up with his lessons. He is bright. He can catch up.”
“You already gave us too much help. I don’t’ think I can take it…”
He shook his head. “I’m not helping you alone, remember? You’re helping me break away from my brother Amadeus, too. Lexie mentioned that he called you.”
Esmeralda closed the door of the balcony. She suddenly felt colder when she remembered the conversation with Aiden’s brother. “He called me a gold digger,” she said casually. As if it did not hurt her when Amadeus said it a while ago.
“I’m sorry for what my brother did,” he said meekly. “He always contradicts everything that I wanted to do. He meddles with the business that I dream of. Of course, he won’t agree to this wedding. He thinks I still have no right to manage my inheritance from Grandpa. I have to wait until I am thirty. Fuckin’ thirty. I can’t wait for three more years.”
Aiden was the younger dela Merced. His mother was Cerilio’s second wife. The widower Cerilio dela Merced married Aiden’s mother, Rosal Pontillas, when Amadeus was eight years old. Rosal and Cerilio died when Aiden was fifteen years old, and Amadeus was studying college abroad. The house helper mentioned that the brothers weren’t close. Aiden still had shares in the company and had no choice but to work under Amadeus. His brother had control over his money according to their deceased grandfather Armando’s will.
That’s why Aiden already wanted to be independent. He planned to make his piece of land in Tagaytay into a flower farm. That had been her deceased mother’s dream. But to make that happen, he needed money. He tried to get a loan, but investors wanted to make Amadeus the guarantor.
When he asked for his brother’s help, he only laughed at him. He told him that Aiden should just focus on managing their hotels rather than waste his time doing things he had no experience of. Since he failed to secure Amadeus’ support as a guarantor, it was hard for him to acquire loans from banks even though the project is viable. He had no one to turn to anymore because banks won’t make any move without Amadeus’ help.
His only hope was the trust fund his grandfather left him, which he will only be eligible to when he turns thirty or gets married. And because he was still focused on work, he had no time to date or got into a relationship.
She met him when Jeremy passed out while they were crossing the street on the way to the bus station. Nothing was left from the money she got from their pawned land in the province at that time. She was not earning enough as a seamstress to finance his treatment.
Aiden’s car happened to pass by, and he helped her bring Jeremy to the hospital. Because she had no enough money left, he also paid the hospital bill. When she told him she still did not know how to pay him back, he proposed to her. He would continue helping them if she agreed to marry him.
“Is our plan really right?” Esmeralda uttered as she stared blankly ahead.
She was aware that many women wanted to trade places with her—women from high status in life. But he chose to marry a stranger because he did not want the marriage to be forever. After a year, they will go their separate ways. If only he had a choice, he did not want to get married in that kind of situation. But he had something to prove to his brother.
“Let’s help each other. We may not be real husband and wife, but we’ll be good friends.”
She looked up at Aiden. “Thanks for your help. I don’t know what could have happened to us without you.”
She could not afford to let Jeremy’s illness worsened and cowered home to the province. They had nothing to return to if she failed to redeem their farmland and house. Aiden already took care of everything.
“Enough of the thank yous. We may not get done with that. Let’s have dinner.” He smiled and held her arm. His phone suddenly rang. “Yes, Lexie. What? Palawan for one week and another week in Bangkok. Why me?”
Aiden shut her eyes tight. It looked like he was just welcomed with bad news. Esmeralda strolled away to give him space. She went to the kitchen to brew his favorite coffee. It was all he needed to relax. He needed it badly.
“Yes. Of course. This is just a trick to get me.” He caught his head when she returned to the living room with his coffee. “Thanks for giving me a heads up, Lexie. Bye.”
“Have some coffee first. The dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” she said as she put the cup on the glass center table. “Is there a problem?”
Aiden turned to her with a weary look on his face. “I’ll have your things packed. You and Jeremy need to go home to San Luis tomorrow.”