Chapter 29 Beautiful Stranger
Tito Ralph, sprang in front of Marco soon as he opened the front door. The old man had his arms crossed , glaring at him.
“You’re frequently home late, Marco. I passed by the station, they said you left at five in the afternoon. It’s already twelve o’clock, and you just got here.”
Marco took off his shoes and put it in the shoe rack near the door.
“Did you meet up with her again?” he asked.
He straightened up. “We just ate outside, Uncle.”
“Marco…”
He smiled. “I’ll just take a shower, uncle. I already stink.”
Tito Ralph followed him with his worried gaze.
Marco sat by the side of the bed when he entered his room. He took out his cell phone from the pocket of his leather jacket. He started scrolling his gallery photos, paused and stared at Elaine’s photos he took when he asked her to fit the clothes he bought for her self-made-fiancee’.
The truth was, that wasn’t just the second time he went to see her in Ainsdale.
It was his fourth time. The first two times, he was contented with just guarding her. Then he wished he could get close to her but he becomes greedier as time passes by… The more he continued to see her in pain, the more he wanted her for himself…
===FLASHBACK====
SEPTEMBER 2017
MAKATI CITY
Marco already noticed the woman sitting by the stairs of the second-floor parking lot where his car was parked from a distance.
He was on his way to his uncle’s house to give him the congratulatory gift from his mother, Maria – a boxed wine made in Russia. Tito Ralph got promoted from Senior Inspector to Chief Inspector.
He didn’t mean to, but his perverted eyes checked on the woman out anyway. She was wearing a white polo shirt and boyfriend jeans. She had her head rested on her folded arms above her knees. He couldn’t see her face yet. She was slim but with nice rounded hips. Her hair seems soft to touch.
Marco looked around and didn’t see anybody else but the two of them. What was a woman this good looking doing here? He quickly checked his watch, 2 in the morning.
Would someone pick her up later? Or was she waiting for her car to be brought around by her boyfriend? Marco went straight to the stairs and shrugged his shoulders while telling himself not to stick his nose to where it did not belong.
He was on the second step when the girl suddenly spoke.
“I want to die.”
He stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed. Did he hear her right?
His instinct as a law enforcer urged him to go back down. He stood in front of the girl and thought about what to say. But before he could say anything, she looked up at him.
All the more Marco was at a loss for words. The place was not well-lit, but somehow the faint light that was present was enough for him to see the woman’s face.
The face that could launch a thousand ships? Nah. Too cliché o describe this beauty as that of Helen of Troy. The woman in front of him was a million-dollar type. The kind of beauty that you’d only encounter once in a blue moon.
“What?” she blurted, glaring at him. Her eyes are narrowing.
One side of Marco’s mouth curled. Beautiful but feisty.
“I’m a police officer. Are you drunk?”
No need to ask. He could smell the alcohol intermixing with the expensive perfume she was wearing.
The woman scoffed. Stood up and swayed then held on to the railings.
Marco wanted to kick himself. Even her sarcastic smile looked very attractive to him.
“So, are you going to arrest me because I’m drunk?” she asked, stuttering.
“Is there anyone with you who could bring you home?” he asked instead of answering her former question.
“It’s none of your business.”
Marco shook his head. It is harder to talk sensibly with drunk rich kids than hostage-takers. To hell with being a cop. He took a deep breath and turned his back to her and continued to ascend the stairs.
But he was stopped in his tracks when the woman held the boxed wine.
“Can you stay for a while, Mr Officer?” she asked. Her narrowed eyes all set on the wine. “And I’ll pay you for the wine.”
Marco’s eyebrows furrowed. He eyed her for a while. What could be the problem of such a beautiful lady that she’d thought of committing suicide?
Was she even serious or just drunk talk? He shook his head. What if she went up to a higher floor and just jumped? What if she threw herself in front of a vehicle that could be coming in or going out of the parking area to intentionally get herself hit? What if she was really suicidal?
Marco found himself sitting beside the woman on that staircase. Moments passed by and they remained quiet.
“I’m about to annul my marriage with my husband.”
That got him to stare at her. His eyes travelled down from her face to her candle-like fingers. Her diamond wedding ring was sparkling. How could he not notice?
“And he doesn’t know yet…” she continued to say after a long and sad sigh.
Marco’s smile was bitter-sweet. “You are the one who wanted an annulment, but you sounded and looked like you were the one who’s too hurt and broken. If you still love him, and he loves you too, why would you break up with him?”
With a sad look in her almond-shaped dark eyes, he looked at her for a moment.
“Because he’s too perfect…”
Marco took a deep breath. That’s how he first met Elaine. A few minutes later, an older man, he assumed in his late fifties, arrived to pick her up. He wasn’t able to ask for her name, but the guy who fetched her introduced himself as Chito.
The next time he saw her was in a place he didn’t expect to see her in. If one would base it on her blank look when she passed by him, he knew she didn’t recognize him.
Marco threw himself on the bed. Stared at the ceiling and again took a deep breath. How he wished he could stay next to her so somehow, all the fear in her heart would go away.
===END OF FLASHBACK====
TAN went down his car after parking in front of Mang Chito’s bistro. That was the first time he set foot in that place after three years.
Nine years ago, he went there to personally speak with Mang Chito. He was in his last year as an intern, and he was his last patient before he flew for the US. That’s when he first met Elaine.
Stomach cancer. It was in its early stage but surgery was needed. But the old man kept refusing the treatment. He found out he pushed through with his surgery when he came back to the Philippines four years later.
Tan had a strong feeling this was the place Elaine has been for the past two nights. She still hasn’t come back home. He tried calling Ainsdale but he found out from Anne that Elaine hasn’t been there for two days as well.
Tan was worried sick. He couldn’t contact Elaine.
It was Macon he saw first when he entered The Bistro. The guy was wiping off the glass wall. Upon seeing him, Macon immediately called for Mang Chito while carrying the pail half-filled with water and soap.
In just a while, the old man emerged from his room. Mang Chito took a few moments to look at him before he stepped towards the stairway leading to the rooftop. Tan followed him there. The old man stood with his back to him; his hands touching behind his back.
Tan stopped two meters from where he stood.
“I was talking to your wife here just the other day. She kept crying until she can’t open her eyes anymore.”
Tan wasn’t able to speak. It felt like he was punched in the chest knowing he was the reason for Elaine’s tears.
“Is she okay?”
That was a stupid question to ask but he asked anyway. Elaine had been shaken, and he needed to verify that she was okay.
“I believe you know your wife much better than I do. If you are going to ask if she stayed the night, No. She just slept here for one night. I told her to leave the next day.”
“She didn’t leave for America. Did you know that?” he said.
“Did she tell you she went there?” he replied him with another question.
Tan shook his head quietly. Elaine did not tell him. And he did not even try asking her. He was a nutjob who could not even take care of his wife.
Had he begged her almost every day to stay with him then, if until the last moment he tried to hold on to her, maybe Elaine wouldn’t be suffering so much right now? There was nothing to blame but him.
“I know you wanted to find out the truth, Tan. But only Elaine could answer that.”
ELAINE closed the car door when she got off. She decided to travel from the hotel she’s staying into The Palace Mall. She just received Anne’s phone call. One of their VIP was throwing a fit and causing a commotion in Ainsdale. According to Anne, the customer was complaining about the authenticity of the brands she bought from their shop last month. The VIP was much calmer now, said Anne. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what would happen if she started having a panic attack in front of the VIP.
Elaine went into the elevator. She stayed at the corner and waited for everyone to get inside. “Eighth floor, please. Thank you,” she told the guy standing by the elevator buttons.
Before the elevator door closed, she heard somebody called from outside.
“Elaine!”
The voice sounded achingly familiar that her heart started to beat so fast. When she raised her head, she saw Tan- who tried to make it before the elevator shut.
What was he doing here? Was he there looking for her or his twin Sean? She heard of the news he just arrived from Korea the day before.
But it was her name that he called. Elaine felt restless. The hysterical VIP slipped her mind. Her attention was focused on Tan's sudden appearance.
The door opened on Ainsdale’s floor. One by one the people went out of the elevator. She was also about to step out when the guy she asked to push the button to the eighth floor, grabbed her by the hand.
Elaine struggled against his firm grip. She lifted her face to him... Then slowly her fear went up to her chest. Who was this man?
“Get off here and take the other lift,” the man dismissingly ordered the two remaining women passengers of the elevator.
The two scurried off after throwing her a quick look. Elaine's eyes were begging them to stay but maybe they got scared to be involved, they two proceeded to go out.
Elaine gasped when as soon as the door closed, the guy slammed her into the wall of the elevator.
His hand grasped at her throat, choking her. She stared at him wide-eyed, gasping for breath. Her head started to spin, her eyes begged him to spare her but the man didn’t even flinch a little...
