Chapter 31

THIRD POV

The long-awaited night for Ana has finally arrived…

“Chloe, Mateo, please do not fight at Ana’s party,” Caridad said seriously, as they still avoided eye contact.

“Show your Villalobos pride. Don’t embarrass us. There will be many guests at Ana’s party,” Don Levi added, adjusting his necktie.

Chloe just rolled her eyes and gave Mateo a dirty look, who still couldn’t speak properly after coming home completely drunk.

“Mateo, show everyone your love for your wife,” Caridad said seriously.

Mateo paused and looked at his mother. “Ana is the only wife I have.”

Chloe’s eyes widened as she heard her husband’s voice for the first time since he came home, as he had been silent ever since.

Don Levi cleared his throat and put his hand on Mateo’s shoulder. “Son, you will take over for me when I retire. And Ana? She’s no longer your wife, okay? She’s our enemy,” Don Levi said softly to his son, who just brushed his hand away and adjusted his outfit.

Don Levi sighed at his daughter’s actions. He then turned to Chloe and said, “Chloe, you are now part of our family. I hope you won’t embarrass me.”

Chloe swallowed and nodded.

“Let’s go. We shouldn’t be late,” Caridad said as she grabbed her bag and linked arms with her husband, Mateo.

Meanwhile, at the Montecillo Hacienda, a large crowd had gathered. People from different towns and Don Levi’s supporters had come to the party, as Ana had invited everyone in San Alfonso.

Ana looked down at the fake guests below.

“Are you ready for your party?” Paris asked, also observing the arriving guests.

Ana grinned. “Is this party really for me, Paris?” she asked with a smirk, to which Paris just smiled and shook her head. “My honorable guests have not arrived yet,” Ana added with a grin, looking at the people attending her party.

“Lady Ana…”

Ana turned to Alexis. “Are you feeling better now, Alexis?” she asked. Alexis smiled and nodded.

After what happened in the Montes’ territory, she only saw Alexis again now. She was also worried about their driver.

Alexis smiled again and looked at his feet and then moved them. “I’m okay now. I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything.”

Ana shook her head because the driver’s condition was more important to her. “No worries.”

Alexis just smiled, so Ana looked back at her guests. “Get ready to meet our honorable guests,” Ana added with a smile to Alexis, who nodded and went down to greet their other guests.

“I don’t know, but… I’m excited to see them.”

Ana just grinned, and they watched the people arriving at her party.

Ana was surprised when someone held her waist, so she turned around, but smiled when she recognized who it was.

“Martin.”

Martin didn’t turn around and just looked at the people below.

Paris cleared her throat and just scratched her head. “I’m going down, Ana. Get ready,” Paris said, but Ana just nodded, so Paris went down while shaking her head. She couldn’t understand what was happening between them.

After Paris went down, Ana’s smile faded as Martin still didn’t move beside her. “Martin?”

He didn’t respond, and she felt his grip on her waist tighten. She furrowed her brow and asked, “Are you okay?” Martin turned to look at her, and she fell silent when she saw his blank expression.

She sighed and let Martin be, afraid that she might say the wrong thing if she spoke.

“What’s your plan tonight?”

She was taken aback by Martin’s question and swallowed hard because his mood seemed different now.

“Do you have any plans that I don’t know about?”

She was even more stunned, feeling like something was stuck in her throat, preventing her from speaking. She didn’t know what to say because the truth was, she didn’t really have any plans. Likewise, she just wanted to see the guests and the people who supported the Villalobos family.

“Ana.”

Martin's serious voice made her hair stand on end, and she took a few deep breaths before turning to look at him.

“To be honest, I don’t have a plan right now. I just want to see Levi’s supporters and the other citizens of San Alfonso. If I really want to go up against Levi, it’s better to win over his fans, right?” Ana replied, trying to change the subject.

Martin’s expression softened a bit, but he still looked concerned. “You didn’t tell me anything. What happened to Alexis that day?” he asked, his tone serious.

Ana hesitated for a moment, knowing she couldn’t reveal her secret investigation into the Montes family to Martin. She held on to the staircase railing tightly and forced a smile. “I can’t tell you everything, Martin. But I assure you, I'm not involved in anything illegal,” she said, hoping to reassure him.

Martin continued to look at her, his eyes searching for the truth. Ana felt like she was in an interrogation room with Martin’s questions, but she knew she had to be careful with her answers.

She looked at Martin. “Are you suspecting me?” she asked. Martin turned to look at her, and they locked eyes. She didn’t like where their conversation was heading.

Martin quickly averted his gaze and sighed. “No. I just want to make sure you don’t get hurt,” he replied. Ana smiled and touched the young mans cheek.

“Just trust me. I won’t let you down,” she said, but she paused when she noticed that the visitor she had been eagerly waiting for had arrived. She straightened Martin’s suit and smiled. “I need to change. Villalobos is here,” she whispered as she straightened Martin’s suit before entering her room.

Once inside her room, she clenched her fists and stared at the gown she had specially made from Spain.

“Ana, the person who will fix you up is here.”

She nodded to Paris and sat in front of the mirror, staring at herself and noticing the scars on her face, causing her to clench her fists tightly before closing her eyes to continue preparing herself.

“GOOD EVENING, Don Levi and Lady Caridad,” Alexis greeted the Villalobos and bowed to show respect, then turned to Mateo and Chloe. “The same to you, Mr. Mateo and Mrs. Chloe.”

He shook hands with her guests and smiled. Levi patted her on the shoulder and smiled at her.

“Are you okay now?” Levi asked with a smile. Alexis furrowed her brow at Levi’s question.

“I’m okay. Do you know what happened to me?” Alexis asked Levi, who was taken aback. He cleared his throat, laughed, and shook his head.

“Maybe we can talk,” Levi suggested. Alexis furrowed his brow, but it seemed like he already knew what Levi was hinting at.

“With all due respect, Mayor, I am committed to my duty,” he said seriously, bowing before leaving the Villalobos.

He paused in the midst of the crowd, clenching his fist and glancing back at Levi, who was engaged in conversation with the guests, before taking a deep breath. “I have good intentions for the Montecillos. I won’t let the sacrifices of the Montes for the town go to waste,” Alexis whispered to himself, but he was interrupted when his friend called him, so he followed and greeted the other guests.

Meanwhile, Ana looked at herself in the mirror of her room, grinning as she anticipated the reaction of the Villalobos and others to what they would hear tonight. She couldn’t wait.

“Ana?”

She took a deep breath and turned to see Paris at the door.

Paris’s eyes widened at the sight of Ana. “Oh, god! If I weren’t straight, I would fall in love with you,” Paris laughed and approached Ana. “You look like a queen,” she said with a smile as she admired Ana’s appearance.

Ana grinned and twirled in front of Paris. “Do I look stunning?”

Paris grinned at her and exclaimed, “Hell Yeah! You look stunning tonight! Your beauty will outshine everyone else! Gosh!” she added, smiling because Ana truly looked beautiful. Her true beauty was shining through. “Many men will line up to dance with you tonight,” she added.

Ana laughed and looked at herself in the mirror again. “Martin would get angry, he might stop the party,” she muttered. Paris rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

“I’m going out now, okay? You should come out too. There are many people waiting for you,” Paris grinned and headed for the door, glancing back at Ana. “Welcome back, Ana Mystica,” she said before finally leaving the room.

Ana grinned and looked at herself in the mirror again, before she slowly stepped out of her room and glanced at the people below, spotting the Villalobos mingling with the crowd.

She grinned and signaled to Paris to start the party. Paris nodded and spoke to the emcee for the night to introduce Ana.

The host went up on stage, capturing the attention of the guests. “Good evening to everyone who's here tonight!” the emcee greeted the guests. “We’re all delighted that you accepted our invitation, so I won’t keep you waiting any longer… I present to you the lovely Lady Ana Mystica.”

The lights dimmed, and the crowd fell silent as they heard Ana’s footsteps. The spotlight focused on Ana as she descended the stairs, showing no emotion.

With each step, she became more intense, as if she were a different person altogether. The people couldn’t understand why they felt chills just from her descent. They gasped, especially the townspeople, as they whispered to each other, noticing Ana’s resemblance to someone they knew.

The men were mesmerized by Ana’s beauty, especially Mateo. Chloe glanced at her husband and became even more annoyed as he was unable to take his eyes off Ana. She nudged Mateo, but he didn’t budge from his spot.

Chloe looked annoyed, and she glared at her as she descended the stairs.

As Ana descended the stairs, she was greeted by Martin, who took her arm and helped her stand before facing the crowd. He then escorted her to the mini stage next to the piano, where she would perform later.

Ana held on tightly to Martin’s arm, and he sensed her unease, so he held her hand to comfort her.

After taking a deep breath, Ana smiled at everyone, and the guests, including Levi and Caridad, clapped, but their smiles disappeared when Ana looked at them.

“Whoa! That was intense, Lady Ana!” the host of the party exclaimed. Ana just smiled and waved at the crowd. “Let the fun continue!” the host shouted, and the guests cheered as the invited band started playing.

Ana smiled at everyone and greeted her wealthy guests one by one, with Martin by her side, supporting her.

“Good evening, Lady Ana! They’re right! You’re so gorgeous! I’m Sharon, from the other town,” Sharon said with a smile. “Oh! This is my husband,” she introduced her husband, who was known in the other town.

Ana smiled at them and shook hands with Martin.

“You too. You look gorgeous,”

Sharon blushed at Ana’s compliment.

“Thank you, Lady Ana,”

Ana nodded at them. “Enjoy the party, Sharon, and you too, Mr. Dela vega,”

The couple nodded and moved on to greet their other wealthy guests.

“Who’s Dela vega?” Ana whispered to Martin. Don Martin glanced at the

Dela vega couple and put his arm around Ana's waist.

“Ferry Dela vega... One of the well-known young businessmen in their town. Like me, he has also established many businesses in their town,” Martin replied seriously, and Ana just nodded.

“Lady Ana!”

Ana smiled and looked at Martin, who had no

emotion on his face, so she nudged him and forced him to smile at the two elderly people in front of them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Jones, I’m glad you came to my party,” Ana said with a smile to the elderly couple.

“Of course! We’re so glad to be here,”

Ana nodded at the couple, and so did Martin.

The Jones were one of the major investors, as they had no children, so they invested heavily in

Ana and Martin’s company.

“You look stunning, darling,” Mrs. Jones said with a smile, winking at Ana, who just laughed.

“Thank you, Mrs. Jones,” and Ana hugged her.

“Take care of her, Don Martin. Don’t hurt her, okay?” Mrs. Jones said with a smile, as he held Ana’s small waist.

“Of course,”

The couple just smiled at them.

“Make her happy, you know what I mean,” Mr. Jones said with a smrik and his wife nudged him for what he said.

“Old man!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,”

They laughed and Martin just grinned at Ana, who blushed as she remembered their first night together.

“See you later, Mr. and Mrs. Jones.”

The couple nodded at them and mingled with the crowd.

Many people greeted Ana and Martin as they passed by, but Ana didn’t really intend to have a welcome back party. She was actually targeting the Villalobos family, who seemed to be waiting for their approach.

“Good evening, Mayor Levi, Lady Caridad. And to you, Chloe and Mateo,” Ana greeted them with a smile, and they stood up to return the greeting.

“Ana…” Mateo called out to her, while Ana just grinned and nodded at Mateo, who was taken aback.

She then nodded at Chloe, who was trying to smile despite feeling the eyes of the people on them.

“Just take care of your husband, Chloe,” Ana whispered to Chloe, who was taken aback, Ana smiled before nodding at Caridad, who seemed uncomfortable.

“This is the first time our cheeks have touched, Lady Caridad, right? Because you hated me before,” Ana said with a grin, making Caridad wide-eyed and speechless.

Ana then smiled and moved on to Levi. “Mayor! I’m glad you accepted my invitation,” Ana said with a smile and hugged Levi tightly. “Well done, Mayor, you impressed me,” Ana said with a grin and patted Levi on the back, making Levi lose his grin.

She then stepped away and grinned. “Enjoy the party!” She then held on to Martin again, who helped her to their seats, and Martin started preparing the food, which he placed on their table.

“Ana! OMG!”

Their friends sat down in their seats, which annoyed Martin.

“It seems like you do not want to see us!”

“Maybe he wants to have Ana all to himself!”

“Ahem!”

They just laughed at Martin, who was glaring at them, but they were used to their friend’s behavior.

Many performers entertained the guests in front of the crowd.

“Well done, Paris,” Ana said with a smile to Paris, who just rolled her eyes but also grinned.

“See? I’m a great organizer! Martin’s idea was too boring! Sheesh!”

Ana just laughed and looked at Martin, who was not happy with the noise their friends were making, so she just nudged him, and he turned to look at her.

“Smile! Let others think you’re not in a bad mood right now!” Ana whispered, but Martin just pouted.

“Tch.”

Ana just laughed because it was obvious that Martin was getting annoyed with their friends. They just watched the entertainers that Paris had hired, which the guests seemed to enjoy.

Ana also noticed that Levi was talking to someone unfamiliar to her and not in the information they had gathered, so she nudged Martin.

“Who is he?” Ana asked, and Martin turned to look at the person Ana was referring to.

“Oh? He’s already here,” Martin grinned, causing Ana to furrow her brow.

“Do you know him?”

Martin just grinned at her and winked, making her frown.

“Wait, Is he here?!”

Ana then looked at Paris, who was surprised at the man Levi was talking to, who also seemed familiar to their friends. She looked at their companions, and it seemed like they knew the person Levi was talking to.

Martin suddenly stood up and extended his hand to Ana, who was puzzled. “I’ll introduce you to him,” Martin said with a smile. Ana just nodded and followed Martin to approach the man Levi was talking to.

"Me alegro de que hayas venido (I’m glad you came)," Martin said with a smile to the young man, who turned to him and fist-bumped him.

“Mi Amigo! Todavía no has cambiado! (My friend! You still haven’t changed!)” the young man replied, and Ana was surprised because she didn’t understand what they were saying.

“¿Por qué llegas tarde? (Why are you late?)”

The young man just put his arm around Martin, but he stopped when he saw Ana next to Martin.

“Hermosa dama! ¿Quien es ella? (Beautiful lady. Who is she?)” He took Ana’s hand and kissed it, which surprised Ana, but she just smiled at the young man.

“Maximiliano.”

Maximiliano just laughed and raised his hands because Martin was already looking at him with disdain.

“Do you know each other, Don Martin?” Levi asked, wondering why the two knew each other.

Martin just grinned at Levi.

“Yeah, we were friends back then.”

“Oh? Really? He’s nice!”

Levi then faced Maximiliano, who was smiling at them. “Eres agradable! (You are nice!)” he said. Maximiliano just grinned and shook hands with Levi.

Ana furrowed her brow, knowing that Levi could speak Spanish, but she remembered that her late father-in-law had Spanish heritage.

“Maximiliano, This is Ana Mystica,” Martin introduced Maximiliano, who smiled in return.

“Hello? I’m not good at English, but I can tell you that you are the most beautiful of all the women here,” Maximiliano said with a smile as he kissed Ana's hand, which Martin brushed off, causing Maximiliano and Ana to laugh together.

“My friend, I don’t like girls,” Maximiliano said. Martin nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, yeah! Lo sé, Rio también está aquí. (I know, Rio is here too.)”

Maximiliano’s grin disappeared, and he raised a middle finger to Martin, who just smirked before turning to Levi and asking, “Can I borrow him?”

Levi just nodded at them, so Martin pulled Maximiliano away, who was about to talk to someone else, but Martin stopped his friend, and they returned to their seats. Their other friends grinned, except for Rio, who was looking elsewhere with crossed arms.

“Uh-oh! Rio!”

“OH MY GOSH!!! MAXI!”

Rielle hugged Maximiliano and kissed the young man on the cheek, to which he just grinned at them.

Ana smiled and whispered to Martin, “What’s going on? I couldn’t understand you earlier, and who is he?”

“Maximiliano?”

Ana nodded.

“Maximiliano Hernández, one of the most well-known figures in all of Spain. His family established numerous businesses in Spain and people called him as the Prince of Spain. He’s a famous model. He’s Rio’s ex.”

Ana was taken aback by what she was drinking and turned to Rio, who remained silent but had a stern look at Maximiliano, who was chatting with their friends.

“Why is he here?”

Martin just grinned and kissed Ana on the forehead. “I invited him,” he said.

Ana nodded and looked at Maximiliano again, who was grinning while listening to their friends’ conversation.

The young man glanced at her and winked, so she just smiled at Maximiliano and returned to watching.

After a while, the host returned to the mini stage as the performances for the guests had ended.

“Thank you to our entertainers tonight. Did you enjoy the party?!” he shouted. The guests cheered and applauded. “Well done. You’ll be even more delighted with the next performance.” The host grinned and looked at Ana. “Lady Ana?”

Ana paused but just grinned and stood up, with Martin helping her to the mini stage.

“Our Lady requested if she could play for the guests. Who are we to refuse, right? Do you want that?!?”

The guests cheered as if they were excited about what Ana was about to do. Ana bowed to everyone and walked to the front of the piano.

“Thank you, Don Martin,” Ana smiled at Martin, who was puzzled.

“Do you know how to play the piano?” Martin asked.

Ana chuckled softly and shook her head with a smile. “No, but I'll try.”

Martin frowned, but then returned to his seat to watch Ana.

Ana took a deep breath and looked at the notes she was about to play. She clenched her fists and bit her lip because she felt in her heart that she had to play that song. She opened the piano and the guests started clapping.

Chloe just smiled because she knew that Ana didn’t know how to play the piano.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as Ana started playing the piano, which surprised everyone.

The eyes of the others widened, including

Levi and Caridad, as Ana played the song. There were whispers and murmurs.

“Darling…” Caridad nudged Levi, who was staring at Ana in surprise.

Meanwhile, others were enjoying the beautiful music played by Ana.

Don Levi’s supporters, who attended the party, were left speechless as their hairs stood on end.

Ana just closed her eyes and went with the flow, smiling, but what was surprising was the tears that fell from her eyes while playing the piano.

Martin was about to stand up to go to Ana, but Maximiliano stopped him.

“Let her be,” Maximiliano said seriously, watching Ana intently.

Martin sat back down, but he was worried about Ana, who had her eyes closed while playing the piano.

And a man who had been watching them all this time… stopped and widened his eyes as he looked at Ana inside the mansion, with her eyes closed while playing the piano.

He clenched his fists. “Lady Stella…”