Chapter 49

I was just staring at myself in the mirror while everyone around me was busy. I can’t wait to see them all embarrassed by what I’m about to do.

“You’re gorgeous,”

I smiled when I saw Uncle Max behind me. “Am I?” he grinned and nodded at me. He lowered his head to align our faces as he put his hand on my shoulder.

“Te pareces a tu mamá (You look just like your mom)" he said as we looked at our reflection in the mirror.

“¿En realidad? ¿Me parezco a ella? (Really? Do I look like her?)” I smiled and turned to him. “Oh, I am actually studying how to speak Spanish to be able to communicate with you,” I added and looked back at the mirror.

He ran his hand through my hair. “hasta luego (See you later)” and kissed me on the cheek, so I just smiled and nodded at him.

A few minutes passed before I was left alone in my room. I stood up to look at the gown I would be wearing. This night is special for the town of San Alfonso because it is the thirty-fourth anniversary of Levi and Caridad and the announcement about the upcoming election. And it will be a night they will all remember with disgust.

“Ana? Martin is ready and waiting downstairs.”

I nodded at Paris while still looking at myself in the mirror. I took a deep breath before grabbing my pouch and leaving my room. Furthermore, I noticed that Martin was getting impatient waiting for me. He’s always so impatient, TSK!

As I descended, I hooked my arm through his to guide him out the door.

“Aren’t I too pretty for that blank expression on your face?” I whispered to him. I heard him TSK, so I turned to him in annoyance. “What’s the problem, Martin?!”

He looked at me and then cursed. “Dannazione! Toglierò loro gli occhi se ti guardano. (Damn! I will remove their eyes if they look at you.)” he said, and I blinked confused because I didn’t understand what he was saying. “That’s Italian…”

I nodded in surprise because he also knew other languages, as I thought he only knew Spanish and Korean. I guess that's the advantage of owning multiple businesses in different countries.

“That’s what you should learn, Ana. Speaking different languages, especially when many foreigners want to partner with you in business. To expand your business, you need to negotiate with people of different nationalities to win them over.”

I nodded as I listened to him. It turns out he’s good at speaking different languages because Martin is intelligent. He really is astonishing.

“We’re here.”

I glanced out the window when he announced that we had arrived at the Villalobos mansion. He held my hand, causing me to look at him. “Entertain me, Ana. I want to know what you have planned for tonight,” he said before getting out of the car to open the door for me.

As he held my hand, he pulled me towards him, and many cameras were now focused on us. “He’s looking at you, damn it,” Martin whispered. I looked at who he was referring to and noticed Mateo’s displeased expression.

I held on to Martin and chuckled softly, knowing Mateo would be fuming at what he was seeing. “Just smile, babe,” I whispered to Martin, and all I heard in response was a curse, which made me laugh before facing the cameras and waving at them.

We were being photographed by many cameras, so I waved and smiled at them, even though it was tiring to put on a fake smile for them. We started walking on the red carpet, but we stopped when we heard a commotion behind us.

“You don’t have an invitation card.”

“I know the mayor’s wife, so let me in!”

“You’re not on the guest list.”

“How did that happen? She specifically asked me to come here! This is so annoying!”

“Sorry for the inconvenience, but you need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving! I was invited here!”

I sighed and let go of Martin to go towards the commotion.

“She’s with us,” I said, and they turned to me, and the guard nodded. “You can’t kick this woman out even if she doesn’t have an invitation, you can call Lady Caridad because it looks like she knows this lady.” I said firmly. The guard didn’t respond, so he stepped aside to let the woman in, who had been irritated since earlier.

“Thank you, huh? I was actually invited. Caridad even called me to invite me to their anniversary celebration,” she chattered to me. I just smiled at her. “Seems like Caridad just wanted to embarrass me! Marrying a rich mayor, she thinks she’s someone special!”

I paused but ignored what she was saying. It seems like Caridad has some plans for this woman.

As we headed to the garden, the woman excused herself to get a drink, so I let her go. We greeted the guests and shook hands with them as it seemed like more Manila businessmen were coming to celebrate.

Martin signaled that we should take our seats, so we sat at the table reserved for us.

“Who is she?” Uncle Max asked, sitting beside me. “I don’t know. It looks like Caridad knows her,” I replied. He just nodded and started chatting with Rio, leaving me slightly puzzled.

I observed the guests, noticing some foreigners who had come to attend the anniversary celebration. It seems like the Villalobos business is extensive enough to attract foreign guests to their event.

Shortly after, the host went up to

welcome Levi and Caridad, as well as Chloe, Mateo, and their child. Everyone stood up to applaud them, except for me. I felt like a blank slate, seeing only the family that shattered mine and my entire being.

“Ana,” Martin called out, looking concerned. I blinked and looked up at him, touching my forehead and shaking my head to assure him that I was fine. I adjusted my gown and smiled at him.

I stood as Levi and Caridad approached.

“Ana. I’m glad you made it to our anniversary celebration today,” Levi greeted with a smile. I smiled back and stood up to shake his hand.

“Would I miss this celebration?” we both chuckled, and I approached him for a kiss on the cheek. “Happy anniversary,” I whispered, smiling at him, although his smile faded as he tried to maintain it for the camera.

“See you around, Mayor,” I said with a smile before sitting down. I glanced at Chloe, who was glaring at me, but I just gave her a smirk, which only seemed to annoy her more as she glared at me before following her husband.

I sighed as I felt suffocated because we were all in one place. Damn!

After a while, Levi climbed onto the mini stage to give a speech to everyone.

“Good evening to all who attended our an

anniversary. I am pleased that you took the time to be here,”

The guests applauded, except for our table where no one clapped.

“Can I have my beloved wife join me on stage for this?”

Caridad smiled at everyone and slowly climbed onto the stage to join Levi.

“Thank you for coming. It has been a long time since I first set foot in this beautiful town,” Caridad said with a smile that almost made me sick with her lameness. Bitch.

Reporters rushed to ask Levi and Caridad questions. I grinned and leaned back in my chair. Interesting.

“Mrs. Caridad, is it true that you met the Mayor at a club?”

Everyone was surprised by the reporter's question. My table companions looked at me, but I just shrugged. Not my plan.

Levi laughed and took the

mic. “Of course. She was the most beautiful female customer at the club in my youth,”

“Didn’t she used to work at the club?”

I raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, causing them to look at me.

“Do you have something to do with this, Ana?” Paris asked softly. I shook my head and just smiled. My plan was even worse.

“And was she impregnated by your eldest son?”

The reporters' questions came one after another, leaving Levi and Caridad unable to answer. Their staff intervened to remove the reporters as they were causing a disturbance at the event.

“Mrs. Caridad! Is it true that you lost your child?”

“Is it true that you are involved in what happened 28 years ago?”

Reporters were in chaos as they were being escorted out of the mansion.

“Mrs. Caridad! Is it also true that you are the mastermind behind the death of your former daughter-in-law?” a reporter's final question before they exited the mansion.

“Who let those reporters in? They did not respect our anniversary!” Levi shouted. His staff just bowed their heads. Levi took a deep breath and forced a smile for the guests. “Please excuse what happened. Let’s proceed with the projects I want to build.” He pointed to the LED and showed pictures of the projects he wanted to build after winning.

“I would like to build many schools with free tuition for children who intend to study,”

His business partners nodded in agreement and applauded his great project.

“And I will increase the wages of our rice farmers and expand the farmlands to provide more jobs for our people.”

I clenched my fists because it was all lies. Many are still hungry because of their low wages.

“And I also want to demolish this place to build a casino and resort to attract more visitors to my town,”

My eyes widened when I saw my father’s hacienda. I clenched my fists tighter and my hands trembled with anger.

“But Mayor, you cannot touch land that is not yours. The Montes may have many sins in the town, but their lands and mansion are still under Don Ignacio’s name.” a woman spoke up.

I looked at her, and she was unfamiliar to me because she was not on Levi's list of allies.

“Mrs. Santiago, the Montes family has no heirs, and they have been off the map of San Alfonso for a long time… I spoke with the government of San Alfonso, and they also want to demolish the mansion to build resorts and casinos.”

“Don Levi is right. The whole hacienda will just rot if it stays here in the town,”

There was a commotion as many disagreed with Levi’s plan, especially since it still belonged to my father. At this point, all I felt was anger.

We were stopped in our tracks when we saw the woman I had been looking for earlier. She walked to the front holding a bottle of alcohol.

“What is she doing?” I asked.

“Respect the memory of Don Ignacio!” she shouted, surprising everyone.

Does she know my father?

“You did not respect his memory!”

“Maris!” Caridad shouted, quickly approaching the woman. “You’re drunk!”

“Let go of me! You’re no different, Caridad! You invited me but didn’t give me an invitation? You really want to embarrass me here, don’t you? Fine! I have nothing to be ashamed of, but you, you have plenty!”

Caridad was flustered as she tried to handle Maris. She was afraid of her ghost. I smirked as I watched the drama unfold tonight.

Maris faced all the guests and pointed at Caridad. “Do you want to know the dirty secrets of the honorable mayor’s wife?!” she grinned, took a swig from the bottle she was holding, and wiped her lips forcefully.

“What are you talking about, Maris? You’re just drunk! Come on, I’ll take you to the room so you can rest,” she said as she tried to pull Maris, but she just shrugged her off.

“I’m not drunk, so don’t pull me!” she shouted, alerting Levi’s men, but I signaled my men to block them to prevent harm to the woman.

“You! How dare you! You just married a rich man and a mayor, and now you think you’re someone special! Hey! Let me remind you that before you became Levi’s wife, you were just a prostitute!”

I raised an eyebrow, becoming more interested.

“What are you all doing? Get rid of that disrespectful woman!” Levi shouted, but none of his men moved.

“Deal! I’ll leave, but once everyone knows how rotten your wife’s character is!” she drank again. “You have the nerve, Caridad! How could you betray me like that? Have you forgotten how you used to despise me because I was still a prostitute until now? Have you forgotten where you came from? I helped you achieve your ambitions!” She pushed Caridad, who covered her mouth while shaking her head.

“I approached you back then to ask for help with the medical treatment of my eldest child, but what did you do? You turned us away!” She pointed at Levi and Caridad. “Even just for my child’s hospital expenses, you turned your back on me and had your men drag us away! My child died, Caridad! He died!”

I just stared at them, clenching my jaw and holding back my emotions.

“That’s not true! You know that’s not true!”

“Shut up! I helped you abort your first child because you were going to be with Levi! You’re so shameless! You’d rather kill to have a luxurious life!”

Caridad’s eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously as the guests watched them.

“It’s not true that she had a miscarriage because the truth is she had an abortion! Yes! She had an abortion because she was going to marry Levi! And now you act like nothing happened! You’re so shameless!”

I signaled my men to release Levi’s men, and they immediately ran to escort Maris out of the mansion.

“No secret remains hidden! Let me go! I’ll leave on my own.” she shouted as she was being pulled out of the mansion.

After the commotion, Levi apologized and continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

It’s not over…