Pity

Nicole stayed in the hospital for two days and rested at home for a week. Steven called her often, but she did not answer. She is afraid of her own feelings because she is the one who is falling for him. That was not in her plan and it was just an obstacle for her revenge. She must keep hating the man and replant in her mind the hurtful words he once said to her.

Nicole closed her eyes tightly when she also remembered Danica's record back then. She felt that the young man hated her, believing that she was an opportunist.

Danica went to see Soledad when she came up with a new plan to destroy Nicole again. She found out that Steven was also investigating Nicole's true identity. She can't let the truth be exposed.

"How do I make sure you keep to the deal?" Soledad asked Danica.

"You know I know how to fulfill like our first conspiracy. Just play your part and make sure they believe in the story you're going to say, that you were Nicole's accomplice in what happened."

Soledad smirked, Danica is really smart in making up a bad story. She would tell them that Nicole only pretended to be dead to let her parents know the pain she felt when she was kicked out. And another reason was to get away and think about how to make Steven fall in love with her.

Danica wanted Nicole's parents to be angry again. And to convince Steven to hate her because she was able to abandon her own child just for her personal happiness.

"I'll do whatever you want. But I want to see Natasha first." Soledad requested.

Danica easily granted the old lady's wish. She let the girl out of the car and let her approach Soledad.

"Grandma…" Natasha ran closer to Soledad while crying.

Tears welled up in Soledad's eyes when she saw the child. She hugged her tightly and wiped her tears away.

"Grandma, they said there was a woman who wanted to kill you, so they separated us for the time being." Natasha said to her grandmother.

Natasha knows nothing of her true parents, but she is also smart. She quickly understood things.

"Natasha, Hija. Don't be afraid because I won't let your grandmother be in danger. Just follow everything I say and stay in the house where we brought you." Danica spoke softly to the child. She resembled Daniela, but she looked more like Nicole. Fortunately, she was not the one she took back then. If it happened, it would be like looking at Nicole's ghost.

Soledad noticed that her granddaughter had a lot of trust in Danica. Somehow she was reassured that Danica was in control of her. She can eat well and live in a nice house. She was having a hard time in their life in Bicol and she was also getting older. Her money from Danica back then was also spent on Natasha's treatment because she was often ill when she was a baby.

Natasha didn't need to be forced to go with the man when her grandmother said that they could not be together yet.

Danica took Soledad back to the city. She knew that someone had followed her even though she was free to do what she wanted. She wasted no time and immediately went to Nicole’s parents’ house.

"Good day." Soledad greeted Rox when they met face-to-face.

Rox immediately recognized the lady and she remembered who she was. "Are you here to visit?"

"I'm sorry if I just showed up without prior notice. It's been a long time since I stepped foot in this house. And to this day, my conscience bothers me."

Rox's forehead furrowed and was confused by what Soledad was saying.

"I know you were very hurt by Nicole's death. And I regret why I did what she wanted back then to hurt you." Soledad continued with her head bowed.

"W-What do you mean?" Rox asked nervously.

"It's not true that Nicole died."

Soledad's words exploded like a bomb in Rox's ears. One of her hands rested on a chair and the other on her chest. She didn't know whether to cry or be happy.

"What did you say?" Joey asked the woman angrily. He just got home and that's what he heard right away.

"Please forgive me for lying. Your daughter wanted that and I went along with her because she paid me. I was stressed back in those times and I needed money." Soledad continued to lie.

Joey quickly supported his wife and called the maid to give her water. Instead of rejoicing with knowing the truth, he was overwhelmed by anger. The couple has been grieving for six years and to this day, they mourn her death. It turned out that she was still alive and she was able to continue doing that to them?

"In that case, she's really the woman we saw on the news?" Rox asked her husband tearfully.

"She's the one, that's why I made up my mind and confessed to you. I know you'd still recognize her even if she changed her identity. I want my conscience to be clean, so I'm telling you the truth. She loves Steven so much and she couldn't have him, so this is the way she thought to get closer to him."

Joey clenched his fists and couldn't believe that his daughter was that cruel and desperate for a man.

"We need to stop her from hurting Danica again!" Rox exclaimed angrily.

Joey agreed with his wife. They also need to rebuke their daughter for what she had done.

"What?" Kanor sat up when his staff called. He put a spy in Nicole's parents' house to keep an eye on them. He didn't make a mistake, Danica will use them again. He did not know what the woman was planning to do again.

"I saw the couple leave and go to the Scouts’ company."

"Where is Soledad?"

"I think she is under a big syndicate and someone is secretly observing her actions. She is also with the couple now."

"Be careful on surveilling and make sure they don't notice." Kanor ordered Roger.

He quickly left the house to visit Nicole in the company. He had a bad idea of why her parents rushed there with Soledad.

Nicole was anxious even though Steven was just around her. She still ignored him as much as possible, but he's the one in charge. She was almost always in his office during working hours. She can’t leave without him and her guard is just outside the office.

"What's wrong?" Steven commented. But as before, she just shook her head and returned her attention to reading the papers.

Danica pretended to be surprised to see Nicole's parents. "Aunt, Uncle. Did you come to visit me?"

Rox quickly hugged Danica and felt pity for her. Even without saying it, she knew that she was hurt by what their daughter was doing and she did not recognize the latter.

"Why?" Danica asked confusedly and hugged her back.

"I don't know how to start." Rox struggled to speak and looked at Soledad who was behind them.

Danica looked that way too, and made a surprised expression. "What is she doing here and why is she with you?"

Rox burst into tears as she revealed the truth to her.

"Impossible!" Danica exclaimed while shaking and tears were already falling down her cheeks. "How could she do this to you… and to me?"

"We're here to put an end to her delusions and for you to not get hurt again," Rox said.

Danica also hugged Nicole's father and she had his sympathy. She secretly smiled as the tears continued to flow.

Rox just waited for Danica's feelings to subside and decided to go to confront her daughter in Steven's office. The man is too kind to be fooled by their daughter.

"Auntie, wait a minute, think about this first." She tried to stop them, but they refused to listen.

Steven looked at the door when he heard Danica's voice from there. He didn’t know who she was preventing from getting inside.

Nicole also stood up and waited for the door to open. She was so shocked when she saw her mother. Anger was reflected on her face and she immediately attacked her the moment she saw her.

"You have no heart! How could you fake your death just for your own desires?!"

Steven quickly blocked Nicole so that the lady could not touch her. He did not know why she was angry, it seemed like she mistook her for their daughter.

"Don't defend her because she's deceitful!" Rox pointed at her daughter who is already hiding behind Steven.

"Calm down first and it's just a mistake on your part." Steven calmly told the lady. But she ignored him and continued to scold the woman behind him.

"I don't know why you ended up like this, Nicole. You made us believe you were dead for us to mourn. You even turned your corpse to ashes to make us look even more like we don't deserve to be parents! Where did we fall short, ha?! " Joey dramatically rebuked her.

Nicole didn't know what to do. She still doesn't want to reveal her true identity. She was still trying to progress the speed of events in her mind. She was scared even more when she saw Soledad. She wanted to run to escape the fear, but Steven would only get more confused.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice trembled and she tried to deny their accusations.

"Are you still going to lie? Your female accomplice has already confessed to us, so don't fool us anymore!" Joey's voice echoed in the four corners of the young man's office.

Steven looked at the woman clinging tightly to the hem of his coat. She looked afraid, which confused him. When he looked at Danica, she was covering her own mouth and crying. He looked at Nicole questioningly.

"Why did you do this to us, Nicole? How did you manage to abandon your daughter just to do what you wanted and take Steven away from me?" Danica asked in tears.

Nicole only shook her head as a response and she tightened her grip on the young man's clothes.

"Everything you heard is true, Sir." Soledad talked to the young man. "I'm sorry if I convinced you that she was dead. I'm here now because my conscience can't take it anymore." She spoke in a sad voice.

Steven violently pulled the woman's arm and faced her. He ignored her moan because the wound on her shoulder was still painful.

"Is all this true?!" Steven asked Nicole angrily.

Nicole closed her mouth and shook her head. Her whole body was shaking with fear. Things from the past came back to her, although she strongly didn't want to remember them. The feeling that her world had collapsed back then and no one believed her even if she explained.