-=Gabby's Point of View=-

I think my heart was about to burst out of my chest when I finally left Jayden in his room.

I don't have any doubt that he would do what he said about making me pay for what I lost him.

To be honest, I didn't think about the possible consequences of my actions. All I wanted to do was to help my sister, but I forgot that all actions have their own consequences.

I may be thrown in jail for kidnapping Jayden, or worse, he would probably hire someone to kill me, or maybe he would do it himself. Whatever his decision was, it only means one thing.

"I'm doomed!"

I can't blame him because I would be furious if I had lost a potentially billion-dollar business deal.

I hate to admit it, but honestly, I was feeling a little guilty but mostly scared, but I have to be strong, for him to pay for what he did to my sister.

What the hell do I care if he's rich and powerful? He made the biggest mistake of hurting my sister.

Just like the previous days, I tried to contact Mel, but I still couldn't get through to her number, I tried calling her friends, but none of them seemed to know where Mel was.

I'm worried sick, thinking that something terrible might have happened to her. It also crossed my mind that maybe Jayden did something to Mel, which is why he was so confident in denying my sister because he knew that I wouldn't be able to find her.

I shivered when I thought about it, thinking that maybe I would be next, but I immediately disregarded it because I think Jayden is not capable of hurting my sister, or even me physically.

I'm not sure why I felt so sure about it, but I can feel it in my bones, Jayden might get even, but he would not harm us physically at least.

I decided to step out of the house in the meantime, just to calm my mind, I was still worried about what Jayden would do to me once I finally released him.

Of course, I was planning to release him. It's not like I could keep him prisoner forever, right?

The serenity of the place is a big help for me to calm down. Once I finally retired from work, I wanted to live in this kind of environment, away from the busy, noisy life of the city.

I really enjoyed living in the province, I remembered the time when mom brought us to this place.

I was enjoying my stay here, but unfortunately, Mel didn't want to stay long. She preferred city life.

When I think about my mom, I can't stop the tears from falling from my eyes. It's been four years since she left us because of cancer.

It's been four years, but the pain still remained in my heart. It hurts that she's gone from our lives, but when I thought about the pain she had to go through, it made me realize that she's in a better place now.

This is also the reason why I grew closer to Mel, because she's the only family I have, and it hurts me to see her heartbroken just because of a pathetic loser.

I continued walking until I reached a familiar tree, I smiled when I saw the tree that my cousins and I used to climb.

It had grown since the last time I saw it, and just for the heck of it, I decided to climb the tree just like the old times.

Compared to the last time, it wasn't easy to climb this tree, probably because I was not that flexible compared to when I was still a kid, but after a few tries, I managed to lift myself, until I reached a sturdy branch.

I found some berry-like fruits in the tree that I enjoyed eating when I was a child, so I decided to pick some so I could eat them later.

It was already getting dark when I decided to return to the house. I had my bag full of the berry-like fruit I gathered.

I felt like a loony when I thought about what I did. I mean, no normal woman at my age would dare climb a tree just to pick up fruits, but then again, I am not your average girl.

I put the fruits I gathered in the fridge so they would taste better frozen. I will just save them for later.

After washing my hands, I grabbed my phone, which I left on the tabletop, checking if there were any missed calls or messages from Mel, but still nothing.

I decided to just wait for her call since, sooner or later, she would try to reach me, but I was hoping it would be sooner.

I only asked for five days of leave from the bank I was working with, so I'm praying she will call as soon as possible, so I don't have to extend my leave, because it's going to be a leave without pay, and with the money I wasted on this plan, I badly needed my salary.

I decided to prepare our dinner, but instead of getting inside the room with him, I decided to just put his food on the floor, which is within his reach, and then left right away.

I ignored Jayden's yelling as I made my way back to the kitchen to eat my dinner in silence.

After I was done with my meal, I decided to retire for the night. I prayed really hard that tomorrow would be the time that Mel would finally call me back.

I tried not to think about my "visitor" as I drifted to an uneasy sleep. That night I dreamt about the revenge that Jayden had in store for me.

I felt tired when I woke up the next morning. The dream I had seemed so real, and it was giving me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Just like the previous days, I woke up early. Before preparing for our breakfast, I decided to take a shower first.

There's a small bathroom at the back of the house, and I chose to use that.

I felt at ease knowing that this place was safe since it was so isolated and hard to find.

The electricity we were using was solar energy, while the water actually came from the spring in the mountain.

I took a quick shower before heading back to the house, only wearing a towel around my body.

"Hey, wench!" It was the first noise I heard that morning, which meant that my visitor was already awake.

I hesitated if I should finish cooking first or go to Jayden, but my curiosity got the best of me as I made my way to the second floor.

"Is there anything I can do for you, your highness?" I asked in a very courteous manner, and to make it more dramatic, I even curtsied, just like in the old medieval movies.

I was expecting him to say that he wanted me to let him go, and I already prepared my rebuttal to that, but was stunned by his request.

"I need a bath," he answered in a cold tone.

"You... need a bath? Is that what you... need?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Yes, if you haven't noticed, I'm wearing the same clothes I've worn since you abducted me," he answered sarcastically.

Well, to be honest, even though he hasn't had a bath for a couple of days, he still doesn't stink, and as a matter of fact, the messy hair only adds to his handsomeness.

But still, not taking a bath for a couple of days is rather irritating and uncomfortable.

"Are you going to continue to space out or are you going to let me take a bath?!" He asked sarcastically.

Instead of answering his question, I decided to leave the room and went to fetch a pail of water, and after finding a small towel, I went back to the room and presented it to Jayden.

"What's this?" He asked, looking confused.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot remove your handcuff. What if you tried to escape? I think this is the next best thing I could think of," I explained.

"This won't do, Andrea... wait, is your name really Andrea?" He asked.

"My name is... Andrea, will do," I answered.

I decided not to tell him my real name, and to stick with the name Andrea. It's safer this way, and it will make it difficult for him to find me in case these are all over.

I chose to ignore his complaint about the arrangement I had given him and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

Thirty minutes had passed when I finished preparing for our breakfast, and thinking that he was already done cleaning himself, I decided to barge into the room without informing Jayden.

My mouth was agape when I saw Jayden not wearing any shirt, and I was right when I thought his body is ripped because of his frequent visits to the gym.

"He's hot!" I told myself, and as hard as it was, I forced myself to look away from his perfect, ripped body.

"How should I wear this shirt?" I heard him ask, and finally, I realized the reason why he was still shirtless. 

Since his left hand is still handcuffed to the railing of the bed, it would be impossible for him to completely wear the shirt I have given him.

"Put this handcuff on your right wrist," I told him.

He didn't ask and did what I instructed him to do, and after he secured the handcuff on the railing, I decided to take off the handcuff on his left wrist.

"See? Problem solved!" I said.

He didn't say anything as he looked at me with an annoyed expression on his face.

I felt my face heating up when I remembered the scene I saw earlier, and I didn't think I could easily forget it.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" I heard Jayden ask, which made my face even redder.

Instead of answering his question, I chose to prepare the breakfast meal he requested, which is the dried fish I prepared for him before.

Since he tasted the unique taste of the danggit, he didn't stop asking for it.

"So, can you tell me where your sister is so you can expose my lies already?" He asked, mockingly.

I chose to tell him the truth since I think he deserves to know the truth about me.

"She's been missing for more than a week now, ever since she told me about what happened between you two," I said, sighing.

I could tell that he wanted to argue, but he opted not to do it as he continued enjoying his meal.

"So you mean to say, I'm stuck here until you find your sister?" He asked in disbelief.

I chose to keep my mouth shut, and ignore his question. If I wasn't able to find Mel, then I would have to let Jayden go, I still have to return to work anyway.

He didn't say anything anymore, but I could see on his face that he was thinking deeply. I didn't want to know what it was. Maybe he was thinking about how he would make me pay.

The hours passed so quickly, and before I knew it, it was already nighttime.

We were just finished with our dinner, and then I remembered the berry-like fruit I picked yesterday, so I thought of sharing it with Jayden.

"You like to try this?" I asked, showing him the fruits I picked yesterday.

"What's that?"

"I didn't know what it was called, but it's really good," I said, trying to convince him, and just to prove that it's edible, I ate two.

When he saw that nothing happened to me, he decided to give it a try, and the moment he bit at it, a look of surprise was written on his face.

"Wait, I think I know what this is," he said, thinking hard, and I continued eating it with gusto while he tried to remember the name of this fruit.

"Right! It's a Kerson fruit," he finally said.

"A what?"

"A Kerson fruit, or Aratiles in Filipino," he explained.

"Ok," I said, as it doesn't really interest me. All I knew was that these were delicious.

We continued enjoying the Kerson fruit I picked, and once we ate them all, we decided to retire for the night.

I managed to sleep with a wide smile on my face, I didn't think that I would actually enjoy Jayden's company, which shouldn't be the case since he still needs to pay for what he did to Mel.

-=Gabby's Point of View=-

I was awoken the following morning by Jayden's yelling in his room, and if there was one thing I hated the most was to be disturbed in my sleep.

"What now?" I thought to myself as I forced myself to get out of bed and annoyingly went to Jayden's room on the second floor.

"What now?!" I asked in so much irritation, but I suddenly felt wide awake when I noticed him sweating so much, so I thought that he was feeling ill. 

"Are you ok?" I asked worriedly, if something happened to him, then it was going to be on my conscience.

"No! I'm not ok! I need to go to the bathroom!" He answered, irritation all over his face.

After finally knowing what he needed to do, I decided to put the key within his reach, and just to make sure that he wouldn't be able to escape, I locked the door before leaving.

There's a bathroom inside the room that he can use to relieve himself, and while Jayden was doing his business, I decided to go to the kitchen and prepare our breakfast.

I was asked to cook danggit again, but this time I'm not going to oblige. Danggit used to be one of my favorites, but now I have gotten sick of it, just because of Jayden.

I went back to my room first before going to the kitchen to retrieve my phone, but I was suddenly shocked when I noticed my phone lighting up, meaning I had either received a missed call or a text message.

"Yes!" I internally screamed when I saw that it was a text message from Mel.

I didn't bother reading her message but instead decided to call her right away.

I felt so much relief when it finally rang compared to the last time that all I could hear was the voice prompt.

"Hello?"

I felt like the heavy feeling in my chest was lifted when I finally heard Mel's voice, and before I could stop myself, I started yelling at her, ignoring the fact that she was older than me.

"What the hell, Mel?! Where are you? Don't you know how worried and sick I was when you suddenly disappeared? And the worst part was, you didn't even bother to call me, or even text me, and I couldn't reach you on your phone!" I exclaimed.

"I miss you too, little sis, I'm here in Lagune, and I'm sorry if your big sister made you worried," she said.

Laguna is a province in the Philippines, located in the Calabarzon region of Luzon.

I took long deep breaths before speaking again.

"I was just glad to hear you're okay, and about your..." I was supposed to tell her that I had her boyfriend when I heard a voice of a man on the other line, followed by my sister's voice.

I heard Mel say, "Just wait for a minute, I'm just talking to Gabby," and I couldn't stop overhearing the name that she mentioned, which made my heart beat rapidly.

"Who is with you?" I asked, feeling scared all of a sudden.

"I really thought he cheated on me, but it turns out I was mistaken, and right now we're here at home," she said, and I could hear the joy in her voice, which was far from what I was feeling.

"I thought your boyfriend's name was Jayden?" I asked.

"Jayden? Of course not! My boyfriend's name is Aida, Aidan Andrada, but it sounded like Jayden, so you mistook his name," she said, laughing.

I felt like the world was crumbling on me when I heard her words, and I would rather dig a hole and bury myself in it than face the truth.

I made a very stupid mistake of kidnapping the wrong person, and the worst part of it all, it had to be Jayden Andrada!

I suddenly remembered his threat that he would make me pay, and just thinking about it brought so much fear inside me.

"Where are you? Are you coming home? I can't wait for you to meet Aidan," she said, still sounding so happy.

"I will just call you back," I said, and decided to end the call.

I was thinking of what I needed to do, or say to appease Jayden when I heard him shouting my name.

"Hey, Andrea! I'm done!"

It crossed my mind to kneel and beg for his forgiveness, but for the past few days I've been with Jayden, I could tell that he's not the forgiving type, and he would definitely get back to you for the wrongdoing you did to him.

"Hey, wench! Didn't you hear me? I said I'm done!" He yelled again.

I was seriously thinking of begging for his mercy, but the fear in me got the best part of me, so instead of doing that, I immediately wrote a letter explaining what happened, and told him I was really sorry for my mistake.

Yeah, you can call me a scaredy cat, but I really don't think I could face Jayden right now, I could already imagine his scary expression when I told him that I made a mistake that cost him a billion-dollar business deal.

I silently went upstairs and unlocked the door, and after that, I ran away, leaving Jayden's car behind, so he could use it back to wherever he came from.

Luckily, there was a bus going to Manila when I got to the side of the road.

"I'm really sorry, Jayden, for my stupidity," I thought to myself while on the bus.

I was just hoping that we wouldn't have to see each other, and he would be gracious enough to forgive me this once, and for him to forget everything, including meeting me.

-=Jayden's Point of View=-

"What's taking her so long?" I wondered when a few minutes had passed, but she was not back yet.

I thought of a way to escape my captor by using the element of surprise. I would be hiding on the side of the door, and once she opened it, I would grab her and pin her down, making her immobile.

I waited so long for her to arrive, but the door remained closed.

"What's wrong with her?"

I didn't know why I was feeling worried all of a sudden, and I needed to remind myself that she was not a friend, but an enemy, an enemy that made me lose my business deal.

I waited for five more minutes before trying my lock on the doorknob, and to my delight, I discovered that she accidentally left it open.

"Big mistake!" I thought to myself as I was feeling that I was finally getting the upper hand.

I went downstairs to look for her, but I didn't find her in the kitchen, where I knew she was usually in, I tried to look for her in her room, and even outside the house, but there was no trace of that woman.

"Where could she be?" 

I tried to look for her everywhere, but there was no sign of her, and it was impossible for her to just vanish like that.

I was thinking that, maybe, she went somewhere to buy some groceries or something, but when I checked, my car was still parked in front of the house.

I decided to just wait for her in my room, but before I could get inside, I noticed a piece of paper with my name written on it.

"Jayden."

I grabbed the paper and started reading what was inside, and my eyes widened when I finally finished reading it.

According to what was written, apparently, she already talked to her sister, and her sister told her that she was with her boyfriend, which means that I am not her sister's boyfriend, which means she just committed the biggest mistake in the world by abducting the wrong person.

"An honest mistake, eh? A mistake that cost me a billion dollars in account," I mumbled through clenched teeth.

I angrily crumpled the paper in my hand as I started to think of a way to get back at her.

I don't easily forgive anyone. I'm a businessman, after all, and I will make sure Andrea, or whatever her name is, pays, big time.

I immediately went outside and walked to my car. At least she had the decency to leave my car behind.

I tried to look for my phone and found it on the car's floor. It was a good thing that my phone still had juice on it, and I grimaced when I saw several missed calls from my secretary, Amy.

"Hello, Amy, can you try to contact Mr. Amed's secretary and try to reschedule my appointment with them?" I said.

She replied, "I'm sorry, Mr. Andrada, but they don't want to talk to you anymore. They said that you just wasted their time."

I grimaced when I heard Amy's word. I knew it was a long shot, considering how valuable Mr. Amed's time was.

I instructed Amy on what I needed her to do before finally hanging up the call.

After talking to my secretary, I dialed another number, and after just a few rings, the line went through.

"Arman, I want you to investigate a woman named Andrea Crisostomo, or try to investigate someone named Melchora Crisostomo, I wanted to know if she has a sister, and I wanted to know everything there is to know about her sister." 

I really think that Andrea was not her real name, so I opted to have her sister, Melchora, be investigated.

"Do you really think this is over after you said you're sorry? No! This is far from over!" 

-=Gabby's Point of View=-

"Hey, Gabby!" I was shocked when Regina, who happened to be my best friend and my workmate in the bank I was working at, tapped me on the shoulder.

"What the hell, Reg? Don't startle me!" I hissed at her.

"You asked me to accompany you, and yet you're spacing out. Hello... I'm right here," she said, looking at me incredulously while taking a sip from her iced coffee.

We're here in a coffee shop near a mall where my house is, I would be returning to work next month since I filed a leave until Saturday, and since tomorrow is Sunday, we don't have work during that day, so instead of staying at home, I decided to call Regina to meet me here.

When I got back home, Mel and her boyfriend had been long gone, and when I tried to ask Mel to come back, she said she would just return some other day.

"How is he?" I thought to myself, but was shocked when I heard Regina's next work.

"Who's he?" She asked as if she could hear what was on my mind, just like Professor X in X-Men.

"Are you a mind reader?" I asked in confusion.

"You're hopeless, Gabby, I just heard it from your mouth; next time, make sure that you're just keeping it in your mind, and not saying it without realizing it."

Honestly, I don't know why it's difficult for me to forget about Jayden. I tried to erase him from my mind but without any result.

I'm just thinking, that maybe I felt guilty after what I did to him, I mean, I did lose him a billion-dollar account, and there was nothing I could do to bring it back, unless I was willing to pay for it, which is impossible even if I decided to work for the rest of my life and give him my full salary.

I thought of personally saying sorry to him, but I always chickened out, thinking about the horrible things that he would do to me, once he saw me again.

It was fortunate that I didn't tell him my real name, or else it would've been easy for him to find me.

I was scared out of my wits when I suddenly heard a police siren in the distance and felt my knees weaken when it parked not far from where we are.

We were seated on the al fresco side of the store, so I saw how the two policemen got out of their vehicle and walked to where Regina and I.

"This is it; I needed to pay for my crime," I thought to myself, and when the policemen got near, I couldn't stop myself from closing my eyes as I waited for the inevitable of messing with a powerful person.

I waited for probably two minutes when I suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder.

"I'm really sorry officers, I admit I was wrong, but I did it just because I cared about my sister, Mel," I hurriedly explain without even opening my eyes.

"Gabby!" I was startled when Regina suddenly yelled near my left ear, making my ear ring, so I opened my eyes and saw her worried look, and when I tried to look for the two offices, I found them inside ordering a cup of coffee.

I felt so weak because of the relief I felt when I realized my stupidity, and all along I thought they were here to arrest me, only to find out they were just going to order coffee.

"Gabrielle Crisostomo, what kind of blunder did you make this time?" She asked while her perfect eyebrow was raised.

"I kidnapped someone," I answered in a weak voice.

"My goodness, Gabby! What were you thinking? Don't you know you could go to jail!" She said it with worry in her voice.

"I know that! Which is why I couldn't sleep properly just by thinking about it, all I knew was that I wanted to help Mel, and thinking that he was Mel's boyfriend, I decided to abduct him," I continued.

"What do you mean? You thought he was Mel's boyfriend, don't tell me you kidnapped the wrong person?" She asked, shocked.

I felt ashamed and stupid when I thought about the mistake I made, and feeling embarrassed, I just nodded my head in response.

"Who did you kidnap?" She asked, trying to remain calm.

"I kidnapped Jayden Andrada," I answered in a weaker voice, and as expected her eyes widened as she looked at me in disbelief.

She looked shocked, scared, and for other emotions I couldn't put into words, but before I could say anything, she hit me in the head.

"What the hell!" I screeched at her while I massaged the part of my head that got hit.

"That serves you right. I mean, what were you thinking? It was bad enough that you decided to kidnap your sister's boyfriend, but you had to kidnap the wrong person, a person you should never mess with."

I lowered my head in shame at hearing her words.

"You're supposed to be the smart one among us two, while I am the most beautiful," she said, which immediately made me lift my head to look at her, and I could see that she was trying to humor the situation, which I really appreciated.

I mean, I know I messed up, but that will not help me to lighten the weight I was feeling, so I shouldn't try to think about it.

"Really... you're the pretty one?" I asked, couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"Of course! Since you're already the smart one, then I'm the pretty one," she said, finally laughing with me.

After our coffee bonding, we decided to watch a movie, hoping that it would help me to forget just for a little while the dilemma I was facing, but it didn't help because the movie that we were watching was about a woman who committed a crime by accident, reminding me of my situation.

We decided to go home after the movie ended.

"Goodbye, Reg. See you on Monday," I said.

I couldn't help but feel sorry, thinking of what awaited her once she returned home.

She's been the oldest and the breadwinner of her family ever since their mother left them when she was just sixteen years old.

She managed to study and work at the same time; we were classmates during college and we became best friends, so I saw the struggle she had to go through, and I tried to help as much as possible.

I didn't stay long in the mall and decided to go home, luckily it was just a ride away from where I live, so after fifteen minutes I arrived home, but when I got inside I was greeted by a smiling Mel.

I felt so much relief upon seeing Mel; I was really worried sick when she disappeared.

"How could you leave like that, knowing how worried and sick I was that something bad had happened to you?"

"I'm sorry for making you worried, I needed to leave for myself," she said.

We stayed in that position for at least three minutes before she finally let me go.

"By the way, Gabby, I want you to meet Aidan," she said, smiling, but she was shocked by my next action.

I walked to where Aidan was standing, and before anyone could react, my hand suddenly flew from his face, giving him a hard slap in the face.

"Gabby!" I heard Mel say, while Aidan looked so shocked while holding the side of his face that I slapped.

"It is your fault that I'm in a complete mess!" I reprimanded him.

"I'm... sorry," he answered, looking, even more confused and clueless.

"What's wrong with you, Gabby? What did he do to you?!" Mel asked angrily while caressing Aida's face.

"Because of him... I became a criminal!" I finally exclaimed.

They looked so shocked after hearing what I said, and for some reason I noticed them distancing themselves from me as if they were expecting me to stab them.

"Who did you kill?" Mell asked, mortified.

"I didn't kill anyone!" I answered.

"Then, what do you mean when you said you became a criminal?" She asked.

"I kidnapped Jayden Andrada!" I exclaimed, and it took probably a solid minute before it finally dawned on them.

"Gabrielle Crisostomo! What were you thinking?!" She asked, looking horrified.

"You kidnapped my cousin?" I was stunned when I heard Aida, and then I realized they have the same surname, meaning that they are relatives.

"Is he really your cousin?" I asked, feeling a little hopeful, and when he nodded I felt even more hopeful.

"Maybe you can help me talk to your cousin, I mean, I kidnapped him thinking that he was Mel's boyfriend, I didn't really understand Mel when she came home drunk, and she was slurring so much, so I mistook the name she muttered for Jayden Andrada," I explained.

"I'm really sorry, Gabby, as much as I wanted to help you, but you see... we were distant relatives, and from what I heard from my close relatives, Jayden was not a forgiving person, which is why he disowned his own relatives after they did something terrible to him and his parents," he explained.

I felt so hopeless after hearing his words. I knew there was nothing I could do, but face Jayden's wrath.

"Are you OK, Gabby?" I heard Mel ask.

"I want you to take care of yourself, Mel, and if I died, just cremate my body and throw my dust into the sea," I said in a melancholy voice.

"Don't be optimistic; maybe he forgot about you already; I mean, he's a businessman, and surely he has a lot more important things in mind," she said, making me feel less worried, but it didn't help.

I can tell that my time on Earth is running out.

"I am so dead."