Marry Me, Miss Villainess - Chapter 77：CONNECT

Yago was almost finish eating his meal when his siblings went downstairs to join him. Erica was surprised to see Yago eating lunch at the dining room. The past couple of days, he wouldn’t leave the study room and food has to be sent upstairs every mealtime.

“What took you so long?”, Yago jested as he watch the group of people coming together.

“No, I’m not!”, Vier protested.

Erica ignored him. She pulled a chair and then sat next to his eldest brother. “How is it going?”, she probed. “Done with the work?”

“How could that be? I still have loads of work to do. I’m just taking a short break. I’ll go back to work after lunch…. But from tomorrow onwards, I won’t be working from home anymore. The company has been waiting for me to return.” Yago answered. As he was saying that, Yago sensed the phone that was currently sitting on the dining table, just beside his plate of food vibrated. He glanced at it and as the screen lit up, he saw a message pop up. “Speaking of work, something urgent came up. I’ll make a move first.” he said before picking up his phone, and standing up to leave.

Erica watched as her brother leave. It’s really impossible to catch a meal together. They haven’t started eating their lunch yet but Yago already left. The dark circles under his eyes tells her he wasn’t having it easy. Would he really be alright? And has he really taken care of the threat in his life? Returning to the office and to his life before the accident….is it really safe now?

Upstairs, Yago once again opened the text message he received as soon as he reached the study room. The message read: “Check your e-mail for the documents.” The message was from Roy. He quickly tapped on the text entry field to type a reply. “Can you send me another photo of her?” Yago typed and then sent.

Waiting for a reply, Yago sat on the swivel chair and stared at his phone for a good two minutes. Suddenly, his great patience seemed to be non-existent as he tapped the desk with his fingers due to restlessness. He waited but the phone didn’t lit-up again. Was Roy infuriating him on purpose?

Resigned, Yago put the phone down and checked his e-mail. Roy sent him several files; each of them, of extreme importance. Company secrets, project details, proof of shady deals: all of which could help him bring the leader of Rojo down. He’s still not sure why Roy wanted to betray his father, but the collection of all this documents only proves that Roy Vander has been planning to destroy his father for a very long time now. Yago will need at least a month to defeat Rojo, but with Roy’s help, he could almost taste the victory.

Yago was so engrossed on studying each file, that when he opened the last one, his heart almost jumped in surprise. It turned out that he didn’t have to ask. Roy sent him a photograph. It was picture of a lady dressed in white, holding a bouquet of pink roses as she sat on a bed. Although her eyes appeared to be sad, her red lips are curved into a wonderful smile. In this picture, Arianna appeared to be more lively than the last one. Yago held his tears as he felt his heart aching. He was missing her so much but he couldn’t do anything about it. He could only reach for the screen and trace the photo with his fingers.

No… She’s alive and well. That’s more important.

***

Arianna stood up from the sofa and walked towards her bed. She stopped as her legs bumped at the edge of the bed. She then kneeled; waved her hand, feeling her way and searching for something. Not long after, Arianna felt the pillow and reached underneath. She took out a silver bracelet and held it in her hand.

The woman climbed and lay down the bed. She spent her free time trying to familiarize herself around the room. At the moment, she can already locate things around the room, and she can also already use to bathroom unassisted. It’s been a long time since she felt this proud of herself. She never backs down on any challenges, and this time is no different.

As Arianna close her eyes to rest, she pressed on the heart shape crystal embellishing the side of the watch charm on her bracelet. It made a single beep sound and nothing more.

Arianna sighed. It seems like Yago hasn’t checked on her christmas gift for him yet. He wondered why.

Earlier, Jenny brought Arianna’s belongings in the room to return them. None of them were really important, except this sole jewelry she was wearing when she was abducted. It was precious, not only because it was expensive, but because it’s the only thing that can connect her to Yago now. This little bracelet hides a treasure on the inside. A powerful chip that can connect her to Yago even if they’re thousands of miles away. Sadly, Yago’s watch was turned off.

When Arianna learned that Vier was actually Yago, she immediately ordered the production of the two smart watches. They look like ordinary analog watches, but the display is actually a digital touchscreen that contains many features. It’s finger print managed though so other people’s touch won’t be recognized. She wanted to have something that can bring them close even though they weren’t together. The times when she thought he was dead and she couldn’t contact him was the darkness part of her life and she didn’t want to go through that experience again, so she spent a hundred million to produce the watches. She thought, if he went missing again, the watch can show her his location. With it, he can send her messages, too. She was initially happy when she found out the watch’s waterproofing was so good that it withstand being immersed in the sea, but right now, she felt like everything was futile. She still couldn’t reach him. The devices wouldn’t connect.

***

When Yago’s phone suddenly rang while he was working, he was very quick to answer it. He thought it was Roy, and so he wanted to ask Arianna’s whereabouts. He was ready to do a bargain with him; give him anything he wants, give-in to any request just to get Arianna back. He missed her so much. When he saw the first picture that Roy sent, he thought it’s better to wait until she recovers before he takes her back. But seeing the second one, he just wanted to hug her close and nurse her back to health himself. But….

…. but the call wasn’t from Roy Vander. It was Carl Reid: Arianna’s father. His voice was laced with anxiousness as he asked for Arianna. Did he caught wind of her disappearance?

“Ahm, Arianna’s not here, Carl… but I can assure you that she’s fine. You seem worried. Did something happen?”,Yago said, testing the waters. On the other end of the line, he heard Rian’s old man sigh.

“It’s good that she’s safe. She hasn’t called us since she left after christmas. We thought something happened to her.” Carl answered.

“She’s been very busy lately. Right now, she’s on a business trip, and I’m not sure when she’ll be home. But she will surely visit you once she comes back.” Yago told him in a calm manner. No one would be able to tell that he was making it up.

“No. Tell her not to see us for the time being. If it’s possible, I hope she can stay abroad for a while.” Carl said.

Yago’s eyes narrowed. Something really isn’t right. “What’s going on, Carl? I know there’s something, or you wouldn’t be this worried.”

Silence. Yago glance at his phone to check if the call disconnected, but it’s not. Carl was just unable to answer him. He put the phone back against his ear and waited fir Carl to answer.

“Carl? Is everything alright?”

“I….” After a long silence, Yago heard Carl mumbling. “Belle’s father is back. My daughter is in danger.” he uttered.