Chapter 16: The Truth Between Jade and Vince
1278 Words
"Why do you seem so restless, Primo?" Monica's voice broke through his thoughts.
Primo absentmindedly turned toward the woman.
He was in the mansion's library, but his mind had been elsewhere for quite some time.
It was already six in the evening. The sky was beginning to darken because of the bad weather, yet Jade still hadn't returned.
Primo was starting to worry.
"Are you waiting for your wife? I'm waiting for my husband, too, Primo," Monica said meaningfully.
Primo stopped reading and slowly met Monica's eyes.
He had grown impatient waiting for Jade, so he decided to find a book he could read in the library.
Earlier, Jade had simply told him that she was going to meet her friend, Cheska. He had offered to drive her there, but she refused.
Primo didn't want Jade to think he was controlling her, so he decided to let her go.
He wanted his wife to feel that even though they were married, she was still free to do the things she wanted.
But what was Monica implying?
Why did her words seem to carry a hidden meaning?
And he didn't like the tone of her voice.
"What do you mean, Monica? Why don't you just tell me directly?" Primo asked, irritation creeping into his voice.
His brows furrowed as he placed the book down.
Monica sat across from him and placed a photograph on the study table.
Primo slowly picked it up.
A strange feeling of uneasiness settled in his chest.
He couldn't have been mistaken.
The woman in the photograph was none other than his wife.
Jade.
But she looked much younger.
If he had to guess, she was probably around twenty years old when the picture was taken. It was small, perhaps wallet-sized.
Jade's face looked so gentle.
She wore a simple blue blouse.
Even then, she already possessed that beautiful face and those expressive eyes that seemed to speak whenever she looked at someone.
But one thing caught Primo's attention.
Jade looked genuinely happy in the photograph.
The happiness reached all the way to her eyes.
These days, however, he often noticed that behind his wife's smiles was a deep sadness.
He had no idea why.
Whenever he tried to ask her about it, he somehow couldn't bring himself to continue.
Why?
Because he was afraid another man might be the reason for the sadness he saw in his wife's eyes.
"Where did you get this?" Primo asked, confusion mixed with a growing sense of dread.
Monica took a deep breath.
Her expression was dark.
"Would you believe me if I told you that... I saw this photograph in my husband's possession?"
For a moment, it felt as though the entire world had stopped turning.
Primo didn't know what to think.
It seemed that a deep secret was slowly being revealed to him tonight.
"Come on, Monica! How could Vince have a picture of Jade? They only met recently!" Primo said in disbelief.
"Primo... even before Vince and I got married, I knew he had a girlfriend. A simple woman... someone who came from a poor family. Vince wasn't willing to stand up for her. He chose me instead."
"I didn't ask too many questions. I told myself it was fine because I was the one he chose, right? You know that ever since we were children, our parents had already arranged our marriage."
"It was easy for me to accept because, truthfully, I had already liked Vince since we were young."
Monica's voice trembled.
"Primo... all these years, I would often see your nephew holding that photograph. But it was only earlier that I finally got the chance to see who was in it."
"He accidentally left it inside the drawer of his study table. He was in such a hurry when he left earlier, just before three this afternoon."
"Three?"
Primo unconsciously repeated the word.
"That's the same time Jade left."
Tears began to form in Monica's eyes.
Meanwhile, Primo felt as though someone were repeatedly stabbing him in the chest.
"Primo..." Monica's voice shook.
"I—I think Jade came back for Vince. She came back to fight for the love that Vince wasn't brave enough to fight for before!"
Primo clenched his fists.
Was it true?
Had Jade only come back for Vince?
Suddenly, Primo remembered the scene he had witnessed in the garden.
That night, Vince had been drinking, looking deeply troubled and restless.
Could Jade have been the woman Vince had been talking about?
Was it possible that Jade had only used him to get close to Vince again?
To awaken Vince's sleeping feelings for her?
And what about him?
Where did that leave him?
Did the nearly one year they had spent together as husband and wife mean nothing to Jade?
Primo clenched both fists.
Without thinking, he punched the study table, causing his knuckles to bleed.
"Primo?! What—what's happening to you?" Doña Rebecca asked in confusion.
Behind her was her husband, Don Menandro.
"What is this commotion, Monica?" Don Menandro asked authoritatively.
Monica looked at Primo's dark expression in confusion.
She didn't know whether it was right to reveal the truth that was beginning to unfold before her in-laws.
She was afraid Vince would leave her even more completely if he discovered everything.
Tears filled Monica's eyes, and her knees trembled with fear.
It was the first time she had ever seen Primo this furious.
"Primo! I'm asking you—what's wrong? Are you and Monica fighting?"
Primo's chest continued to heave.
Not a single word seemed willing to leave his lips.
He didn't understand himself.
Should he be angry because Jade had kept this secret from him?
Or should he be thinking about the possibility that, at this very moment, Jade and Vince were together?
Jealousy was consuming him.
He didn't know what he would do if the truth were confirmed.
"Nothing—nothing, Kuya! Monica and I just had a little misunderstanding."
He forced himself to remain calm.
"I was just thinking that... half of the hacienda should belong to me."
It was a lie.
Primo desperately tried to create a believable reason for his anger and hide the real cause.
Monica immediately understood what he was doing.
"Y-yes, Papa. Primo just wants... their rights in managing the hacienda to be equal. He says it's his right, Papa... Mama."
Don Menandro Villareal's thick brows drew together.
Though he was already older, there was still an undeniable air of authority in every movement he made.
"Kuya... you know that everything between the two of us has always been unfair. Can't we stop manipulating who should marry whom in our family?"
Primo's voice hardened.
"I am the legitimate heir to half of our parents' wealth. You know what I mean."
He needed a convincing explanation for his brother and sister-in-law.
This wasn't the right time.
Primo knew that everything they had discussed was still only speculation. Yet deep inside, he couldn't ignore the possibility that Monica might be telling the truth.
He hadn't confirmed anything.
But his heart was already aching.
What would happen when the complete truth about Jade and Vince finally came from Jade's own lips?
Would he be able to handle it?
"What is this commotion, Papa?"
A deep male voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
Vince.
His hair was disheveled, and his pants and shirt were soaked from the rain.
Don Menandro frowned.
Everyone stared at him in surprise.
"Is that all you want, Primo? Tomorrow, I'll call Attorney Matias myself. I promise you—you will get everything that is rightfully yours... Uncle!"
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