SUNSET

Prologue 1:2

I followed the path to the houses, and the first one belonged to Aries. I noticed their lights were on, confirming he was inside. I pushed open the door; it wasn't locked. I caught him in the midst of removing his upper body clothes, and upon seeing me, he ceased taking off his shirt.

"Get out of here!"

"I'll leave, but you have to explain first why you did that!" I asserted.

It was chilly, and the rain poured down heavily, resembling a storm. Aries wasn't very wet, but I was completely drenched.

"You're jealous, aren't you? Why can't you admit it? Is it so difficult? Is it your pride?" I pressed.

Perhaps due to the long walk, the pouring rain, and my soaked condition, my emotions overflowed. His reaction intensified it. That was the only explanation. He was jealous. He is jealous. If he didn't care about me, how did he find me there? If he saw us there and didn't like me, he wouldn't have minded seeing me with Apollo.

"Aries! I'm the one approaching you! I've accepted all your mistakes before!" I pleaded.

It dawned on me after I uttered those words. I've never felt so desperate in my entire life. I've never pleaded before, but now, I am. Because I know this is the only way for now.

"If you made a mistake, and you took that responsibility seriously, then I get it! I understand why you left me and chose her! I forgive you even when you didn't ask for forgiveness! You're not sorry because saying sorry would mean you regret having your sons now! I get it!" I cried as I looked at him.

His forehead furrowed, and he averted his gaze.

"Tell me, you were jealous, right? Jealous of Apollo?"

"He's a married man. You shouldn't hang around people-"

"You shouldn't care at all if you didn't love me anymore! Heck, you wouldn't even notice me if you didn't love me anymore!"

He raised his gaze to me.

"I can be the mother of your children, Aries!" I shouted as tears fell on my cheeks.

"You've lost your mind-"

"I haven't! It's true! I came back for you! And with that, I don't just accept you! I accept your sons, too!"

"How can you be a mother to my children if you're tough on them!" Aries shouted.

I quickly shook my head. "I'm not tough on them!"

"Leave this place!" he yelled and attempted to close the distance, but he couldn't quite get nearer.

So, I approached slowly. Tears streamed down, and my arms trembled, unsure if it was from the cold or crying. I felt vulnerable, but it's okay. I always show him my vulnerable side. It's just that tonight, I was not only vulnerable. I was also desperate, pitiful, and weak.

I reached for his arm and gently held it.

"Please, Aries..." I whispered.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He forcefully withdrew his arm, as if it had been scalded during my extended hold.

"I don't need you. Leave this place!" he shouted in a thunderous voice.

I was so close to him that it shocked me.

"You can't replace the mother of my children! They don't need you, and I certainly don't need you here, Maria Yrah! So, stop your foolishness! Stop obsessing about me! You've lost your class! It's disgusting!"

My eyes widened when I heard it. It was an insult to the core. Our clan motto, "surtout l'élégance," meant that we value elegance and class more than anything. And now he is throwing it against me.

"After everything, this is what you'll say to me? I forgave you, and waited! You don't need me anymore because you can live on your own-"

"I never asked for your forgiveness, ever! So why did you forgive me, huh?"

He approached me. With the anger he displayed, I was genuinely frightened. I stepped back a bit but still remained there.

"If you want to be angry with me! Be angry all you want, and I don't care! I don't need your forgiveness! And above all, I don't need you in my life."

"How dare you say that after everything! You won't have all these without me!" I spat, already angry to the core because it's true!

I was furious at him for choosing Alona over me! I couldn't forgive him at all! I could ruin his life very easily! As a Suarez, I could treat him like trash in the very place he grew up! I could also easily remove him from his position because of my family's power, but I didn't do it!

Instead of seeking revenge, I severed all ties with him!

I was bitter, and I wanted him to suffer, but I was too proud to do anything!

He knew what I was capable of! He knew that Alona was a fitting match for them after the betrayal they did to me!

I left for my career while he was busy with his training! I supported him, and I even told Papa to accept him and give him a good position! He was highly favored, not just because he's a Montecielo, but because he's the boyfriend of the Admiral's daughter!

I was patient! I didn't look at other men! I was a textbook good girlfriend even when everyone expected me to cheat on him! I am attractive, and many good men from respectable families courted me... but I didn't give in because Aries was the one I loved!

I even defied my mother for him! He wasn't liked by my mother because he was poor and rejected by the Montecielos! He didn't want me to have a strained relationship with my mother, but I still did because I loved him and he loved me! It would break his heart if I left him and agreed with my mother's plans! It would destroy me to see him broken!

But just one return to Isla Siquijor?! I was delayed because I was busy?! When I came back, he was the one who was desperately thirsty and couldn't wait!

He slept with Alona. Yes. I won't sugarcoat that! Whether he was drunk or whatever, it doesn't change the fact that he cheated!

My supposedly honorable boyfriend, who was poor, cheated on me, Aries Montecielo!

"Aries, when you left me, I just left and distanced myself to let you live peacefully! I didn't need an explanation why. Why did you say you loved me but in the end, you left me for someone else? Maybe it's a mistake, I told myself-"

"It wasn't! I wanted to marry her, and I wanted us to have children together!"

My eyes widened. It was the first time he said that. I knew it was what I wanted to hear for me to stop. I wanted him to tell me that he didn't love me, but his last words felt like that, too.

"Maybe you were wrong, so I came back thinking you'd-"

"I won't accept you, do you understand? Even if she's gone, I won't!"

"I didn't ask for an explanation, yes! But I want you to tell me why! I want to know why, Aries! Why not me?" I said stubbornly, still not convinced by his hurtful words.

"Go back to your place..." he said weakly.

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I'm begging you, please, Aries.

Slowly, I bent my knees to kneel in front of him. That was the lowest of low. Maria Yrah, the proud and arrogant Suarez heiress, known to be liked and fantasized by many men, was in front of Aries Montecielo, begging and pleading. Soaked in the rain, crying, trembling.

I have been vulnerable from the start. This is the last straw of my vulnerability. I want a direct answer. I didn't need the vagueness that could give me false hopes.

"What the f**k, are you doing, Maria Yrah!? I said, go home!" Aries shouted even louder.

From his tone, I knew he was surprised by my kneeling. This was something he would do to me, not vice versa. But I am doing it to him now.

I bowed down, and he briefly distracted himself when he noticed that his child was watching. But in the end, he turned to face me. I remained on my knees, not moving.

"Stand up-"

"Just say it, Aries. You don't love me. I'll leave."

"Get up!"

"How difficult is it? I know you know that I leave when I'm hurt, but your words no longer affect me. Alona gave me a letter, and she told me about you-"

"I said, leave!" he shouted loudly.

I shut my eyes and shivered at his booming voice.

"She claimed you never forgot about me. She lived a sad life with you because you loved me. That you merely stuck with her, but-"

Aries hurled a vase against the wall. I halted my words, narrowing my eyes. His hands were bloody from the shattered glass. I rushed to assist him, but he forcefully pushed me away. His actions surprised me, and I could see he was equally shocked by what had transpired.

"I told you to leave!"

"Why can't you-"

"I don't love you! I will never love a woman like you! Even without Alona, you can never replace her! She wasn't wealthy or anything like you, but she wasn't disgusting and scheming!"

My jaw dropped from the first sentence. It felt like a harsh blow.

And wasn't that... what I wanted to hear? Wasn't that what I was waiting for before stopping? I didn't know if Alona deceived me with her letter or what, but for Aries to say this now, I knew it carried weight.

"She was mistaken when she said that I love you because I don't! She just thinks that because she's sad from her illness! I always assured her that I love her and not you, so stop being delusional, Maria Yrah! And even without Alona... I will never accept you!" he continued.

My tears flowed more.

"I don't know why you're still so fixated on me when I am utterly disgusted with you! You're cheap and disgraceful! I've lost all love for you in the past years, and now, I just feel repulsion for your actions! I thought you were better than this, but you proved me wrong!"

He grinned evilly.

"I've never been so right about choosing Alona over you. You are nowhere near her, Maria Yrah."