Pleasure in Retaliation

CHAPTER III

“WOULD you mind if I accompany you to the banquet?”

“N-no, Señorito,” I answered, my voice quivering.

Mindful of my actions, I willed my hand to stop trembling before I lifted it up and slipped it gently on top of Señorito Adrian’s palm. I saw him do a slight bow to Celia who is standing about a meter away from me before he made a slight pull on my hand to help me step outside the room.

I turn my head and waved an awkward goodbye at Celia before I followed Señorito Adrian on his tracks. The fear instantly balled up inside me throat as I was greeted by the unfamiliar walls, figurines, and furniture as we walked down a hallway.

I noticed that my palm was starting to sweat so I tried to pull it away from his grasp, but Señorito Adrian didn’t budge—he even held my hand tighter, but the gentleness of his grip was still eminent.

“S-Señorito, aren’t we getting lost?”

The words quickly slipped out of my mouth as confusion swept through me when I noticed that we have been walking for quite a few minutes already.

I heard him let out a faint laugh, but he didn’t say anything until we arrived at a staircase—a staircase so wide that my mouth almost mimicked its width because of my astonishment. He motioned his free hand to the staircase and let me step down first before following my trail.

“Down these stairs is a small hallway that would lead us to a pavilion outside where we’ll be having the first meal of the day,” he said.

I took my time in adoring the intricate design of the staircase with each step that I made. I could see that this huge flight of stairs is entirely made of strong wood—carefully and prudently crafted to become a fine masterpiece.

When my free hand absent-mindedly reached for the railing, I let out the air that I was holding on when I felt how expensive and luxurious the work of art was. As Señorito Adrian and I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I could not help but hold my gaze on the staircase for a few moments—before letting him lead me somewhere.

We passed through a dark hallway before he held out his free hand to reach and threw a huge door wide open. I was taken aback when a blinding light greeted us that I instantly shielded my eyes from it. I did not even have the time to mind the shy hand of the man next to me holding my hand tightly as he led me with every step that I took.

When I calmed down, I slowly lowered the hand from my face, and when I was greeted by a spectacular sight in front of me, my lips gradually parted in deep and utter awe.

As far as my eyes could see, I could not grasp how incredibly beautiful the arrangement of the huge trees was and how every falling leaves, every blooming flowers, and every multicolored plants kissed the green soil.

Señorito Adrian and I walked through a narrow pathway made of bricks, and I was feeling overwhelmed by the desire to see the full beauty of Hacienda Gentallan—which is owned by the man who is guiding me along the path that we took.

And when we reached the end of the pathway I was even more amazed when I was greeted by a magnificent pavilion with glass walls—almost looking like a glass greenhouse, which is adorned with lush veining ivy, and other flowering plants that accentuated the beauty of the little building.

I would not have come to realize that I have stopped dead in my tracks, if the tall frame of the man I was with had not blocked the magnificent view in front of me. I immediately woke up from the sudden trance and looked up to meet his face—his lips formed in an amused smile, his eyes almost reflecting the color of the sky.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Miss Lynn?” He asked with a glint of amusement in his eyes. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks, and I do not have the courage to say anything so all I did was nod my head at the man in front of me.

I could see that he was pleased with my reaction to every place that we have been, given that he could clearly hear every gasp that I made at every view that his humble home has shown me. Señorito Adrian finally let go of my hand at motioned for me to go inside the pavilion.

“Ladies first,” he spoke with delight.

I did not have the chance to speak as I took a step inside the pavilion while I study its every beauty with my eyes.

At the center of what I could assume is a quaint fortress, is a round venetian table—the furniture was intricately carved, lacquered, gilded and its wood is painted together with the floral decorations that surrounded its base legs, and at the top of the table was a banquet that could feed a whole city.

“S-Señorito—” I said, feeling embarrassed because of the amount of food served on the table, but the man immediately interrupted my speech.

“Celia told me that you eat whatever that she gave you at the whole week that you’re inside your room,” he started to speak as he approached the table and pulled one of the chairs out. “I don’t know what your favorite dish is, so… I let the maids cook all of those.”

My mouth remained agape as my eyes examined each dish that was served at the table—there were a variety of salads, chicken tocino and other breakfast dishes, cheesecakes, and a huge tray of lasagna—the mixture of delicious aroma coming from them evaded my nostrils, making me smile absent-mindedly.

I immediately felt the urge to taste all of what was served for the first meal of the day, but I still had the puzzling thought of what would happen to all the leftover food, because I could clearly envision that Señorito and I won’t be able to finish all of it.

“Please take a seat, Miss Lynn.”

The man said in his deep voice which made me flinch a bit. Then I noticed that he seemed to have been waiting in front of the seat that he had pulled, so I quickly approached him and occupied the seat that Señorito Adrian had reserved for me.

I glanced at my back to meet his gaze and uttered a small thanks in which he answered with a faint smile. As I adjusted my seat, Señorito went to the chair opposite to mine and occupied it.

He held out a hand and presented the meal in front of us, before he spoke in a welcoming manner. "Enjoy your first meal of the day, Miss."

I did a slight bow towards him shyly as I reached for a table napkin and placed it on to my lap. “T-thank you, Señorito.”

Señorito answered with a nod then started to scoop some food on to his plate. I let him finish filling his plate first before I reached to grab some of the salads and a scoopful of lasagna in to my plate.  

As I gobbled up a spoonful of food, I couldn’t help but smile as a load of flavor has exploded in my mouth. It was just a few minutes later and I was already in my second plateful of lasagna.

“I noticed that you’ve been better since last week, Miss Lynn.”

I looked up at him from gobbling up the food from my plate when I heard Señorito Adrian say those words. I hurried my pace in chewing the food inside my mouth and swallowed it before answering his remark.

“Celia have been very hands on in taking care of my well-being, Señorito, and I thank you for having her around me,” I said to him, with a small smile on my face.

When my gaze met his oceanic eyes, I felt my heart did a little leap without me knowing what the reason was. From my seat, I could see the mixture of seriousness and glee in the expression that Señorito Adrian is wearing.

“Then, if I may ask, Miss Lynn,” he said as he forked some food and gathered it on his spoon, before staring at me straight in the eyes. “Would you like to stay here in the hacienda, or would you like me to take you back home?”

I was stunned by what the man said, and even though I expected to hear that question from him, I still could not help but be surprised.

A huge part of me was ashamed to accept Señorito’s offer, for all I am is just a mere stranger that he found on a rainy evening. But I also could not stop myself from being pulled by his offer to stay here, in the hacienda he owned.

Because if my decision would be to stay in this strange place, I will be miles away from the hell that might be waiting for me in my own home… and I would have all the time in the world to discover the mystery of the place that even if I’ve only seen a few bits of it, I can already call this hacienda a paradise.

I looked down and placed the utensils on the plate as I contemplated on which answer to tell the man. After a while, and when the decision was made up inside my head, I gulped a few times before I tried to meet the man’s eyes again.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I tried composing myself before giving him my answer.

“S-Señorito, I would like to stay here in the h-hacienda, if y-you would c-consent to it.”