I Do Series 2: Entangled Marriage

What’s your dream proposal? A romantic candlelight dinner by the sea? In a flower garden? Or, an exciting flashmob performance? Every girl has their own dream marriage proposal that will make their heart beat as if she were running for an Olympic gold medal. But that’s not the case for Stella. May it be her dream proposal, or not, it doesn’t matter at all. Especially under the current situation she was in. “Marry me.” The man in the blue suit said with confidence, as if he were proposing a business deal with his client. Stella’s brows raised as she stared at him intently while her mind was busy recalling how she ended up sitting in front of a stranger, a man she had never met before. Thirty minutes ago. . . Staring at people around her patiently waiting for her suitcase, Stella immediately realized how foolish her attire looked. She’s wearing a black turtle-neck long-sleeved top paired with old denim jeans under the scorching hot and humid weather of the Philippines. “Stella, you’ve only been gone for a few years and you already forgot how hot it is here?” she mumbled to herself while fixing the sunglasses above her head. Stella heaved a soft sigh as she began picking up her luggage. “At the very least it’s a good decision to bring only my summer clothes, or else I would just bring useless luggage with me,” she mumbled. Twelve years was a pretty long time to be away. The idea of coming home after studying and working hard without a break for the past few years makes her feel proud of her achievements. Now that Stella’s back at home, there’s only one goal she’s pursuing. A new beginning in a new environment, but this time it will be at a place she can call her home. The place where she will open the new chapter of her life. “It’s good to be back,” Stella told herself, enthusiastically trying to cheer herself up. “This is good. This is for the better.” If Stella’s gaze could melt anything that she stares at, her two large suitcases might have long disappeared from her sight. Staring at it for a minute and thinking about how she will hail a cab in the hot weather is already too much for her to start the day. Too bad that her older sister can’t make it to pick her up. With a frown on her face, Stella began dragging her tired body out of the airport. And, as soon as her foot took a step outside, her shoulder dropped low as the heat in the air brushed against her cheeks. A few minutes later, a black sedan suddenly stops in front of her. Then, a man in a black suit steps out and walks his way towards her. “Miss Stella Montoya,” the man in the black suit said. Her eyes furrowed. “Yes, that’s me,” Stella answered in confusion. But, at the back of her mind, she was already thinking that the man might be someone that her sister hired, or one of their father’s employees. “I’m Harold Velasco, your designated driver today,” Harold introduced himself with a smile as he slightly bowed to her as if she were some kind of royalty. Harold then opened the door on the back seat for Stella to hop in. “O-okay. Thanks,” Stella mumbled as she stared at him questioningly. Stella knew that her older sister loved giving surprises in the most unexpected ways and reasons. But the idea of sending her a designated driver never crossed her mind. Too bad her phone died minutes ago; she has no way of telling her sister that she didn’t need a driver. After Harold secured Stella’s luggage in the trunk of the car, he then also hopped in and began driving towards their destination. Stella’s eyes slowly get glued to the scenery outside as she notices the changes along the road. New buildings and establishments rise while some of the ones she knew years ago vanish. “But, the traffic remains the same.” She commented, whispering to herself as they got stuck in the middle of endless traffic in the city. “It’s not even rush hour yet.” For the next few minutes of their ride, Stella keeps getting mesmerized by how the city has grown and changed. It feels familiar, but at the same time, she feels like a stranger in the middle of a foreign city. “Why are we here?” Stella asked when Harold stopped the car in front of a fancy-looking restaurant. Instead of giving her an answer, Harold just stepped out of the car, leaving Stella completely lost and confused. “This way, Ma’am,” Harold said as he opened the backseat door. Still lost at what was happening, Stella followed Harold in good faith, assuming that her older sister, Violet, would be there welcoming her with a bright smile. That everything is according to the plan. But, as soon as Harold opened the door of one of the private rooms, Stella immediately wanted to turn around and run away as fast as she could. Instead of her older sister, a man in a blue suit was waiting for her. He was sitting up straight on one of the chairs, crossing his long leg while her elbows were resting on both arms of the chair. “Good day, Miss Stella Montoya,” the man in a blue suit said as he stood up and welcomed her. “Who are you?” Stella asked as she took a step back. “And, you?” she added after turning her attention to Harold. “My sister didn’t hire you to create such a welcome party, did she?” she continued. “Is it some kind of hidden camera? A prank?” “If that’s how you see this, then you can put this in that way if you want to. By the way, I’m Sebastian Morris,” he introduced himself. “CEO of Morris Entertainment and Media Company,” he added. “I know,” Stella answered in her mind. Morris Entertainment and Media Company is a well-known company that handles local and international artists. Watching movies and attending concerts are two of Stella’s ways to relieve her stress from work. And, coincidentally, some of the movies she watched were either produced by them, or the actors and some of the artists were also from them. Thus, Stella was already familiar with Sebastian’s name. In fact, she was way too familiar with his name and family. “Who would have thought that this man in front of me was the young CEO of an entertainment company? He could be either an actor, or a model himself.” Stella thought. “So he’s the one that Dad was talking about before. The heir of the great Morris and Syquia’s.” If he hadn’t introduced himself earlier, Stella would definitely have thought that he was a model. As a CEO himself, he can effortlessly outshine every model and artist that his company is managing. Sebastian’s custom-tailored blue suit perfectly hugged his well-toned body, and no one had made that impression on her yet. He could pass in an instant as a model with his charisma, expressive almond eyes, and most of all, his handsome visuals. “And?” Stella asked in a firm tone as she pulled herself together, dismissing every thought running through her mind. “For your kind information, this is still a k********g. Even though you introduced yourself to me.” “I know that what we did was wrong, no matter at what angle we looked through this. And, I’m very sorry about that,” he admitted. “But, I need to do it in order to meet you.” “Why should I meet you?” Stella asked, still wary about the man in front of her. “I don’t know you,” she denied. “And, I don’t know how you knew me,” she added as she turned her back to him. “I’m sorry. But, I need to go.” However, she wasn’t even five steps away when Harold stood tall in front of her. Blocking the door was her only way to escape. “Move,” she said while glaring at Harold. “I said move,” Stella added firmly when the latter didn’t bother stepping aside, not even an inch. “Are you deaf?” Stella asked while doing her best to hold her anger in. She wanted to push the man aside, but she couldn't. Just by looking at Harold, Stella’s well aware that her strength will be no match for a man like him. “Can you give us a few minutes, Ms. Stella?” Harold asked calmly, still not stepping aside. “Mr. Morris, just want to discuss an important matter with you,” he explained. “He’s right,” Sebastian agreed with Harold, as he took a step towards Stella’s direction. “I have an important matter to discuss with you,” he added. “And, doing this to be able to talk to you is the fastest way we could think of.” Stella remained silent. She just remained staring at Sebastian, listening to everything he had to say. Meanwhile, her mind is already busy analyzing everything and evaluating every reason she could think of as to why they wanted to talk to her. “How about me? Did you even consider whether I would agree to meet you, or not?” Stella asked. Her fist is slowly turning into a ball, getting ready to punch him any second. “We're not even acquaintances.” She added as she averted her gaze from him. “I don’t think that we are at the point to call ourselves strangers considering our family's connection,” Sebastian commented with a little smirk on his face. That smug look on his face wasn't able to escape from Stella’s sharp eyesight. “After all, both of our families run a pharmaceutical business,” Sebastian continued, not giving Stella the time to butt in or cut him off. “And, our grandparents even made an agreement that still needed to be done, am I right?” Stella can’t help but roll her eyes. “Technically, you are a stranger to me,” she fired back. “After all, I don’t remember meeting you before today,” she added. “Besides, whatever our families agreed to in the past, that’s theirs. Don’t involve me in that.” “I’m sorry for that,” Sebastian apologized. “But, I really need to discuss this with you,” he continued. “Whether you like it or not, you are involved in this. You’re a Montoya, aren’t you?” “Please, Miss Stella,” Harold pleaded as he stared directly into Stella’s eyes. “Just give us a few minutes.” “Your eyes won’t work on me,” Stella said indifferently. “It’s not cute, no matter how sincere they are,” she added, as her tone slowly turned colder. The two men standing in front of her, like a pillar, then remained silent for a second, as if they were giving her time to think. “It’s about your parents,” Sebastian said after a few seconds of silence. “My parents?” Stella confirmed as her eyes grew bigger. “What do you mean by that?” she asked. “Do they have a debt on you? Or, did they do something to offend you?” she continued. “But, that’s impossible. Violet and Dad haven’t told me anything in particular,” she added in almost a whisper to herself. A faint smile drew on Sebastian's lips as he saw Stella getting curious. “Are you ready to listen to me now?” he asked. Sebastian tilted his head a little towards the direction of the chairs. And Stella’s eyes followed his action as she immediately understood what he meant. She closed her eyes for a second. “Fine,” Stella gave in after heaving a deep sigh. Sebastian thanked her with a big smile on his face. “Shall we?” he said, tilting his head a bit towards the direction of the table in the middle of the room. Stella followed Sebastian as he walked towards the table filled with different varieties of food. She then thanked Sebastian, after pulling out a chair, before taking his own seat across from her. “I hope these will suit your taste,” Sebastian said as he pointed to the meal he ordered. “Thanks. But, I’m not that hungry,” Stella declined as she took the glass of red wine instead. “This will do,” she added. “Just go on with what you want to discuss.” Sebastian just smiles at Stella while he fixes his tie. He stared straight into Stella’s eyes as he leaned his back and rested his elbows on the armchair. “Stella Montoya, marry me,” Sebastian proposed in a heartbeat without a bit of hesitation. “Marry me,” he repeated after a moment of silence. Sebastian’s voice pulled Stella’s mind back into the present. He was staring straight into Stella’s eyes, as if he could dig a hole there and enter her mind effortlessly. For a moment, her mind went blank while Sebastian’s proposal kept playing in her mind. Stella feels like her ears are playing tricks on her. While she mentally picks up her jaw and eyes that fell on the floor after Sebastian’s out-of-the-blue marriage proposal. “Miss Stella,” Sebastian called her name. “Are you nuts?” Stella asked in disbelief. “I-” “You’re crazy.”