FIRST ENCOUNTER.

Anthonio.  

"Grandma—"he said, falling to his knees beside her bed.  "My son—" her old palm greased his face as she reached out to him.  

"Don’t say anything; I’ll take care of you and do anything to save you. Please hang in there." He hugged her as tears streaked down his cheeks.  

"Listen to me; there’s so much I haven’t told you about your source, Anthonio. I want you to be happy and live a good life. Don’t do anything stupid because you want to save me. I raised you well—" she clung to his face, wiping off the tears.  

"It’s not dangerous, grandma; I’ll be getting married; I have to; we got kicked out of our home, and I have spent all our money on the bills; Moreover, you need surgery soon," he responded sadly.  

His grandmother’s voice weakened, and he couldn’t hear her speak. "Don’t worry, I’ll go back to them; reserve your strength, and I’ll be back for you." He kissed her and went to the doctor.  

"The surgery will cost ten million dollars. There are no hearts on the seat; the demand for it suddenly went up, and you know, I don't own the hospital; a new management came in power and we had to override the list," the doctor tendered without a tip of conscience.  

"That’s wickedness—you should follow the list; my grandmother was due in two weeks!" Anthonio roared vilely. "If you had paid beforehand, I might have pushed for a spot; I am sorry," the doctor pushed with sarcasm.

"Money is everything to them; I think I know what to do; at least keep my grandmother safe; can you at least do that?" Anthonio slammed the door on his way out. He took his smartphone and called Santiago, but the call kept buzzing off. He rode his motorcycle down to the hotel where they worked.  

"Hey man—I have been calling you all day; why haven’t you been answering?" He tapped him on the back.

Santiago yelled, "Leave me the hell alone! We got kicked out, and it’s just because of you! How can you be so selfish? Will you watch your grandmother die just to keep your pride? I hope you know we have been blacklisted and can’t work anywhere in this country. So even if we graduate, we won’t get far!"  

Anthonio’s hands dropped weakly, and he rested on the wall. "I came to tell you that I have accepted the offer; I am doing it for grandma."

Santiago dropped the mop in his hand and embraced Anthonio."Now you’re talking, so what job are they giving you? I know so much about being a bodyguard, I can give you some tips—why are you looking moody?"

"I have to get married to his daughter."

Santiago heaved a loud sigh and resumed his work like he had done nothing serious. "You’re out of your mind, man; can we swap bodies? I’ll do anything to get that pretty woman. We’re not even worthy to stand before here, Mr.Valdez si her father and wait—" he rushed to Anthonio and grabbed him by the shirt.  

"Damien will be your brother-in-law? hell no!"  

~

Anthonio wandered back and forth continuously with anxiety as he and Santiago waited in the lobby in the VVIP spot of the hotel to meet up with Mr.Valdez and his daughter Isabelle, as he had already called to accept their offer.  

"I am so nervous; do you think she’ll like me?" Santiago asked Anthonio freakishly, and he hissed loudly.  "You’re not the one getting into a forced marriage, not you! Why bother if she likes you?"  

The resounding echoes of a heel studding against the glassy tiles caught their attention, and they peered in anticipation to see who had stepped in.

Isabelle appeared in a short gown that swayed as she waved stylishly in front of her bodyguard.  "Good afternoon, ma’am. What about your father?" Anthonio asked courteously.

"Give him the papers; he’s not coming; I’ll make my rules clear to you," Isabelle uttered crusily, shunning his warm greetings and those of his friend.  

Her bodyguard handed Anthonio a marriage certificate. "When you append your signature, it means we’re married. A weak man who has no say for himself is not the one I want to end my life with. I came back home to be happy and not get tangled up with a miscreant like you, Anthonio."

"Don’t get me wrong; I am happy you saved my life, but I wish you didn't. You will obey me and abide by my rules; append your signature if you agree," she flipped her hair as she mandated.  

Anthonio’s thumb clicked the pen several times, making sounds until all eyes were on his nudging thumb. "So I will live by your own rules and those of your father? I don’t think your father included that, and it’s not here in the contract. I am doing this not because I am a fool but because I have no other option."

Isabelle rolled her fluffy, bright eyes at him and hissed. "Hurry up and sign; father said we have dinner at the Rochester’s in five minutes; you should come with a gift,"

Anthonio applied his signature, clinging to his grandmother’s necklace in his hands, and whispered. "I’ll save you at all costs, even if it means giving up everything."

He handed the documents over to her lawyer, and they stamped them without giving him a copy. He wanted to complain, but Santiago held him back. "We do not fight with someone who’s feeding us; just let it go; you've done the hardest already."

They escorted Isabelle back to the sport car that brought her to the location. Thinking they would go back to Rochester’s mansion together, Santiago took steps closer to her, but her bodyguards stopped him. "Are you crazy? You roach- and bug-infested individuals really think you can ride with us?" he spoke dejectedly at them.

"But—they’re married now, right? Should they?" Santiago argued furiously, and they almost kicked him out of the way with the car. Anthonio was overwhelmed. "We shouldn't be late; let’s go after them on my bike," he uttered maturely.

"Won’t you change your clothes? At least wear something nice; it sounds like it would be some grand meeting with Don Richard; he’s like a god," Santiago mustered appraisingly.

Anthonio mounted his bike and honked at him without giving a response until he got to the first gate that bridged Rochester's mansion. The security guard stopped him for an I.D. "Sorry, I don't have them on, but I was invited—"  Anthonio responded respectfully, still zooming on his bike. The security guards examined him from head to toe and back to his motorcycle. "You mean as one of the servants or what? You can’t go in with this thrash, and if you’re serving, it’s that way!" they addressed him degradingly. Anthonio shook his head painstakingly and turned off his bike.  

"How about you check a list or put a call through them? They invited me," Anthonio endeavoured to explain.

The clouds in the sky suddenly became darker, and the rain drizzled. "Man, you will be arrested if you don’t leave. Take a look at the car entering and the men dressed for the occasion; do you meet up with them?" One of the security guards approached him demandingly.  Anthonio’s eyes took a ride through the road, and he was right. Chevrolets, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, and other magnificent sport cars raced in without anyone stopping them, while he and his friend, who came earlier, were stuck and drenched in the rain.  

"Anyway, I’ll do you a favor; I’ll go and ask, so wait here!"  The guard took pity on them because they were fully drenched and cold. "T—Thank you," Anthonio blurted lowly.  

Santiago hissed and honked at him by the collar. "Why couldn’t you tell them you’re now an in-law to the Valdez’s? That's power, you fool; look at us drenched in the rain!"  

Anthonio placed his hands on the string grip and loosed it.  "I am proud of it; I feel like they bought me with their power and money; there’s nothing to show off about,"

The security guard arrived with a different impression; he looked at him with a mild smile and told him to go in. Anthonio and Santiago had to walk on their feet for some miles before they got inside the mansion. "This is not earth; look, the floor looks like it’s made of pure gold," Santiago flurried, marveling at the ambience the mansion beheld.  The part Anthonio saw this morning was nothing compared to the inside.  The living room was filled with guests chattering and clanking their glasses for a cheer. Anthonio felt reluctant to get in; their clothes were drenched, and he knew he wouldn’t fit in.  

"What are you doing out there?" "Hurry up, Don Richard will soon be in here with us!" Mr. Valdez’s right-hand man roared madly. Santiago floored him, giving him back the same rude energy. "Really, are you blind? We are drenched!"

The guard threw Santiago out forcefully and made sure Anthonio did nothing about it by pointing a gun to his head. "No one disrespects me; I am a personal bodyguard, and you are a slave bought with money! Know your place!"  

Anthonio laid his head low, bowed to the ground, and was buried in shame. "Go down this lane, just keep going straight, and then stop at the second room by your right; Damien has two suits; pick the least best one there! You have two minutes; get lost,"

He nodded and walked down the route he described, lost in thought. He entered a room that was dark and silent. "Did I take the wrong description? Oh, NO! There's like a million rooms in this mansion," he asked himself reflexively.

The lights suddenly came on, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ahhh," he screamed mildly so he wouldn’t draw attention, and he shifted his gaze over his shoulder to see who startled him.  

A smile toned up on his lips as he beheld her. It was a middle-aged woman who was beautiful and down-to-earth. She appeared pale, and it seemed they locked her up in that room.

"I am sorry, ma'am. I think I must have missed my way. Please forgive me. I’ll go away now." He bowed and apologized. Pondering in his heart who she might be. They were having a large gathering, and only she was locked up in here.

The woman gave no reply, but her gaze was fixed on him. Her hand slowly went to his hair, bringing some strands closer to her nose, and she sniffed them in as she touched them.

"Ahhh, the dye is falling off; I should go now." He tried to leave, but she held him back with a tight grip. Anthonio’s heart was beating faster, racing against his ribcage.  

"You can’t leave me again; please, I beg you. I went through hell when you left, Richarlison. Look at me—" His voice increased greatly, and Anthonio panicked, not knowing what to do. The guard rushed in suddenly and held her down. A nurse followed them and injected her. "Who are you?" one of the guards asked, delivering a big blow to his jaws.  

"Arrrh!" he writhed. "I missed my way. It’s a mistake," he explained, but they didn’t believe him; they held him down and threatened to beat him to a pulp until he confessed who sent him to spy on Don Richard Rochester.  

Anthonio kept pleading and explaining. He told them to get Mr. Valdez’s right-hand man to clear his name and prove he didn't invade the place. They locked him up in a room without saying a word.  

"Why did that woman call me a Richarlison? I think I am thinking too much; she’s deranged," he said, banging the wall tremblingly. "I just want this done and over with so I can save my grandmother," he said, holding himself up in a brace.  

He soon resumed brooding, as he was still scared of his scary encounter with the beautiful woman. "Who is Richarlison? She looked so sure of what she was saying. Could it be..?" The door flanged open, and they dragged him out.