A LETTER TO ROSE ('Casa De Amor')

PROLOGUE

"No. You have no right to doubt my loyalty when it was you who left! You can't think of me as... vile when all I've done is try to keep you safe, both back then and now—"

"And you can't think me a fool either, Jacob," she retorted, cutting in as she couldn't understand his claim. "What do you expect me to believe? That you got married to her to protect me? From what? From whom?"

So much had changed since she left Cantia after the fire to San Francisco and now Madrid. And despite all that had happened- including her new heiress status, she still felt stagnated by his betrayal.

"I was never trying to fool or insult you; like hell, I don't expect you to believe anything I say. But know this, that I would never betray you— ever."

"But you did. You fucking... tore my heart out and trampled on it like it was nothing getting married to Rose!"

"I didn't mean... I had a duty to fulfill; my obligation demanded it. I had to find you and get you back home—"

"And there was no better way, right?" she threw at him with pain etched in her eyes. "Anything else would've been better than... that, and you know it. So, how... how do I—"

Her outburst suddenly reminded him of what Rosa had told him: that he wouldn't be the only one getting hurt if he kept pretending his emotions didn't matter. But on the other hand, her refusal to believe him was only the by-product of her dwindled faith in him.

"I fucked up, okay?! When you left the Home and said that you couldn't trust me to protect you, I knew it was because I had gotten distracted. I was going... mad trying to find you, and it terrified me when I couldn't because time was running out. I only married her because she knew where you were but wouldn't tell me unless I did. If I had other options, I would've—"

"There are always other options, Jacob. But apparently, marrying Rose was more convenient for you, wasn't it?!"

That actuality haunted him so much that it was unavoidable at this point. But what has his avoidance ever solved in the past? 

There was a brief silence between them as she placed the envelope back on the table and was about to leave.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you and made you doubt my loyalty, both back then and now. I'd give anything to make you believe that I would die before ever betraying you on—" he tried to apologize, but she cut him off again.

"It doesn't matter. After all, you're married now, so please focus on safeguarding and rebuilding her trust instead. I'm perfectly fine and safe now, so I don't need it."

It was true that she was no longer keen on revisiting her feelings for him because she had trusted him a couple of weeks ago and believed he was on her side the day she felt the most out-of-place walking into the grand Serrano board office to be presented to its members.

She had just been elevated from a simple old children's home manager to the heiress of the powerful Serrano empire, her late father's legacy.

Standing before the board directors, she had wondered who among those faces had her best interest at heart aside from Jacob. Where does their loyalty lie?

Again, the voice in her head laughed in pain-masked sarcasm. Only a couple of months ago, her thoughts had been entirely different about who was or wasn't on her side.

Back then, her only thoughts were about improving the living conditions of the children under her care in Cantia.

But despite her uneasiness in front of those strict businessmen, Jacob's encouraging presence helped her push aside all doubts and focus only on the task.

So, hopeful that he'd always stand beside her, she promised to do whatever it took to prove she was worthy of the position her late father left behind.

She'd thought that together, they'd face all the challenges that came their way. Regardless of her conflicting emotions for him then, she was certain he wouldn't let her down.

Little did she know that her biggest challenges wouldn't come from her newly acquired company or upholding her late father's legacy but from her new family, her treacherous lover, and the fate she had to be united with.

But to understand anything, we need to start from the time she thought her life couldn't get any worse, from when the old children's home was all she had and when lurking within its walls was a story lying in wait to take her from her familiar world to the opulent and ruthless world of the Serranos.

Back when she and Rose had no idea they would share a similar unexpected fate: a truth that would lead them on a journey of self-discovery, love, family, and betrayal.