Chapter 152 - 23 YEARS AGO, ENZO'S LOVE

Jillyanna and Travis were happily leaving their life despite the danger that's lurking behind them. They trusted each other and they also gave their trust to the people around them.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo Diaz met his lawyer. He didn't want to bail out for what he had done. He wanted to repent for his mistakes and face Elizabeth on the other side one day.

"Mr. Diaz, is this all that you wanted to do? I mean, base on what happened, you were only suppose to stay here for a year. What will you do when you come then?" The lawyer asked with worry. As far as he know, they could've won the case but his client didn't want that to happen.

"I am fine. I'll think about it when the time comes. Just keep what I have asked of you." he said to the man in front of him.

After a few weeks of staying inside the jail, his temperament changed a lot. He's rather calm and collected with what happened to him.

The lawyer stood up and gave him a gentle pat on his shoulder. "If you need anything else just let me know." Then he left him alone sitting on the bench.

Lorenzo stood up after a few minutes and went back to his room with the police officer escorting him. He sat on his bunk bed and stared blankly into space.

Everything happened so fast that he didn't know how things turned out this way. It was like a nightmare that he wanted so much to escape but he couldn't wake himself up.

23 years ago...

"Did you know that Elizabeth's family are well-known? Even though she's not favored within her family, she's rich and she would most-likely be married to someone of the same status as her." Venus told him one time when they grabbed some food from the cafeteria for lunch.

"Do you think her parents will like me?" Lorenzo asked Venus who's in the same department as him.

"I am not really sure. If you really want to be with her, you should start saving." Venus told him, laughing softly like she was just kidding him.

Either she was joking or not, Lorenzo thought of it almost everyday. In the end, he decided to take up different part-time jobs during his free time to save some money.

He worked as a waiter in a cafe. He learned bartending in order to get the job at the bar. He worked as a tutor. Sometimes, he would work as a construction worker when a project needed a lot of man power. He did everything he could.

"Hey man! You've been sleeping in the class for the past weeks now. If you aren't smart, the prof would've kicked you out already." His classmate told him when they walked to their research lab.

"I had to do some part-time jobs." he responded honestly in a muffled voice as he covered his mouth to yawn.

"Didn't you get a 100% scholarship? You even get allowance every semester. Why are you working like a carabao?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I tell you." Lorenzo mocked him before entering the laboratory.

His eyes found the woman who owned his heart so he walked up to her. "Need help?" He asked Elizabeth who was busy checking on her dish.

"No thanks. I'm doing fine." she answered while observing her experiment. "By the way, do you have time this Saturday?"

"I'm sorry but I have work on that day." Lorenzo answered guiltily.

"It's fine. It's nothing important." Elizabeth said and continued working. "Don't work too much. You look so pale like dead already."

"Hn. I won't. I'll stop when I have enough savings."

They talked for a while before he walked to his station and started working on his experiment. He knew what's going to happen on Saturday but he wanted to surprise her so he lied earlier.

Saturday came and Elizabeth was upset. She didn't contact him and he didn't contact her either. The day passed by quickly and it was around nine in the evening that he finished his works. He bought her a gift and a cake before visiting her in the girls' dormitory.

He asked her roommate if she was still awake and they replied positively to him. Their curfew starts at 10 o'clock so he only got less than an hour to celebrate her birthday with her.

Elizabeth came down to the dorm's lobby and found him. "What are you doing here?"

"Happy birthday." Lorenzo greeted him and handed the cake and gift to her.

Her tears started falling on her face from different emotions. She was really upset and now she's happy. "I hate you. I thought you forgot my birthday. I didn't even go home because I wanted to celebrate it with you."

Lorenzo put down the cake and pulled her in his arms for a hug. "Sorry I upset you. I really have to work today but I didn't forget your birthday. I even get you a present ahead of time. Here."

Elizabeth opened it and found a bracelet with their initials engraved on the silver plate. "I love it. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." He hugged her again to at least support himself. He was a bit dizzy and his vision was getting blurry. "It's almost curfew time. I need to get back to the dorm. You go back inside now."

"Hn. Take care on your way there."  Elizabeth kissed his face and waved her hand to bid farewell.

He was really thankful that the lights on the lobby were a bit dim and she didn't notice anything wrong with him.

With staggering body, he forced himself to walk back to his dorm. He would sometimes find a place to sit so he could take a rest and calm himself.

He knocked on the door of his dorm room and just as his roommate opened it for him, he fell on the floor unconscious.

"Hey Enzo! Enzo are you okay?" his roommate dragged him inside the room. "Working your ass off like this, you'll end up dead in no time." He scolded even though the person couldn't argue back.

He helped him lie on his bed and put on a wet cloth on his forehead. He was having a fever already but he was still forcing himself.

The next day, he acted like nothing happened and still continued working. "I need few more money to pay the downpayment and another payment for the monthly installment." Lorenzo sighed while looking at his savings book.

His parents died when he was in highschool but he didn't know anyone who's related to his parents so he could only work on his own. Good thing was that, there was a teacher who needed a student assistant. He applied for it and started working. When he became a university student, he got a scholarship so he didn't need to worry plus there was an allowance. However, he met Elizabeth. To fit within her world, he started working again.

"How about we go on a date this weekend?" Elizabeth asked him one afternoon after their class.

"Sure. I don't have to cover a shift on that day. We can go after seven in the evening." Lorenzo responded. "I need to go somewhere in the afternoon."

"Okay. I'll send the address to you and wait." Elizabeth said excitedly. "It's been a while since we had our last date."

"I think it was two months ago." Lorenzo said guiltily as he scratched the tip of his nose. Since he started working, the time they spent together was so little.

"It's fine." Elizabeth answered. "Just don't overwork yourself." She really wanted to know why he's wanted so much money when he's got enough from his scholarship but she just couldn't bring herself to ask him.

The day of their date came and they chose to watch a movie. In the end, Lorenzo fell asleep halfway from so much exhaustion. He didn't tell her yet, but he was busy checking on the thing he wanted to buy for her. He had to travel to different places to get the suitable one that he likes for her.

It wasn't just that single time. Everytime they went for a date, he would either end up sleeping on her or they would just cancel it because he couldn't come.

Elizabeth never blamed him. She was very understanding and would always remind him to take care of himself specially that he works a lot. She would sometimes bring him lunch or buy medicine for him.

It lasted until they were halfway through their senior year. Lorenzo had to leave for United States with his mentor regarding some research. Before leaving, he was told that the surprise was fully complete and he can check on it any time.

"I'll be back in two weeks time. I'll check on it when I get back." Lorenzo told the agent over the phone. He had been working so hard for it. He didn't want anyone to tell him that he's living off of her because she's rich. He wanted to show them that he can do everything for the person he loves.

While he was away, Elizabeth was locked up on her room. She didn't tell him the reason and she didn't contact him during his research training as well. He thought everything was going on the right direction.

But reality and expectations were two different things. He was so worked up with his surprise that he didn't notice her sad tone. He thought she was just missing him.

When he came back, he called her again. He was planning to take a rest before visiting her and bring her to the place where he bought the surprise. She answered on his first call but on the next day, she had turned off her phone.

He went to work where they were having their internship and looked for Venus. "Venus, do you know what happened to Elizabeth? She's not answering my calls."

"I was about to ask you the same things. I haven't heard anything from her."

"That's weird, she still answered my call yesterday. Can you tell me her address? I wanted to know how she's doing."

"Sure. Just give me a minutes." she walked back to her station and looked for a piece of paper. She wrote down her address and gave the paper to him. "I am not sure if she's there but, this is their home."

"Thanks a lot. I'll check on her later." Though he was worried, he was still a little relieved that he knew where to find her.

After his internship, he bought some fruits as a gift for his sudden visit. They let him inside the house but it was as clear as day that they didn't want to see him there.

"Elizabeth isn't home. You may go now." It was her father who spoke rudely at him.

"If I may ask, do you know where she is? I mean, I have to talk to her. I don't have any ill-intentions towards your daughter. I just need to give her something."

"Your love isn't needed in this family. You better break up with her or I'll break you." Her father warned him and nobody stopped him at all. They were even snickering at him like he was an idiot in front of them.

Lorenzo knew that he couldn't force himself so he went home to think for a different way. His surprise was currently postponed since he couldn't get a hold of Elizabeth.

A week passed and there was still no words from her. He couldn't get any glimpse of her in their house so he started to believe that she wasn't there. He asked some of her acquaintances if they knew where she was but nobody knew. Even Venus didn't know what's going on. She wasn't even allowed to contact anyone from Elizabeth's household.

She started thinking differently and her worry intensified each day. She was getting anxious since she didn't know what's happening on her end.

One day, like lightning striking cold to people's hearts, the news of Elizabeth being married off to a businessman spread like wildfire. Lorenzo and Venus were stunned with the news as well. They just couldn't believe it.

She called her father as soon as possible and found out the truth. They weren't informed about such event until the wedding day itself. It was a shotgun wedding and many thought that Elizabeth was pregnant.

Lorenzo wanted to hear the news directly from his girlfriend but she wasn't answering his calls. His world started to crumble and his heart was breaking apart.

His head was hanging low when he arrived to the place where his surprise was waiting for him. It took him three years to finally bought it and almost all of his savings were invested in it.

"You are of no use to me now." He murmured while staring at the 2-storey house that he bought. "I worked so hard for you, to fit in your world, to give you the best in the world. In the end, I got nothing at all."

He cried his heart out. When his parents died, he wasn't this hurt because he knew that they would leave due to an illness. He was prepared at that time. Now, with her sudden disappearance, his heart wasn't prepared at all. He was still expecting that everything was fine but in reality, she already abandoned him.

"I must be just a past time while she awaits for her marriage. She wasn't really serious with this relationship. No wonder, she didn't get mad at me when I slept during our date. No wonder she didn't really care if I won't show up. I am so pathetic. This life is so pathetic!" he mocked himself again and again while laughing sarcastically.

"I was such a fool. How did I even end up like this? Was I wrong to love her? Everything that we had, was it all a lie? Didn't I deserve someone who can truly love me and stay with me? Why? Why did I even work tirelessly for this house? Why did I sacrifice my sleeping hours to work? What was all these for?! Ha?! Why did Iove you?! Why did it have to be you?!"

His shouts and cries echoed inside the house. He was so heartbroken that he didn't care about the expensive things he bought. He threw them all out and broke everything that's within his sight.

The house was a complete mess. It was a contrast to how elegant it looked when he first came. "I hate all of you! I hate you!" He shouted with his hoarse voice while throwing their pictures on the ground.

Thinking all about this, Lorenzo couldn't stop his tears from falling. He knew he still love her after all these years and it hurts him everytime he remembered that she was married to someone else.

"If I knew, I wouldn't want to feel love." Enzo whispered as he wiped off the tears from his face. "After 23 years, I still couldn't forget her."