Chapter 91 - Consequences

When Persephone and Santiago arrived at the scene where someone was holding a breakfast buffet, they found several peculiar gazes thrown their way. She turned to look at her husband who himself seemed to be equally confused as her. At least, she wasn't the only one who was ignorant of the matter. 

"Umm...what's wrong?" Persephone asked Anne who was pressed against her boyfriend and was mumbling how much her head was throbbing and how cruel Irene was to drag her out of the bed to her breakfast party. 

Anne's boyfriend gestured for her to sit on the chair before facing her and Santiago to explain the situation. "Mr. Mayes is mad." 

Persephone furrowed her brows before saying, "As much as I remember there were no naked dances or orgies. Then, why is he mad? And why are you all staring at me weirdly?" 

"Juliet, you perhaps don't remember, given how drunk you were last night. But you should know that the dangerous stunt you pulled by standing on that platform threatening your husband to kill yourself if he doesn't listen to you...didn't escape Mr. Maye's ears. Plus, he is more mad at Emanuel and Romeo." 

Persephone swallowed on her saliva as her mind went to the activities of last night. Was handling embarrassment not enough that she now had to handle consequences too? 

"Tito had seen Romeo and Emmanuel making out?" Santiago asked the question. 

The boy nodded. 

She looked up at Santiago while asking, "How is this a problem? I mean, isn't it Romeo and Emmanuel's matter?"

Santiago sighed. "Although Tito and Maria seem like caring and jolly people, they are quite traditional. Romeo works under them and they took care of him for a long time. So, it's natural that they would be mad. It's not easy for parents to accept that their child is different from others. Emanuel and Romeo chose each other...well, even if they didn't not...it still can't change the fact that they both are men...and traditional people can't accept it." 

Persephone nodded understanding the root of the problem. She became even more worried thinking what Tito might do to Emanuel. Since he was there because of her and Santiago, she naturally would feel responsible for him. 

Seeing her freaking out, Santiago wrapped his arms around her shoulder. "I will take care of this." 

She relaxed a little after hearing him but not completely. 

"You guys know Emanuel from before," Irene, who was quietly sitting beside Santiago for a long time, made herself visible. Her words were not asked in a questioning manner rather in a conviction. 

Unfortunately, Anne's boyfriend also heard them. He looked at them in shock and confusion. 

"Don't react and stop making everyone cautious," Irene said in a neutral voice while flashing a smile at everyone. She didn't let anyone feel as if they were discussing a completely different topic. 

It was Santiago who spoke next in his usual bored and slightly chilling voice, "You need not pretend to not know me…"His gaze was locked on Irene. "However, if you know...I hope you will keep your mouth shut… yet, if you choose to talk about it to anyone...you are free...but I will not take any kind of responsibility. I will not be responsible for the consequences of knowing my identity." 

"Consequences?" The boy gulped. Who was this man emitting bloodlust? 

"Yeah..like kidnapped and tortured," Persephone added nonchalantly. "If you don't believe us...ask Emmanuel...he will brief you on what he experienced in the few hours he spent with us." 

The boy turned to look at Irene who was now studying Persephone and hopefully asked in a whisper, "They are planning us, right?"

Irene reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "As long as you forget what we talked about, you will live. However, if you dare open your mouth before Uncle or my dad...I can't help you then, cousin." 

"Can you at least tell me who this man is exactly? I don't want to die before fulfilling my curiosity," the boy asked his cousin. 

"Oh, he is a nobody," Irene replied to him with a shrug. "Just His Majesty's right-hand man." 

The boy hitched in his breath. She calls him nobody? Her father was nobody in front of this man. Damm, he has been bad-mouthing him since last night. Dear God, what sins had he committed? 

"Ah?" Persephone tilted her head to the side and looked at her 'fake' husband in confusion. "Are you that powerful?" 

Santiago raised his brow at her and asked, "What do you think?"

"I always knew that you were someone with a lot of power but doesn't know how exactly… even now I don't know who you are...what you do… and to be honest, I don't even want to know…"Persephone smiled at him. 

Santiago didn't say anything just took a bite of the food served to him. 

"So, are you two really a couple?" Irene asked when everyone had left the table after breakfast but Persephone was still stuffing food inside her glutton body. 

Persephone paused what she was doing and tilted her head to look at Irene before saying, "What does this have to do with, Miss Irene? Don't tell me you have a crush on a married man? Aww...I know my man is handsome and desirable but I haven't known that even teenage girls such as you can't resist the temptation of coveting an older and experienced man." 

Irene's face was now resembling that of a stuffed red fuming dragon. She was so mad, so mad at this plain Jane that she couldn't express it in mere words. 

Never had any fearless of the fearless woman in the country ever dared to insult her openly. But this ugly woman, who came out of nowhere, was spouting nonsense nonstop. 

She was Irene Hawthorne… she belong to a noble family. This wild woman can't just insult her. 

"Red?" Santiago murmured. 

"Hmm?" Persephone looked at him. 

"Stop causing trouble unnecessarily. She didn't mean what you are thinking, right Miss Hawthorne?" Santiago said with a slight smile. 

Having no other option, Irene nodded. 

… 

"Villain, we should go inside," Persephone murmured as she looked above and found dark clouds enveloping the sky. The sun was nowhere to be seen, the breeze had long turned into a mini storm.

Santiago hummed in reply. He glanced at Persephone, who was clutching her jacket while shivering. He wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pressed against him to provide her a bit of warmth. 

"What are you doing?" She couldn't help but ask. 

"Providing you warmth. You are shivering in this little cold," Santiago said as if he was wronged by her question. 

"Uhuh…"

"What do you mean by 'Uhuh'?"

"It means I don't understand your behavior at all. We have been here for a week now… you have been hot and cold with me… I don't even know how to behave with you...you confuse the hell out of me." Persephone directly said to him. She didn't know what was wrong with this man. Sometimes, he would be 'hot' as in extremely passionate about their bed activities. And other times, he would just ignore her as if she wasn't even sharing the same room with him. 

"You are reading too much of our agreement," Santiago scowled at her. 

"Agreement?" Persephone stopped to look at him. "What agreement are you talking about?"

"Did you forget the deal you made with me on the island?"Santiago asked her as if she had lost her fucking brain. 

Oh, yeah, she had… 

"Are you kidding me?" Persephone's voice was a little loud. 

"Excuse me?" Santiago was now thoroughly confused. 

"You were fucking me because of that agreement?" Persephone questioned. When she saw him giving her a strange look, she chuckled. 

She chuckled at her own stupidity. Oh god, she was so naive. She read too much into his sweet gestures. 

"Red…"

"Don't," She smiled at him. "I was crazy to think…"

"To think what?" See, he was cold again. She didn't know how to deal with him. He was so bad for her. As if realization dawned on him slowly, his grip around her shoulder loosened and he took a step back as if she was now disgusting him with her presence. "You literally thought there was something going on between us romantically? Were you deluded for a moment that we are indeed a real couple? Did I fucking give you hope?" 

"You didn't…" Persephone whispered as tears clouded her vision. "I give myself hope...you didn't...you are not at the fault here." 

"Are these tears even real, Red?" Santiago accused her. "I can't trust you… you have a tendency to bite me to death when I least expect it. You did the same on the island… you were ready to give me your body to get something in return… I can't trust a manipulative woman like you." 

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