Chapter 160 - OFFER

Maki was Tala's people, if her father knew this, Datu Pita wouldn't forgive him. He was her accomplice after all. If he would reveal his alliance with her and her schemes to Datu Pita. She was certain that Maki would die in her father's hands. 

Tala was planning on killing Yanarym together with her father but she thought it's better to use her unnecessary veneer beauty. If she offers her to Datu Achis, maybe this lovesick man will get over his bride. Also, Tala could keep Achis under control if her umbo became his wife. Any man would go crazy for her, take Maki as an example. 

"...alive? Dead?" Achis, actually, was a man who had gone crazy for Yanarym long before Tala could think of it, had his mind in chaos. 

"Yes, she's the first daughter of Datu Pita, Yanar." Tala said, "Umbo Yanar is nothing comparable to any woman too. If you see her just once, you might fall for her. If that happens, you might reconsider things about your bride." Achis gulps and looks at Tala. "If you agree on the alliance between us once again, I will offer you my umbo's life. She will all be yours after Datu Pita's death."

"What do you mean by that? H-have you found her?"

"Found her? No, she came back on Datu Pita's balay. Although I don't know where she had gone for the past months she was gone."

Is she there? All along? But why did he not see her? He had Datu Pita's banwa and balay under surveillance but none even her shadow was found in there. 

"She came back?" He whispered under his breath. 

"Then, what about this Datu Achis? Do you agree? You seemed to be interested in my Umbo, you will not regret having her." Achis redirected his gaze back to Tala and pressed his lips together. 

"I want to see her first." Tala widened her smile.

"Alright, based on her daily routine, she would be bathing at the falls at midnight. You can see her there." 

"At midnight?"

"Yes, she was hiding the fact that she came back home, I don't know why though. But Maki seems to know why or maybe she is aware that someone is after her life." 

Tala heard that Maki did not deliver Yanarym to Datu Achis that night and Maki was the one who took her innocence. She was bewildered when she heard the truth and asked him if he was the one who killed her too but he said no. She had gone missing and was found dead later. That was what they assumed, but she was alive all along. 

Now, she wanted to laugh while doing this negotiation. In the end, her umbo will still be delivered to Achis. Like they were meant to meet. 

"However, I must tell you Datu. My umbo is no longer a virgin, her innocence was taken away by my known brother, Maki. Despite that, I can guarantee you that she is still worth..." 

"Maki?" That explained why that warrior was so hostile to him. That man... was he the one who had Yanarym that night too? He was the reason for all of this?!

"Yes, do you remember that time when you held a banquet in this banwa a long time ago? When my umbo went missing?"

"I do." That night, and the next morning he found her… 

"Maki was supposed to send her to your bedroom, but he took her for himself. I am telling you about this to say that she is meant for you. From the start, she was supposed to be yours." 

Yanarym felt the cold wind grazing her skin as she raised her body out of the water. She looked at the darkness in the forest then looked up to the bright full moon illuminating her sight on the river. She was all alone as she sneaked out of the house when Maki and Lapil had already fallen asleep; she did this daily as she felt comfortable bathing in nature. After all, she couldn't do this if she was in the twenty-first century. 

She relaxed her body and laid on the flowing water, she continued to stare at the moon while meditating. Honestly, she doesn't find this ancient era troublesome anymore. She was not just used to this… but she was appreciating it, like a vacation in provinces. 

Time passed by, she became alert when she heard rustling in the bushes, she stood up from backstroking and looked around to find where the noise came from. 

Guide-sama: "It's Achis." Right on the cue when Guide-sama told her who it was. 

"Rym." He called her out with a gentle voice and a wry smile. Yanarym examines his physique and finds out how much weight he lost, and his cheeks sunk too. His eyes were exhausted but she could see happiness in them. He was delighted, seeing her again. 

Overall, he is still the handsome young man she knew, it's just he lost some muscles. 

"A-achis?" He smiled at her and knelt on the riverside. 

"I'll wait for you to finish," he mumbled on his breath that she almost couldn't hear. "I won't do anything foolish, I will wait for you here. So, don't run away."

Complying with what he said, he did not move from his spot and watched her intently. 

Yanarym was not flustered, she was expecting him to show up anyway. After all, she orchestrated this to happen. She was just startled that he had moved fast. 

After some time of deciding, she concluded that she had to go back to Achis. No one could teach her better than her old teacher. He knew her progression in learning swords too. If she looked for another teacher, it would be chaotic. Learning back from the beginning, she doesn't want to get back on square one.

But she can't leave the other men too, that's why she has to make Achis come here.. She had to negotiate with him and say sorry, she wants him on her side.