Knight in Shining Suit (50 page)

“
Paris is sometimes too
independent, too tough, and too smart for her own good. I worry
about the guys she dates. I want her to marry well, you
know.”

My heart sank. Did all
rich people have this unwritten rule to marry within their
circle?

“
It’s different with
Ryder, of course,” Helen said, not even looking at me. “He could
marry whoever he likes. He’s going to be the head of this family.
And he’s practically made well for himself. His wife’s job would be
to keep him sane and happy. Paris’s future husband, however, must
make sure she continues living as comfortably as she is now. I
would hate for her to end up with a good-for-nothing man who would
not only mess up his life, but also exhaust all of Paris’s share of
the family’s wealth.”

She had a point. She’s not
judging people based on wealth. She just didn’t want a douche to
end up with her daughter. I guess, I could live with
that.

“
I’m sure Paris would be
responsible enough to know that.”

She sighed. “Yes. You
know, her father always sets her up with a man?”

I raised a
brow.

“
Yes. She hates it. And
she does everything she can do to defy him to the point that she
embarrasses the guys he sets up for her. I guess he probably tried
to fix her up with at least five guys and all of them don’t even
want to be the same room as Paris now.”

I bit my lip to prevent
myself from laughing. I couldn’t believe that delicate, sweet, and
innocent Paris had a naughty, feisty side. It was enlightening to
hear, actually.

Just then, we were
interrupted by their butler. He looked at Helen, but he refused to
look at me.

“
Mister… Mister Ryder said
he… isn’t feeling well,” he said, but his voice lack the
conviction, so I’m thinking that wasn’t the real reason I couldn’t
see Ryder. And judging the Ryder I last spoke to, I’m sure his
butler is finding it so hard to rephrase the words he said as to
why he couldn’t see me.

I fought back the tears
that threatened to spill from my eyes. I couldn’t show Helen how
hurt I was. She would feel guilty, I know.

“
That’s… that’s okay. I
think he needs more time.” I said quietly.

For the first time, the
butler looked at me. He gave me an apologetic smile, which
confirmed my earlier suspicion that Ryder didn’t want to see me on
purpose.

I nodded at him
slightly.

Helen must have sensed
this, too. And I know she felt sorry for me. “Well, since my son is
unable to see you, I think you have some free time on your hands,
right?”

I nodded.

“
Come, sweetheart. I
wanted to go shopping today and I needed better company than Paris.
Her taste in clothes is sometimes too different from mine. Would
you mind spending the afternoon at the mall with me?” Helen
asked.

How could I say no? I know
Helen would like to do something for me to make me feel
better.

“
Thank you, Helen,” I
said. “If you think I would be good company, then I would be happy
to come with you.”

Ryder’s mother obviously
likes shopping. And it’s no surprise to me that almost all the
sales staff of the luxurious brands knew her. I decided to relax
and be myself. I did one of the things that I actually do best. I
critiqued the clothes she chose as well as the bags and jewelry. I
guess one of the perks of my job is learning what has class and
screams elegance, whether in detail or in whole. I think I actually
impressed Helen with my skills. She was complimenting me about
it.

“
Now, I know why you are
good at what you do, dear,” she said when we were having
coffee.

“
I guess I always had it
in me,” I said. “I love what I do. It’s effortless for
me.”

Just then, Helen handed me
a paper bag from Cartier.

“
This is for you,
dear.”

I shook my head. “Helen,
no,” I said. “I couldn’t accept this. It’s not even my
birthday.”

She laughed. She took out
a box from the bag. “I would like to thank you for your
company.”

“
And you’re welcome. I
enjoyed myself. But you didn’t have to give me something in
return,” I said.

She opened the box and I
saw a beautiful platinum bracelet.

“
It’s my thank you gift,
not just for today, dear,” she said. “This is to thank you for
loving my son patiently.” She took the bracelet and locked it on my
wrist. “And to remind you to always find the strength to fight for
both of you.”

Tears brimmed my eyes as I
stared back at Ryder’s mother.

“
I’m so sorry, Astrid.”
When she looked at me, her eyes were welling up with tears, too.
Helen hugged me. “I know that my son chose the right woman. I know
how much he loves you! But he’s always been like this. Thinking
that every woman he finds is just after his money. I know that when
he gets better, you will be the first person he will look for. If
he only remembers that the reason why you two didn’t happen quickly
is because you didn’t want him to be rich, that you were more
thrilled with him when he was a bartender.”

I wiped the tears from my
cheeks. “I don’t know how to make him find his way back to me. And
I’m so scared that everyday, I lose him more and more.”

“
Just wait, my dear.” His
mother said. “He’s still the same man. Somewhere in that stubborn
mind of his, is the man who lives and dies for you.”

She squeezed my hand. I
touched the bracelet that she gave me and I smiled back at
her.

“
Thank you,” I said. “And
I hope you are right.”

“
He’s my son. I know he
will find a way back to you.”

And I could only hope that
it was still true. That the man I love will wake up from this
trance and remember what a good thing we have. The good thing that
is waiting for him.

27.

PRENUP:

A legal document filed
before marriage that states what would happen to the couple when
they get divorced, particularly in terms of their finances and
property.

Ryder.

F
our months since the accident, and I’m slowly returning to my
old shape. My wounds have healed. Minor broken bones and stitches…
nothing I cannot recover from.

Except for one—the wound
in my brain. There is still this veil that keeps one year of my
life from my consciousness.

One
year
. I thought, how significant could
that year be? I can read year-end reports from my businesses and I
should be fine. I can spend a day on the net and catch up on what
happened to the world.

I can heal from this and
still go on with my life. No hassles.

I feel normal. I feel like
nothing happened at all. I still have the people I love around me.
Paris has grown to be responsible, taking care of some of my
branches. My mother is still doing a great job managing some of our
businesses. Janis and Jake are still the same. Both are still pains
in my ass sometimes. Still the same in love couple that cannot
resist making out even when I’m around. My dad still has a fetish
for marriage and divorce.

Everything is fine.
Normal.

It’s only when they bring
up her name that things start to feel hazy. It feels like when I
look back, a huge portion of my life is covered in thick black
smoke. Something is there. But I don’t know what it is. And she is
a big part of that missing piece of the puzzle.

Who was she? How did I
find her? How did I fall in love with her?

Everybody who is ever
close to me told me that I was head over heels in love with her.
But how could I be? I don’t know her. I don’t remember her. How
could I love somebody that I barely know? How could I fall in love
with somebody I met less than a year ago? It’s just so… unlike
me!

“
Are you okay, man?” Jake
asked behind me. I was staring at our estate through my balcony,
doing my favorite pastime since the accident—thinking.

I shrugged.

“
Astrid came yesterday.
Did you see her?” he asked.

“
Nope!” I replied curtly.
“I told the butler to tell her that I am feigning a brain trauma,
and thus I could not come down to see her.”

“
Shit man!” Jake cursed
beside me. “Why are you purposely hurting Astrid?”

“
I doubt that she was
hurt. Remember, she’s a rock!” I said.

I have to admit I admire
her spirit. She doesn’t give up. She keeps coming back here, flying
from Malibu to New York every week, coming to my mother’s house,
asking to see me. And every time, she goes away with the same
results. She ends up speaking to either Paris or my mother, but
never did I come down to see her.

“
Ryder, I know you were
like this. You just didn’t care much about women. You looked at
them the same way. After your money, gold-diggers. You are too
guarded! But Astrid is…”

“
Shut up, Jake! You’re
supposed to be on my side. I don’t want to hear about Astrid! If I
hear any one of you tell me again how in love I was with her, I
swear, I will kill myself!”

“
But you are, asshole!”
Jake snorted at me.

“
I can’t love somebody I
do not know, genius! That’s just the way I am. I will not fall for
a woman that easily. She must have… I don’t know… given me a love
potion or something. I am telling you. That woman is no different
from the rest. She’s with me because she wants the life that I
could give her. She’s already manipulated me… and you.”

Jake stared at me for a
long while. Then he sighed. “Ryder, when that cloud in your brain
goes away, I want you to repeat this conversation over and over in
your head and you will realize just how much I wanted to punch you
right now. In fact, I believe when you do get better, the first
thing you would want to do is kill yourself!” And then he walked
away from me.

So much for being a
shrink!
I thought to myself, shaking my
head.

Great! Even my best friend
is taking Astrid’s side. What is it about her? What makes her so
special that all the people close to me are practically worshipping
the ground she walks on?

Ugh! I don’t want to know.
I specifically asked Janis, Paris, and Jake not to tell me about
Astrid. I don’t want any more pressure of remembering her. It’s bad
enough that she changed my life a lot in the past months. I know
she’s leading me on. For all I know, she must have slept with many
different men just to get to their pockets.

I didn’t date a lot. But
when I did go out on a date, I made it a point to date a woman who
had something to say for herself. I was too cautious that she would
be like my father’s mistresses and wives—only after the money. So
as much as possible, I tread very carefully, making sure that the
woman really wants me and not my money, or she doesn’t care about
what I could give her because she can very well provide for
herself.

Somebody like my old
friend, Alizia. I’ve gone out with her a couple of times. She is
beautiful, smart, and came from a prominent family. She doesn’t
need a man to support her. She can very well fend for herself. That
is why I tried to go out with her. She was safe. I was trying to
see if something could ever happen between us. But over the years,
we just didn’t go beyond a date or two, but I don’t remember
why.

Recalling Alizia’s strong,
sharp features and supermodel looks, I found myself suddenly
thinking about a strawberry blonde goddess, with rare, enchanting
violet eyes. She was very much different from Alizia. And yet… I
found myself more drawn to her.

Damn!
I should really go out more. I can’t keep thinking about the
woman who was the end of me. Maybe I was given amnesia so I could
have a second shot at fixing my life. But I can’t keep feeling
something for her. It will only distract me. I can’t keep burning
with desire with just a mere thought of her. I must focus on
getting my life back on track.

I dialed a number and
decided to just relax and maybe have a bit of fun
tonight.

Two hours later, Alizia
met me at a diner near my mother’s place. We haven’t seen each
other in a while, and I don’t know when I saw her last since I
don’t remember a year of my life.

She was still the same
old, gorgeous, and glamorous Alizia I met in college.

“
So, how’s…” she started
and then trailed off, unsure of whether she should continue. I
could only guess what she was about to say.

“
If you mention Astrid,
I’m going to walk out now,” I said to her.

Does anybody in my
life
not
know
Astrid?

She laughed. “You don’t
remember her, huh. Your fiancée.”

I snorted. “I just said
let’s not talk about her.”

“
Okay, so what do you want
to talk about?” She batted her lashes at me. Jesus! She’s still a
flirt.

And I still don’t
understand why I don’t feel even a slight spark for this woman.
She’s gorgeous. But I don’t know why I just don’t feel my nerves
jumping for her. Maybe that was the reason why we never became a
couple. She may be a safe choice for me, but she just does not
excite me. Unlike Astrid, who heats up my skin with just the mere
mention of her name.