Sweet Downfall (2 page)

“Jaq, I’m so sorry…” Her voice cracked. She turned sideways, facing him but he didn’t even glance at her. He gripped the steering wheel harder and concentrated on the road, his jaw set.

“I wanted to tell him about us today…but I didn’t know how. It was just so hard for me…my dad…my brothers…they told me it’s for our family…I didn’t know what to do, Jaq…I’m so scared. Please don’t be mad.”

If there was anything that could easily douse his anger, it was Angie’s tears. He was angry and hurting but she was so young and she sounded so lost.

The disparity of their personalities became more apparent to him in that moment. She was only eighteen. Practically a baby. An innocent and sheltered debutante. He was twenty-three, as jaded, worldly and wild as the songs he wrote for his notorious band.

He grasped her hand and squeezed it. “Shh, it’s alright. It’s okay.”

She held on to his hand tightly. “I love you, Jaq. It’s you I love, not him. You know that, right?”

That was all he needed to hear.

“You won’t be going home today. Or the next day,” he said with firm resolve.

She gripped his hand with both her hands even tighter. “I trust you.”

He exhaled a sigh of relief and kissed her knuckle.

His life had just made a mean left turn.

There was no going back.

Manolo Yulo was livid with rage.

His worst nightmare was happening for real.

“How did this happen?! I trusted you, Jordan! How can you let this happen?!”

“Sir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know something like this would happen. Where would she go? Why would she leave the restaurant without telling me?”

Before Manolo could reply, Rad gripped his shoulder. “Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?”

He turned to his son. “Don’t give me excuses! I told you to guard her!” he snarled at Rad.

“Dad…” Rad steered him away from the group toward the garden near the pool where nobody can hear them. His entire family had gathered after learning the news that Angie had disappeared and no one can give him any information as to where his daughter was now. They had not informed the police yet.

He had a bad feeling about this. Very bad feeling.

He didn’t want to waste time speculating. “She went with Montero. Right?”

Rad nodded. “Jordan doesn’t have any suspicion Montero is involved. He doesn’t even know Angie’s been fooling around with Jaq. Dad, if we can keep him in the dark about that, all plans could still push through. He doesn’t have to know. We’ll keep everything under wraps. We just need to get Angie back as soon as possible. As quietly as possible.”

There was another reason why he would never want Montero to get involved with his daughter, alright. Business was only secondary. If he lost to both, the consequences would be staggering. One he could probably not bear. He squeezed Rad’s shoulder. “Don’t ever let that punk have your sister, Rad. It will kill me. You understand?!”

His son nodded. “Yes, Dad. I won’t let that bastard ruin all our plans. Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry. We’ll get her back soon.”

“I’ll call Marcus. He would make things move faster.” His close friend, Senator Marcus Benedicto was a four-star general in the armed forces and a former Secretary of Defense. Marcus had all the machineries to hunt Montero down and have him apprehended within the day. Even if he had to request an entire battalion of soldiers to go after that kid, he would.

Once they found him, he will personally kill the son of a bitch! How apt the term was.

Jaq Montero was the literal son of a bitch.

If he touches my daughter, I will kill your son, Debbie.

“Is it possible that Angie was kidnapped?”

Jordan was talking to Angie’s twin brothers while they waited for Manolo to finish conferring with Senator Marcus Benedicto and some military officials in the study.

Angie had been gone for five hours now. He blamed himself for what happened. It was his responsibility to take care of her while they were out together.

“It’s possible,” Ram said.

“But…” He shook his head. “I can’t believe this! Who will kidnap her in the middle of a busy restaurant? The place was pretty safe. We frequently eat there.”

“We can’t believe it either, man,” Rad said.

Jordan was worried sick. He had been reviewing every detail of the earlier events in the restaurant, trying to figure out what happened and he came up with no definite conclusion. Why would Angie disappear like that?

“Wait…what about Kit’s friend, Jaq Montero? I haven’t seen him after Angie disappeared.”

Jordan didn’t really know Montero at all. He knew Jaq’s band mates though. Kit, Rydon, Tommy and Diegs were his childhood friends. Montero was very silent while they were in the restaurant. He seemed strangely distant. “Is it possible that Montero took Angie?”

The twins traded glances.

“I don’t think so. Montero would never dare cross us. Besides, why would he kidnap, Angie?” Rad said.

“I remember…Montero arrived with Kit and Darry in the restaurant. They joined our table. Angie and Darry went to the restroom. Then Jaq excused himself, said he was leaving. Kit and I were left at the table. Darry came back to the table first. Then she wondered why Angie hasn’t come back yet. She went back to the rest room to check on Angie. That was when we discovered that Angie has disappeared.”

“So…what do you think of that?” Ram asked. “Any theory?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should look for Jaq.”

The twins exchanged a sidelong glance again.

“Yeah, I’ll call Kit and inquire about Jaq.” Rad excused himself.

Ram squeezed his shoulder. “I think you should go home and rest, Jordan. We’ll just call you if there’s a development.”

“No, I want to stay. This is all my fault. I didn’t take care of your sister, Ram. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. We’re not blaming you. I apologize for my father’s behavior a while back. He’s very distraught. I’ll just ask you to keep everything under wraps. We don’t want the media to get hold of this and turn our lives into a circus. That’s going to be a disaster for Empress Hotels and Vega Multi-Media.”

He saw the wisdom in Ram’s advise. “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Call me anytime, okay?”

“We will. Thanks, bro.”

“Come, I’ll show you something.”

They went out of the rest house. Cool breeze greeted them and they both inhaled deeply.

Holding hands, Jaq lead Angie to his favorite spot.

“Ohhh Jaq! Wow!” she exclaimed like a kid.

Her awe was expected. This place was his private sanctuary and he almost never shared it with anybody. Fresh water streamed down multi-leveled slabs of stone forming small lagoons perfect for wading and even swimming. Lined with dozens of blazing torches, the place was illuminated like a magical, little paradise.

“Whenever I visit, I always hang out here. I love staying here for hours. I’ve written a lot of songs here.”

She walked to the edge of the lagoon and removed her shoes. She tentatively dipped one foot in the water. “It’s warm!”

“Yeah. This is a hot spring.”

She looked up at the stars and sighed. “It’s so beautiful out here, like heaven has come down to earth.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said quietly, drinking in her loveliness. He had fantasized about this during those times when he couldn’t see her and was missing her so bad. He’d thought of bringing her here, just the two of them, away from the pressure of his celebrity and the harsh judgment of people. This moment was very special.

Their eyes met as the soft trickling of water hung around them like a serenade of calm and peace.

“I love you,” she uttered softly.

Her declaration erased all his fears and doubts.

Those simple words made him feel invincible.

“I love you, too.”

He walked toward her. She met him halfway.

When he reached her, he smiled broadly and went on his knees before her, holding both her hands in his own. He looked up in her eyes and gave himself to her completely. He was the songwriter in his band but words had never flowed freely from his heart, until this moment.

“Will you, my beloved Angelina, marry me and spend the rest of your life with me, as my bestfriend, my lover, my wife, my equal partner today, for as long as I live?”

Her eyes were beams of radiant light showering upon him. “Yes.”

“Will you share all the things that I have, joys, pains, triumphs, failures, challenges and be my inspiration in this life and beyond?”

“Yes.”

“Will you let me be your protector, provider and loyal ally in everything that we face together today and always?”

“Yes.”

“And will you be the mother of my children, the light of our home, to love, honor and cherish, with all my faith, love, loyalty and lust?” He winked at her.

She giggled. “Yes!”

“For better and for worse, in sickness and in health, ‘til death do us part?”

“Oh Jaq, yes!”

He removed the sterling silver ring from his finger and slipped it on her left ring finger. “Ops, too big.” He transferred the ring to her thumb. It fit perfectly.

He kissed her hand. “You’re now my wife.”

She raised her hand and looked at her new ring, a thick, plain silver band with a round, black onyx stone adorning it. It was a simple, utterly masculine ring he’d bought from a London punk rock shop. It was his rock star ring.

“Rocker wife. Cool!” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, my husband.”

They kissed and laughed and played in the water like they were the only man and woman on earth. Nothing else mattered. Nothing but their love for each other.

His sexual journey had started early.
Being the stepson of a very famous man gave him considerable fame as well and women had flocked to him since he hit puberty or even before that. Now, at age twenty-three and an established celebrity in his own right, a rock star, no less, he had never been short on women to shag.

However now, Jaq felt like a virgin.

His girlfriend was a virgin. This girl was his first real love, his true love. He didn’t want to disappoint her in any way.

Angie took a bath in the master’s bedroom. He took a bath in the other room because he didn’t want to frighten her or rush her into anything.

His initial intent of claiming her virginity was replaced by his fear of hurting her and as the minutes ticked by, the more he had convinced himself that he should wait.

He would have slept in the other room if she hadn’t come to him. “I think it’s better if I sleep in the other room...” he said as she lead him back to the master’s bedroom. The scent of her hair, a baby shampoo of sorts was wreaking havoc to his libido. She smelled so feminine, a woman, a very beautiful woman that he was crazy about. What was a man to do under the circumstances?

“Don’t you wanna sleep with me?”

“No...yes...no. Angie...”

At the door, she faced him. She took both his hands and kissed his knuckles.

“I want us to make love.”

He froze.

“Angie...”

“Don’t you want me?”

He almost laughed out loud. His board shorts felt two sizes smaller as they spoke. His nuts hurt.

“You know I do.”

“Then I want my husband to make love to me.”

“Babe...are you sure?”

“Right now, I’m about to drop dead in embarrassment, Jaq Montero. Please, don’t say no.”

It was his undoing.

She led him into the master’s bedroom and now he was freaking out.

She faced him, a few feet separating them beside the king-sized bed. “I don’t know what to do. It’s your turn to do something now.”

“I can still wait till you’re a bit older.”

“I can’t. I want to give myself to you. Now.”

God help him.

“Jaq...stop staring.”

“I can’t. Your beauty leaves me weak.”

She smiled.

He gently combed his fingers through her long hair that framed her glorious face like a veil of moonbeams. Her big, beautiful eyes shone with expectations which made him even more nervous.

Fuck, he was a fumbling boy all over again, his vast sexual experience forgotten as he stared at her pink, innocent lips. Those twin layers of luscious flesh that tasted like nothing else totally owned him.

“I’m amazed, baby.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re seducing me.”

She turned beet read under the soft light.

His pulse rate was slowly dropping back to normal. She wanted him. It was she who was asking him to make love to her. That pacified his nerves and nagging conscience like a shot of morphine. He framed her face in his palms. “My shy, innocent Angie is boldly seducing me to make love. Amazing.”

“Uhm...is that bad?”

“No way. It’s great. Super.” His lips hovered above her lips, inhaling her fresh breath.