The Stars Trilogy (88 page)

“I like it where it is. This is mine,” he said and playfully squeezed her bottom.

She slapped his hand. “Not anymore.”

“Since when?”

“Since I discovered that my prince is the biggest ass in Hollywood.”

“Don’t forget what comes before my ass. No pun.”

Grrrrr!
“You’re a monster.”

“I know. Live with it. Now, smile baby. They’re watching and we’re the hottest item in the rags.”

“Hah! Like I’m soooo proud!”

“You’re not? They’re saying you’re my next ex-wife. It’s a huge title in America.”

She smacked him in the shoulder.

“Ouch. That will be the headline tomorrow. Please, don’t go domme on me in public, baby. I have a tough guy reputation to protect.”

“I hope they’d call you under
de
saya
!”

“Under the what?”

“Under
de saya
.”

“What’s
saya
?”

“Google it.”

Cameras flashed almost in unison again and they were forced to cater to the fantasy they were both painting in the media.

She  saw Kelsey in the background avidly watching them like a mother hen. Despite her resentment, she couldn’t bring herself to hate Kelsey. The older woman had treated her well when she was in Dare’s employ. She’d come to enjoy their blossoming friendship in the States.

Dare whipped up something from his pocket.

Her eyes widened when she saw what it was.

A little mauve velvet box.

Her pulse quickened.

He opened the little box.

What was inside took her breath away.

“May I?” Dare said, his eyes twinkling.

He took her hand gently and raised it between them. He slipped the ring on her finger.

It was a perfect fit.

She stared in awe at her engagement ring. She was only a woman and a typical one as far as sparklers were concerned. The ring was simply beautiful.

Dare cupped her face and gently kissed her on the lips.

The shutters would probably never stop clicking and her heart ached that they were capturing this farce in full color.

Sometime in the evening as they were mingling with the press after dinner, Marjorie came to ogle her ring.

He mother’s eyes went wide again at the sight of the gigantic square-cut diamond engagement ring. “Oh darling, it’s really beautiful!” Marjorie gushed for the nth time.

Celine wanted to roll her eyes, refusing to be overly impressed by a piece of jewelry from THAT man. She cannot be bought by even by diamonds fit for queens.

“I wonder who designed it?”

“The box said Lorraine Schwartz.”

“Really? She is exclusive! Do you know how much is it?”

She looked at her mother in disapproval. “Mom, does it matter? And no, I don’t know. How tacky to even ask.”

“Well, I’m curious. Let’s ask Kelsey.”

Marjorie dragged her over to Kelsey who was talking to the editor-in-chief of the Philippine Tatler. They veered Kelsey away from the guy and Marjorie subtly maneuvered Kelsey into disclosing the value of the ring.

“Dare asked Lorraine to design this unique piece for Celine alone,” Kelsey proudly said.

“Ooooh, how sweet. It must be so hard to get a slot in Ms. Schwartz’ list of valuable clients,” Marjorie whispered.

“Not when you’re Dare Montgomery who’s shelling out five million dollars,” Kelsey whispered back.

Even her mother who was no stranger to expensive jewelry went pale in shock.

She stared at her ring. My God! This little bauble could buy an island! She felt like a walking bank! The ring looked pricey alright…but five million dollars?!

She went looking for Dare. She found him talking to her father and brother and some of their male relatives near the bar. They were laughing. Dare seemed really comfortable around the Lavega men now. She was about to go to him when the editor-in-chief of Town and Country approached her for a chitchat. The topic was her humongous rock.

She was embarrassed of the extra attention given to her engagement ring. So many children were roaming hungry and homeless in the streets and here she was wearing a ring so exorbitantly expensive it could feed all the hungry kids in Manila. It was simply obscene and totally in bad taste to even reveal its price tag no matter how the T&C editor wanted to know. 

Finally she was able to corner Dare. “Is it true?” she confronted him.

“What, baby?”

She raised her hand. “This costs five million dollars?!”

“Well...” He shrugged.

“I can’t accept this.”

“Aw come on, baby, you love it.”

“I don’t!” she bit out. “It’s too much!”

“I don’t buy that. I’ve never heard  a woman say no to expensive jewelry. The more expensive, the better.”

His pragmatic remark touched a sensitive chord in her. He just lumped her with the rest of his materialistic bimbos. Her hackles rose all the more. “I’m not one of your women!”

His eyes smoldered. “You are. You are MY woman. Now quit the drama and say thank you. A lot of women would kill to have your ring finger right now, Celine.”

His sheer arrogance made her lose it.

She stormed out of the pavilion. Dare was right behind her.

“Celine, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Go away!”

“Baby, will you stop this? You’re acting like a spoiled brat already!”

“This is a mistake! I didn’t know why I even went along with this farce!”

“Too late for that now.”

“Leave me alone!”

“I won’t leave you alone. You should know that by now. We just got engaged!”

“Well, we can disengage! Here! Take your ring!” 

She removed the ring from her finger and handed it to him but he refused to take it.

“No, it’s yours. Wear it.”

“But I don’t want it!”

“Well, do whatever you want with it. Sell it and give it to charity if you wish.”

She made a disgruntled sound and put the ring back on her finger. She was afraid she’d lose it. ”I don’t want this!” she repeated.

“Of course you want this. This is your dream, right? To marry me?”

“That used to be my dream, you arrogant ass! I wanted a prince, a noble, gallant, gentleman but you are a freakin’ bullfrog!”

“Ouch. That’s not nice, baby. My fans will disagree with you.”

“Like I care! I’m no longer your fan!” She turned around and continued walking.

“What happened to “you’re my No. 1 idol forever and ever”?

“It drowned in the sea of I-don’t-give-a-fuck last month!”

“Wow, that’s harsh! Will you slow down? You will trip in those heels and hurt our baby! Take ‘em off!”

“I have been wearing heels since I was in kindergarten! Don’t start bossing around my footwear! MY baby will be just fine!”

He sighed exasperatedly.

She entered the mansion. She was forced to remove her heels as the floor was polished Italian marble and she could slip.

“Thank you, God for finally putting sense into her,” he commented behind her drily.

“Oh, will you go away! You’ve turned my life into a huge circus! I can’t even pee without being chased by the paparazzi! You brought those gossip junkies into my country!”

“You should have thought of that before you embarked on the Operation: Get Dare mission,” he replied mockingly.

She stopped walking and pivoted, her face flaming with embarrassment. “Have you been talking to Ben about me?!”

He shrugged. “He talked to Kelsey. Kelsey tells me everything.”

“They’re not close!”

He grinned. “You have missed a lot since you left the hills, baby. Ben and Kelsey are now…” He bumped his two fore-fingers.

Her eyes widened. “Kelsey and Ben?!”

“Yup. You’re not jealous, are you?”

She threw one of her Manolos at him but he ducked in time. She turned around and walked again.

He chuckled. “Come on, baby, will you quit being so stubborn? Tell me what do I have to do to make up? We’re wastin’ time here. Shouldn’t we be fucking by now? I missed you!”

She turned and threw the other shoe at him, hitting him in the shoulder. “Jerk!”

“Oh crap!”

“Children!”

She stopped when she heard her mother’s voice. She turned around and found Marjorie standing there in her black designer gown, perfect from head to toe.

“Ma’am, “ Dare tipped an imaginary hat at Marjorie.

Her mother smiled at him sweetly. “Dare, will you come with me? I want to show you something.”

Dare looked at her and then smiled at Marjorie.

“Certainly, Ma’am.”

He walked over to Marjorie and offered his arm gallantly.

Marjory hook her hand around his arm. “I want to show you your room.”

“My room, Ma’am?”

“Yes, your room. Celine designed it for you.”

Oh no! Mom, what are you doing?!

“Come on, this way,” Marjorie gestured to a hallway. They started walking toward that direction.

Celine was momentarily rattled and just stood there, her chest pumping in alarm. Then she ran after them. “Mom!” she shouted. “Don’t! Mom!”

They paid her no attention.

She ran faster and overtook them. “Mom, you can’t! That is my private place!”

“But honey, Dare would be so impressed!”

“No, no, no!!! I absolutely forbid it!”

“Nonsense, darling. I’m absolutely sure Dare would love it.”

They kept on walking and she had to run ahead of them until she reached a door at the end. She pressed her back on it, arms spread, barricading it.

They stopped in front of her.

“Come now, honey, open it,” her mother coaxed her sweetly but she saw the glint of resolve in her eyes.

She shook her head vehemently.

“Well, Dare, this is your room. It’s been there for a decade. You have to see it. Okay, I’ll leave you two. Your father must be looking for me now. Later, children.”

Marjorie blew them a kiss and sashayed like a beauty queen back in the hallway.

Dare crossed his arms on his chest. “My room, huh?”

“Not anymore. I will destroy it soon!” she hissed.

“Can I at least see it before you demolish it?”

She didn’t answer.

He smiled at her mockingly. “Chicken.”

She glared at him.

“Scaredy cat.”

“Alright!”

He looked smug.

“For the last time, I will show you what a stupid fool I have been!”

She wrenched the door open and went in.

He stepped into the room.

She slammed the door shut.

Dare was used to being idolized by millions. They screamed for him, followed him around the world, attended his premieres, wrote him fan mails, collected his posters and magazine articles, but he had never encountered a fan like Celine Lavega.

The room was huge. And it could have been the Dare Montgomery Museum.

It was scary. This kind of fixation for a celebrity was the stuff for the movies. It usually ended in a crime where the fan turned aggressive on the idol. This was obsessive. People who’d see something like this for the first time would flip and run away scared and repulsed.

But only if they didn’t know Celine.

Only if they didn’t know how kind and sweet she was, how charming and witty and generous and attentive and helpful and loving. There was nothing sick about her. She was a breath of fresh air that cleared his lungs of  Hollywood filth, a soothing balm to the deep wounds of his soul that finally experienced relief.

He wasn’t scared one bit.

He was awed. And humbled.

And ashamed and unworthy.

He didn’t deserve this kind of love.

His eyes watered.

“Happy now?” she said, her back to him. She was standing near the tall windows, looking out to the garden outside illuminated by soft lights.

He couldn’t answer. Words failed him this time. Yes, he was happy. Very, very happy and very, very afraid.

“This has been me the past ten years. A foolish girl so in love with a dream. But I was a believer of dreams. My parents taught me so, to believe in myself, to not be afraid to pursue my dreams. But this was one dream they did not believe I could fulfill. But I thought that if I worked at it hard, really put my mind to it, I will achieve it. You were my goal. My ultimate achievement. I studied hard, went to all the schools, equipped myself with all the necessary abilities so that when we finally meet, you will be impressed. I ignored all the signs that I was headed for disaster. Everybody thought I was nuts. Obsessed. Delusional. I was so arrogant to think that just because I had your phoenix, you will like me on sight and love me…because I am your destiny.”

She faced him. Her eyes were wet, just like his. “Well, surprise! You know what happened. Crash boom bang! End of story.”

Silence.

He didn’t know how he got this lucky. But he will take this luck. All of it and more.

“So…will you go now? I can’t continue loving you anymore, Dare. It will kill me now if I do.”

“Never.”

“Dare…”

In a few strides, he reached her.

Before she could say anything more, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her.

He had kissed her so many times before but he had never kissed her like this, when he was raw and open and totally free.

God, it felt good!

He was at his weakest. At his most vulnerable. To be so open like this.

He was so afraid. Of losing again. Of being defeated by fate again.

But this was a fear worth experiencing. This was a love worth risking what was left of him for.

He paused from kissing her and stared in her eyes, his tears freely falling down his cheeks now. “Celine…I love you. God,  I am so in love with you.”

She whimpered and closed her eyes.

“Please, forgive me, love. I have been so wrong. So wrong. I don’t know where to start all over again. All I know is that I have been walking like a dead man since you left.”

She let out a sob.

“Please, please, don’t stop loving me, Celine. It will truly kill me if you do.”

She opened her eyes. “Dare…”

“Say you love me again. Please?”

She smiled through her. “I love you,” she whispered.

“Yes! I want to hear that every day.”