Chapter 18

"Now Bruno, tell me, how the heck are we gonna open your house?!" Alegria asked. The house was locked, and Bruno didn't have the keys. "Bruno, just call Eric that we're on our way back." Alegria was irritated. She didn't like the idea of running away with him. Only him. It made her nervous.

"Hold this." Bruno said as he handed the ukelele to Alegria. Bruno looked under the flower pot and found a bobby pin. "We use this when we forget the keys inside the house." Bruno smiled at Alegria and started opening the door using the bobby pin.

"You know Bruno, we look like burglars. Urgh.. I just hope the neighbors doesn't see us." Alegria said. She really wasn't feeling comfortable with it.

The door clicked open. Bruno then looked at Alegria and smiled. "Let's go inside." Bruno said as he went inside the house with Alegria.

Alegria looked around the house as she took her mask off and put the ukelele on a table. It was dusty, but it still looks great. "Your place needs a little cleaning, but it's good here." Alegria smiled.

Bruno took a chair and wiped the dust off. "You can sit here." Bruno put the chair beside Alegria.

"I wonder how long you've been away from here.. The dust is..." Alegria shook her head gently. She didn't wanna finish the sentence and offend Bruno.

"Well.. We have a house in Brooklyn. So we haven't been here for ages. But mom and the others come back here occasionally." Bruno said.

"Hmm.. How about we clean your house?" Alegria said as she smiled at Bruno.

"No, no, you don't have to do that. We'll leave the house anyway." Bruno said.

"But we don't have anything else to do.. Right?" Alegria grinned. "Now, where are the rags here? You know, anything we could use to clean?" Alegria looked around.

Bruno shrugged his shoulders as he went inside a room and took the cleaning materials. "Where do we start?"

Alegria smiled. "I'll clean the kitchen and living room, you'll clean the bedrooms." Alegria said as she and Bruno started to clean the house.

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"Calyx, I can't find Alegria. She is not in her room.." Alexander said, worried.

"What do you mean she's not in her room?" Calyx said, confused.

"When I opened her hotel room, she wasn't there. I went to the beach and searched all over and I couldn't find her. I've called her, but when I went back to her hotel room, her phone was there. She also didn't bring her bag.." Alexander explained. He was worried that Alegria might have been lost.

"Alexander, maybe she's at the hotel restaurant or at the pool. Don't worry, Alegria can take care of herself. You know, I'll just call Danielle. We'll all go to the hotel restaurant together." Calyx said as he stood up and went out of the room. He called Danielle out of her hotel room and they went to the hotel.

They saw Bruno's family. Eric was there, staring at them. Calyx stared back, but he didn't approach Eric. He didn't want to. He just sat down and ordered food.

Suddenly, bodyguards start to crowd Eric's table. Bruno's mom looked worried, as well as his sisters. Eric smacked his head, he looked disappointed. He took his phone and called someone, then he hung up. Then he looked at Calyx. He stood up and walked towards him.

"Calyx, he's staring at us.." Danielle said, nervous.

"Let him stare." Calyx said, irritated. He didn't like Eric after Bruno and Alegria broke up. He just hated him like that, but he didn't know why.

"Did Alegria tell you where she is right now?" Eric asked as he reached their table.

"Bruno ran away with her. They were at the international market when they ran away. The body guards didn't find them anywhere." Eric said, worried.

"What?!" Calyx stood up and grabbed Eric's shirt. "If my sister comes back even with just a little scratch on her, I'm gonna pound your brother into pieces." Calyx said as he gritted his teeth.

Alexander and Danielle stopped Calyx. "Calyx, relax.." Danielle said. The bodyguards then started to stop him.

"Calyx, I'm worried about them too. We're trying to contact Bruno. He just sent me a message saying he's with Alegria and that they'll be back later, but when I tried to call him, he turned his phone off." Eric explained. Bruno's mom started to walk towards them.

"Eric, what's happening?" She said, worried.

"He's Alegria's brother, the girl that I'm talking about earlier. She's with Bruno." Eric answered calmly, he didn't want his mother to get worried. "Now, Calyx, did Alegria tell you where she is right now?"

"She didn't. She didn't bring her bag and cellphone. I thought she was just.. at the beach or something.." Calyx said. He was worried about her sister. 'She still didn't change her mind, she was still at it, the revenge plan.' Calyx thought as he shook his head.

"I am really sorry if my son just dragged your sister to somewhere we don't know. We'll try to find them as soon as possible." Bruno's mom said as she touched Calyx's shoulder.

Calyx didn't say anything, he just nodded at her and smiled. Calyx calmed down. He didn't know why, but he felt comfortable with Bruno's mom. His heart melted as he remembered their mother.

'He's lucky.'

---------------------------

"I'm done! Hah! Beated you!" Bruno said, wiping his sweat off as he went out of the bedroom he just finished cleaning. He looked at Alegria, she was already resting on the couch. She was sweating all over, but she still looked beautiful.

"What was that? What were you saying earlier?" Alegria grinned.

"Okay. You win. Show off." Bruno said as he stick his tongue out to Alegria.

Alegria chuckled. "You know Bruno, I didn't know you were such a hottie when you were young." Alegria said, slowly lifting her right hand, showing Bruno's baby picture. He was naked in the photo, he was rubbing his eyes while looking at the camera.

"Heyy, give me that!" Bruno tried to snatch the picture from Alegria, but Alegria was fast, she hid the photo inside her bra.

Alegria stick her tongue out to Bruno. "Try and get it if you can." Alegria ran towards the kitchen table.

"Ohh.. So you want me to get that picture from you huh? Alright then.." Bruno smiled as they circled around the table.

"You can't catch me." Alegria said.

"Oh, Hoho, yes I can." Bruno said as he ran towards Alegria, grabbed her waist, pulled her close to him and tickled her.

"Okay, okay.. Stop! Stop it!" Alegria laughed as she pleaded Bruno.

Bruno stopped and faced Alegria. He put his palm out and spoke. "Give it to me."

"I won't!" Alegria laughed as she ran inside a room and locked it.

Bruno knocked on the door. "Alegria, open the door!" Bruno said as he chuckled.

"I won't open the door! And I won't give you this picture!" Alegria said, laughing. She took the photo from her bra and looked at it. "Oh, look at that cute little carrot! You look adorable! I'll post this in the net!" Alegria chuckled.

"No, Alegria, just open this door! Okay, I'll do whatever you want if you give me the picture. I'll do anything." Bruno said. He clearly didn't want his baby picture to be leaked on the internet.

"Promise me you'll be running to me like Superman whenever I need you." Alegria put the picture on the bed and and stood up and went to the door.

"What? What does that even mean?"

"Promise me." Alegria said as she slowly opened the door, showing only her eyes as she peaked at Bruno.

Bruno looked at Alegria's eyes. They were attractive as usual, but they looked serious. "I promise."

Alegria slowly opened the door and smiled. "You promised."

"What do you mean about that?" Bruno said as he sat down on the bed.

"Well.. Nothing, really. I just wanna see if I can really trust you. And if you can keep that promise." Alegria smiled, sitting beside Bruno as she looked at him. She was trying to look innocent in front of Bruno.

"You can trust me. I don't break promises." Bruno smiled at Alegria.

Alegria stared at Bruno. Tears started to roll in her eyes. 'Liar.'

"What? Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?" Bruno asked, confused.

"Nothing. I just remembered my brother's story about a guy in my past." Alegria said as she wiped her tears.

"What... What do you mean?"

"You see, I was a brain cancer survivor. I had to be on a surgery to live longer. But if I did, I'd lose my memory. My brother said that I didn't wanna do the surgery, but a guy asked me to do so. Well, I loved him. So I agreed. A hundred days before the surgery, he asked me to be his girlfriend. And of course, I said yes. My brother said we loved each other so much, that he thought it was gonna be forever.." Alegria paused as she tried to stop her tears.

She sighed, and continued talking. "The day before the surgery, he asked me to be his wife, and I said yes. Everything was okay that night. The morning after he proposed to me, which is the day of the surgery, I came to his house to surprise him. My brother said I even cooked lots of food to share it with him. But when I arrived there, he was with another girl. His ex-girlfriend, my brother says. He had sex with her and he said.. He said.. He still loved her..." Alegria cried.

Bruno froze. He didn't know what to say or what to do. He just listened at her while she talked. He didn't butt in.

"And so, I left his house. I didn't give him time to explain, I didn't wanna hear his explanation. I went to my first love's grave, and cried there. Then suddenly, I had a bad headache and fell into the ground. Luckily, Alexander was there to save me and he brought me to the hospital. Then, I did the surgery. And I can't remember a thing since the day that I woke up." Alegria tried to smile as she cried.

"I'm thankful that I don't remember a thing about my past. If I did, then I would have still been with that good-for-nothing jerk." Alegria said as she cried and looked at Bruno. "See? I can't remember anything, but my heart still aches whenever I think about it. What kind of man would do that to a woman who has done nothing but love him unconditionally?!" Alegria said, crying so hard she can hardly breathe.

Bruno bit his lip. "Maybe.. Maybe he was just confused at that time.."

"Confused?! Do you have fuck someone when you're confused?! He just wasn't contented with me, that's what it is!" Alegria raised her voice.

"Well.. Maybe.. Maybe.. He just can't control himself.. That's why he did it." Bruno said, almost whispering.

"He should have figured out that he must control himself and he should avoid temptations the moment that he proposed to me!"

"You said you didn't let him explain.."

"Explain what?! Explain how he fucked his ex-girlfriend?! How he had sex with her?! Explain how good it was, and how better it was with her than with me?! Tell me, what does he even want to explain?" Alegria said, looking at Bruno with pleading eyes.

Bruno couldn't look at straight at Alegria. He didn't know if he was gonna tell Alegria that he is the guy that she was talking about.

Alegria wiped her tears. "I'm sorry.. I just.. Got a little carried away.." Alegria smiled as she laid on the bed and closed her eyes. "I think that story is the reason why I still don't say yes to Alexander. I'm afraid that he'll hurt me too."

Bruno looked at Alegria and laid beside her. He caressed her cheek and stroked her hair. 'I'm sorry..' Bruno kissed her lips, gently, then passionately. Alegria pulled away.

Alegria opened her eyes. "Bruno.."

"Mm-hmm?"

"You're not after anything serious.. Aren't ya?"

"What do you mean?"

"You kissed me just now.. Well.. Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I like you."

'BOOM. He said he likes me. Success.' Alegria laughed sarcastically in her mind. "Really?" Alegria looked at Bruno's eyes, seducing him.

"Yes. I like you. And I mean it." Bruno smiled as he kissed Alegria's lips once again. Alegria grabbed Bruno's neck, pulling him closer.

Bruno held Alegria's waist, then he touched her all over. He took off his clothes and undressed Alegria. He looked at Alegria's eyes, and kissed her neck, the tip of her ears, then her lips. Alegria opened her eyes while kissing. Bruno looked so inlove with her, and he can't get enough of her. Alegria pushed Bruno. "Stop.." Alegria took her clothes and got dressed. She felt guilty, looking at Bruno's face.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Bruno asked, confused.

"No.. Nothing.. You did nothing wrong.. I just.. Urghh.. Nevermind." Alegria stood up and went out of the room. She sat on the couch as she cried.

Bruno got dressed and followed Alegria. "What's wrong?" Bruno asked, wiping Alegria's tears.

"No.. Nothing.. Really.." Alegria cried even harder. 'Everything was okay.. It went as it was planned.. Why the heck did you stop, Alegria?'

Suddenly, someone opened the door. It was Alexander. "What the.. Stay away from her!" Alexander pushed Bruno and grabbed Alegria to her waist. "Alex, are you okay? What did he do to you?!"

"Nothing, he didn't do anything.." Alegria said as she cried.

"What's happening? Why is she crying?" Eric said as he looked at Bruno. Bruno shrugged his shoulders.

"What happened to Alegria?" Danielle said as she came to see Alegria. "Alex, you okay?"

"I'm okay, really.." Alegria wiped her tears.

"Alex, tell me what happened." Calyx said, looking straight into Alegria's eyes.

Alegria looked down. "Nothing happened.."

"Son, what happened here?" Bruno's mom asked as she walked towards Bruno.

"I don't know.. I didn't do anything. She just cried.. I'm sorry.." Bruno said..

Mommy Bernie sighed. "Let's just all go back to the hotel. Come on everybody, the bus is waiting."  They all went inside the bus.

Alexander held Alegria and assisted her to the bus. Bruno got jealous, but he still calmed down.

Alexander sat on Alegria's left, at the back part of the bus. Bruno sat on Alegria's right. He didn't want Alexander to keep Alegria for himself.

Calyx took Alegria and dragged her to side beside him and Danielle to avoid any arguments.

"You two shouldn't act like babies." Eric shook his head as he sat down.

The bus was silent until they reached the hotel. They all went out of the bus and went inside the hotel.

"Alegria.." Bruno said.

Alegria turned around. "M-hmm?"

"I'm sorry..I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry." Bruno walked towards Alegria and took her hand.

Alexander pulled Alegria. "Let go of her."

"Don't tell me what to do." Bruno said as he pulled Alegria to him.

Alexander got infuriated that he punched Bruno.

"Oh my God.." Alegria said, flabberfasted.

Bruno punched Alexander back, and the fight went on.

"Oh my God, stop.. Pleas, stop!" Alegria shouted, but it didn't work, they still punched each other to the floor.

"Alexander, stop it!" Calyx pulled Alexander away from Bruno.

"Bruno, stop it! A lot of people are watching!" Eric said as he stopped Bruno.

"Stay away from Alegria!" Alexander shouted.

"No, you stay away from her, stalker guy!" Bruno shouted back.

"You fucking playboy! Don't you ever get near her again!" Alexander said. "Alegria, tell him already! Tell him the truth!"

Alegria's eyes widened. She didn't know what to say. Her head started to ache.

"Now, now, boys.. Calm down." Mommy Bernie said, trying to stop the fight.

"Tell him that you still remember everything that he did to you!" Alexander shouted, but Alegria didn't answer. "If you're not gonna tell him, then I will!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Alexander, don't. Not now." Calyx said, worried about his sister.

"Alegria didn't really lose her memory. She didn't really have a brain cancer. Her medical records just got mixed up with another patient." Alexander said.

Bruno's jaws dropped. "What--"

"Can't believe it, right?" Alexander sarcastically said.

"Alexander.." Danielle said, disappointed at Alexander.

"Stop.. Stop it.. Alexander, please stop.." Alegria said, crying. Her head was aching even more.

"She just has a migraine, and she's anemic. That's why she's having terrible head aches and she passes out at times with blood dripping on her nose. She hadn't been on a surgery, she just acted like she can't remember anything just to get revenge. She just wants you to suffer the same thing, Bruno!" Alexander explained.

Bruno shook his head. "Alegria.. This is a joke, right?" Bruno said.

Alegria didn't answer, instead she just looked down and cried.

Bruno's heart sank. "How.. How could you?"

"I'm sorry.." Alegria answered, almost whispering.

"Fuck you. Fuck you all!" Bruno said as he walked away.

Alegria's head ached so bad. She held her head. She endured the pain and spoke again.

"You think I didn't plan on telling you? You think it doesn't hurt me to see you hurting like this? You think it was just easy for me to do it? Bruno, you have no idea how much you've hurt me! You don't know what I've been through! So don't go yelling fuck you at me like that! Cause--" Alegria can't hold it anymore. The headache was killing her. She held her head, but nothing changed. It was still painful.

"Alegria!" Calyx shouted.

Alegria heart people shouting, but she can't concentrate, she didn't know what they were saying. Her head ached too much. Then, everything turned black.