Chapter 7: Freeing Angelica, much to Darren's dismay
At 9:45 AM,
Robert was nervous as he watched Darren's car pull into his driveway. He quickly stepped out and greeted him with a fake smile, concealing his fear of Darren's potential anger upon learning that Angelica had escaped last night.
"I need to take my future wife to the boutique now," Darren said, looking casually cool in his white and gray suit with a light blue jacket.
"Um, maybe you should come in first... I have..."
"I want my future wife," Darren interrupted before Robert could finish. "Call her, don't make me drag her along!" he shouted.
Robert just remained silent, unsure of what to say.
Impatient with Robert's demeanor, Darren promptly pushed him aside and entered the bar, then continued to the house's entrance, where he found Emma.
"Where is my future wife?" he asked angrily, gritting his teeth.
"She'll be back, just wait," Emma replied casually, then approached Darren with folded arms. "But you might be surprised... it seems God answered my prayers so I wouldn't have to have a son-in-law like you," she continued, giving Darren a sidelong glance.
"What do you mean?"
"You just need to wait, you'll understand the meaning of my words," Emma said again, then walked to the terrace where Robert was with his henchmen and Darren's driver.
Darren fell silent, trying to comprehend Emma's gratitude that she wouldn't have him as a son-in-law. That meant he would fail to marry Angelica, despite having so many plans for her.
"But why? Why do I have to fail to marry her? Or maybe she ran away now, and she said she'd be back soon because she didn't want me to chase her right now?"
Darren spoke to himself until he concluded, prompting him to immediately walk out to confront Robert and Emma.
"Where did she go?" Darren grabbed Robert's shirt immediately.
"I, I don't know..." Robert replied fearfully.
Emma remained silent, not wanting to tell Robert that Angelica would return with a lot of money because she wanted Darren to confront her, making him think twice.
"You, bastard!" Darren threw Robert down until he fell to the ground.
"Ugh...damn it!"
Robert winced in pain, trying to get up.
"I gave you the money you wanted so you could keep an eye on her, but now you let her go... You're cunning, you deceived me!" Darren exclaimed angrily, approaching Robert again and pulling his shirt.
Robert was overwhelmed, standing unsteadily and looking at Darren with fear.
"Tell me where she went!" Darren shouted, glaring at him.
"I don't know... she ran away with her mother's help," Robert stammered, glancing at Emma.
Darren immediately released his grip on Robert's shirt and turned to approach Emma. He looked at the frail woman, pale and thin in her black and blue suit, then gripped her cheek with his right hand.
"How dare you deceive me!"
"I didn't deceive you, and I have the right to set my daughter free!" Emma said with some difficulty, trying to loosen Darren's strong grip, but it didn't work.
"But she will run, even she can leave without fearing you!"
Darren tightened his grip even more. "Don't beat around the bush, bitch. Tell me where she went!"
Emma just gave a thin smile.
"You don't need to worry, she will come," she said.
"You lie!"
"No, I'm not lying... I don't know..."
"She must know!" Robert interjected.
"Shut up, you stupid!" Darren shouted, pointing at Robert, who instantly fell silent. He then looked back at Emma and grabbed her hair, tilting her head up.
"I think you know what will happen if you play with me... I will kill you, you'll end up tragically and I won't stop chasing your daughter!"
Emma fell silent, enduring the pain, glancing at Darren with disgust in her eyes.
"Don't hurt my mother!"
A female's voice was heard from the street where a Jeep was parked. Darren and the others turned to see Angelica rushing towards them, her eyes filled with anger. Behind her were Kate, Charlie, and Roger.
"Don't hurt my mother, you bastard!" Angelica immediately pushed Darren, freeing her mother.
"Angel... Angelica..." Emma quickly embraced Angelica with fear, her breath rapid and her body trembling. "You can't stay here... no, never!"
"It's okay, Mom. We'll get away from him!" Angelica whispered anxiously, holding her mother tightly but her gaze fixed on Darren, who remained silent with a disappointed look.
Darren glanced at Kate and the others, then at Angelica.
"What does all of this mean?" he asked.
Angelica took a deep breath, letting her mother go and going over to Kate, who immediately embraced her.
"I can't marry you," she said.
"No way..." Darren shook his head with a thin smile. "We will still get married, Darling... you will be my wife." He approached Angelica, intending to hug her but was immediately rejected.
Angelica pushed Darren away. "I will not marry a man who dares to hurt my mother!"
"I didn't hurt her..."
"You did!"
"That's because she's mistaken..."
"And whether she's mistaken or not, you still have no right to hurt her!" Angelica shouted, pointing at Darren's face. "You have no respect for her... I'm sick of all your behavior and threats... I refuse to marry you!" She continued loudly.
"No, you can't!" Darren tried to grab Angelica's hand but Charlie immediately pushed him away.
"No more girls will be hurt now!" Charlie warned with a cold stare.
"Who are you, bastard?"
"You don't need to know who I am, but I won't let you hurt her or her mother!" Charlie affirmed, then tossed a medium-sized black bag at Darren. "I'm returning all the money you've ever given them, and from now on, stop bothering them!"
Darren fell silent, taking the bag and seeing how much money was inside.
"500K dollars, I think that's more than what you've given them," Charlie said firmly, while Angelica stood behind him as if seeking protection. "Go and never disturb this family again... and she's not your future wife anymore!"
Darren looked at Charlie and Angelica, feeling deeply disappointed, but he couldn't do anything to defend himself or try to win her back.
"Go, Darren... I don't want you, I can't be what you want," Angelica said with a little guilt towards Darren. After all, he had helped her meet her basic needs and even paid for her mother's medical treatment, and now she was ending their relationship just like that. "I didn't mean to deceive you at all... I just..."
"You might be afraid of me," Darren said, disappointed. "But you're more frightening now. You surprise me with all of this... I'm sure he's already stolen your heart, maybe he's richer than me, so you're using him to get away from me, he can give you anything you want, it looks heartless, Angelica. You're throwing me away after finding a man who can support your life too... It's okay... I accept it. But what you need to know is, I never play with my feelings... I may be cruel but I love you... If not, I wouldn't plan to marry you or introduce you to my family, they were even prepared to welcome you as their daughter-in-law... the marriage I planned isn't a transactional one... I'm not using you as my bitch!"
Angelica fell silent, feeling guilty and sorry for Darren once again.
"There's no need to promise a marriage to a girl if you can't make her happy before marrying her!" Charlie said with a serious look in his eyes as if assessing whether Darren was worthy of Angelica.
"Okay... let's just end this disgusting game," Darren replied with a nod, then quickly returned to his car.
Angelica glanced at the upset Darren, constantly feeling guilty, but she tried to convince herself that she deserved someone great.
Robert glanced at Charlie, whom he knew was with Angelica yesterday. 'Could he be her boyfriend? He looks like a wealthy man, he even gave money to Angelica for Darren. I should be clever about using this,' he thought with his cunning mind.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone