C3 The promise

Weeks pass, but Harry still doesn’t show up for Amanda. She keeps waiting for him to come back and do what he promised. But it seems that she was waiting for the rain to come in the desert. She held on to everything he said to her. She believed the sweet words came from his mouth.

"I will build a palace for you, my princess, and I will make you a queen once we have our prince and princess," he says as Amanda lies on his shoulder.

"On our wedding day, I will buy you a Bugatti La Voiture Noire. That will be our car. You want it? " She just looks at him as he speaks and gently combs her hair with his fingers.

She smiled and then spoke, "I heard it's the most expensive car in the world."

He nodded, "It is, Amanda. You deserve everything expensive.Because you are a woman. "

"I would love it, but I love it most to be with you."

He looked into her eyes and kissed her quickly on the lips. They also planned to have a Rottweiler dog in their future house. Harry loved animals, and they were both the same.They will build a palace-like house with a large garden and a play ground for their future children. It's like they're a couple planning their activities before they get married. It's good to hear that, and it's good to enjoy those moments.

She was hurt by what Harry did to her. He gave her false hope. She endured all the mistreatment from other people just for the sake of Harry. She endured staying in the dark place where she was because of him, because she hoped that Harry would come back to her. She let some man belittle her just so she could stay in this place and be able to stay until they met again. Harry gradually gave light to her life, but now it is slowly fading. Now she can say that in real life, fairytales don't exist. She just relied too much on what he said, so here she is, hurting so much now. Suddenly, her hope of escape from the hands of the syndicates vanished. She felt like Harry was just playing with her feelings. She put all her trust in him as she did not hesitate to give herself.

Harry was working so hard that he was busy when his secretary entered his office.

"Sir, most of our clients terminate their contract with us. And I heard they moved to Asia's best company. We also have some investors who have already moved to other companies; they want to have their share," his secretary said softly.

He didn’t know what to do because of the sudden drop in their sales in recent weeks. New Horizon Corporation is one of the most popular internet providers in the country. But with the proliferation of various internet providers in the country, their company is at the bottom. The prices of some other companies are lower compared to theirs, but only New Horizon Corporation has the capacity to provide adequate service to their consumers. Users can't see that because they are blinded by the cheap prices offered by other companies. People today are practical, so whatever they think will make their lives easier is what they choose. Sales of their houses and lots also slowed in a few villages. They are seventy-five hectares in area, and there are Sky Ville villages in Cebu, Davao, Ilocos, and Palawan. But in recent months, their sales have also dropped. He has no idea who is cheating on his business.

Only the Top Line factory maintains the sales, producing cultured milk from their live poultry stock in Zambales, which spans thirty hectares. As well as their air lines, they have five planes that travel locally and two for international flights. He was good when it came to business because, starting when he was young, his father had trained him well, as he was the sole heir of all their businesses. Harry didn't know how to rebuild his other business that was slowly sinking. He didn't want to just close them because his parents worked so hard for them. He was responsible for fixing all the problems in their business.

"Sir, it looks like you need new investors so that other businesses of New Horizon Corporation will not shut down," he continued his suggestion.

"Just don't tell my parents about these matters. I will fix this mess on my own." He spoke seriously, but he wasn't sure how to start with that.

It's his first time experiencing a crisis in business, so his brain is a bit more tolerable. He didn't want to stress his mommy again because of what was happening in the company. She was old and he didn't want her to get sick when she found out the truth. He knows he hasn’t been careless as the CEO of the company. He did everything for it, but it’s just not inevitable to compete when it comes to the business industry. He needs to think of a way to save their other income. He also can't move the income of their other businesses just to save the drowning one from bunkrapcy. They might suffer again when he does that. He needs to find a solution as soon as possible.

He was sitting on his favorite office chair, thinking about what to do when Dina arrived.

"Harry Sweety, I think your internet company is at its bottom now. I already know, even if you don't say." Dina spoke in a pathetic way.

He remains silent.

"Oh my gosh, is Harry Anderson getting closer to the word called bankruptcy?" She continues.

She sat on his table as she watched him from head to toe. One of the Anderson's close friends is Dina's family, and since they met, she has done nothing but act like a snake. She was the most clingy girl he ever met. This woman is really in love with him; she's crazy about Harry Anderson.

He chuckled, "It's none of your business in any way. Are you here to insult me?" Actually, she’s getting on his nerves; she’s irritated.

Dina is beautiful, rich, sophisticated, and good when it comes to business, like him. So it is inevitable that his mommy continues to encourage him to date Dina because they are said to be compatible. He did not agree with that, but he also did not want to offend his mother with what he would say about it, so he forced himself to remain silent when it came to that matter.

He thinks of Amanda. He promised her that he would come back, but because of the unwanted happenings in his business, he delayed his meeting with her. He needs to work so hard for him to save the mess in his company. Even at night, he works and sleeps only four hours as much as he has to do. His friend Marco was supporting him, but it was different when he was the one doing things.

He intends to return to Amanda. His plan is ready for her to escape from the hands of the sindicates. He is about to leave the room when he sees Dina at the front door, wearing her seductive red sexy dress.

"I have a proposal for you, Harry. I want to invest in your company. But I have a condition: both of us will benefit from these."

He smirks when he sees her. "I have no time to play with you Dina, just stop acting like you care. Stay away. I can manage everything." He said that he emphatically refused any proposal. He knew that Dina was doing it to get what she had wanted for a long time: to be his girlfriend. Or even more, so it was what she wanted to happen. She just smirked at him and then continued to tail him.

"You don't have to lie to me, honey. I know you. Do you think it's that easy to find investors who will come up with a plan to revive your declining business? Come on, I'll help you, Harry, just date me." She said, while walking as fast as he was.

He thinks of everything she says. She's right—it’s hard for him to find an investor these days. He ended their conversation and said he would think about it, but she forced him to come to her place so that they could finalize all their plans. He would have refused, but he thinks there is a point. If he has not found an investor as soon as possible, his internet company will close completely, and he does not want that to happen.

Amanda's head ached often, and her whole body seemed tired. It's hard for her to wake up in the morning, but it's necessary because she has a schedule to follow. They have to work out every morning with the girls to maintain their sexiness, because that's their investment in their work. She also lost even more weight because she lost her appetite. She is often visited by Mr. Aragon because of her slow action, so she often receives bruises from him. She wants to give up; it seems that whatever she does, she cannot get out of the cage where she is.

"Amanda, you can try to take a pregnancy test. You look really different, girl. Maybe that's not normal." Gwen said when they have time to talk one morning.

She was nervous about what Gwen said. It's impossible. It's not going to happen to her; she takes her birth control regularly. A few more days passed, and she was no longer comfortable with her feelings. She also noticed the gradual change in the shape of her hips as well as her breasts. So she thought of following Gwen's advice. That's when she found out she was really pregnant. There was life growing in her womb; it made her frightened and nervous. She has to escape from this place or else Mr. Aragon will definitely kill her for not following his rules. She doesn't have to wait for her knight in shining armor to come and save her; she needs to take action to get away from the shackles made by the syndicate.

"Amanda, I have to tell you something very important. I already found a way out of here. We have to make a plan secretly."

She found new hope in what her friend had said.