Chapter One

Nikos

Two years later.....

Nikos was a married man already, yet his wife was no where to be found. After the wedding, she packed all her things up and went to wherever she wanted to be. Not that Nikos could blame her but still, a proper goodbye would probably make him feel better and it could have been highly appreciated.

Though, Nikos didn't give up that easy. In fact, he spent a large sum of money just to locate her where-abouts, but the damn woman was hard to find. She could have been covering her tracks as Nikos still got nothing out of it. No result, no leads, just a freaking waste of his precious time.

Why was he not surprised?! He married a smart ass slash bitch of a lady, so he shouldn't be, right? He should have been immune to it.

Nikos heaved a sigh.

He still could not believe that it had been two years. Two years of agony and two years of misery. Time had traveled fast, really....

-Flashbacks-

(Two years ago)

Nikos and his father arrived in the Philippines using their own private plane. A chopper was waiting on them at the airport that they landed into and flew them all the way to Isla del Diosa, a beautiful paradise owned by the del Diosa family.

It was indeed a paradise! The beauty of the island was undescribable. Nikos was plainly out of words to say, and the only thing that he could think of was the del Diosa and their very obvious wealth.

Pretty wealthy clan, Nikos couldn't help but to give them the credit for that, but not wealthy enough to beat the Alexandrus.

Call him arrogant and proud because it wouldn't change the fact that his father owned the Alexandrus Empire. Nikos, as his father's only son would get to own everything as well.

Born with a silver-spoon in the mouth? Nikod could never deny that.

Instead, he felt very grateful to his father which was the reason why he agreed on the whole arranged marriage situation, as silly as it may sounded.

"My man, Niccolo... Long time no see!" after getting into Castillo del Diosa---the main place to stay at in the island, a man who looked like could be at the same age as his father approached them in a very friendly way.

"Nice to see you too, Jacob!!" Niccolo sounded very happy seeing his childhood friend.

He hadn't been in the Philippines for years, so, to see his bestfriend again was definitely a bliss for him.

"Jacob, I'd like you to meet my only son, my only heir, Nikos Alexandrus. Nikos, meet your uncle Jacob"

"Nice to finally meet you, sir. I've heard a lot of things about you from dad" Nikos smiled and offered his hand for a shake.

Nikos got awkward when Jacob del Diosa didn't accept his hand yet. His smile vanished from his lips when he noticed that Jacob was giving him a cold stare. Nikos' father forgot to mention that this old friend of his was more intimidating than him. Nikos could have gotten himself ready for this day.

"He looked a lot like you, Niccolo and I see that he inherited his mother's hair" Nikos suddenly froze when Jacob made the comment.

Hearing the word 'mother' killed all the excitement Nikos had for the whole trip. He just didn't think he had one. There was no need for him to be reminded that he got abandoned by her as a baby.

Everything started when Nikos' father finally met his grandfather, a very rich rancher in Greece---the land where Niccolo fell in love with a greek girl, but she left him afterwards. She left him and never came back.

"Oh, forgive me for being blunt" Jacob now realized that he made everyone uncomfortable. "Anyway, we have to go inside now. Catching up can wait. My mother is very excited to see you, Niccolo. She missed you terribly!"

His father laughed and started to walk right next to his friend and Nikos, on the other hand, was just silently following the two of them. He didn't really know which way to go.

"My mother missed you too, Jacob" Nikos smiled when his father mentioned his dearest grandmother, Agatha.

"Well, well, well, I'll see her one of these days. So, no worries" Jacob replied and chuckled.

"Niccolo, is that really you?!" a woman in her late sixty's, slowly walking her way toward them, asked in disbelief.

"Tia Graciella!" Nikos' father excitedly gave the lovely old woman a hug. "I'm very glad to see you again. Oh my, look at you, looking young as ever!"

The woman, whose name was Graciella giggled at his father's words. "Haven't you changed a bit? Always the sweet talker!" she slapped his father's arm and turned around to look at me. "He must be your son!"

"Yes, tia. He is my boy. My pride" His father replied. "Nikos, I'd like you to meet Tia Graciella, your other grandmother" everyone laughed.

Nikos didn't know that his father had some good jokes hidden up in his sleeves. He could be a better comedian if he wanted to.

"Hello, ma'am. It's an honor to finally meet you" Nikos took her hand and kissed it.

"Oh my... you really are the son of your father. No doubt!" she chuckled. "Silly boy, don't call me ma'am. I want you to call me, Lola. Intiendez?"

Nikos nodded and smiled. "Alright, Lola"

Everybody was in the middle of introducing themselves when someone cleared his throat. They all turned to that person and there, Nikos saw an older version of Jacob.

The del Diosa's patriarch.

Graciella did not waste any time and immediately introduced them to each other. Then, Bella came in the picture--- Jacob's wife and based on what Nikos could see right now, she wasn't from here. She ain't local in this country.

No wonder why their children had a very unique features that most people would go crazy for.

Finally, Nikos settled into one of their guest rooms. His thoughts immediately went active and couldn't stop thinking about his bride to be, whose identity was still unknown. He just couldn't pick yet, even after getting the result from the little investigation he had requested few days ago. That was after his conversation with his father about marrying a del Diosa.

And yes, he had all the gorgeous del Diosa investigated. If Nikos had to marry one of them, then wanting to know them in advance shouldn't be a problem. It would help the process to go faster and less headache to deal with, who wouldn't want that?

Drowning in his own sea of uncontrollable thoughts, Nikos reached for the folder that was placed on the bed side table. And for the third time, he found himself browsing each page and re-reading every detail that was written on it, with the candidates' photographs attached to it.

1. Chiara Mia del Diosa, 24 years of age.

- daughter of Jacob and Bella del Diosa.

- a fine arts degree holder.

- successfully established her own gallery.

2. Chianna Mae del Diosa, 24 years of age.

- twin sister of Chiara Mia.

- despite of being spoiled, she managed to finish her degree in drama and now a successful hollywood actress.

3. Eliana Marie del Diosa, 23 years of age.

- the daughter of Jafford and Elise del Diosa.

- the current Ms. Universe with a master degree in political science.

4. Maria Elaine del Diosa, 23 years of age.

-twin sister of Eliana Maria.

-the chef in the family.

- successfully established a restaurant on her own.

5. Samantha del Diosa de Jesus, 22 years of age.

- the daughter of Mrs. Oliviana del Diosa de Jesus.

- still studying, currently taking her masteral degree in chemical engineering.

6. Maria Constancia Corazon del Diosa de Jesus, 20 years of age.

- younger sister of Ms. Samantha.

- just graduated college and on a time off at this moment.

Nikos mind went exhaustingly confused after reading all the information again. He just couldn't pick who it should be.

"Huh!" a sarcastic sigh escaped his mouth as he realized the craziness of agreeing on doing what his father wanted.

But it was too late to back out now, wasn't it?