Sweet Surrender: The CEO's Second Wife

One hour later, the train stopped at Roosevelt Station.

Caroline exited the train and rides a taxicab going to Project Seven. She gave the exact address to the driver.

Twenty minutes later, they finally located the Golden Berry Apartment Complex.

Caroline paid the taxi driver her fare and exited the cab.

There was a guard on duty near the entrance of the apartment.

She went to the guard, showed him the address on her phone and asked if there was such an address existed in the apartment.

"Yes, there is..." the guard said.

"Can I come inside, Sir?" she asked permission. "My friend told me that she just relocated here in this apartment one month ago," she said lying.

"Okay, just leave your ID here," the guard ordered.

Caroline opened her shoulder bag and took one of her two ID's from her wallet and handed it to the guard.

The guard motioned her to enter the door.

It's a five-story apartment complex. No elevator and no escalator, so, she had to climb the stairs to the 5th floor.

She was already sweating when she finally reached the top floor.

There was a lounge area at the top, few sofas were arranged in the hallway. She sat on the sofa to catch her breath before continue locating the unit number. There were twelve units on each floor level. 'This looks more like a c.o.n.d.o.minium building,' she said to herself.

Done resting.

She rose to her feet and continue walking towards the end of the hallway and finally saw the unit #60.

Finally!

But her eyes widened upon seeing a ~ FOR RENT~ sign on the door. Huh? This unit was already vacant? Since when?

She was standing there rooted on the spot. Just when she was about to discover the identity of her stalker he's already gone.

She stood outside the unit for a few minutes digesting the sign in front of her.

She turned around about to retrace her steps when the door of the adjacent unit suddenly opened and a middle-aged woman exited the door.

"Ma'am, good afternoon, can I ask you something?" she smiled at the woman.

"Yes, what is it?"

"The one occupying here, what is his name? When did the occupants vacate this unit?" she asked.

A creased appeared on the woman's forehead. "Ah...I can't exactly remember... but it's a brooding looking guy named Lucas, he was just renting this place. He left this apartment one week ago."

"Ah, I see. Thank you for the info, Ma'am. Do you have any idea where he relocated?" Caroline asked.

The woman shook her head. "I dunno. We barely talk to each other. Honestly, I don't know that guy," she explained.

"Okay, thank you, Ma'am. Have a nice day," Caroline said. She watched as the woman continue her way downstairs.

She walked towards the sofa and sat there for a while.

She opened her shoulder bag and checked for messages on her phone. There were two unread messages, one from Mike saying I love you and I miss you. The other message coming from Daniel.

She opens the message and starts reading...

~

'Meet me at Annabel's Bar & Restaurant in San Antonio St, this coming Friday between 6 to 7 in the evening. Just asked the cashier for table # 20 upstairs, reserved by Daniel Lopez. If you arrive early just order anything, it's my treat. It's just a few minutes away from Eastwood Subdivision. See you there!'

~

Caroline placed her phone back in her bag. She knows the bar because she had passed it many times whenever she goes to the mall for grocery shopping. It was located along the highway, easy to locate and accessible.

Truth is...she doesn't trust Daniel.

And the one thing that bothers her was that he knows where she lives. How did she know? Dang, it gives her the creeps.

She retrieves her phone from her bag and began typing a message for him...' how did you know my home address?'... and sent it to him.

She waited for his reply.

His reply comes in one short sentence...' I know a lot about you...'

A chill runs down her spine. 'C-could it be that his stalker on the phone and Daniel is of one person only?'

But the woman said that Lucas is the name of the guy who rented the unit #60.

Damn!

It's getting confusing!

She'd better see Daniel and ask him why he knows a lot of things about her.

As for her stalker, it's a good thing that he no longer sent her random creepy messages. She hopes that he will finally leave her alone. She initially wanted to ignore the address given to her by her phone stalker. But there are times she was curious who's residing in that address and now that she's finally here in the place... he disappeared.

Who is Lucas?

Do I know him?

She racked her brain wanting to remember if she meets a guy named Lucas, but she was sure, she meets nobody by that name in her lifetime.

She rose to her feet and went down the stairs.

She saw a toilet nearby down the hallway. She went inside on one of the vacant cubicles and began wiping her sweaty body with the face towel she brought with her. Done wiping the sweats, she sprayed perfume on her body wanting to feel fresh and smelling good when she will board the crowded train going home.

She went back to the entrance, smiled at the guard and get her ID.

Outside, she flagged a taxicab and instructed the driver to take her to the Roosevelt Train Station.

A few minutes later she was now boarding the train.

One hour later, she's back in Makati City.

Caroline exited the MRT Station and boarded a taxi cab, then she gave the driver her home address.

On her way home, she spotted the Annabel's Bar & Restaurant along the highway.

"Ah, driver, please stop the car at Annabel's Bar & Restaurant," she commanded.

The taxi driver parked the car in front of the restaurant so that his passenger can exit the vehicle properly.

Caroline handed her fare to the driver. "Keep the change," she smiled at the driver.

"Thank you," said the grateful driver.

Caroline ambled to the entrance and asked the guard on duty where is the bar located.

"Just continue ahead Ma'am, the next building is the bar," the guard motioned her to the north side which has~ The Bar~ sign on the entrance.

"Thank you, guard," Caroline said.

"You're welcome, Ma'am," the guard replied politely.

Caroline roamed her eyes around the restaurant, the food looks yummy and the aroma of cooked dishes floated into her nostrils.

Her stomach grumbled. Dang! She's getting hungry all of a sudden.

She went to the vacant table nearby and picked up the menu. Now that she's here she might as well have her dinner.

She ordered 'Set C' value meal dinner which consists of Plain Rice, Salt & Pepper Squid, Sweet & Sour Pork and soft drinks.

She handed her order to the waiter that has been waiting patiently nearby, she picked up her phone from her bag and typed a message to her mother telling her that she was already eating dinner in a restaurant. She will be home soon.

Done sending the text message to her mother she put her phone back in her bag.

Unknown to Caroline, in the table nearby, three people are dining as well. They were looking and observing Caroline from afar.

"See that pretty woman over there..." the guy who is wearing a black polo shirt commented.

"Wow! She's here!" the woman wearing a floral blouse smiled.

"Looks like lady luck is on our side tonight! I didn't expect to see her in this restaurant," said the woman who's wearing a stylish knee-length summer dress. Her eyes were gleaming in delight while eyeing Caroline at a distance.

The woman wearing a floral blouse whispered something to the other woman. "Shall we drugged her, Madam?"

The woman looked at the younger woman shaking her head. "That might not be necessary, let see, we will evaluate the situation first," she replied. "I will handle her myself," she added.

"So, what we're going to do next?" the younger woman asked.

"Just continue chilling and relaxing here. What else can we do?" the older woman answered smiling at her companion.

In her mind, she already had a flawless plan for Caroline.