RICKARTE ESTATE

VANESSA

After lunch, she wandered through the hacienda gardens, the scent of sampaguita and damask roses thick in the warm afternoon air.

She needed a moment.

"You seem lost in thought, dear."

Vanessa turned.

Rose Rickarte stood beside her, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Before Vanessa could respond, Caleta Pelquiejo joined them.

"You’ll have to forgive Rose," Caleta said smoothly, folding her arms. "She has a habit of playing matchmaker."

Rose chuckled. "It’s not matchmaking, it’s guidance."

Vanessa forced a smirk. "I’m just taking in the fresh air."

Rose chuckled softly. "Careful. You say that too much, and Vincent will think you’re actually enjoying yourself."

Vanessa let out a short laugh.

But it faded when Rose’s expression turned thoughtful.

"Years ago, I found myself standing in this same garden, facing a choice I never thought I’d have to make," she admitted. "I fell in love with one of the Four Knights of the Apocalypse, and my father did not take that well at all."

Vanessa smirked. "Social media is terrible for giving the RPV2 shareholders such horrible aliases."

Caleta chuckled. "Actually, it was a PR stunt."

Vanessa’s eyes widened. "No way---"

Rose nodded. "It worked wonders too."

Vanessa had to laugh.

"How has your stay at the Viaqueza Estate been so far?" Rose asked next, her tone casual, though Vanessa could tell there was nothing casual about this discussion.

Vanessa hesitated for only a fraction of a second. "It’s… been an adjustment."

Rose hummed, tugging her hair back as the wind continued to blow soft whispers of warmth and fresh breeze. "And your relationship with Vincent?"

Vanessa nearly choked on air while Caleta let out a teasing smirk.

Relationship?

She straightened slightly, forcing herself to remain composed. "I don’t have a relationship with Vincent."

Rose raised a perfectly arched brow. "No?"

Vanessa frowned. "No."

Rose sighed, setting a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder. "Modesty aside, dear, Vincent never entertains or even drives the women I invite to our Sunday lunches. Ever. And yet, there you two were. The syndicate lord open car doors for you, pulls out your chair. Somehow it works." She tilted her head. "Knowing Vincent, that means something."

Vanessa had no response to that.

Because she knew Rose was right.

Though she barely knows him, Vincent has become these past few months, somewhat familiar to her.

But Rose’s next words came softer, more measured.

"My point is, not everything you hear about Vincent is true. If you give him a chance, he just might surprise you."

Vanessa’s smirk faltered. "It’s not easy defining a man like Vincent, is it?"

Rose exhaled, shaking her head. "What can I say, the man is a monster, but he has his moments."

Caleta arched a brow. "A rare endorsement from Rose."

The three women shared a knowing laugh.

But then, Rose’s gaze flickered at the distant, as if recollecting something.

Then she reached for Vanessa’s hand, gentle but firm.

"Give him a chance, Vanessa."

And suddenly, the afternoon breeze felt a hell of a lot heavier.

The weight of Rose’s words lingered in Vanessa’s chest as she made her way back toward the house.

She had spent years keeping herself untangled from the politics of power.

Yet here she was.

Drawn into Vincent’s world more than she cared to admit.

And she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave.

As she neared the entrance, she caught sight of Vincent leaning against the veranda railing, his back to her. He stood relaxed, yet there was an edge of tension in his stance, as if his mind was elsewhere.

Vanessa hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.

“Something on your mind, Vincent?”

Vincent turned his head slightly, smirking at the sound of her voice.

“You tell me, Vanessa. You’re the one who disappeared into the garden like a lost princess.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly lost. Just… observing.”

He studied her, his gaze sharp and assessing. “And? What did you observe?”

Vanessa crossed her arms. “Your family is… interesting.”

Vincent huffed out a quiet laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

She hesitated before adding, “You look… different here.”

His expression flickered, briefly unreadable. “Different how?”

Vanessa tilted her head. “Less like a crime lord, more like a…” She paused, searching for the right word.

Vincent smirked. “Careful now. If you say ‘domesticated dog,’ I might just leave you stranded here.”

She chuckled. “I wouldn't say dog.” Her smile faded slightly. “You just… belong here.”

Vincent’s amusement dimmed, his smirk softening. He didn’t respond right away, instead glancing toward the sprawling hacienda grounds.

“Maybe,” he murmured.

A moment stretched between them. Heavy, unspoken.

Then, the moment shattered.

"Kuya Vinci! Ate Vanessa!"

Emilia’s excited voice rang through the veranda as she skipped toward them, holding something in her tiny hands.

Vincent turned just as she grabbed his sleeve. "Look! Ate Vanessa's cookies are the best!"

She held up a half-eaten cookie, her smile wide and full of crumbs.

And Vincent without another thought lifted the young girl into his arms and bit off a large chunk of the cookie from her hand making Emilia laugh heartily, hugging Vincent happily.

Vanessa blinked as Vincent laughed along with the little angel and her breath hitched as Vincent turned to her and smiled.

It tugged at her heartstrings as the warmth in his smile was tinged with a sadness, she could not unsee.

And for some reason… that made the drive back to city filled with silence.

Not an uncomfortable silence.

Not even an unfriendly one.

Just a silence that carried weight.

Vanessa stared out the window, pretending not to notice Vincent occasionally glancing at her.

Vincent, on the other hand, gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than usual.

He wasn’t sure what had shifted between them.

Only that something had.

On the drive back from the Rickarte Estate, the silence between Vincent and Vanessa was thick.

Not the usual silence, the kind that came from exhaustion or lack of words.

This was something else.

Something loaded.

Something dangerous.

Vanessa leaned against her seat, arms crossed, her gaze locked on Vincent. The sun was beginning to dip, casting golden streaks through the trees, painting long shadows across the road ahead of them.

Vincent finally gave in to the question in her eyes, “I know you are not letting this go, so speak.”.

Vanessa tilted her head, studying him. “Why do you do it?”

His jaw ticked, but his smirk remained. “Do what exactly, Prinsesa?”

“Risk your life,” she said, voice sharp now. “Walk around with blood on your shirt. Involve yourself with my father’s affairs when you have this...” she gestured toward the estate, toward the family who clearly adored him. “Why? When you could just leave it all behind?”

Vincent’s smirk faltered.

For a moment, he just stared at her, as if trying to decide how much she deserved to know.

Then, he surprised her when he suddenly maneuvered the car onto the side of the road and pulled the brakes.

For a while, Vincent was motionless, but Vanessa can saw the darkened shadows of his face and knew she struck a nerve

Vincent then turned to face her. Slow. Calculated.

Until she can see the clear disgust in his face.

“You think I have a choice?” His voice was lower now, rougher. “You think I can just walk away? From the men who built this empire with me? From the people who depend on me?”

Vanessa held her ground. “You could.”

Vincent let out a quiet laugh, humorless.

Then his eyes darkened as he re-started the engine and Vincent sped through the winding road and Vanessa felt his presence suffocating with heat.

“I don’t stain my hands in blood despite them, Vanessa.” His voice was lethal, precise, cutting through the tension like a blade. “I do it because of them.”

Vanessa swallowed.

“You don’t know what it takes to keep them safe,” he continued, his tone smooth but charged with something deeper. “The men at that table? The women who built this family? They don’t just run companies. They don’t just sign deals.”

His fingers gripped on the wheels as if it was where he focused his control.

“They fight for what we have. To keep it, to deserve it.” His voice was nothing more than a whisper now. “And I will burn this world to the ground before I let anyone take them from me.”

Vanessa’s breath caught.

She should have been afraid.

She should have asked him to slow down before he drives them straight to kingdom come.

But instead, all she felt was heat.

She hated it. Hated the way his words settled into her bones, made something in her stomach twist in ways she didn’t want to acknowledge.

“You act like you have nothing to lose,” she said quietly.

Vincent smirked, slow and devastating. “Do I?”

But there was something behind his gaze.

Something Vanessa couldn’t quite decipher.

And just as fast as Vincent drove away from the Rickarte estate, the part of him that shared a laugh with Vanessa disappeared as well.

*******