Louisa had indeed run to the stables to get Fairylights, the palomino mare she received from her Papa last Christmas. It was a good thing that Mang Tino, the Almendrezes' trusted caretaker, knew that his young señorita loved to ride, especially during the early mornings. He always kept the mare saddled before breakfast whenever Louisa was in residence.
Mang Tino cheerfully greeted his young mistress, but Louisa took the mare's reins from his outstretched hand in silence. It had been Louisa's habit to chat with him before going for a ride. Louisa always treated the servants with respect and genuine concern. That she took off without a word made the old man think that the señorita was in a rare black mood today.
Mang Tino sighed in relief when he spotted Matthew riding up from the main house. He waved at the young man to catch his eye and signaled him to follow Louisa. Matthew nodded and prodded the horse into a gallop. The old man prayed that Matthew would catch up with the young mistress before she fell into any harm. He feared that in her upset the young señorita might be a little reckless this morning.
And Mang Tino was right. Louisa was indeed being reckless at the moment. She was leaning hard on Fairylights, spurring her to go past her limits. She rode like the very devil was after her. Her ponytail had come loose, her long hair flying in all directions, whipping against her face. Louisa hardly noticed. She was near the edge of the hacienda when Matthew called out to her. Only then did she seem to realize how fast she was going. Pulling gently on the reins, the palomino understood her signal and gradually slowed down to a trot.
Rubbing Fairylights' neck, Louisa whispered softly into the horse's ear, probably apologizing for forcing her to run at a pace that she was not used to. Matthew smiled. Louisa treated animals like they were people. The young mare snorted and neighed, tossing her head high, as if assuring her master that she accepted the apology. At last, Louisa turned Fairylights around to meet Matthew who was already at wit's end. He was just a year older than her, was more like an older brother than an employee, and as such had no qualms speaking his mind.
"And what was that all about, Señorita Louisa?" he drawled.
Louisa cringed at the very formal title he used. He never called her by her proper name, much less Señorita, unless he was annoyed or angry at her.
"Just wanted to test Fairylights' limits, that's all," she replied, grinning widely.
Matthew was not fooled by her nonchalant reply. Raising his thick eyebrows, he pursed his lips and waited for a more believable explanation. When Louisa shrugged and turned away without a word, Matthew knew that there was trouble brewing. He turned his own horse around and rode beside Louisa in silence. No questions were asked. He knew that his best friend would confide in him when she was ready. Louisa dismounted from her lathered horse at the stables in silence. She rubbed the mare's nose and thanked her for the wonderful ride. She then gave the reins to Matthew and walked back to the house. Matthew had a sinking feeling as he watched her walk away.
Damn! Something's wrong, he thought as he turned the reins over to a worried-looking Mang Tino. He jumped off of his horse in one swift motion and followed Louisa, his protective instincts rising to the fore.
When he caught up with her, he fell in step and quietly said, "Wanna talk?"
Louisa turned to see her friend's questioning eyes and nodded. She then retraced her steps and walked to the gazebo. The vigorous ride she took appeared to have already quenched much of her frustration, but not entirely. Matthew knew that his presence helped calm her troubled mind. He's always been a good listener and right now, his friend really needed someone who would just let her rant and diffuse at least a bit of the anger that was apparently seething within her. They had been trusted confidantes since they were children and time only strengthened that bond.
Matthew and Mang Tino were already residents of the Hacienda Constantina when Louisa's mother inherited it from a distant aunt. Fortunately, Senora Almendrez had grown so fond of the place that Louisa's father did not have the heart to sell it during their great financial crisis. Matthew's father had been the hacienda's gardener and his mother the cook/housekeeper. They both died in an unfortunate boating accident when he was five. Mang Tino, a stable hand back then, became Matthew's guardian.
When Louisa's parents took over the operations of the hacienda, it was in the red, three feet deep, as Don Ramon used to say. Only a couple of aging horses were stabled and the land was fallow. Doña Milagros, the spinster aunt, barely knew anything about farming and horse-breeding. In spite of the hacienda's sorry state, Don Ramon was sure that they could turn it around in time. Unfortunately, only Mang Tino and two other stable hands stayed, even after being offered future profit-sharing. Louisa and Matthew were almost the same age. Naturally, they were drawn to each other and later became the best of friends. Matthew was smart, consistently excelling in school. When he expressed the desire to go to college, Don Ramon did not hesitate in sponsoring his education.
As it turned out, he had an inherent affinity for animals. His choice to pursue a career in veterinary medicine did not really come as a surprise. He graduated with honors and had received a lot of impressive proposals from much bigger farms and haciendas. But his loyalty to the Almendrezes was beyond measure. He never once entertained the notion of leaving the Hacienda. A man with lesser scruples would've taken advantage of the Almendrezes' good hearts and schemed to snag their heiress. Luckily for her, Matthew saw her only as the much-loved sibling he never had. Besides, even when they were still younger, Matthew knew that someone else had already captured her attention – an elusive young man with fascinating grayish-green eyes. Too bad the fool didn't reciprocate her tender feelings.
"So, what's up, Prinsesa?" Matthew jested, breaking the ice. Louisa couldn't help but smile. The term 'prinsesa' was a private joke from when they were kids, used only when she was annoyingly bossy and demanding.
With a deep sigh, she said, "Papa just told me that I'm engaged to – brace yourself – Gabriel Fernando Montoya!"
If Louisa was expecting a gasp or a curse in protest from her friend, she was sorely disappointed. Matthew laughed. And laughed some more. He only forced himself to swallow his obviously misplaced mirth when he saw the horrified look on Louisa's face.
"You're not kidding, are you," he said, trying hard not to smile.
"Will I joke about something like this?" Louisa retorted, her perfectly arched brows furrowing in dismay.
"Yeah, you wouldn't. It's too absurd to be funny, anyway," agreed Matthew.
"Believe me, it's not funny," Louisa slumped into the cushions of the wicker loveseat, her arms folded tightly on her chest.
"You're right. It's not funny," Matthew paused, his eyes glinting mischievously. "It's hysterical!" he blurted, unmindful of Louisa's foul mood.
Louisa glared at him and stomped her foot. "If you're not going to take this seriously, I'd rather talk to Fairylights. At least she won't act like a buffoon!"
Matthew's laughter died down to a chuckle as he turned to her, his arms raised in surrender, "Sorry, Louie. I just thought it was too funny to be true." At Louisa's baleful glare, Matthew gulped, "But it is, isn't it?"
Louisa's pursed her lips and nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.
Matthew gasped as his hands raked through his dark, wavy hair, his face a mask of incredulity and disbelief. "Madre de Dios!"
"Exactly!" Louisa exclaimed, jumping to her feet and pacing before Matthew.
"Wait! Wait! Why are you so upset? You've been mooning over this guy for the longest time, right? Isn't this what you've been dreaming of since you were seven?"
Louisa stopped her pacing and quietly returned to the loveseat. She put her feet up on the cushions and hugged her knees.
"That was before I knew what he really thought of me or have you forgotten what I told you before?" Louisa said, biting her lip to keep herself from crying.
When she was ten, she confided to Matthew that she'd already met her Prince Charming and she would marry him when they grew up. She told him everything about Gabriel, the Angel, Montoya. She was seven when she first met him and was immediately dazzled by his handsome face and tall physique. Still, his eyes were what really captured her heart because they were of the most unusual color, smoky-gray with green flecks that seemed to reflect the sun's rays. She had been fascinated by them because it was the first time she'd seen eyes that were not brown or hazel. And from then on, she worked hard to have those eyes always turned towards her.
She always tried to be near him every time they were together and would only play with his younger brothers if she knew that he would be there to watch over them. She would take every opportunity to speak with him or at least join in his every conversation. She would try to impress him with her brains by engaging him in 'intellectual' discussions. But a girl her age did not really know how the male mind worked, so it never occurred to her that what she was doing was actually pushing Gabriel away instead.
Blissfully unaware of that fact, Louisa harbored that childhood infatuation up until college. The few boys who had been lucky to get close enough to court her never really stood a chance once she started comparing them with Gabriel. Matthew bore witness to the broken hearts she left in her wake. Fortunately, she became too busy to even bother with boys. By the time she graduated from college and started working at the furniture shop, her social life had become non-existent. Although she had stopped 'mooning' over Gabriel, Matthew knew that he still holds a special place in her heart.
But all that changed after her reunion with another Montoya boy, Angelo.
The Furniture Shop had been awarded the contract of outfitting the newest hotel of the Montoyas. When the resident Interior Designer of the hotel resigned before the project's completion, Don Fernando personally commissioned Louisa to take over that, too. She had practically burned Matthew's ears with that happy news. She was to report directly to the acting CEO and was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be her childhood friend, Angelo. The two of them had been quite close up until High School. They lost touch when he went away to study in the US and she became too busy juggling school and helping her father. Even after he came home, two years ago, they had not been able to renew their friendship, what with her traveling at least once a month to promote their furniture line and Angelo traipsing around the social circles as the Montoya empire's unofficial PR man.
It was during one of their more relaxed lunch meetings while reminiscing their childhood adventures, that Angelo, obviously unaware of her infatuation for Gabriel, innocently divulged how Gabriel hated being around her then, seeing her as nothing more than a 'hoydenish nuisance' who was best ignored, if not avoided. In fact, according to Angelo's account, Gabriel said that he would consider it a real blessing if he never laid eyes on her again. Louisa would've cried at that revelation had her pride not been ripped to shreds by the thought that she had foolishly adored someone who, in truth, could not even stomach her. That night she called Matthew and told him everything that Angelo had said. After crying her heart out until the wee hours of the morning, Louisa swore that from that day on she would forget Gabriel Montoya and would have nothing more to do with the conceited lout.
"Right. I almost forgot. That fu-I mean, fool! I still can't believe that he thought of you that way. You were just kids!" Matthew said, shaking his head.
"See? If he was that despicable then, as a child, what do you think will he be like now, as a grown man?"
"Well, it only boils down to two things: One - he evolved into a new level of jerkhood, or two - he'd gotten over his airs and turned into a charming, affable gentleman worthy of your devotion."
Louisa rolled her eyes at that presumption. "Ha! That would be the day! I really don't think men like Gabriel Montoya can ever change for the better or even change at all. And my father wants me to marry him? How in the world am I supposed to do that when I don't even know how I'd feel if I see him again, knowing what I know now?"
Matthew sighed when he saw the tears flowing unheeded down her flushed cheeks. He rose from his seat and sat beside Louisa. Draping one of his strong arms around her, he pulled his best friend towards him, letting her drench his freshly pressed white shirt with her hot tears. He let her. He didn't mind. It was what a best friend...no, a brother...would do for a beloved sister whose heart had been broken.
It wasn't the only thing a brother would do for a sister, though. And he's more than willing to do the rest, including pounding Gabriel Montoya into a pulp, if it ever came to that. There's nothing he would not do for the Almendrez family. Especially for the girl who took him in and made him a brother. He would die for her.
But for now, he would keep his anger to himself and let her cry her heart out. Later, he would berate her for being stupid enough to cry over a piece of shit named Gabriel Montoya. But that's for later when she's ready to do her own flagellation of the creep.
And, boy, wouldn't that be a sight to behold? Matthew chuckled inside.