Though she had a lot of questions inside her mind about Edric's reaction, no one could give her the answer she wanted to know than he himself.
Naomi's question snapped her back from consciousness.
"Where's *Kuya Pogi, Ate?" Naomi asked after she heard Phil.
"Kuya Pogi?"
"Is your eyes really that poor, Ate? You know who I'm talking about." Naomi gave her a sassy answer.
"Hey kid! Don't talk to me like that!" She playfully bashed her younger sister.
Also Anton told Naomi to behave.
"Naomi, behave!"
"Why? What did I do?"
"Don't be easily swayed by a capitalist like him. Aren't you afraid that he will ask for our sister as an exchange to all of these?"
'That hit the spot.' Jane thought.
There's no such thing as free meal in this world.
It's very rare to encounter people with purely good intentions.
"I only said he is handsome. Is it wrong for me to be honest?" The youngest among them defended herself.
"Kuya, I'm sure Ate knew how to handle the situation better than the two of us. I trust Ate. Don't you trust her?"
Hearing her younger sibling's exchange of argument, Jane shook her head on the sideline.
Both of them had a point.
"Hey! Stop arguing, okay?" She then looked at him in the eye to talk to him.
"Don't worry. I won't be swayed by a capitalist man like him. And Naomi, you have a point."
"That he's handsome?" Naomi's eyes sparkled as she teased her sister.
"Not that one. Geez! What I mean is let us, the adults handle the situation for you both, okay?"
"Okay. But Ate, where is he? Will he be coming back?"
"I don't know. But he'll inform me for sure."
'He really charmed my sister, huh.' She thought.
"Okay."
A few hours after, the siblings shared their lunch for the first time in the huge dinning table.
"Tell me honestly, do you both like it here, guys?"
"So-so."
"Oh?"
"Honestly, Ate. I miss this kind of life. But if we have to lose something just to live this lifestyle, then no thanks. I'd rather go back to our old house even if we don't have nice neighbors."
Jane could only sigh because of how mature and honest her little brother was.
"How about you, Naomi?"
"I like it here. It's nice."
Compared to them, Naomi was only two years old when their family went bankrupt because their dad became addicted to gambling.
They used to live in a big house. But not as big as this one.
As for Anton's opinion, it was a mix.
Mrs. Sanchez came from a well-off family. They owned factories because they made candles and exported their products abroad.
That's their maternal family business before they lost it because of mishandling of funds caused by her father's gambling addiction.
They were never poor but not super rich.
"I see. Okay. Then we'll stay here."
Since this was a gift given to them, she would accept this.
Somehow, she believed that Edric's not a petty kind of man who would take this back after their marriage was done for.
After they had lunch, Doctor Harold called Jane through the phone in the kitchen telling her that their mother woke up.
"Thank you Dr. Harold. But please stop calling me Young Miss. Jane will do."
Dr. Harold wanted to refute her but she had already dropped the call.
"Ate, why's Mama here? The police had taken her away, right?"
"Mr.- I mean Edric's people saved our Mama from Mr. Sandoval."
Jane told them what Edric told her earlier.
"I'll never forgive that old man! I know it's wrong to hold grudges against people but he's an exemption!" Naomi suddenly blurted out making Anton and Jane to look at her.
"Let's not talk about him, okay?"
Jane then opened the door of Mrs. Sanchez's room.
"Mama!" Anton and Naomi cried when they saw her who was now leaning against the headboard of the bed.
"Oh my children! I miss you all!" Their mother also teared up and called for Jane to come over.
Jane ran towards them and gave their Mama a tight hug.
"We miss you too, Mama." They were sobbing while being hugged by their mother.
They hugged their mother for a while and then Jane broke off the hug to talk with Dr. Harold.
"How's our mother, Doc?"
"She still needs rest. Don't worry. I won't leave until she's fully recovered. She's only allowed to take soft food for now."
"Okay. Thank you. Ahm, there's food in the kitchen, please help yourself there."
"Don't worry Young Miss I mean, Jane. I can handle."
"Good."
Then Jane and her siblings focused their attention to Ann. They wiped each other's tears and were all smiling.
"Where is he Jane?" Mrs. Sanchez suddenly asked after recalling the young man who saved her last night.
"Who Mama?"
"The man who saved me last night."
"I'm sorry Mama but I don't think I know who saved you last night. All I know is they're one of the people hired by my boss, I mean Edric."
Before Jane could even introduce to Mrs. Sanchez who Edric was, Naomi excitedly filled her the details.
After hearing everything from the youngest, Mrs. Sanchez looked at Jane.
"Seems like he's a nice young man. Where is he? I want to thank him personally."
"Ahm, about that...he left. He decided to stay in the resort before we go back to the Capital next week."
"Oh. It's a pity. Why don't you just let him stay here? Wait, whose house is this?" She asked after seeing that she's in an unfamiliar room.
"He gave this to us, Mama." Jane told her.
"What?! Why would he do that? This is too much Jane. We should not accept this."
Jane could only sigh as she had already seen this coming.
"I know. But he won't accept our refusal. He also said that he's only giving us back this land. He said we owned this before."
Mrs. Sanchez then looked towards the window and so she saw the view outside which gave her nostalgia.
She saw that familiar mountain outside.
Yes, everything was all familiar.
"Seems like it. But still, this is too much. Jane, I can't accept this." Mrs. Sanchez shook her head for emphasis.
Jane sighed because she knew the former had already made up her mind.
"Okay Mama. I'll send the message to him."
Jane knew that she could not just tell Mrs. Sanchez that everything was in exchange of her making his nominal wife.
"Good. Receiving this kind of gift makes me terrified."
"I know Mama will refuse this Ate." Anton said knowingly.
"Jane, what's going to happen to me? I'm supposed to be in prison but now I'm here. Will my absence could affect my case?"
"I'm not sure Mama. But for now, you should eat lunch first."
Jane then left them temporarily to get the porridge from the kitchen.
Sandro and Pedro greeted her in the kitchen.
"You should have called me Young Miss. I should have send this to the room for the Madam."
"About that, I don't think we will be staying here this long."
She then send a message to Phil to cancel the movers.
However there's no response from him.
Jane decided to call him.
"Hello?" Phil answered from the other line.
"Phil, cancel the movers."
"But Jane, it's Young Master's orders."
"My Mama insisted on not staying in this house. It's too grand for us honestly."
Phil became silent.
"Phil please!"
Jane could hear Phil sighing.
"Okay. I'll do it. But you're going to explain this to Young Master."
"No problem. Where is he?"
"Ahm."
"Tell me. I'll talk to him."
"We're at Palm Beach Resort."
"Okay. I know where that is." Jane then ended the call after.
She immediately went upstairs and then helped Mrs. Sanchez in eating her lunch.
After that, Jane told her siblings to stay in the house as she have some important things to do.
Sandro and Pedro volunteered to drive her there with their jeep.
Jane didn't decline their offer since the distance from this house to the other gate was far and it's scorching hot outside.
She didn't have an umbrella.
Sandro drove her to Palm Beach Resort and there, she saw the car that Phil had driven and also that Mazda side by side.
She then called Phil telling them that she's already on the reception area of the resort.
Minutes after, Edric showed up and he grabbed Jane's hand and dragged her to his villa.
Jane didn't struggle and just let Edric to bring her somewhere.
When they're inside, Edric finally let go of her hand.
"We need to talk." She spoke to him first.
"There's nothing that should be talked about." He dismissed her immediately.
"There is. Mama's awake and she won't accept the house. We will be moving back tonight."
Phil who was actually standing on the corner intervened especially when he could sense that Edric's not in a good mood.
"Ahm, Jane, even if your Mama and siblings didn't like to stay there, I don't think it's wise to go back to your old house, right?"
"And why?" Jane threw Phil a glance.
"Technically, she should be in prison. Unless we prove the faults in her arrest, she's still a criminal and should stay in jail unless proven innocent. That's the protocol." Phil tried to explain to her.
"What now? Is she going to be a fugitive?"
"Seems like it. Mrs. Sanchez's condition will only get worse should she go back to jail and stay there until Atty. Fernandez proves that she's indeed innocent."
So, it's best to stay there for the next few days.
"Now, you should go back." Edric coldly told her.
"But still, we won't be living in the house even after Mama's case get dismissed." Jane was stubborn.
Phil felt suffocated after he saw that Edric's jaw moved making the atmosphere became tensed.
He was angry.
Before he could even react, Jane was being dragged out of the villa and into the Mazda.
Jane was trying to read what was in his mind but there's nothing.
"What? Impossible." She mumbled and Edric could hear her but he ignored it.
Then they left the resort immediately after.
Sandro was driving behind them.
It didn't take long for them to reach Pristina North and into the inside of the house.
Edric stormed inside the house which made Jane to be nervous.
For the first time, she could not really read what's in his mind and thus she's clueless on what to do.
Edric climbed on the stairs to the second floor to where Mrs. Sanchez's room was. Jane could only follow behind him.
When Edric opened the door, Mrs. Sanchez had just finished eating her lunch.
When Naomi saw him, she immediately greeted Edric, "Kuya Pogi!"
Edric gave her a glance and a slight nod before she spoke.
"Hello, Mrs. Sanchez. Can I talk to you? Alone." Edric emphasized making the siblings especially Jane to have no other choice but to obey when she saw Mrs. Sanchez's agreement to it.
Before he left, Anton gave Edric a warning glance but he just shrugged it off.
Now that they're alone in the room, Mrs. Sanchez looked at Edric closely.
Handsome, rich, dangerous yet kind. That's her first impression for him.
"Are you Edric?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Edric vocal tone softened when talking to her.
"Well, young man. I'm very thankful for everything that you've done for me and my children but giving us this house is already too much."
"No Ma'am. It's not too much. I'm doing all of this for your daughter, Jane." Edric remained calm and composed but didn't forget to be polite.
"But may I know why?" A crease appeared on her forehead.
"I promised her that I'll be responsible for her and your family starting today."
"Why? What happened for you to say such words?" She didn't like where this conversation was going.
While the conversation inside the room became heated, outside the room, Jane was pacing back and forth while Anton and Naomi was getting dizzy looking at her.
"Ate, calm down! You're making me dizzy!" Naomi complained to her sister.
"Then don't look at me."
"*Sigh!* Ate, you should relax. I don't think Kuya Pogi will do something to Mama. He saved her, remember?" Naomi pointed out.
But Jane was just worried. She can't read what's in Edric's mind after all.
Back inside the room, Edric looked at Mrs. Sanchez and without wavering, he said, "Something did happen and I'm taking full responsibility of that."
"What?!" Mrs. Sanchez was shocked to hear that.
"Ma'am, please calm down. I don't want Jane to misunderstood. So please give me your blessing."
"Why? Why did you do it to my Jane?"
"Because we both wanted it to happen."
Mrs. Sanchez was about to pass out and Edric was fast to catch her head.
"Are you okay, Ma'am?" Edric suddenly became worried after seeing Mrs. Sanchez losing her energy.
"Promise me to never hurt my Jane. If I see her cry even a single drop of tear because of you, I promise to my ancestors, I'll look for you and teach you a lesson."
"Don't worry Ma'am. Nothing of that sort will happen to Jane when she's with me."
"Good. Now leave. I want to rest."
"Okay Ma'am." Edric was mindful enough to help her lay down to bed.
"Don't call me Ma'am. Call me Mama since we're going to be family. And also, if you're insisting in giving this to us, name this house to Jane. And I'm expecting to see you around this house while you're still here in this town."
Oh! That was fast.
Edric showed a victorious smile when Mrs. Sanchez closed her eyes.
"Okay Mama. I'll be here."
***
(A/N: *Handsome Brother)