"HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY THE WILL OF THE SUPREME GOD?"
Amara's eyes roamed around, and found herself standing in front of someone.
The person has the appearance of a middle-aged man with a beard. His eyes were golden and his hair was black and smooth. He was simply wearing a pair of gold slacks and a gold spherical earring. His body was elegantly adorned with golden tattoos that ran the length of his massive chest, thick arms, and even his feet.
He was glaring at her, but he stood like a king with disappointment evident on his regal face
Amara doesn't know what's happening as of the moment so she instead asked, "Am I dead?"
The man scoffed. "Ha! As if letting you die is the wisest thing for me to do."
"Who are you? And where am I?"
"I am Bathala, an I am the supreme god of Maharlika." He then heaved a sigh as if stopping himself from scolding Amara. "You tried to escape your fate of becoming the Apo Mumbaki's wife, right?"
She gasped in response. "You mean you are the Apo Bathala? Does that mean I am really dead?"
Apo Bathala rolled his eyes. "You are not dead yet. I will bring you back and you have to marry Raha Sitan in return."
"What do you mean marry Raha Sitan? Are you out of your mind?"
Apo Bathala roared at her. "You dare question my mentality, you puny mortal!"
But Amara argued with him. "Why would I marry that villain, huh? You want me to seek my own death?"
The deity glared at her. It was so sharp it almost killed her in an instant. "You Hirayas had been ruining the story from the start. If you don't marry Raha Sitan, the story will lead to chaos."
Amara frowned. "Story?"
"The story of [The Hidden Treasure]."
"W-What?"
How in the world did Apo Bathala knew of the web novel?
If he knew of the novel, does this mean he knows that she wanted to escape from Raha Sitan?
If he knows, then...
Amara gasped when she reached a surprising conclusion. "Y-You are AwesomeAllFather143?"
Apo Bathala confidently held his head high. "Now that you know my identity, it is better for you to follow what I tell you. Marry Raha Sitan."
"I don't want to!"
Damn this author! Does he think it's easy to accept a villain as a husband?
Apo Bathala became furious. "If you just didn't kill yourself, Raha Sitan would've never become a villain in the first place!"
"And what does it have to do with me? I never wanted to die and be reincarnated here!"
Because if I am being honest here, no sane person would want to marry that wicked Raha Sitan. That immortal who would kill anyone who blocks his way? No way!
The supreme god grumbled, as if he was tired of arguing with her already. "You can't avoid being Apo Mumbaki's wife; believe me, it will benefit you."
Amara was still unconvinced. "And how would it help me?"
The corners of the deity's mouth curved upwards as his eyes sparkled. His expression suggests that he understands Amara's goals in life. "It'll make it easier for you to meet your lola Mercedez again."
Amara immediately forgot she was talking to the supreme god of this world when she heard the name of the most significant person from her prior existence, and she grasped his arm. "D-Do you mean you'll let me see my grandmother again?"
Her tears began to flow freely. Despite the fact that it didn't appear to be true, there was always a ray of hope that she might see her grandma again. That she would be willing to speak to her once more. That she would be able to voice her apologies to her.
She grew up without a mother or father, and her grandma was the only one who looked after her.
Despite the fact that people would gossip about her or humiliate her, she was content since she still had a family.
But everything changed when her grandmother died suddenly and unexpectedly. To add insult to injury, she was fired from her job and was cheated on, all on the same day.
"The supreme god of this world would never lie," Apo Bathala said. "As long as you marry Raha Sitab, you will be able to see your grandmother."
Her grandmother's death is the most painful one. She would do anything to see her again, even if it means she have to marry a villain.
Amara pursed her lips before slowly speaking. "What else do you want me to do?"
Apo Bathala had a satisfied smile at her. "It's simple, take good care of your husband and love him dearly. You need you learn mahika. And I want you to change the story and give me the ending that I want."
She bit her lip. "I could marry Raha Sitan, but I can't love him. Sure, I could study mahika, but I don't know what kind of ending you want. At least give me a hint, Apo Bathala."
And the question is: Would Raha Sitan also love her back? Or will she just have an unhappy married life with him?
He did kiss her, does that mean he likes her?
That might be impossible because he only wants to marry her out of revenge. So after marrying a direct Hiraya woman, what would be his next step?
I hope he won't put Maharlika into damnation. He can do that after I meet my grandmother.
Apo Bathala grunted in annoyance. "Bah! For a mere mortal, you worry too much."
Amara rolled her eyes. "If you want me to do my job properly, you need to explain everything to me. It's better for me to know what kind of cliff I am jumping to."
"You do have a point," said the deity. "You would be able to give me the proper ending if you will get to know Raha Sitan more. Once you know him well, you will realize why the novel is titled The Hidden Treasure. Lastly, be careful, people who use masks are truly evil. And sometime blood is not thicker than water."
"What do you mean blo--"
"We don't have much time to chat this much. If you want to talk to me or if you need my help, just pray to me."
"But--"
Apo Bathala interrupted her once again. "Once you go back, propose to Raha Sitan."
She scowled at this. "Why me? Shouldn't he be the one to propose to me?"
"Do you want to see your grandmother or not?"
She immediately replied, "I will propose to Raha Sitan as soon as I open my eyes."
"Good, now off you go. We will meet again soon, be sure to behave yourself in front of Raha Sitan when that time comes."
Amara smiled sarcastically. "And I would also make sure to bother you every now and then, Apo Bathala."
"Ah, you little--"
The supreme god was not able to scold her because a huge amount of light blanketed her whole and abruptly pulled her back.
With that, Amara's eyes fluttered open. She gasped as she brought herself up to sit.
"Amara, you're alive!"
Amara was still in a daze when she woke up. She grabbed the nearest thing to her and asked. "What? What happened?"
She then stilled when her nose caught a whiff of the strong smell sampaguita.
Ah, don't tell me that I am holding on to Raha Sitan?
She turned her head, and expectedly made eye to eye contact with Raha Sitan's blood-colored eyes.
Fuck!
She then realized that she was leaning her side to his chest, while his arms surrounded her.
"Oh gods, my heart almost exploded when you let go of my hand earlier," Raha Sitan said. He then raised his voice to her. "My wife, what were you thinking? How could you just fall like that while smiling at me? Do you really hate me that much?"
Amara didn't respond. Especially when Raha Sitan suddenly cried and hugged her tight.
This is not the reaction she was expecting from him.
"Raha Sitan..."
"If I had failed to catch you earlier, what would become of me?"
Apo Bathala's words reverberated to Amara's head. "If you just didn't kill yourself, Raha Sitan would've never become a villain in the first place!"
Amara sighed and gently pulled out of Raha Sitan's hug. "I'm sorry, Raha Sitan."
The latter sniffed. "If you are really sorry, don't do it again."
Amara was about to answer him, but she was suddenly interrupted when she heard Apo Bagani's voice from behind.
Amara's head spun around and saw the Hiraya tribe's Apo in a messy state. His robe was torned off, and the side of his head was full of blood.
"Apo Mumbaki, you coward!" Bagani shouted. "You dare summon those filthy corpses in my territory?"
Raha Sitan only whined and rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect you to be alive after that attack, Bagani Hiraya. Consider that a fucking compliment."
Amara worriedly faced Raha Sitan. "What did you do to my Apo? How about my father Lakandula?"
Raha Sitan smiled. "Don't worry, my wife, father-in-law is safe. I can't say for sure about your Apo Bagani, I hope he dies this instant."
"Amara, stay away from that monster!"
Despite the order, Amara did not move. Instead, she opened her arms as if to protect Raha Sitan. "Apo Bagani, please don't hurt Raha Sitan."
Apo Bagani was dumbfounded as he heard this. "What?"
Don't look at me like that, ask Apo Bathala!
"What the hell did you just say to our Apo, Amara?" Lakandula's voice was heard all of a sudden.
He arrived with Lakam, the twins, and Hari.
Manong also showed up and went to Raha Sitan's side.
Lakandula spoke again. "Did I hear it right? You told our Apo not to hurt that bastard?"
Amara stood up and face Bagani and the others. "I can't let you hurt Raha Sitan."
They all gasped.
It was Hari who recovered immediately and shouted at her. "You stupid brat! Did you hit your head that bad that you are now siding with the Apo Mumbaki?"
"Amara, you must still be in shock when you fell from the cliff earlier," Lakam said calmly. "Please come here, ading ko."
Amara bit her lip, she didn't want to do this, but she has to!
"You don't understand," she said, "I am in love with Raha Sitan, so please do not hurt him!"
"WHAT?"
Apo Bathala, please assure me that I am really doing the right thing. Because I don't want to regret this later on!
Amara then turned to Raha Sitan, he expected him to be shocked. But she didn't expect him to be awestricken. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was agape as he stared at her.
But here goes her gamble.
Amara spoke passionately, as though expressing something to the world, emboldened by the prospect of seeing her grandmother again.
"Raha Sitan, please marry me!"