Game of Love Ch. 15

She was heading to the pool area after a long day at work, showing everyone what was gonna happen if they messed with her. She was victorious and nothing was gonna stop her now. Her greatest enemy was dead and she had made sure of that.

As she neared the pool, she saw Kim seated on a chair, staring into the pool. Her heart raced in happiness and she cut her call.

"Are you thinking of committing suicide in the pool?" Her mouth curved into a smile. "You might be thinking of it but I can assure you that it won't be that easy to leave us. We still need you, Kim? We love you." Then she burst into laughter, holding her chest. "You should look at your face right now. You're so hilarious."

Kim took a deep breath, trying to keep herself under control.

"You've only witnessed a percentage of our victory. You haven't even witnessed the marriage of my son to Sergio."

Kim chuckled in bitterness. "I still don't understand how I didn't figure you out all those years. We've been friends for so long and I trusted you. I thought you had my back but I had no idea you were just a snake in green grass."

"We're not so different after all," Giada said, opening her arms. "Don't try to act saint when we both know the kind of person you are? We both also know the secret you're keeping from your children."

"At least, I don't betray people that I love. I don't stab my friends in the back." Kim yelled, getting up from the chair. "For how long will you play hide and seek, Giada? Why do you do this?"

"It is payback for what you did to me. You have no idea what happens to someone when they trouble me a lot." She chuckled like an evil queen. "You should be thankful that you're still alive. Or maybe you're tired of your life and you want to join your son-in-law. I can arrange for that."

"You can do your worst, Giada," Kim said with tears threatening to come out. "You've managed to distance from my children. I only did this because I was being a mother to my son. I didn't want him to go away from me or for him to feel pain. But what's the difference now?" She sobbed softly. "You and your son are alike, stuck to my son like glue. You will not be at peace until you take everything that he has."

"No, you're very wrong about that." Giada grinned. "My son loves Sergio and it is because of that love that you're still here. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would have exposed you to him."

"Am I supposed to thank you?" Kim asked hoarsely. "And you can keep on dreaming because my son will never marry Trevor. What did you think? You would kill Eric and your son would come here and Sergio would welcome him with open arms? You're such a dreamer because my son's love for Eric will never die. Even as we speak, he's refused to accept that Eric is gone. He is looking for him and not once as he noticed your loser son."

That was the breaking point of Giada's patience. At that moment, she was blinded by a five-course serving of rage that tasted bitter. She raised her hand and smacked Kim across the face but even though she did, the woman kept on staring at her.

"I accept that I made a mistake but what you did is a crime." She yelled. "You're the one that killed Eric and no matter what you do, the truth will not remain hidden. Sergio will find out sooner or later and do you know what he'll do? He'll kill you and your entire crew. He'll not spare you and..."

"Shut up!" Giada was breathless. She raised her finger and pointed at Kim. "Shut the fuck up, Kim! You don't wanna make me angry."

"Are you scared?" She asked, shaking her head. "Sergio is looking for Eric as we speak. I pray that he finds him, brings him back to this house. Then we can see if you can win with Eric around."

Giada tried to open her mouth but got surprised when no word got out. She didn't even do anything when Kim hissed and bumped into her as she was leaving.

'I pray that Sergio finds Eric, and brings him back home.'

"Why are you thinking about this, Giada?" She muttered, slowly sitting on the chair. "Eric is dead and is not coming back. You made sure of that."

She took three deep breaths and made herself calm. She had nothing to worry about.

"Excuse me, ma'am!"

She glanced at the man that had just disturbed her from head to toe in disgust. The man bowed when he saw the way she was staring at him.

"What is it?"

"This came for you, ma'am."

He handed a small parcel with a beautiful card. She took the gift and rudely dismissed him. The parcel was small but it was beautifully wrapped with a pink ribbon on top. She opened the car and she smiled. Her smile was one of happiness growing, much as a spring flower opens.

'Congratulations on your victory, Giada. Always knew you were gonna impress me.' The card read.

She laughed musically, feeling like she owned the earth. Whoever had sent that card was probably one of her close business partners that had probably heard that she was now the co-owner of Alvarado jewelers.

She bit her lip and moaned as she carefully opened the parcel that had been sent. It was a bit light but whatever was in there was probably expensive. There was no way anyone would send her a cheap gift knowing how classy she was.

She managed to unwrap the parcel and the moment she did, her hands went cold and clammy. Her hands trembled and her eyes watered as she saw the contents of the parcel. There was something there, something that scared her to death. Her body felt hot and sweat began trickling down her neck. Fear engulfed her conscience, knocking all other thoughts aside.

The parcel was a little box and in there were yellow rose petals and a few of them had red stains that looked like blood. Giada's breaths quickened and her entire body shook in fear.

"No!" She screamed at the top of her voice. "No!"

Her hands began trembling and she let go of the parcel, letting the petals scatter on the ground. She screamed even harder when she realized that she had blood on her hands. Her hands were dripping wet with blood. She tried to run but she tripped and found herself on the ground.

"No!" She cried, shaking her head. "Help! Trevor, he's gonna kill me."

***

4 days ago

*

"Have you done exactly as I had instructed?" Giada asked one of her thugs. "I don't want any mistakes."

"Yes, ma'am!" The dirty-looking man answered, slowly bowing. "Everything is as instructed. We made sure that everything was done just like you wanted it. No one is gonna know what happened."

"Good!" Jayden said, rubbing his temple. "Can you show us?"

"Follow me, sir!"

Jayden and Giada looked at each other like two evil geniuses and followed the thug to the place where they had agreed to meet. As soon as they reached there, they found their prize, Eric lying on the ground on his back. His hands were bound and he was still unconscious though bloody. He had blood on his face and his hair was messy. His clothes were a little bloody and he had a cut on his forehead and most of it was swollen.

Seeing Eric there, Giada felt like she was in heaven. She couldn't believe that she had finally managed to get ahold of her biggest enemy. It was a dream-come-true. Eric was only wearing a black shirt with a white boxer that was dirty.

"We managed to get him out and we planted a dead body there with all his belongings." One of the thugs said.

"Did you burn the car?"

"We didn't have to." He said with a stern face. "The car exploded on its own. We are lucky we were able to get him out and carry out our plan. It's a miracle he's even still alive."

"He's a tough cookie and doesn't give up easily. But not for long." Giada chirped.

When she looked at Eric and saw him move, she got so excited that her heart began racing. She took a bottle of water and emptied it on his face. Eric coughed, quickly moving his head. He opened his eyes and got the shock of his life when he saw Giada there.

"Surprise, surprise, Eric!" Giada laughed hysterically. "Welcome back, your highness. For a moment, I was starting to think you weren't gonna wake up."

"Giada!" He gasped, trying to move. But his hands were tied and his body was in so much pain. He ended up wincing. "What... what the hell are you doing?"

"You know, you're too feisty for someone that was involved in a terrible accident." She said, dropping her hand to her hip. "But I am glad you're still alive because I am gonna end your life myself. Look over there?" She gestured with her head.

Eric slowly moved his head and saw a coffin just beside him. The coffin was a few old fence panels chopped and reinforced. There were about four thugs ready to bury him.

"Forgive me, I didn't have time to go out and shop for your coffin." She teased, laughing loudly. Who could hear her when they were far away in the forest. "I hope this one pleases you."

"No!" Eric groaned, trying to untie himself. "Please, you cannot do this, Giada."

"Oh, I will!" She snapped her fingers and gave the signal to the thugs.

They held him up but he wasn't gonna go down without a fight. He tried kicking his legs although he was in pain nothing was helping. He couldn't do anything with his hands tied like that. The thugs laid him in a coffin.

"Giada, you bitch, you'll not get away with this." He yelled, breathing like he was in labor. "I promise, you'll not get away with this."

"So feisty till your last breath!" Jayden chirped, winking at him. "Now I know why Sergio didn't wanna let you go. I like a boy that is strong too. Maybe if we had met before all this, we would have been together."

"You won't get away with this. I won't let you."

"And who's gonna stop us?" Giada shrugged. "This is over, Eric. It is all over for you. I have won. You've been a thorn in my flesh for too long." She said in a rasping voice. "You're the reason why I lost everything in the first place. You're the reason why I lost my husband. I have never hated anyone so much before and I promised you that you were gonna pay. This is me paying you back."

"You think this is over, Giada." He sounded slightly brittle. "You can go ahead and kill me. But even in death, I shall haunt you, Giada. My soul will haunt you until your very end. I cannot...."

"Blah-blah-blah..." Giada rolled her eyes. "...just accept that it is over. You've been defeated and your threats do not do shit to me. I am Giada Sandoval, the iron lady of this city. You've messed with me for so long. And..." She paused and knelt, running her fingers on his face, moving his hair away. "...you don't have to worry about your husband. My son will take care of him. He won't even think about you. I cannot say the same about your mother. She may be joining you soon."

The sadness drained through Eric rather than skating over his skin. Tears rolled down his face as he glared at Giada, wishing to just kill her.

"My love is stronger than you think. But so is my hatred, Giada." He roared. "Sooner or later we'll meet. You can kill my body but not my soul."

"We'll see about that."

She snapped her finger and the thugs placed a lid on top of the coffin, ignoring the cries and screams from the inside. His screams echoed and the shouting was violence in the air. There was something in that shout, a pain behind it.

"No!"

"Goodbye, Eric!" She laughed at the top of her lungs together with Jayden. "You're gonna be buried alive."

"You've not seen the last of me." Eric cried as if his brain was being shredded from the inside. "You may get rid of me but you'll never be happy with all the wealth in the world. You and your allies will never be happy. I curse you, Giada."

"Oh, I am shaking my boots." She chuckled.

She watched as the thugs nailed the lid to the coffin and then placed it in a hole that was like 2 feet deep. Giada watched and laughed at the top of her lungs, throwing yellow rose petals in the hole as the thugs buried the coffin. She watched happily until all of it was buried. Then she placed a single rose petal on top of it, smiling like she was from having an orgasm.

"I can't believe it is finally done!" She gasped, smiling at Jayden. "I have finally won. Nothing can stop me now."

She spun like a little child, watching the grave while feeling tears of mirth going down her cheeks.

"Good riddance!"

***

Present-day...

*

"No... please..." She cried, tears rolling her cheeks.

Giada tried to rub the blood off her hands but it just got more. The more she tried to rub it off, the more it accumulated. It was a lot and she was crying hysterically. Her heart pounded so much that she felt like she was gonna have a heart attack.

She glanced at the chair and almost peed herself. Eric was seated there, staring at her with a smile on his face.

"You're dead." She shook her head. "You cannot be here."

"Mom?"

Trevor came running towards her together with Jayden. He held her tightly, and the way she held him made him so scared. She was visibly trembling and he wondered what had made her so scared. She was never like that. He glanced at Jayden and saw that he had the same confused look on his face.

"Mommy? Are you okay?"

"He's here, Trevor. He's going to kill me. Please, save me."

"Mommy, who is here to kill you?"

"E-eric!" She muttered, pointing to the chair. "He's over there. Please, save me."

Both Jayden and Trevor looked at the chair and there was nothing there.

"Mommy, what are you saying?" He gasped, cupping her cheeks. "There's nothing there. The chair is empty and the only thing on the table is your bag."

Giada shook her head. "He's over..."

But she paused when she saw nothing. There was no sign of him anywhere. She slowly got up, looking all around like a madwoman. She furiously rubbed her tears and looked at her son.

"I am not crazy. I know what I saw." She sounded mad. "He was here and I had..."

But there was no blood on her hands. They were as clean as they had been. Fear got the best of her and her mouth trembled.

"I know what I saw. Okay, what about the blood on the flower petals." She pointed to petals on the ground. But there was no blood there. The petals were pure yellow and clean. She looked at Jayden and Trevor, sniveling hard. "I swear there was blood there."

"Giada, I think you're just tired," Jayden said, squeezing her shoulder. "All of us had a long day at work. Maybe from all the excitement, you started seeing things."

"I am not crazy." She barked, gripping her hair as hard as she could. "Okay, then what about the flowers. It is not a coincidence that the same flowers that..."

"Giada?" The sound of warning in Jayden's voice was enough to stop her from finishing her sentence.

"Mom? They're just flowers." Trevor assured, holding her hand softly. "There's nothing to hurt you here. We've won, remember? Eric is dead." His voice was barely above a whisper. "And he's not coming back. Jayden is right. You're very tired and you need to rest. When you wake up, you'll be fine."

Giada sighed, combing her hair with her fingers.

"Alright, I will rest."

"Alright. Let's go."

He started leading her inside, leaving Jayden there all alone.

'This woman needs to control herself, otherwise, she's gonna ruin everything.' He clenched his fist, hitting it on the table. 'Eric is dead and he'll remain so. If she continues like this, it is not Eric that is gonna ruin us. It will be her.'

***

Sergio was walking on the mountain area on the outskirts of town, looking all around. The whole place was filled with memories from his past, wonderful memories that were now haunting him. It looked the same way it used to in the past.

'It's my habit to keep you in my memories, Sergio.' A voice rang through his head. 'Some call it a habit, while others call it worship. Dear Sergio, I know you know how much I appreciate and love art. It is part of me and part of the reason why I fell in love with you because, to express myself, I always needed its help.'

The voice was torturing him. He wanted to stop playing it but he couldn't. He held on to the small recorder he was holding like his life depended on it.

'That is why at this moment, although I am not there with you, please bear with me this romantic moment. I have got a surprise for you.

Happy anniversary, my wonderful handsome husband, my life. I know you may not remember this but today marks exactly five years since we started dating back in the university. The day I said yes to you, and the day you saved my life at that party.'

He reached the top and was greeted by the beautiful lights from the city that looked like hot a lot of hot coals. Tears welled up in his eyes as his head filled with memories. Everything was pretty much the same.

'Five years ago, everything may have started as a lie but I still hold it dear to my heart.' The voice continued. Eric sounded happy. 'It is that time my heart learned to love completely. And when you brought me here to inspire my art, I fell deeper in love with you. Look at the city you said...' He paused and chuckled. '...I brought you here so that you can get inspired and create something wonderful. I still remember your words in everything that I do. That is why I'll always thank you and love you.'

'I hope those memories still linger in your mind as they do mine. And I hope our entire lives, we're gonna live like this, happy and fighting for our love. And we'll tell the story to our kids and our grandkids, perhaps, a bedtime story.'

Sergio laughed as tears rolled down his cheeks.

'I wanted us to celebrate our anniversary together just like we spent that day here. Because it will forever remain one of the most romantic things ever. But we need both of us, don't we?' He chuckled. 'Turn around my love.'

Sergio sobbed and held the recorder closer to his heart. Sergio cried like there was too much raw pain inside him to be contained. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his whole body vibrating in rhythm. Perhaps, it was the realization that what everyone may have been saying was true. Perhaps, his Eric had left him. He was no longer with him. He was supposed to be there with him. They were supposed to be lying on the hammock, holding hands and kissing. He was not supposed to be crying like that.

"Eric!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "Where are you, my love? You promised we'd be together until the end of time. We'd raise our kids together, tell them stories of our love. Why did you lie to me, Eric? Why did you tell me all those things when you knew you wouldn't be here? Maybe everyone is right. You were only here to hurt me. You came for revenge and now you've left me in pain."

But there was no answer. The only noise was the sound of the crickets and the rattling of the trees as they rubbed on each other due to the wind. Sergio's voice was the only human voice there. It wasn't dark but his soul was so dark. His pain had traveled to his brain. He cried unlike he'd cried before.

Suddenly, Sergio felt something cold at the back of his neck, and before he even had a chance to say anything he heard a loud cocking sound. That sound immediately alerted him that the cold thing pointed at his neck was a gun.

"What the hell are you doing here at this time of the night?" The man asked. Sergio didn't know if it was his mind playing tricks on him or it was true, but the man's voice was like the magma chamber of a volcano, deep, but entirely with the molten rock. His voice was powerful enough to make your bones feel like they were vibrating.

Sergio wasn't scared or anything. He just remained quiet, in the same position the man had found him.

"Are you that tired of your life that you decided to come to look for death in this dangerous area and at this time?" The man roared, sending a shiver down Sergio's spine. "Or maybe you work for the police and you came here to spy?"

But Sergio wasn't responding. He didn't even move because he didn't care.