YEARS AGO***
After Diego's recovery, Nana took him home, fed and tucked him in his bed.
"I'm so sorry baby, I wasn't there to protect you," Nana said, patting his hair gently.
Diego stayed quiet and her heart broke. Recovering from the shock is going to take a while. Kissing his forehead, she lay beside him, hugging his tiny body.
Meanwhile, after Diego fell asleep, Nana heard the scream of her husband downstairs.
"Nana!!" Romeo's roar made her flinch. Did something happen?
She carefully disconnected herself from sleeping Diego and rushed down to meet him. She found Romeo seated on the couch, a file on the table.
Nervously, she played with the hem of her dress, the look on his face scared her.
"You called" She whispered so low, her mind riling from what might have happened.
"Pick up the file" He demanded, his voice cold.
Nana opened the file on the table, checking the content, and her eyes widened.
"It can't be," she shook her head. She faced her husband, panicking. "This is not true!"
"Not true?" Romeo raised a brow at her. He stood up and scoffed. "Are you saying I made a fake result about the DNA test? How dare you cheat and make me raise a bastard the whole time?"
"How could you doubt it? He is your son! You are the only man I know. This marriage might not be the one I dreamt of but I would never do this..."
His hand flew across her face, bursting her lips. Her eyes teared up as he grabbed her neck, glaring.
"You are still lying? Do you know how hard I've worked and yet, you want to destroy it?.."
"Please don't do this right now. Diego is at home, he is just recovering from an accident" She pleaded.
Romeo scoffed and pinned her against the wall, his hand tightly snaked around her neck.
"To think that I've been raising someone else's son for nine years made me want to kill you.. that's right, you should just die whore"
Nana couldn't breathe, her lungs were desperate for oxygen.. just when she thought she would pass out, someone hit Romeo's hand with a frying pan.
Nana's neck was released and she sat on the floor coughing hard and gasping for air.
Romeo hissed in pain and his head snapped towards Diego.
"Get away from my mother!!" The young boy glared. Romeo's anger instantly increased.. The boy he assumed to be his son just hit him.
Grabbing Diego by his short hair he began to walk away.
"Romeo!!" Nana shook her head trying to blink away the dizziness creeping into her. She managed to stand on her feet and follow them, though slowly.
"Let go of me!" Diego yelled trying to get away.
"Now I see the reason why you're so disobedient. You're not a Gonzalez. All that my father built in sweat and hardship. I won't let someone like you destroy that!" He spat.
Romeo pushed the bathroom door open, his eyes caught the tub filled with water. Diego's eyes widened, getting to sense his intention.
"What no!" His tiny voice rang through the bathroom. Getting to the tub, he dipped the boy's head into the water.
Cruel!
Intensively, Diego reached for his hand trying to get away but the man didn't stop. Nana managed to get there in time and her eyes widened seeing how monstrous her husband had become...
"Noo!!!" She screamed using her remaining strength to push him away from Diego.
Romeo got back to his senses and he froze. He had let his anger take control of him. His eyes went to Diego who was busy gasping for hair as his mother held him tight, worries filled her eyes.
She looked up to him in fear, holding Diego close. Romeo said nothing and turned to leave the bathroom.
When Diego was calm, he looked up to his mother.
"Why is father like this?" He sobbed.
"I don't know, just stay away from him for now okay?" Nana said.
"What about you? He was going to kill you too. I don't want you to die, Mum"
Nana hugged her close. "I'm not dying okay.. we'll get past this somehow"
Days passed by, and Nana's torture got worse. Her husband brought women into the house making sure she'd hear their moans. He acted like a cool husband around everyone else but at home, he is a monster.
Nana thought of running away but his threat stopped her. The police won't help and Romeo won't free her. Getting a divorce will stain his name.. especially while he is trying to take over the Gonzalez cooperation..
Diego managed to stay away from Romeo but that didn't work well, he saw how hard his mother tried to hide her pain. Romeo avoided hitting her face but her other body was filled with bruises..
She had once tried to escape with Diego but was caught at the airport. Her torture increased, and Romeo's attitude to Diego got colder.
She couldn't take it anymore, her life was a nightmare. No matter how hard she tried to explain, Diego was his son, Romeo never listened..
Of course, he didn't love her from the start...
The marriage happened so he could marry before his elder brother.
Staring at the mirror before her, Nana's face held a sad look. It was Diego's birthday, he was turning nine. Is this torture going to continue this way?
A thought filled her mind and she took her pen..
"Son, happy birthday" Nana gave her son a glass of wine as they sat before each other.
"Why are you crying? Did father hit you again?" He asked. Nana hated this, her young son always worrying about her.
"No he didn't, I'm just happy you are getting older" She laughed painfully.
"I've found a way to end this pain"
"Really?" Diego brightens up.
"Hmm.. shall we have a drink together before you go back to meet the guest?"
Diego found her weird but then he smiled. They had a toss and drank it at once. When he made to leave, his eye caught a paper on her table. He secretly took and left with her to meet the others downstairs.
"I need to go to the restroom" He excused himself and went to read the paper. The blood on his face dried up when he saw the content.
He stormed out of the place to find his mother but couldn't. He felt the poison slowly affecting him so he met the butler demanding him to take him to the hospital telling him not to let anyone know where he is.
He tried to inform him about his mother too but darkness crept in and he slowly lost consciousness.
He dropped into a coma due to the poison..
Meanwhile, on the same day, Romeo finds out the truth and challenges his brother, Vincent.. the one behind the fake DNA results. He went home and met the guest but didn't see his wife and son.
Searching the house, he stormed into a dark room.. there, Nana lay lifelessly...
___
By Diego's time, he woke up, a year and a half had passed...
___
"Congratulations! Mr. Romeo is becoming the president!"
Cameras fluttered as Romeo smiled. Ever since the tragic incident Romeo surprisingly became calm. He tried to reconcile with Diego.. but his son never gave him the chance to.
Diego was now 16 years old, forced to attend his father's celebration. His gaze was hard and cold as usual. The last time he smiled was when he was nine.
"Son" Romeo held Diego's shoulder when he walked up to him.
"Hands off" Diego shrugged him off, his gaze filled with disdain. He hates Romeo so much.. with every cell living in him.
Romeo took a deep breath watching him leave the place.
While seated, Jameson appeared.
"Hey," He greeted and Diego's face loosened up a bit. He gave Diego a coke drink. "You want some?"
"No. I'm fine" Diego said firmly. After a while, he spoke again. "I hate James. After what he did, does he still have the guts to smile? I can't bring myself to forgive him.. I'm even having nightmares" his voice trembled.
"I wish I could console you, but I don't know what to say" Jameson muttered. Remembering something, he spoke again.
"I heard your cousin is returning back from abroad. Griffin, isn't that his name?"
"Whatever.. I have no interest in getting close to him. Families are just assholes"
"Except Grandpa" Jameson completed.
"I don't know about him either. I once told him about my mother's suffering, but he never believed it. I can't blame him. Romeo is so good at deceiving people.. I'm going to make him regret until his last breath" Diego swore.