Mike escorted me from my room going to the huge veranda overlooking the gigantic receiving area for our guests. The scene was so panoramic, grandeur, and elegant. Even I couldn't decipher my true feeling about my status as a billionaire. I looked down at the guests who stared and applaused when I raised my right hand to them waving. I am not an actor in the movie; especially in the opera house, but I had the charisma to tumble them down through my antics. I used this before and it's needed now. Two beautifully sculptured stair railings are built for this purpose which made my entrance a dramatic one. Cameras and videos of different brands started to blind my vision. It hurts. I knew it. I continued my everlasting smile to them descending from the stairs together with Mike and the guards. I don't like it this way, it's like I'm a prisoner! I remembered those times when Ayah Isabel and I were walking from West Avenue, Quezon City up to Luneta Park to discover something beautiful abou
BILLIONAIRE MARCO FERNANDO (BACKSTORY)It was in...The year 1976 – 1980, Bacolod City, on the island of Negros Occidental, Philippines:I met Ayah Isabel Gonzales in the college of Chemistry Department at San Jose College, Bacolod City, in the province of Negros Occidental. Bacolod City is the capital city, one of the developed cities of the Philippine archipelago struggling for growth at that time, where students from different towns used to study for their college degrees and find their destinies. Different people with different characters met and traded for their wares; a place for newcomers to discover what this place meant to their lives.Ayah and I were on the same academic course, and each day, we had time to discover ourselves together. I have taken this Chemistry course just please my father. I was not interested in taking this course, in fact, I hated Chemistry subjects. It did not give me an interesting value with my whole being. It was natural for me to be there inside th
Even my friend Edward Ramirez helped me without any boundaries. I released the very core of my existence to the people who loved me. Edward and Ayah were the two human beings that always lifted me up for whatever problems I was entangled with my vices.Edward Ramirez and Ayah Isabel Gonzales nursed my soul to be back again. Knowing that I can revive my spirit and resume the ambition I have had. They stayed for a while and encouraged me all the way."Best friend, are you alright now? I'm very happy about the changes...I mean, the changes in you. Glad to know that you can work again. I'll tell our manager about your comeback... You know, he's asking about you and I lied, knowing that I want you to work there again. Yes, my friend?" Edward asked me one day."Yes my friend, now I realized... how foolish I was...how weak," I answered crying.I started to concentrate on my studies for two consecutive years through which I gave real meaning to them. The vital things that matter most to me we
Danielle and I enjoyed every moment of our lives without any recourse for anybody, anywhere, anything that could stop us from becoming lovers. We had done so many nights together, exploring our most precious gift from heaven. The remnants of our past didn't hinder an inch for which Danielle played her part so well. And, even my soul didn't bother to collide with my greedy ambition from wanting it.Both of us developed something beautiful within our hearts, according to the dictates of our minds. For each of us, there's some kind of understanding that we wouldn't have to be spoken about, our actions were the prime movers of our future.We were together all the time and found ourselves at the rooftop bar of the hotel. She held my hands, squeezed them tightly on the table, and said, "Marc, I like this moment so much, with you, having dinner in the Skylight. Bar. It reminds me, when I first saw you, for the first time I felt very different from myself. I knew too well, deep in my heart th
"Okay, it's okay. What more...what he said to you?" I asked her in a higher tone. "He said to try to visit him at the Riviera Café & Restaurant."I lowered my voice, "Okay Ayah, thank you. How's your life in the boarding house? How's your family?""In my boarding house... it's quite problematic but I can manage. And my family...they're fine.""Take care always Ayah." I started to leave when I remembered something inside my pocket, "By the way, take these drugs and read the prescription first before taking the pill, I think you knew this...." Ayah looked at me squarely, smiled, and said, "Okay love, bye!"The next day I visited Edward Ramirez at the restaurant where he's working. He excused himself from his duty asking his Manager to have a day off instead. We got a taxi cab going to One Springfield Complex, a beautiful night spot outside the city. We played bowling for about an hour and seated ourselves in a restaurant in an open place. I ordered a case of beer, sliced cucumber, and
We arrived early at the Golden Dragon Restaurant located in front of Bacolod City Hall. It's located in the heart of the city, five minutes ride from our place. The ambiance is totally Chinese; the intricate golden dragon motif with a red background, the music, the waitress uniform, and the lantern hang beautifully in each partition with silk curtains as a facade. The aroma of Chinese food triggered my voracious appetite. I composed myself and gazed at Ayah Isabel walking separately from me. She's nervous, I thought, but she's calm, calmer than me. We are seated at the corner of the restaurant so that I can see who's coming inside the restaurant. I ordered two glasses of coca-cola soft drinks for a start and we waited.Danielle Gustilo came ten minutes past eleven in the morning. She's wearing a sleeveless red dress that suits her milky white skin, and a red leather clutch bag that blends with our environment. She looked at me first, then, shifted to Ayah Isabel, then sit down in fron
Let me tell you what I worked for temporarily...where I started my first job...for the past months after my graduation. An amazing story indeed!I am a Chemistry graduate, right? But I was accepted as an extra news reporter for the newly founded TV station. At the end of my shift one Monday morning, Arthur Jimenez, the sports director at News TV 717, said, "Marco, this Friday night there's a boxing championship fight in the Paglaum Astrodome. You've been bugging me for a break, so here's your chance. Today, around noon, I need you to get me a three-minute interview with Billy the Kid. If you do a good job, that interview will be fed to all TV stations locally and nationwide. Getting to be heard countrywide amounts to decent exposure, wouldn't you agree?"How could I not? Man, talk about excitement! After some time, I had finally landed a weekend-only, graveyard shift job at what, with a great payment check. Hopefully, this job would provide opportunities to climb further up the ladder
Even Lydia Leynes, a beautiful lady from the north of Negros Occidental became my live-in partner, which gave me terrible problems with my job. I was out of the job instantly; I was totally broke when things got better which brought hope to my life.Edward was the one I enjoyed being with, for it gave me the freedom to reveal something deep down in my heart. He was there for me to listen to whatever I wanted to say, whatever I wanted to do with my life at the moment. He suggested working again in the restaurant. I hesitated at first, but my hopeless situation told me to accept the job.I felt down and out I missed her...them...her...XXXDanielle's father invited me to the Sugarlandia Hotel to talk about his daughter's status in life. I went directly to the place, asked for information on the counter, and sat in the lounge. I felt some doubts within me, that I couldn't explain. Is it I am afraid, afraid of what? Fear..? Fear of rejection? Or I was not ready to meet him face to face?M