THE WILL OF LOVE by Ʋis Rating: G - PG Email: aeris_t@edsamail.com.ph Webpage: Nightfall Wishes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I opened my eyes today And I knew there's something different I saw you in a brand new way Like the clouds have somehow lifted And if yesterday I heard Myself saying these words I'd swear it was a lie - "Hopelessly Addicted" by The Corrs ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TWO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "I can't believe you actually did that," Raye said exasperately. "You messed up, Serena. You totally messed up." "Cut it out, Raye," Serena said, hugging the pillow she using. It was the day after the disastrous date, and Raye had come over at 9:00 in the morning just to hear what happened. To say the least, she was disappointed. To say it accurately, she was furious. "Cut what out? You just blew up your chance with a hunk of a multi-billionaire!" "So what?" "What do you mean SO WHAT? Serena, you've got a chance of a lifetime, and you intend to throw it all away like it's garbage? What has gotten to you?" "Let me make this clear to you, Raye. I was half willing to marry Darien Chiba not because he's gorgeous and rich. I was half willing to marry him because of the will. The will, Raye, do you get it? And also, I have absolutely no intention of being tied down to someone who talks about nothing else except himself. It makes me sick, you know. It just... It just won't work." Raye sat down beside Serena and hugged her. "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I mean, I... You know what I mean." Serena smiled. "You understand now, don't you? Nobody wants to be bound for life to some conceited jerk." "Actually, I don't understand. Tell it again." Serena rolled her eyes while Raye giggled. Just then a knock was heard from the door. "Come in," Serena called out. And flew in Amy, who asked, "So, what happened?" "You don't wanna know," Darien said, then took a sip of his soda. Once again, he was on one of the stools, opposite Andrew. Andrew's eyes gleamed in excitement. "I do. I do wanna know. So, tell me." Darien sighed. "To put it simply, I blew it." "You WHAT?!" "You heard me. I --- BLEW --- IT." Andrew shook his head. "Wh-What happened? H-How? I mean, you? Darien Chiba? You actually blew it?" "Yes," Darien said wearily. "I did. I did blow it. At first everything was going fine, you know. She didn't look like Stan's girl, but neither does she look like any of the women I date. She's like, angelic. Beautiful. Not voluptous, but not the librarian-type either. She's like a wild flower... Amazing, different... But then when I started to talk, things went wrong..." Andrew shook his head once more. "You did it again, didn't you?" he said accusingly. Darien's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" "I mean, you talked too much again. You have a tendency to do that, you know. And if I weren't as patient as I am, I probably would have been NOT your friend right now." Darien's eyes turned menacing. "Hey, that last one was a joke. Calm down! But, your tendency to speak too much about yourself is true. It is!" Darien looked down at his drink and began to play with the straw. "I guess it is." Darien sighed again. Then suddenly, he lifted his head and said in a stronger voice, "But it was she who started it." "What do YOU mean?" "As I remember I didn't talk THAT much. Then she so rudely wanted to change the conversation, and of course I got angry. Then we started fighting, and then she left with a speech." "A speech?" "Yeah, a speech. It was a long one, but to summarize it into one sentence, it means that she doesn't want to be married to me because she thinks I am conceited... Which I am absolutely not! And if she doesn't want to marry me, then I don't want to marry her either." Andrew's eyes popped out of his sockets. "Darien, you're taking this like a child!" "Serena, you're taking this like a child!" "I am not," Serena said stubbornly. "Yes, you are," her mother said. "I am not," Serena repeated. "Nothing about this is childish at all. It's my future you're talking about. MY future. MY life. Besides, even the mention of the man makes me sick to the stomach. If I can't even bear that, how can I bear it if I were tied down to him for the rest of my life?" Serena's father growled, "Stop talking and start listening. You, Serena Tsukino, are going to marry Darien Chiba, whether you like it or not." "This is ridiculous," Serena murmured. "This is totally ridiculous. I thought arranged marriages went out of fashion hundreds of years ago! We're in the turn of the millenium, darn it." "I said stop talking!" Mr. Tsukino roared. 'Great. A few more minutes, and my father turns to an animal. I hope it's a bunny... I LOVE bunnies...' Mrs. Tsukino was saying, "... Besides, your grandfather was a great man... Serena, are you listening to me?" Serena sighed wearily. "Yes, Mom, I am listening." She murmured, "I just hope you'd stop so I can start listening to even better sounds..." "Shhh!!" her father hissed. "I heard that!" Serena went silent. "You listen to me, Serena. You are going to marry this man whatever you say. It has been arranged before you, therefore you have no right to try to change it, understand?" "B-But that's the point! How can I be happy when I wasn't ther --- " Serena was cut off by the dagger looks her parents were giving her. Once again, Serena sighed. 'I'll never get out of this mess.' 'I'll never get out of this mess,' Darien thought bleakly as he assessed his situation, alone in his room. 'What did Catherine Zeta-Jones say on that movie again? Oh, yeah. This is entrapment! It's absolutely true. I am completely trapped. There is no way to get out of the situation. Not in my life, not in this world.' Darien sighed. It is clear now that there is no possible escape to his predicament, he might as well accept it and think of some way to make this less, um, unbearable. Well, to start off, to BE married doesn't mean that you have to ACT LIKE you're married, does it? 'That's a start...' Darien thought. In ten minutes, he has planned out his arrangement with his fiancee and he was satisfied with what he has done. So far, he has covered everything from wifely duties to... Suddenly the phone rang. Darien picked it up. "Hello?" "Hello." "Well, what do you know... It's Stanford Chiba III," Darien said in a mocking voice. "I have not called you to start another misunderstanding, Darien," Stan said in an almost weary voice, but Darien was unmoved. "Well, it wasn't I who really caused these string of 'misunderstandings', was I, Stan?" Stan ignored that one. "I called to tell you what I wasn't given time to tell you --- " "You mean, there's something more?!" "Yes, a very important part, actually... You have to bear me an heir." "WHAT?!?" Stan cringed. "Hey, you didn't exactly give me a chance... You were too busy self-pitying and hating me to let me finish." "Whatever. Oh, damn. Why? Why of all that you could ask of me to do..." "Well, it's in my will. You have to bear me an heir to the business... It IS a family business. That's why I didn't try to sell the stocks, even though we could have made money from it when it was still a small company. Back then, we could have sold a share for less than one-fourth of what it is worth today... Part of the reason is for a legacy." "Look. I know you like to think of yourself as a duke or whatever man with a title to pass on... But today is the 21st century, Stan. No more dukes and barons and earls... Unless you happen to live in Wales or some place. Can you just, uh, erase that part or something?" "Sorry..." "Damn it! What am I going to tell her?" "What am I going to tell him?" "Why?" Amy asked, twiddling the funny straw from which she was drinking her soda. She, Serena and Raye are on the counter of Crown Arcade, Juuban branch. "Like, duh! I need to invent a reason, a foolproof alibi to make Darien Chiba NOT marry me," Serena said, rolling her eyes. "There has to be something..." "How about bad breath?" Raye suggested. "That is so plausible, Raye. He could just walk up to me, and smell my breath." "Oh." "How about cancer?" Amy suggested. "Puh-lease. And go through CT scans and that kinda stuff? No way! That would mean I could meet my grandfather earlier than I am supposed to... It wouldn't be half as bad, though, if we were both alive and I could still kill him..." "Tuberculosis?" "Pneumonia?" "Leukemia?" "AIDS?" Serena looked at her friends in horror. "You really want me to die, don't you?" Raye looked at her with a confused look on her face. Amy's expression was exactly the opposite. "Ah! You want something that is so grave that he won't accept you, but not so grave as to having to undergo therapy and stuff. Something he can't really tell, but is reason enough to make any man refrain from marrying you..." A bulb suddenly switched on somewhere in Serena's mind. "I have a great idea..." "I have a great idea," Darien said brightly. He frowned at his reflection. Too bright to be true. He put on a serious face. "I've got something to tell you..." Once again, he frowned. Too grave. Looks like somebody who's about to break the news of some guy's death to his duped one. Yet, in some way, Darien felt as if he was about to break the news of some death, probably the death of the future of Darien Chiba... Darien sighed. Well, he might as well tell it soon rather than later. And there's no time for practice... He could just say it as it comes. Spontaneous is better... Somehow that sounded not right... Almost unlike Darien at all... Darien shrugged it off. With a quick final look at his reflection on his mirror, he ran off to make an agreement with Serena Tsukino. He found her in the park, alone, thinking. 'With a brain like hers,' he though, 'I wonder what she's thinking about. Probably what to eat later on... That girl eats twice as much as Stan does!' Putting aside those thoughts, Darien approached the blonde. "Hi!" "Hi!" 'Well,' Serena thought, 'It's about time he talked to me. He's took so long for him to do it!' "Well, well, well," Serena smirked. "What have we here? Oh, am I seeing right? Is it really the GREAT Darien Chiba saying 'Hi' to me? Well I am so THRILLED." Darien ignored the sarcasm and said, "Look, I didn't come here to start another fight with you." When Serena didn't budge, Darien sighed and sat down beside her. She inched away from him, and he ignored that too. "You and I both know that there's no way out of this. So, I thought that we might as well make the most of this, since it's not just some short-time fling." Serena's eyes narrowed. "And what are you proposing?" "I'm trying to make an agreement. See, you can do anything you want at all, and flaunt the allowance I will be giving you every week as long as you do not stain the reputation of the Chibas. You can do anything, even move out of my house. All I ask is --- " Serena's hands flew to her mouth. "Ohmigod. I forgot to tell you something..." Serena bit her lip for effect. 'God, I hope this works... It's gotta work... Here it goes.' "I can never be pregnant... I can't bear a child." "WHAT?!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- So, what do you think? It's not as long as the first part, but it's the best I can do. I hope you like it... Email's aeris_t@edsamail.com.ph