NEW YORK CITY

PRESENT DAY

Roman Vasquez's POV

I was still fuming with anger now that I had finally tracked down my willful wife in New York City. Her eyes still have defiant in their depth like the time when she burst into my office and demanded work from me. The past two days of sheer hell I'd suffered because of her had finally caught me up.

When I arrived from work I was prepared for a grueling apology that I would say to her. But when I arrived at the house I shared with her, she was nowhere to be found, time had passed, and still no sign of her. While I was wandering back in Spain if she had been kidnapped—or worse she had been in a tragic accident and no one told me. I didn't realize that she just went home with her rich family.

I nearly went out of my mind with worry that she'd been missing for the past twenty-four hours when I finally convinced myself to hire a private investigator to know what happened to my wife. I nearly snarled the man when he asked me if there was still a chance that my wife had left me.

Impossible! I thought furiously. Why would she leave me without such a valid reason? I was halfway tempted to throw a punch to the private investigator's face.

After chasing off the private investigator to my house. I went to the room where Red had been staying to check for her things. All of her clothes were still in order...except, the garments she owned. Even her traveling bag was missing.

That was the only time I welcomed the thought that my wife, indeed, left me. One more day had passed before the PI had traced the location of my wayward wife.

New York City, he said.

On my flight to New York, I decided on several ways to bully my wife back to Spain. I would not be left alone, damn it. I would use the legal binding we have so I could persuade her to come back to Spain with me either by force or her willingness.

When I arrived at the pricey Manhattan penthouse where Red had been staying since she arrived in New York. I only had a thin fiber of patience left in me. Has she already found a rich lover after two days of leaving me? If so, I would beat the crap out of that bastard who dared to touch my wife. No one steals what's mine.

But upon arriving at the penthouse a refined version of my Red opened the door and I frowned slightly when the deep-bone desire I had felt the moment I laid my eyes on her had been noticeably missing. Same face, same eyes but her hair was a shade darker. This isn't my wife, I thought silently.

My suspicion was confirmed when the woman who bore a striking resemblance to my wife said to the silent penthouse. "Ah...sis," She said in her all-American voice. "You might want to come here first. There's a slight problem."

Then there she was coming from the kitchen, the woman who runs my blood into yearning just the sight of her. I looked at the woman who just opened the door and the woman I married two weeks ago in Spain.

Of course, I thought with distaste. Twins.

"Uh, Em... w-would you give us a moment please?" Red said to her twin sister, she doesn't expect me to show up on their doorstep two days after her runaway act.

"You sure?" The twin asked worriedly, looking at me with I don't trust you in her emerald eyes. Not that I gave a damn about what she thought about me. I was not in the mood for pleasantries at the moment.

"Yes." My wife tried to reassure her with a brave smile on her face. I admired the protectiveness of Red's twin sister but we need this conversation just between the two of us. We didn't need a third party while conducting this talk with my wife.

The twin gave me one last lingering look and a silent communication to Red before making her way to the stairs. I bit back my annoyance when my wife didn't bother to introduce her husband to her twin sister.

Dios mío! I didn't know a damn thing about my wife's family. Hell, I didn't even know that she came from a wealthy family. I arrogantly assumed that she just drifting around the world where her feet may bring her. I took it for granted to shower her with expensive things that money could buy. It never occurred to me that her family owns half of bloody New York.

"H-how did y-you find me?" She stammered nervously.

Did she think that I was going to let her go that easily? Dios Santo, I would turn New York upside down just to find her. I was not going to let her go that easily.

"Hello, mi amor. Are you surprised to see me?" I said the same words I said to her when we first met in the small restaurant where she'd been working as a waitress two weeks ago, part of me just wanted to annoy her. I smiled at the irony of our scenario.

"How did you find me?" She repeated her question firmly. Her pretty dark green eyes snapped with fire.

"Really, mi corazón," I said, as if it was obvious, stepping closer towering her from my advantage height. "You believe I will not find you?"

I knew that she was never immune to my presence. Good, it's high time for her to realize who is the boss here. I could see emotion swirling in her green eyes, trying to find out how to escape me again. Well, I have some news for her—I would not let her escape that easily.

As far as I was concerned, I was deceived by Ruby St. Clair—one of the four American princesses the society had dubbed them. She introduced herself to me as 'Red' the wayward waif when she belonged to the powerful family of St. Clairs of New York City. I didn't know why she was serving tables when we first met and very different from the pampered princess status she should have but I intend to know the reason. This time there would be no secrets between the two of us I would make sure of it.

"Do you want to conduct our conversation here where your sister is within hearing distance?" I asked her indifferently, after a few barbs we threw at each other.

She considered my suggestion for a moment. It wasn't the best idea to have a row with your spouse when a family member was also present. "Where do you suggest having our talk? I want to sort this out as soon as possible."

"Have a lunch in town with me." I smiled at her humorlessly, studying her fully. "I happened to know a good restaurant in town."

Red scowled in my direction, her delicate eyebrows snapped together. "I don't want to have lunch with you. I don't want to go anywhere with you, Roman."

"So here then?" I asked pleasantly, advancing into the living room area of their penthouse. "Let's take a seat on the sofa while having our inevitable talk, wife. I'm sure your twin sister wouldn't mind us using her living room, correct? Besides, she might be delighted if she learns who I am in your life."

She paled at the thought. From the murderous look on her face, I knew she wanted to kill me at this very moment. But not so fast. "Very well," She muttered reluctantly. "Fifteen minutes, I'll be ready."

I bit back my victorious smile, as I watched my wife run to the stairs either to change clothes or run away from me again. It didn't matter, because she could run as far as the other side of the world but I would still catch her. This was a start before the day was over my wife would know that running away from me was only futile.

In addition, I knew that Red wouldn't wager on her twin to find out that she was already married to me. I have a feeling that she doesn't want her family to know anything about me. That's why she hadn't bothered to introduce me to her twin sister.

If she thought that I would let things go according to her wish. Then she didn't know me that well. I would let her first think that she has the upper arm in the battle but I can assure her that I would win this war. Because whether she likes it or not I would be introduced to her family. I would just bid my time.

Oh yes, I am going to release her until I am ready. And I had a distinct impression that in my vocabulary 'ready' was a very long time...

Ruby St. Clair's POV

I went to the stairs fumingly angry at the man waiting for me in Emerald's spacious living room. Good God, I thought helplessly. How on earth did he find me? It just took him two days before he tracked me down.

When I arrived on the second floor I opened the door of my bedroom where I found my twin sister waiting for me lying on the bed. "You have to tell me everything and from the start, Ms. Ruby St. Clair."

"I don't have anything to say to you." I sighed as I started to strip my clothes. I knew that Emerald was waiting for me to ambush me with an inquiry.

"Come on," My twin sister sat on the bed, there's a defiant gleam in her eyes that would take no for an answer. "Do not use that cold voice you usually use to other people. It does not affect me. I'm your twin remember? Who's he?"

I glanced at my twin sister dryly before searching for a suitable outfit for New York's weather. "He's nobody, Em. Just an acquaintance of mine recently."

"Oh?" Emerald sat on the bed and met my eyes through the full-length mirror in front of me. "That's not the reception I got when I saw the two of you together."

I finally found the perfect dress. "You are just hallucinating yourself," I said rudely, sliding into the dress efficiently. "Blame it for your hobby of reading novels always. You are mixing reality with fiction, sis."

Emerald threw me an I-don't-believe-you look. "My instinct is telling me that there's more to this handsome stranger and you. We're twins, Ruby."

I rolled my eyes as I brushed my hair and applied some light makeup to my face. "Believed what you want, Em. But there's nothing more to us."

I was about to leave the room when I heard my twin speak again. "You keep saying that but here you are going out on a date with him. But need I remind you we're not yet done with this conversation, sis? I will patiently wait for your return, Miss Red."