Tara being upset stormed out of her home, ignoring anyone who tried to stop her, including her parents. When she was angry or furious, no one could stop her from doing anything she wanted to do.
She stopped at the parking lot, where she almost lost it.... grabbing one of the sticks nearby to break Irene's car's windshield.
"Tara, you need to call down!" Hardin put himself in between her and the car, not afraid of getting hit by her.
"Are you mad? I almost hit you!" Tara said angrily, after dropping the stick.
"You need to calm down, okay... please" Hardin pleaded with her.
He was the only one who could manage her in such a situation.
"Tell me Hardin, don't I have the right to be loved by my family and be happy?" She paused the question.
Her voice was full of nothing but pain and sadness.
"You do, you deserve all their love"Hardin replied... choosing his words carefully.
"Then why doesn't my sister love me, I can understand my mom, but Irene has no reason to hate me" Tara's emotions got the best of her.
She never wanted to show anyone her weak side, especially Hardin....she didn't want him to see her cry....but nothing could be done.
Hardin felt so sorry for her, he knew how much Tara cared about her family, but they weren't treating her the same way.
He extended closer to her and held her.
"You can cry it out, I'm here for you" he whispered comforting words.
"Hardin, please promise me that you'll never leave me or abandon me, promise you'll never chase me away like my sister just did" Tara said, clinging onto his shirt....like a little girl.
"I promise, I'll never leave you...and I'll never chase you away" Hardin replied softly.
He'd come this far to get closer to her, how could he leave her just like that?
Tara was the reason why he turned out to be the man he was, if he couldn't confess his love to her, he could atleast stay by her side.....and protect her as her bodyguard.
"Hardin thank you, for coming back to my life"Tara looked up at him and thanked him wholeheartedly.
Her eyes lit brightly under the moonlight, every single thing about her made Hardin crazy about her, he just wanted to kiss her right there and then.
Did he have the courage to do it?
He was just about to kiss her but Archie's voice stopped them.
"T..Tara" his faint voice continued calling Tara.
"Archie?" Tara turned from to the direction where the voice came from.
Archie showed up looking like he'd been mugged,leaping, with a head injury and some scratches on his body.
"Archie!!" Tara wanted to run to him and help him, she was extremely worried seeing him in such a condition, but Hardin stopped her.
Instead, Hardin himself rushed to Archie and helped him inside to the mansion and lay him on the couch.
"Mom! Dad! Irene!!" Tara called everyone...while Hardin examined Archie's condition.
"What happened Tara?" Her dad was the first to ask, rushing down the stairs.
"Dad it's Archie.....look"Tara pointed to Archie, who was whimping in pain.
"Archie are you okay?" Irene rushed to his side.
"Irene,I'm sorry I couldn't make it to our engagement...some masked men ambushed me, they wanted to kidnap me...but I got away" Archie replied, while Hardin helped to bandage his head injury.
"Turns out you're also a victim, my daughters were almost kidnapped too, today" Tara's dad said.
"Dad, mom, shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" Irene asked.. concerned about Archie.
"Irene, it's very late...and Hardin's a doctor too, he can treat his injuries, he'll be just fine" Tara's dad replied.
"You...you're a doctor?"Archie asked surprised.
He least expected that....Was there anything that he couldn't do?
He wasn't the only one, Tara's mom and Irene were as well.
"Take it easy, you're injured and shouldn't take any stress...."Hardin simply replied.
"Don't worry Archie, you can spend the night here in the guest room, it won't be right if we let you go like this....you're family" Tara's mom said.
"Thank you aunt, thank you uncle" Archie pretended to be calm.
But deep down, he was burning with fury. Everytime he planned something to get Tara, Hardin got in the way.
Even now, he wouldn't let her get close to him in anyway.
Tara's pulled her aside to talk to her....not wanting to say anything in front of his wife and Irene.
"Tara, the situation is out of control now, you or your sister could end up like Archie next, you need to stay here with us...I'll add more security, more bodyguards whatever you need" Tara's dad was worried.
"Dad, you don't have to worry about me, I think Irene needs it more than I do, I'm fine with Hardin, I don't need more bodyguards" Tara replied.
"When will you ever listen to your father for once?" Her dad asked.
"Dad when the situation calms down, Archie gets better and he gets engaged to Irene, mom's anger cools down....then I'll be able come home" Tara replied.
She was helpless, like any other daughter, she wanted to stay with her family, but the situation didn't let her.
"Dad, whenever I need your help, you'll always be the first person I call...but even today, I won't listen to you" Tara continued to say.
THE POLICE STATION
"Sir, please believe me...I've already told you everything I know" the leader of the men pleaded with the chief at the station.
His gun shot wound was bandaged and wasn't given a chance to heal properly at the hospital.
"Listen here buddy, if you don't cooperate with us, you'll be in prison for a very long time for trying to kidnap the Montesino daughters"the chief threatened.
"If you tell us who your boss is, you might get a lighter sentence!" He added.
"I don't know who he is, I only cared about the money...I have a family to feed, when I was given the chance, I took the job...but I didn't see the boss" the man replied.
"He calls himself Mr Z....he didn't let us see his face....he gave us the order through a certain radio frequency...that's all I know"the man added.
"Officers, put this man back in his jail cell...it's clear he won't say anything more" the chief ordered.
"What are we going to do now sir?" One officer asked.
"Someone has a motive behind everything that's happening..and they covered their tracks properly. First thing tomorrow, we'll start our investigations.... interrogate everyone who was at that party and anyone who has a connection to the Montesinos... this Mr Z, we'll find him"the chief replied.
TARA'S CAR
"Are you okay? We can still go back if you want" Hardin asked the sad Tara, staring at her through the rare view mirror.
They were on their way back to their home.
"I'm fine.....it's nothing" Tara replied.
How could she be fine after an attempted kidnap for the second time, fighting with her only sister, seeing her best friend in such a terrible condition and rejecting her father's help again.
Hardin stopped the car the moment he saw a balloon stall and gift cart.
He remembered, in their high school days, whenever Tara was upset, he'd take her to play with darts and win multiple gifts.
"Hardin, what are we doing here?" Tara asked as they both got out of the car.
"Just come with me" Hardin simply replied.
"Excuse me sir, can we please try out...my girlfriend's upset that I didn't get her a gift for her birthday"Hardin made up an excuse....since the man looked like he was closing up.
Tara almost snapped at him for calling her his girlfriend.
"You youngsters really are funny, in our days... getting gifts on our birthdays didn't matter, but if it's for her...then go ahead, I'll give you four trials...if you win them all..you'll get the best gift for your girlfriend" the stall owner replied, laying down the box of darts in front of Hardin.
"Thank you very much sir" Hardin said.
"Hardin, you were so bad at playing darts, just leave it, don't embarrass yourself" Tara tried to stop him.
"Who said I was bad at them?" He asked her, before he aimed one dart at the balloons.
He hit the first, then the second, the third and the fourth all in a row, without fail.
"You never told me you're good at playing darts"Tara said....crossing her arms on her chest.
"You never asked" Hardin replied.
"Congratulations, you've won the couple's gift for tonight" the stall owner brought out matching cute headbands and heart shaped bracelets.
"Young lady,you are very lucky to have this young man by your side,not many boys easily win this,I won't charge you for this, take it as a gift from me" he added while handing them the gifts.
"They're so cute, I like them very much" Tara's mood brightened up again.
"Thank you uncle" she thanked the owner before they left.
"Try it on" Tara said, handing Hardin his headband.
"No,it's too girlish....it doesn't suit me" Hardin simply replied, trying to walk away.
"Please, it'll look cute on you Hardin!"Tara stopped him, but he still didn't budge. He thought it was embarrassing to put it on.
He just walked away from her.
But Tara wasn't going to let him off easily. If there was one thing she was good at, it was making Hardin do what she wanted...even when they were still in high school.
No matter how many times he rejected tutoring her, she still found ways for him to accept.
"Ouch! Hardin I can't walk....these heels are killing me" she complained, loud enough for him to hear her and stop walking.
"Will you let me suffer like this?" she continued to complain.
Hardin turned to face her, and saw the pitiful expression on her face.
He had no choice but to walk back to her.
"Won't you carry me?" Tara asked, pouting.
She enjoyed playing around with him.
Hardin sweeped her off her feet and carried her in his arms.
"Hold on tight" he whispered...and Tara used that opportunity to put the headband on his head.
"That's more like it" she'd tricked him and there was nothing he could do about it.
His hands were carrying her and he couldn't remove the headband.
Without saying a word, he carried her back to the car, just outside before they both entered....he wanted to get his payback first.
"Tara Montesino, do you know what you've just done?" He leaned in closer, with their faces just inches from each other and asked her.
"I don't know...but I know, what I do concerning you, is always right" Tara replied head on.
"You're playing with fire and it will burn you" Hardin said.
"I don't mind....I really like playing with you"Tara replied.... wrapping her arms around his neck.
Was she teasing him?
"Hardin, I want to do something..but promise you won't complain" she whispered, staring directly into his eyes.
"What do you want to do?" Hardin asked... before Tara pulled him close and kissed him.
At first, he didn't respond and Tara pulled back... thinking he didn't like her even just a little....it truly broke her heart again.
"I'm sorry I....."she quickly tried to apologize before Hardin grabbed her face and kissed her.
The two shared a passionate kiss... under the moonlight, with unspoken feelings and hidden longing for each other. They both didn't think about the consequences that would happen after.