Gerald was back sulking in his office, several rather morose minutes after Jake left.

“Yup, man. I guess we’re a little bit too late...” Gerald said to Carlo, fiddling his key pendant.

“Was it because of the pie?” asked the baffled Carlo.

“I think not...”

“It is because of the pie, boss!” Carlo said. “I remember what you said last time. Isn’t this what you feared might have happened last Friday? Yet despite of that, you still gave her the pie...”

“The pie can’t be blamed,” Gerald explained. “It merely enhanced the feelings she had inside. It works like a truth serum...all it does is reveal your heart’s desires and the sad truth is, Jake is the one that makes her happy...”

“And because her main reason of happiness is Jake,” Carlo continued. “What the pie did was to take that happiness to the next level. What could be more blissful than marriage?”

The truth coming from Carlo’s mouth was too hard for Gerald to swallow.

“What if she wakes up tomorrow and realizes she is not at all that happy to marry him?” asked Carlo.

“I don’t know, man. Yes, that can happen... but it’s all up to her now.”

“It just seems so wrong,” Carlo pointed out. “Is there anything else we can do?”

“I don’t have an UNHAPPY Pie to reverse the effects of the other one.” Gerald answered.

“Can’t you make one?” Carlo said.

“How do you suggest I do that?”

“I don’t know, you’re the chef!” Carlo said. “Maybe mix-up every other vile thing you can think of and put them in a pie. Add a couple of tears...voila! Unhappy Pie!”

“That would be poison!” said Gerald.

“Can’t we just poison everybody and get it over with? In that way every one dies! We can get rid of all those hideous people in one shot.”

Gerald knows how absurd Carlo’s ideas were sometimes. But something in what he said caught his attention. A sinister plan started to form in his mind. A wicked smile flashed on Gerald’s face.

“You know what Carlo, you’re a genius!” Gerald said, grabbing Carlo by the shoulders in his excitement.

“You’re not seriously thinking of poisoning them, are you?”

“No, my friend...” Gerald said. “It’s going to be much better than that!”

Carlo was definitely baffled and intrigued at the same time. Gerald paced the room with renewed vigor. Carlo could almost see a ton of ideas churning in Gerald’s head.

“Boss, whatever you are planning...It’s not going to result in multiple deaths, is it? Because if it will, I’m out!”

“Of course not, you silly boy!” Gerald said, his Cheshire cat grin was wider than ever.

“What do you have in mind, boss?” asked Carlo.

“What is it that I always say to you, Carlo?” Gerald quizzed him.

They both answered in unison, “It ain’t over till the fat priest says, KISS THE BRIDE!!!”

“Yep, my friend, it ain’t over,” ascertained the now, very confident Gerald. “Because, they ain’t seen nothing yet! By the time I’m finished with 'em, they won’t even know what hit them!”

“That’s the Gerald I know!” Carlo said proudly.

“You know what Carlo, they really forgot one tiny significant detail!” Gerald said.

“What is it, boss?” asked Carlo.

“They made me the Chef!” Gerald exclaimed.

Carlo gave him the high fives and with that, they set their ambitious plan to motion. They have exactly ten days to steal the bride away.
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Xoxoxoxox
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Kim woke up the following Monday, feeling completely dazed and confused. She vaguely recollects what she had done...and it almost made her throw up. She rushed to washroom and flushed her face with the much needed cold water.

She looked at her reflection on the mirror. It was really uncharacteristic of her to make such hasty decisions. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt the urge to rectify things with Jake. Two days ago, she came to a decision that things were not moving forward for the two of them. Yet, two days later, she was going to marry him. If Kate Hudson had ten days to lose a guy, here she had her own ten days to hitch a guy. She could certainly make a movie out of it.

It was not as if the thought of marrying him was foreign to Kim. She had thought about it several times from before. She knew, eventually, that she might end up with Jake. She managed to put up with his crap for the last four years. Much props to the guy too. He did put up with all her cookiness as well. One thing she liked about him, even though he was such a simpleton, he was extremely loyal. He just seems a little brash and overbearing sometimes. But that can be controlled, Kim reasoned. Maybe, it wasn’t too bad of a decision after all. She’s of the marrying age and it’s not as if she was being cradle snatched. Who knows, she might be happy with Jake. Every woman in the Philippines would surely love to be in her place right now. Who would not, he is rich, famous, good looking....Kim, however, was thinking that maybe there would be so much world to explore out there, other than just a world of Jake.

Kim can’t really help but feel being cut off short of whatever future happiness this marriage might curtail. Her mind refuses to accept the notion that Jake is her true match. If only he hadn’t called a press conference yesterday and announced their wedding plans, she might not have been in too deep. She didn’t leave any wiggle room for herself now. Whatever got into her, was surely to blame. Kim knew inside what it was that caused her all these mess.

“It was the pie!” Kim confirmed to herself.

She rushed out of the washroom, determined to go to the pie maker. Maybe then, he could find a way to reverse the spell.
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xoxoxoxoxox
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Kim was in her car, waiting...for hours. IT wasn’t until very late that evening that she had the chance she was waiting for. Gerald was now by himself in the Vanilla Bean.

Kim strode into the restaurant with a purpose in each step. She saw him shutting off the lights in the kitchen. His eyes instantly lit up as he saw her by the door. Kim didn’t know whether to smile or to look a bit conflicted. Seeing him though, made her heart throb and ache.

She settled for “Hey!”

“Hey...” he answered back.

“How are you?” Kim greeted him, as cordially as she possibly could.

“I’m fine!” Gerald answered rather acerbically. “Perhaps, congratulations are in order!”

“Oh that! I guess you’ve heard...”

“Oh, it’s hard not to! He came in here himself and made a big announcement...I guess it would be hard not to hear any of it. Plus, he dangled a lot of money just to get my services, so I guess it would be quite impossible to get myself out of this bloody picture...”

“I’m sorry...”

“Sorry for what?” Gerald ask, still a bit of hurt in his tone.

“This whole mess...”

“Frankly, Kim, it’s not my mess!” Gerald said, turning his back on her. He did this to hide from her the pain he was feeling.

“But you caused it!” Kim declared.

“Wow! Thanks for blaming me for your wise decision!” Gerald said sarcastically.

“It was that pie! I took more of it than I should have. That’s what caused me to be this irrational! That bloody thing is dangerous!”

“Frankly Kim, you brought this upon yourself...” Gerald said. He had so much hurt in his heart that he somehow wished Kim felt it too. “That pie simply brought your innermost desires to life...think deeply. Didn’t you always want to be Mrs. Jake Cuengco?”

Kim thought for a second. There were some half-truths to what he said. At one time, she did wish she’d marry Jake, but not this very moment.

“That is not completely true!” said Kim.

“See, indeed you have thought of it! The pie simply elucidated what was going through your mind.” Gerald replied. He constantly fiddled with the coffee machine as thoughts keep coming through his head. She still looks exceptional even in her most distraught state, he observed.

She answered back gently, “What the mind thinks is at times different from what the heart feels...”

Gerald looked up to her immediately. HE saw regret swirling in her eyes. At that point, Gerald wanted to hug her and take away all her pain. But for her sake, he had to remain reticent.

“Coffee?” Gerald offered.

“Coffee would be nice,” Kim admitted, wiping off the rebellious tears flowing from her eyes.

Gerald his coffee machine. Minutes later, he had two cups of steaming hot coffee for the two of them. Gerald led her to one of the corner tables.

They sipped their coffee in silence. IT was as if both didn’t want to ruin a good moment.

“You always had the choice...” Gerald said, meaningfully.

“It’s hard to choose between what you want and what is right...”

“Are they not the same thing?” pried Gerald. “Is not what you want, right for you as well?”

“Nope, not in my case...”said Kim, bowing her head. She instantly blamed herself for not telling Gerald what she really feels. If only she could tell him that the reason she did not want to marry Jake was because she was starting to feel something for Gerald. She could just not bring it to herself to admit it.

“Kim, why are you here?” Gerald asked her.

“I need to go...” Kim said, avoiding his question.

She immediately stood up, but Gerald was quicker than her. He held arm tightly.

“Not until you tell me the reason why you came here tonight!” Gerald demanded.

“I don’t know!”

“I think you know, Kim. Why did you come here? You could have easily phoned me, but why are you here? !”

“Let me go!” Kim protested. “Please, get your hands off me!”

Gerald finally let go of her hand. Kim took her hand bag and went out of the door. She can’t understand herself why she couldn’t answer back as to his simple question. But before she stepped out the door, she heard him say...

“Don’t lie to yourself Kim!”

She shot him back a look of dismay. Then, she slowly disappeared into the darkness.

Gerald was almost in tears after that. He did not like it at all for Kim to dislike him. But he had to do it for her sake. For his plan to work, the little that she knows of it, the better. If only she knew what he had in store for her in his mind! For now, everything should remain just as it should be. She is to marry Jake, but not until he had something to say about it. Jake may be the man of her dreams, but he was always had been her knight and savior. This time, he was determined to save her --- from a fate worse than death! The simple chef was about to run away with the prince’s bride!
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Just a short chap before the FINALE! I'll post the ending as soon as I can. Just have to tweak it a little to make it perfect. thanks.