Brighter Than the Sun

Alfred F. Jones Loves Maria de la Cruz

Prologue

Alfred always saw himself as a hero. He loved to help those in need and promised them that he would be there whenever they needed his help. But the only person he will lay his life for was his business partner, Maria.

Maria and Alfred had a platonic relationship. When they were young teenagers, Maria referred to Alfred as her "Big Brother". That was mostly because Alfred had literally been there for her since the beginning. When Maria was going through tough times with her first boyfriend, Antonio, Alfred stood up for her and eventually Antonio and Maria separated for good. Maria became closer with Alfred, but he was still her best friend.

Alfred was, obviously, in love. He was obsessed with the thought of Maria being with him forever and ever, amen. He influenced her with western ways, taught her how to ride the bike, and helped her become more independent. But after every day, Maria gave Alfred a friendly hug instead of the sweet kiss he always longed for.

You can already imagine how beautiful Maria must be to have Alfred in love with her for the longest time. But he is not the only one vying for her affection.

When Antonio was still with Maria and Alfred was just a friend of Antonio, another teenager fell in love with Maria. His name was Arthur Kirkland, a British Foreign Exchange student at their school. Many girls like him, but he only had his eyes on Maria.

Antonio knew soon enough that Arthur liked "his girl". It was obvious on how Arthur acted around Maria. One afternoon after classes, Antonio was walking with Maria outside the school when they saw Arthur, waiting for them.

"You won't let her go, won't you?" Arthur asked smugly. Antonio's grip on Maria tightened. "Face it, Antonio; I am much better looking than you. Can't you see how much Maria is suffering under you?"

Antonio looked at Maria, aghast. Maria was, in turn, completely shocked. "What are you talking about, Arthur? I am not suffering!" she replied defiantly.

Arthur continued to smile darkly. He held out a hand. "Just give her to me, Antonio, and I will disappear from your life forever".

"I will never let you have her!" Antonio had cried out defiantly to the Brit, bringing Maria closer to him. "You can never stop me from loving her, Antonio!" Arthur replied back confidently. Arthur was a vicious little bastard who fancied himself with the ladies; but in this case, only one special little lady.

Before anything else can happen, Maria broke free from Antonio. "Stop it!" she cried out. "I am not some play-toy you two can fight over with! I will choose whoever I want to be with, and it is not with you!" she added angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Arthur.

Even so, that did not stop Arthur. Eventually he was able to take Maria away from Antonio through a simple concoction of sleeping powder in her drink. When Antonio found out that Maria was gone, it was too late

"Tell me, how could you do this, Arthur?" Alfred cried out as he saw Maria asleep with his elder "brother". Arthur shrugged. "I love her; that is all" he answered simply, sipping his tea nonchalantly. Alfred looked at Maria, who was still very beautiful as she slept. "I promise you, Maria, I will find a way to get you back with Antonio, whatever it takes" he whispered to Maria, even if she could not hear him. He leaned closer and slowly, their foreheads touched. "I promise".

It took Alfred about two weeks* to get Maria away from Arthur. Alfred was happy enough just to see that Maria and Antonio were as happy as can be.

But their happiness did not last long.

After many years of being together, Antonio and Maria broke up. Antonio became very abusive and left Maria on her knees, wounded, bruised, and depressed. Alfred could not bear to see her that way. And so, he made a deal with Antonio to give Maria to him (Alfred) for $100 million. Antonio disappeared as soon as he got the money.

Everything was going well with Maria and Alfred, and Alfred was even getting close to winning Maria's heart that seemed so caged up and far away inside her since the breakup.

But suddenly, right in the climax of World War II, Kiku Honda entered the scene.

Apparently, he had been fighting Alfred for a while, being part of the Axis Powers. Kiku was able to take hold of Maria and kept her captive for a very long time. Alfred and his army tried their best to fight back, but Kiku was able to defeat them.

Maria was on her knees. Her clothes were ragged and her hair was messed up. She looked thinner and paler. Alfred was defeated, and Kiku only gave him 2 minutes to say his goodbyes. Maria looked up at Alfred, her eyes brimming with tears. "Please Alfred, don't leave me," she cried out, her voice cracking.

Alfred knelt down and held Maria by her chin. He looked straight into her brown eyes. "I promise you Maria, I shall return" he whispered to her, smiling slightly. He held her in his arms for a long and sweet embrace for what seemed like the last time.

But it was not the end. Finally, Alfred was able to defeat Kiku after he made Maria suffer for 3 years. When Alfred came home, Maria's people came to greet them. Alfred looked for Maria's face which always stood out among the crowd. That was how much he loved her.

Soon, he saw her. She was still pale and thin, but this time she was crying of joy. Alfred wrapped his arms around her frail body and gave her a tight but warm embrace. No words were needed.

Now, it was Present Day**. Maria was a strong, independent woman, who no longer needed Alfred's constant guidance. But even so, Alfred was there for her anyway. She was still his first love even after all they have been through together.

This is a true story that happed in Real Life, with different names.

Only, the facts were changed.

*two weeks – it really was 2 years, but that would take too long for this story.

**Present Day – here you can decide whatever century they would be living in. would it be the 21st century or the 20th?

A/N

Hi guys. Yeah, I know I should be working on my other story, but this was a really nice idea and it really DID happen in real life, but I used the characters of Hetalia to cover up the real names. Philippines is an OC character, and I really want her to be created soon. She would actually be the only character with the most male characters linked to her, I guess! There's a lot more to happen, so please oh please continue reading!