Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Asher POV

"Fuck that woman!" iritadong sambit ko habang pinagmamasdan ang babaeng naglalakad palayo sa sasakyan ko.

Precious o mas kilalang Pitra.

Whatever the hell her name was!

Napahigpit ang hawak ko sa manibela habang pinapanood siyang sumigaw sa mga dumaraang tao, bitbit ang balde ng talaba na para bang iyon ang pinakamahalagang bagay sa mundo.

Seriously?

Ako si Asher Montenegro Santiago! Isang bilyonaryo, business tycoon, at isa sa mga pinakaguwapong lalaking kinababaliwan ng mga babae sa siyudad na ito.

Hindi ako nagyayabang. That's a fact.

Sa isang simpleng pagngiti ko pa lang, may mga babaeng kusang lumalapit. Sa isang dinner invitation, may mga babaeng handang kanselahin ang kanilang mga plano. At sa isang simpleng paghingi ko ng numero, kadalasan ay pangalan at numero pa ng buong pamilya nila ang ibinibigay!

Pero ang babaeng iyon?

Tinanggihan ako.

Hindi lang basta tinanggihan.

BINASTED AKO NG ISANG TINDERA NG TALABA!

"Hahahaha! Damn, bro!" Halos hindi na makahinga sa kakatawa si Lucas, ang matalik kong kaibigan at chief operating officer ng kumpanya ko. "The handsome man of the city, rejected by a woman selling oysters!"

Napalingon ako sa kanya.

"What's so funny?"

"Everything!" sagot niya, saka muling humalakhak. "I mean, I've seen women reject men before, but you? You practically handed her the opportunity of a lifetime, and she offered you a cheese-flavored oyster instead!"

Maging si Daniel, ang isa ko pang kaibigan na nakaupo sa kabilang upuan, ay hindi na rin napigilang tumawa.

"One billionaire man and certified womanizer," dagdag niya, "basted by a woman who sells oysters on the street!"

"Shut up, you two."

Lalo lamang silang nagtawanan.

Mga walang kuwentang kaibigan!

Kung hindi lang sila kapwa mahahalagang tao sa kumpanya ko, matagal ko na silang ibinaba rito at pinaglakad pauwi.

"Come on, Asher," natatawang sabi ni Lucas. "Admit it. You've never met a woman like her before."

"I've met thousands of women."

"Exactly. And how many of them told you that you're not their type?"

I gave him a cold look.

"Do you want to find out how painful it is to be thrown out of a moving car?"

He raised both hands, still grinning.

"Okay, okay. I'm done."

Pero ilang segundo lang ang lumipas, nagsalita na naman si Daniel.

"So, are you going to buy more oysters tomorrow?"

I slowly turned my head toward him.

"Daniel."

"Yes?"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

He burst out laughing.

I leaned back against my seat and rubbed my forehead.

This was ridiculous.

I had a meeting with foreign investors in less than thirty minutes, millions of pesos worth of business transactions waiting for my approval, and a company that required my attention.

Yet here I was, wasting my precious time thinking about a woman who probably couldn't even afford the suit I was wearing.

A woman who smelled faintly of seawater and the market.

A woman who had absolutely no idea who I was beyond my name.

And somehow, that irritated me more than it should.

"Driver, let's go," I ordered.

"Yes, sir."

The car began moving.

I glanced once more through the window.

There she was, standing at the side of the road, shouting at another group of customers.

"TALABA! BILI NA KAYO! FRESH NA FRESH! MAS MASARAP PA SA MGA LALAKING PAASA!"

I nearly choked.

"Did she just—"

Lucas leaned forward to look through the window.

"Oh, my God! She's still insulting you!"

"I'm not the only man in the world, you idiot!"

"Of course, you're not. But you might be the only billionaire who's ever been compared to a disappointing oyster!"

"Lucas!"

"Okay! Sorry!"

He wasn't sorry at all. The idiot was practically crying from laughter.

I looked away from the window and loosened my tie.

Unbelievable.

Women usually tried to impress me. They laughed at my jokes even when they weren't funny, agreed with everything I said, and pretended to enjoy whatever restaurant I chose.

But Precious?

She looked as if she'd rather spend an entire day cleaning fish guts than have dinner with me.

And the worst part was that she hadn't even tried to hide it.

She simply looked me in the eye and told me I wasn't her type.

No hesitation. No nervous smile. No attempt to flirt.

Nothing.

For some reason, I wanted to hear her say it again.

I wanted to know whether she would still reject me if she knew the kind of life I could offer her.

A mansion. Luxury cars. Designer clothes. Trips around the world.

Anything she wanted.

I could give it to her without even checking my bank account.

But then I remembered her words.

Dapat hindi babaero.

Marunong maghugas ng pinggan.

Hindi maarte sa pagkain.

I scoffed.

"What kind of ridiculous qualifications are those?"

Lucas, who had apparently recovered from his laughing fit, glanced at me.

"What qualifications?"

"Nothing."

He narrowed his eyes.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

"No."

"You're absolutely thinking about her."

I gave him a murderous glare.

"Do you want to walk to the office?"

He immediately faced forward.

"No, sir. I love this car, sir. Beautiful weather today, sir."

Daniel chuckled under his breath.

I ignored them both and took out my phone.

For the first time in a long while, I found myself curious about someone.

Not because she was beautiful.

Not because she was rich or influential.

But because she had looked at me as if I were just another man standing in front of her.

And I hated how much I wanted to change that.

"Lucas."

"Yes, Your Handsome Highness?"

"Find out more about Precious."

His smile slowly widened.

"Oh, this is getting interesting."

"Her background. Her family. Where she lives. Everything that's publicly available."

"Planning to buy her entire oyster business?"

I stared at him.

"One more word, and you're fired."

He zipped his lips.

Daniel leaned back, shaking his head in amusement.

"Poor girl. She doesn't even know she's caught the attention of Asher Montenegro Santiago."

I looked out the window, my jaw tightening slightly.

Poor girl?

No.

They had it all wrong.

I wasn't planning to make her life miserable.

I simply wanted to see whether that sharp tongue of hers would still be wagging when she finally realized who she had rejected.

A slow smile crept across my face.

"Let's see, Precious."

I tapped my fingers against the armrest.

"Let's see how long you can keep telling me I'm not your type."

Because one thing was certain. I wasn't used to losing. And I had absolutely no intention of starting now.