A sweet smile spread across Rey Jhon’s lips after the call ended. How could he not smile? It felt like fate was finally on his side, and victory was already within his hands. He could see it shining brightly, almost close enough to grab. If he were alone right now, he wouldn’t just be smiling, he’d be laughing out loud. It is the time that he will sing the song “Ako ang Nagwagi!”
This was his chance to get back at Gabriella for what she did earlier, she will gonna pay for it. She didn’t just crush his pride; she stepped on his very dignity. He knew he was poor and she was rich, but that didn’t give her the right to treat him like a trash. Dignity was all he had left, and she had the guts to step on it.
He never thought karma would strike so fast, letting him hold the final laugh. And it was the Don himself who gave him the way to fight back against his spoiled daughter. He was the winner after all.
His smile grew wider when the Don’s text arrived. Karma worked fast, maybe all the goddesses of the universe were on his side. Even the angels’ hands were clapping on his victory.
He read the message. Gabriella’s number was there, followed by her classroom. He didn’t waste time and strutted straight toward her classroom like a beauty queen on a runway. The only thing missing was a crown, but soon, he planned to snatch Gabriella’s crown for himself.
His phone buzzed again. This time, it was Gabriella’s schedule. He couldn’t believe his luck and their schedules didn’t even conflict. Another smile curved his lips. He is the real winner!
The final laugh was his. He could already imagine Gabriella’s angry face when she found out, her eyes narrowing as fire spewed from her mouth. He smiled sweetly to himself. Luck was definitely on his side. Very lucky!
On the way, he spotted Janine waving at him. He didn’t wave back. She might drag him into her birthday again and make him the clown of the night. No thanks.
The only person he ever wanted to be close to in class was Carlo. No other guy was more handsome. His other classmates? Some looked like horses, others like sea monsters who didn’t even bathe in the ocean. It wasn’t that he was insulting them, he was just describing them. That’s different.
When he reached the high school gate, he saw Gabriella coming out with her friends. Perfect timing, it was break time. Just right timing for a revenge.
Gabriella walked like she was in a pageant, her hips swaying. Even more dramatic than him.
In fairness, he thought, she could apply as a Victoria’s Secret model. He quickly shook his head. No, he was still the better one on the runway compared to this spoiled brat.
When Gabriella passed him, he followed, her minions marching behind her, copying her every move.
If no one was watching, he would’ve joined in, swaying his hips and finger-combing his imaginary long hair. But this wasn’t the time. He didn’t want to be school gossip or make it to the campus newspaper headlines.
He quickened his steps until he reached her. Placing an arm around her shoulder, he leaned in. Gabriella’s eyes widened, and she quickly shoved him away.
“What the hell!” she yelled, stepping back. Even angry, her face remained pretty. Not a single frown ruined her looks.
What the hell, what the hell! What the hell your face! he mocked her inside his head.
“Who the hell are you?” she snapped, veins showing in her neck.
Her three minions instantly circled him, like he was about to hurt their leader.
If he really wanted to hurt her, he would’ve done it earlier.
Who the hell am I? he thought. This girl must love hell so much. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“First, I am your boyfriend, then you ask who I am?” He smirked, biting his lower lip a little. “Am I a joke to you?”
One of her minions gasped, covering her mouth and staring at Gabriella in shock. Rey Jhon chuckled inside. They probably thought he was Gabriella’s boyfriend. Disgusting. Even if Don paid him a million, he would never agree to be her boyfriend.
Gabriella just stared at him, not even answering her minions’ questions. He almost laughed, but he held back, he didn’t want to ruin his plan.
He leaned closer and put his arm around her again, catching a whiff of her expensive perfume.
For sure, this perfume costs a fortune. Hope all, he whispered under his breath.
“Let’s go. You told me last night you wanted to eat popcorn,” he said, then kissed her forehead.
Pray for my soul, he thought.
THEY hadn’t even gone far when Gabriella suddenly turned fierce. She landed a punch on him. Rey Jhon bit his lip, holding her hand tightly so she couldn’t hit his face again. He had wasted enough beauty products on his face, he wasn’t about to let her ruin it.
“What’s your problem? Are you the guy in our house earlier?” she asked, struggling to break free.
They ended up behind the gym, not too far from where he had first seen her. He was glad her minions didn’t follow, they must have believed he was really her boyfriend.
He let go of her hand with a scoff. If it had been Carlo’s hand, he would never have let go. But Gabriella’s? No way.
“Yes, it was me,” he proudly said.
Gabriella raised an eyebrow, as if she had the right to act all high and mighty when she was the one who wronged him.
“Then what do you want from me? Was the money I gave you too small? You want more?” She opened her wallet and pulled out some cash. “You can just ask it directly. You don’t need to make a scene in front of my friends. But please, stay away from me!”
She shoved the money into his hand without even counting it. Like money meant nothing to her.
Did she really think he could be bought? Did she think he was that cheap? Maybe Don was right, he should really teach this girl a lesson. Even if he was gay, he could still put her in her place. He wasn’t going to just stay quiet.
He grabbed her hand again, though he hated touching it. Gabriella’s eyes widened.
“Let me go!” she shouted. “How much do you want? If you don’t release me now, I’ll tell Daddy. He’ll make sure you’re not my driver anymore!”
“Stupid!” he snapped, then bit his lip. “Do you really think I’d agree to be your driver? You’re crazy.”
“What? I’m not crazy!”
“Oh yeah? Then what do I call you? Delusional?” He rolled his eyes, thankful she was too busy struggling to notice.
“I’m not delusional!”
“For your information, Ms. Gabriella,” he said, letting go of one of her hands, “I’m not your driver. I’m your babysitter. So, I need to know everything you do. Do you understand?”
“Babysitter your ass!” she shouted, kicking him right in the thigh.
You little demon! I think you just cracked my eggs! he screamed in his head.
“Congratulations!”Gabriella smiled sweetly when she opened the door of their house. Their house helpers, who couldn’t join the graduation ceremony earlier, shouted in unison.She had been crying nonstop because she couldn’t believe she finally reached this point. It felt like just yesterday when she still needed a babysitter because of her stubbornness.Babysitter, she whispered while looking around the house. Where could that guy be?“Did you see Rey Jhon, Mom?” she asked her mother. “Didn’t he follow us home earlier?”She accepted the flowers given by their housekeeper. She smiled, thanked her, and looked at her mom again.“Mommy? Did you see Rey Jhon?”“Rey Jhon?” her mom repeated, looking like she had no energy to answer. She even checked her phone before replying. “Didn’t he tell you?”“Tell me what?” she asked in confusion. He didn’t say anything to her earlier before she got into the car. He only hugged her and kissed her on the head. “He didn’t say anything, Mom. What was he
Gabriella walked quickly toward their school canteen. Her eyebrows were pulled together. Of all times to forget her umbrella, why now, when the sun was shining so harshly, as if it had no plan of softening its heat? She had no choice but to walk faster so she could reach the canteen right away.Her mood grew worse when she saw there were no empty seats. Her boarders had been complaining about their hunger, that’s why she decided to go down. But wow, what perfect timing—no seats at all.She held her forehead and looked around, hoping she might spot a friend to sit with. She couldn’t go back upstairs again to wait for an empty seat.A smile quickly appeared on her lips when she saw Rey Jhon sitting alone, eating. She headed toward his table, which was at the side. But before she could reach him, a female instructor walked over and sat beside him.She saw clearly how he smiled and even pointed to one of his sandwiches. It looked like he was about to give it to her. And Gabriella knew—tha
“Where are you going, Ma’am Gab?”Gabriella stopped walking, holding her bike tight. She turned to look at their security guard. She knew her Daddy must have given another set of rules again.“Your Daddy said you’re not allowed to go out.”And that was the rule. She sighed deeply.Of course. Her daddy still thought she was a baby. He seemed to forget that his only child was already grown up.She waved at the guard and smiled. What was she supposed to do inside the house? Stare at her phone until her Dad came home from God-knows-where?“Your smile won’t work on me, Ma’am. I’m just following the rules.” The guard whistled and told another guard to lock the gate. “Lock the gate.”She let go of her bike and it fell with a loud noise.“I feel like a princess not allowed to go out,” she whispered, then suddenly ran through the gate. “Lucky! I’ll be back, Sir! Just give me a minute!” she shouted, not letting the big-bellied guard catch her.A few minutes later, Gabriella reached the plaza. S
“Rey Jhon for you. Don’t tell me, you don’t like me too.”Everything around Gabriella seemed to stop. She could not open her mouth to tell Rey Jhon she didn’t like him. She could not move her hand to close the door and hide his face. She could not even move her feet to run away.What was happening to her?She only stared at Rey Jhon. She looked straight into his dark eyes. His eyes seemed to pull her in, like they were saying something she could not read.Her gaze moved down. From his tall nose, to his slightly red cheeks, then to his lips. His lips were red, like he was wearing lipstick.Gay, she whispered to herself with a smirk.She stepped closer. Slowly, she lifted her hand and touched his lips with her finger. Only one word came to her mind.Soft.His lips were soft. And she thought…“Gab.” His voice snapped her back to reality.She quickly stepped back, hiding her hand behind her. She looked at him again, shocked at what she just did.What did she just do? Why did she touch his
Gabriella kept her lips pressed tight, even when her dad was smiling wide and waving at her. She wasn’t in the mood to smile earlier, but now her mood got even worse. She couldn’t even fake a smile. Her dad told her to come closer, so she had no choice but to walk, wishing that maybe her eyes were just playing tricks on her and Rey Jhon wasn’t really there.There were so many guys in the world. Why him? Out of all the single men around, why did it have to be Rey Jhon? She would rather have someone with one eye or even one tooth than him. Seeing him already gave her a headache.Maybe you’re just being too picky, Gabriella? her mind teased.But no, she wasn’t picky. It was the truth. A truth she couldn’t change. And even if she could, she wouldn’t waste her time changing it.She walked past Rey Jhon without even looking at him. She hurried to her dad’s side, scolding herself for forgetting to bring her phone.Wow, unlucky. Now it looks like you were excited to see him, huh? her mind tea
The day that Rey Jhon had been waiting for finally came.It was the day when he was no longer her teacher and she was no longer his student.The day when he planned to go to the girl’s house.There was no turning back now, even if Gabriella shouted many times that she didn’t like him, that she didn’t want to see him. Even if she posted it on all her social media, it would not stop him from doing what he wanted to do.He only wanted one thing: for them to be okay again and go back to how they used to be. For months, he worked hard to be close to her, even if his heart was against it, because he always thought she was his rival with Carlo. But he ignored all that.He took a deep breath and got off his motorcycle. He had finally reached the house. He stared at it for a while, thinking how many years had passed before he came back here. Nothing seemed to change. His heart still beat fast whenever he saw this house.He remembered the first day he came here and why. It was Carlo’s birthday,