CHAPTER 3

“Am I really that bad?” said by a familiar voice behind me. I immediately closed my eyes tightly while adrenalin started to kick in. I thought of leaving the scene when I heard something clatter in front of me.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Selene already walking out of the café. I started to gather my things to leave while cursing that woman for leaving me here. It’s the two of us gossiping about him! How could she leave me hanging? 

I stood to leave like nothing happened when I felt a presence standing behind me. I could already smell his scent invading my nostrils. 

“a-a-a,” I can feel him smiling evilly. “Leaving too early again, miss Del Real?” 

My heart beat accelerated more and more as I think of something to say.

I turned and flashed a fake smile at him. “Uh, no. Why in the world would I do that?” I forced a laughter.

He smirked and crossed his arms on his chest. “Okay, so since I caught you talking shit about me, I think you owe me one favor.” I raised one of my brows at him and imitated his stance. 

“What are you talking about? I don’t think I ever heard a rule similar to that.” I said.

What a weird guy, I thought. 

“Well, miss Del Real, I have a proposition for you, then.” he said with a stern face. I suddenly got curious of the proposition he’s talking about. I frowned even more and I bowed my head slightly without breaking our eye contact.

“Can we sit first? I’ve been standing for quite a while listening to all the things you and your friend were talking about me.” he said with a mocking look on his face. 

I winced thinking about him standing behind me while we talked about him non-stop a while ago. How could Selene not notice him? Or maybe she did this on purpose? That witch, I’m gonna kill her.

“Are you a stalker or some sort Mr. Delmont? And by the way, didn’t anyone tell you that it’s inappropriate to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations?” I asked with a menacing grin.

He puffed a loud exhale and loosened his hands to his sides. He turned to the table where we sat on earlier and sat on one of the seats. “Didn’t anyone tell you that it is also wrong to talk about someone behind their backs?” he asked back. I was thinking of a reply when he spoke, “What are you waiting for? Sit.” he ordered demandingly.

I hissed at his words. “I’m not a dog.” I rolled my eyes and a thought came to my mind. 

I discreetly looked towards the exit and saw a guy with a coffee on both of his hands about to open the glass door. If my calculations are right, I could get out of this café as long as the guy opens the door. 

This is now or never, Reese, I thought to myself.

I then, abruptly ran towards the exit as if my life depended on it.

“Hey!” I heard the arrogant man behind me roar, but I didn’t care about anything anymore.

 I can feel slight triumph when I reached the open door. But the guy with the coffee was still half way through the open door. I didn’t think straight, for I was too focused on running away from that café. I pushed the guy blocking my way, but I didn’t expect him to trip on his own feet! I heard some people gasp in surprise.

“Ow!” the guy yelled in pain.

Shit!

I’m dead, I thought before landing on the coffee guy’s back after one of the heels of my stiletto stepped on something uneven. 

No, no, not yet. I immediately gathered some things that fell from my bag. “Sorry!” I shouted and ran away.

 I was already gasping for air when I thought I was quite far from the café. I stopped for a while and removed both my stilettos. Thank God for being used on wearing them. I sighed in relief when I looked back and didn’t see anyone following me. 

I can feel the stares of the people around me. I covered my face in embarrassment and walked near the gutter to hail for a taxi. I’ll just tell our driver later to get my car where I parked it before they give me a ticket. Well, I can afford a ticket but the fact that my Aston Martin would receive a ticket? That, I can’t take, it’s embarrassing.  

I can almost see myself looking like hell right this moment. I sighed when I finally sat on the taxi’s passenger seat.

I fished my phone out of my bag and called Selene. Damn that witch for leaving me.

“Hey, Reese!” she answered in delight as if she didn’t do anything terrible just a while ago.

“’Hey, Reese?’ seriously, Selene Brianne?” I addressed her with her second name. “You just freaking left me with that brute! I cannot believe you!” I exclaimed. 

I heard her laugh on the other line. I puffed a loud breath at her response.

“Relax, Reese. I knew you could handle him just right, so I left.” she said and laughed again, like a witch. 

I thought about my actions earlier, extremely different from what my friend thinks.

Why did I run like that? I covered my face sheepishly as I replay how I fell on that guy’s back and ran like a barbaric woman. 

“Are you still there, woman?” she asked which brought me back from my reverie.

“Yeah. You know what? I don’t even know why you’re my best friend.” I said with an annoyed tone. 

“Tsk. I don’t know either. By the way, what did he say? I saw his face before I left our table earlier. He looked like beast ready to devour his prey. Oooh! He looked so hot, Reese!” she squealed.

“Oh, yeah? Did you forget about the things I told you about him earlier? Tsk.” I asked and rolled my eyes. I cannot believe that she’s fantasizing about that insolent brute. ‘Oh, did she say she was fantasizing?’ asked a small voice in my head. 

No, she sounded like it!

“Of course not,”

“You know, he’s really weird. I thought he was going to insult and annoy me to the brink, but he didn’t.” I said and paused when the taxi stopped in front of our house. 

I went out of the car and told her that I’ll call her later ‘cause I’m gonna need to sneak in. I don’t want to be seen like this by my parents. They’d surely interrogate me and I’m too tired to talk too much. My jaw might just fall to the ground.

I used my spare keys to open the gate silently. I saw ate Sona, one of our maids on the small garden in front of our house, watering the plants. 

“Ate, is dad home?” I addressed her as ‘older sister’ in Filipino, it’s a sign of respect for women older than us. 

She looked at my messed up appearance and smiled. I don’t know what she’s thinking right now, but thank God she didn’t say anything about it.

“Hi, ma’am. Sir Ammadon, not here.” She shook her head. Ate Sona is a bit older than me, two years, maybe. I know she’s quite intelligent but she isn’t that fluent in English because she only finished elementary. 

When mama offered to pay for her education, she said that she’s already embarrassed to continue to go to school because she wouldn’t fit in, considering her age.

I nodded and went in the house. The smell of adobo attacked my nostrils the moment I went inside. I bet mama is the one cooking. Thank God, dad isn’t here yet. I rapidly walked towards my room upstairs silently. 

I sat on my bed for a while and felt both my feet ache from the running and walking barefoot. I didn’t feel it earlier because of thinking and talking. 

I sighed and lifelessly went in the bathroom to take a bath. 

I spent hours in the bathroom thinking about what proposition that man was talking about. 

Maybe he’ll give me a job in exchange of what? My body? I don’t think so. He didn’t look like a perverted man and I think many women would be more willing to give him that. His looks would be enough to make women kiss his feet. Heck, he doesn’t even need to utter a single word. 

Well, not for me of course.

I wouldn’t give myself to anyone, but my husband. Sean creeped into my mind again. He was the one I thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with. A tear immediately threatened to fall from my eyes, but I stopped it. 

I don’t want to be that fragile woman again. I need to regain myself that I lost when I was with Sean. I got too dependent to him that I lost myself. 

I sighed and endured the pain my heart is feeling. 

They say that the key to moving on is forgiveness and acceptance. I already forgave him for the pain he caused, I already forgave myself for loosing myself in the process of making him fall in love with me. I already accepted the fact that he’s never gonna be mine, that he’s someone else’s. 

But why does it still hurt? Why do I still feel the pain after all these? 

A lone tear finally escaped from my eyes. 

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the rolled towel behind my neck before unconsciously dozing off to sleep.