Asper Reign Dahlia’s Pov
A clear morning dawned on me when I opened my bedroom window. That is why I thought of hanging out on its balcony and drinking the coffee I brewed earlier after taking a shower.
One year.
It has been that long since I left our house and ran away so that Dad’s plan of marrying me to the prince of this country wouldn’t go through.
And within a year, the attention of the palace and its officials gradually disappeared from me because I also completely stopped appearing in public.
But even though I don’t show up to people anymore, I continue to help them with the foundations and hospitals that I have built.
That is one thing that I can never stop no matter what happens. But all of my transactions with them only happened via email and the one who is currently in charge at the office was my youngest sister, Aasiyah.
Well, only a few people know that I left our house.
Jasper, our elder sibling, was the first one to know. He didn’t even agree to this plan because he knew how dangerous it is for me to leave my parents' house.
Somehow, my parents’ position still protects me inside our estate so others are not making their move whenever I am at him.
Well, I understand his concern but leaving our house and hiding away from the people wanting me gone is the right call for this problem. This is the only way for me to end this mess without marrying the cruel prince of Hexoria Kingdom. It is the only way for my family to get back the peace in their life and for the royal family to stop worrying that I might rebel against them.
In the end, he realized my point and agreed on my plan. After that, I immediately told my mother and Aasiyah about it and they didn’t hesitate to agree.
Mom said she would rather let me go and hide while doing things I love than be locked up in the palace with the prince who will surely try to enslave and use me for his own gain.
Then, Aasiyah volunteered to manage my foundations and hospital on-site so it will continue to operate even though I am not around.
I also got to say goodbye to my other two siblings, Kezia, the second child, and Easter, the fourth child.
Like Jasper, they also didn’t like my plan but after explaining everything, they also just agreed and just told me to take care of myself and never do anything stupid.
I would also like to say goodbye to my father personally but I know that no matter what I do to explain what I want, he won’t accept it because in his mind, marrying the prince is the only permanent solution to protect me.
Even if that is not what I want for myself.
So, I didn’t bother and just left a letter for him.
With some clothes and enough money to live comfortably, I ended up in a small town in the southern part of our country.
Yain City.
This is still in the countryside. Not a lot of people are coming here since there is not much attraction here, well, aside from food. Besides, most of the people living here were high profile and wanted to stay away from the mess in the larger city.
The rest of the people living here were foreigners who were married to the local people here. Elderly people who have retired from their job and have chosen to stay here and others are people who are used to quiet surroundings and away from the noisy city.
And this is a perfect hiding place for someone like me who wants to avoid the eyes of the public and the palace since media coverage here is also rare.
The part of town where my house was built was not yet developed. I only have a few neighbors and they are too far away from my block, which is good for me because I don’t have to socialize with them.
Well, except for Miracle, my only friend in this place. I met her two months after I got here.
But even though it is not that developed, this city has a good economy. Aside from farms and other agriculture businesses, this place was filled with good restaurants that the tourists visited.
And to make sure that no one will notice me, I always stayed inside my house while Miracle managed my SweetHeart Cafe, my source for my daily expenses.
I stopped using my personal assets and the money that I inherited from my grandmother when I moved here. It is one way to prevent Dad or anyone from the palace from tracking me down.
So, I established a cafe that serves desserts, coffee, and teas just to support myself here.
“Asper!”
I looked at Miracle who was standing in front of my house’s gate.
She was frowning while looking at me.
“It is early in the morning, Mira.” I laughed. “You seriously greeted me with a frowned face?” I stood up and immediately came to her.
She is Miracle Ryedale, Mira for short. She is only two years older than me but she has more experience in handling a business, especially a cafe. That is why I didn’t hesitate to ask for her help and hired her as the manager of my cafe.
She was the one managing my store while I stayed inside my house baking the product that we are selling at the SweetHeart Cafe.
“Didn’t I tell you that I would be coming early today to get Mrs. Santiago’s order?” she said as soon as we met in the kitchen. “That client wants her order to be delivered in the morning because she meets with her friends.”
“Can you please relax even just for a bit?” I handed her a cup of tea. “Please sit down for a while, enjoy the tea that I got for you.”
“Asper!” She glared at me. She is so strict when it comes to the cafe. She always likes to take care of everything and she never lets us fail every client that we get.
I sighed.
Well, it is my fault that she was like this. I let her do all the work outside and at the store while I enjoy baking in the comfort of my own house and kitchen.
So, it is my fault that she didn’t even know how to relax even for a while.
“Fine,” I said. “I will prepare the orders so just calm down, okay? Sit there, enjoy the tea, and relax.”
She breathed deeply and nodded. Well, she didn’t really have a choice but to sit, drink the tea and relax while she was waiting for me.
Asper Reigh Dahlia's Pov“Any news at the cafe?” I asked her as I put the ordered cupcakes in the box.I only visit the store once a month to avoid getting seen by many people. And if there were a lot of customers at the store, I immediately went home so I wouldn't bother our employees serving there.I just ask Miracle for everything that happens in the story since she is always there.“I was planning on hiring an extra waitress since we are getting a lot of new customers these past few days.” She put a folder on the counter. “You can check the resume of those who got interviewed yesterday and tell me who you want to hire. Aside from that, I also need to hire two new delivery drivers because the order for deliveries is also increasing.”“You mean, within the five months of the cafe, it is starting to be recognized around the city?”She nodded. “Your accidental encounter with Saraya gave a good impact on your store,” she said. “Her visit to our store was such a big help.”Saraya is an
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovI have been preparing another batch of cupcakes for the product that Miracle will display in our shop. That is the only thing that I did throughout the whole day. And when the sun finally set, I started taking care of the paperwork that Aasiyah sent to me.Other than that, I still have enough time to relax and even clean the house.That is why even though I am staying at home, I don’t get bored here, I have a lot of things to do and everything I need is inside my house.Sometimes I couldn’t help but laugh at myself because the life I have here is completely opposite to the life I had before.I often get out of the house and socialize with different people. And I feel like I am going crazy when I limit my appearance to the public and stay inside our house.And now, I realized that being in solitude is addictive.I can think clearly about things happening around me and when I want someone to talk, I can just call Miracle.So, this life I have right now is not a
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovSince Miracle will be here early, I woke up earlier than usual. I don’t want her to wait outside my house because she will surely hiss at me since we had an agreement last night.That is why when I saw her car arrive in front of my house, I immediately got down to open the gate for them to take inside everything they bought for me even though I still hadn't washed my face.“I thought you would wake up early?” She raised her eyebrows and looked at me from head to toe. It is obvious that you just got up in bed.” She also pointed at my hair.She was with Saki and Sari, the twins that work in my store, who helped me with stocking my groceries and supplies for our product. This is some kind of part-time job for them since Miracle couldn’t handle getting all the things that I need alone.I smiled and slowly fixed my hair. “Well, this is earlier than usual,” I said. “And you arrived earlier than what you used to do.”We both turned our heads to my neighbor’s lot and
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovMiracle dropped me off in front of the grocery store where I usually went. Then, she continued to drive her way to the town proper to open our store.And since I don’t want to waste more time, I immediately went inside the store and started wandering around while pushing a cart to buy everything I needed.Well, I already know what I am going to buy even though I don’t have a list and I know its location so I know where to go to get the things that I need.I have been buying my stuff in this store since I got here so I only have been spending less than one hour whenever I shop here.After putting everything I need to buy in my cart, I immediately bring it to the cashier to pay for it and ask them to deliver it to my house, just like I always do.It is one of their services that I like here. That is why even though there are other stores near our subdivision, I still choose to shop here. I can just leave everything to them and continue shopping at the nearby sho
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovWhen I got out of my balcony, I saw the progress of the construction of my neighbor and I was amazed to see that they already built the whole mansion.Well, they hired a big team for this project and they worked non-stop for the past few days since they arrived, as if they were trying to rush everything.I am just glad that my house was soundproof so the sound of their machines doesn’t bother me, even at night. And we don’t have any other neighbors near us. They won’t bother anyone.However, I was still shocked to see their progress. I mean, it is a huge property but they still manage to build a two-hundred square meter mansion in just a few days, while the rest are just part of their garage and garden.“It looks like their work is nearly done,” Miracle said. She was now staying here, in my room, to be exact, while eating the brownies that I baked earlier and watching a movie.Once a week, I encourage her to take a day off from work. And since she doesn’t want
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovMy neighbor’s house finished after fifteen days only. From the foundation, floor, and roof. It also has water and electricity service. The furniture and appliances also arrived earlier, the only ones missing were the people living there.And from my room, I can see that they have heavy security. A lot of guards were roaming around the property, there were CCTV cameras in every corner and the height of the wall around it was so tall that nobody would try to climb it.Five cars suddenly arrived and parked in their garage so I think those are the people who live in that mansion.I immediately put on my contact lenses, grabbed the box of cupcakes that I baked earlier, and left the house.I make this for my neighbor since according to Miracle, it is better to have a nice relationship with them, so if anything happens to me, I can count on them. And of course, vice versa.Though, I actually doubt if I can help them with anything.I stood up in front of their gate an
Asper Reign Dahlia’s PovI didn’t expect that I could get close to my neighbors. And the reason why we become suddenly close? Well, it is my dessert.They love the cupcakes that I gave to them the first time I visited their house. And after Karyu learned that I was the one who baked the product of my shop, they made a made-to-order request for everyday supplies.Rajiv was opposed to that idea. He said that they should be ashamed of requesting something that may bother me or ruin my schedule. But I immediately told him that it was okay. I can make their order every day and deliver it personally since I can include that from the other orders.Of course, they insisted on paying the full price of their orders. Even though I said that it was okay if they didn't. I even tried to give them a discount but they also didn’t accept that. So we come to a compromise by giving them free delivery.So, I always go to their house, stay there for a little bit, and chat with them.And I have been doing
Asper Reign Dahlia’s Pov“I know that I was the one who suggested that you should be close to your neighbor,” Mira said. She just arrived and she saw me leave my neighbor’s house. “But I didn’t expect that in the first three weeks, they got there, you would already have freedom to get in and out of their house.”“Well, they trusted me easily and they loved my desserts.” I opened my gate and we went straight to the kitchen since I made the table and put our food there. “They want everyday supplies of SweetHeart’s product so I’m just giving them a special delivery.”“And it is making you busy,” she said. “You should start hiring someone who will help you make our products.”“For now?” I shook my head. “I can still manage my time with doing our products and some other stuff.”“Are you sure?” she asked. “I can just put a hiring sign so when you need them, we can just call them.”She has a point there.Just like what I told Miracle, I can still manage everything on my own. I have so much t