Chapter 4

“Just take me to the nearest mall. My friends and I are going to meet there. After that you can go to wherever you are going,” I said while fixing my hair and checking my make up.

I saw him glanced at me while driving the car. My brows shot up and turned my head to look at him. He throwed me consecutive glances that made me thought he wouldn’t answer.

“No. Your father said I will accompany you—”

I did not let him finish his sentence for I had not stopped myself and let out a soft chuckle. His brows furrowed and glanced at me again but it was kquick.

“What are you? A bodyguard?” I chuckled again because him being a bodyguard would also pass for me. He really doesn’t look like a business man!

His perfect jaw clenched but he did not talk. I shook my head still laughing to make him more annoyed.

“You don’t want me mad.” His voice was so deep and rough enough to make me stop and almost had a goosebumps.

Feeling nervous on his tone, I took a glimpse of him. His eyes were fixed on the road yet he got a hard face and his jaw kept on clenching. With that, my mouth was zipped the whole ride and my eyes were trying to busy itself on the buildings we were passing.

This is going to make me insane. Everything is! I don’t know how Papa and Mama can stand doing this to me. And what did they do to make the Marzons say yes to their proposal? Obviously, I am thinking that all of these are my parents doing. Particularly my father. Because I have seen them desperate just for the sake of our company. And now they would even make their daughter an instrument just to save it!

Now that everything they do for the company irritates me and makes me hurt, I have gotten full of it. My parents’ line ‘this is for you’, make me wanna puke.

If they were only not attending meetings in my school, I would still probably understand it. But now? This? This crazy arrange marriage? No! This is not enough valid reasons for me! I will not—never accept this!

The car stopped in front of the mall but my eyes were on the other side of the lane.

“I’ll go now. You go somewhere else and don’t disturb me,” I said, craning my neck to get a better view on the shop. I wonder if my friends are already there?

“Okay but I will tell this to your father—”

I immediately turned my head to him. “Alright! Alright! But please, stay here! I will just meet my girl friends!”

“You are just going to meet your friends yet I am not allowed to come with you?”

“Oh, come on! Who would bring a guy on a girls’ date? My friends will ask, they will probably be awkward with it. And we will talk about girly things, I bet you don’t want to hear those!”

With that, he let me go. Reason why I was smiling widely when I came inside the coffee shop. But he gave me conditions; he asked for my number and told me that I only have one hour. I gave him my digits but I will never obey the latter. One hour to talk to my friends? Hell, our one topic takes 2 hours long! And he only gave one hour? Who is he to give conditions, anyway? I do not know him. I just know him by name. So if he thinks he could make me follow his words, well he should think again because I won’t.

“Chantylle! Here!” Eliana who is sitting beside Vivien on the east side of the coffee shop, waved her hands on me.

I waved back as I walked towards their direction. On the way to their table, I noticed how men turned their heads to me which I was used to see. A grim line formed into my lips.

“Are you okay now?” Vivien asked when I sat down.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course, Vivien.”

“Is that Alec’s new car? I saw that you came out from it. You two have plans today?”

I looked where Eliana is looking at. It was Vren’s fortuner. I did not noticed that our table is infront of the window where Vren parked his car. Now I don’t know how to answer Eliana. I knew this would happen! I should’ve commute instead!

“I’m thirsty, I will order now. You two didn’t wait for me,” I said, looking at their coffee and carefully avoiding Eliana’s question.

“That’s because you’re late!” Elaina whined.

Laughing, I picked my bag and stood up immediately. Before they could even noticed what I did, I already made my way to the counter. The men again were drooling over me. And even if they saw that I caught them looking at me, their faces were so thick for they did not even got embarrassed in what they are doing.

I shook my head and was about to walk pass their table when one of them stood up on my way. My brows furrowed as I stopped.

“Hi.. I’m Errol,” the man who is standing infront of me said. He is wearing a black jacket and a black pants.

“So?” I rolled my eyes and continued walking but I still heard how his friends laughed at him.

I am not usually mean but in a situation like this, I don’t have time meeting new people. I already had a lots of problems right now and having new people around me means having problems again.

My phone buzz while ordering. It was a message from an unknown number but I knew who it was.

Unknown number:

Buy me coffee too.

Rolling my eyes, I put my phone back to my sling bag and ordered two coffee. That’s why when I came back to our table, Eliana and Vivien were wondering why I ordered two when I couldn’t even finish one cup of coffee. Again, I did my best to avoid their questions.

“I still couldn’t believe what you have said last night, Chantylle,” Vivien said after she sipped on her coffee.

We were talking for almost 1 hour now and I thought they already had forgotten about it. And now that they opened that topic, I have to urge to think of ways to avoid it again.

“Don’t believe it, it’s not really true,” I lied.

“What? You.. You almost made us believe!” Eliana pouted and hit me in my arm.

Meanwhile, Vivien shook her head. “I thought I already got the chance to meet Vren.”

I laughed, thinking if she’s serious or not. “You were the one who told me how different he is to us. I mean, we’re rich but definitely not as rich as he is. Our worlds were still not the same. That’s absurd.”

I hope I’d still go in heaven.

Maybe I should keep the truth to myself for the mean time. It will never happen, anyway. So telling it to them would also be useless. 

“Oh my gosh! You’re a liar, Chantylle!” Eliana pulled my hair a bit making me snap out of my thoughts.

“What?” 

I looked at her but she isn’t looking at me. She is looking outside the window. And when I turned my head to it, Vren was already closing the door of his car. Worst is he even walked towards here in the coffee shop that made my jaw fell.

What the hell is he doing? Didn’t I tell him not to go out? Now what?

However, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. The way he swiftly held the glass door to open it, my eyes went down to his firm arms. And I saw how people turned their heads at him. Girls from somewhere even squealed when he entered the shop.

My brows furrowed. I put down my cup and crossed my arms while looking at him walking to our table. His eyes were darkly making rounds in the people but when our eyes met, his eyes dimmed. He licked his red lips that made me look at it. 

Oh goodness, Chantylle.

“What are you doing here?” I fired to him when he already reached our table.

He glanced at my friends. It made me look at them too. They were both stunned, staring blankly on the person infront of them. I couldn’t help but to massage my temples. When Vren turned to me, I sat properly to keep my pose.

“You are not yet giving my drink there so I went out to get it myself,” he said huskily.

“You should’ve texted me,” I said firmly.

He licked his lips again and shrugged before he held my hands and forced me to stand up. In surprise, I automatically tried to get my hands off him but I couldn’t.

“What are you doing?!” I asked as I glanced at my friends who are still stunned.

“Times up. Your one hour is enough,” he said.

Before I could protest, he already dragged me out of the coffee shop.