CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3. DEFINE 'BUTLER'

Stepping into a different country was never part of my life plan. It was never an option, never a goal, and definitely never included in my bucket list. Yet here I am, standing in the middle of a foreign airport with a suitcase in one hand and a ruined future in the other.

I walked past the airport lobby, roaming my eyes around while searching for the exit. People were everywhere—families reuniting, tourists dragging oversized luggage, airport staff rushing from one place to another. Meanwhile, I was here looking like a woman who had just been exiled by her own father.

“Hey!”

I stopped walking and glanced behind me.

Marco.

Again.

How I wish I would never meet him again.

Then again, maybe fate was bored today.

“Yes?” I asked, watching him jog toward me.

Up close, he was annoyingly handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered, and carrying that casual confidence that made me want to roll my eyes.

“Uh...” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “We've been talking for hours on the plane, but I just realized I don't even know your name.”

I shrugged.

“Ariana.”

His face instantly brightened.

“Well, Ariana. Nice to officially meet you.”

He stretched his hand toward me. After a few seconds of consideration, I accepted it and gave him a small smile.

“See you around.”

See you in hell.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

He still didn't let go immediately.

Why was this man acting like we had just survived a war together?

As we continued walking toward the exit, he matched my pace.

“I guess this is goodbye for now, Ariana. Hopefully we'll meet again soon.”

I simply nodded.

He was way too persistent for someone I had only met on a plane.

After finally getting rid of him, I adjusted my glasses and immediately pulled out my phone.

Dad.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Nothing.

“Dad, come on,” I muttered under my breath. “I just got here and I already need a shower, a vacation, and possibly a new family.”

Since he wasn't answering, I called Mom instead.

As expected, she answered immediately.

“Hey darling! How was your flight?”

Her cheerful voice echoed from the other side.

“It's fine. The plane didn't explode, so I guess that's a success.”

Mom laughed.

“Anyway,” I continued, “can I talk to Dad? I'm already at the airport and I'm looking for that person he said would pick me up.”

“Oh, Ansel?”

“Yes. That Ansel.”

“Your father said he's already there. He arrived almost an hour before your flight landed.”

Then where on earth was this Ansel?

I looked around again.

No sign of him.

“Okay, then I guess I need to find him.”

“Wait, I'll message your father first and call you back.”

Before I could say anything else, Mom ended the call.

For the first time since boarding that plane, I felt a tiny bit lonely.

Not sad.

Just... displaced.

Like someone had taken me out of my life and dropped me into a completely different world.

Still, there was one thing keeping me entertained.

The fiancé.

The mysterious fiancé.

The poor unfortunate soul who was about to meet me.

If everything went according to plan, I'd make him cancel the engagement before the week ended.

Easy.

I waited.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Still no call from Mom.

No message.

No Dad.

No Ansel.

Nothing.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten I existed.

I was about to call Mom again when someone suddenly appeared in front of me.

“Hello po, ikaw po ba si Aria?”

I nearly jumped.

What the hell?

Where did this man come from?

He looked like he was in his early thirties, wearing a simple suit and carrying himself professionally.

Oh.

The butler.

Or maybe the driver.

Or both.

Honestly, I wasn't sure.

Unfortunately, I didn't understand a single thing he just said.

“Ha? Can you repeat that?”

The man blinked.

Then realization crossed his face.

“Oh!”

He pointed at me.

“You... Aria?”

Ah.

Now we're talking.

“Yes, I am Aria. And you are?”

“Uh, Ansel. Just Ansel.”

He laughed awkwardly.

Weird.

“I'm your papa... you know...” He scratched his head. “Papa butler.”

Papa what?

I stared at him.

He stared back.

Both of us looked confused.

This man's English was giving me a headache.

Yet somehow, it was also kind of adorable.

“Let's go?” he finally asked.

“Oh.”

I snapped out of my thoughts.

“Yeah. Let's go.”

I grabbed my luggage and followed him.

Or at least I tried to.

“Ma'am?”

“Yes?”

He pointed at my suitcase.

Then at himself.

Then at the suitcase again.

“Tulunga—ah, help. Me help you. Buha—carry your maleta.”

Despite the broken sentence, I understood.

He wanted to carry my luggage.

Without waiting for my response, he already grabbed it.

Well.

Free labor.

I wasn't complaining.

We walked toward a black Mercedes V-Class parked outside.

Now that looked expensive.

Ansel opened the passenger door for me before loading my luggage into the back.

“Mainit... ah...” He paused. “Hot? I open aircon?”

“No need.”

He nodded and started driving.

The ride was surprisingly peaceful.

Unlike the plane.

Unlike Marco.

Unlike my entire life recently.

Ansel didn't force conversations. He simply focused on driving while occasionally glancing at the mirrors.

Eventually, he started telling me little things about himself.

I learned that aside from being a driver, he was also one of Dad's most trusted employees in the Philippines. Apparently, he had been working for Dad for almost fifteen years and helped manage some properties and businesses here.

His English wasn't perfect.

Actually, far from perfect.

But I understood him somehow.

And strangely enough, I found that impressive.

At least he was trying.

Meanwhile, I only knew three Filipino words and two of them were probably food.

Still, none of that changed my plans.

The moment I found my fiancé, I was ending this engagement.

No negotiations.

No discussions.

No romance.

Nothing.

“Ma'am...” Ansel suddenly spoke.

Then stopped.

“Wait po.”

He parked near a large building.

“What?”

“Teka lang po.”

I watched him pull out his phone.

Then he opened G****e.

Then voice search.

Then confidently asked:

“Hey G****e, how to say 'pupuntahan ko lang ang kaibigan ko sa loob' in English?”

I almost laughed.

The phone responded.

“To say 'pupuntahan ko lang ang kaibigan ko sa loob' in English, you can say: 'I will just visit my friend inside.'”

Ansel nodded seriously as if he had just attended an English seminar.

Then he looked at me.

“I just visit my friend inside, ma'am.”

I stared.

He stared.

I stared harder.

Why was this man unintentionally funny?

“Ma'am?” he asked nervously. “Mali kaya English ko?”

“Uh... sure. Sure.”

I quickly looked away.

“Where are we anyway?”

“We are at the Vantrias Law Offices Judicial Complex po.”

His English suddenly became perfect.

Interesting.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

He smiled.

“Thank you, ma'am.”

Then he stepped out of the vehicle.

I waited.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Still no Ansel.

I checked outside the windshield.

Nothing.

The man had completely disappeared.

At this point, curiosity started eating me alive.

Where exactly did he go?

And why was it taking this long just to visit a friend?

After another minute of waiting, I finally gave up.

I grabbed my bag, stepped out of the vehicle, and headed toward the building.

If Ansel wasn't coming back anytime soon, then I'd find him myself.

Little did I know that walking into that building was about to start a series of problems I never asked for.