A few hours later, when Chan returned to the house she and her sisters shared along Bay View Avenue, the dilapidated house they had inherited from their father, she headed into the shower immediately because she felt stuffy and was sweating like a pig. She hadn’t yet gotten used to the hot weather here in Australia, which was so different from New Zealand.
She took her time, letting the cool water sprinkle on her as she thought about Grandma Su’s words. The woman had been right. She needed to move on. Yes, most of her loved ones had passed on, but that didn’t mean she should stop living her life. Just look at her childhood friends Alexandra, Ruby, Nikkita, Isabella, and Georgie. They were enjoying their lives, traveling around the world and doing new things. She, unlike them, hadn’t yet experienced what the world had to offer. Now, more than ever, she wanted to experience, taste, and feel everything.
She finally got out, wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel, and came to stand in front of the mirror. There, she stared at herself.
She had to chuckle, wondering what Grandma Su saw in her that made her say she was beautiful. Her hair was a mixture of ash brown and dark blond. Her eyes were brown, like the color of chestnuts. Her nose, well, there was nothing special about it. Grandma Su had said it was a beautiful nose, and Chan wondered how it could be a beautiful nose when it wasn’t the type of nose the current fashion favored. It wasn’t tall, small, and thin like most celebrities aspired to have with surgery. No, hers was slightly on the plump side, though she must admit it was quite elegant and pleasant to look at.
She quit examining herself and got dressed quickly since she wanted to go to the Thursday night market along the beach. She’d missed out last week because Dara and Soriya had insisted on doing a grand dinner to celebrate Dara’s first paycheck. She must admit it had been pleasant, and she’d enjoyed it.
Because it was so hot today, she wore a short floral dress. She had her long hair down, unbrushed and still wet. It was her habit, since brushing while still wet usually broke the strands. And last but not least, she put on her makeup, light and neutral, and then headed out.
The sun was just about to set when she got to the market, and there were people everywhere. Soon, she lost herself in the enthusiastic, entertaining sight before her and simply enjoyed herself. Now and again, she lifted the camera and took photos.
She was hovering over some posters of anime in one of the stalls when a bunch of Japanese tourists rushed in. Chan knew she needed to get out because they sounded excited, pointing and marveling at the posters of manga and anime that had been translated to English as they recognized famous works of art by their favorite mangakas. She didn’t get out quickly enough and found herself being shoved, throwing her off-balance.
Oomph! She collided against a masculine body. Heat rushed to her face as she felt the strength of a man cushioning her with his body. Strong hands gently touched her, and instantly, a delicious sensation rushed through her. She sucked in her breath and felt just a little bit lightheaded.
Embarrassed at her own reactions to this stranger, she straightened up. She knew she was blushing and behaving like an idiot and so refused to look at him.
“Sorry,” she muttered under her breath and quickly rushed away.
She still felt his gaze hot on her, and in response, her hands trembled. What is wrong with me? she wondered. She took a deep breath and decided she needed something to do to get her mind off the man. She picked up her camera and started taking photos again. That was when she saw a crowd ahead of her, cheering and laughing excitedly that it was contagious.
“There are monkeys performing!” One of the boys ran past her, nearly throwing her off-balance. He was followed by a string of his friends. Luckily, she moved back just in time before they could bowl her over.
Chan chuckled at their enthusiasm and began to click the camera away as they ran, taking shots of them mid-action.
“Daddy! Daddy! I want to see!” a sweet little voice begged behind Chan.
Even this little girl was interested. And why not? It’d be entertaining.
Chan followed the boys to the crowd, and not long after, begged her way to the front where some of the boys positioned themselves. In what appeared to be the center of the stage, two monkeys wearing clown costumes were performing some cool tricks. It was hilarious and cute to say the least. Chan kept taking photo after photo.
Suddenly, she felt a small being pushing herself against her legs.
“I can’t see! I can’t see!” the little voice muttered.
Chan heard a male chuckle, which was followed by, “Lilly, sweetheart, be careful.” The voice was deep and resonant.
Not a moment later, the little girl named Lilly appeared beside her. She was a small thing, wearing a pink sundress and her dark hair tied with a pink ribbon. She was struggling to stay in her claimed position because the boys behind her were too excited about the monkeys doing some fantastic kung fu moves to stay still. Chan noted she was beginning to get a bit upset about the whole thing, and when she nearly fell forward, Chan caught her in time before she hit the concrete.
Chan pulled Lilly into her arms, her heart hammering in her chest. “Are you all right?” she asked.
The little girl tightened her grip on Chan. “I nearly fell,” she said, looking up, frightened.
Good Lord! The child was a pretty little thing, with rich black hair and dark-brown eyes. She was going to grow into a heartbreaker.
“Why don’t you stand there?” Chan said, positioning Lilly in front of her so the boys wouldn’t push her about.
“Thanks,” Lilly said, grinning.
Chan returned the smile, and that was when she noticed Lilly waving to someone. She was suddenly aware of the heat of a male body behind her, mere inches from her, and she could feel his warm breath above her.She tried to ignore him and the feeling of him so close to her, but it was impossible. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she crouched down beside Lilly.“Look, the monkeys are dancing,” Lilly said excitedly. “I like dancing. It’s fun. Do you like dancing?”Chan laughed. “I don’t know how to dance.” She told the little girl the truth.“Why can’t you? It’s easy.”Chan chuckled. “I’ve never learned.”“I can teach you,” Lilly said honestly.“It’s okay. I think I’ll survive without dancing,” Chan said, stroking the little girl’s cheek.Shoot! She just realized she’d touched this child without her parents’ permission. She hoped her father, the man behind her, wouldn’t think of her as a child molester or, worse, report her to the police or something.God, she could feel his gaze on
Chan felt utterly cold and scared. She was panicking. For three days now, she’d been able to hide Dave’s threats and blackmails from her sisters. But soon, she knew she’d slip. Soon, it’d become too much for her to bear. But bear it she must, because she wasn’t about to burden her sisters with the fear and worries that came with the threats.Chan, my dear Chan: How can you just up and leave like that? How could you? But no matter how far you run, I’ll find you. I know where you live, sweetheart. You know you can never get away from me. You know how much I love you. I can’t let you go, Chandra. I’m coming to get you. Bay View Avenue in the Gold Coast, that’s where you’re living. I’ve been there. We’ve been there, all of us, as a family, when your father was still alive. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart. Kiss, kiss. DaveOnce again, she felt sick to her stomach, reading the message. He was taunting her, yet again, with his subtle, sweet words. Words used only for lovers. Oh, but Dave wa
Chan nearly choked on the oxygen she’d just breathed in. She, however, managed to quickly recover herself and gave her sister a good scowl. “What makes you say that?”Dara placed a plate of beef and vegetable stir-fry on the table and said easily, “Your cheeks are red, and your eyes are bright. Come out with it. Who’s the dude?”Chan opened her mouth to deny the accusation, but found no words came out.Soriya laughed. “My dear sister, you do know you’re very bad at hiding stuff like that from us, yeah?”They were right, of course. Chan was utterly and horribly bad at hiding her emotions. The unexpected meeting with Lilly’s dad was one of them.Chan changed the subject, hopeful it’d be successful. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.” She ignored her sisters’ curious gazes and started scooping out rice into small bowls.“Hmm, as always, your cooking is awesome,” she said, smiling brightly.Dara chuckled. “Your compliment on my cooking isn’t going to get you out of telling us who this dude is.”Chan
The three girls from New Zealand didn’t fall for Jeremy White. That was completely new and surprisingly refreshing for him. Sure, it blew his ego a little, but he didn’t think about that too much since he was too busy being smitten by one of the sisters, the eldest one named Chandra.To say she was pretty was an understatement. She was gorgeous, with long glossy hair and glowing smooth skin, beautiful eyes, and lips he couldn’t stop thinking about. Jeremy knew he wanted to date her the moment he laid eyes on her.They were sitting around the dining table in the kitchen now, listening to Jeremy’s glowing plan for what was to come in this block of Bay View Avenue. High-rise hotel and resort with five-star service. Luxurious rooms, swimming pools, restaurants, spas, and an exclusive beach for the guests. As for the sisters, they could move out of this tumbledown house, which of course would cost them the earth to renovate, if that was indeed their plan.“Jeremy, that sounds marvelous,” C
It was a half hour later when Chan stared with disbelief at the cupcake that looked very much like a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. It was beautifully made with white fondant as the cup and handle and the chocolate meringue as the hot chocolate. On top of this sat a pretty little candle.“What is it for?” she asked, pointing chopsticks at it.“It’s your birthday cake,” replied Dara proudly. “Since you made it quite clear you don’t want a party or fancy birthday cake with the number twenty-five on top of it, Soriya and I made an executive decision we’d just go with the cupcake.”Chan sighed. They had to do it, didn’t they? These sisters of hers had to remind her today was her birthday. Of course, they’d never thought much about birthdays, since their mom had passed on, in fact. There was no joy without her, so they never did anything to celebrate when that time of year came around for them.“Twenty-five is a quarter of a century,” Dara said. “I think it’s special, so even if we’
The Chandler sisters were just finishing the final touches decorating the living area and the kitchen to make the place functional and cozy when the doorbell rang.“Chan! Can you get the door?” Soriya called out.Chan looked up from the piles of books on the floor, wondering who it was. They hadn’t yet told everyone about their change in address. Of course, there weren’t a lot of people to tell since there were only Grandma Su and her family, which they’d told, and their few close friends, which they hadn’t.Chan rushed down the stairs, wondering if it was Grandma Su at the door. But to travel all the way from the other side of town in this heat? She doubted it. Grandma Su wasn’t in the best of health.Chan was just at the base of the stairs when she came to a complete halt in surprise.“Jeremy!” she uttered, laughing. “What are you doing here?”Jeremy gave Chan one of his dashing smiles women found hard to resist. Including Chan, of course. He was just so charming. Chan noted his eye
Jeremy was in a sour mood when he came into Sam’s house. Sam saw the depressed look on his cousin’s face and chuckled, knowing Jeremy’s day hadn’t gone well.He said, “Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”Jeremy, who’d been glaring into space for a good fifteen minutes since he’d walked in, looked up at Sam, more than a little confused as to what his cousin meant. “What?”Sam knew Jeremy sulked when personal ambitions didn’t go his way. He had no doubt this was about women.“You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?” Sam changed the subject. He came over to his cousin and slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go.”Jeremy still looked confused. “Where?”“Lunch,” Sam said. “It’s pretty late. I haven’t had mine either. Was too busy with work. Or don’t you want any?”“Lunch?” Jeremy asked. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I’m actually starving.”“Normally, you’d complain about it,” Sam said, cocking his head to one side. “What’s on your mind?”Jeremy didn’t hesitate to begin sharing
First date. The lunch with Jeremy White was going to be her real first date. Chandra had to keep telling herself to take deep breaths as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She’d just finished braiding her long hair, now resting over her right shoulder. Her face was made up naturally with peachy blush, light smoky eyes, long lashes, and rosy lipstick. She wore a floral summer dress that came down to just above her knees.She was just finishing washing her hands when Soriya and Dara walked in through the door.“Ooh-la-la!” Soriya said once she saw Chan. “You look hot.”Chan turned to glare at her sisters. “You’re being rude, coming into the bathroom without knocking.”Dara waved. “We knew you’d finished eons ago. You’ve been in here since quarter past eleven. It’s nearly quarter to twelve now. That’s half an hour, young lady. Very unlike you to spend so much time in the bathroom. And getting ready for your date!” She ended excitedly.“You act like it’s your date,” Chan said,