Chapter two

One month later.

The continuous ringing of Jems’ phone woke her up from sleep.

“Hello?” Jems said with a sleepy voice.

“Miss Jems, I’m sure you’re awake and almost ready for school?” Derick said with a stern voice.

“Umm… yes, Derick… I’m definitely awake,” Jems said as she jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom.

“Good. I’m almost there,” Derick said.

“Whattt? You’re almost here?!” she screamed.

“Yes. Any problem?” he asked.

“Haha, no problem,” she laughed awkwardly.

“Okay,” he said as he hung up.

“Ooh shit, why didn’t this alarm wake me up?” she said as she dropped her phone on the sink and quickly brushed her teeth and took a bath.

She came out of the bathroom in a white robe, with a towel wrapped around her head.

“I can’t believe my normal life was taken away from me within the twinkle of an eye, and now I have a bodyguard,” Jems said as she dried her hair. “The incident might have happened a month ago, but it’s still fresh in my head,” she said with a heavy sigh.

25-year-old Derick was now Jems’ personal bodyguard. After almost being killed at school, her father had assigned him to protect her. Jems was aware that Don Emilio was after her life; Richard made sure to tell her so she could be extra careful.

Several bullets had been fired at her car on her way back from school, and a bullet had grazed her arm. Even after Don Emilio threatened Richard, he didn’t give in. Don Emilio used intimidation, bribery, and threats to force him to sell the company, but he wouldn’t. So, Don Emilio decided to scare him by targeting Jems.

For Emily, the company was her life, so selling the company was out of the picture. Even after telling the police, nothing could be done. The police told Richard that Don Emilio was a wanted man and they’d been on his case for over a year and were unable to catch him. All they could do was recommend a bodyguard for Jems. The police introduced him to one of the best bodyguards, Derick Edger. Derick was placed in charge of protecting Jems, and as long as she stepped foot outside the mansion, he was always by her side.

A few minutes later, Jems had finished getting dressed in her school uniform.

“There’s no time to curl my hair, so putting it in a ponytail is probably the best option right now,” Jems said as she tied her black hair and sprayed two different perfumes on the nape of her neck and under her arms.

“Jems, breakfast is ready,” her nanny said from outside the room. “And Derick has been waiting for you in the living room for a while now.”

“What?” Jems said as she opened the door. “Nana, why didn’t you tell me the moment he arrived?” She quickly grabbed her bag. “Here I was, dancing a victory dance because I thought I got ready before he arrived,” she cried out as she hurried downstairs, her nanny walking behind her.

“He was the one who said not to bother. He said you’d be down soon since he already called you and you said you were getting ready for school. But I guess he was wrong,” her nanny replied.

“Nana, regardless, you should have told me so I would’ve been faster. He called me, but I lied when I said I was ready. I had only just woken up!” she whined as they walked down the stairs.

“Okay, okay, I’ve heard, cookie. Next time I’ll come tell you, even if he says not to,” her nanny said.

“Oooh, hi. You’re here already,” Jems said as she waved to Derick, who was standing in the living room with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone.

Derick gave a cold glance. “Be fast,” he said as he continued typing on his phone.

“Sure,” Jems said as she made her way to the dining table.

“Derick, you should have breakfast with Jems since you’re here,” her nanny said.

“Thanks, ma’am, but I’ll pass,” he said, his once cold face flashing a smile that revealed a perfect set of white teeth.

“Ooh, but I insist. I’m sure you haven’t had breakfast yet,” she said as she dragged him toward the dining table.

“Okay, ma’am, if you insist,” Derick said as he sat down. “But I’ll just have a glass of orange juice.”

“Alright, just give me a minute,” the nanny said.

“I’m starving. Thanks for the meal, Nana,” Jems said as she sat down.

The dining table was set with pancakes drizzled with syrup, crispy bacon, sausages, fried eggs, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

“Here you go, son,” the nanny said as she handed the glass of orange juice to Derick.

“Thanks, ma’am,” he said with another smile, as he gulped the drink in one go.

“It’s nothing,” she said as she went into the kitchen.

Jems kept staring at Derick as she stuffed her face with pancakes.

Jems’ POV

I knew staring was rude, yet I couldn’t look away from the devilishly handsome man sitting in front of me. I couldn’t believe he knew how to smile, and his smile was nothing like I had imagined. It was probably the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. It made him ten times more handsome.

The Derick I knew was always so cold, and he never smiled. I’d started to think that maybe his face was just frozen like that. He barely had a conversation with me, much less smiled. But he was still so perfect in my eyes.

He was 6’4 tall, handsome, strong, and well built, not bulky, but with well-defined muscles visible under his black shirt. His grey eyes were focused on his phone screen as he typed away.

I wondered if he would ever smile at me, or if he’d just keep being cold. It had been two weeks since I met him, but we’d hardly had a conversation. From standing at the back of the classroom all day to following me to the cafeteria, gym class, library, labs, art room, even the teachers’ office, just name it. The only place he didn’t follow me was the restroom, where he’d wait outside until I was done.

But honestly, I loved the attention I was getting. Every girl in school was always staring and drooling over him, even the female teachers. And I loved that he was with me.

Still, he never said a word. I thought he was probably just a man of few words. But that smile… that smile showed me another side of him.