Chapter Nine (Part 2)

Chapter Nine (Part Two)

Thomas Parri is dating the rookie CEO of Posh Glams, Reya Fernandi

Reya was dumbfounded - she did not know what to do as of this moment. She could hear her friends talking while looking at their cellphone screens but she could not seem to understand a thing. 

The world then started spinning around and going in slow motion, and the next thing she knew was that she passed out.

"Ate!" Kaize and Alliyah exclaimed as they tried to catch her from falling on the floor, luckily, Jiel was able to catch her.

"Omo! Omo! Is Ate pregnant?" Kaize asked causing Alliyah to do a facepalm. 

"Gosh, Ate Kaize! You're a little too advance..." Alliyah shook her head and sighed.

"Ya! You two help me!" Jiel scoffed. "Reya might look light, but she's definitely heavier than my bag!"

Kaize and Alliyah immediately went to help Jiel make Reya lie comfortably on the couch. 

"If she's not pregnant, then why did she pass out?" Kaize asked again.

Both Jiel and Alliyah looked at her with disbelief. "The answer is obvious Kaize!" Jiel spoke. "Reya's brain went information overload!" He explained.

"If Ate Reya hears that Kuys, she'll surely pinch you using a nail cutter." Alliyah chipped in.

-

"The tech team is trying its best to take the articles down, sir," Jonas informed Thomas as they walked their way out of the building to meet with an investor. "...everything on your side is cleaned up, but I cannot say the same for the lady's side, sir," He added.

Thomas took a deep breath and sighed. He suddenly felt guilty knowing that an innocent person is being bothered by the media all just because she was seen talking with him, and aside from that, the incident when he took her ponytail off might have fueled the rumors.

The real reason why he did that was the fact that he was somehow bothered by how the other men looked at her like she was some prey. 

"Could you perhaps get me information about her?" He asked his secretary before he pressed the key to unlock the doors of his car. 

"I'll have everything ready on your table sir," Jonas nodded. 

Thomas nodded back before he got in his and drove to his next appointment. While driving his way to the place, he decided to turn the radio on to listen to music but what he heard caught him off guard.

"Supermodel Veronica Simson is back in the country!"

"Sh*t" He cursed.

-

After almost half an hour, Reya finally woke up. She was then greeted by the sight of her friends playing the monopoly while munching on some popcorn.

"Oh! You have to pay a fine for landing on my property, Kaize!" Jiel smilingly said as he lent his palm to ask Kaize to pay up.

"I own the most expensive properties, yet I'm the one who's getting bankrupt!" Kaize pouted.

"The trick to winning monopoly is buying the cheapest property because the probability of someone landing on the property is very high!" Jiel explained.

"Woah! You almost sound like a real estate agent, Kuys!" Alliyah laughed.

"Ano ka ba Alliyah! Ako lang 'to" Jiel proudly said as he tapped his chest and blew a flying kiss.

Reya slightly cleared her throat, it was only when her friends noticed that she was already awake.

"Good afternoon, Ate!" Alliyah greeted. "We almost brought you to the hospital, because we thought that you went into a coma for information overload," She added.

"That's true, Ate!" Kaize seconded. "... but then we heard you snore, so we found out that you had fallen asleep."

"Are you okay now, Reys?" Jiel asked. "You still remember who we are, right?" 

"Why would I not?" Reya asked in return before she stood up and stretch her body.

Then she walked her way to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Her brain is still cloudy, but she can still recall what happened before she blacked out.

"Uhm... why are there a lot of people outside our gate?" asked Doriene, another housemate, who just arrived. "Is there a celebrity here?"

"They're all waiting for Ate Reya, Dors," Kaize replied. "They want an interview with Thomas Parri's alleged girlfriend," She explained. "There are a lot of articled all over the net, have you not seen one?" 

Doriene shook her head and shrugged. "I went mounting climbing, and my phone went low bat." 

"Since when did you like mountain climbing?" Kaize raised her brow.

"Let's not talk about me, Kaize," Dors said to change the topic. "Ate Reya is the star of this story, so we should focus on her," she insisted.

While her friends were busy thinking about what to do to the people who were waiting outside, Reya decided to go to her room to check on her phone. As expected there were a lot of message notifications and requests coming from her friends, and some unfamiliar people.

She then paused and thought about her family. 

Did they perhaps hear about the news too? She asked in her thoughts. She then went through her messages to check if they left something, but the last conversation they had was when her mother relayed her sister's concern for her school tuition.

She never really told them about her giving up teaching because she knew that their words would just make her feel bad about herself more.

Reya sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. She was about to turn her phone off when she received a text from an unknown number.

From: +639***********

Hi, can we talk?

Are you free tomorrow? Can we meet?

Reya's brows furrowed as she thought about the texter's identity. He or she must be close to her because he or she asked to meet with her. She then composed a reply.

To: +639***********

Hu u?

She thought that it would take minutes for the person to reply, so she was surprised her phone vibrated and the number appeared again.

From: +639***********

Thomas Parri

Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat when she read the message. She then just found herself smiling like a teenager who got asked out by her crush.

"Gosh Reya! Why are you smiling?!" She scolded herself and buried her face on the pillow.

Even without him telling her why he wants to meet up, she already knows that it has something to do with the articles but she still could not stop the feeling of butterflies in her stomach; she can't deny the fact that she somehow developed a crush on him. Who wouldn't like such a handsome gentleman?

To: +639***********

Sure. I'm free.

From: +639***********

I'll pick you up at 3 PM tomorrow. See you.

Reya then bit her lower lip to stop herself from letting out a squeal of excitement. She can't believe she's meeting him again!

I should probably get my outfit ready!