5

SHE TOOK a look at Knoxx's business card, then looked at the subdivision in front of her. The Mactan Tropics. She put her palm above her eyes to shield her eyes from the blazing sun, mentally scolded herself for not bringing an umbrella with her. The sun shines at its highest point! Every day, the sun is always like this. Ever since she returned here to Cebu, she has never experienced rain at all.

           She turned her attention back to Knoxx's residence. “So, he lives here, then? Just two rides away from where I live,” she whispered to herself. If her ID wasn't important, she would probably let Knoxx have it.

           Scratching her eyebrow, she was about to walk in when someone whistled at her. She frowned and looked at where the sound was coming from. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a black Toyota Avanza behind her. Knoxx peered out the window.

           “Get in! It's hot!” he shouted at her. She had no choice but to get in the passenger seat and fasten the seatbelt. She breathed out a sigh of relief upon feeling how cold it is inside. It's so hot outside! Damn her for not bringing an umbrella!

           Knoxx operated the car. She took the towel inside her bag to wipe the sweat on her forehead. She couldn’t stand the heat!        

           "It's freaking hot outside!" she couldn't help but complain, which made Knoxx laugh. She just ignored him and closed her eyes instead.      

           “Why didn't you bring an umbrella? Good thing I saw you,” he said. She pursed her lips and glared at him.    

           "If you had given me my ID right away, I would just have been at home!" She crossed her arms below her chest. Knoxx’s laughter filled the car as if he was glad to see her pissed off. For a moment, he looked down at her bruised arm and looked back at the road.

           "That's a big bruise," he stated as a matter of fact. Her lips parted in pain when he suddenly poked her bruise while still looking at the road, making her slap his hand. What a jerk! He knows this bruise surely hurts but he still gave it a poke!

           “Fuck. You know it’s a big bruise but here you are, poking it as if it doesn’t hurt!" She traced the bruise on her arm. It looks uglier than yesterday. Knoxx laughed hysterically upon hearing what she said, making her roll her eyes heavenwards. Damn. He always likes to tease her!

           Later on, they stopped in front of a two-storey house. It's a modern house with a touch of brown and white. It has a large garage on the left side. On the other side is the entrance of the house and before you can enter, you will first go through the black gate. The house has a large window where you can clearly see the stairs to the second floor. Overall, the house screams elegance and wealthiness!

           Knoxx immediately got off when he parked the car in the garage and she followed. He locked the car and then entered the house. The exterior of the house is too beautiful, so is the inside. Knoxx’s furniture gave her an idea about his social status. His furniture screams luxury. Fucking rich, huh?         

           She looked around the house and her eyes landed on the brown grand piano placed in the corner.

           "You play piano?" she asked him. Knoxx shook his head and shrugged. She remembers when she was a child, her parents let her take piano lessons but that stopped when her parents passed away. She also lost the inspiration to continue what she had started. She later on found inspiration in painting, finding comfort in every color she applied to the white cloth.

           She looked at Knoxx and saw that he was also looking at the piano. "My mom does," he said before sitting on the sofa, massaging his temples.           

Autumn sat in front of Knoxx, staring at him. Why did Knoxx tell her to come here? What is the reason? I mean, if it’s about the payment, she can transfer the money through P****l or bank accounts, right?

           Looking at Knoxx’s face, she began to wonder what could be the reason. But then, those thoughts vanished upon seeing his features. Because Knoxx had his eyes closed, she took the chance to examine his face.            

           His haircut is styled into a french crop and he has a thin beard over his upper lip. His thick eyebrows suit his curly and long eyelashes. He looks so at peace. She jumped on her seat when Knoxx opened his eyes and stared directly at her, playfully wiggling his brows.

           "Done checking me out?" Using his index finger and thumb, he caressed his jaw. "I’m so handsome, right?" Autumn's soft features contorted in disgust. Although what he said was true, she tried to act disgusted by what he said.

           "You’re too full of yourself! Why did you ask me to come here?” Knoxx didn’t respond. Instead, he just stared into her eyes as he crossed his arms below his chest. Autumn was suddenly taken aback by his stare. Maybe she has something on her face? Dirt, maybe? But as far as she remembers, her face is clean. So why is he staring at her as if he is scanning her whole being?

           To remove the uneasiness she felt, she matched his gaze. She remembered how those eyes brought back memories of fire and passion in a span of seconds. His chocolate eyes seemed to penetrate her whole being. The hair on her neck stood on an end. They held each others' gaze. Knoxx's eyes narrowed as if trying to recognize her.

           "Have we met before?" he suddenly asked her, making her eyes widen. Holy shit. Did he remember her?            

           “Your eyes and voice. . . they’re familiar,” he added. Her palms turned cold and she prevented the urge to shift on her seat. Otherwise, Knoxx will sense that she’s hiding something. Fuck. What should she tell him? Damn it.         

           She immediately averted her gaze and played with her fingers. When an idea popped into her mind, she answered him,

           “We haven't, but I know you. You work at ARC, don’t you? You may have seen me there before. Also, my face is a common face. No wonder I seem familiar to you,” she stated, silently hoping he would buy it and when he nodded, that’s when she breathed out a sigh of relief. She was able to convince him. She didn’t know what to do if she didn’t.         

           “By the way, you haven't answered my question yet. What am I doing here?” Knoxx sighed and placed an invitation card on top of the round glass table between them. She took it. It’s an invitation card for an anniversary party which will be held next week.      

           She raised an eyebrow at Knoxx. And? What should she do about this invitation card? Eat it?

           Knoxx looked at her intently. "Be my girlfriend for one night."

UNTIL NOW, Knoxx’s words are still ringing in her ears. He offered her to be his girlfriend at the anniversary party which would be held by his parents. She doesn't have a choice but to accept his offer! If not, bye-bye ID. She needs to take it, of course! It’s a national ID! That's what she also uses to verify her identity whenever she receives job offerings.

           She looked up at the blue sky. Why is destiny so fucking playful? It was as if it was playing tricks on her and it even made a way for them to meet again! Her life became even more chaotic the moment she met Knoxx again! She tugged at her hair and stomped her foot in annoyance.   

           She is here in Tamiya, a place full of establishments, may it be food, restaurants, or shopping stores. It is just near Knoxx’s place. After talking to Knoxx, he offered to give her a ride and she told him to drop her off here. She needs to unwind. Take note, it’s a need, not a want. This week is too much to handle! She met Knoxx again and she saw Aidan’s infidelity with her two own eyes!

          Speaking of Aidan, he still always sends her a message. She was becoming irritated by the continuous sound that her cellphone created, signalling that Aidan had sent her messages. It had also been three days since she went to his unit. Aidan never fails to send her a message every day, probably confused as to why she never answers his calls and messages. Because of that, she decided to meet Aidan today.           

            She texted Aidan and told him to meet her at Greenwich Tamiya, the place where they first met. He was even surprised upon knowing that she had already returned. She chose not to reply to his text and went to Greenwich.     

           She ordered two carbonara. These are the foods she and Aidan ate when they first met here. She suddenly remembered how they met. Aidan was looking for a seat but he saw none. The only available seat was the seat in front of her. Aidan asked permission to take the seat and the rest was history.

           Later on, she saw Aidan. He even brought flowers. She smiled wryly. If Autumn didn’t know, she would still be fooled by him now. Since she was still the first customer, Aidan saw her immediately. A big smile formed on his lips but his smile disappeared when he saw how serious she was. She gave him a cold expression.

           Autumn started to eat. Aidan placed the flower on the chair next to him and drank iced tea.

           “Autumn? Babe? What’s wrong?” There was concern in his voice. She looked at him intently. His forehead was furrowed and there were traces of worriness in his eyes. Autumn grinned bitterly. Why is he worried? Worried for her or for himself?

           “Flower vase. Crown Regency,” she replied briefly, which Aidan immediately got. His eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe that she already knew the truth. She looked at him straight in the eye. She made sure Aidan would see nothing in her eyes but anger and hatred.  

           "Since when?" Autumn asked coldly. Aidan averted his gaze and he seemed reluctant to answer her question. He shifted in his seat, clearly nervous. Well, as he should.          

           “Again, Aidan, I’m asking you. When did you start to betray me?” she asked in a harsh manner that made Aidan sit up straight. Autumn grinned in her mind. So, is he scared because he got caught?

           "Eight months ago," Aidan said in a low voice, as if he didn’t want her to hear his answer, but she did. Autumn closed her eyes. She could no longer hold back the tears she had previously wanted to shed. She annoyingly wiped her tears away. She thought she was already okay and even thought she would never cry over Aidan again, but what is this?            

           Autumn took her iced tea and drank from it, trying to prevent her tears from pouring even more. Eight months. Too fucking long. She had been fooled for eight months already.  

           “Eight months? Why didn't you tell me right away? You got the guts to fool me that long?” She asked in disbelief. The jerk couldn’t even look at her! Now, he’s acting guilty and all. Why? Because she already caught him?

           “Autumn, sorry,” Autumn’s jaw clenched as she balled her fists. Sorry? That’s the only thing that he could tell her? Did this jerk think that it was enough?

           “Are you really sorry? Or are you just sorry because you were caught in the act?” she asked in a cold tone. She could feel her body shaking due to anger. Shit.    

           Aidan did not speak. He fell silent. Autumn restrained herself from pouring her iced tea on him. She did not want to create a scandal that would tarnish her name.

           “Talk,” Autumn said with authority. She saw Aidan let out a deep sigh before opening his lips to speak,

           "I gave in to temptation," he said briefly, making Autumn's heart ache even more. "I don't want to tell you because you might get angry." Autumn clenched her fist. Woah. That’s it? Did he think she wouldn’t be angry if she found out? He made her a goddamn fool.

           “If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have been angry. I would be hurt, yes. But to fool me like this? I feel so stupid, Aidan.” Autumn tried her very best not to breakdown. She calmed her aching heart before continuing, “'Didn't you promise me before that you would tell me right away if you found another? But you broke your promise.” Her voice cracked and her tears were threatening to fall, but she restrained herself from doing so. She shouldn’t cry in front of him again. He isn’t worthy of her tears.

           "I don't want to let you go, Autumn." She arched an eyebrow at him.

           “Ah, so that’s why you got the guts to keep us together? What a jerk you are, Aidan! Aren’t you contented with one woman?” Autumn laughed bitterly. “I thought you were different from other men. Turns out, you’re not. Did you have fun fooling me, huh, Aidan?” She gritted her teeth. Her chest feels heavy. If it was just the two of them here in Greenwich, she would definitely slap him hard.

           “I didn't mean it, Au—“

           “No, you meant it. It's your choice! And you even continued doing it!” The problem with boys is that they don't think of the consequences once they cheat. Their infidelity can make a woman question their worth. Other women who love their partner too much will blame themselves and ask themselves constantly why they aren't enough. Luckily, she is a strong woman and she knows her worth. A woman's worth shouldn't be defined by men.

           Aidan never spoke again. With confidence, Autumn stood up from her seat. That's when Aidan looked up. Autumn saw the tears wanting to escape from his eyes, making her smile bitterly. Wow. Aidan does really have a thick face.

           “We’re over, Aidan. It’s your loss, not mine.” She saw Aidan get frozen on his seat. Autumn walked away and the moment she went to a place where there weren’t too many people, she freely let out the tears she had supressed. It felt like there was a burning coal placed over her heart. It hurts so much!         

           Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her body and when his perfume filled her nostrils, she immediately recognized the person who was hugging her right at the moment.

           “I’m here, Autumn. Just let it all out,” Knoxx said while patting the back of her head. This week, her mind is full of chaos. But now, being caged inside Knoxx's arms, Autumn finally found comfort amidst the storm.