Ethan Montenegro is Allison Garcia's impossible dream. He's the popular heartthrob on campus, while she's the quiet girl who just exists in the background. She doesn't mind being unnoticed; in fact, she prefers it that way. Ethan and Allison's paths were never meant to cross until a mere nanosecond of eye contact changed everything. Since then, Ethan has become like bubblegum stuck on her shoe. Their friendship eventually turned into love. At first, Allison was confident that no matter what happened, they would fight for each other. Little did she know that one day, she would be the one to make Ethan hate her. She broke his heart and made sure the sin she committed was beyond redemption. When fate brings them together again, will Ethan find it in his heart to forgive Allison?
view more"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
With only ten minutes left before Allison's first class of the day, she was running and in a hurry. She tried to push her way through the crowd of students along the hallway.
With her backpack carelessly slung on her right shoulder, a couple of books in her arms, big black-rimmed eyeglasses covering half of her face, long black hair pulled into a messy bun, and a 3/4 white blouse paired with a below-the-knee black skater skirt, Allison Garcia was not the popular girl in school. In fact, she was in her final year of Accountancy, and she managed to stay in the background. She was the kind of person whom, when you passed by in the hallway, you wouldn't look at again. She was the one who existed without being noticed by the majority.
Sure, she was one of the instructors' favorites. Ally was intelligent, a straight Dean's Lister since her first year in college. Because of this, she received a discount, which was a huge help in her studies.
During her spare time, you wouldn't find her relaxing where students gathered for breaks and talked to their friends. She was a Student Assistant, organizing books in the library every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 am to 10 am and 3 pm to 5 pm. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 11:30 am to 1 pm, she worked at the school canteen's counter. Sometimes, she was in the Student Affairs Office running errands, all in exchange for a free Miscellaneous F*e.
Ally rushed towards the stairs to the third floor and arrived just in time to beat her instructor, Ms. Basco, to the classroom. She caught her breath as she sat in the back.
For some reason, they didn't have assigned seats, but everyone had to fill in the front before moving to the back. Based on Ms. Basco's rule, she knew the sequence of when her students arrived for class.
And Ally was never late until now. She always made it a point to be early because she struggled to read when she was at the back. That was due to her old eyeglasses.
There were four vacant seats when Ally arrived. Needless to ask, she knew who the latecomers sitting next to her would be. The ones who didn't care about their studies.
"Good morning class!" Ms. Basco greeted energetically, which was weird for a Monday. It was the day of the week when everyone hated getting out of bed. Even Ally had that Monday sickness, but being a poor child didn't give her the luxury to oversleep even for a second.
She woke up as early as 3:30 in the morning every single day for an early morning job. While news could be accessed through handheld devices, laptops, and other technologies, there were still those who preferred their news feed the old-fashioned way. Thus, Ally biked around an exclusive village to deliver newspapers to the rich people's doorsteps. She usually started at four in the morning and finished around six. Then she would rush to prepare for school.
This morning, her bike had a flat tire, causing her to take longer to get home. Fortunately, her endurance in running helped her.
"You're late again!"
Ally's thoughts snapped at Ms. Basco's annoyed voice. Her gaze automatically shifted to the door where three Greek gods had just entered.
"Good morning too, Miss," Ethan smirked as he strode past Ms. Basco towards Ally's direction at the back, his two best friends, Zion and Leio, on either side of him.
They smiled, as if being late to class was a normal thing. Well, for the three of them, being late was indeed normal. It seemed like the back was their permanent seating arrangement, and Ethan always occupied the last seat. It was as if he had a personal attachment to the wall because he leaned on it until the class ended, that is, if there was no quiz or exam.
Ethan was a billionaire's son, so he could easily disregard school rules. Firstly, he didn't need to study. He wouldn't go hungry even if he skipped school. He was an heir to his family's vast wealth.
But Ethan's characteristics didn't end with being extremely wealthy. He was also intelligent, the kind that annoyed people because he passed effortlessly. So, it couldn't be said that he reached his final year of his course just because of his wealth and influence in school.
But besides those traits, everyone knew Ethan as the attractive young man who stood six feet tall, had a body built like a professional model, a gorgeous face with deep-seated eyes, a beautifully molded nose, and thin kissable lips. Ethan never failed to make every girl drool over him.
In fact, he was the school's player and heartbreaker. If they were in a liberated country, he might have slept with the whole female population of their school. But since they weren't, it was okay to say that he must have slept with all the willing females.
But it didn't mean that only promiscuous girls were affected by Ethan's charm. When it came to popularity among girls, he definitely got everyone.
Including Allison. Definitely including her...
Allison avoided eye contact when her gaze accidentally met Ethan's. It only lasted a mere nanosecond, but she could already feel her pulse racing. She bowed her head and pretended to take notes. In the corner of her eye, she saw Ethan sitting next to her— for the first time, not beside his wall best friend!
She almost blushed when their arms accidentally touched. She immediately pulled away as if she got burned.
But, well, this was Ethan and she was Ally. He was the popular guy, and she was the nobody. Even though she had a bit of a crush on him, she didn't dream of getting his attention. That was realistic thinking.
"What are you doodling?"
Ethan whispered against her ear, immediately sending shivers throughout her body.
"H-huh?" Was he talking to her? Her eyes widened when she realized she wasn't taking notes. Instead, there were lines and circles in her notebook.
'Omg!'
"I said, what are you doodling?" He moved closer to her. "Or should it be, what are you drawing?" To get a better view of her notebook, he held the hand with the pen and slightly raised it.
Her cheeks burned. Ally knew it based on the warmth of her cheeks. Never. As in never in her four years of college did she even get this close to Ethan. Let alone have him hold her hand! And with no effort on her part!
Okay. It's probably not in a romantic way. But still, his touch almost left her breathless.
"I- I'm writing," she stammered, trying to pull her hand from his grip.
"Well, you sure have nice handwriting, babe." He chuckled coolly.
Ally's whole face turned red now with the way he chuckled and because he had called her babe. But most especially because Ethan was still holding her hand.
"Please let go," she pleaded, pulling her hand away.
"What are you writing, then? Care to share?" Ethan teased but let go of her.
"It's none of your business!" He chuckled once again before adjusting his seat a bit farther away from Allison.
Ally tried her best to concentrate because the whole time Ethan would occasionally move closer to her and ask her stupid questions.
"Hey, are you really in this class?"
"Obviously."
"Then why haven't I seen you before?"
"Maybe you're not looking," she tried to lower her voice because Ms. Basco was glancing at them.
"My bad. How could I have missed your beautiful face?"
"Please, stop it, Ethan," she blushed again.
"You know my name?" He acted as if he couldn't believe it.
"Seriously? No. I'm just guessing," she answered sarcastically. Even if one didn't study in their school, they'd know him. How much more her?
He laughed.
"I really feel bad now because I don't know yours..."
She rolled her eyes. That's perfectly understandable.
"Hey, what's your name?"
She didn't pay attention because she was copying their lecture. She was sure Ethan was just messing with her. If she allowed herself to be affected, she would be the only one losing. She couldn't risk her class standing just because Ethan didn't care.
"Aren't you being rude? Hey, tell me your name," he continued to pester her.
Seriously? What had gotten into Ethan?
"Leave me alone," she replied.
"The whole class would have to go if you want to be alone."
"Yeah, funny." She didn't know why she kept answering. She could just ignore him.
"Why won't you tell me your name?"
"Because it's not important."
"Of course, it's important. I wouldn't ask for it if it's not." He playfully moved his face closer to hers.
She sighed, then turned to the girl on her left, who deliberately arrived late for class to sit in the back.
"Hey, Lauren, would you like us to switch seats?" she offered to the beautiful and sexy classmate who obviously wanted to get close to Ethan.
"Oh, I thought you'd never ask," she seemed impatient and immediately stood up.
"Thanks!" Ally quickly stood up, and they switched seats.
"Hi, baby," Lauren greeted Ethan.
"Hello, beautiful," he replied.
Ally sighed again. She knew it. Ethan just wanted someone to disturb him.
_____
Rushing again... This time, Ally made the mistake of sleeping late. She got stuck in traffic last night after her shift at the fast-food restaurant. Her standard four hours of rest every night became only three hours before she needed to wake up at 3:30 in the morning.
She quickly picked up the newspapers from the supplier and carefully placed them in the basket at the front of her bike. In less than thirty minutes, she had already delivered half.
Because she was in a hurry, she didn't notice a car coming out of a luxurious house's garage. Surprised, Ally wasn't able to hit the brakes at once. More afraid of crashing into the car and damaging it than her own safety, Ally made a sharp stop, causing her to lose balance and hit the hard pavement.
"Ouch!" She groaned, clutching her right arm that took the brunt of her fall.
"I'm sorry!" The driver of the luxurious car quickly got out, almost preventing her from getting up. "Are you okay?" Automatically, he helped her stand.
"No... I wasn't looking... It's my fault-" she continued to apologize while picking up the newspapers. "I'm okay-" she was back on her bike when she turned to face the man.
"It's you!" Ethan exclaimed.
Ally didn't immediately recover. The Ethan in front of her now was exceptionally handsome, and she suddenly felt conscious of how she looked. It was still early in the day, yet he was already well-dressed. But he didn't seem like he was heading to school. More like he had somewhere else to go.
Ally adjusted the baseball cap covering her face and hastily left.
"Hey!"
She didn't look back.
Wth? She had been working in that area for years, but she had no idea that Ethan lived there.
Gosh, she'd been delivering his newspaper every day! Well, maybe he wasn't the one reading it, but still... And he lived in the house she had admired and dreamed of owning someday.
'Who are you kidding, Ally?'
"Sis, you have a visitor again," Kyla joked, rolling her eyes as she returned to where she had left her, with Ethan, who had just left for work an hour ago. "Let me clean up so you and your suitor can have some privacy," she continued, taking away the dishes."Thanks for the privacy, Ky! What do you want as a reward, in kind or cash?" Ethan chimed in, playfully."You've already paid enough, bro," Kyla said with a sincere smile before leaving them alone.The three of them knew what Kyla meant. With Ethan’s love for her, her mother, and sister alone was worth far more than any payment. He was family.Ethan smiled at her. The kind of smile that made her fall for him repeatedly. Even though he was already her husband, whenever he looked at her, Ally still felt butterflies in her stomach.She still felt giddy even though she knew his eyes were only for her, as if she was the most beautiful in his eyes."I’m not going to ask if you left anything behind," she rolled her eyes playfully. "I t
"Mr. E, here are the reports you asked me to prepare," Michael said as he followed him into his office right upon his arrival."Has Ms. Reyes called yet?" Ethan asked while opening his laptop."Yes, Sir. They’ve already found a match for Angel. Right now, they are determining the best time to perform the operation.""That's good. But what's taking them so long? Put Yanah on the phone," he said, slightly pleased but also a bit irritated by the delay."Yes, Mr. E." Michael immediately complied with his request.A few minutes later, Yanah was on the line."Mr. Montenegro, don't worry. Everything is fine," she said immediately."Ms. Reyes, you know that Angel’s case is very close to me. I want you to do everything you can to save her," he said gently.When he returned to the shelter, he looked for the child who introduced God to him. He found out that she was there by herself. Since she was an orphan and had fallen ill, she was left at the shelter by her mother's sibling.Since then, he h
He had so many plans for their future together. When Ethan met Ally, he knew she would play a significant part in his life. He tried to just be friends with her, but in the end, he couldn't help but deepen their relationship.He was happy. They were happy. They loved each other sincerely. So when Ally left him and said that it was only his wealth she was after and that she never truly loved him, he was deeply hurt.He couldn’t accept it because he thought Ally was the only true thing that had ever happened to him. So he felt betrayed and used. He believed that Ally had sold their love for twenty million.It was a mistake that Ethan regretted deeply. That was the turning point in their relationship. If he had fought and seen the truth behind Ally's lies, everything might have turned out differently.But what could he do now? Every doctor he spoke to advised him to let go of the woman he loved. That he should just let her rest.But every part of him couldn’t let her go. He wasn't ready.
"Look at you, you're so beautiful, Allison," Shanna said happily as they both looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had prepared Ally for her wedding to Ethan that day. Just a few days after his proposal, they were already getting married.Ally wore a simple white dress, comfortable yet presentable for a wedding. Even though the event was private, her groom was still the gorgeous billionaire, Ethan Montenegro. It would have been unfair to him if she didn’t make some effort to look nice, considering her condition.She was thankful to God for allowing her to live until this day. Just waking up that morning was enough for her. Despite feeling weak and aching everywhere, she kept it to herself.Today was supposed to be happy, and she was indeed very happy. She didn’t want to spoil the mood by revealing her discomfort. She was marrying Ethan Montenegro, which should be enough to overshadow her physical pains.“Thanks,” she managed to smile.“Ally, everyone’s waiting upstairs,” Kyla
Ally never expected Ethan to take his proposal seriously again, especially with a ring in hand. But this was Ethan Montenegro—whatever he says, he will do. The hardest part for her was receiving a marriage proposal when she was on the brink of death. She didn’t deserve it, especially when she felt so close to the end. Each day seemed dimmer; she knew it, she could feel it.Ethan didn’t deserve to marry someone who might die at any moment. He deserved someone who could grow old with him, not someone who felt like she was just waiting for the final signature to her departure. She couldn’t bring herself to hurt Ethan like that.‘Come on, Allison. Give him some credit. He’s not thinking about that. He just wants to marry you. And if you pass away before the marriage is registered, it’s not the end of the world,’ her mind argued.It wasn’t wrong to grant his request. It wasn’t wrong to let herself and Ethan be happy for whatever time was left. It wouldn’t be selfish to marry him, right? Ev
“Ally, did you know that this woman is already engaged? She didn’t even give us a heads-up! If Mr. Montenegro hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have bothered inviting us to her wedding!”“Michael!” Kattie scolded, her eyes wide at their male friend.Allison laughed. Even though they were just on a video call, Kattie’s blush was clearly visible.“Is it true, Kattie?” Allison asked, genuinely excited.Kattie had always been known more for her love of books than for having a boyfriend. Who would have thought that just a few years after graduation, she’d already be engaged?“Well, it’s not exactly like that,” Kattie explained. “The situation is different. I’d be deported if I don’t marry my friend here.”“Hmm, illegal stay?” Allison guessed.Their friend was currently in America.“Not entirely—”“So, when’s the wedding?” Allison changed the subject. She didn’t want to embarrass her friend. “We need to watch it, okay? Even if it’s just online like this.”“Of course, Ally! Michael and I have alrea
“She was in and out of consciousness last night, Mr. Montenegro. And today, she’s not waking up yet. It’s almost past two PM.”Ethan nearly sped his car to the shelter.He was in the middle of an important meeting when Yanah called. Just seeing her name flash on his silent cellphone had sent his heart racing. He let his phone ring while abruptly wrapping up the meeting. He lost focus and fervently hoped nothing bad had happened to Allison while he wasn’t by her side.And now, Yanah’s words felt like a knife twisting in his heart.“Please, be well, Ally,” he whispered as his vision blurred while he drove well past the speed limit.He just hoped he wouldn’t get pulled over. Just this once. He needed to be beside Ally immediately.“Wait for me, please…”When he arrived, he almost ran to her room. The tightness in his chest was palpable as he saw her sitting on the bed while talking to Yanah. The inexplicable joy of seeing her like this made him tear up.He calmed himself and dried his te
“Mama,” he called to get his mother’s attention, who was standing near the glass wall of his office.Andrea Montenegro turned around and gave him a reserved, cold smile. Sometimes, he wondered if his mother even knew how to be a mother.She lacked any warmth.“What brought you here?” he asked.“Is that how you welcome your mother, son?”He felt like rolling his eyes. She was the one lacking emotion upon seeing him.“I’m just asking, Ma.” He approached Andrea and kissed her cheek.That simple gesture surprised his mother, though her expression only changed momentarily.“Well, I felt obliged to pay you a visit,” Andrea said as she took a seat, not breaking eye contact with him. “A Director raised a concern that you’re always unreachable. What’s going on, Ethan?”“Are you asking me, Mama, because you don’t know yet? Or do you need confirmation?” He knew her well enough to understand that she likely already knew why and who had been occupying his time.“Why are you not listening to your m
“Have those two not developed feelings for each other yet?” Ally asked, amused, as she watched Leio and Shanna joking around with other patients at the shelter.“Well, about that, I’m not sure I want to entrust my cousin to Leio,” Ethan said, affectionately adjusting the way her head rested on his shoulder.“Why not? Isn’t Leio your friend? One of your two best friends, actually.”“Yes. And so I know how he treats women. I don’t want my cousin to end up on his list. You know, Shanna is very dear to me. She’s like my sister,” he explained.“It’s not like there’s a zero possibility that Leio will change,” Ally said, chuckling a bit. “I still think they look good together.”“Ah, don’t encourage them!” The man laughed a little. “On a serious note, if those two do end up liking each other, I think it would be fine. Shanna is being picky. She doesn’t seem to like any of her admirers.”“Maybe Leio is actually the right one for her.”“If Shanna hears you, you’re in trouble,” Ethan joked.“I’v
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