POLLEN’S POV As soon as my mother’s car parked directly in front of our small apartment and came to a halt, I did not spare the slightest chance to jump out of it. I began to walk into the house, ignoring her calls. “Pollen, Hey! Get back here!” I hastened my pace as I heard her alight from the car and slam the rickety car door. Her voice drew closer to me. “Are you crazy? Where do you think you’re going?” My mother’s voice hollered again as she tried to catch up with me. In no time, I was in the house. And as I walked into the living room, my younger sister; Laura, was sprawled carelessly across one of the old cushions. She was eating from a bag of Doritos. She raised her gaze to me, a bland, nonchalant expression written all over her face. I ignored her annoying ass and was about to make my way into the room, already mentally planning on shutting myself indoors for the rest of the day to save myself from mother’s troubles. But I was unlucky this time, my mother caught up with
POLLEN’S POV The next day, when I finally returned home after a long day outside to avoid my mother’s troubles, I walked into the living room to see her seated on the cushion with a small printed piece of paper in her hand. She raised her gaze to meet mine as soon as she noticed me walk in. “Where have you been?” She asked with a raised brow. “The city park” I replied, trying the best I could to act nonchalant. “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and threw the paper towards me. I eyed the paper and moved my honey- brown eyes back to her and finally back to the paper again before crouching down to pick it up. After straightening my frame, I proceeded to read the content of the paper. It said: Chyna. Twenty-five. Accountant. Studied at Harvard University. A sportsperson.Date spot: Blu Restaurant, Thursday night. 7pm on the dot. A confused frown crossed my face as I read the details of the paper, and I lifted my gaze back to my mother again. “What is this supposed to be?” “Your Aunt
RAYMOND’S POV I watched my reflection in the mirror as I arranged my black tuxedo. My dark, slightly messy hair, which refused to budge as always, left me with no choice but to lay it down with my hands. I exhaled deeply as I gave myself one last look in a mirror, the thought of going on a blind date with some lady weighs down on my shoulder like a rock. On a usual day, I would never be caught having a ridiculous date with just anyone, or accepting my mother’s offer to find me a wife. But here I was, all thanks to my Late Grandfather. Last week, Grandfather’s long awaited Will finally arrived, and the lawyer had revealed the most ridiculous idea ever. The Will stated that he would only hand the family’s company to any of his grandchildren who gets married and conceives a child first. Automatically instigating a silly competition between my cousin —Mark, and I. Since we were the only grandchildren that he had. But then again, I did not allow my rage to gain control of me. I was not g
POLLEN’S POV He was tall, with the shoulders of a titan. And even though he was seated, he still towered over me in a dominating way, which I couldn’t help but admit was sexy. He had a pair of fierce, yet warm hazel eyes, they were piercing and quite intimidating. In a way that would cause any woman to go on her knees in complete worship and adoration of him. His midnight dark messy hair gave a boyish look to his masculine physique, with his American tuxedo fitting so perfectly on his athletic frame. I almost drooled at the mere sight of the perfect image of the man sitting in front of me, across the table. If this was truly my blind date, then this was the best thing my mother and Aunt Margaret had ever done for me. “Are you alright?” He asked me, breaking me from my trance. His eyes moved to my dress, and I felt another wave of embarrassment wash through me. “Uh. I–uh. I mistakenly dropped an uh... glass of water on my dress.” I stuttered and mentally slapped myself in the fac
POLLEN’S POV I stared at him, dumbstruck. He froze, then sat up abruptly to look under the sheets —just like I did. “Damn it!” I heard him curse and shut his eyes tight. “What have you done to me?” I screeched, at the same time jumping off the bed and racing around in search of my clothes. “What do you mean? I can’t even recall a thing” He muttered— his voice, hazy and exhausted. Then he sat on the edge of the bed to run his fingers through his hair. “ Ugh!—My head hurts” He groaned. But I didn’t care. I was too confused to give a hoot. “My dress!” I said frantically, pulling on the white duvet that was wrapped around my body. “ Where is my dress?” I asked again, not looking at him. My eyes were too busy rummaging the suite to do that. Furthermore, I was too embarrassed to look at him even if I wanted to. “ How am I supposed to know?” Was his rude reply. He got off the bed and staggered to the restroom. *** RAYMOND’S POV Once I made it to the restroom, I ran my hands t
POLLEN ' S POV “Where are you coming from?” She asked again. Her voice rose in volume and panic set in. I fiddled with my fingers, not knowing what to say. I'd be dead if she finds out I spent the night with someone I was supposed to allure with my homely, yet seductive traits. Furthermore, I was also meant to show him how lucky he would be to have me as a partner, but what did I do? I ended up snagging him on the first night. What a perfect way to depict discipline. “I’m talking to you, Pollen!” She fired, and I was jilted back to reality. “I was at—” I stuttered. Then I paused to look at my little sister who was flipping through a fashion magazine behind our mother, hoping she could help me with words. Anything at all to buy some time. She was good at these things, telling lies and convincing our mother to buy every one of it. But Laura shook her head while mouthing something I couldn't comprehend. What the heck was she trying to say? My state of confusion deteriorated, I ope
POLLEN'S POV After a short nap that was supposed to help ease my mind, I woke up in pain instead. My head was hammering like it would split into halves.My eyes were still puffy, with streaks of dried tears hanging on the sides. Not wanting to leave the bed, I lay there for a few more moments, just staring at the roof.Seeing that I might remain in that supine position that felt like a trap, I rolled out abruptly.Laura wasn't in the room; she must have gone to work—the coffee shop down the street.I strode past her bed to the mini wardrobe we shared to get a pair of shorts and shirt. I showered and threw them on before going out to face my mother again. When I got to the living room, there was no one, but a noise from the kitchen caught my attention, and I went there.Laura didn't go to work as I thought; she was at the sink doing the dishes. Her entire body swayed to look at me when she heard my footsteps. “No work?” I asked calmly and reached for the fridge handle. “No. Decided t
RAYMOND'S POV Natasha still had the same long blonde hair; it fell on her shoulders. She was wearing a light blue top over black pants and high heels. Her sassy signature smile brightly plastered on her face as she approached us. When she saw me, her blue eyes sparkled even more.“Raymond!” Her hands flew to her mouth as those blue orbs widened. “I can't believe my eyes!” She squealed and darted towards me.Mother giggled by my side, and I could tell she was ecstatic. She has always had this obsession with me and Natasha being a thing. It was so strong that I ended up believing I was into the girl as well, that she was the one for me. I was confident we were meant for each other, but it was all a mirage that needed a little leap into adolescence for me to decipher. “You look so—” She held her breath to find the right word, but failed. Or maybe she was just too proud to admit what she wanted to say as usual. She has always been an egoistic person who was hard to please, someone who