PROLOGUEThe night was a dreamy one. Her bow-shaped lips curved into an endearing smile as soft fluffs of wind began flirting with her long, loose hair. As she smiled, the night turned brighter. Her innocent gaze was following the moon as it constantly drifted through the heavy chunks of cloud. A golden halo surrounded the celestial globe. Sometimes the gigantic clouds would completely swallow the poor orb, leaving no trace of it. And every time it disappeared behind the layers, she would patiently wait for it to come out and light up the jet-ink sky once more with its divine light. She didn’t own a halo like the moon, but she was no less divine. Her angelic aura was her halo. She was sitting at the edge of the pond with water reaching the middle of her legs. She drew a deep breath and inhaled the sweet aroma of night jasmine. Her husband had them planted especially for her as they were her favorites. The entire garden was swarming with them. He had planted them with his own hands
Serena was closing her locker after fetching the book she needed for the next class when a masculine voice resonated. She turned to find Oliver- one of the hot studs of her school.“Hey,” he approached, flashing his charming smile. Serena smiled back, already having a hunch as to why he was there.“How are you and…..where is your bestie?” his eyes keenly searched around. Serena already knew he didn’t care about her well-being, he just wanted to know where Shanice was. “She is in a meeting with the principal,” so she gave him the answer he was looking for, politely so. Oliver was hitting on Shanice for a long time. However, Shanice wasn’t interested in him. The boy rubbed the back of his neck- a nervous tic. He then reached inside his back pocket and fished out a note. “Umm….can you like give it to her?” he asked. Serena sighed inwardly. His twentieth love note this month. She pitied the boy. He was good-looking but he wasn’t the only one vying for Shanice’s attention. Shanice w
After a tiring shift at the clinic, she returned to her empty house. It was a studio apartment with couple furnitures around. She had rented the worn-out apartment from an old lady. Serena knew nothing about her parents except that a woman had left her at the orphanage's door, probably her mother. She was clearly unwanted. Since then Serena was passed around from one foster care to another. Her last foster family was the worst. They were druggies and adopted her only to pull cash from the government. She got a job when fifteen and started saving. Once she had saved enough, she escaped. Shanice’s father who was a hot-shot lawyer, stepped in and made sure her foster family didn’t trouble her again. Shanice and her family insisted that she stay with them, but Serena refused. They already had done a lot for her, she didn’t want to burden them anymore. Plus she had to learn to be on her own. Sighing, Serena dropped her bag on the chair and headed straight to her room. There was a foldi
“Let her go,” the boy repeated assertively, showing no sign of fear. Serena wasn’t able to comprehend how this boy was not afraid of Xander’s intimidating appearance. Xander actually listened and released Serena to make his way toward the boy who just had dared to threaten him. Blood drained down Serena’s face as Xander’s intention became clear with each stride. He was going to hurt him. But before she could say anything, both the boys were already in each other’s faces, staring one other down. Their unyielding confrontation sent tension crackling in the air. Serena swallowed, expecting worse. “Do we have a problem?” Xavier ground out, not happy with the interruption. “You tell me,” the boy held his head high and chin up. Not intimidated at all. He wasn’t being cocky, just fearless which Serena wasn’t sure if it was a good thing. He might be taller than Xavier, but Xavier was definitely more muscular than him. “You are trying to get a beating, ain’t you, Four eyes?” Xavier too
Once the class was over, she grabbed her bag and hurried her way to the canteen. He was already in there, looking for her. She reached over and tapped his upper arm as she couldn't reach his shoulder. He turned around and those jade-green eyes stole her breath all over again. “I was looking for you,” he told her, inducing another flutter through her heart. She smiled and dropped her gaze to the ground, hoping her blush wasn't visible. “How was your class?” she asked and led him towards the counter.“Good, I guess,” he lifted his one shoulder in a half-shrug. Serena found the act cute. The boy got her tray from the counter and handed her before taking his own. She murmured a thank you and led him to her usual spot. Serena couldn’t help but steal glances at him as he sat across from her, completely unaware of her growing infatuation with him. The more she looked at him, the more she felt attracted to him. He was surrounded by an air of mystery and intrigue. Something dangerous.
Days passed by, Serena noticed Asher had made some friends of which Chad seemed to be his closest. Chad was one of the basket players- popular but not conceited like the other players. Serena and Chad had never really talked as they moved in different circles, but she knew he was a decent guy. Asher had picked a good friend. “Hey,” a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. She raised her gaze and a smile of its own bloomed across her face when she found those captivating eyes looking at her. “Hey,” she replied a little shyly. Smiling, he took a seat beside her. His scent wafted through her nostrils, throwing her senses into a delirium. He didn’t smell like expensive colognes, but like soap and fabric softener, and she loved it. She wanted to sniff him and overflow her lungs with his scent. “How are you?” she asked, genuinely curious. She found herself wanting to know more and more about him. “Good. And you?” he asked, looking to be in a good mood. She did not know why the lif
Shanice pulled in and slid on her Ray ban.“Is this the place?” Shanice questioned, scanning their surrounding. “Yup. According to the map,” Serena replied. Shanice opened her door and Serena followed suit. During their discussion, Asher had told her that his part-time job was to assist people riding water flyboards. The revelation had obviously thrilled Serena. She had never ridden a fly board before. When Asher found out, he invited her over for a ride. Serena had shared this with Shanice and Shanice expressed her will to accompany as she also had never ridden a flyboard. Serena was overjoyed. They walked a few feet and finally the lake came into their view. Serena spotted Asher who was helping the rider get off the board. “Asher,” she shouted and waved to him after she had her attention. Serena looked into those eyes and the world stopped moving for her for a second. He wasn’t wearing his glasses today. He smiled at her before shifting his gaze to Shanice. Shanice took off her
Serena was so happy. The whole weekend she had been reminiscing the moments they had together. She had never imagined flyboarding would be such a thrilling experience. This weekend felt as long as a decade. Humming a tune to herself, she emptied her milk carton into the small bowl she had set outside her apartment for cats before skipping her way toward the bus stand. “Serena,” she smiled involuntarily when his deep voice hit her ears. Turning around, she found him coming towards her. Her heart swooned at his sight. He was looking nothing different- same thick glasses, loose clothes but still, he managed to send a nervous flutter through her poor heart. To her dismay though, he had put on his glasses. How she wished he hadn’t. She wanted to see his eyes without any barrier. “How was your weekend?” he asked as he came to a halt in front of her. Serena was not really an introvert girl but for some weird reason, her mind would shut down every time he asked her anything. She just fel