Chapter 1

(Reese's POV)           

            With my laptop's bag hanging on my left shoulder, I walked towards the entrance of my favorite coffee shop—Autumn's Café. After I opened the door, I immediately smelled the coffee's aroma. The smell of it was just too addicting for me that I took a deep breath to savor it more. Pero hindi ito naging sapat para pagaanin ang nararamdaman ko ngayon.

            I slightly shook my head and walked towards the counter. "Iced Vanilla Latté and  a slice of yema cake, please!" I gave the girl, Ava, a small smile before giving the payment. Madalas ako rito kaya alam ko na kung magkano ang babayaran ko at kung bakit hindi na niya tinanong kung anong pangalan ko. Whenever I feel like sulking up because of too much requirements, I'm here. Bukas sila 24/7 kaya maraming tumatambay dito. Malapit din ito sa Streisand University kaya karamihan sa mga costumers nila ay mga estudyante.

            I roamed my eyes inside the café  and saw that my favorite spot is vacant—the table on the farthest corner from the entrance. Tinungo ko ang lamesa at agad na inilabas  ang laptop ko nang maka-upo ako. I need to finish my part in our CE 113 laboratory work and past  it to our leader before midnight for further editing.

            "Hey!"

            Natigil ako sa pagtipa at nag-angat ng tingin sa nagsalita. I was too focused on what I'm doing that I didn't feel Ava was already beside me.

            "Thank you!" pasasalamat ko nang mailagay niya sa lamesa ang order ko. Akala ko ay aalis na siya at muling babalik sa pwesto niya pero naupo ito sa harapan ko kaya napataas ang kaliwang kilay ko. "Need something?"

            "Are you okay?"

            That caught me off guard. I don't remember when was the last time someone has asked me that. When everything's filled with chaos, pain and trouble, all I want to do is to escape and runaway from everything. Maybe that's the reason why whenever I see a person asking someone 'Are you okay?', I silently wish it was me who's being asked. Somehow, deep within my heart, that simple question feels like home.

            Home...

            I immediately averted my gaze to my laptop's screen upon thinking about it. "I'm fine!" I glanced at her before looking at the counter. "Go back to your work, Ava," utos ko at muling itinuon ang atensyon sa screen ng laptop ko. Kailangan ko talagang matapos ito ngayon dahil may Problem Set pa akong gagawin mamaya.

            She  took a deep breath before standing up. Hindi ako nag-angat ng tingin at tumango na lang nang magpaalam ito. It's not my intention to shoo her away like that because I know that she just wanted to comfort me.

            When I reached for my latté, bigla na lang sumagi sa isipan ko ang dahilan kung bakit mabigat ang nararamdaman ko ngayon. I gripped the glass tighter as my heart started beating fast.

            Angel's Paradise. My safe haven.

            The past years have been hard. I was alone and contemplating if I did the right decision of standing on my own feet upon reaching 18. But then I found Angel's Paradise, a children's orphanage, that's  like a streak of light in my grayscale life—the silver lining I was trying to find aside from the freedom I really wanted to achieve. But now, my safe haven is in danger because of the unpaid debt from the land owner.  We need a big amount in order to save it and the owner gave us only a month to pay for it.

            Saan naman kami kukuha ng malaking halaga sa loob ng isang buwan? Kahit isang taon pa yata ang ibigay na palugit ng naniningil, hindi pa rin namin mababayaran ang utang. I know that business is business  pero hindi man lang ba nila naisip ang magiging kalagayan ng mga bata kung mawawala ang tirahan nila? Kakayanin kaya ng mga konsensya nilang makita ang mga ito na palaboy-laboy na lang sa kung saan-saan? Maybe they can because all that's important to them is business, money and power.

            I let go of the glass, took a deep breath and was about to reach for the plate when my phone vibrated. I immediately picked it up when I saw my best friend, Charlotte Olivia Velasco, was calling.

            "Hey there, baby!" she happily exclaimed as soon as I accepted her call.

            I rolled my eyes because of her endearment. Sigurado akong kasama na naman niya ngayon ang kinakapatid niya at balakk na naman niya itong inisin. She really loves pissing him off and right now, she's using me to accomplish her plan.

            "Miss me?"  tukso niya. She's acting like she's talking to her boyfriend and I'm sure Justin's already glaring at her. Daig pa nila ang aso at pusa kung mag-iringan tapos dinadamay pa ako.

            "I'm not in the mood, Olive. Spare me with your craziness, please!"  Hindi ko itinago ang tamlay sa boses ko. Para saan pa? Alam naman niya kung anong problema ko dahil kasama ko siya no'ng ibinalita sa'kin ang problema.

            "The orphanage." It's a statement, not a question. "We still have a month, Reese. We'll surely figure out how to solve the problem," pagpapagaan niya sa nararamdaman ko pero hindi tumalab.

            "It's not just a simple problem and you know that, Olive!" giit ko. Buti na lang at nasa sulok ako at walang malapit sa pwesto ko kaya walang makakarinig sa usapan namin. "Buti pa ang Problem Set natin ay may formula kung paano resulbahin. But this one?" Umiling ako kahit na hindi niya nakikita. "Hindi ko alam kung saang lupalop ng mundo ko hahanapin ang solusyon."

            "You're thinking too much. May mahahanap tayong paraan. Tiwala lang."

            "If only I have the money," I whispered. I thought she didn't heard it because she became quiet. But what she said next really caught me off guard.

            "You have the money, Lincoln." She even emphasized my last name for me to understand what she's implying. "You can save the orphanage in just a snap," she added.

            "I...I d-don't—"

            "But I'm not telling you to do it, Rose Destiny," putol niya sa sasabihin ko.

            I bit the inside of my right cheek then released it immediately. I took a deep breath before saying goodbye to her. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Olive!" I ended the call immediately. It's disrespectful but I just don't want to hear another thing about what she said earlier.

            I closed my laptop and finished my food. Gusto ko pang magtagal dito dahil ang ganda ng ambiance pero uuwi na lang ako at do'n ko na lang tatapusin ang mga requirements ko.

            After finishing my food, I was about to put my phone inside my laptop's bag when  I saw that someone's calling.  It's our group leader, Gavin, so I immediately answered it. Maybe it's about our laboratory work.

            "Hey, CEO!" I greeted upon answering his call. We call him that because of our last laboratory project—Company Profile. "Anything I can do  for you?"

            "Na sa Autumn's ka ba?"

            "Oo pero paalis na ako. Bakit?"

            "Wait us there, cupcake!" My forehead wrinkled upon hearing Tiara's voice. Bakit sila magkasama? "Ten minutes top, Reese. Bye!" She ended the call before I can even say something. I just ended Olive's call earlier like that and now, Tiara did it to me. Karma's really a bitch, after all.

            I fished out my earphones from the laptop's bag and connect it to my phone before opening again my laptop. I have this hobby of listening to music while doing my requirements. May ilang nagtatanong kung hindi ba ako na-di-distract at lagi kong sinasabi na mas nakakapag-isip pa ako kung may naririnig akong soft music.

            True to what Tiara had said, dumating sila wala pang sampung minuto  ang nakakalipas. Akala ko ay sila lang ni Gavin pero kasama pa nila ang iba naming kasama sa grupo at dala-dala nila ang mga sarili nilang laptop. Tinanong ko si Ava kung pwede ba naming pagsamahin ang dalawang mesa para magkasya kaming anim at pumayag naman ito.

            "Final na ba itong company name natin?" Gavin asked who's sitting beside me. "Any suggestions?"

            "Final na 'yan," Kyla replied who's sitting in front of me without removing her attention on her laptop's screen. She's busy editing the company's history.

            "Modern Space Builders is good," sang-ayon ko. "I'll just edit the services offered then I'll send it to you."

            We stayed there for almost 3 hours before they decided to go home. We finished editing our CE 113 Laboratory Work 1 together with the plan for our upcoming Laboratory work 2 next week. We also finished  our CE 151 problem set with the help of each other, asking questions on the part we couldn't understand and sharing knowledge on how to do it  easier.

            We gathered our things then stood up and  brought back the table to its right place. They went out first because I went to the counter to bid goodbye to Ava before leaving the café.  I was about to push the door when someone from outside did it first. Dahil hindi ko nahawakan ang handle ng pinto at hahakbang sana ako, I know I'm outbalanced and about to fall down but thankfully, someone held my arm. Tinulungan niya akong tumayo ng maayos. I slowly looked up and about to say my gratitude but I almost gasped upon seeing his face.

            He was tall, maybe six feet or taller. I'm not sure because I'm already 5 feet and 5 inches but I'm still looking up at him. He got a well-built body but not overly muscular. Katamtaman lang ang kaputian niya na mas lalong nakadagdag sa appeal niya. He has foreign and matured features; hooded eyes that looked tantalizing with its long lashes, perfect structured nose, and pale pinkish lips. But his overall appeal was not mainly from his physical attributes. May karisma itong hindi pwedeng itanggi kaya kapag dumaan ito sa harapan mo, siguradong susundan mo ng tingin. He's not a student. I'm very sure of that because he's wearing coat and tie—typical look for a businessman.

            His forehead wrinkled as he looked down at me. I immediately felt that my cheeks are on fire so my head hung low because of embarrassment. I want to just disappear right now. I didn't mean to checked him out. It's just that it felt like there's this kind of energy that's pulling me to stare at him.

            "Thank you!" sabi ko na lang bago nagmamadaling umalis sa harapan niya. But I immediately stopped when he talked.

            "Hey!"

            Kahit hindi ako sigurado kung  ako nga ba talaga ang tinawag niya, lumingon pa rin ako. And there he was, still standing by the café's entrance and looking at my direction.  Lumingon ako sa likuran ko para tignan kung may iba pa bang tao pero wala akong nakita bukod sa mga taong duumadaan lang.

            "Your phone."

             I looked back at him, he's holding a phone and it looks like mine. Agad kong kinapa ang bulsa sa likuran ng pantalon ko at wala nga ang cellphone ko. I remember putting it there earlier before I helped Gavin carrying the table. How come he's holding  it?

            Damn, girl!...I mentally cursed myself when I remembered that I fished it out from my  pocket before opening the door. How did I not know that I let go of it when I was about to fall?

            You focused more on checking him out than checking yourself, that's why.

            I walked towards him, fast pace, and grabbed my phone without looking up at his face. "Thanks again, Mister!" I turned my back immediately. I didn't heard anything from him despite of my disrespectful behavior. I didn't even looked back to see if he's still standing there or he already went inside.

            Just say sorry to him the next time you see each other... I mentally told myself, hoping  we'll see each other again before I went inside Gavin's car.