Sports Car

What other possible reason could there be for Emesto to randomly appear in front of Giselle's doorstep? One could believe that it could only be a mere coincidence, but the way he dismissed himself looked too suspicious that it was making Giselle uneasy. He seemed to have started covering up the real person he was looking for as soon as he saw Giselle. The look on his face was pure satisfaction. 

"He found me," Giselle breathes out again, frozen and dazed. 

Darius must have asked him to look through every door of the condominium for her. But why? Why go through such difficulty for Giselle? She couldn't have left a lasting impression on him as he mentioned that he looks at her.

Giselle is also someone not worth chasing. 

Maybe the video posted online changed his mind about sparing her, and now he's out for blood. Darius has a reputation to keep and that video could have ruined it.

Speaking about the video, Giselle has not seen it, nor does she ever want to watch it. She told Yvonne that she’ll be keeping herself away from social media for a while. She wouldn't let what had happened to distract her so much that it might affect her only purpose here; her studies. 

Giselle’s parents had allowed her to be where she is now with the sponsorship of her aunt because they know that she is a responsible person. They trust her in what she does and know that Giselle will excel in her studies. She cannot disappoint them. She can’t seem to have it in her to ever disappoint them. 

"So, how are your parents doing, Giselle?"

Giselle snapped out of her thoughts, turning her attention toward Yvonne’s mother, Aunt Vee. She was taking glances at Giselle through the car’s front mirror, realizing that the young lady has been out of it for a while now. On the other hand, Giselle could only notice the lovely new haircut Aunt Vee had.

Giselle returned her a kind smile while she was still looking and replied, "They're doing alright. My father is doing great being a jeepney driver, he also managed to lengthen his route now so he’s earning more than before.” 

"That's good news! Where are your parents again, which province? It has slipped my mind,” Aunt Vee asks. Instead of Giselle, Yvonne answers her question.  

"They're in Negros Oriental currently- anyways, Mom, what do you know about the people whose family name is Cruz?" 

Aunt Vee sighs disappointingly, "Are you that obsessed with Athena Cruz's son, Darius? My goodness, Yvonne. Instead of thinking all day about boys, you could have thought of your studies or cleaning your room." 

"Mom- for the last time, why do you keep nagging at me about my room? It is my room. Therefore, I must decide whether I want to clean it or not." 

Yvonne's mother slapped her daughter's thighs loudly with her free hand and angrily responded, "Ayan kasi! You're always on your phone or out at parties that you forget about our deal living together. Don't bring up that attitude, or you'll be homeless, I tell you." 

"Giselle, if you've only seen how this lady acts at home, you'll think twice whether she is still a lady," Giselle could only watch Aunt Vee glaring at her daughter furiously, "why can't you be more like Giselle, she's smart and responsible." 

Here we go again. The typical Filipino mother loves to compare their children to other people. Yvonne had talked to Giselle about how this hurt her so much. Yet, such a feeling is invisible in her mother's eyes. Giselle knew that she had to change the subject quickly to save Yvonne.

"I was the one who was curious about the Cruzs, Aunt Vee." 

Everything went silent in an instant until Aunt Vee spoke with no more hesitation, "Athena Cruz became my client once when she was looking for an estate here years back. You know when they moved here from Manila."

“Her husband used to be a famous actor, and she's a well-respected doctor owning multiple hospitals here in the Philippines.” 

Yvonne gasped, "Darius' dad is an actor? No one ever knew that, and we’re the first people to know.” 

"Athena Cruz doesn't speak much of her husband, for they've long parted ways ever since they lost their second child. They didn't apply for divorce or an annulment- they only prefer to live separately." 

"I see," Giselle mutters, wondering whether the reason why he turned out to be such a person was because of what his family has gone through. No one can be so sure of the full story but even hearing the gist of it is heartbreaking. There’s always a reason for how the behaviors of people are formed.   

"I do not quite understand why you girls are so interested in the Cruz's. Especially you, Yvonne, you've been asking me about them since the day I told you that Athena became my client once. You know you can't ever get information about her son from me."

Giselle fiddled nervously with her fingers while Yvonne gave answers to questions for her, "We're just curious because her son has been getting so much attention online recently." 

"Well, you girls better not be focusing on online gossip or boys. There are other things to worry about and I want both of you to do well for the examination today," Aunt Vee pressed and warned. 

Yvonne groans, "Yes, Mom- and could you drop us off there, please? There's no need to go inside the school. There seems to be an important guest for the students to crowd like that and we'll only be stuck in traffic" 

Giselle looks out of the window to see that there was indeed a horde of people by the lobby where cars would drop off students. She sinks in her chair and thought that she’d dealt with too many people last night; she’ll have to do it again. 

Aunt Vee dropped both the girls outside before they could reach the gate to prevent herself from getting stuck in traffic inside the school. Other students were rushing inside the school when they got off. Giselle and Yvonne shared glances at each other in confusion. 

"All the best for today, girls. Do well!” Aunt Vee said to them before rolling the windows of her car shut.

Giselle gripped the straps of her bag and walked with Yvonne. While others were rushing inside as if something was chasing them, they were taking our own sweet time. 

The gloomy sky is enough representation of their exhausted yet confused mood. Suddenly, it looks like it was about to rain again, which gave them a reason to pick up their pace. They reached the school earlier than expected, yet there were already so many students. Did everyone just decide to be early birds today?

While walking, Yvonne popped the question again, "So who's Emesto? And why did you look so frightened just now?

Giselle’s eyes widen while her stomach backflips in a way that it’s making her anxious upon hearing his name. Giselle grabs Yvonne’s shoulders to pull her closer so she could say in a soft tone, "Don't mention his name in public." 

"Why?" Yvonne whispers back loudly, looking sideward as they reached the gate. The guard greeted Yvonne, knowing her very well as someone who loves to sneak out of school to purposely miss classes.

"Because someone might hear us."

"As if Darius is going to magically appear here in Asuncion High, he doesn't even go to this school," Yvonne rolls her eyes as she replied. 

Yvonne does have a point, but it doesn't explain the uneasy feeling playing on Giselle’s stomach. It could be because she only had a sandwich for breakfast or her nervousness about the examination. Either way, she did not like the way she was feeling at the moment.

The main factor that contributes to her build-up anxiety has to be the incident that happened last night. Thinking about it makes her blood run cold. She can still feel his emotionless eyes glaring at her, and his hatred radiating even from afar.

If by chance, he'd show up in front of her today, Giselle would gladly embrace death. 

"Oh, my goodness. No way!" Yvonne could choke in her own surprise. 

Up ahead, they see the students crowding around a dashing red sports car. There are at least three SUVs parked around it to act as guards. The person inside the sports car must be someone very important that they require so many guards. But no one knew a VIP would be visiting the school today. 

Who could it possibly be?

"Azura do not freak out but that's Darius' car. He's here."