(Anj’s POV)
I need a miracle.
I looked heavenward, closing my eyes and praying as the heat of sunlight kissed my face. I could not help myself from wincing as I covered my face with my hand and lowered my head right away. I hissed as my fingers grazed my cheeks lightly, wanting to cry as I felt the red spots, looking like pimples invading my face.
My lips pouted, wanting to hate Mrs. Antonetta for insisting on sharing her meal last night with me, unaware there was crab meat in it. When I woke up this morning, I could hardly see, and I bet Aunt Rose would confess at the church after cursing under her breath seeing my face puffy and red. She and Anya, her daughter, panicked that they had to apply a cold compress to the swollen area of my face before Sister Grace could see me.
Sister Grace is my legal guardian, but I lived in Aunt Rose’s home, her biological sister, for as long as I can remember. I was not related to any of them, but they were the only family I knew in my sixteen years of existence. Sister Grace found me wailing inside the old carton box, very sick, and there was nothing to identify me.
Breathing out, I walked to the mulch and gravel walkway, carrying a basket of potatoes I gathered in the backyard and bringing them to the nursing home. After school, I had to go to The Nursing Home of St. Mary to help Sister Grace despite the tons of homework I had and the upcoming examination. Despite my unpleasant look today, I must work not because I am hardworking but because I have to be good to be allowed to go with Anya.
Anya wanted me to join her at the party she got invited to. I am not a party person or the outgoing kind, but except for the events at the nursing home, I have never been to a real party, and my heart is hopeful that they will allow me to go out this time. Anya is optimistic that they will consider it their birthday gift for me.
Yes, I think… I think it is my birthday tomorrow.
My seventeenth birthday.
I was humming the I Hope You Dance song that Anya and I had been singing for days when I heard a loud honk. I turned around to check it out, only to gape, my eyes and mouth wide open, shocked to see a car was coming my way.
I shut my still puffy eyes tight, waiting for the car to hit my petite body, but it stopped with only an inch of space away from me. It was not the miracle I was hoping for, but the divine agency up there must have saved me from being crushed by a gorgeous red Ferrari sports car.
My whole body was shaking in fear as I stumped my feet toward the driver, but before I could scream at his face, he went out immediately, not to apologize or check on me, but to walk in front and check the damage to his car.
The nerve! What kind of person would be more interested in the car than the life of the person he almost killed?
I growled, walking toward him. “Are you blind? Didn’t you see me?” I said angrily as I poked his back with my pointed finger to notice me.
He turned around to face me, but heaven was my witness that we had different reactions. He raised his eyebrows and moved one step backward, looking at me with disgust from head to toe. I understand because right now, my face looks like the female version of Quasimodo.
In my case, I knew my heart skipped a beat, seeing a Greek god in front of me. He was taller, so I had to raise my head to look directly into his eyes, and I bet I had forgotten to breathe as I gazed at his gorgeous face. I have completely forgotten that this man has almost squashed me with his beautiful red car.
If love at first sight existed, then this must be it. I closed my eyes and inhaled his intoxicating scent, probably from an expensive men’s cologne, and imagined that I was kissing his lips.
“I’m in a hurry, so how much?” he asked in a serious tone.
My eyebrows raised, snapping me from daydreaming. I watched him take his wallet filled with cash.
Is he talking about the potato which innocently rolled on the street, or me that he didn’t even ask if I was alright?
“Are you kidding me?” I sneered at him.
“I have no time for you,” he took all the paper bills in his wallet, took my hand, and placed a large amount of money on my palm. “Here! That’s for you and your…” he sighed, looking at the scattered potato on the ground, “potato. If that is still not enough, here’s my lawyer’s card.”
He handed me the business card, but before he could turn his back on me, I grabbed his wrist and returned the money and card to him.
“You should have at least asked me if I was okay!” I snarled at him, picking up the basket.
He stared at my face, and if my face was not a bit swollen and without the red spots on my face, I bet I was as crimson as a red crayon. He pressed his lips as if suppressing himself in bursting a peal of laughter.
“I don’t think I did much damage on…” he pointed his fingers at my face.
I was sure my still aching eyes opened wide as my anger outburst with his insult. Without thinking, I took the potato left in the basket and threw it in his face.
He groaned angrily, not caring where the potato hit him. “You crazy and ugly -”
He stops as I squat, picking up another potato on the ground. “That makes us two!” I screamed at him, lifting my hand and aiming to throw another potato at him. When I saw him advance to me, I released the potato in my hand but targeted his beautiful car.
He halted like his heart stopped beating as he heard the thud of the wasted vegetable on the hood, creating a not-so-visible dent but enough for him to panic.
“You’re really crazy!” He barked at me as he dashed back inside the car.
My heart hammered inside my chest, realizing he might hit me after damaging his beloved possession. He started the car, driving it backward before speeding up to me. I screamed at the top of my lungs, closing my eyes, praying, calling all the saints, gods, and names of deities I could recall from my books, and hoping I would still look beautiful after this.
“Go back to the hell where you belong, you ugly demon!” he roared at me, driving so fast that I almost wet my underwear from fear when I felt the air when he went past me.
As soon as I heard the sound fading in the street, I opened one eye, peeking to see if he was gone already. I screamed again, but this time I was expressing my anger toward the driver, who was handsome on the outside but a monster on the inside.
“Then I’ll wait for you in hell!” I yelled and cried as I started picking up the potato on the street.
“Angela?”
I hear a gentle tone calling my name, a voice that makes my heart flutter whenever I see the owner of the voice. Dylan was standing, looking curiously at me, when I turned around.
“Are you okay?” He asked curiously, picking up the vegetable he almost stepped on and looking at the other potato on the street.
“No! A lunatic almost hit me!” I said, realizing I was still on a high pitch when he chuckled. I heaved a deep sigh and smiled sheepishly at him when he approached me and took the basket from my hand.
“Umm… What happened?” He asked worriedly as we started walking toward the nursing home.
“To me or the potato?” I grinned at him but pressed my lips when I realized I probably looked like a grinning Edna Mode.
He chuckled. “Anya already told me about what happened to you,” he said, stopping and lifting his hand, carefully holding my chin. “How long does it wear off?”
“I looked cute, right? A week or maybe a few days for the red spots, but my face will return to its normal size later,” I grinned. “I hate taking meds because it’s making me dizzy for days.” I sighed.
Dylan chuckled softly. “You hate it when your brain’s not working, huh?”
“I actually love it when it stops working even for a while,” I told him, glancing at his handsome face.
He released my chin, sighing. “Yeah, better stop for a while. It’s hard to keep up with you academically.”
“Just academically?” I batted my eyelashes, forgetting that my face looked like an imperfect-shaped balloon.
He leaned his head toward me, making my heartbeat thump faster. Anya told me why Dylan stuck with us in the nursing home when he could use the hours working in the convenience store to earn money. He liked me.
No. He doesn’t just like me. He likes like me, but for some reason, something is stopping him from admitting that.
“With almost everything, Anj,” he smiled at me, then shrugged his shoulders. “You still look beautiful.”
I released a good laugh. “Even if I look like the female version of Quasimodo?”
He placed his arm on my shoulders, pulling me to his side, closer to him. “Yes!”
I tilted my head, looking at him. “Dylan, are you sure you don’t like me?” I remember asking him before, and he clearly told me that he thought of me as his younger sister, but it was four years ago. I didn’t care much about it that time, but if Dylan would say the exact words, I was not sure what to feel.
He tapped the tip of my nose. “I don’t have to answer that question now, right?” he smiled, showing that adorable smile and sighing as he continued to walk with me on his side.
I nodded.
“If I tell you I like you, what would you do?” He asked, catching me off guard with his question.
I glanced at him, shrugging and sighing because today, surprisingly, my heart seemed to have been confused by the monster riding in a red Ferrari car.
(Sky’s POV)I need a miracle.As to where or how the miracle will happen, I do not know because I was still raging in annoyance when I got home. One of our drivers, Frank, panicked, seeing me leaving my car in the middle of the driveway, and as he approached me, I tossed the key to him, my nostrils flaring in anger as I walked into the house.The maid must have known I was coming because she had already opened the main door before I could hold the knob. She lowered her gaze as I walked past her, and I doubt if any of the female servants would want to look me directly in the eyes except for Elenita, our housekeeper, the one who managed the house and the household maids after Mom divorced my father two years ago.Elenita was only twenty when she was hired as my nanny when I was born, and now that I am twenty-four years old, she is still here, focusing on taking care of my eight-year-old sister and managing the house since Mom left and Dad got sick.“Sky!” I heard Elenita’s voice calling
(Anj’s POV)“You should have taken medicine, Angela,” Sister Grace said, her index finger holding my chin as if balancing my face. As of my count, she sighed three times already just from studying my face.Dylan and I had to hurry to take the blankets from the clothesline outside because the cluster of clouds covered the perfect blue sky, hiding the sun and promising a thunderstorm. We reached the porch just in time for clouds to shower their tears on the ground, but before I could hide from Sister Grace, she had already opened the door and seen us.“I’m fine,” I whispered, glancing at Dylan, suppressing a smile on his pressed lips. My eyes narrowed as I watched him continue our work. “Does my hideous face bother you, Sister?” I asked, showing a playful smile at her.She scoffed at me, placing her hand on my hair, brushing off the strands on my puffy face to the side, and putting on my blue peacock hair clip.“Yes and no. Yes, I am bothered, but you’re not hideous,” she said as she pl
(Anj’s POV)Go straight to the hallway, and then turn right…I heaved a deep sigh as I carried the elegant arrangement of sunflowers, anthurium, hydrangea, and heliconia for the offering Mrs. Wilbur ordered from Sister Grace. She usually donates at the nursing home, but I seldom see her because she is mostly out of town, joining her husband on his business trips.The housekeeper had other flowers to bring, so here I am, forced to look for that room where Mrs. Wilbur expected the offering should be. I didn’t have the time to memorize the direction because I was also in a hurry to go back.Anya said that instead of meeting me, Claire was friendly enough, offering to pick me up outside the gate of Wilbur’s mansion because Aunt Rose asked her to run an errand before going to the party.“It’s a black SUV,” she told me. “When you get there, let’s meet in the lobby.” She has repeated those words many times, worried that I would wander and get stuck in a room called the library or study room.
(Sky’s POV)Leo and Jake must be kidding me bringing a kid to a party. The freckles or maybe red spots on her face could not hide the fact that she looked minor and had not been to this kind of party. I could not help myself feeling angry at Jake because she looked drunk already with a glass of appletini in her hand.“Are you kidding me, Jake? Why did you bring-” Before I could add ‘a minor’ to my words, she advanced toward me, pouring liquid onto my lap. I growled, screaming at her. “Are you crazy?” I said angrily, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the room.I banged the door, but I didn’t feel guilty when her body jerked, startled by what I did. I walked past her and went straight to the bathroom, taking a towel to dry my pants. My head peeked at the ajar door to see her, and I was right that she was trying to open the door.She could be fifteen or sixteen, but thinking about it, I must have just overreacted because Jake would never do such a thing. He knew that the fraternity ha
(Sky’s POV)Tempting…My hands which grip her hips, want to pull her inside the room again, but when my lips touch her nape, her baby sweet scent woke me up. If I were right that she lied to me about her age, I would be in big trouble.“How about we get out of here together, get that appletini you want, and call whoever Anya is?” I placed my hand on her head to protect her from the window frame.She squinted her eyes for a brief second and then smiled, nodding as she agreed with me, jumping at the short distance from the window stool to the landing area of the staircase. I took the bottle of liquor and glasses.“Hold this,” I said, and she took it, opening the lid and smelling the alcohol. Before I could stop her, she drank from the bottle. I had to snatch it away from her before she could finish the whole content.“This taste better,” she giggled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.“Move,” It was an order. Her slow steps were making quiet thuds as she went down. I followed h
(Anj’s POV) My brain must be on haywire. Like taking my medicine, after drinking Appletini, I feel dizzy but in a really good way. I felt lighter and free and had the courage to do everything I wanted. This gorgeous Greek god must have used his magic spell on me that I just kept on following everything he said. I heard he told Frank to bring us to the nearest coffee shop, but I didn’t want to get sane yet. He was driving us somewhere when my eyes caught a glimpse of a place I had never been to before. The seashore. “Woah! Is that…? Stop the car, Frank.” I gasped and tugged him in his arm, but when he didn’t stop, I cried again. “Stop the car! Please…” When the driver finally listened to me and stopped the car, I didn’t wait for him. I unfastened my seatbelt and got out of the car, dashing toward the beach, ignoring the handsome man running after me. I could hear Mrs. Antonetta’s voice telling me to do something crazy once in a while. I was not up for it but seeing the full moon
(Anj’s POV)“Just a kiss?” Sky Mars, the Mighty Sky, curved a naughty smile on his lips.I chuckled, feeling the heat creeping through my cheeks. I knelt before him and leaned my head forward. “Just a kiss,” I whispered. Not waiting for him to answer, I planted a quick kiss on his lips, and I was right about the softness of his sensual lips.My heart was dancing with joy, my brain was screaming with shame, and my body was burning with unexplainable desire as I returned to sitting on the sand. I swallowed hard, wanting to run to the water and submerge myself to hide from him. Then, I heard him laugh hard.“You call that a kiss?” he asked amusedly, filling his glass and drinking his liquor. “I was right, then. You’ve never been kissed.” He teased me.I raised my eyebrows and frowned at him. “Excuse me, Mighty Sky, but I have kissed plenty of men,” I said proudly, taking a sip from my glass, thinking of all the grandfathers I have kissed on their cheeks whenever they missed their childre
(Anj’s POV)I stayed in my position, crawling slowly under the bed of the stranger I slept with, but as I lifted one arm to move forward, my heart stopped beating when I saw a shining gold wedding band on my finger.My eyes blinked many times, racking my brain of what exactly happened last night, but the little workers seemed not done fixing my head as it ached so much I wanted to curl back in bed. This feeling was worse than a migraine, although I have not experienced it in my entire life.“Daddy!” she screamed again, making me cringe as her sweet voice was causing my head to crack.I kept my eyes closed, only listening to the sound of the door opening, footsteps, and Sky cursing under his breath.“Sky Mars!” A yell roared like thunder inside his bedroom. “In the study room. Now!” An angry voice said.I felt the quilt thrown at me, but I did not dare look up to see who did it.“And you, young lady, you’re not going anywhere!” The older man’s voice shouted. I took a deep breath, wanti