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CHAPTER 53: MOTIVE
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The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 54: A DATE?
"You're going out with Enzo again?! Are you for real?!" My face screwed up with Lauren's vehement reaction after I told him that I would meet Lorenzo today. I already mentioned him to her before. I don't want her to nag at me for not telling her the recent updates about my life. "You don't have to scream like an unhinged banshee," I grumbled. She scoffed. "Shut up. But seriously, that Enzo guy is being suspicious as fuck." I knitted my eyebrows. "What do you mean?" "You two only met a month ago, but he's already being palsy-walsy with you. Anyone who's smart enough would know that he's not merely running after friendship. Enzo likes you, Cleo." I could already imagine the sly grin on her face while saying those words. "You know what else is a fact? It's that, anyone with a rational mind would not slag off my affinity with a man," I snapped back. I can't even think of a single proof that Lorenzo likes me. Lauren snickered. "I'm sorry, okay? But you can't blame me. He's reall
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 55: AT THE END OF HIS TETHER
Despite my bewilderment, I keep a straight face. "Good evening, sir," I greeted him. He didn't respond and just continued staring dead at my soul. He's creeping me out. Thank heavens, the doorway is wide enough for me to pass by despite him being a huge obstruction. I walked past him silently. However, I haven't taken two steps when he abruptly pulled my hand, almost bowling me over. I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Do you need something, sir?" "Do you like my cousin?" His question caught me in the hop. I'm pretty sure the words "what the fuck" are written all over my face. I don't know what's up with him. He was ignoring me the whole week, and now he's on my way just to ask that ridiculous question. Have he lost his mind? I tried to take my hands back, but my efforts were in vain because he didn't even badge. I laughed awkwardly. "W-What do you mean?" Of course I know what he means. I could've answered no because that's the truth. I don't feel any romantic affec
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 56: RECKLESS YET CERTAIN
THIRD PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW "Before I forget, say hi to Cleo!" The smile on Garren's face faded in a flash. His son only mentioned Cleo's name... and he's already getting agitated. The woman's strange effect on him is riling him up. Cleo appeared on the screen and flashed a subtle smile, and God knows how much he hates how that made his heart prance. Despite his nerves raging, Garren still managed to keep a stolid face. His heart's erratic beating only ceased when he couldn't see her any longer, but deep within him, he longs to see her face even for a few moments longer. "What the fuck?!" Garren internally castigated himself. "Bye, dad! I'm going to prepare for school now! I love you." He smiled at his son. "I love you too, buddy." He washed his hands over his face out of frustration after the call ended. He hates it. He hates how Cleo can stir an unsettling feeling inside him with the slightest thing that she does. Suddenly, his mind took a trail down the memory la
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 57: OFF THE WALL
"Did you swallow a rainbow? Your smile can already reach the Milky Way," I teased Greyson, who couldn't stop himself from smiling the moment he woke up. He giggled. "You can't blame me, Cleo. Dad will arrive today. I can't wait to see him." The smile plastered on my face faded like blazes. That's when I remember that it's Wednesday, which means Garren will arrive home any moment now. My two days of peace and solitude are about to come to an end. I put my smile back on and tousled his hair. "I'm pretty sure your dad misses you too. Now you should finish your meal quickly." He nodded fervently. "Alright!" After he took his breakfast, I let him rest and play with his tablet for a bit before we headed back upstairs so he could take a bath. While he's taking his time in the bathroom, I'm preparing his bag. All of a sudden, I felt my phone inside my pocket ringing. Surprisingly, Lorenzo's name flashed on the screen. I was quite shocked because he hasn't called or messaged me for the
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 58: WING NUT
It has been three days since Garren arrived, and it's also been three days since my mind is in a mare's nest. He's been acting really weird. This time, I'm not even piling things on. This is not merely because of that abrupt change in the car seat plan, but the way he's been behaving as if he didn't leave me with a bunch of unsettled questions that night before he left. He's acting oblivious and indifferent. It's as if he hit his head against a wall and now has amnesia. For starters, he now talks to me like he used to before. That affable aura surrounding him when we were on Santorini and when he brought us to the amusement park suddenly came back. Mind you, oftentimes, he's the one who initiates a conversation. Like that time he drove us to his son's school, he asked how I've been doing! It wasn't supposed to be a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that he stopped regarding my existence a month ago. But that wasn't the last time he acted as if he cared for my welfare. I was tr
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 59: WHEELS OF HEART
"Where are we exactly heading, dad?" Greyson asked in the middle of the ride. Being this close with Garren again is enough to make me anxious. So I'm here in my seat and trying my best to make the slightest gestures. Gladly, Greyson is here to ease the tension in the air. "Picnic Grove. It's an hour ride from here," Garren answered. "You'll have a lot of fun there." The depressing silence returned as Greyson went back to playing with his iPad. "Have you ever been to a picnic before?" Garren blurted out all of a sudden. See? This is what I'm talking about. He initiates conversation with me, something that he stopped doing. "My parents brought me and my brother to a picnic before." I still responded because I don't want to appear snobbish. "What do you guys do when you're there?" "It's nothing fancy. We eat the foods that my mother cooks and then talk about some random things." A smile made its way on my lips, reminiscing about those simple yet happy memories—during those
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 60: BUTTERFLIES
"Dad won once again!" My face contorted as Garren took down my last chess piece. The exasperation I'm feeling heightened when I saw the smug grin plastered on his face. God knows how much I want to tear off that arrogance in his face. After we got tired of ambling around the park, Garren took out some board games that he brought so we could idle away the hours. Greyson has been playing this game for two years now, so he's good at it. But what made me fall for that notion was because he defeated his father. Then the latter challenged me into a game. I also know how to play chess. And since it's been a long time since I played one and I kind of miss it, I took on his challenge. I was confident that I'd be able to defeat him because his son did. But he proved me wrong. Because in the two sets that we played, he defeated me in the most humiliating way possible. I was only able to take down three chess pieces of him from those two games. It turned out that he was just goofing arou
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 61: WARMTH
"I'm done!" Greyson cried out, breaking the stillness hovering in the air. When we got tired of kite flying, Garren told us to rest first. Then he brought out coloring materials and three small canvases. He gave them to Greyson and me and told us to paint something. But here's the catch, he asked us to blindfoldedly choose a piece of paper on which each of our names was written. And we have to give our artwork to the person we picked. I prayed not to pick out Garren because I didn't want him to poke fun at my artwork. This is one of my fatal weaknesses. Gladly, the deities heard my prayer, and I picked Greyson's name instead. Although I'm not really proficient in this field, of course I still exerted an effort. I momentarily forget that I'm with these two and focused all my attention on drawing a rose with a backdrop of a sunrise. "I'm done too." I got hustled when Garren announced that. I'm the only one who's not done. It calmed my nerves. I picked up the pastel blue colo
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The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 72: COME CLEAN
Silence hovered between us for a couple of seconds. Nothing could be heard but the silent whisper of the night breeze and the crickets. "Doing what?" Garren asked, breaking the stillness at last. I raised the bracelet he gave. "This. Why are you doing this-""Didn't I tell you the reasons? It was a token of appreciation. I didn't know you could be this-""I'm not merely talking about this bracelet, sir." For the first time, I found the courage to cut him off, knowing how much he loathes that. "You're confusing me."I don't know if what I'm doing is right or if I'm digging my own grave. But I can no longer bottle these up. "Everything about you confuses me."His eyes widened a fraction. I know he's as anxious as I am."Do you seriously think that I didn't notice you'd changed after that day that you brought us to the amusement park? Well, I do. And until now, I still don't know the reason why."I looked at him straight in the eyes. "I didn't confront you because I didn't want to
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 71: NO ESCAPE
"Congratulations, baby! You don't know how proud I am of you!" I squeezed Greyson into a tight embrace as we sat back in our chairs. He hugged me back. "Thank you, Cleo." Then he turned to Garren. There's a subtle yet cordial smile plastered on his face. He ruffled his son's hair. "I can't express how happy I am for you, son. You've been working hard for all this day, and you deserve all the recognitions you received." Greyson's eyes glistened with tears, but he quickly wiped them off and smiled heartily at his father. "But I want you to know that with or without these medals, I'm proud of you. You've done great." Greyson hugged him. "Thank you for being my motivation, dad." "What about me? Aren't you going to give your uncle a hug? I helped with your homework," Xavier chimed in. He chuckled and hugged him too. "How could I not forget you, uncle? You were my father back when dad was still bad." Xavier and I couldn't help but laugh while his father was already looking li
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 70: THE RECOGNITION DAY
The day that Greyson has been waiting for has finally come- his recognition day. The entire mansion is in chaos in preparation for this day. Cynthia told me that this is the first time this has happened because last year when he graduated preschool, his father only gave me an expensive present. But he wants to make a difference today. Hence, all the maids are busy in the kitchen. And after we leave, they will also redesign the house and put up some banners and balloons to surprise Greyson. You read that right, "we." Greyson insisted that I should come with them. "But I want you to be there too. You helped me a lot in my studies and cheered me up whenever I felt discouraged." That's what he told me when I tried to decline because I thought it'd be weird if me, who's merely his nanny, would come with him for this special day. His father is there, so I find my presence really unnecessary. But when he said those words, my decision changed right away. I was flustered, needless to
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 69: FRESH PAGE
From that day, I always feel like I'm in deep water. The air between Garren and me became more asphyxiating. I might be the only one who thinks like that because he's still the same... minus the fact that he always does something that knocks me for six. There's no morning that I don't find flowers in my doorway. Lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, lilacs—you name it, Garren has already given it to me. My room looks like a garden now. But it's not just the mere reason why I've been feeling like a cat walking on a hot tin roof for the past three days. All the stolen gazes, the way he smiles and speaks to me, the way he treats me... everything that he does never fails to catch me off guard. Needless to say, it has occurred to me numerous times to make him stop. He's my boss and I'm his employee. Our relationship should be nothing more than that. I don't know what card this universe played to get us here. But every time I think of doing that, there's this inexplicable feeling that stirs
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 68: TULIPS
"What are you guys doing?" My body froze when I heard Greyson's voice. I turned to the side and saw him eyeing the two of us with utter bewilderment. With all my strength, I pushed Garren away. I felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off of my chest after that. "W-We..." I coughed and pinched my arm to calm my raving nerves. "Your d-dad and I-" "We were talking, buddy. I was asking Cleo about something." I'm glad Garren spoke up. It's the least that he could do for putting me in this situation. But Greyson doesn't seem like he bought his father's excuse. With a doubtful voice, he said, "Really? As far as I know, you don't have to be THAT close when talking to someone." I held my breath. Right. How stupid of me to think that this kid would fall for such a lie. He's not that gullible. The corner of Greyson's lips tugged upward all of a sudden. "Were you guys kissing?" My face has never turned red like an overripe tomato until now. I glared in Garren's direction, and
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 67: INSANE
"This is Earth, Cleo." I was pulled back to reality when Erick snapped a finger right in front of my face. I threw him a questioning look. "H-Huh?" He crinkled his nose. "I'm talking here but it seems like I'm with a ghost. Did you call me just to watch you space out?" Guilt struck me. "I'm sorry." This morning, I messaged Erick and asked him if he was free and if he's up to go out. Aside from the fact that this is my way to fulfill my promise to him... I have to take a pause and breathe. And obviously, staying in that house won't give me peace of mind. With what happened last night, I don't think I'll ever keep my heart and mind at bay anymore. Everything is still etched in my mind. The peculiar emotions in Garren's eyes that seemed to stare at the deepest part of my soul. His calloused hands that fondled my skin. The way he held me was as if I were frail glass that he didn't want to break. And those three words... Who would have thought that they could cause pandemonium in my
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 66: UNDER THE NIGHT SKY
Silence hovered between us for a couple of seconds. Nothing could be heard but the silent whisper of the night breeze and the crickets. "Doing what?" Garren asked, breaking the stillness at last. I raised the bracelet he gave. "This. Why are you doing this-" "Didn't I tell you the reasons? It was a token of appreciation. I didn't know you could be this-" "I'm not merely talking about this bracelet, sir." For the first time, I found the courage to cut him off, knowing how much he loathes that. "You're confusing me." I don't know if what I'm doing is right or if I'm digging my own grave. But I can no longer bottle these up. "Everything about you confuses me." His eyes widened a fraction. I know he's as anxious as I am. "Do you seriously think that I didn't notice you'd changed after that day that you brought us to the amusement park? Well, I do. And until now, I still don't know the reason why." I looked at him straight in the eyes. "I didn't confront you because I didn
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 65: NO ESCAPE
"Why is the mansion silent?" That was the first question that Greyson asked when we arrived home. We exchanged knowing glances. I saw Garren using his phone a while ago. He must have already notified them about our arrival. "They're probably resting," Xavier answered. The child pouted. He's possibly thinking that the others won't be celebrating with him today. Garren stepped forward and slightly opened the door. He turned to his son and smiled. "Go on, buddy." The latter frowned, but he didn't say anything and just entered the house. "Congratulations!" Greyson was startled as all the maids, led by Claudette, surprised him with a huge congratulatory banner and balloons. He hasn't recovered from that when someone emerged from behind them carrying a cake. The smile on my face dropped, but I quickly put it back because I don't want to spoil the fun and cast a shadow over this celebration. "I'm so proud of you, moonpie! Top of your class. You're without a doubt my grandson,"
The Billionaire's Oasis CHAPTER 64: THE RECOGNITION DAY
The day that Greyson has been waiting for has finally come- his recognition day. The entire mansion is in chaos in preparation for this day. Cynthia told me that this is the first time this has happened because last year when he graduated preschool, his father only gave me a present. But he wants to make a difference today. Hence, all the maids are busy in the kitchen. And after we leave, they will also put up some banners and balloons to surprise Greyson. You read that right, "we." Greyson insisted that I should come with them. "But I want you to be there too. You helped me a lot in my studies and cheered me up whenever I felt discouraged." That's what he told me when I tried to decline because I thought it'd be weird if me, who's merely his nanny, would come with him. His father is there, so I find my presence unnecessary. But when he said those words, my decision changed right away. I was flustered, needless to say. Hearing that from him gave me a sense of gratification.
