Chapter 1: Meeting Clyden

Maia

I sat down at the dining room table and waited for my husband’s return. It was his birthday today, and I wanted to celebrate it with him. I cooked all of his favorite food and even traveled for an hour to his favorite bakeshop just to buy the chocolate cake that he loves.

“Ma’am, Mr. Gonzalo is currently out on a business meeting with the Ledgers, and he will most definitely not be coming home tonight. I would advise you to go back to your room and not wait for him anymore so that I can clean up the table.”

I’d been waiting for about an hour when Gertrude, the Gonzalo family’s maid, came in to persuade me not to wait for him anymore.

For some reason, I always feel like Gertrude isn’t very fond of me. Although she hasn’t really said or done anything out of line, her tone held a sense of superiority. I could also sometimes catch her looking at me with a hint of disgust. 

Actually, ever since I moved here to the Gonzalo mansion, almost everyone in the house throws me disgusted looks. In comparison, they’d always welcome Addison Ledger, the daughter of the Gonzalo family’s business partners, every time she visits. 

“It’s okay, Gertrude. I’ll wait for him. He told me earlier this morning that he’ll come back earlier than usual.”  I said in a small voice.

Gertrude seems to intentionally slam the glass of water in front of me, startling me out of my seat. I looked at Gertrude with shock, but she was still just smiling at me as if she didn’t do anything at all.

I sat down, alone, once again, and reminisced upon the time that the people in this house started despising me. 

They have always been indifferent to my presence. It’s probably because Clyden had never really shown his fondness for me, so the other people from his family never deemed me as his lover. I was just... there. 

However, they started acting differently when my family’s company suddenly went bankrupt. It’s as if the only thing that they respected about me was gone in a blink of an eye. I became an unworthy member of their wealthy family. 

I sighed because I didn’t have the guts to question their unfair treatment toward me. Although my feelings get hurt most of the time, I don’t want to start any conflicts because they are the people who Clyden grew up with. I’m afraid that if I quarrel with them, then Clyden’s feelings will only grow more distant.

I sat there for a while until I felt my eyes getting heavier and heavier. I tried to fight my tiredness, but in the end, I fell asleep on the table.

I was awoken by the excited chatters of the servants, so I rubbed my tired eyes awake and went nearer to the door. Clyden must have gone home since they were all busy preparing for his return.

I stood behind the servants and excitedly waited for my husband’s return. However, it wasn’t Clyden who went inside the house, but his older sister Jasmine. 

She walked in, her wrists and neck clad with gold jewelry. She brought down her shades and looked around. Her face distorted into a disgusted grimace when she saw me behind the maids.

“What is she doing here?” She asked quietly, but I still heard her. 

“You must not have known since you’ve been overseas for a while, madam, but Mrs. Gonzalo is now living with us since her father died because of their company’s bankruptcy.”

My eyes widened as I listened to them conversate. I never expected them to stoop this low and talk about my father’s death in front of my face. 

I thought that Jasmine would scold Gertrude for saying foul words, but she just laughed upon hearing the news. “That sucks! And don’t call her Mrs. Gonzalo. It’s disgusting to hear her being associated with our family. Just call her Maia or something.”

“Yes, madam.” Gertrude happily responded and looked at me with a victorious grin.

I clenched my fists in anger but did not respond. I should become the bigger person in this situation. I went back to the dining room table and waited for Clyden’s return.

However, Jasmine came into the room and looked at the full table in a mocking manner. 

“Did you cook all of these?” 

I simply looked away and ignored her.

She chuckled. “Oh, what a pity. My brother’s probably not coming home tonight since he’s in a business meeting with the Ledgers. He and Addison will also probably get dinner together, so all of your efforts will just be wasted.”

I looked back at her when she mentioned Addison, and she still had a cocky look on her face.

“But don’t worry! We can always feed them to the stray dogs outside the mansion. I’m sure they’ll be very happy with eating such scrumptious dog food.” She said while leaving the kitchen.

I sighed in frustration and brushed my hair back with my hands. I wanted to say something once again, but my words are probably just going to be used against me.

It’s already 11 PM in the evening, but Clyden hasn’t come back yet. Maybe he really is out having dinner with Addison.

I looked at all the food I made and felt disappointed. I was actually lying when I told Gertrude that Clyden would be coming home earlier than usual. He never really said something like that to me in the morning.

I just sent him a lot of text messages asking if he would come join me for dinner, and I was elated to see that he had sent me a thumbs-up emoji. 

I thought that it held meaning since Clyden rarely replied to me. Clyden has always been a man of few words. Ever since I met him back in college, he rarely talked to me for a long period of time. 

I smiled as I remembered the first time that I saw him.

***

5 years ago

I rolled down the window of our BMW and peered up at my new school. It was my first day of university, and I hoped that it would be different from my previous schools. 

I got out of our car, and I could see some people glancing my way. I shyly looked down and walked faster because I never really liked attention. I was grateful when the bell rang, and all students started rushing to their classrooms. I, too, walked even faster because I didn’t want to be late on my first day.

I quickly entered the busy lecture hall and settled down in the back near the windows. Since the lecture hall was so wide, I didn’t expect someone to sit next to me, but a petite girl with curly hair sat down next to me. 

I glanced at her and smiled. She stared at me absent-mindedly, so I blushed and looked down. She was still staring at me after a couple of seconds, so I cleared my throat and asked, “Is there something on my face?”

I was shocked when she slapped her face and shook her head. “Oh, sorry. You were just too pretty that I lost my thought for some time.”

My eyes widened. Did she just say that I’m pretty? “You flatter me. You’re much more beautiful than me.”

She scoffed and sarcastically said, “Yeah, thanks.”

“It’s true, though!” I added. 

I was glad when she genuinely smiled at me. “You know what? With that face of yours, I thought you’re going to be a snobby little bitch. But, you’re actually very nice. My name’s Camille, by the way. What’s yours?”

She offered her hand to me so I shook it.

“Maia. You can call me Maia.” 

“Okay, Maia, want to have lunch with me on the grounds later?”

Without any hesitation, I nodded my head. 

I think this school year’s going to be alright.

***

Lunch finally came, and I was lucky enough that Camille and I had the same class before lunch. We walked side-by-side as we walked towards the grounds. “The grounds” is like the melting-pot of all students here at Haven University. It catered to all types of students since there were many food trucks on the side and there were also sports grounds located at every stop.

We decided to sit by the basketball bleachers after buying tacos from one of the food trucks. 

“So, are you from around here?” Camille asked while chewing on her crispy vegan tacos. 

“Ahh, yes. I’ve lived here since I was young.” 

She tilted her head in confusion and looked at my face. “That’s strange. I’ve also lived here since forever, but I haven’t seen you at all. Which high school did you go to, exactly? Crestview? Granite Bay?”

I shook my head. “St. Xaviers.” 

“Woah. The Catholic school for rich kids? Yeah, I should have known better. So, you must be rich, eh?” She nudged me on the shoulders.

I froze. The reason why I transferred to a community college is to have a fresh start. I had some friends back then who would extort money from me, and I didn’t even notice. Camille must have noticed that I was getting uncomfortable, so she gently pushed my shoulder.

“It’s not like that matters, anyway. We’re all here to do the same thing— to study and make it out alive, right?”

I nodded my head, relieved that she didn’t push it. “Yes, you’re absolutely right! To studying and making it out alive.” 

We both took a sip from our drinks and smiled at our newfound friendship.

We were peacefully eating when we heard giggles and hushed whispers start to erupt in the basketball grounds. I looked around and saw nothing unusual, just the basketball players coming in. 

“What’s happening?” I asked Camille.

She waved her hands in front of her and said, “Same old, same old. They’re just excited to see their king and savior, Clyden Gonzalo.”

I chuckled, “King and savior?” 

“You don’t know him? He’s quite famous here in the city.”

I frowned. Clyden? I’ve never really heard of his name.

“Figures. St. Xavier students are like isolated from the rest of the city. Well, Clyden was my schoolmate back in high school, and he was treated like a god! You know those cliche high school romance movies where the main character appears to be perfect? Well, that’s Clyden. He had good grades, good looks, and he also excels in sports. I mean, I’m asexual, but I also thought that he was really good-looking. He has one flaw, though.”

I looked at her curiously.

“He’s as cold as Antarctica! He doesn’t really speak to anybody besides his close friends, and he has rejected countless girls and guys without giving them a chance. I personally think that he’s rude, but it also creates the delusion that he’s a bad boy. Talk about being in character, am I right?”

I shook my head and laughed. “Well, he does sound like the main character. Where is he?” I sat straighter so that I could catch a glimpse at “Clyden.”

“Oh, you’ll know when you see him.”

Just then, it felt like the world had come to a halt. I thought Camille was only exaggerating when she said that he was really good-looking. But, he was really good-looking. Probably even the most attractive guy that I’ve seen for my entire life. 

My heart skipped a beat.

Oh no. What the hell is this that I’m feeling? Whenever I saw other girls on books and television experiencing the phenomena of “love at first sight,” I would always think that they’d have to be joking. I mean, how can one love another with just their appearance? Doesn’t that make them shallow?

Well, I swallowed those words very quickly. I think I just experienced it myself.

Clyden stood tall, so much taller than his peers, and he had honey blonde hair, green eyes, and tan skin. A person like this was living in Haven city, and I hadn't even noticed? I placed my hand on my chest to calm my beating heart as I looked at Clyden’s cold stature playing on the basketball court. 

He effortlessly shot the ball toward the ring; each shot accurately making it in. I could hear other people’s cheers, but I drowned them out. All that I could see was the beautiful man who played without any care in the world.

My trance was broken, however, when Camille snapped her fingers in front of my eyes. “Ah, I thought you’d be different, but you actually fell for Clyden’s charms.”

I blushed and held onto my warm cheeks, making my lips puffer. “I did not. He’s just very attractive, that’s all!”

She rolled her eyes and continued eating her taco. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. But I could practically see butterflies and flowers floating around you while looking at him. Don’t get your hopes up too much, girl. He’s very relentless with his rejections.”

I just scratched my head and didn’t respond. One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I’m a hopeless romantic. There were some suitors who tried to pursue me in the past, but I rejected them all because I was afraid that they were only going to use me for my money. 

However, this time is different. I’m actually the one who has the thought of pursuing him. I smiled to myself as I thought of Clyden becoming mine. I shook my head to get rid of my fantastical thoughts. I’m going to take it slow.

But one thing’s for sure. 

I like Clyden Gonzalo.