"With highest honors, Amara Francesca Acosta!" I was greeted by a fancy applause. Today is our moving up ceremony, the day that most of my fellow grade 10 students have been waiting for. I am happy, not because of the medals hanging on me today, but because I have held it for another year. Thank God for guiding me throughout the school year.
I came down the stage with a smile on my face especially when I saw someone smiling while looking at me. He was in the back, sitting and eyes straight at me."Congrats Amara!" greetings from a few of my kabatchmates after the ceremony. I also greeted them with all smiles. Of course, picture-taking is not lost."Congrats to us, sissy!" Lalaine shouted happily then without saying a word hugged me tightly."What are you, Laine. I guess it's your OA. You thought we graduated from college."He let go of me. "We should still be thankful that we got here! Don't be killjoy Amara!""I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I looked at my reflection on the mirror and I saw a beautiful young woman in a simple peach dress. This was the dress that my mother gave me as a gift on my birthday last year. And tonight I just decided to wear it, the night when the celebration for Raxon's mom's birthday will be held. I was never been fond of dresses, and I don't wear it as a casual attire. But this night is different. I'm going to a big party. So of course, I should wear an appropriate attire for that occasion. As I closed my eyes, a face of a particular man flashed on my mind. The words he said the last time we met came to my mind again. It was the words that keep on wandering in my mind for the past day. I love you, Amara I could not speak when he said those words. I was shocked and my heart was beating so fast and hard. I fainted and did nothing but let him hug me during those hours. It's just, I never expect
"Oh, why are your eyes puffy?" Mama immediately asked when I got home. Auntie approached us as well. Because of being emotional, I couldn't stop myself from crying before. That was too much for me to take. When I decided to go to that celebration I knew it was possible that would happen. But ... I just didn't expect it to be like that. Senyora was very mad by just looking at my face. Maybe when he saw my face that looked like mama's, his mood immediately changed. But the question is, what does being Acosta have to do with his hatred of me? I know, he doesn't accept that I'm from a lower social class but I feel that's not the only reason he's so mad at me. What did I do wrong? Or is it more correct to say, what did mama do? "Amara, what happened?" mama asked worriedly. I fainted sitting in a chair while mama was in front of me, standing and obviously worried. Of course they would be worried about me, but I just can't help myself to be emotional. Little did I k
"Prepare yourselves, the bus is leaving!" I sighed and looked at the cellphone. 34 missed calls. 21 messages. All of that came from Raxon. I no longer bothered to look at the messages and immediately turned off the phone. I removed the simcard and threw it out the bus window. Because of that, mama looked at me. He was sitting next to me while my aunt was in the back. I averted my eyes because I knew tears were forming in my eyes again. Damn. Why do I get tired so easily? "Are you okay, Amara?" "A-Ah, yes .." He did not speak. That moment, I realized something. Why am I hurting like this? Why is it so hard for me to leave him? Why is it that every time I think that we will never meet again, my heart seems to be stabbed? I smiled bitterly. It's all simply because I already ... loved him. Only now do I realize why he is so important to me. Why even with all that is happening now I still want to see him ... hug, and
Damn. My headache and I feel like my whole body is numb. When I opened my eyes the white ceiling greeted me. Where am I? I was going to get up but I couldn't because of the devices placed in my body. It was there that I realized I was in the hospital. I looked around the room and saw no one but me. Where is mom? Si tiya? I sighed as I remembered what had happened. A large truck hit the bus we were riding in. Are they okay mom? Are they in another room? I'm sure they'll get hurt just like me. In the middle of the thought the door suddenly opened. An unfamiliar woman who I think was in her mid forties entered with a doctor. "It's okay and you're awake, hija. Are you feeling okay?" language of the doctor. "Y-My mom and aunt, where is their room?" he was silent and could not answer. The woman, on the other hand, remained staring at me but there was a trace of concern on her gentle face.
"Happy birthday!" Arci and Denise greeted at the same time. I smiled at them. "You're twenty-four years old, France. Do you still have no plans to have a boyfriend?" I shook once. That's really true. I still don't have any plans on getting involved on a relationship. There are many more important things I have to focus on than men. That can wait, right? There is a right time for everyone so things should not be rushed. "How about brother Arnaiz? You should at least try him, sister." "That's a bad idea, Denise." Arci just laughed. "Why not, France? My cousin isn't that bad. And during the time he was flirting with you, he must have loved you very much." "Yeah right." I was weakly shocked when Arnaiz suddenly appeared and touched my waist. I looked at him badly. "What the hell are you doing, Arnaiz?" I asked, trying to control my temper. "Obviously, I'm holding you." "Oh Denise, we'd better
One week had passed since that day. I already started my work on dad's shipping company. Nothing strange happened. Everything went smoothly except one thing. It's about Arnaiz. He always ruined my morning. Every morning, he comes home early to take me to work. Whenever the afternoon came, he was always there to pick me up. I can't say no to him. He's so persistent, and that makes my head ache. "Architect, your loverboy is already downstairs." Adeline whispered softly giggling. It's already eight in the evening, time to go home. I just arranged the things and left the building. And as usual, Arnaiz was confidently leaning in his car's door, gaining so much attention from the staffs. I was stunned for a moment when I remembered. It was Raxon who always does this thing years ago. He is always there whenever I go out of school. He is always the one I expect to see and he is the reason why I am always excited to be after class. But then, not now. Every
"Hija, I would like to ask you something. Is it okay with you?" I took a sip on my juice before I asked him. "What is it dad?" We are here today in a fine dining restaurant, eating dinner with mommy. But even with them I still can't forget what happened last night. I still remember how I cried and how Arnaiz comforted me. He didn't force me to say what happened, he just continued to give me the comfort I needed that time. Somehow I was relieved because of him. I really didn't think that he could be useful to me. "There's a big jewelry auction in Barcelona this coming Saturday night. We are invited, but unfortunately, we have something important for your mom to do. We need to meet a big time client in Canada. So I thought, why not just did you go to the auction to represent our family? " "Well, that's fine with me." "Thank you hija. And by the way, Arnaiz will come with you." I almost choked on what I heard. It would have been okay if I
As soon as I entered the auction venue, I was immediately greeted by some of their mom acquaintances. The theme of the event is gold and silver which signifies wealth and class. Beautiful jewelry crossed my eyes which was the center of the event. Those jewelries suddenly reminded me of someone. How is Lalaine? She really loves fashion especially jewelries. Since the day I left San Alfresco, we haven't had any communication. I wonder, could they have been Ravin? Is she married yet? How I wish our paths would meet again. Despite everything that has happened, I still hope that we will meet one day. She's always been a good friend to me back then. "France!" Jerova approached me. He is the famous designer who designed the jewelry that is here today. She's a good friend of mom. And I noticed that even in her mid -fours, her beauty did not fade. Such a beautiful woman. "It's nice to see you again, tita. By the way, you really look beautiful in that nude
Raxon's POVThe next day dad called an emergency meeting when a news broke. It was published in a news article that a ship we were going to the United States set sail even overloaded. That news made my head ache. But despite this I am thankful nothing bad happened in the middle of the voyage. Coincidentally we will lose a few millions. And our company's credibility would surely be questioned. It might even lead to bankruptcy. I sighed sensibly exiting the conference room. Dad was obviously in trouble. Even though there was nothing wrong with the voyage, it was still a big loss to us, especially since there were more than two thousand people on board the ship. We were the most trusted in this industry, and now ... I don't know. This problem really needs to be addressed. And I think a presscon can do something. We just need to deliver to people that it didn’t really happen on purpose. For the investors, they just need an explanation. Ma
I sighed. Manila's polluted air welcomed our arrival. I admit, I was a little sad on our way home. Those three days in that place made me feel so alive. I had time to think things through. Raxon and I also had more time to clarify everything. What happened in the past pained the both of us. He was hurt, I was also devastated. I was too young to engage in a serious relationship. Meanwhile, he was too powerless compared to his mother. And now, I learned to accept that it was the wrong time for our love. "I'll deliver you." I immediately shook my head, rejecting his offer. "I'll just take a taxi." "Amara ---" "Rax, please? They might be surprised mom. I don't want them to be surprised at first, especially since my departure was sudden. Let me handle this one." He sighed. "But I'll see you tomorrow." That was not a question. It's a statement. "Maybe you're busy ---" "I'll make time." "Alright." In hi
He looked up. I swallowed hard, can't take the intensity of his dark stare. But I just stayed where I was, openly staring at him as he slowly got out of the water. He took the white towel to the side, not cutting our gaze. He wiped the water in his face, down to his neck and bare chest. He immediately walked in afterwards. I stayed in my position, though. I'm not sleepy yet and the air here is relieved. I felt relieved on the stress and pressure I'm feeling these past days. I was a little stressed because of the company. As the Soldevilla heiress, it's already expected that I'm the one who's gonna take over the company. And with that, the pressure is killing me. I don't want to disappoint people who consider me family. A few moments later, the door opened. I didn't look at it because I knew it was Raxon who entered. "Not yet sleepy?" He stand beside me with his hand resting on the back of my waist. I glanced at him. He's now wearing a
I adjusted my posture before following Raxon to see who was knocking. I was somewhat uneasy because of what just happened."Hi Rax!" It was a beautiful woman, maybe on her mid-twenties. It had a big smile but when it came to me the look suddenly disappeared. Raxon's admirer, huh? Maybe, they are close. It just went in and went straight to the room. "Katrina." She looked at him again and smiled sexily. He openly glared at Raxon's body which I almost felt. The fool, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care if anyone sees him naked. "I heard you were coming, so I went right away." I couldn't escape the fact that her breasts were almost bulging because of the clothes she was wearing. I was overwhelmed with irritation. Just when I'm on the verge of leaving them, Raxon held my waist. I notice the sourness of the woman’s face because of that. "Yes. We want to take a vacation for a while. By the way, this is Amara. My fianceé." Katrina's mouth d
That question made me numb. My throat ran dry and I can feel my weak knees, almost trembling because of mixed up emotions. I could not speak. After all those years of pain, he's now here beside me. So close, yet it feels like he remained unreachable. I kept my gaze on the blue sea, no intention of answering. Silence enveloped us. I don't want to lie. I don't want him to know my real feelings, either. So I chose to remain silent. Even in reality, I want to know a lot. I have a lot to ask him. I want to know what happened in his life after I left. Even if I can be hurt by whatever I discover, I still want to know it. Though we can't do anything about the past, I still want to know his side. He was not to blame for what happened, yet I blamed him. I was driven by anger at his mother and hatred of everything that happened. And also, I blamed him for not doing anything, for not fighting for me. But on the other hand, I thought maybe he didn
I didn't move. My throat was dry and I was wondering what to do. Should I just leave him? I looked at him again. His eyes were closed as one hand gripped the steering wheel tightly as if he wanted to destroy and crush it. "Why aren't you moving?" He asked while eyes were still closed. I blew air before speaking. "You, why aren't you driving yet?" He opened his eyes and looked at me intently. But I immediately shifted my gaze. At times like this I couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. It feels like the emotion in his eyes can burn me into ashes. "What do you mean? Are you coming?" He couldn't believe the question. "Why, don't you?" I noticed the lift of the corner of his lip. I averted my gaze. Am I doing it right? Did I make the right decision to go with him even though I did not know where he would take me? "Fasten your seatbelt." He commanded. Oh, right. I almost forgot about you. After I locked my seatbelt,
It's a Tuesday evening. When I came out of work, I first went to a café to buy drinks. Last night I had almost no sleep, and it's because of that stupid Arnaiz. Because of his condition, I did not send him home. I just let him stay on one of our guestrooms, took care of him and stayed by his side all night. He was burning with fever and I couldn’t leave him. So I told him today not to pick me up and just rest. It's good that he listened to me. In the midst of thinking, a familiar woman who just entered the café caught my attention. It's Doctor Vina. I sighed. What a coincidence. I don't know what relationship they have with Raxon, but I think they're closed with each other. They were batchmates then and still are together. They even pursued the same course. Same doctor. What a perfect match. I no longer looked at him and focused on something else while drinking coffee. But it was only a matter of time before someone stopped in
Before I could protest he pulled me away from there. I didn’t see Arci’s reaction but I’m sure he was wondering what Raxon did. She knows nothing about my past with him. In what happened was probably what else he could think. But... Why am I being pulled by this man? "Let me go, Doctor Bermudez." He didn't respond. I want to be calm. But how can I calm down in what he is doing? "Stop this bullshit." He didn't listen to me until I realized that we were going to the parking lot. "Let me go." I strongly promise. "What?!" I couldn't stop myself from raising my voice. This time, he stopped. We're now in the middle of the parking area, alone together. My heart pounded the moment he faced me. His eyes settled on me. That's serious. Deep, dark and caustic. "What do you need, Doctor? If you really want to talk to me, is it really necessary to go here? And one more thing, what is really the reason and you want me to talk privately?" "Is
"J-Just... Just stop these bullshits, Raxon. I don't have time for this." I promised hoarsely, confused by what he was saying. Do his words make sense? Did he really mean it? "What else do you want? Why are you still bothering me? I have nothing to do with you, so stay away from me..." I don't want to be hurt anymore.His jaw clenched and his eyes became darker. His mouth opened slightly but not a single word came out of it. It was like he stopped his self from speaking. The wind blew hard, a cloud covered the moon as he turned his back on me. "I will do what you want, Amara. I will leave you alone." His cold voice equaled the cold atmosphere. I swallowed, not knowing what to say. I don't want to see him anymore. I don't want to talk to him anymore. I want him away. But why now that he has turned his back and is ready to walk away from me is hurting me? "But only this time. This is the only time I'll give you what you want. Only now." Those are his las