Chapter 16

THIRD PERSON POV

After class, Ash and Martha had suggested they get something to eat at a Café nearby, and go through their assignments together. At the Cafe, they noticed Happiness was not her usual self, and they kicked each other's legs under the table, gesturing to the other to speak up.

Martha sipped her iced coffee, her eyes narrowing on Ash as she watched Happiness shuffle through her notes, the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows. The three of them were sitting in their usual spot at the campus café, but something was... off.

Happiness had always been focused — almost to a fault — but today she seemed miles away, her pen tapping absentmindedly against her notebook.

“So,” Martha began, leaning forward with a sly smile, “when were you going to tell us about him?”

Happiness’s head snapped up, her brows knitting in confusion. “Him?”

“Yes. Him, of course.” Ash tilted her head, giving her friend a knowing look.

Happiness rolled her eyes, but the faint flush creeping up her neck gave her away. “There’s nothing to tell.”

Martha raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Because you’ve been... different lately. Lighter, somehow. And the way you just smiled when I said “him” without giving his name? Dead giveaway.”

Happiness groaned, burying her face in her hands. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” Martha countered, her grin widening. “Because if you’re blushing this hard over a guy you barely care about, I’d hate to see you with someone you actually like.”

Ash snickered.

“I don’t… How do you know it's a guy?” Happiness asked, but Ash cut her off with a wave of her hand.

“Save it. We’ve known you for a while now, Happy. Something’s happening, and we don’t need you to confirm it. Just... let us be nosy and live vicariously through you.”

Happiness sighed, but there was a faint smile playing on her lips now. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

“Oh, you’ve opened the floodgates now,” Martha teased, leaning closer. “Let’s start simple. His name? Where did you guys meet? Is he a student? Do you like him?”

Happiness hesitated, her gaze dropping to the table. “That’s not simple.” She rolled her eyes at their eager faces. “Mason, and No, he is not a student. Do I like him? I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “He’s... complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

“He’s guarded. Quiet. But when he does open up, it’s like he sees right through me. It’s... unsettling.”

Ash nodded, her teasing demeanor softening. “And you? How do you feel when you’re around him?”

Happy’s fingers traced the edge of her notebook, her expression pensive. “Safe,” she said after a moment. “But also... scared. Like he could see every part of me, even the ones I’m not ready to share.”

Martha and Ash reached out at the same time, covering Happiness’s hand with their own. “That doesn’t sound like nothing, Happy.” Ash said softly.

“I know,” Happiness said with a faint laugh. “And that’s the problem.”

For a moment, they sat in silence, the chatter of the café fading into the background.

“Listen,” Martha said finally, her tone serious now. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay to let someone in, but it’s also okay to take your time. Just... don’t shut him out because you’re scared.”

Happy looked up, meeting Martha’s gaze. “Thanks. I hope he doesn't shut me out first.”

“Anytime. Why do you think he would?” Martha asked.

Happiness sighed, her face downcast. “He has baggages of his own.”

Ash smiled sadly. “Everyone does. You just have to compliment each other.”

Martha leaned back with a smile. “Now, about his abs — on a scale of one to ten?”

Happy groaned, throwing a napkin at her, and the tension between them dissolved into laughter.

***

The soft hum of Sandra's car engine filled the otherwise silent cabin as she pulled into the private parking garage. Her mind churned as she replayed the snippets of information she had gatherred over the past few weeks.

Mason.

Happiness.

The two names had been popping up together far more than she anticipated. At first, she had dismissed it as proximity—two people simply sharing a space due to circumstance. But now...

Now it was becoming something else.

Sandra leaned back in her seat, tapping her fingers rhythmically against the steering wheel. She had always prided herself on being one step ahead, on seeing the full chessboard while others focused on a single move. Yet, for the first time in years, she felt the faint stirrings of unease.

Happiness was meant to be a means to an end, someone who would disrupt Mason's carefully curated world without much effort. She was just there so Sandra could know if he'll open his heart again, which he did. She wasn’t supposed to mean anything to him.

And yet, she was becoming significant. Not just to Mason but to the dynamic Sandra had so carefully cultivated.

Sandra couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or impressed.

“She’s smarter than I gave her credit for,” he muttered under her breath.

With a sigh, she reached for her phone and scrolled through the most recent update from her source—discreet photos of Happiness and Mason at the market. The way Mason looked at her wasn’t the detached, calculated demeanor Sandra was accustomed to seeing after their fallout. There was something genuine there.

It unsettled her.

She tapped on one of the photos, zooming in on Mason’s face. Her love, if she could still call him that, looked unguarded, almost soft. It was a side of Mason Sandra hadn’t seen in years, when they were still together.

“That’s going to be a problem,” Sandra murmured.

The key to manipulating Mason had always been his distance. his reluctance to connect, to trust. If Happiness was breaking through that wall, she wasn’t just disrupting Mason’s life—she was jeopardizing Sandra’s control.

A knock on the window startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced up to see one of her associates, a tall man in a sharp suit, gesturing for her to roll down the window.

“Ma'am,” the man said as the window lowered. “We’ve received confirmation about the next move. The timing is perfect.”

Sandra nodded, her mind snapping back to the bigger picture. “Good. Keep it subtle. We don’t want any loose ends.”

“And the girl?”

Sandra hesitated, her gaze flicking back to the photo on her phone. She studied Happiness’s expression—bright, open, entirely unguarded. She had no idea what she had been pulled into.

For a brief moment, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. But she quickly pushed it aside.

“Keep an eye on her,” she said finally, her tone cool. “She’s proving to be... an unexpected variable. If she gets too close to Mason, we’ll have to adjust.”

The associate nodded and stepped back, disappearing into the shadows of the garage.

Sandra stared at the photo one last time before locking her phone and stepping out of the car. The air in the garage was cool, crisp, and it did little to clear the haze of her thoughts.

As she made her way toward the elevator, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Enjoy your facade while you can, Mason,” she murmured. “Because soon, it’s all going to come crashing down, and you're going to be mine again.”