Haylee's POV:
Suddenly a cold breeze hit my face, my tears dried up and my vision became clear again. That's when I came to the realisation that the guy in front of me was not really a stranger to me.
He was the hottest guy in our high school because of his good look, his broad shoulders, and his well-built body. Did I forget to mention it? He was also rich, but I didn't know how rich he was. He just looked rich from the way he dressed and acted.
He was Nathaniel Anderson also known by his popular name 'Niel'. Niel was not just some typical rich boy who was dumb on the inside, wasting daddy's money sending him to school. No! Niel was the complete opposite. He was a smart kid and he was also very good at sports. The right word for him was 'Perfect Creature'. He was the complete package of a perfect creature.
"Why are you so sad to leave such an awful house? You should be happy," he said to me with his hoarse voice. To be honest, this was the first time that we actually had a direct conversation.
Although Niel and I were classmates for over two years already, we never talked in person. He had his own popular guys gang and I have my own friends among the 'not so cool' kids. I was absolutely out of his league. Only the popular and rich girls at school got to talk with Niel. Obviously, I wasn't one of them.
I didn't know how to react to his sudden appearance. Why was he here? Why would he even be in this poor neighbourhood? I was so baffled by what happened to me and I just stared at him. 'How can he talk to me? It's impossible.' My heart was in shock.
With my mind was still in a daze, he suddenly grabbed me by the waist and dragged me away with him. He brought me to a red Porsche Cayman GT4 car that was parked at the roadside. Why didn't I noticed that car before? It was rare for a luxurious car like that to be parked inside my neighbourhood. Probably because I just got chased out from home, I didn't notice anything strange that happened today.
Being like a gentleman, he opened the passenger door and invited me to get into his red Porsche. And then he walked around the car and got into the driver's seat as well. He was about to start his car when I interrupted him.
"What are you doing?" I asked him softly with my sobbing voice.
He looked at me and smiled widely this time.
"I'm going to drive," he said simply.
"I mean... What are you trying to do to me?" I asked again with suspicion.
"Would you rather I leave you there on the street in front of your house to cry alone?" He asked me back. I quickly shook my head.
"I thought so," he said after seeing my reaction.
He then started the car and left the neighbourhood in a hurry. I knew it was strange, but I hadn't had a choice too. Going away with Niel was a far better option than having to stand in the rain, crying myself alone. So, I just sat still inside his car, trusting him to take good care of me even though my heart kept asking, 'Where the hell did he want to take me to?'
***
"Where are we going?" Haylee asked Niel as soon as the car drove away from the poor neighbourhood.
"To the mall," Niel answered her simply.
Haylee was still in a daze. She just got chased out from home so she had mixed feelings. Whatever it was, going away with Niel was far better than standing still in front of her house waiting for her unreasonable mother to let her back in. But she was still feeling suspicious with Niel sudden appearance. Why would he even be there in the first place?
"Why are you in front of my house just now?" She asked out of curiosity.
Probably because she just got chased out by her mother, she felt brave to ask Niel because what other worst trouble could she got into anyway. Her whole life just ended the moment her mother threw her out to the street. If she was in school, she would never have had the courage to talk to Niel, he was totally out of reach.
"I just happen to pass by," he answered cheerfully.
'What is it with this guy? Is he lack empathy? Can't he see that I'm broken? I just got chased out from home and he was happy about it,' Haylee mumbled in her heart.
Haylee stared on the road at the front, she was so sad before, but now she felt absolutely annoying with the man who was driving.
"Why are we going to the mall?" She asked more.
"Your clothes are wet. You need a new one."
"I don't have money though."
"Who said you will be the one who's paying?"
Haylee turned her gaze to Niel in dissatisfaction. 'Is he trying to squander his dollar bills on me?'
Probably she stared at him for too long, Niel glanced back at her and gave her a wide smile. She suddenly felt creepy by his smile, so she quickly turned her head to the front again, avoiding his eye contact.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the mall. Haylee was embarrassed to get out of the car because she was totally drenched by the rain before. Her hair was wet and she looked miserable. But Niel forced her out of the car and dragged her around the mall. There were many eyes watching at them in puzzlement, Haylee was so shy that she just kept looking down all the time and let Niel led her way.He suddenly entered a luxurious clothes boutique. Again Haylee was hesitant to enter the shop, but Niel dragged her in."Good evening, Mr Anderson. What can I help you today?"A female shop assistant approached them in a hurry. She was smiling widely at them."Yes, Mary. Could you help this lady to find some clothes that suit her?"Niel talked so casually to the shop assistant as if he knew her before. Haylee was somewhat surprised. 'How could he call her by her first name? That shop assistant is obviously older than him.' She muttered in her heart, fee
Haylee blinked her eyes multiple times as if she couldn't believe what she just heard. Did he just say that he would buy her a house? 'This guy seems like having some split personalities. He wasn't like this when he was at school,' she thought.Niel dragged her out of the luxurious clothes boutique and then he stopped. He was scanning her again from top to bottom, then to top again."Right! You need some magic here," he said while pointing his finger to her face.He then dragged her to a beauty salon just three stores away from the clothes boutique just now. As usual, he entered the salon without hesitation and pulled Haylee inside too."Corry, help me with this one," He said casually to one of the men inside the salon. Apparently, this 'Corry' was the manager of the beauty salon."Mr Anderson, how rare! Who is this?" Corry asked with his face full of surprise."This is Baby Girl. I just came up with her cute name just now." Niel answered pl
Looking at Haylee that finally transformed from a miserable girl to a decent woman, Niel couldn't help but felt satisfied. He was scanning her again from top to bottom, then to top again."You're good now," he said and smiled at her.Haylee just stared at him in dubiousness. She too couldn't believe that she could transform so much in just hours. She then looked at her reflection from one of the glass walls of a store. She changed! She could hardly recognize herself."Do you have a cellphone?" Niel suddenly asked her.Haylee shook her head slowly. Niel straightened his body and with arms akimbo, he slightly frowned as he saw Haylee was shaking her head."Did your mom lost her mind?! Did she really try to kill you?! How can she just throw you out without anything?!" Niel was suddenly throwing a tantrum.Hearing him, Haylee's eyes started tearing. She looked down trying to hide her sad face. Niel instantly felt guilty as he saw her react
"Where are we going now?" Haylee asked in worried. "You know, that's the third time you ask me that question," Niel replied plainly. 'This girl is super insecure. Didn't I had brought her to the best place so far? You just wait. I'll show you the lakehouse. Can't wait to see your face if I throw the house key on your lap," He was thinking in annoyance. He drove towards the suburban area and about twenty minutes later, he entered a private area by going through a large electric gate. There was a big pavement road lead inside of the area and there was a lot of tall trees covering the pavement road from sunlight. He drove more further inside and at the end of the road, there was a big house made from glass and woods. The back of the house was built on a lake and the front part was built on the land. There was also a small guest house on the right side of the big house. Niel stopped his car. He was silent for a moment. He looked at Haylee who was silent t
Ben walked out of the lakehouse again and then after a while, he came in again bringing all those shopping bags that containing Haylee's clothes from the luxurious clothes boutique before. "Master, where should I put these?" Ben asked Niel. "Just put them in my room," Niel replied. "Your room?" Haylee and Ben asked in unison. "Yeah! I'm giving her my room. It's the biggest," Niel responded to Ben, but he's ignoring Haylee. Ben went straight to the master bedroom to put down the shopping bags. "Why should I sleep in your room?" Haylee asked with dissatisfaction, although her voice was still soft. She was always like that, she never raised her voice whenever she was angry or upset. She just showed them on her face. That's one of her nature. "Why do you think?" Niel's giving her a naughty look. Haylee's eyes got widened. She was mortified with the thoughts that came into her mind. 'Did he want to sleep with me?' Sh
Niel's POV:Today might be the darkest day of her life, but to me, it was the most wonderful day of my entire life. Haylee asked me before, why I was in front of her house this evening right after school. That's a long story for me to explain. So let's begin with some introductions of myself.My name is Nathaniel Anderson. I am the son of Meredith Hampton and William Anderson. My late grandfather, Frederick Anderson, wanted to unite the Hampton and Anderson families together so they could expand their business worldwide. Two business tycoons uniting together would bring a lot of fortune to both families for generations. That's what they wanted, but they failed.My mother, Meredith was betrothed to my father, William. They got married without love due to families pressure. Both families were expecting them to have a child, which would be the next heir for Hampton and Anderson entire fortune. That was supposed to be me.Meredith got pregnant a month after t
Haylee's POV: It was a weird dream. I dreamt that last night, mom chased me out from home. The hottest guy in my school, Niel Anderson came and took me away. He brought me to go shopping, and then he took me to his home. His house was big, I never stepped foot on a house that was as big as his house before. Then he bought me new books and school uniforms too. It was too good to be true. So, I'm quite sure it was all just a dream. Triiiiiiiiinnnnngggggg!!!!! What sound was that? It's so noisy! The sound got my head dizzy in an instant so I opened my eyes to see where the sound came from. Turned out it was just an alarm clock on the bedside table. I turned it off immediately while glaring at it with an annoyed face. How dare you wake me up from such a beautiful dream?! The clock showed six in the morning. That was still early, I usually got ready for school at six-thirty. So, I closed my eyes again, trying to take a nap. But wait! Why did my pillow feel
About thirty minutes later, the car almost arrived at the school. As requested, Ben dropped her off about two blocks away from the high school. "Miss Johnson, I will wait here for you again after school," Ben said to Haylee. "Okay, Ben. Thank you so much." "You're welcome, Miss Johnson. Have a nice day." "You too." Haylee got out of the car and walked hastily towards the school area. She saw Ben drive away leaving the scene behind. She looked forward again and focused her gaze on the school building in front of her. When she reached the school area, she saw a lot of students were grouping up surrounding something at the parking lot in front of the school main building. 'Did someone got hit by a car?' She wondered as her steps went closer to the scene as well, feeling curious about what happened. Turned out the students were actually looking at a red Porsche. Haylee stared at the car with uncanny feelings. 'Why did this car look
After Haylee was done cleaning herself up, Niel finally brought her up to the top floor again. It felt truly uncanny when he saw her smiling, laughing and even making some jokes to him while they were inside the elevator. He felt horrible inside because he remembered what happened to her last night. The fact that she forgot all about it was clear proof that her mental health was deteriorating.They entered the penthouse again and Niel's eyes swiftly went to look at the living room. The television was gone and the mess there had been cleaned up. The food was also had been served on the dining table."Where's the TV?" Haylee asked. She was weird that the television was gone. She tried to recall what happened last night but her head felt hurt instantly. She cried out in pain while holding her head with both arms."What's wrong?" Niel grabbed her body from falling. The woman looked like she was about to faint."Aspirin..." she said and Niel helped her to sit at the dining table first befo
Upon seeing her leaving the open kitchen and entering the bedroom, Niel rushed to the elevator and went up to his penthouse again. He took his spare key card of the condo unit and went down again. He just left his laptop on the floor in front of the condo. It only took him less than five minutes to return and he quickly went into the house.The first thing he did was go to the open kitchen and grabbed all the knives and cutleries. He put them inside a black plastic bag and hid them inside a bin. Then he carried the bin and put it into a cupboard inside another bedroom. He threw a bunch of towels and a blanket inside the cupboard to hide the bin even more.Then he came out to the living room and slowly went to the bedroom that Haylee entered before. He carefully twisted the knob to check if the door was locked. It was and he just stood there thinking about what he should do next. There was not a single sound from inside and that made his heart race. He didn't know if she was okay or hu
Seeing her become speechless, Niel smirked and just walked towards his bedroom again. She was so frustrated that she grabbed an empty wine bottle and threw it toward the television in the living room. The cracking sound of the screen made Niel panic and he ran back to the living room to check on her. He saw her grab another few wine bottles and try to throw them on the television again, just like before. She was acting like a lunatic and so he quickly hugged her body from behind, locking both her arms from moving to stop her violence. "You don't know shit! You don't know what it's like to be me! You don't know shit about me! I'm fucking tired of you! I fucking hated you! I fucking hated living with you!" She shouted frantically while struggling to free herself from him. Niel grabbed her body firm and even tighter, slowly had his eyes reddened and his cheeks felt hot. He didn't know why he was so angry at her yet felt hurt at the same time while looking at her losing her sanity. Hayle
Ashley gasped in disbelief at her words. She stared at Niel and saw the change in his expression. He looked absolutely grim. But Haylee simply looked relaxed as if she was not even in trouble.'So, what would happen if Haylee fails the subject?' Niel thought. Surely, one thing led to another. She would probably deliberately fail the other subjects too so she would need to repeat the first semester. If that happens, she would be moved to a new batch of students next semester and she won't be in the same class with him anymore for the next five semesters. And if somehow Haylee refuses to repeat the first semester and quit Kingston, she could appeal to get into Hudson University for July intake. She was being clever to him. She knew how to threaten him now too. In short, Niel could not afford to kick her out of the group and make her fail the subject, or else he would be the one at loss here. Slowly he released her arm and let her go reluctantly."Exactly," Haylee said arrogantly and wal
Haylee could feel her cheeks turn hot due to the embarrassment. The hall turned silent for split seconds with a lot of eyes staring at her. Niel boldly beckoned her to come to him. Haylee slowly walked down the stair pathway to go to the front. But then she noticed the mad looks Ashley and Linda gave her. She stopped unconsciously, reevaluating her choice whether she should go to Niel or not. It was obvious he wanted her in. In fact, it was not just Ashley and Linda who were looking at her hatefully right now. Haylee noticed that some other students were looking at her disdainfully too, probably those who had asked Niel to take them into his group before but got rejected."Why are you just standing there? Come here," Niel rebuked her gently, beckoning her to come to him again."Niel, how about if we just take Linda? Haylee didn't seem like she wanted to be in our group," Ashley suggested bravely."Why are you deciding for her?" Niel rebuked her coldly, totally a different treatment co
"Do you really think that I won't have a spare key card?" He ridiculed her and took out another key card from his pocket.She scoffed at him instantly. 'I knew it. He would never let me have my own privacy,' she muttered inwardly and just put the key card inside her backpack."That's not fair. I thought it was supposed to be my own place," she said deliberately to show her dissatisfaction."How is that not fair? You had access to my penthouse as well," Niel replied with a chuckle."Is this mean that I'll be living alone for real now? Can Martha live with me?" Haylee asked. Deep down inside, she was anticipating for that to happen for real. "No. I never said that. You're going to still be living with me, in my penthouse, our house. That condo unit was just for emergency. We're going to be studying here for three years. I'm sure at some point your friends or my friends would want to visit our place. So we need a split residence for that. Aren't you the one who didn't want people to kno
"Anyway, your food looked tasty. How long had you known Haylee?" Lily asked more. Her questions were all over the place, non-relating to each other."Hmm..." Niel was about to speak but the woman asked him some more."Haylee said her brother was rich. You're close with her, so you must know her brother too, right?""Brother?" He knitted his brows in confusion and instantly looked at Haylee. She met his eyes and made a poker face at him, silently sending a signal to that guy to go along with her lies."Yeah. Haylee brought a lot of expensive makeup to class, so we asked her how she was rich. She said she had a rich brother," Lily explained cluelessly."Right..." Niel nodded while giving Haylee a playful glare. 'So now I become her rich brother,' he muttered internally."Of course, I know her brother. We're partners," Niel added the lies."Partners?" Now Lily and Haylee said in unison."Yeah. Haylee's brother worked with me. I sent him abroad to handle some projects. He won't come back
"He was the one I'm talking about before. He's my former classmate during high school," Haylee said."Damn, girl! You got into the wrong gang. We're obviously out of your league," Bruno quipped at her and the rest just chuckled in agreement."Are you together with him? He seemed close with you," Lily asked. She suddenly turned into this kind of over-friendly girl to Haylee."We're just normal friends," Haylee avoided telling them the truth."Bring us together for lunch. Introduce him to me please..." Lily begged. She never would have imagined it getting an opportunity to know Niel in person."You don't even want to know his name first?" Haylee teased her and the girl laughed shyly."His name was Nathaniel Anderson. We called him Niel during high school," Haylee said deliberately to let them all know.A while later, the lecturer came into the lecture hall. He was Professor Damien, an old man in his late forties. As soon as he entered the hall, he went directly to Niel and had a handsha
Weeks passed and they finally started college at the end of February. After the orientation week ended, all the undergraduates at Kingston University started their first class the following week. Haylee and Niel pretty much acted like strangers at college. Niel drove by himself to class even though they were going to the same destination because he sometimes would need to go to the company during his free time if his presence was necessary there. So, Haylee too was the same. She drove by herself to classes using the red Ferrari car that Niel gave her during Christmas last year.After coping with her depression about not going to Hudson for a few weeks, Haylee slowly learned to accept her fate of going to Kingston. She tried to look at the bright side. Home was not far, so she didn't need to think about paying to live in a hostel. And surely, if she was somehow in trouble, Niel was around to help her fix it. Her life was easier that way.She attended her first lecture wearing designer