CHAPTER SEVEN : LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

I woke up as I felt the chill creeping through my skin yet it burned in heat. I’m very much aware that I had a fever. A wet towel was spread over my forehead, I slowly opened my eyes and reached the towel to remove it. Slowly, I straightened up and craned my neck looking for her but suddenly my head felt heavy again, my God, my fever’s still persisting.

I noticed a lone bulb remained lit in the kitchen and the laundry door seemed closed, I guess she was asleep already. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already past midnight. My gaze then drifted back in front of me and saw my car key back on the center table. Inches away were a glass of water, a bottle of Tylenol and a covered bowl of soup.

I reached for the spoon and started to eat the soup that was on the table, it was then that I realized that I was really hungry. I frowned a bit as I sipped on the soup, remembering the familiar taste made me hate her more.

I headed straight to my room after eating and drinking the medicine. I was so tired that I didn't even notice that I had fallen asleep as soon as I lay my back on the bed.

The loud ring on my phone woke me up from my slumber. I reached for it with my eyes still closed and answered it with complete annoyance, “Hello?”

“Hey Babe, good morning! Did I wake you up?” Seriously? Great timing.

“Not really, I was about to get off bed already,” I answered, now I’m fully awake. 

“I was just checking on you, I’ll be there in two weeks time.” I stood up and headed straight to the bathroom, I wasn’t really listening to what she was saying and besides my head still hurts. “Are you still there?” 

“Yeah,” I simply answered.

“Uhm, I can’t wait to see you.” 

“Yeah, yeah, me too.” I started putting toothpaste on my toothbrush.

“Well, okay then see you in two weeks?” I nodded as if she was just in front of me. “Will you pick me up at the airport?”

“I will,” I mumbled as I continued to brush my teeth.

“Well, I gotta go babe. It was kinda busy here in the office lately and Dad’s been giving me workloads everyday. I’ll see you in two weeks.”

“See you in two weeks,” I just repeated what she said. Without looking, I tossed the toothbrush into the stainless holder.

“I love you,” she said.

“Same here, uhm, Chloe I need to end this call. I have to do some stuff and I need to go to the office already.” 

“Can’t you just say that you love me too?” She sounded disappointed, how am I supposed to tell her that I love her? When I’m with my ex-fiance on one roof?

“Chloe-”

“Let’s not talk about it, what’s important now is that you're mine and that’s what matters most.” And with that, she ended the phone call without waiting for what I’m about to say. It’s not that I don’t love Chloe, I like her- a lot, it’s just that I’m not yet ready to give my heart again to someone after what happened five years ago.

I shook my head lightly just to clear my mind a little as I turned on the tap and cupped the warm water with my hands as I splashed it onto my face a couple of times. My hands then moved up to untangle my bed hair, but since I was never good at hairstyling, I just tousled the top with a dab of hair wax. After toweling dry, I slid into a blue Armani polo and black jeans then stepped back into my carpeted bedroom. The windows at my room were partially opened, enough to let the gentle sun rays in. I stood on the same spot where I had witnessed what the police officers did to her the other night and regretted having this part of the room associated with that memory. I hated how graphic that scene was and mostly I hated how it affected my system to the extent that it almost eats me from the inside. I hate every single one of it. God knows how hard I tried to forget everything, about the incident the other night and that incident five years ago that changed my whole life. I thought that I had moved on from that incident already but seeing her again brings back all the pain and hatred all over again.

And yet, I can’t seem to abandon her after all those years…

I went downstairs and found her in the dining area, leaning over the round glass table placing a bowlful of seafood soup on the side. There was something in the way she moved that reminded me of how we used to be and it annoyed the hell out of me.

Suddenly, out of the blue, a memory of when I first saw her flashes into my mind…

“Excuse me?” Both me and Mikan looked up. The voice belonged to a face we both had never met before. Mikan stared at me for a second or two as if he’s asking if I know who she is. I shrugged simply saying that I don’t. She stared at Mikan with eyes gleaming, her long lashes fluttering with each flicker and her silky black hair was tied in a messy bun. I made some coughing sounds but she was all focused on Mikan.

“Yes?” Mikan then asked casually.

“Are you Mikan Grey?” The lady asked and Mikan nodded. “Hi then, I’m Hailey Greene.” She reached out her hand to Mikan for a handshake and the latter gladly accepted it. “Someone told me that you’re the one arranging for school events? I’m about to organize one, I hope you could help me out?”

“Of course,” Mikan answered while smiling ear to ear.

“Geez, thanks. Here’s the details,” Hailey said then handed Mikan the envelope. Okay, it’s as if I’m not here. “My number’s in there, ring a bell when you need to ask something.” She flashed a sweet smile, which to me was the sweetest smile I had ever seen. Her full lips were covered in pink gloss which made her smile even harder to forget. Even her smell, which carried a floral scent, penetrated my senses without caution.

I tried to shake off her image and scolded myself silently, but each time I laid my eyes on her, my attraction grew bigger. I think that this lady would remain absorbed in her conversation with Mikan and the latter seemed to have no plans of introducing me to her so I grabbed my bag and got up. “Excuse me, I’ll go ahead,” I simply said.

“I’ll see you later bro,” Mikan answered. It was after reaching the library door when I decided to take one more look at her and everything stopped when my eyes finally met hers for the first time and right there she smiled at me with her eyes smiling as well.

It was then that I believed in love at first sight and yet she chose to break my heart.

I can still remember that day, five years ago, the day she took all my sanity away, the day she shattered my heart into a million pieces.

The day of my proposal, I can still remember that the park had a few people that evening, just as what I had wished for. Even the full moon seemed to oblige, adding its glow to the romantic milieu for the planned proposal.

Minutes later, she arrived in a navy blue romper and had a ready made smile for me. I pretended to be on the phone and just motioned to her to head straight to the bench and wait for me there. An old lady cut her path and almost stumbled in front of her. Hailey held out her hand and helped the elder straighten up before heading to the bench. I could not see her face with her back turned against me. I could only see her remaining still, head a bit low and she remained this way for a while. It wasn’t until I reached her side that she moved and in an instant she stared at me with her face smiling.

Hailey’s stare swung from me and back to the glass jewelry box that was sitting solitarily on the bench. I slowly picked up the box and opened it without saying a word. There were sudden tears in Hailey’s eyes slowly falling through her cheeks. I wiped it gently and got on one knee as I popped up the question, “Will you marry me?” 

She looked at me with more tears streaming down from her eyes. “Yes, I will marry you.”

That was the happiest day of my life but also the worst nightmare I had encountered. That was the day when she decided to destroy the inner me. The day she had broken all the promises she had made and all the dreams that we had built together.

That was the day I dreaded the most to remember.

If only the heart can easily forget, I won’t be hurting this way right now.