CLAIRE’s P.O.V.
After stirring my coffee, I inhaled the rich aroma coming from the black hot liquid inside of the cup. I savour the bittersweet taste before I came back to my senses. I need to start walking from our house to the school building that I was working at now.
“Alexa? Did Dad already took his meds?” I called out to my little sister.
“He’s done!” she proudly stated, revealing a thumbs up out of her tiny fingers.
“Please take care of him. I’m gonna go to work now. I’ll be back soon.” I kissed the top of her forehead before picking up my stuffs from the small chair behind our door.
I sighed as I started walking towards our school. Our life may not be as good as others but I can proudly say that I worked very hard to provide our daily needs. There’s no shame in that.
And one more thing, I’m a teacher and I love my profession. Being a teacher makes me relieved. I enjoyed teaching children how to read and write. I enjoy checking their works and being a part of their journey as they grow up.
“Good morning, Teacher Claire.”
I look at the man who greeted me just now. It was Elijah, my co-worker. He’s a fellow teacher to this school and a small-time businessman. Even if he’s a part of the opposite gander, I still enjoy hanging out with him. He’s a very nice and friendly person. He was the closest human to me aside from my family.
To proved that he’s actually nice, he even offered me a ride home yesterday. If it wasn’t for him, I’m pretty sure that all of my paperworks will be soaked in the heavy rain yesterday. I wish I could’ve at least invited him inside of our home as a way of gratitude after giving me a ride. But I couldn’t do it. And it was all because of that arrogant man. Thanks to him I couldn’t offer Elijah even just a cup of coffee.
“Are you okay? You looked anxious...”
“I’m fine. I’m just thinking about something.”
“Something? Is there any chance that it was someone instead?”
“Teacher Elij...”
“I know, I know. Sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I forgot to introduce you to my friend yesterday. He’s name is Darren Herrera, and I have his phone number. Do you want to have it?” He grinned at me.
As if I want to talk to that arrogant man ever again. His nothing but a walking bad attitude. I can still remembered how he averted his eyes towards another direction when I tried to smile at him inside of Elijah’s car.
“Ha! He wish! I will never, ever, never talk to that man ever again. He’s the epitome of the word ‘arrogance.’ Am I right, Teacher Elij?”
“He’s my bestfriend, Claire.”
I looked at him, scared to death if he’s going to be mad at me or what. But he’s not. In fact, he just laughed at my nervous reaction before he started walking fast, leaving me behind him while shaking his head.
“Teacher Elijah! Wait!”
I nearly stumble and fall when I tried to chase after him. Good thing that I didn’t lost my balance. But now, all of my books and folders were already scattered on the ground.
“Are you okay?” Finally, he looked back.
“I’m fine, Teacher Elij...”
“You’re still clumsy...”
He helped me picked up my things before we went to the teacher’s lounge.
“I heard that our batchmates are organizing a high school reunion. Will you come?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I heard that Gabriel was already here in the Philippines. I’m sure he’ll come there.” He looked at me with his mischievous smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Maybe he’s still into you, Claire,” he seriously stated.
“Well... He’s just a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. And besides, I don’t want to be the center of attention when that day comes. I’m sure that rumors will spread like a wild fire again if I stick with him during our reunion. Specially with Kate around.”
“K-Kate?” His face was suddenly invaded by confusion.
“Why? What’s wrong, Elij?”
“I think I heard that name before... Or maybe it was just my imagination.”
“She’s my high school bestfriend. Gabriel’s ex-girlfriend, as well... Though I don’t know if the two of them officially labeled their relationship like that.”
Mixed emotions were now visible in his eyes. I could see the amusement, surprise, and mostly, disbelief.
“I can’t believe it...”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just that... I think I knew someone named Kate. I’m not sure though.” I just sighed at his unsure response.
“I need to get to my class now, Teacher Elijah. Bye.”
“Wait!”
I was about to leave when I heard his voice. I turned my gaze on him and raise one of my eyebrows.
“What now?”
“Do you need an extra job?”
I instantly smile at that thought. Extra job? I hope that this is not another joke coming from Elijah. I badly needed to have an extra job aside from being a teacher.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am,” he proudly stated.
“Then yes, I do need an extra job. Do you know any? I’ll do anything for my family, Elij, always remember that.”
“Anything?” he asked and I nodded. “Are you sure, Teacher Claire?”
“Yeah. Why does it look like you are the one hesitating now?”
“Nothing. It’s just that... Promise me you won’t be mad at me or what. And also, please don’t slap me.” He laughed nervously.
“Of course I won’t! Why would I?” I asked, confused.
“Promised me.”
“Fine, fine. I promised.”
“Then come with me later, after class. I will introduce you to someone. Someone I know. Maybe your future boss.”
“Alright. I trust you on this one, Elij.”
He just smiled timidly before looking away. I just sighed as I continue walking into my class.
CLAIRE’s P.O.V After my class, I went to the teacher’s lounge to meet Teacher Elijah. I thought I was late but when I saw him standing there, flashing a nervous smile, I instantly know that something was up.“Hey. Why are you smiling like that?” I suspiciously asked.“Nothing. Maybe we should go. My friend was already waiting for you.” I nodded before motioning him to start walking. I can’t help but to think that Elijah was hiding something from me. What’s the deal with this guy?“Are you really sure about this, Claire?” he asked, for several times I guess.“Yeah. But if you’re hesitating like that, there’s a higher chance that I will cancel this meeting.”“I’m sorry for being uneasy. I’m just nervous. Anyways, let’s go.” We got insid
CLAIRE’s P.O.V.“Are you okay? You want me to get you a food or something?” Elijah asked me, for a hundred times I think.“I’m fine, Elij. You can leave us here. I know you’re tired. Get some sleep. I can handle this.”“Are you sure?” He looked at me, worried.“Yeah. And thank you for helping us.” He nodded before walking towards Alexa.“Hey,” I heard him greeted my little sister. Alexa just smiled at him. A few moments later, after he realized that my sister wasn’t planning to say a word or anything, he just tap her head before saying goodbye.“Bye, Alexa. Bye, Claire.” He waved at me and I waved back. As soon as he was out of sight, Alexa came near me and hugged my legs. I instantly knew that she’s crying because my jeans was starting to
CLAIRE’s P.O.V.“We can’t lose Dad, Claire. Please do something.” Alexa looked worried, with tears still streaming down her cheeks.“Don’t cry. I’ll do anything as soon as I find out what happened.” The doctor came towards us, a sympathetic look plastered on his face.“Ms. Braganza, your father needs to undergo a surgery. We need to operate him as soon as we can. His heart has two holes, and he’s in a very dangerous state right now.” At that moment, I instantly knew that Mr. Herrera was right. I think it’s time for me to beg. It is time that I set my pride aside and be a good daughter even just for once.“We will perform the surgery as soon as we receive your permission. For now, I think you need to prepared a huge amount of money for the operation expenses.”
DARREN’s P.O.V. I called my lawyer as soon as Claire agrees to my own terms and condition. I looked at her, feeling guilty every time that I remembered her crying face. I’m not sure if she did cry earlier. Though I could see the sadness on her eyes up to now.“Do you need anything, wife?” I asked, trying to put a facade of arrogance again. I don’t know what’s with me, but everytime I saw her face, I feel nervous. That’s why I’m trying to act cool and dominant whenever that she’s around.“Wife? Is that an endearment?” she asked, arching one of her brows.“Maybe... What do you think about it?”“Can’t you understand sarcasm, Mr. Herrera?” I stopped as I look at her face. She was seriously mad at me for calling her that way.“Well, after an hour or s
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. He called me wife for a second time today. But instead of feeling pissed by his voice, I felt warm crept into my cheeks and I don’t know why. He pulled me inside of a jewelry store before calling the saleslady on the counter.“Hey, miss. I wanted to buy the diamond ring with the highest value in here. One for me, and one for my lovely wife.” Again, I felt butterflies on my stomach. The saleslady looked shocked at first but after a while, she smiled at him before pulling out a small vault from the locked wall of the store.“Here you go, sir. This diamond ring cost one hundred thousand US dollars each.”“I’ll get it.”“Darren!” I looked at him, shocked at how he unwisely spent his money. He just smiled at me as a response. Amusement was al
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. I wake up at the smell of roasted bacon and garlic fried rice. What a great way to start anyone’s morning. I slowly sit up from laying down the bed. Darren’s not in this room anymore. I decided to use his bathroom since he’s not here and I wanted to prepared myself before seeing his Dad. I grabbed my towel and toiletries before opening the bathroom door.“What the hell?!” It was Darren, half naked. My eyes widen as I saw his wet masculine body. The water streaming down from the shower also make an intense effect to the view I am seeing right now. I can’t help but to bit my lower lip.“I’m s-sorry.” I stood there like a statue, unable to move my feet.“Stop watching!” I closed my eyes shut and run as fast as I can away from him. I slapped my
CLAIRE’s P.O.V.“So... Who’s Gabriel?” he asked, looking at me while patting a bag of ice on my cheek.“Do we really need to talk about this right now?”“It’s fine if you don’t wanna answer my question. I’m just... Curious.”“Why are you so curious about it, anyway?”“Hmm... Just look at what happened, Claire. If only I knew about this earlier, we could have avoided that scenario at the office.”“It’s your fault. You didn’t tell me that you’re engaged to Kate. You should have told me that at the first place.”“Okay... I’m sorry. I just didn’t know that you two have already met before.”“She’s my high school bestfriend...”“So what’s the story between you two? I’m badly curious about it. Don’t you think I deserves to know the truth after w
CLAIRE’s P.O.V. After lunch, I still couldn’t compose myself properly. Darren and I bid our goodbyes to Alexa before deciding to leave. I just let our Dad sleep as much as he wanted and we didn’t bother to wake him up. He needs to rest as much as possible.“Stiff at my presence?” Darren arrogantly asked while driving his car. I didn’t answer. I just rolled my eyes on him instead.“Don’t worry. Whatever it is that I’ve said earlier, it was all for a show.” I was stunned for a moment. I shook my head at how stupid I am to believe in his lies. He’s right, everything that we’re doing is only for a show. For the sake of our fake marriage.“Are you alright?” He sounds worried but maybe I was just assuming and imagining things again.&l