A Secret Place

Lilly stared at the card lying on the table in front of her. The crease in between her brows deepened. She wanted to leave so as not to humiliate herself more but she was facing a dilemma that she wasn't sure how to approach.

After much thinking, she got and walked towards Matthew who had already buried his nose, reading documents. She stood in front of his desk, unmoving.

"What?!" He snapped at her and if he wasn't so busy maybe indulge in laughter with how Lilly looked. She was staring at him with a mix of disbelief and horror in her eyes. She was holding the card that he gave her in the palm of her hands as if they were some kind of offering.

"Uhm, I'm thinking if you could just give me a credit card," she muttered in a small voice. The act of defiance that she was showing Matthew a while ago was all gone. "I–I…" She looked at Matthew in pure panic. "Please, change this into a credit card…put a limit on it," she added hastily.

Matthew knew that something was wrong the moment Lilly stood in front of his desk. It was all over her face. She looked so bewildered and he could not help but wonder, was it the first time that she got a debit card?

He wasn't a stingy bastard. He had Mr. Gallard put a good amount on the card that she could withdraw and use in whatever she wanted.

"Lilly, as you can see I'm quite busy. What's the problem with the card?"

His voice was laced with annoyance that made Lilly shuffle her feet and twindle her fingers around the plastic card she was holding in her hands. It took a while before she could muster the courage to speak out.

"I don't like handling cash."

He scoffed and chuckled wryly. "That's it?" This spoiled princess doesn't want to touch money. His hard-earned money. He gritted his teeth. "Leave the card then," he pulled out his personal credit card and handed it to Lilly. "This is only for this week. I'll have Mr. Gallard gets a card in your name. Now, go!" He grimaced inwardly for he felt like a sugar daddy issuing an allowance to his ward.

Lilly lowered her gaze to avoid the look in Matthew's eyes. She quickly put down the card she was holding and grabbed the card Matthew was handing out.

"Thank you. I'll get out of your way now." She mumbled under her breath as she turned on her heels and left Matthew's office as if a monster was running after her. She was inside the elevator and was about to put the credit card in her wallet when she saw the name in the card and her jaw dropped.

"Is something the matter, Lil?"

"Nothing," she muttered, avoiding Pete's puzzled look. "Can you just take me home?"

"Lilly, you haven't been to school…"

"I am sick." She said, clicking her tongue at Pete. "I don't want to hang around at school. I had finished all my exams and school projects. My teacher will email me if there are changes to be made to my research paper." She heaved a deep sigh, staring outside the car window.

"And your friends?"

"I don't enjoy lying to them. I'm thinking that I'll lie low for a while until the problem in the company will be sorted out and then, things will be back to how it was." She met Pete's eyes in the rearview mirror.

Pete has been working for her since she was a kid. There is no way that she can hide the turmoil and confusion that she was feeling. Pete can read her like an open book, complete with annotation of the important parts.

"Lil—"

"I never felt so stupid in my life, Pete. I've realized that I know nothing. I'm just being passed around and was asked to sit down and wait for a dole out." She exhaled a deep sigh. "I thought I had enough time in my hands. I'll help Daddy in the business once I'm done with my studies and at this time, I just have to enjoy myself and spend money."

"Let's take you home but how about an ice cream before we go home?"

The cheerfulness of Pete's voice put tears in her eyes. He always knows how to cheer her up.

Pete did a u-turn and took the opposite direction of the traffic and drove to the park, a few meters away from their house. It was a small park, adjacent to a small daycare center. It's in the neighborhood for the middle-earner individual.

Lilly stumbled upon this neighborhood when she was about eight years old. She attended a birthday party of her father's acquaintance. In short, she didn't know any of the kids but she had to be there, bringing a gift to the birthday celebrant who was a complete stranger to her.

She got so bored at the party that she slipped out of the gate without telling anyone. She entered a long back alley that ended up in this neighborhood and Lilly found the row of brown houses where people come and go. She was so amazed how there are a lot of people in their house. In their mansion, a lot of people come, only if there's a party.

In rows of houses that look exactly the same in the eyes of a sheltered eight-year-old, she got lost and ended up in the small park, crying. The teacher from the adjacent daycare center gave her an ice cream as she waited for someone to pick her up—which was Pete.

She didn't know how he found her and until now, he won't tell her. He would just give her a secretive smile every time she asks.

"Pete, what do you think of donating to the daycare center?"

"What?" He asked in amusement. His arm was casually dropped over Lilly's shoulder. Every time they come here, they act like a young couple, out for a stroll. They had left their car in a basement parking three blocks away. "Haven't you donated enough to that center?"

Lilly sighed. "Pete, I'm so bored."