Chapter 3

    "Happy birthday, hija!" greeted a woman not much older than her mother. She had a huge smile on her face as she approached Nikka.

Elizabeth Jones was a very simple woman despite marrying one of the richest men in New York. She wore a bright blue blouse, white cardigan and black pants. She has fair complexion too, long black wavy hair, which she probably curled with the curling iron, and beautiful brown eyes under those eyeglasses. Her smile was so radiant that anyone would love to be around her.

    She walked towards Nikka, capturing her into a warm embrace as Nikka smiled and accepted her warmth.

Nikka never felt uneasy around Elizabeth even the first time they met. Her down-to-earth attitude would make even the most unfortunate person felt comfortable approaching her. Her warmth was what made people loved her and would often talk about.

She was also featured as the "Woman of the Year" in the last year's Women 's magazine issue, as she generously helped different institutions and sponsor a children's foundation. For everyone, she has a heart of gold, a rare find in the world of rich and famous people.

   "Come here, deary! My favorite girl! Oh wait! You're a woman now," called a man in his fifties.

Alfred Jones was standing beside his wife and grabbed Nikka like she was nothing. Nikka looked particularly small in his six-foot feature and fit body. 

Fifty-six-year-old Alfred was dressed in a simple pair of white shirt and khaki pants, yet he looked five years younger. His deep blue eyes and curly blonde hair still made some women swoon over him, but his eyes were set only to his beloved Beth.

   "Can I call you daughter now?" Alfred teased Nikka, then his eyes looked over to her shoulder and focused on someone. He then asked, "What do you think, Marcus?"

   "Dad, please," a baritone voice replied, slightly feeling embarrassed.

   Nikka turned toward the direction of the voice and  faced Marcus. He was wearing a plain deep blue long-sleeved shirt that was casually folded up to his elbows, and jeans. His biceps looked like it was about to pop out and Nikka blushed the moment she thought of squeezing them right at that moment. She took a deep breath, as she saw him sweeping her whole feature.

     He was a foot apart from her but she could feel every bit of her body shake as his eyes swept over her, starting from her slender legs, to her small waist and lingered a bit on her breasts. She saw him swallowed hard and she smiled. Then his eyes moved to her neck and to her red lips. He bit his lip, and swallowed again.

    As she tried to read what it meant, he looked away, leaving her confused on what she saw. She thought that for a moment there, she saw desire in his eyes but before she could make sense of it, he closed the gap between them, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.

   She blushed as he softly whispered, "You're so beautiful today, Lil Sis."

'Little sister', she thought and at that moment the excitement in her heart fainted. She heard it many times before, since that was what he calls her, but this time, it was different.

She felt like something stabbed her heart, slowly incising the inner cores of it and she sighed.

     She secretly admired him the moment they first met. For her, she felt like she found her Prince Charming. His handsome face and mysterious look made him more appealling than any guy she ever met.

     He didn't smile a lot and looked kind of cold and arrogant sometimes. But when he was around his family and everyone he knew, his smile could melt her heart in a minute.

"Happy birthday, Sweetie!" Marcus whispered that made her jolted back to reality. He took a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Her eyes lit up as a smile formed on her lips.

   "What is this?" She asked excitedly.

   "Just something for your birthday. Open it."

    Nikka opened the small tiffany box and saw a small heart-shaped necklace. She took it out, letting it dangle from her hand as her eyes admired its beauty.

     "Thank you," she said, then lifting her eyes to him she asked, "Can you put it on me?"

      "Sure," Marcus replied as she turned her back on him.

     Marcus unclasped the necklace and placed it around her neck, closing the clasps. His hand touched her neck slightly, sending shivers down her spine. He then let his hand dropped slowly down her shoulders, as she stopped herself from not feeling anything with the gentle touch of his hands. He turned her around to face him as she dropped her eyes on the necklace to hide her embarrassment.

     Nikka held the necklace in her hand playfully and admired it for a moment. Then she looked up at him and said, "It's beautiful."

   "Of course," he replied. "Anything for my beautiful girl."

    Nikka did not expect those words and hearing that simple phrase, she felt herself blush. Her heart tugged on that last word and took note of his he had called her beautiful two times today.

    'He finally noticed', she thought, smiling inwardly, as her heart skipped a  beat.

    Marcus had always been so sweet and thoughtful to her. But he was far from being nice the first time they met. She had always thought of him as very attractive but just a little aloof. Their families would often go out in picnics in the park and oftentimes, their fathers play golf.

     She never liked golf and often she would just sit in one of the benches in the golf course. It was a boring sport for her while Alfred and her dad loved to play. Elizabeth and her mom, on the other hand, would chat away while their husbands played. So often, she was left alone waiting for them. Marcus did not usually come, always busy finishing his projects at home.

But one particular day, to her surprise, he did and even stayed with her. She tried to ignore his presence, letting him keep his distance although all her insides squealed in excitement.

    At first, they did not say anything to each other. Nikka never initiated any conversations with him, aforesaid she would be ignored and she knew she win't be able to take it. So, she did what she usually do while she's there, read a book. She usually brought a book with her so she won't get bored. But while she was reading the first chapter of her book, he suddenly spoke up.

   "I'm bored. Do you want to leave?" he asked casually like they have been friends forever.

   Nikka's heart suddenly raced rapidly as she heard him talk to her for the first time. She looked up from her book. Her brain tried to make up words as she never expected him to ever talk to her.

It was the first time he ever spoke to her and she was so excited that her words jumbled in her mouth.

   "W-what? Leave. Sure," she stuttered.

Marcus tried not to laugh as he watched her as she shut the book closed and hugged it while licking her lips.

   "Okay, then, let's go," he decided and pulled her hand. She didn't even protest and got up from the bench. She didn't even know where to go but she trusted him. All she ever think about was she could finally spend time with him for the first time... alone.

And that was the beginning of their friendship.

    Ever since then they were inseparable except if he went to work and she, to school. He would often pick her up from school, unbeknownst to anyone, and they would go to places around the city. One time he took her to City Island, a small town in Long Island, New York where they could get fresh lobsters and eat by the sea.

They sat on one of the wooden benches as they eat and laughed while watching the waves in the sea. It was truly a memorable one most especially to her.

Both families wanted them to end up together as a couple, and most often, they teased them a lot, playing matchmakers. But Marcus would just smile and often say she was his little sister.

At first, she was okay with it. Her friendship with him was more important and admiring him was enough as long as she had his attention. She knew almost everything about him even his "adventures" with women. Maybe, he was not a playboy, but a ladies man somehow. But he was always respectful and caring to her and sometimes she wondered if he was like that to every woman he meets.

   As months passed by, her simple admiration for him grew to love...

A love she never knew would last for a long time.