Chapter Ten

Jacel sighed. Her mind was so messed up, even to the point of affecting her mood. Even this morning, she almost screamed in annoyance because the makeup artist spilled coffee on her black dress. But luckily, her father acted quickly before she let out her annoyance. So, now she calmed herself outside the church.

Well, today is her father's wedding day with Kevin's mother. Jacel didn't even think that three weeks had passed so quickly. It felt like just yesterday she heard the boy's confession.

Shit, she really cursed herself. She ruffled her hair – no matter how long it took her to style her hair. She just wants to get rid of the thoughts that always bother her.

Kevin has feelings for her?

Huh, they don't even know each other. Even though he said that he wasn't interested at first, how could Kevin keep paying attention? Well, Jacel never found herself attractive or likable.

Even when compared to her other friends, they are much more attractive—especially the music class students. But why is Kevin even paying attention to her?

She always felt that she didn't stand out enough. Her body is small, although Mark and Hunter said that she is pretty, they are his friends. Plus, his singing ability is still mediocre. Her luck

was chosen to represent the Music class at the Annual Festival.

Moreover, Jacel feels like she is only a wallflower girl.

"I don't even know if I like him like he does or if I just like him to be my friend," she muttered subconsciously.

That's true. So far, she has only focused on her studies. She never even thought about having a boyfriend. Worst of all, she doesn't know what it really feels like to have feelings for the opposite sex romantically. Like, where and what are the boundaries between a boy friend and a boyfriend?

Jacel groaned in annoyance again. Her mind became more and more confused. She ruffled her hair again.

"I don't think your dad would be happy if you showed up with such messy hair, Jacel."

She turned around and found a young man with a completely different appearance from three weeks earlier. Her mouth opened wide. "K-Kevin?"

Kevin laughed at her reaction and walked over to her. "It's me. Why? Is it because of my hair?"

Jacel just nodded. Well, Kevin's appearance is completely different. Three weeks ago, his hair was still blonde, but now it was black and cut short. Moreover, the tall young man wore a formal suit with designs that complimented her dress. Hell, Kevin is really handsome!

"Maybe because you always avoid every meeting to prepare for the wedding. I've been cutting my hair since two weeks ago," said Kevin.

She mentally slapped herself. She had to come back to her senses. "Oh. That's good... I mean, the style of your hair now," said Jacel, a bit nervous.

Kevin smiled again. Then he touched the girl's head and slightly ruffled the hair of the girl he likes, who would be his sister today. Jacel didn't change one bit. After three weeks without seeing her, Kevin missed her so much but didn't have the courage to meet her. Even though

Kevin knows that the girl will always be at their house.

"I also like your hairstyle now," Kevin said, then pulled his hand back and put it in his trouser pocket.

Jacel blinked a few times. "Eh? Kevin, I haven't changed my hairstyle since the beginning of the semester."

"Precisely."

She looked at Kevin in confusion. The boy chuckled at her adorably confused expression.

Kevin slightly lowered his head to the level of her eyes. "I like it. Since the beginning of the semester."

Her face started to feel warm because of the boy's confession – again. Kevin smiled and straightened up again. "Come on in, Jacel. The wedding ceremony will start soon," Kevin said as he turned around and was about to walk into the church.

"I think we need to get something done before this ceremony, Kevin."

Kevin stopped in his tracks. Then he turned and looked at the girl intently. Jacel took a deep breath and walked over to her brother-to-be – or maybe Kevin was already her brother.

"About how you feel about me…" She bit her lip before speaking again. "I don't know. But I'm grateful that you like me. It's just, I…" once again her words stopped.

Kevin is still watching the girl closely. Jacel took another breath and looked at Kevin seriously.

"Can we act like siblings after this? Can you get rid of that feeling?"

Kevin took his hand out of his pocket. He still didn't speak and just stared at her. The boy then sighed and slightly looked away from her. "I can not."

Jacel was pensive.

"This feeling can't just go away, Jacel. It's not like a stain on clothes that you can wash off or a dust that you can shrug off. Even as hard as I try not to like you, then at that moment I feel pain," said Kevin.

She felt her throat go dry. She swallowed hard. Kevin's words might have been expected, but she still felt guilty – maybe – when she heard it. Jacel took a deep breath. "If you're in pain, you should find some other medicine to ease the pain, Kevin. We're siblings. I want us to stay that way for our parents."

Then she left Kevin. But just as she passed by the boy, Kevin grabbed her arm and pulled her into his arms. Jacel suddenly tried to free herself, but Kevin held her very tightly. Finally, she just resigned and looked at the boy's face, which was very close to her face.

Kevin looked at her seriously. "I don't think you are a wound, Jacel," Kevin whispered, then he let go of her body.

He walked away, leaving Jacel, who looked surprised but did not turn his head.

*****

Blaze looks focused on some of the case documents he handled. After the incident in Siargao, he spent the rest of his vacation calming down before returning to the office last week. The situation at the office hasn't changed much for him. It's just that his boss, Jordan Reyes, sometimes looks at him with a guilty look. And it made him feel awkward.

Well, the incident in Siargao was beyond everyone's expectations, including him. But he did not regret what happened. He is the type of person who always believes that every incident must have a reason and God's intervention. So, his farewell to Hailey might just be for the best before it's too late.

"Are you okay?"

Blaze looked up and saw Jae enter his room and put a cup of coffee on his desk.

"You've been asking that ever since I came back from leave. Stop it, because it sounds annoying."

"I was worried about you."

He sighed. "Thank you, Jae. But you don't have to. I'm fine and don't intend to do crazy things just because of this matter."

"But you did it once. Until you were hospitalized for hypothermia."

"Jae Legarda…"

But a knock interrupted their conversation. He looked at Sandy, one of the staff, seriously.

"What's wrong, Sandy?"

"There's a new client for you, Blaze. Lawyer Reyes specifically asked you to handle this case," said the woman.

He and Jae frowned. "Hey, Blaze is currently handling a lot of cases. Even the previous two cases were just finished. There are still four cases left," said Jae, finding it a bit ridiculous to give too many cases to Blaze.

Sandy looked at him. "Er... for the other case you're working on, it will be transferred to another lawyer. Jae, you got the Gyum Industry case,"

Jae's eyes widen, almost popping out. "What?! Hey, I'm working on three cases! That Gyum Industry even…" he couldn't continue his protest. He didn't understand how Jordan shared cases with all the lawyers working at his law firm.

Blaze took a deep breath. "Alright, send the client in, Sandy. Thank you."

After the woman left, he stared at Jae closely. "Go back to work. I will give the Gyum Industry documents later," he said.

Jae sighed. "You can't work like this, Blaze. Lawyer Reyes always gives you important cases. But once you get a more important case, your old case goes to someone else. I don't want to protest, but you don't have to work like this."

"I understand, Jae. Later, I will discuss this matter with Lawyer Reyes. For now, go back to work," he said.

Jae finally relented and returned to his room while Blaze welcomed his new client. A man who was probably almost his age.

Surprisingly, he seems to have seen that man before – but he doesn't know where.

The man smiled as he shook hands with him. "You seem to have forgotten me," he said.

Blaze frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, I guess three weeks isn't a long time. Do you remember when you passed out at the resort in Siargao? I'm the cousin of the person who helped you, Siegfried Lowells. We also met once before you went home with your sister," said the man.

He stared at him for a long time before he finally recognized the man who was sitting across from him. "Oh, I'm sorry. My mind has been full the last few days, so I sometimes forget things."

The man shook his head. "It does not matter. I know you are a busy lawyer, Mr. Schift. My name is Cameron Carter."

"Please have a seat, Mr. Carter. Would you like something to drink?"

Cameron shook his head again as he sat on the sofa. Blaze followed suit by sitting in front of the man. He smiled faintly. "So, is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Carter?"

"Please, that Mr. Carter is my father. Just Cameron, if you don't mind," said the man.

Blaze nodded. Well, it's a little awkward, but he just does what his client wants. Then Cameron took out some documents from his bag. "The case is not so serious. It's just that if we lose, the company will suffer a huge loss," the man said while providing the document.

He immediately studied the documents. The land dispute case is not that difficult, but the location is very strategic. So, if one of the parties loses, then the loss they bear is enormous.

"Actually, the Lowells Group has its own team of lawyers. But in the last few months, the company has been having problems. So, there is no lawyer who can be assigned to take care of this case," explained Cameron again.

He glanced at him for a few seconds, then returned his focus to his document. "You guys didn't do anything illegal in this case, did you? Like forged letters or something. Because the plaintiffs seem very confident in their demands."

"Certainly not. The Lowells Group never does illegal things. Well, the principles and morals of the elders. We have the original certificate and the approval document from the previous owner. It's just that the heirs of Sonny Kim feel that they have the right to the profits of the factory established on the land."

Blaze looked at Cameron closely. "If you have certificates and approval documents, why are they asking for profit rights? Is the land still in Mr. Sony Kim's name?"

"That's how it is. Our grandfather and Sonny Kim only made an agreement with the original certificate of the land as collateral. In practice, we have rights to the land if we give 20% of the profits annually. The agreement went well for fifteen years. But since Sonny Kim died, his heirs contacted us and asked for the land certificate to be returned," explained by the man.

"They want to own the land with the factory?"

Cameron nodded. "But that problem can be solved on the condition that The Lowells Group will give a 30% profit. However, it seemed that they were too greedy. Now they are demanding a 50% profit."

"Have you guys talked to them about this before?" he asked again.

"Of course. The Lowells Group is trying its best to avoid court. But they are not satisfied. They filed the lawsuit and The Lowells Group had no choice against it. Well, we don't really want to do it until the court, so can you negotiate with them before the court date?" Cameron answered.

Blaze frowned again. "Renegotiation? This matter has gone to court. It feels better to be resolved in front of a judge."

"We are aware of that.But our grandfather asked that this case be resolved properly. He thought his friend wouldn't like it that way either. However, if these last negotiations don't work out, then there is no other choice."

He took a deep breath. He closed the document and nodded. "Okay, we will renegotiate. But I can't guarantee that the negotiations will work. Have you guys set the time yet?"

Cameron smiled. "Of course."

*****