STRANGER'S TRUE INTENTION.

"THANK YOU FOR WAITING." I gave him a sheepish smile as I approached him.

He also approached me, raking his eyes over me. What he did made me uneasy, especially when he knitted his brows as he stared at me.

"I said, wear comfortable clothes. Are you comfortable with that?" he asked in his concerned tone.

I just nodded slowly, even though the truth was not. I don't know what went through my mind and why I agreed to Ains' suggestion. Knowing that her fashion taste differs from mine...

I heard him click his tongue violently. He didn't like it.

"S-Sorry, I-I'll just change." I was ready to walk away in front of him when he stopped my hand. I turned to face him, asking him with my gaze.

He ignored me. He moved away in front of me and walked towards the open door of the driver's seat. After a few seconds, he returned with a black jacket in his hand.

"There's no need. Just put it on."

I was about to take it from him when he put it on me. He slid his palm down one of my arms until it reached my hand. He then inserted my hand inside the jacket sleeve and did the same with my other arm.

I bit my lower lip. Does he have any idea how romantic it was? Not only for me, but for all women?

"You're blushing..." he chuckled, interrupting me from my thoughts. 

I immediately moved away from him, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the passenger seat

"Sit here beside me," he said, making me sit there. 

...

KADE TIGHTENED HIS GRIP on my hand as we entered the bar.

There were dim lights all over the place. It's almost suffocating. Aromas of various liquors clung to my nose. Smoke was everywhere, but it wasn't from cigarettes or vapes, it was from smoke effects on the small stage.

I told myself I'd never come to a place like this again, but it's kind of different now. Knowing I'm with him, who is currently holding my hand, at least I feel comfortable.

Kade pointed at the man beckoning us and smiled. "That's Yllak."

He pulled me to the center, where his so-called friend was sitting. But to my dismay, my brows knitted as I realized who was sitting beside Kade's friend.

"Hi, King!" Ignoring my presence, a seductive smile appeared on her red lips.

When I saw Kade smile at her, I almost rolled my eyes. I'm a little irritated right now, but I didn't show it. I should maintain my composure for as long as I can, though Aly's attitude toward me is not very welcoming.

Kade motioned me to the seat beside Aly before settling into the chair next to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet the well-known General Manager of Casa de Gallego."

I shifted my eyes to the man in a black polo shirt. He extended his hand to me, which I immediately accepted. It's Kade's other friend, whom I didn't meet at Haegea and Brix's house.

"I didn't expect you to be more beautiful in person," he said as we released our hands from the handshake.

"T-Thank you." I uttered, despite my flushing cheeks. This man is far too straightforward to pay me that compliment.

Kade made a loud clearing of his throat, grabbing our full attention.

"Let's order," he said in a serious tone without looking at any of us at the table. He just fixed his gaze on the screen of his cell phone.

Yllak just sneered and shook his head at Kade. He took the menu card from the middle of the table and handed it to Aly before beckoning the waiter to come to our table.

     WHEN our orders arrived, our conversation began.

"Are you telling me you fell in love with her the first time you saw her?" Aly cringed, secretly giving me a scrutinizing look.

I just smiled at her, letting her know the look she was giving me did not bother me. I won't give her the satisfaction of insulting me.

"It's safe to say no, Aly," Kade grinned, causing Aly to raise an eyebrow.

"I really fell for her after knowing her more." Kade added, winking at me.

I averted my gaze quickly. My heartbeats are racing so fast that they feel like they're about to burst in my chest!

"By the way, Yllak…" Kade stared at his friend afterwards. "How long are you planning to stay here in Santi Tierra?"

"The bar's soft opening is tomorrow night, so I'll be back in Aurora the next day," Yllak replied before downing his beer.

Kade nodded and then shifted his gaze to Aly, causing the woman's eyes to sparkle, as if she were really waiting for him to look at her.

"How about you, Aly? How long will you be here?"

"I just got here three hours ago. Do you want me to go back to El Paso already?" Aly said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes internally, and I couldn't count how many times I did that. I'm not sure why, but Aly easily gets on my nerves.

Not bitching around, but I've only ever felt this way with her in my entire life. Maybe it's because I can tell she's just too fake. That whenever she looks at me, she thinks something negative about me.

Our conversation continued until Kade and Yllak excused themselves, saying they needed to go out for a while. Not having an idea what they're going to do, I just nodded. Aly would have wanted to go with the two if Kade hadn't told her to accompany me. 

"I saw King's post on his FaceApp. So you two were officially a couple, huh?" Aly broke the silence that had surrounded us since the two left.

I paused from sipping my cocktail drink before darting my eyes to her. "What do you mean by his post?"

She put her champagne glass down on the table and searched for her phone on her side. She briefly scrolled through her cell phone before returning her attention to me with a smirk on her lips.

"Here." She showed me the screen of her cell phone.

I almost fell out of my chair after seeing her screenshot of Kade's post on his FaceApp account.

It was a stolen photo of me wearing a peach dress at Ari's wedding. But what made my jaw drop was the caption.

She just became mine.

#Babe

"How thoughtful of King to post his new girlfriend's photo on his social media. I'm jealous, though." Aly sneered as she raised her champagne glass and drank the wine left in it straight.

I fixed my gaze on her until she slammed the glass down on the table. It startled me, but I kept it to myself. I just remained silent.

"You don't know how jealous I was after seeing that post. Fuck! I liked King even before, but he only sees me as a friend!" Aly shot me a piercing stare. "And I don't fucking understand why he liked you. Frankly speaking, you look average, you're not sexy, and your fashion is too boring! There's nothing special in you at all!"

My irritability increased, but I just stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry if you don't like me as his girlfriend, but I think… you should say those things to him." I smiled and drank more champagne from the glass in my hand.

Aly scoffed at me. "Whatever!"

I grimaced. She's bipolar.

"Would you like me to tell you something about his past?" She flipped her hair to the other side and stared me in the eyes.

I faked a smile. "No, thank you."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you want to know more about him since he's your boyfriend?" 

"It's fine. I think he's just waiting for the right moment to tell me."

"You're that confident, huh? As if he'll tell you."

My jaw tightened. I gave her a dark stare. "Yeah, I'm his girlfriend, but I still respect his decision whether to tell me everything about him or not. If you know the words patience, respect, and limitations...you'll understand."

"Hey! Are you trying to say—"

"That you must take yourself out of our relationship." I bluntly said in a flat tone.

Her jaw dropped as her expression darkened.

I just shrugged it off. I'm not like this, but she provoked me. She forced me to say those things. I drained the last of the wine in my glass and rose to my feet.

"Where are you going?" Aly asked.

"It's getting late. I need to go home. I'll just find them."

I didn't bother waiting for Aly's response. I immediately turned around and started walking to find the two.

I finally found them after a few minutes of searching when I was led to the bar's side door, which was then a hallway leading into the open space next to the bar. As indicated by the signage and large metal trash can, this is the smoking area of ​​this bar.

There were quite a few people there, including Kade and Yllak, who were almost taking turns puffing smoke from their own cigarettes.

My brow furrowed. I had no idea he was a smoker.

They were only a few meters away from me, but because they had almost turned their backs on where I was standing, they didn't notice me.

I started walking towards them. I don't understand, but as I got closer to where they were, I started feeling strange. For some inexplicable reason, my heartbeat became increasingly rapid. It's as if I'm nervous about something.

"I thought you liked the younger Gallego, how come you're with the elder?"

I started to have a bad feeling when Yllak's words became clearer in my ear as I got closer to them.

"Yeah...I like Racquelyn..."

I stopped walking after hearing it—feeling a pang of pain, as if something had stabbed me in the chest.

Did I hear it right? Did he really say Racquelyn?

"I liked her first." 

I felt like I was losing my strength at that moment. I bit my lower lip hard to keep my eyes from burning as I stared at his back. 

"But..."

Fearing that waiting for Kade's next words would sap all of my remaining strength, I abruptly turned around and walked away from that place.

My fist clenched tightly as a bitter smile appeared on my lips.

How can you forget, Clarity? You weren't really the first person he approached or even asked to be his date.

It's not you! It's Racquelyn!

You're so dumb to not realize he's just approaching you for your sister, not because he really likes you! He doesn't really love you, he's just using you! How could you be so stupid and careless?!

"Did you see them?" Aly asked as soon as I returned to our table.

I shook my head and hastily wiped my tears away with my arm.

Aly gave me a puzzled look. "Wait, are you crying?"

"No. My eyes just got hurt from the dust that came in." I casually said, trying to hide the trembling in my voice. 

"Hey, where are you going?" With furrowed brows, Aly stopped me by holding my arm as I reached for my sling bag on my chair.

I took her hand off my arm and faked a smile. "I really need to go. Just let them know I went home first when they get back."

Aly rolled her eyes and gave me a surly look. "Look who's talking about respect earlier. King and you came here together, you should also go home together. You can't just leave him here just because you don't like the place. You shouldn't have come with him in the first place."

She's partly correct, but the situation has changed. She can think whatever she wants, but I can't stay here any longer, especially since they'll be back any minute.

I turned my back.

"Hey! Wait!" He tried to stop me, but I ignored him.

I just walked straight out of that bar. The way out was crowded and hot, and I didn't care if I bumped into someone or if someone dared to touch my body at that time. All I want is to get out of there and get away from them... from him...

"Clarity!"

It's his voice, but I just kept going until I got out of that place. I frantically flagged down a passing cab, but because they were all full, none of them stopped for me.

"Dammit!" I cursed in frustration. I feel so defeated.

What happened? Everything was fine earlier. He waited for me for a few hours at Casa, he kissed me, he gave me a flipbook, he picked me up and gave me butterflies. He even introduced me to his other friend and told him how much he liked me. Everything he did, no matter how simple, made my heart race faster!

But for all the flutters and excitement I felt because of him, there's one painful truth...

He did those things for only one reason, for one person, and it wasn't me.

I'm fucking hurt! My heart feels like it's ripping apart! Why did I learn about it now when I've already admitted to myself that I like him too?

I just sat on the side of the road. My sweat and tears were already mixing in my face, but I didn't mind.

I don't care if I look miserable. At least, if someone I know happens to pass by at the moment, they won't recognize me right away. Of course, they won't believe it if they see a messed-up Calleiah Clarity Gallego!

I flinched when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me upright! My jaw tightened when I realized it was him. He looks so worried, but I don't fucking care!

"Let me go." I said firmly through clenched teeth, giving him a death stare.

"Did you hear us?" he asked, tenderly looking into my eyes.

I pushed his chest and stepped back. "Stop this, Kade. Please!" I scowled. "If you're just doing all of this to get closer to my sister...please stop!"

He stared at me, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

I stared at him furiously. "Like what I told you before, my sister is no longer a child to be dictated to. If she doesn't like you, please don't use me, Kade—"

"I'm not using you, dammit! You're the one I like, Clarity...not your sister, not anyone else!"

"But you said that you liked Racquelyn!" I hissed frustratedly.

He looked me in the eye with a bitter on his lips. "Yes. I said I liked her...but did you listen to everything I said? Or you just walk away and quickly jump to conclusions?"

I just averted my eyes until I heard him exhale a violent sigh. 

"Bullshit! Do you really think I'm that low? If I wanted your sister, I wouldn't have wasted time approaching you. I wouldn't have brought you to Aurora. I wouldn't have introduced you as my girlfriend to my cousins and friends! Dammit, Clarity! What else do you want me to do to make you believe me? Tell me?!"

I stiffened, feeling like cold water was poured on me from what I heard, particularly when I returned my eyes to him and saw the pain in his eyes.

His silver eyes were bloodshot, but he kept staring at me, as if he were trying to show me how sincere he was with his words.

The wall I built between us swiftly crumbled. Suddenly, I felt sorry for him. How can I be so doubtful of him when he's proved so many times that he's really sincere to me?

I'm now disgusted with myself. I'm exactly like those fictional protagonists who just run away and get everything wrong. A protagonist who just assumed everything without even trying to ask anything.

With all my heart, I moved in close to him, taking the most intimate space between us, until I buried my face in his chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to his heartbeats and deep breaths.

"I'm sorry..." For the first time, I swallowed my pride just to make him feel my regret.

After a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around my body.

"I've never used anyone. I've never played with someone's feelings, Clarity. When I said I loved you, it was true." He said calmly, with a whiff of fear and sadness in his voice.