Chapter 2

　　I smiled, and a random thought flashed in my mind.

　　"I am sorry for meddling, but I have heard the maids earlier talking about the visitor coming. I wonder... If he/she is your relative?"

　　For years of existing, meeting a visitor was uncommon to me. I felt shy every time one asked for my name and age and then praised my face.

　　I was still studying; I was called a 'nerd' because I liked wearing eyeglasses. I had lots of pimples -- even until now, I still had ones. Most of my classmates bullied me by naming me a 'witch.' I was academically brilliant, and maybe that triggered them to hate me more.

　　"Oh, she is. She's Pia. You'll meet her later." She winked at me. "She's friendly. You two will be friends."

　　I did not think so.

　　I did not have any friends. Many were afraid to be with me (only adults appreciated my beauty). I tried to socialize before, but what happened just worsened the situation.

　　One time, someone courted me, and I did reject him. And the next day, after his confession, his body was found dead in the middle of the road. Again, many did not believe that it was because he was hit by a car driven by a reckless driver; instead, they put all the blame on me. They thought that I bewitched him, which was not true. They were just too judgemental.

　　That's why I did not dream of having a friend. My life was like being cursed. My parents were dumped, hated by society, and now left by my Auntie.

　　"You're spacing out, Philie, what's wrong?"

　　I shook my head. "Nothing, Madam. I am just excited to meet her."

　　Xy was probably still in his room resting since I never felt his presence around me. That was good, though, since I hated to be with a man.

　　"What is your wish for your birthday?"

　　"Madam..." I could not help but feel shy. Feeling glad she knew my birthday, I smiled. "I don't celebrate birthdays, Madam. I am already old for that thing."

　　"Oh, no, too bad, but I like celebrations!" She chuckled. "We are gonna celebrate your celebration! You're turning twenty-one, right?"

　　"Yes, I am."

　　"Then, where do you want to go? Do you want us to celebrate here with your friends? Or do you like to buy something?"

　　"Thank you." My smile appeared again. "I want to go to the beach when my birthday comes."

　　She was stunned, as if she wanted to say 'no' but just forcing herself not to. "That's great! It's wonderful that you are interested in celebrating your birthday. We will go to the beach!'

　　Okay, that was weird.

　　To see waves roaring was my favorite. It made me calm down amidst all the chaos. Every time I was feeling so down, I just thought about the sea and its exquisiteness. It's like I was born to love the sea.

　　"Can I excuse myself, then?" said Madam, who looked uncomfortable. "I will talk to you later. "I just need to do something."

　　Really weird.

　　The house I was stepping into right now was too big for a family. This had three floors, so I felt like admiring a mall. The place was classically designed with an orange-like wall. The chandelier in the middle of the living room proved the richness of Brooks.

　　Working came into my mind. Maybe I could talk to Madam and ask for a job. I was not blood-related to Brooks, and I did not want people to think I was useless here. I needed to prove myself to them.

　　"Hi, Mrs. Brooks, here's your snacks."

　　"Thank you for this. But I am not a Brook. You can call me 'Philie'."

　　The maid smiled. "Oh, but Madam Maricris told me to. I am afraid to be caught by her not following her instructions."

　　I suddenly pitied her. "Okay, then. Call me... 'Mrs. Brooks'."

　　I almost lost my breath when a man in his simple t-shirt and pants got water from the faucet, his body structure screaming for wealth and arrogance. The way he made ways looked so gracious, as if he never committed a single mistake in his life. In my eyes, everything about him was perfect.

　　As I had seen his beautiful side profile, I realized that he was Xy, the man I was getting married to.

　　"Philie?" his baritone voice asked; there's no gentleness in it.

　　The maid ran away, afraid.

　　Now I was alone with him. "Yes. F-Fancy meeting you."

　　He peeked a glance over me though it did not last long, not answering my questions. My jaw dropped as he left. I swallowed hard. Madam Maricris was right -- Xy was hard to understand; He always looked mad.

　　I held my chest as it thumped hard. I guessed I needed to stop drinking coffee. This might be the reason why I feel so tense right now.

　　"I have met him, Madam," I announced to her when we were having dinner. It's been hours, yet I still did not forget about my encounter with her son. And now I was disappointed since he's not in here to eat with us.

　　"Oh, that's nice. What's your first impression of her?" It's a good thing she usually acted again, unlike earlier when I noticed she kept avoiding my presence. "Oh, please, if he does something bad, tell me immediately."

　　I laughed a little. "He is slightly nice, Madam, but is kinda cold. He seems to like his words are limited."

　　She joined beaming. "I am sorry for that. Having his Pokerface is normal for him. Since his father died, he has been trained to manage our businesses. We never expected he would become too serious."

　　Death was the normal yet painful thing in this world, and it must be tedious to lose someone. I now understood Xy's feelings. He was just traumatic.

　　"He asked for my name and he left. That's all. I am thankful that he did not punch my ugly face."

　　"No, he does not hurt. I mean, he doesn't hurt physically. Anyway, you're not ugly, stop calling yourself like that."

　　I stared at nothingness. Madam Maricris was like Auntie every time she cheered me up.

　　When another morning came, I was welcomed with sexy Xy leaning on a couch with a glass of coffee in his hand. I got conscious about my physical appearance, but I still walked near him, not minding my crazy heart. It's still early at the moment, but with him, I felt sizzling already.

　　"Good morning," I did the first move.

　　And I received nothing. His eyes were still watching a documentary on the tv screen. He heard me; he was not just interested in answering.

　　"Have you had breakfast?" Amazingly, I wanted to befriend him. Parts of me wished to know him more -- his likes, hate dreams, and many more.

　　Silence fell. It's an awkward one.

　　It's so hard to start a topic with him! He did not like to talk much, and that's the problem. I had difficulty having a good conversation, and we were not helping each other at all.

　　"Oh, Xylde! Have you had breakfast?!" His Mom arrived. That was a good thing. I could not bear to be with someone who's like a robot.

　　"Yes," he answered.

　　"Okay, okay! How about we go shopping?"

　　I bit my lip, imagining myself inside the mall.

　　"Looks like Philie loves my ideas so let's shop, son!"

　　He sighed, irritated. He turned off the television using the small remote control. "I have lots of things to do."

　　Seven words. He's improving little by little.

　　"But you should have a bond with your soon-to-be wife! Stop being a killjoy, son! You're not getting younger so enjoy life!"

　　So we both knew we were getting married. I wondered if it was okay for him... I was curious if he had a girlfriend or what. And if ever I found out he had one, I would willingly let him go since I did not want to ruin a relationship.

　　"I am busy," he uttered and stood up. Without saying goodbye, he again left.

　　I sighed.

　　"He's a businessman, yet he's so disrespectful." Madam rolled her eyes. "I am sorry, again, Philie. I know you like the idea of our shopping, but he just ruined the mood."

　　"It's okay," I lied. "I understand him. He barely knows me that's why he doesn't have the interest to bond with me.".