Chapter 18 - Awkward Moments

THE mass would start at 10 AM. Max still had thirty minutes to prepare. After taking a bath, she opened her wardrobe and examined her clothes. She decided to go with her black floral-print long-sleeved knee-length chiffon dress and paired it with a black suede two-inch block-heeled sandals.

She excitedly looked at herself in the human-sized mirror and was very satisfied at how the outfit looked good on her--or rather, how she looked good on it. But the excitement was replaced with hatred when she saw the old Kathrina--sweet, naive, and stupidly in love with Hero.

Do you wanna go back to that weak Kathrina? Did you forget your rule: Never trust anyone?

"No!" She violently shook her head.

She was about to take the dress off when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Are you done yet?" It was Hero's voice. "Nanny asked me to check up on you. We're all ready."

"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute," she answered. She had no time to change. She put on her dress and put on a lip tint on both lips and cheeks. Finally, she grabbed her silver chain black purse and put her valuables in--cellphone, money, and keys. She took one final turn in front of the mirror before heading out.

She expected Hero to be waiting for her outside her door, but to her dismay, he wasn't there anymore. She locked her room and was about to walk downstairs when she saw Hero at the last guest room, checking if it's properly locked. He was stunned when he saw her--just as she was expected just like when they had dinner at a steakhouse.

"Wow! Look at that!" he teased as he walked towards her. "A true-blood Mejares princess."

She gave him a dirty look. "Do you really want to start with me now?"

He laughed. "Chill. It's a compliment. That looks good on you. You look so beautiful."

She felt her cheeks burning hot at the way he said those words. It brought chills up her spine with tiny sparks of alien sensations. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm herself.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself," she returned the compliment.

"I know. I kinda rock it!" he boasted, which was true. He looked more handsome and elegant with his slicked-back hair and newly shaved beard and mustache.

"Yeah, right," she said plainly.

"Shall we?" he asked as he offered his elbow to her as if he were her escort in a ball.

"Sure," she nodded before holding onto him.

As soon as her foot hit the stairs, her mind traveled far and wide with the mad she was holding on to. She imagined herself as a real princess escorted by her prince charming on her debut as they went down the long and wide stairs of the palace. The guests were waiting for them in that grand ballroom, filled with different colored lights and decors. The sweet mellow music started to play in the background, and the people started to dance with their partners...

"Max! Max!"

Hero's whisper and soft tap on the shoulder brought her back to reality. She was kneeling on the hassock and didn't realize she fell asleep. She even forgot how they left the house, and how they arrived in the church. She embarrassedly stood from her position.

Without warning, Hero caught her left hand and held it up. Her heart skipped a beat as he looked at him. He was facing forward, eyes closed, as he was singing the 'Our Father' song. She was embarrassed again.

Sitting at the end of the bench, she had no one to hold with her right hand so she just raised it with her palm opened up, closed her eyes, and started singing along. But the pounding of her chest intensified when she felt his thumb caressing the back of her palm. She clasped her palm on him. His grip on her hand tightened. She opened her eyes to look at him and secretly smiled.

"Ehem!" Miggy suddenly coughed. Only then did Hero release her hand. She turned away from him in embarrassment. A few minutes later, the mass was over before they knew it.

"Nanny, where do you want to eat?" she asked Belen when they reached the exit gate of the church.

"I want to eat plates of seafood," Hero said.

"Let's go to a Korean restaurant," Miggy replied.

"I think..."

"Am I asking you?" she cut them off.

Lance didn't finish what he's about to say as Hero and Miggy shut their mouths and looked away, pretending to be unaffected.

"Look who's here? Didn't expect we would meet here, of all places."

They all turned to see the owner of that familiarly arrogant voice. She was stunned to see Liam.

"I did not know that demons also go to church," Lance whispered to himself, but he wasn't soft enough that they could still hear him.

One of Liam's men reacted to what Lance said, yet Liam was able to stop him from making a scene.

She did not like what was happening so she had to do something to ease the situation.

"Liam! What a surprise!" she greeted the young man with her 'sweet Kath's smile'. "It's nice to see you again."

Liam was shocked to recognize her. "Kath, what are you doing here with these guys?" he asked in a dangerous voice.

The three young men looked at each other before looking at her. She did not let them speak.

She looked at Liam straight in the eyes, warning--and begging--him not to reveal her real identity. "You remember Nanny Belen, right?" She held Belen's hand and brought her forward. "She took care of me when I was young while we're living here in Casa. She's been the caretaker of the house since we left."

Liam looked at her before looking at Belen and giving her an awkward smile. "Nice to see you again, Nanny."

"Nanny, this is Liam, CJ's bestfriend. Remember him? He used to come to our house and visit CJ," she told Belen.

"Ah, yes, I remember you," Belen replied, delighted. "You're now all grown up yet still handsome!"

Liam smiled at the compliment, and Max knew it was a real one. Despite his indifference, she knew he had a soft spot for her Nanny Belen. She had been their second mother way back then.

"Thank you, Nanny. You didn't seem to age yourself. You still look the way I remembered you when we were kids," he returned the compliment. However, that smile was only there for a moment because he still had his sharp look at Hero.

"This is his nephew, Hero. His friends, Lance and Miggy," she continued.

"What?!" he asked in disbelief.

She didn't answer him. She turned to Belen instead. "Nanny, I think you should go home first. We'll just eat out some other time. Liam and I will just have some catching up to do," she said, indirectly driving them away.

"All right. Be careful in going home. Liam, take care of Kath for me, will you?" Belen requested.

"I will, Nanny! Be careful," Liam replied.

They waited for them to get into a taxi and leave. Liam instructed his minions not to follow them as they went to a convenience store across the street. There were vacant seats inside so they sat and talked.

"Really, Kath? Did you follow that man all the way here? Are you that crazy about him?" Liam started.

She wanted to slap him but that would be lame so she just kept herself calm. "Is that what you think I am?" she asked coldly.

"Then, why are you together? Why are you here and why is he here at Casa de Oro?"

"I did not know that he was here and that he was living with his aunt, which is my nanny. What do you want me to do--drive him away? Besides, I don't even have an obligation to explain everything to you. It's you who has a lot of explaining to do. I suffered a lot because of what you did. My life, my dreams, and my future have all been ruined because of that terrible thing that you did."

"If you've just kept your mouth shut, you will not suffer like that. Problem is, you stick your nose to whatever business and trouble he's involved with."

"Because he did not do anything wrong. He once saved my life, but instead of thanking him, you got angry with him. You even got his poor girlfriend killed!"

"I didn't kill his sweetheart," he said firmly with a heavy emphasis on each word. "He did it himself."

When she realized their conversation wasn't going anywhere, she immediately got up from her seat.

"Kath, I'm warning you," Liam said in a serious tone. "Stay away from him."

"I should say the same to you, Liam. Don't touch him," she replied, staring straight into his eyes. "And one more thing. Nobody calls me Kath in Casa. My name is Max," she added before leaving him there.