CHAPTER 2
CINDERELLA
She trudged wearily up to the stairs of her apartment building, her feet heavy and her shoulders slumped under the weight of a long grueling night. The hum of the city outside was muted by the thick walls, but the fatigue in her bones was palpable.
As she fumbled with her keys and pushed open the door to her apartment, the stale air inside hit her like a wall. The dim light of the hallway cast a melancholy glow over the space. She was drained because of what just happened and the giggles inside the room lifted her soul.
“I’m home!” she announced upon closing the door, kicking her shoes to the side.
A girl in her messy bun and circle-framed lenses was sleeping on the sofa. Beside her was the five-year-old little boy who left his open bag of chips just to run towards her open arms.
“Mommy!” he shouted in joy. With that, the girl on the sofa woke up and immediately stood up to recite some scientific words that looks like alien words to her ears.
“Gwendolyn,” Ria uttered her friend’s name as she carries the little boy.
Gwendolyn was alerted and realized where she was. “Oh, you’re home.” She steps towards her to take the paper bags in her hand. “Oh! Is this for me?” she asked, taking the coffee from the bag.
“Of course. Thanks for looking out for Grant,” Ria smiled with her tired eyes.
“Sure! No problem. Besides, I needed someone that can help me stay awake late at night. And Lumiere was keeping me up,” she mumbled as she took a sip from her coffee and put a slice of bread in the toaster. She always calls the little in his second name. “What are sisters for?” Gwendolyn walked by the mini refrigerator and tapped it. “Nanay gave you some rice cakes.”
She nodded and a sparkle glistened in her eyes. “I’ll dig it in by tomorrow. For now, I will put this young man to sleep first.” She looked at the boy who was as tired as her leaning by her shoulders. “You needed a rest now, young man. And you too. You can’t stay up late every night,” she reminded the two.
“Don’t you want to go back, Ria?” Gwendolyn asked, almost whispering. “Our hometown is more peaceful. You will not be working this late and Lumiere can have a better life. Who knows if he can recover faster?”
“Gwen. I told you many times. I am happy here. I am leaving peacefully with my son,” she said in a serious tone.
Gwendolyn smiled bitterly. While she heard a slight hum from her son.
“I’ll see you, sissy. I just need to do mommy duties.” She winked at her before making her way to the bedroom with her son in her arms.
With a gentle hush and tenderness of a mother’s touch, she tucked her little one snugly into his bed, smoothing the covers of his sheet. She took a sigh at the sight of her child.
“You okay Mom?” he asked in his cute little voice.
She smiled. “Of course. I’m your supermom!” she exclaimed.
Hearing him giggle is slowly lifting the weight of the day from her shoulders.
As she leans in close, laying beside him, her voice becomes a soothing melody, weaving through the stillness of the night like a lullaby. With each note, she lulls her child into a peaceful slumber, her words are a blanket of comfort that envelops him in warmth and security. As the last verse of her song fades, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, whispering to him of a sweet dream.
She had him when she was still a teenager. How she had him was a nightmare, but when he was born, he became her light and reason to get on her feet back again. That made her give the name of Grant Lumiere, which means light. She loves this kid more than her life and she will do anything just to give him all that he needs.
“Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad,” he whispered his eyes closed and adjusting himself, hugging a tanned teddy bear as big as him.
With that, a sudden pain in her chest bloomed. She had told to her child that his father went away and they do not know when will he return. She lied that his dad is doing something important that he can’t talk to him even on phone.
All her lies were acceptable. But she wonders if her child will be mad if he ever finds out the truth. She coiled herself beside him, pressing her lips on her knees.
Fear, that is what she thought. She is afraid of facing the past. She is more afraid now that the man from her past suddenly shows up.
“What should I do now?” she asked herself, bowing her head to her knees, her tears are about to fall.
The next morning, Ria arrived early for another duty at the Sweet Café where she works during weekdays. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries envelops everyone who enters their café in a comforting embrace. The gentle hum of conversation by the counter and the clinking of cups and saucers create a gentle background melody, inviting anyone to step inside and take a seat.
“Good morning,” she greeted the barista behind the counter who was obviously not busy for that hour. “The café looks empty today,” she commented as she ties her red apron, her eyes roamed around.
“Well, a rich and handsome customer was waiting for someone by the patio. He reserved the whole café until lunch,” Trixie told her. She was the girl that she was with last night as a part-time waitress.
She could say that Trixie was her buddy on every work that she took.
“Is he a VIP?” she asked, as she took a peek by the large glass window. She knows that the patio veranda behind their small building was reserved for special guests.
Her eyes are drawn to a man seated on a comfortable chair outside. He is dressed impeccably in a tailored suit that fits him perfectly. The fabric hugged his broad shoulders and sculpted physique. The deep navy color of the suit is offset by a crisp white shirt and a dark tie, adding to the air of sophistication and refinement that surrounds him.
Because of the tall bushes, she couldn’t see the face of this man.
“Curious, eh?” Trixie teased her.
“No,” she answered instantly.
“You can see him right now. He was waiting for you for almost an hour now,” Trixie told her, making her eyes bigger.
“Me?”
She nodded. “He reserved the café just for the girl named Ria who works here. Lucky you,” she said as she shook her head, smiling. “Now, go. Before your chance of marrying a rich man will be gone.” Trixie even pushed her towards the door.
Her breathing stopped upon mesmerizing those beautiful almond eyes. Their eyes just met and she could not command her feet to walk away.
“This is a customer, Ria. A VIP,” she reminded herself as she began to step closer to his table. Sitting by the patio is a man named Grant and she wonders what he needs right now. Thinking about it is making her heart pumps in an uncontrolled beat.
As she draws closer, she notices the subtle details that made him even more striking- the glint of a watch on his wrist, the glimmer of a cufflink as he adjusted his sleeves. His eyes are intense and piercing.
His lips curl into a faint but charming smile and greeted her. “Good morning, Cinderella. Found you.”
CHAPTER 3REJECTED“Have a seat, please,” he presented the chair in front of him. “I think, I did not reserve this café for nothing. Now, sit.” Grant’s voice was deep and resonant, imbued with confidence and authority.With a gentle smile, she took the chair across him. Her eyes were glued on him, waiting for some news that could be good or bad. And worse, this man could have found out about her secret.His eyes were deep-set and piercing, like a hawk surveying its prey.Trixie came over with a tray in her hand. She put down two cups of freshly brewed coffee. One is their best selling and the other was her favorite. With a naughty smile and a wink, she left.“So, Ria. Am I right?” he began.She nodded, taking a sip of her latte. Her eyes dodged his gaze. There’s no use in telling him a lie about her name now. She can’t even imagine how this man found where she works.“It was really you whom I met in Paris before.”Again, she nodded. As much as possible, she keeps on running away from
CHAPTER 4 CONTRACTED As she sat there, staring at her phone, Ria couldn’t decide whether or not to call him. She thought about all the possible outcomes and wondered if she was ready to take the risk. It has been days and her son was already discharged. The doctor reminded her to make an appointment upon finalizing her decision. The only problem is that she needed a bigger budget for the surgery. Her son had been a sickly child. They already tried a blood transfusion for his anemia but it was not enough. After a year, his unstable illness reoccurred. And the only person that she could call right now is the owner of the number punched into her phone. With a deep breath and a sudden wave of courage, she knew that she had to take the chance. She dialed and heard a few rings before someone picked up. “I’ve been waiting for your call, Ria,” said a baritone voice from the other line. Her jaw dropped even before she could say hello. “How?” she said not knowing what exactly to say. Ho
CHAPTER 5 TELL As Ria stood at the locker, her tired eyes scanned her lifeless phone screen, longing for any sign of connection or excitement. Her long, auburn hair was tied up in a messy bun, revealing a few loose strands framing her pale face. The fluorescent lights of the locker room cast an unflattering glow on her features, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. Her cute apron, adorned with coffee stains and crumbs, hung loosely off her this frame. It was a reminder of the long hours she had spent on her feet. It has been a week since she and Grant signed a contract for their fake relationship, yet he was not calling or texting her about her new tasks. Well, her pride is telling her at the back of her head not to call him first. It would make her look so desperate. In fact, she really is. She took a deep sigh and headed towards the exit of their locker room. “What with the long face? Got a problem with your boyfriend?” Trixie asked from the counter. She was still on
CHAPTER 6 RULES “The plan was changed. We will be having dinner at the restaurant tonight. Have you memorized the details?” Grant spoke in a full of tension. Ria could see that he was trying to maintain a calm and collected demeanor, but his nerves were beginning to get the best of him. Not only him, but bet she too also felt the tension. “I guess, I know most of the details already.” She was just fetched right after her duty at the Sweet Café and was told that she will be meeting that night his parents and not by the weekends. He began to loosen his necktie that he felt the knot tightening with every passing second. “Eunice talked to them to wait for your arrival. They were planning to set the date of the wedding by tonight. And I won’t let that happen.” He looked at her for a second. “We’ll be driving to the mall. You are a model. You shouldn’t show up like that, right?” She looked down at her uniform with the apron that she forgot to remove upon dashing out of the café. She h
CHAPTER 7 ARRIVED “Thanks for accompanying me,” Ria told her best friend as she handed her her drink to quench their thirst from an hour of walking. “No problem. I got myself a coffee,” Gwen cheerfully said as she raised her tall tumbler of an iced brew. “Besides, I need to divert my mind,” she mumbled and took a sip of her straw. “Why? Is there something wrong with your intern?” She shook her head and released a deep sigh. “Yeah. Training is so hard. But what could be harder to remember a single thing that happen once in your life? That damn doctor!” she mumbled with a stressed tone. “What was that?” she asked for words she spoke unclearly to her ears. “Nothing. Come on. We need to buy you some boots.” Gwen pulled her hand as they started to browse through the endless alley of dresses and shoes. The two girls seemed to be in their own little world, giggling and chatting as they moved from store to store. Not only they got themselves new outfits but also groceries for stackin
CHAPTER 8 TOUR Ria opened her eyes slowly, feeling the warmth of the morning breeze in the province. She stretched her arms and legs, enjoying the softness of the bed. She reached for her phone as her first task of the day. As much as she wanted to savor this feeling of bliss, she knew she needed to get up that early. She got up and walked to the window, pulling back the curtains. She gasped at the sight of the vast green land of various fruit trees and a garden that was taken care of like children. She wrapped herself in a robe and headed downstairs, where a constant silence was heard and morning chicken crowing. No one’s still around that time of dawn, no staff to greet her a good morning. She wandered around the villa, clutching her phone like a lifeline. She had to make a call, but the signal was nowhere to be found. She tried every room, every window, every corner, but nothing. She felt like a prisoner in this luxurious place, cut off from the world. She began to walk outside
CHAPTER 9 FRIENDS Ria felt a sudden heat rise to her cheeks as if a thousand suns had lit up inside her. She couldn’t believe he had said those words, those sweet and dangerous words that made her heart flutter and her stomach twist. She wanted to say something back, but her tongue was dry. She looked away, hoping he wouldn’t notice her blush, and pointed to the area where she was earlier. It was the place where she saw a magnificent waterfall and sea. “Should we go there?” she said, trying to sound casual. “I think we should go back,” he said, his tone somehow turned serious. “It looks like a nice place to discover,” she said as she took a few steps when he spoke again. “Miss Cortez,” he called to her. That made her pause and looked back. “Why so formal right now?” she asked. “They won’t see or hear from here, now. We’re still strangers to each other. Our relationship is just pure business.” Without hearing her talk back, he went back to the stable to return his horse. She
CHAPTER 10 TREMBLE Ria put on a brave face, hiding her emotions behind a mask of indifference. She doesn’t want to feel that way. She was not supposed to feel that way. She smiled, acting like nothing had changed as nothing mattered. She buried her feelings deep inside, locking them away in a dark and lonely place. She hoped they would fade away, disappear, or die. But they didn’t. They made her feel like she wasn’t herself anymore. “Oh, you’re here already? I thought you’ll be here by the next day,” Patricia mentioned as they finally got near them. “Well. We will not let you take all the credit for helping,” said a guy who looks like the other one. “By the way, this is Jett and Jaye. I don’t know which one of them but they always make fools out of us,” Grant introduced the twins like two peas in a pod. One of them winked and the other one just smiled. “This is Lucas and Quinn. They’re siblings.”