CHAPTER 11

Just as her grandmother told her, she slept in the house of their relative who was living in Manila before she went back home the morning after. The moment she stepped inside the house, she immediately told her grandmother about the good news. The old woman was happy, but she still couldn’t help but be worried as it would be the first time that she’d be far from her for a long time, but she chose to strengthen her guts because she was already adamant with her decision. She also told Shirley that she was accepted in Clyde’s company. Her friend was also happy for her.

Her work would start on Monday already. Luckily, there was a room that she could rent that Joy had found for her since it would be too troublesome if she’d stay in her relative’s house as it was far from where she would be working.

She was even having a hard time picking out clothes in the thrift store that she could wear in the office.

She knew that it wouldn’t be fit if she’d wear those long skirts because she’d have a hard time working around. Her grandmother even accompanied her in choosing her clothes. What the old woman wanted was for them to buy in the mall, but since she didn’t want them to spend much on clothes, she chose to bring her to the thrift store instead. After all, she could still buy clothes from there.

The old woman was the one who picked out the clothes for her. They were mostly slacks and clothes that went beyond the knees. They looked decent and were fit for office work.

Natasha started packing her clothes when it was already Saturday in the evening, and her grandmother was helping her do so.

“Keep yourself safe in there, okay? You know for certain that there are a lot of tricksters in Manila. Never ever trust people, especially men that easily,” she advised as she placed her folded clothes inside the suitcase.

"Of course, Grandma. Don’t worry because I’ll call you every night. I’m at ease that you’ll be with Aunt Meding’s daughter. At least you have someone here while I’m away,” she said with a smile.

The old woman smiled at her as well.

When she traveled back to Manila the next day, her grandmother accompanied her because she wanted to see the place that she would be staying in. She still needed to ride two jeepneys before she reached her work. What she rented was only a small room.

“Will you be okay here?” her grandmother asked with a hint of worry in her voice upon seeing the place she would be staying in.

“I’ll be the only one who will be staying here so it will be alright. And this is the cheapest around here so I guess it’s already fine,” she answered, looking at the entirety of her room.

The room had a small electric fan and a built-in cabinet. The cooking area, on the other hand, was outside. There were a number of rooms there as well, and almost everyone who rented those rooms worked in the mall that was near the exact location.

When it was finally time for her grandmother to go back home as she didn’t have the time to stay there longer, she accompanied her to the terminal. She wasn’t even able to convince the old woman to spend the night there because she had customers that would be looking for her early in the morning.

Natasha was finally back to her room soon after, and she immediately laid down in the small bed. She was smiling as she stared at the ceiling of her room. She couldn’t wait to work. When she remembered that she brought a number of Clyde’s pictures with her, she jerked up before getting them and pasting them on the cabinet.

She also took a book out of her bag as well before embracing it against her chest. What her grandmother didn’t know was that she took the book that was all about love potions and bewitches with her. She had already read it before. She remembered that there were several ways on how someone can bewitch a person to like her.

"You’re my last resort, my last chance,” she said, her eyes were tightly shut, as she continued hugging the book.

She arranged her things in the cabinet. She didn’t bring a lot of things, though, as she thought that it wouldn’t do any harm if she’d repeat clothes in the office, right? She didn’t apply to be the company’s model after all.

She took a rest for a little while. However, the moment she closed her eyes, she immediately drifted to sleep. She only had an hour of sleep last night because of the excitement that she was feeling in her chest.

In her dream, there was Clyde.

"I love you so much, Natasha,” he said while he was cupping her face.

She could see how the guy stared at every feature of her face. His eyes were even sparkling because of the intense love that he was feeling for her. She slowly closed the gap between their faces, and she didn’t have to say anything as the guy immediately closed his eyes, waiting for her lips.

She finally closed the distance between them, and she could feel how soft his lips were. The both of them moved in sync with each other, the guy gently nibbling her lower lip.

She opened her mouth, causing the kiss to deepen, before clinging into his neck, their eyes were still closed.

“Hmmm…” she softly moaned.

"Tash... I love you," the guy whispered in between kisses.

"I love you too," she replied.

She slowly opened her eyes because she wanted to see the handsome face of the love of her life. However, she was startled when she saw the smiling face of the guy. His hair was long, and he also had piercings. She wasn’t kissing Clyde!

"K-kyle?" she muttered, staring at the guy who she just made out with. He was Clyde’s twin brother!

The guy only smiled as a confirmation. He cupped her face once more to kiss her again. She wasn’t even able to move. She just let him kiss her even when she knew that the guy who was kissing her wasn’t Clyde.

Soon after, her eyes slowly closed, as if they had a mind of their own, and received a kiss with all of her heart.

She jerked awake, and quickly rubbed her chest, feeling the hard thudding of her heart against it.

"Ah, that was an intense nightmare!” she said to herself.

She stood before fetching herself some water.

She even jumped from shock when her phone rang. She looked at the time and saw that it was already seven in the evening. She really did sleep for a long time. Her forehead was creased when she stared at the screen of her cellphone. She couldn’t recognize the number that was calling.

"Hello?" she answered hesitantly.

"Is this Miss Policarpio?" It was the voice of a girl and an utterly intimidating voice.

"Y-yes?"

"Alright, this is Zara. You will report to me every day. Before you head to the office tomorrow, you will fetch the clothes that will be needed for the photo shoot. They’re in the house of Mrs. del Espania. You will fetch those clothes early as the shoot will start at eight in the morning. Understood?" Zara was fast to say that.

"Y-Yes," she replied even when what she said hadn’t really registered completely in her mind.

"Good. Don't be late," she said and was already about to end the call when she stopped her from doing so after asking a question.

"Err, Miss Zara, what’s the address?" she asked.

It took her quite some time before she answered.

"It's your job to find out.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice before she dropped the call.

Luh!

She even stared at her phone when the call dropped before she scratched her hair.

It seemed like the girl wanted her to become a psychic and read her mind. Was the Mrs. del Espania that she talked about referred to Clyde’s grandmother? Where could she possibly look for their address?

She let out a sigh. Right at that moment, she understood why the crying girl chose to resign.

It looked like Zara was a terror boss. She shook her head as she thought about ways to know the address of the house that she’d visit tomorrow.