Jeyah’s POV
I suddenly woke up when my brother was softly knocking on the door. I stood up and stretched my arms. I flipped the doorknob and opened it.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetie”, my brother hugged me as he handed to me two bouquets of flowers. One bouquet of pink roses and another bouquet of red roses.
He stepped inside my room and sat on my bed. I sat beside him while holding the flowers.
“Thank you boo. Happy Valentines’!’ I responded.
“Uhm, why there are two bouquets boo? I know these pink roses are coming from you, but who sent the red roses?”, I asked curiously, smelling the sweet fragrance of the flowers.
“Hmm… someone delivered this a while ago. Why don’t you read the card attached to it, so you will know, your secret admirer?”, Andre spoke with a teasing smile on his lips. I’m sure he knew already who could be the sender.
Yeah, I forgot the flower card. I opened it and there it reads,
“Happy Valentine’s baebubs. See you around.”
I smiled after reading the message, knowing that it was from Darren. I folded back the flower card and placed it in my drawer. I looked at my brother, who was intently staring at me.
“Uhm, by the way sweetie, Darren called me last night asking my permission to allow him to be your escort tonight at your Valentine’s Party. Did he tell you about it?”, Andre asked in a casual tone.
I nodded and took a long, deep sigh.
“Oh, what’s wrong? Are you not happy that Darren will be your escort?”, he asked, a little confused of my reaction.
“It’s not like that, boo. I am just worried because I know that plenty of women wanted him to be their escort. And I feel a little awkward because I am not used to attending parties even before. I don’t know if I could be able to manage myself at the party. So maybe it’s better not to attend”, I said softly.
“Oh, you will not attend? Uhm.. sweetie”, Andre spoke and held my hand.
“This is your time for socialization. Besides, it’s your school’s event. So you need to go there and enjoy yourself. I trust Darren and I know he will take care of you. Uhm, I already contacted Nikko’s gay friend to do your beauty make-over and he will be bringing with him later sets of dresses that will perfectly suit the occasion”, Andre added and pinched my cheek.
I was so touched by the kind of support Andre had given to me and I am so lucky to have him as my brother. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Thank you boo. I love you!”, I exclaimed and wiped some droplets of tears on my cheeks.
“I love you more sweetie. For now, you need to take a bath and so we can eat our breakfast okay?”, he uttered and stood up.
“Ah, by the way, there will be a party also at JJ tech later, so I cannot pick you up at school. Anyway, Darren promised me to drive you home, so no worries about it”, he said and winked his eyes as he stepped out of the room.
When I was already alone, I laid back my body on the soft bed and stretched my arms wide. I looked at the ceiling trying to figure out what could possibly happen at the party. And why Darren, want to be my escort, of all people? Why it’s me? My heart was beating fast upon thinking that a few hours from now, I’ll be seeing Darren again. I was in the midst of imagining things when my phone suddenly rang. I tried to reach for my phone and my heart skipped a beat when I know it was a call coming from Darren.
“H-ello”, I muttered. I felt the tension inside my body, knowing that he was on the other line.
“Hi, Happy Valentine’s baebubs!”, he greeted.
I responded the same and thanked him for sending me the bouquet of flowers.
“By the way, I already asked your brother’s approval to be your escort at the party later. I’ll gonna pick you up at 6:00 in the evening”, Darren said in a gentle tone of voice.
“Okay. See you around, bubs”, I responded, trying to make my voice more casual. As much as I could I don’t want to be obvious about how I feel towards him. That was shameful on my part.
After some time of having a conversation, we bid goodbye to each other.
I stood up and placed my phone in the drawer, but I heard a beep sound, and a message was received. It was my mom, who greeted me a ‘Happy Valentine’s Day”. Actually, I texted her a while ago just to send my greetings. I missed my mom and how I wished she is here with us. But I know, she is busy now in Korea, preparing for her wedding. I shook my head upon thinking that my mother will be having another family. I heaved a deep sigh because if I were to decide, I don’t want her to get married again. I love my dad so much and whenever I think that mom will be spending the rest of her life with another man, somehow makes me sad. But of course, I want her to be happy, so I need to support her decision.
I took my towel and went inside the bathroom.
After taking a bath, I dressed in an off-white blouse and black square pants, like I used to wear when I’m at home. After fixing myself in the mirror, I went downstairs to take my breakfast because I’m sure my brother was already waiting for me at the dining table.
“Hi nanny, Happy Valentine’s Day!”, I greeted the woman we considered our second mom. She was setting up the table for our breakfast.
I approached her and kissed her cheek. She responded and smiled at me. Afterwards, she gestured that the table is ready, and the three of us were happily taking our meals.
After we’re done eating, I went to the sala and sat on the sofa bed. I took the remote and turned on the television. My brother went to his work studio to do some work-related matters. I know how busy he is in running our business. But I salute him for having a sense of responsibility, dedication, and commitment.
I haven’t realized that I had fallen asleep while watching my favorite Korean drama. The next thing I know, was it’s already lunchtime and nanny was waking me up to take our lunch. After eating, I went back to the sala to watch noontime shows. Two hours had passed and I heard someone was pressing the doorbell. I’m sure it was Fritzie. The one my brother was telling me, to do my makeover.
“Hi Jeyah! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!’, Fritzie exclaimed as soon as he stepped inside. He was bringing with him a portable wardrobe storage box. Andre went outside the work studio to carry the box upstairs. Fritzie smiled at my brother and pinched his chest, with sparkling eyes. That’s normal to him, so we are used to it. He is a gay after all who gets attracted to a handsome man. But, he remains professional in dealing with his customers and that’s what I like about him most. He is a fashion designer and a make-up artist, at the same time the owner and the manager of our favorite beauty salon.
I gestured him to follow me all the way to my room. After a moment, he started the makeover. It took two hours before it was done. Afterwards, Fritzie asked me to open the box and choose the dress that would perfectly suit the party. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I picked up a cherry red off-shoulder maxi dress and put it on. As soon as Fritzie saw me, his eyes widened in astonishment.
“Wow, you look so gorgeous Jeyah! Perfect, amazing!!”, he yelled while clapping his hands.
“But—“, Fritzie paused and rolled his eyes as if he was thinking of something. He walked around, looking at me from head to toe.
“Uhm, what if you flaunt off a little of your cleavage. You know, the one you’re wearing perfectly fits you, but why not try to put this on?”, he uttered while showing me a red V-neck maxi dress with a thigh slit.
“Oh no, I can’t wear this Fritz. Exposing much of my skin? Oh my gosh!!!”, I said, pouting my lips.
Fritzie smirked at me, ” Hmmp! Conservative!” But then after some time, he smiled and walked around me.
“Uhm, never mind, if you’re comfortable with this, then okay!”, he uttered and looked around to choose the footwear that would complement my dress. He went closer to my shoe rack and picked up the black heels sandal.
“I think this one is perfect for you Jeyah. Anyway, you don’t need high heels because you stand 5’5 right?”, he asked and gestured me to sit on the couch, bringing to my feet the footwear he had chosen for me.
“Well, I’m just hoping you will find later, your ‘Valentino’ Jeyah. I know there will be plenty of men who will be asking to dance with you. May the best man win!”, he chuckled as if he was teasing me for someone else. Fritzie and I were not really that close but because of this teasing moment, I realized he was a nice guy. I couldn’t help myself but laugh out loud as he was throwing plenty of jokes at me.
Suddenly, my brother was knocking on the door. He entered my room bringing two cans of pineapple juice and two slices of cake. He placed it on the table and told Fritzie to partake of the food. Then he looked at me and exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow! You’re so pretty, my dear sister! I think you’re now ready to come to the party”, my brother said, as he went closer to me and gently cupped my face.
“I hope you will enjoy the party later, sweetie”, he added and smiled at me. Then he looked at Fritzie who was sitting on the couch, drinking a can of pineapple juice.
“Fritz, thank you. You’re the best make-up artist ever!”, Andre complimented. Fritzie just gestured a thumbs up and gave his cutest smile. After a while, he bid goodbye because he has still a lot of customers waiting for him in the salon. I know my brother had already given him the payment beforehand through credit cards, so there’s nothing else to worry about.
My brother went back to his work studio because he said he had still something to finish before going to JJ tech.
The time flies so fast and when I looked at my wristwatch, it’s already 6 o’clock in the evening. I stood up because I know Darren, would be coming here any minute from now. Once again, I looked at myself in the mirror and did some retouching.
Suddenly, I heard the beeping sound of the car outside. I’m sure it was Darren’s car. My heart was beating fast, and my palms were clamming up with cold sweat as I went downstairs.