I don’t know what to do. I can’t move under the gaze of Anthony’s father. It was our first meeting, and I would have been happy to meet my lover’s father, if only we weren’t in such a horrible situation.
I always teased Anthony about introducing me to his father, but he always dismissed the idea. Now I understand why he didn’t want to talk about him.
Mr. Clasiso was domineering and hard to connect with. His lips were always set in a straight line, and he hadn’t smiled once since we met. Maybe he was always like that, or maybe it was because of the situation we were in.
“You are Anthony’s girlfriend?” he asked darkly, standing in front of me. “Since when did he start disobeying my rules?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t want him to catch me at the crime scene, and I especially didn’t want him to find out that I was in a relationship with his deceased son. I couldn’t handle the risk and pressure!
I shook my head and looked away. “I-I mean, I was Anthony’s girl best friend…”
My gaze stayed fixed on his shiny black shoes. I didn’t dare look up because I knew his piercing eyes were still on me.
I know my father was rude, but at least he never mistreated me. The man in front of me was another story. I didn’t know him personally, so it would be easy for him to mistreat me. I didn’t want to be humiliated in front of others. I didn’t want to bear the shame.
“Girl best friend…” he said mockingly.
My throat went dry. I didn’t want to stand there feeling helpless. But I couldn’t just walk away rudely; Anthony’s father might think even worse of me.
“So, you are his girl best friend.” He was silent for a few minutes. Then he chuckled. “Tell me, who is Anthony’s mother?”
I blinked. I didn’t expect that question. Anthony’s mother? I swallowed hard, trying to recall her name. Anthony never mentioned much about his family, so I didn’t know a lot about him.
I just knew his name and his grade. No more, no less.
“I don’t know, sir. I’m sorry,” I whispered, still not looking up at him.
He said nothing more. He just walked past me, and I heard his footsteps fade away. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
I quickly stepped away from that place. School had ended. I could go home, but there was another problem at home. I didn’t want to see my father because I remembered what he did to Anthony.
I was about to book a hotel room again when I received a message from my father’s number. He warned me that if I didn’t come home tonight, he would freeze all my credit cards so I couldn’t book a hotel room.
I stomped my foot in frustration. I didn’t want to see him!
I harshly tugged at my own hair, biting my lip and groaning in frustration. I couldn’t escape. I desperately wanted to run away from my father, but it felt like there was a huge wall blocking my path. It was keeping me from leaving his grasp.
What he didn’t know was that I was sick of it. I was tired of obeying his every whim. I tried to understand him, tried to indulge him, but after seeing with my own eyes what he did to Anthony, I didn’t know if I could endure any longer.
I didn’t want to. I was done, but I had no choice but to obey!
Shoulders slumped, I walked towards the school gate. I looked up at the sky and thought for a moment. Was it past four in the afternoon? I wasn’t sure.
The orange rays of the sun lit up the wide Bermuda grass field of the University. The soft glow touched my face, and I paused for a moment. The warmth on my face helped me calm down a bit.
I took a deep breath. Looking ahead, I saw some students being picked up by their bodyguards. Some were commuting. In my case, I had a driver who had been waiting for me since lunch.
I knew this because my father texted me, saying he had ordered our family driver to pick me up at the University. He said the driver had been waiting outside the gate since lunch because he didn’t want me to escape my ride home. And he knew I wouldn’t leave our family driver behind.
I sighed. Since last year, I hadn’t been picked up by the family driver because I promised my father I would take care of myself. But since I didn’t come home last night, it must have triggered him to send the driver. He knew I would never ditch our family driver. After all, Mang Selyo was my second godfather.
Except that the one waiting for me wasn’t him. It was Mang Selyo’s son, Japen. I blinked and looked away. What was my father thinking, sending Japen here?
“Azora.”
I could clearly hear his warm greeting. My forehead creased. I didn’t like this guy, Japen. “Where’s your father?” I asked without looking at him.
I heard him laugh. I rolled my eyes.
“He’s in Bohol.”
I quickly looked at Japen. He was just staring at me with a smile on his lips. I rolled my eyes again. He never seemed to tire of smiling at me.
“Whatever,” I muttered.
I opened the car door myself. He tried to stop me, but I was already seated inside before he could say anything. I smirked. I won this time.
I saw him cover his face with his hand before getting into the driver’s seat. I noticed him glancing at me occasionally through the rearview mirror. I raised an eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat and started the car. Huh.
Japen’s still scared of me.