18

Tomas.
When Jennifer walked away to check a message she received on her cell phone, her action stirred a wave of anger within me. I couldn’t quite place it-was it jealousy or something else? The fact that she was hiding something from me was intensely distracting.
As I pondered, I found myself questioning why she kept her personal life so distant from me. Why hadn’t she shared anything about her past up until this point? Did I need to confront her about it? Or maybe I should hire someone to investigate her background?
At the same time, I was left wondering why I even cared to know about her past. After all, she was just my secretary; Jennifer was working for me, nothing more. She wasn’t my girlfriend or even a real fiancee. The thoughts racing through my head were overwhelming, giving me a headache as I tried to untangle my emotions.
I thought back to my behavior at the nightclub when I saw her dancing with the famous singer Jack. Why had I reacted so strongly? Why did I shout at Mark when he claimed Jennifer was the most beautiful woman ever? Couldn’t I have simply ignored him?
And why hadn’t I tried to sleep with her yet? What was keeping me from taking that step? I kept her in my life, and despite everything, I still shared personal details with her about my life. This connection wasn’t just business. I felt like I was trying to convince myself that my relationship with Jennifer was purely professional, but deep down, I knew I was lying to myself.
Perhaps the truth was that I was terrified of falling in love again, especially with someone like Jennifer.
When Jennifer repeated her plea for me to share the entire story about my past with Maya, her voice was filled with concern. “Tomas, please, I want to know the whole story. You promised me you would tell me everything about your past-please, Tomas,” she urged, her eyes pleading with me.
I knew I was a womanizer- I wasn’t stupid. This woman genuinely cared about me, but it was hard to think clearly whenever she spoke. She had a way of influencing my thoughts, making me feel weak, soft, and sensitive. My heart raced in her presence, and I found myself silent, my mind swirling with conflicting thoughts.
Jennifer reached for my hand and moved closer to me on the couch. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and she nodded encouragingly. “Okay, Jennifer. I will tell you now the whole story between me, Maya, and Mark,” I finally said.
And then I began recounting my tale, a flashback to the past.
Mark was my best friend back in college. He was handsome, but perhaps not as striking as I was. During those years, I had chosen to ignore every girl who showed interest in me, which ironically made me more popular. People started to believe that I was ignoring girls because I was involved with a famous actress.
I couldn’t fathom why they thought this; no one had ever seen me with a girl. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I was busy managing my father’s businesses after his passing. Attending high-profile events and meetings with wealthy individuals became my routine.
In addition to that, I was an athlete-specifically a football player, and I was known as the best attacker on the team. All of these factors combined to elevate my status, pushing Mark into the background. He was two years older than me, a popular guy in his own right, but once I joined that university, my presence changed everything.
Within a few months, Mark found himself overshadowed. As his popularity dwindled, he tried to draw closer to me. I didn’t realize at the time that his intentions were fueled by jealousy. He wanted to gather secrets about me to undermine my reputation.
I was too focused on my studies and my ambitions to notice his ulterior motives. That was my downfall. Gossip soon spread around campus, and people began to look at me differently, especially the girls.
Eventually, I discovered that the rumors were suggesting I was gay. This revelation bothered me deeply. If I were just an ordinary guy, I might have brushed it off, but I was a businessman striving to build my empire and honor my parents by keeping their legacy alive.
During this tumultuous time, I sought advice from Carl, who had become like a father to me after my own dad died. He suggested that I needed to find a girlfriend-someone to help dispel the rumors.
But I resisted this idea. I didn’t want a girlfriend distracting me from my work. Instead, I opted for a different approach: I’d fake a relationship. I reached out to one of the famous actresses, a young woman named Selena, who had shown interest in me since the first time we met at an event.
I asked her to help with my predicament, and much to my surprise, she agreed enthusiastically. As part of our arrangement, she began visiting my college.
On our first day of pretending to date, she texted me while I was in class. “Hey, Tomas, I’m at your college. Where are you?” she wrote.
“I’m in a lecture and will be done in a few minutes,” I replied.
“That’s great!” she responded eagerly.
But then, unexpectedly, she called out my name loudly from below the window, drawing the attention of every student around.
“Tomas Charl, come out now! Show me your face!” Selena yelled.
I blinked, caught off guard. This wasn’t what we had planned. I leaned out the window, noticing a crowd gathering around her, eager to catch a glimpse of the famous actress.
“What’s going on, Selena? Are you crazy?!” I shouted down, rolling my eyes.
“Why did you break up with me, Tomas?” she asked, her voice filled with emotion.
I felt a rush of nerves. She was acting so earnestly.
“I love you, Tomas Charl! Please come back to me. I know I’m not enough for you, but I promise I’ll try my best,” Selena continued, her voice cracking.
“Selena, this isn’t the right place to discuss our personal issues!” I replied, wanting to distance myself from the scene.
“Please, Tomas, don’t leave me! I’ll wait here forever if I have to. I can’t forgive you!” she insisted, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I was taken aback, unsure of how to react. This felt so real, and her tears stirred something deep within me. I rushed down to her, wiping her tears away with my hand. “Okay, Selena, I’m with you,” I finally said softly.
She giggled through her tears and hugged me tightly. “Don’t leave me again, Tomas. You’re my soulmate,” she whispered.
Afterward, I drove us to a quiet restaurant-one I had never noticed was so romantic before. As we sat under candlelight, I couldn’t help but wonder why she had acted so dramatically earlier.
“What are you doing, Selena? We just left the college! Why do you keep crying?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
“This place is amazing! It’s the most romantic spot I could think of to tell you how I feel,” she said.
I widened my eyes, taken aback. “What do you want to say, Selena?”
“I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you, but I thought you were ignoring me. I learned you were single, so I tried to get close to you. When you asked me to fake date, I couldn’t resist. This was my chance to be near you, to confess my love,” she revealed.
I was at a loss for words. To be desired so intensely by someone like her felt surreal.
“I like you, Selena, but I’m not ready for a real relationship right now,” I told her.
“Then let me be your fake girlfriend. Maybe in time, you’ll come to love me for real,” she suggested.
I cleared my throat, feeling conflicted. “I can’t use you like that. I don’t want to hurt you,” I insisted.
“Please, Tomas, I want to be close to you, and I promise not to distract you,” she begged, her eyes pleading.
Eventually, I agreed, drawn in by her desperation. As I sat with her, I received a multimedia message from an unknown number-pictures of me with Selena and text messages scolding me for breaking her heart.
In that moment, I realized Selena’s actions had changed my reputation entirely. I had gone from being a mere guy to being seen as a womanizer. So, I decided to play along with the charade for a while longer, but little did I know what complications would arise later on.