Two nights left before the alumni homecoming and JL is standing in front of Dior who is busy reviewing for his board exam. He turned a book page and asked, “You want me to find an outfit that will suit an alumni homecoming party?”. JL slowly nodded with arms crossed. Dior sighed, “Oh come on! I haven’t been in an alumni homecoming. How should I know what to wear?” he complained.
History repeats itself for these two. Just like what happened in the escapade, Dior pulled every formal attire he has in his closet. “There, mix and match and you’re all set” Dior said after individually presenting the formal wears he pulled out. JL sat down in the bed’s corner and chose something. After looking through, he stepped out of his cousin’s room.
Dior called up his attention, “Hey, aren’t you going to pick something up to your room?” he asked. JL shook his head, “I just used them for reference. You can place them back to your closet now. I don’t need it anymore” he answered. Dior annoyingly threw his review book in the couch and started folding each piece of cloth he pulled out from his wardrobe.
He immediately went to the mall to purchase a royal blue long sleeved polo and a black pants. He styled simple but his charisma is filling his room the moment he fitted it. He sat down topless in his bed while caressing the plastic - coated copy of invitation he has. He will come alone as he is single unlike Luke, who will take Naomi in the homecoming as a date and as a fiancé.
Naomi’s evening silhouette bell dress partnered with her glass heels are adored with Luke’s black collar - pinned long sleeves. Naomi kept asking herself if how she can face JL now that she agreed to join Luke in the homecoming party. Luke’s phone rang with the unknown number dialing. Her curiosity made her eyebrows furrow. She walked near to answer the call.
“H-hello?” she talked first. An unfamiliar voice of a woman replied, “Who the hell are you? I called the correct number. Where the heck is Luke Fuerte?” she answered that made Naomi nervous for a bit. She replied, “Uhm… Sorry but, Luke just left. He forgot to bring his phone with him”. The woman annoyingly complained from the other line, “Luke can’t settle our damn problem! I need a one f*cking million dollars right now!” she screamed; her tone conveys demands.
Naomi copied the woman’s phone number to her phone. “Why do you need a million dollars?” she asked calmly. The woman scoffed, “Why do you ask? Well, if you’ll excuse me, this deal is out of your business!” she answered and dropped the call. Out of curiosity, Naomi dialed the woman’s phone number in her phone. The woman immediately answered the phone with voice raising, “I told you, I haven’t leached off some money from that Luke Fuerte guy! I don’t have any penny left to pay you!”.
She touched her chest; it’s not that the woman is immoral but the woman knows that Luke is wealthy. She calmly replied and asked, “Miss, I am not your debtor. I just want to ask how are you related with Luke… my fiancé?”. The woman chuckled creepily; she answered, “So, it is really true that Luke Fuerte has a fiancé. Miss, if you’re clever enough, you will notice that your money is all washed out and those became my rewards after having sex with your fiancé”.
She felt the weight of the world fell to her shoulders. “W-what do you mean?” she asked with her eyes watering. “Luke gave me five hundred thousand dollars just to zip up my mouth. He’s quite afraid to disappoint his family. The other one million I leached off him helped me in putting up a new business venture. Oops! I talked… please relay it to your fiancé!” she answered while laughing evilly.
The line dropped; Luke hurriedly opened Naomi’s bedroom door while catching his breath. He saw Naomi holding his phone; she is now tearing while looking away. She can’t face him now; Luke felt her disappointment from her falling tears. She weakly asked, “I am asking you for the last time… where did you place the five hundred thousand miscounted fund in the company’s financial report? Where did you place the one million dollars you asked me to deliver few days before we fly back here?”.
Luke held her arm; she shook it away. “Let me explain” he answered but Naomi refused to listen. “Everything is clear to me now. The fact that you paid that woman to shut up is a huge thing I can’t forgive! Now I understand why you keep on stopping me from tagging along with you on your ‘business meetings’. I can’t imagine that the guy I am sleeping with is also sleeping with another woman!” she blurted out. She weakly sat on her bed as she let things be absorbed by her mind.
Luke sat beside her and tried to console her. “I won’t do it again. Please promise me, you won’t tell my parents” he whispered while hugging her. Naomi forcibly removed Luke’s wrapped arms around her body. She stood up and warned him, “I will tell these to your parents. You can’t stop me”. She went to the door when she felt Luke’s hand gripped on her arm. It tightens when she moves one step closer to the door.
He pulled her hard to him and warned her back, “Say one thing to my parents or I’ll hurt you. You pushed me to go this far, Naomi”. There he first saw Luke’s true colors; what she’s feeling right now might be the feeling JL felt when he was the victim. “I should’ve done this sooner! Maybe I refused to get tied with you if I knew!” she replied. Luke smirked, “As if you can refuse. Our parents made sure that we will be together ‘til the end” he uttered.
Naomi is a simple woman but Luke wants someone wild. After a lot of hidings, Naomi already found out who the person in that unknown number is. Naomi had speculations in her mind even before but she chose to trust her partner more. The funds they earned for their future was expensed by Luke on a woman who can give him the pleasure he wants that he cannot find on Naomi alone. Now that he is captured, all he had to do was to scare Naomi with all his might.
Luke let go of her hand and left the room. She heard a tick in his door; Luke locked her up. For the first time, Luke made her feel that she is unsafe with him. Naomi rushed to the door and knocked while shouting for help. No one dared to open the door for her. She cried a ton while her heart is aching.
The day of the alumni homecoming came. JL intentionally cleared his schedule for this event and so he arrived early while wearing the clothes he planned to wear. George handed him a headset; he requested, “You know how much we missed your announcements. Can you do it later?”. JL smiled, “Of course, I missed doing it every morning also” he answered. Halsey patted his shoulder, “You look good, bro. Remember to impress the girls in the dance floor later” he said with a wink. He drank the glass of cocktail in his hand while continuously staring at the venue’s entrance.

Luke pulled Naomi near him and commanded her to fix the buttons in his polo. Naomi did what he said but she is hesitant. He acts as if he did nothing wrong for her to feel that way. Naomi buttoned his polo; she heard what Luke whispered to her ear, “If I catch you exposing me, I will hurt you three times more intense than what you experienced last night”.
Naomi caressed her arm patched with a concealer to hide the bruise Luke did from hitting her. He became a terrible man; she doesn’t know how Luke changed from a gentleman to an absurd man. As time goes by, he takes everything physically whenever he is mad to someone or to something. Naomi faced her vanity mirror; she is holding her tears of fright because her parents might see her bawling.
They rode on the black car owned by Luke; he drove to the venue. The cold atmosphere inside the vehicle matched with their cold relationship. They still haven’t reconciled because Naomi refused to. Luke parked to the school’s grounds. He looked at Naomi from the rearview mirror and said, “Don’t you dare display that face in front of my batchmates. We can be issued anytime but not this time”.
He opened the door and walked outside by himself. She did the same while wiping her tears. She acted fraudulently and rushed to Luke with her arms intertwined to his. The school’s multipurpose hall is filled with gold and white sparkly lights. The song played is pop, resulting some of their batchmates dance in the center.
She glanced everywhere as if she is yearning for something. Suddenly, the music tuned low; JL went upstage while wearing a black set of headphones. He tuned up his mic while enjoying the slow beats of the music. “Batch 2010… it’s been a while! I know how much you missed this kind of announcement. For today’s talk, we will chunk up this alumni homecoming’s parts….” he continued talking out the homecoming party’s agenda.
Naomi looked at him; what he is saying is pointless for her. She can’t understand a thing while staring at JL who talks slow motion in her eyes. His brown messy - waved hair winds with his same old thick eyebrows highlighted without his thick - lensed eyeglasses. His pink kissable lips moved while he is enjoying the announcement he makes. She stared constantly at his protruding eyes that failed to look away when he was the one to stare back.
She read resentment in his cold stares. He looked away and stated his last line quoting, “Always remember what Tim McGrow said, ‘We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere’. Please enjoy the rest of this homecoming party”. He went downstage and proceeded in a table with few acquaintances from the past.
Luke is currently talking with his classmates when one of them noticed Naomi’s absence. “Luke, care to introduce to us this fine young lady beside you?” one of his classmates asked. Luke answered, “Oh, my bad…” he held Naomi’s shoulder and added, “This is Miss Naomi Nievez, soon to be Mrs. Fuerte”. The four men wowed. “When will be the wedding?” the other one asked. Luke proudly answered, “As soon as next month”. Naomi just faked a smile; she is not really in the mood to be partying.
JL played with the ice and made it roll inside his shot glass. Fonsi looked at him, “You heard that? Your ex is getting married. How about you?” he asked. JL looked at him, “Fonsi, marriage is not about who goes first. Besides, I just finished learning my dream job. I’m still starting to flirt, you know” he answered. He kept glancing at Naomi; her hair color shines with the light. Her dark lipstick is replaced with one that is wine - red in color. She looks sexier than ever and she is now secured by Luke as seen through his gestures.
Lorenzia tapped her cousin’s shoulder, “Stop glancing at her. Have you heard? She… is…. getting married! I’ll introduce you to some hot chicks tomorrow” she said. Lorenzia is Fonsi’s date in the party. The metallic beaty sound turned into something romantic. Everyone grabbed the hands of their partners while JL just kept himself busy in the recording and audio area of the multipurpose hall.
Suddenly, George and Halsey grabbed the microphone. Halsey announced, “Old times are good times. I see everyone here has experienced the ‘puppy love’ we call back in high school”. George added, “Ten years of memory - burying yet some are never forgotten. How sweet is the song playing… most especially if we reminisce through these photos. Eyes on screen please”. Some stolen pictures from the school diaries and newspapers with couples spotted in the campus flashed on the screen.
It included Fonsi and Lorenzia hiding behind a bush. Fonsi whispered to Lorenzia’s ear, “We are so young back then”. Lorenzia smiled and blushed; the two are chaotic but they get along well. As the photos were taken the same day, everyone gasped when JL and Naomi’s photos were flashed in the screen. JL stood up upon seeing the slideshow. He looked at Naomi who’s looking at him also.
They are clueless of what is happening. Luke glanced at him with so much rage. Suddenly, all of their memories flashed back in their heads. Even their batchmates squealed in romance. They are so young in that photo and even those who don’t know them will think that they will last forever. In the photo, JL has Naomi in his arms. He hugged the giggling Naomi with chalk dusts in their cheeks.
George commented, “Oh so nostalgic to see our old lovely couple, JL Tiueco and Naomi Nievez. Moreover, we want to extend our best wishes greetings to Miss Naomi Nievez and to our former school student council vice president, Mr. Lukas Fuerte”. JL drank the beer to its bottom and stayed emotionless. Lorenzia uttered, “Isn’t that a bit rude? I mean, they invaded the privacy of JL and Naomi”. Fonsi pulled her close, “Just let them be. Even I, missed the campus romances they left” he replied.