I won't hide it anymore, maybe I have a crush on Cadmus. I like him. So what if I'm a beggar and he's gold? Well, I won't use him. I really like him. He didn't just meet my standards, he exceeded them. In the short time we were together, I was able to laugh for a longer time than before.
I don't care if I leave the pain that I will experience in the end. I'll be hurt? Okay. That's normal. I'll risk it because of love. I wouldn't risk if he didn't show me potential.
Can you believe? It's been two months since I accepted the invitation to be Cadmus' fake girlfriend. The speed of time is really, really fast.
His sister Cadesia, my friends and his friends are visiting here. He always makes time to be with me even though neither of us admits that we like each other.
He takes me everywhere. At carnivals, photo booths, parks, there are many dinner dates, book dates and many other types of dates.
Today I will visit him again at his office so he doesn't have to pick me up from here at the mansion. These past few days he has been getting a bit busy but he has never complained to me that he is tired when I ask for dates so I want to make up for it.
He said, we are going to his late mother's grave today because he wants to introduce me to her. When I heard that I was almost in tears because I know him as a very private person but now he will introduce his mother to me right away. We've only known each other for two months? Does he trust me that much?
The agreement is about to end... After that, I don't know what's next.
"Ma'am, has Manang Aida given you what Lord Cadmus wants to give you?" The blonde maid asked me when I got down the stairs. It has also been kind to me because maybe it saw that the bonds between Cadmus and I seem really real.
"No, does he have something to give?" I frowned. "What could that be?"
"This ma'am..." She handed me a folder. There were bond papers there full of elegant designs and I could smell his men's perfume there. "Those are poems that Lord Cadmus made for you." She said and smiled at me.
Poetry?
I smiled while counting how many pieces of paper that was. Ten pieces! Not only that... Full of words on the front and back. I took it out when suddenly a small paper fell out.
'My dear Erin, I'm sorry if this one's boring for you and it'll tire you because it's a lot of words. These are my poems that I've written since the day we met. No words can explain how beautiful you are.'
I smiled. But why is he suddenly giving me this? Is there any occasion today?
"Happy birthday, Ma'am Erin!" Suddenly lights appeared from nowhere. Manang Aida was the first to greet. Next I saw Cadesia and Senyor Arcajante on the side. My friends Laurel, Renice and Nirca were also there!
Well... I was so excited about Cadmus and I's relationship that I forgot it was my birthday too.
"What's with the surprising... you guys." I held my chest and laughed. "I forgot about that... Thank you!" I smiled at them all.
Cadesia and Senyor Arcajante kissed me on the cheeks. My friends hugged me. Where is Cadmus?
"Cadmus is still at work now..." Senyor Arcajante spoke as if he could read my thoughts.
I nodded and smiled at him.
"Sister Amber! I have a gift for you. We're on the same birth month! I'm born on September too." Cadesia excitedly came to me and gave me many paper bags. "I got you Limited Edition Prada bags that I got from France last month. I'm sure you'd love them!" She hugged me tightly.
I laughed and squeezed her cheek even though it was a bit difficult because she really gave me a lot of paper bags. "What are you, Cadesia... Why did you even bother? It's limited edition but you even gave it to me. You should've kept it yourself."
"Of course! You're my older sister now. I would choose you over my brother!" She laughed.
"Here's my gift for you," Senyor Arcajante extended his hand to give me a small box. At first glance you will immediately know that it is jewelry. My eyes widened as I shook my head. I can't accept that! "It's hard to think what I should give you as a gift. Please accept this." He said again, making me think that he could read my thoughts. And then he smiled at me.
I'm embarrassed to smile. The Arcajante family is really really really good at spoiling me! It's like I'm part of their family too.
"At least I baked her a cake." Renice just said while snorting behind me. There was a cake there with the face of my favorite Kdrama character, Goblin. My name is also her, Erin, the female lead.
"Wow! It's beautiful!" My eyes widened because of Renice's effort in doing this. I ran to her and hugged her tightly.
"My gift to you..." Laurel kissed me on the cheek. "Me. I am your greatest gift."
I pretended to be sad at what she said but she immediately laughed and took out a box. It was wrapped in shiny red gift wrap. It also has a golden ribbon. "What is this?" I asked her excitedly.
"That's all I could give to you... You know, I'm poor..." She scratched the back of her neck. "I know you like to write and read so... I bought you a diary and a hardcopy of your favorite electronic book."
My smile grew wider because of this. I was about to open it when she stopped me.
"Hep hep! You'll open your presents later. Blow your cake first." She stopped me.
"Wait, you fool, you forgot about me, I have a present too!" Nirca's nose was suffocating in annoyance because Laurel forgot about her. She immediately smiled when her eyes turned to me. "This is for my most beautiful friend..." She gave me another box that was also red in color. It's just not as shiny as Laurel's.
Laurel and Renice immediately frowned at her because she said I was the most beautiful. "That's it, sis... I'm canceling our ticket to Boracay." Renice joked pretending to be sad.
"Too bad, I was going to lend you my discount card at the flower shop where you always buy your crush a gift..." Laurel lowered her head.
I laughed at them. They are pure nonsense!
"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday, happy birthday... Happy birthday to you!" People sang in the mansion.
"Happy birthday, sis!"
"Happy birthday, Amber!"
"Happy birthday, Sister Amber!"
Everyone applauded. My smile lightened a bit because of the name they called me. By the way, we're still pretending... It's good that my friends call me "sis" which is shortened to "sister" because otherwise, I'm fucked. I haven't told them about the deal yet.
They gave me questioning looks when our eyes met but chose not to speak.
"Make a wish!" Everyone applauded before the cake made by Renice was presented to me. Cadesia lit the candle.
I closed my eyes.
My wish is that everyone here today and Cadmus will be happy in the years to come. I hope we will all be successful. If it fails, I wish for a good family at least.
I want to be a CEO. I hope I'll be one someday.
I hope Cadmus and my friends will be with me in making my dreams come true.
And hopefully... one day... we won't have to pretend anymore.
I blew out the candle. They clapped again but my smile wasn't as wide as before.
"Amber? What Amber, Erin? What is that?" Nirca asked one question after another. It's still closed due to frustration. "Are you not telling me something? Why did they call you Amber? What's really going on, huh?" She asked more.
"Erin..?" Renice also asks.
Laurel didn't speak and just looked at me. Probably also waiting for my answer. We are outside the mansion. Their reason is that they will borrow me for a while so we can go to the mall before we go to the fair.
Cadesia didn't want to agree at first, but it was also because she was ashamed of my friends and Senyor Arcajante told her not to insist.
I sighed. "First of all, I want to apologize because I kept it a secret from you until now..."
They slapped their foreheads. That's when they confirmed that I was hiding something from them.
"What is that? Why did you hide it?" Laurel asked me seriously.
"It started when I received invitations from their company, Cadmus'. At first I didn't want to agree because I wasn't that desperate for money because I still had a job. And I thought it was just a scam but when I found out it was true, that's when I was kicked out by Lady Francia, he was there that day."
"Invitation? What invitation?"
"Meeting. They want to talk to me. What I know is that they offered a hundred million for me. So that I can be Cadmus' fake girlfriend because what Senyor Arcajante, Cadmus' father, knows is that his son and his girlfriend are still together even he's never seen the Amber, the name of Cadmus'ex girlfriend. That's why... I accepted."
"Girl I swear if that was the amount of money I would get just to pretend. I would do the same." Renice nodded, seeming to be relieved by what I said.
"Same, that's money," Laurel continued. "I'll split it up for the four of us."
"You fuckers... But I would do the same." Nirca laughed. "But why Amber? Isn't the name of your bitchy boss at the old restaurant you used to work for also named Amber, Erin?" This question made me think.
"What's her last name? I forgot." I questioned.
"Wait... I know that was your friend on Facebook from your old account." Renice took her cellphone from her bag. "This is it!" She shouted after a few minutes.
"What?" I asked.
I hope not Amber Maverick... please. Don't be Amber Maverick.
"Amber Maverick," she called.
I closed my eyes tightly. Fuck!
When Nirca and Renice saw my reaction, they covered their mouths.
"Oh my gosh... Don't tell me..." That's Laurel.
I slowly nodded to them. And yes, that's it. My former boss and my current crush used to be lovers. I am now acting as my boss who kicked me out of my previous workplace.
------------
"Has Cadmus come home yet?" I dropped my bag on the seat while I dialed Cadmus' number on my cell phone. He did not answer so I tried again.
"Not yet ma'am," answered Manang Aida. "All I know is that he will come home late today because he has a lot to take care of at the company. But he will also come home immediately because he knows it's your birthday. In fact, he arranged a date for you..." it's like she was blushing by what she just said.
I nodded. I do not care. I want to know the truth. Right now.
If only I had known that he would be late coming home today, I would have agreed to go home late with my friends from the fair because they even invited me to ride other rides there.
"This is fucking annoying." I pulled my hair out of frustration. I snapped my finger to think of a way we could talk now. "Fuck." I cursed again and frustratedly massaged my temples. I sat on the chair to calm down.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" Manang Aida asked me.
"Have you eaten yet? Let's eat."
"I've eaten ma'am... What about you? What do you want to eat?" She asked back.
Come what may. I won't eat anymore. I have no time to waste. "Just water, Manang."
I heard her place the glass of water in front of me. "This is your water, ma'am,"
"Thank you, Manang." I removed my hands from my face. "Is Mang Elmo still awake?"
"Yes ma'am," she answered and gave me a questioning look. "Are you going to leave ma'am? I will go to call him--- but it's late ma'am... Where are you going?"
"I'll just pick up Cadmus, I miss him so much." I smiled sarcastically. Of course that's a lie, there's no way they would allow me to go out this late.
Manang Aida smiled there. I know she will agree to that. "Alright, just a minute and I'll call Elmo." She hurriedly ran away.
I sighed again. What do I do now? I really want to talk to him. I can not wait.
What if Ma'am Amber finds out? What if she tells our secret to everyone?
When Mang Elmo and I got in the car, I was just looking outside the whole time. It's also raining so what I can see is a bit blurry. A lot of things come to my mind that have the possibility of happening.
When did I admit to myself that I wanted the CEO of Arcajante Bank?
"We're here ma--" Mang Elmo couldn't continue what he was going to say when I quickly went outside to enter the company building even though it was still raining. "Ma'am! Umbrella please! It's raining!" He still chased me but I got inside even though I was a little wet.
Employees who looked tired from work even bowed to me. I just smiled even though I couldn't stop myself from frowning right away.
When I entered the floor where Cadmus' room was located, I sighed again. I don't even know how many breaths I took.
I was about to walk there when the door suddenly opened. A woman with curly ginger hair and her familiar curvy tanned body appeared before me.
Amber.
She has her both hands on Cadmus' chest.
My eyes widened at what I saw. I don't even know if I should cry or what. I don't know.
Even though I didn't show up or tell them I'm here, I immediately ran down that floor. I went down to leave immediately. Mang Elmo met me outside and I also heard someone following me. I guess it's Cadmus but I don't want to talk to him.
On my own birthday? Is it really today?
What? Are they dating again? Seeing each other behind my back and telling me he's just busy from work?
I do not care. They look good together anyway.
I wiped the tears that rolled down my cheeks. I heard Mang Elmo call me but I didn't care. I immediately stopped a taxi and entered the first car that stopped.
"Where are we ma'am?" The driver asked.
"Anywhere." I answered while wiping my tears again.
"Huh?" He looked at me strangely.
"Let's get away from here first. Even if you just drop me off at the other corner---" I wondered where I was going. "There's a nearby sari-sari store, there's a comer there." At Nirca's house.
Take care Cadmus, I will now leave.
Tomorrow, I will resign. You sill never see me again.