"Welcome to our home Ricky! Feel at home, okay?" Nanay Remmy greeted Ricky with a smile as soon as he stepped into the mansion.
She hugged the young man tightly and from the first time she saw him, she was as relieved of him as she had felt of her brother Randell. Her expectations towards him were that high since he couldn't help to compare him with his elder half brother.
"Thank you very much Ma'am—"
"What Maam? Can you just call me grandma?" Nanay Remmy cuts what Ricky is going to say. She smiled broadly at the young man. When they first met, she already had a good impression of Ricky. She also witnessed her politeness several times and did not miss him and Alina's petty quarrels while they were on vacation in the province of Quezon. In her intuition, one of them is already in love with each other. She was confident in that hunch, she had proven it several times when Martina and Randell were just dogs and cats before.
And she thought of a good way to bring the two closer. Nanay Remmy also doesn't want Alina to hold on to her one sided love for her nephew, June. Maybe, when someone else is close to Alina, she will lose her love for June who is also loved by someone else.
Is new matchmaking really running through his mind? But she only told Alina that it is forbidden to have a boyfriend. She was confused by the thought so the smile she threw at Ricky disappeared.
Ricky was just swallowed up by the sudden change in the old woman's temperament. He had no objection to her request to call her grandma instead of "ma'am."
He brushed his own fingers through his hair. The joy of feeling that he was aware someone was playing with the brain of the opposite.
"Put your things in the bedroom. Randell has already toured you here in the mansion, hasn't he?" Nanay Remmy returned the sweet smile to the young man and let him go up to the floor where his room was located.
"Yes grandma. He guided me earlier."
As soon as he opened the door he pressed the light switch but the room still did not light up. He just kept the door open. His body was also exhausted and did not bother to ask for help with the faded light that seemed not working because the bulbs aren't functioning anymore. He glanced at the bed and quickly threw himself on it. It was easier for him to fall asleep when it was dark so he also lost sleep in just two minutes.
****
Meanwhile, in Alina's dream:
She prepared a dinner date for Alina. Today they will celebrate their 3rd year anniversary as a couple. And as Alina's boyfriend, he is ready to reward her for trying to pass the board exam; she is a full-fledged CPA.
"Thank you for your efforts, love." Alina emphasized her endearment to June then she held her hand on the table. Their eyes laughed at the same time as it twinkled as they stared at each other. Alina is very grateful because June is always by her side to guide her in the exams. It also always encourages him when there are times he breaks down when overthinking, that he might not pass and retake a few times.
‘Thank you lord, he is the one you gave for me.’
"I'm so happy Alina, because you've reached your dream of becoming an accountant like Martina," June told her with a smile. Her heart melts with that precious smile. She is fragile every time June smiles. She seemed to be shivering.
"That's not really my dream," she admitted under June's frown.
"What else?"
"You really are my dream come true," she giggled.
"Me too, so can I kiss you even if there are a lot of people?"
Alina just laughed. Will she pretend to be her handsome boyfriend? No matter how many times they kissed, the thrill caused by its lips did not disappear. The women in the restaurant are definitely jealous.
‘Sorry girls, my hair is long, from Edsa Baclaran to Caloocan.’
She closed her eyes and felt the soft— A soft pillow hit Alina's face so her paradisiacal dream was shattered. She wanted to get away, right away. In the dream that they could only be together with June, it was even worse. She tore off the pillow and rolled her eyes because her spirit had not yet fully awakened. Her annoyance disappeared because when she tore the pillow the angelic beauty of a man who slept next to her all night was exposed.
‘He looked so sweet and gentle, get up there and make me breakfast.’
She couldn't help but caress the man's face. Even though it was a little dark in the room, she could still see the beauty he had. Literally, he could be a guardian angel who's designated to guide her, sent by God because she's a good person for her 22 years of existence. It's okay that her dream of June was ruined.
Her eyes narrowed as she repeated the touch on the soft cheek of the man next to her. She feels light while doing that, she feels that she is safe from any disaster and it will not let her down.
But she rolled his eyes again because she had just woken up from a beautiful dream. She winced and pulled out her hair that covered her face. She made a hissing sound, just when she realized that the guy behind her bed is not really a stranger. Of course, why can she forget the man she hated until now for a 200 pesos charge of motorcycle service? But why is he in Randell's room? And how many hours has he slept with her under the same bed?
Alina boldly picked up the soft pillow and covered Ricky's handsome face as he was still sleeping. It's up to her if she can suffocate the young man. That's what he deserves anyway. He's still in the depths of sleep, unaware of what Alina was doing to him, for sure there is. Men have more courage to take advantage.
"What are you doing here huh!" She sighed as she continued to press the gnaw on the pillow into Ricky's face. Moments later she swayed and pushed him hard and sprang to the side of the bed.
"You're the one I should ask, what are you doing in my room?" Ricky asked angrily and gasped for breath when Alina was stoned by a sharp look. He did look at the girl's face because it never left his mind. Even if he likes her, it's still not acceptable that she almost killed him already because of the delusion. He was almost certainly going to die.
"Your room? This is Kuya June's room!" Alina will not be defeated.
“And who is June?” Ricky sprang to his feet. He extended his arms so Alina could reach it. He knew he was pushing hard on it, maybe it had a fracture in the body.
Alina forced herself to get up and she immediately felt the pain in her abraded arm, she didn't want to touch Ricky's hand as if she would be infected with chronic pain if she touched it.
"You have to admit, did you take advantage of me huh?" Her voice reached the other room because the door was open.
"Yuck! Why? Are you beautiful? Even so, why are you accusing me of being a predator when I'm not even doing anything?" Ricky asked reluctantly. It never crossed his mind to take advantage of the woman. It was just an honest mistake. He fell asleep in the room because he's just exhausted from a long hour trip from Quezon Province. He didn't notice that someone else was sleeping in the bed because the space was wide, it could fit four people even if one was plus sized. And also, the light bulbs are not working anymore.
“I’ll report you to Madam Remmy so they could evict you!” Alina quickly tried to escape the room but Ricky immediately pulled her to lose her balance so they sank back into bed.
Alina thought that her strange encounter with Ricky would end in the sinking but she didn't, she realized that their lips were pressed together because she accidentally lost her balance while standing and she was touched. He overpowered the young man and sunk his face into her face.
She can't accept that. Why did Ricky have to be her first kiss and not June?
I hope it's just a dream but it's not. There was nothing he could do if Ricky didn't get even angrier.
It seems that Ricky doesn't want to end the moment when his and Alina's lips are weak. His heart seemed to sing with great joy because of that. It was really unexpected. It took a few more seconds before Alina pulled herself away from him. He even heard the accent of her sobbing when she came out of the room. It was definitely a sob because of so much anger. So he followed her downstairs. There he confirmed that it was already in tears.
"Alina, sorry! I didn't mean to do that! It was just an accident!" he yelled. He quickly ran closer to Alina. He could still see the glare in its eyes.
"Rude! Pervert!" Alina sighed and slapped Ricky's arm as she backed away. Ricky just got the timing right and he wished for Alina when he caught her and pushed her on the couch. They are already in the living room area.
Alina did not budge. She grabbed Ricky again and punched him.
"You're alive but you're going to die anyway!" She shrieked and knocked him down as well. She wasn't satisfied until she could bleed his handsome face.
“Please stop!” Ricky begged.
Alina's nail sank several times into the rest of her body. It was as if a cat had scratched him because of the extreme pain. "Stop!"
He let Alina hurt him until he took a deep breath and he pulled it hard on his arm. He even heard that he was overcome with pain. He didn't want to hurt Alina but he also had to defend himself. Ricky got time again to defend.
"Alina, don't be mad at me huh?" he mouthed while struggling to start his move.
Because Alina was on top, he pulled her closer to him. Reason for their faces to be close again, they will kind of exchange faces because of the closeness. Their eye contact lasted five seconds. Alina stared at him, she knew what he was thinking when his grimace intensified. Alina smirked as she met Ricky's critical gaze. She didn't know why she seemed to be stoned-magnetized in his face unexpectedly. She analyzed every detail of his face, even just five seconds.
She could tell that he's “almost perfect”. The shape of his face was small, her palm could fit in it.
Alina suddenly looked away because Ricky suddenly smiled at her.
‘He distracted me just like that!’
And she eventually realized that they had changed his position. Ricky, on the other hand, stood on top of her and without saying a word waved her on the marble floor. Alina felt a lot of pain, especially in her back.
"Ouch!" Alina shouted when Ricky released her. That's what he meant to tell her not to get angry. They even made a lot of noise because they bumped into Nanay Remmy's expensive porcelain vase. Then they were shocked to hear how the vase shattered. Alina realized that what was broken was the oldest vase and Nanay Remmy took great care of it. She thinks that she was born when Nanay Remmy had already bought that thing. She even told her how important it was because it was a gift from a friend from another country. Even maybe two months' salary will not be enough as compensation for that broken vase which has a sentimental value for Nanay Remmy.
She still felt the pain in her back but she didn't care anymore, because she felt more tension if Nanay Remmy found out that her most precious vase had been broken.
She struggled to get up despite suffering from severe pain. Ricky felt sorry for the girl and she felt Alina's intense concern as he picked up the part of the vase one by one. He promptly withdrew her hand away from shattered pieces of the porcelain vase.
"No, you'll still get hurt. It's still dark. Don't touch them," Ricky reminded Alina in such a polite manner.
"This is your fault!" Alina retorted angrily. During his time at Nanay Remmy's house, she had never broken anything because she was careful with what she was doing. The breaking of the vase seemed to have also destroyed Nanay Remmy's trust in her service.
She worries that the old woman might scold her and charge her double the monthly salary. Her tears suddenly fell down through her cheek. Her tears didn't escape Ricky's eyes because he didn't bother to look away.
"Don't cry anymore. I'll tell Nanay Remmy that I broke that. I will take the responsibility for it," he whispered to Alina. Instead of thanking him, she made him even more bored. She almost stabbed him with the sharpest piece of the vase. Alina just walked away and hugged herself. She also softened the sob so no one could hear her whimpering.
"Don't— " Ricky covered his mouth as the surroundings lit up. He looked up and looked at Martina and Randell. Below are Yayo, Kikay and Nanay Remmy. All of them seemed to pretend that they never watched the catfight between the two of them and Alina for a long time. When in fact, they just remained silent to watch how the two young people fought with each other.