Prologue
Lianne is busy writing her assignment on a bond paper. It should be a group assignment, but since her friends needed to do something else, she volunteered to do it. That was not the case with her. She had nothing else to do that afternoon, so she decided to just do their assignment in English.
She will also do that in the end. Furthermore, she was just shaken when she remembered what her friends were right about. They were still in high school, but they are all lazy. What if they go to college? Cherry reasoned that she needed to help her mom with her new recipe. She understands that because Cherry’s mom is a recipe maker, and she has no other choice.
Zarren has a date that she has to date because her mortal enemy Richard might say that she is just lying by saying that she has a date.
It was normal for Zarren to always base on Richard’s actions, so she was used to it. And Lianne knew that one day they would get along, perhaps more than she expected. Mitch, on the other hand, said that she will make a report for one of their subjects in which it is assigned to her. So, she was left to do the task.
She is used to doing nothing. She prefers to be busy because she feels more secure then. Her escape from reality is being busy with various activities. So, she already knows a lot to do. When she gets tired of something she leaves it, and she looks for new distractions again, she just doesn’t like to stare and do nothing.
She’s stressed when she was just at home. Her mom and dad always see her mistakes. Even though she has known for a long time why they treat her like that, the pain in her heart still does not diminish because of their reason. So often, she wishes that she didn’t bear being Chinese.
Her parents and even her Grandfather Ying hated her because she became a woman. She was the firstborn child of the eldest son of Ying. She was the first in the line to inherit Ying. Co., ltd, but his grandfather could not accept her as its first grandchild.
Ever since she was a kid she lived to please them, but everything she did seemed not to affect it. She did everything to show them that she was worthy as the first grandchild,, but she still did not feel that they were happy in her presence. She was unwanted.
Her dad hates her because her grandfather hates her. After all, she was a woman. Her grandfather hates her because her dad did not make sure that the boy would be his first child.
Her mommy is angry with her because she is to blame for why her dad is being an asshole. Furthermore, her dad has two mistresses, and they have children with them. They are all girls and pure Filipina, while her mom is pure Chinese. She is the only female granddaughter in her dad’s family.
She has female cousins, but she does not agree with them. Because she was an unwanted one. Even they are afraid of her, she values her three best friends. They have been her friends since they were in grade school. They are the ones who made her feel love. Furthermore, they accepted her as she was.
She will not do anything to ruin their friendships. She will find a way to further strengthen the relationship between the four of them. Their friendship is important to her, and she loves Cherry, Zarren, and Mitch very much.
She sipped the straw of her favorite café latte when she realized she had run out of it. She nodded. Furthermore, she glanced at the counter and saw the long queue there. Furthermore, she will order later.
Likewise, she’s about to finish what she is doing. She was about to get up when suddenly someone placed a café latte on her table. She furrowed. She did not order another. When she raised her face, she almost sighed. Their eyes met the brownest eyes she’d ever seen charming, seductive, twinkling eyes.
‘Seductive? Gosh, Lianne! Where did you get that? You are only seventeen!’ She punished herself. She wanted to scold herself, but she couldn’t think straightly anymore when the man who put a café latte on her table smiled at her.
Gosh! He’s charming, gorgeous, handsome, and incredibly seductive! At his first smile, her heart immediately gave out.
This is not her first crush, but this is probably her ultimate crush because of what it did to her heart. It was as if her heart was about to come out of the rib cage because of the excessive force of its beating. It’s scary to think, but it feels good. She is thrilled.
That’s it! I was thrilled, she confessed to herself. Who would not be thrilled to see such a handsome creature smile? She had never been fascinated by handsome celebrities. He is even more in love with the heroes of the romantic books she reads. But this man used to be different from her. He was simply…. likable.
“Your coffee is gone, so I ordered for you again,” said the man.
Even his voice was soothingly handsome. She looked at it from head to toe. It does not look like the waiter of Nepumoceno’s coffee because he’s not wearing a Nepumoceno’s in uniform. It doesn’t seem to be a manager here either because she already knows the managers here.
Surely, they wouldn’t have a new manager right away when she just talked to Megan-Nepumoceno’s manager a few minutes ago. This man looks more like a model than a waiter. It looks like an action hero slash romance hero.
His boots are cute, she commented in her mind as she glanced at the man’s wearing shoes. He wasn’t a waiter. He sneezes, causing her to look up at it. God, he was gorgeous in the truest sense of the word. He wasn’t a boy, just like her classmates. He was a guy, a man.
“Do I get a perfect ten, then?” he asked her with a smile. She raised an eyebrow at it and ignored what it said. Conceited.
“I did not order coffee,” she said calmly.
“Whoa! One minute ago, you were drooling over me, and now you’re already this hot for me?”
“Excuse me, ha! I’m not drooling over you!” she said emphatically.
“If you say so, why are you staring at me all of me like I’m some piece of meat in the market?” her eyes widened because of what he said.
“No, I’m not!” she refused.
“You are, baby, believe me,” he said. She just stumbled upon it because he called her Baby. Now, why was that so good to hear?
“Take the latte. It’s for you. A thank-you kiss would be enough” he said, winking at her. Her heart jumped one second and thumped like crazy the next.
‘A kiss! He’s a stranger, Lianne. You mustn’t give in. You are only seventeen!’ She reminded herself. Because of what he said, she took her ID from her bag and showed it to the man.
“Parental Guidance is recommended,” she said as she showed her ID.
His lips quivered. “What the heck?” he asked incredulously.
“Jesus Christ!” he said in disbelieve.
She restrained herself from laughing at its reaction. He seemed as if he was in a state of panic, and he had an *I can’t believe I flirted over a seventeen-year-old girl* expression on his face. He ejaculated loudly for a seventeen-year-old girl.
Her body was well-developed, like that of a woman. She has been mistaken for a college student many times and many college students have formed her, but she does not entertain them. She is not yet ready for such things.
“Drink your coffee and go home,” he said seriously to her. The twinkle, charm, and seduction in his eyes were now gone. It was as if an older brother was talking to his younger brother.
She pouted at him.
“Don’t pout. That caused it,”
“Huh?” she asked confusedly.
‘Caused what?’ she murmured.
“Drink your coffee and go home, little girl” he said again.
She was about to speak, but he turned his back on her and walked out of the boss’ coffee. She could not even be thankful for it. It was as if she suddenly felt tired, so she just sat down. Regretfully and depressed may be the right description of how she feels. Even though the man was conceited, it became her instant ultimate crush because of the intensity of its effect on her, but she did not even get his name. She reaches for the coffee he provides. She was surprised to see a note glued to the top of that coffee.
Hey, beautiful. —Dylan. That’s what the note says. Next is a cell phone number.
My gosh! She’s thrilled. She felt like rolling all over the tiled floor because of the extreme tremor.
Dylan. His name just makes me tremble. I would make sure we would meet again. I will make sure you’ll fall in love with me, Dylan.
