Runaway Groom's Regrets: Begging My Ex-Bride For Second Chance

He left her, or so to speak, he ditched her.

On the most awaited day that Daphne Collins had been looking forward to, Maverick Powell, her groom, abandoned her in front of the aisle—in front of everyone. She never thought that Maverick would do this, especially on the day of her wedding. Like in movies, Daphne believed it was always the bride who ran away, not the groom. It was ironic to think she would be the ‘Bug Guy’ to Maverick’s Julia Roberts.

As much as Daphne wouldn’t want to include Tatiana in her seething anger with the groom, it was imminent for her to ignore the budding feeling of irritation toward Maverick’s mom. However, right now, Tatiana was not the issue, and it was her son, Maverick Powell, who had a lot of explaining to do.

When each of their relatives and friends had come to her to sympathize, one of Maverick’s friends, Alice, came by to show her commiseration with Daphne’s unfortunate situation.

“We’re so sorry, dear. We didn’t know Maverick would do this, Daphne!” Maverick’s friend hugged Daphne so tight, sympathizing with the bride’s frustrations.

She chewed her lip and bit the inside of her cheeks. “You don’t have to apologize, Alice. It’s not your fault.” She breathed in. “I should have known as well.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Just tell me if you need anything, alright? You’ve become my friend, Daphne, and that wouldn’t change even if you and he broke up.”

“Thanks, Alice. I will.” Forcing a smile, I nodded.

Meanwhile, her friend Clara came forward to her. “Hey, Daphne...” Hesitation was clear in her voice, as though it was airy and unsure.

Daphne’s eyebrows rose. “You should also go home, Clara. The wedding will not happen.”

“It’s not that, Daphne.” She gulped, giving her phone to Daphne. “There are some articles about Maverick. He was seen earlier, before the wedding had started, with another woman.”

The bride’s shoulder trembled with shock. Daphne felt her limbs jellied, buckling in lapses as she saw Maverick’s picture with another woman on some kind of beach.

“Wwhat is this?” Daphne struggled to form the words into her mouth as she felt like her tongue rolled in weakness.

Softly, Clara grabbed back her phone from Daphne. She patted her friend’s limping back and wrapped her arms around it. “It was posted five hours ago. Maybe that’s the reason he was not here since the morning. Maverick had already left yesterday without telling you.”

Daphne didn’t know what to say. Her mind was still trying to process everything that had happened today. It was as though fate had chucked her into a massive plight and circumstance like a thunderstorm that had struck her to be utterly flabbergasted. She wanted to cry, to scream, and to hit Maverick, Tatiana, and the woman who was with him; and yet, Daphne knew she couldn’t.

Her emotions even left her dumb to the point that her tears precipitated in the air like dry ice. Who would have thought that this would happen to her? Even she couldn’t accept the daunting reality that life is unfair as it was deemed to be.

She then clamped her fingers, and before Clara could say anything to her, Daphne dashed out of the chapel in her wedding dress, running towards the bridal car. As she pulled out the door on the driver’s seat, she shouted to the driver.

“Get out . . .”

“Ma’am Daphne—” The driver was stunned to see her in a disorientated state.

“I said, get out of the car!” she hissed.

Immediately, he got out of the car, perplexed. The driver tried to ask Daphne, but it seemed like she had none of it. She just got inside the vehicle and drove away from the church. Behind them was Clara, running to their location when Daphne had already drifted away without their knowledge of where she would head to.

Looking at the driver, Clara asked, “Did she tell you where she was going?”

The driver shook his head. “She didn’t. She pulled me out of the car and drove out, saying nothing.”

Clara palmed her head in concern. “Oh, God. I hope she won’t do anything drastically stupid to Godknowswhere the hell is she.”

Daphne was uncontrollable. She had been sulking herself with alcohol and spirits that she was already drunk and inebriated. The bartender had tried to refrain her from imbibing again when she shot her back with a grimace and a shout. Because of this, the man deferred to stopping her from doing any crazy shit.

By the time when Daphne was completely unhinged and drowsy, she chugged the last glass of tequila and then dropped her feet to the ground, dragging herself to the private area of the club that was exclusive only to highprofile guests.

Quickly, the big stout bouncer stopped her from going inside. “Hey ma’am, you’re not allowed here. This is exclusive for ReservedVIP.”

Her eyes nictitated. She looped her lips into a smirk and while fuddling at a giddy gait, Daphne slapped her hands to his cheeks. “This is a free country, mister! I have a right to go there!” She said, pointing at the doorway that the bouncer was blocking.

“Please ma’am. As much as we wanted to—”

He was cut off when Daphne abruptly rebutted, “Come on! Let me in!” She pushed him and added, “I don’t care about your shit policies!”

Then, when the bouncer was about to block her again, she circumvented out of his way, turning to the spot of his blindside, and slipped inside the VIP area. Laughing like a madwoman, she sprinted across the commodious area until she reached the VIP rooms. Without thinking, she burst into a private room on the left side of the hallway.

The moment she had pushed the door to open, a darkhaired man in the blue suit greeted her with bewilderment. Squinting her eyes and opening them back again, she noticed people who looked like they had no fun in their life. Wearing the same boring suit as the tall man, their eyes went to her as though they had seen a ghost.

Daphne scrunched her nose. “Hey, there! What’s up?!”

“Excuse me? Who the hell are you?!” the man in the blue suit sneered. “How dare you interrupt me!” He roughly snatched her arms, pulling her away from the people in gray and black suits.

Daphne wiggled her arms out of the man and tilted her head to take a good look at his face. With her blurry and hazy vision, she scrutinized him intently. His eyebrows were arched, but not naturally curved upward. His nose was straight, aquiline, and refined; while his eyes, somehow, looked familiar, as though she had seen them before.

She then leaned closer to the man, peering at him like he was a man’s version of Venice De Milo. Rubbing her eyes back and forth, her vision went vivid and as the sight in front of her became clearer, Daphne was taken aback by what overwhelmed her.

Maverick?! How could you, asshole! She gritted inwardly while her inner self moaned from devastation.

Spouting at him, she slapped him on the cheeks. “How dare me?! How dare you leave me on that altar, Maverick?!”

“What the hell do you mean? Are you crazy?” He lightly hissed as he took a glimpse of the people who were looking at them. “Get away from me, woman!” The man added, pushing her off him.

Meanwhile, a man in his fifties stood up from his seat and went toward him. With a dismal expression on his face, he asked the darkhaired man. “Is everything alright here, Mr. Kelly? If this is how unprofessional you are, then I guess I have to rethink our deal”

“Sir, I apologize for this.” Nathan wiped his mouth in frustration and splayed his hands on his hips. “I swear, I don’t know this woman. She— “He was then cut off when suddenly, Daphne, who was beside him, slapped his cheeks again.

“You don’t know me?! I’m your fucking fiancée! You’re my fiancée whom you’ve cheated on!” she cried, clinging to his shoulders as she buried her face in his chest.

Another investor came up to him. Looking perplexed by what was happening, he walked toward Nathan and said, “This is reprehensible, Mr. Kelly! We don’t care about your problems in your personal life, but this is preposterous! We change our mind and we can’t continue this deal with you!”

“Sir, let me explain. This is all a misunderstanding!” He tried to explain as he tossed Daphne from the side.

Everyone's heads rolled around the room. As they stood from their respective seats, each of them walked out into the room, having none of Nathan’s explanation.

“We expected great things from you, Mr. Kelly. Yet, I guess we’re wrong.” The old man in a gray suit patted his shoulders before he went out of the room.

When the two of them were the only two people who were left inside, Nathan Kelly just looked at Daphne with indignation. On the other hand, Daphne was just already out of her normal self and was on the couch, looking disheveled and sloshed.

Nathan quickly grabbed Daphne on the couch. Pulling her towards him, he spat, “What the hell and who the hell are you? You just ruined my best chance of getting that deal!”

Daphne looked up at him. Her tears began to run down from the corners of her eyes. “This is all your fault, you asshole! How could you do this to me? I hate you!” She punched his chest so hard that it made him stop doing whatever he was about to do.

He wanted to let the girl know how distraught he was, but as soon as he saw the glob of tears shining from her forestgreen eyes, he couldn’t do it. Nathan felt sorry about it. Although he really didn’t care what happened or how did this woman end up in this situation, he felt pity.

Slowly, he moved his hands away from her and stepped back, giving her a little space. In just a minute or so, he saw the guards and the bouncer coming inside the room and dragging the girl away. By the time she was out of sight, the manager of the bar went to him and apologized.

“We apologize for this, sir. We assure you that this won’t happen again.”

Nathan nodded at him, releasing a deep sigh. “Fuck, it's fine. What done is done.” To be honest, he didn't want to complicate things more and just wanted to end this day. Besides, the lady looked like a mess and he surmised that once she’s back to her ‘normal’ sober self, she’ll be horrified at the chaos she had just done.

“We’ll fix this right away, Mr. Kelly—“ The manager was instantly cut off when Nathan spoke

“God, it’s fine. Just take her away. I don’t care . . ." He then grabbed his coat from the table and as he went outside, he saw Daphne in handcuffs with two police officers on her side.

Her head was down while her face was buried beneath her palms. Nathan had a quick glimpse of her and then he decided to dash out of the bar with nothing but a disappointment to bring with him on his way home.

Meanwhile, as Daphne was brought to jail for trespassing, she spent her time inside the cell, while still wearing her wedding dress while crying her heart out for the word, a drastic day that had happened to her today.

In the morning, Daphne found herself in the fourcorner wall of the prison cell. She was sitting on the cold cemented floor while reeking of alcohol and godknowswhat kind of horrible smell she had gotten into last night. She barely remembered what happened last night, and all her mind could dig into was that she saw Maverick at the bar with other men who were in corporate suits.

After that, Daphne couldn’t distinctly remember the next events. As she struggled to stand up in her big puffy offwhite dress, she grabbed the metal bars of the cell and asked one officer on the lookout.

“Hey, um, what time is it?” She asked while rubbing the back of her neck from stiffness.

“Ah, finally, the prison bride has finally come to her senses! It’s eight in the morning, dear.” The old man said as he pointed at the clock next to them.

Daphne nodded, looking at his pointed hands on the wall. “Er, thanks.” Biting her lips, she asked again, “Do you have some water? I’m kinda thirsty.”

He smiled at her as her question piqued his interest. “So you will not ask me why you’re here?”

She wetted her crack, dry lips and replied, “Nope. I just want a goddamn water.”

“Okay, sweetheart, we’ll get you your drink.” He chuckled, clutching his gun holster, and went to get her a bottle of water.

After a few minutes, he gave the bottle to her, which she hastily yanked.

“Thanks!” Opening the cap, she chugged the water down to her mouth and was relieved immediately when her thirst was quenched.

In just a minute, the bottle was already empty as she placed it in the corner of the prison cell. Getting back to the metal benches, she sat there and slumped her back on the wall as she breathed in and out, as her life had just become hopeless.

When she was about to close her eyes, she heard her friend’s voice near to her. Daphne jolted out from her seat, then ran back to the metal grills as she looked outside where she saw Clara coming towards her.

“Clara! Thank goodness!” Daphne squeaked in elation.

With strawberry blonde hair and a petite, compact figure, Desire ambled toward Daphne, as her concern was clearly etched on her face.

“Oh my God, Daphne! If the bartender from the pub hadn’t told me you’re here, no one will probably get you out!” she breathily replied.

The police officer, on the other hand, unlocked the cell. “Good thing we’ve contacted your friend here Miss Collins or you won’t be out until the next day.”

Daphne didn’t respond to the police officer. However, she greeted Clara with a warm hug after she got out of the prison.

“Thank you so much, Clara! God, My back already aches from the cold floor,” she exasperatingly said as she parted from her.

Clara, nonetheless, was not happy. “Well, yeah. If you’re just not my best friend, I wouldn’t go to this length, you idiot!” she jokingly replied and then added, “And what the hell, Daphne! Did you know that the bar owner wanted to press charges, but the man with whom you just went into a heap just let it go? Gosh, he even paid for your bailout. Good thing that you didn’t meet some crackhead shit there, Daphne. Because that will be worst!”

Daphne was dumbfounded by what she had said. Her eyes blinked twice as she tried to process the revelation she had just heard. “What do you mean? Did he pay for my bailout? Maverick?”

Her friend’s face scrunched. “What? He’s not Maverick, Daphne? Wait—you thought he was Maverick?” Clara’s mouth went agape. “Oh God, that’s even more embarrassing."

Then it dawned on her. The humiliation she had just done last night and the complete mess she just did that ruined the man’s supposed career. He was with men who looked like some investors, and she just totally ruined the opportunity for him.

‘Shit, Daphne! God, how stupid can you be? Ugh!’ Daphne groaned inwardly.

“So you mean, the guy is here, Clara?” She asked and roamed her eyes in the distance.

Clara was a bit reluctant to answer her question, but then she couldn’t lie to her only best friend. “Yeah, he is. The guy is outside.”

As soon as she heard it, her eyes bulged out. “What? Outside? Right now?”

“You’ve heard me, Daphne.” Clara deliberately sighed. “He’s out there. Although, I’m not sure if he was still there.”

Daphne ran outside of the police station. Desire swiftly ran after her, shouting her name as though she was warning her. “Wait, Daphne! Hold on!”

By the time they’ve gotten to the parking lot, Daphne was welcomed by a tall, handsome, darkhaired guy wearing an Armani suit. His back was on the side of his car, while his arms were crossed across his chest.

Daphne swallowed as she felt the awkward presence that was building up between them. “Um, hey.” She stepped closer, a little hesitant. “Thanks for bailing me out . . . and I’m really sorry for what I did. It was not really my intention to ruin whatever you’re doing.”

The man looked at her, deadpan. He leaned away from the car and went toward her. “I don’t know what happened between you and your fiancé, Miss Collins. However, that bailout is not free, if that’s what you think.”

“What?” Her eyebrows raised. "Okay. Then, I'll pay you. Just give me some time."

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and said, “Not necessary. I’m offering you a job.”

“A job? What job?”

The man pursed his lips. “I want you to be my nephew’s tutor.”

“Your nephew’s tutor? Um, I don’t get it, mister, but why me? I just ruined your meeting last night, remember?” Her eyebrow furrowed. She didn’t know what the hell he wanted from him and she couldn’t help but feel a little sketchy about it.

Daphne barely knew the man and from the looks of him, he might be someone who deals with a lot of shit—like someone who didn’t mess around with anything.

He shrugged from her answer. “Yeah, that’s true, but you also owe me. You won’t be out of the charges if I let the bar owner press charges on you.”

“Which I am grateful about that, sir. However, I don’t see any reason why you’d pick me as your nephew’s tutor,” Daphne explained.

“I saw your credentials, Daphne Collins. You look credible as a tutor. Besides, it is also a way where you can pay me for the fine of bailing you out,” he tried to reason out. “So what do you say? You’re up to it?”

She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Hmm, can you let me think about it?”

He clasped his hands. “Okay. I’ll give you three days to make up your mind.” Then, he grabbed a card from his wallet and gave it to her. “Call this number when you made a decision, Miss Collins.”

Daphne grabbed the calling card and read it. “Nathan Kelly?” Raising her head, she stared at him.

“Yep. That’s me.”

“Mr. Kelly—"

“Just Nathan.”

“Okay, Nathan. I’ll call you by the time I had my decision.” She reassured him.

He grinned slightly, showing the straight line of his paperskin teeth. “Great! It's nice meeting you, Miss Collins, by the way.”

And before Daphne could say something, he walked back to his car and drove away from them. Clara, who just trotted toward her, snatched the calling card from Daphne.

“You could have answered him right away, Daphne. Don’t tell me you’re planning to go back to your monster’sinlaw house, because that’s bullshit.”

“Give me that, Clara.” Daphne ignored her remarks and just read Nathan’s name on the calling card again.

‘Nathan Kelly? Sounds like another posh.’

After meeting Nathan, Daphne reached her fiance’s home. As she went inside the house, she couldn’t shrug off her mind about the man’s offer to be his nephew’s tutor. Despite the oddity of asking her such a question, she thought it was actually a great deal since she was also planning to leave Maverick’s house. More so, Daphne could kill two birds with one stone by landing a decent job and paying her debts to him as well.

Honestly, it was not quite that bad.

Later on, when she got into the living room, Daphne saw her mother, well, more like her monsterinlaw, approaching her. The woman was already in her late sixties, and still wore fashionable clothes that were dreadfully inappropriate for her age of sixtyfive. Just looking at her made Daphne cringe internally.

God, Tatiana looked like a MILF, who was always parched to get laid.

“You shouldn’t have come back here, Daphne. After that humiliation and stint, you did yesterday, you have no right to stay here.” Her thinline brow arched so high like it was about to meet the peak of her forehead. “This is all your fault, you imbecile! If you haven’t just pushed my son to marry you, this wouldn’t happen!”

Tatiana had adamantly expressed her hatred toward Daphne. Back then. She had never liked her for her son, Maverick, and would do anything to break off their relationship. At first, Daphne wanted to appease Tatiana, and placate her prehatred feelings about her. But then, as soon as the time went by, she gave up on that thought.

Because Tatiana would never like her, even if she knelt down in front of her to please her. The bitch was crazy as hell and absolutely nuts.

Daphne smirked, not minding her predicated anger. “I’m not planning to, anyway. I’m just here to get my things, Tatiana.” She walked towards the stairs when she stopped in the middle to gaze back at her again. “And oh, by the way, it was your son who voluntarily asked me to marry him. Not me.”

Tatiana was surprised by her reaction. “How could you? How dare you insult me?!” she scoffed, batting her eyes in incredulity.

After saying that, Daphne felt instantly relieved. She had never talked back to Tatiana like that. However, since everything between her and Maverick was over, she could finally express her feelings toward that atrocious woman. Good thing that she had broken free from them—from his family. It will just be too bad for Maverick’s next girlfriend to try to handle Tatiana’s bat shit craziness.

‘Yeah, whatever. I’m out of here.’ 'Daphne said to herself, ignoring Tatiana.

“Hey, don’t you walk away from me, you bitch! I’m still talking to you!” Tatiana shouted across the entire room, while Daphne continued to walk upstairs, going to her room.

As soon as she got inside, she grabbed her luggage and opened her closet, grabbing all the stuff and clothes she had. It didn’t take her that long before she was already zipping in all her belongings and placing them near the doorway. Finally, she was leaving this godforbidding place that she had endured living in for the past eight years of her life.

Daphne had enough of everything. Maverick, her mother, and just everyone in their family. She couldn't take it anymore for too long to waste her time with someone who was just using her to settle with when he was already bored with his whims and childish indulgences.

Because she had realized that Maverick only wanted her for his benefit. He had never loved her and even if she tried to fix their relationship (which she wouldn't do anyway because she was not that stupid), it wouldn't work. And all she wanted now was to give time for herself—to make up for the things she had lost for sacrificing her wants and needs to that pieceofshit.

She wouldn't let him fool her again. Not this time and not ever in her lifetime.

Daphne had a shower first after she was done packing her belongings. After a few minutes, she grabbed a shirt and a jean from the bed and put them on. She didn’t have time to fix her hair and have some makeup as she wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible. By the time she was done, she threw her torn wedding dress in a black garbage bag and went straight to the garbage bin by the side of her room.

As she walked back again into her room, she set her bag and luggage, carrying the armsized back in her hand while she made her way downstairs. The minute she was on the first floor, she saw Tatiana again with her hands on her waist, looking livid as ever.

Daphne had just laughed, her expression in her mind, completely ignoring her.

When Tatiana took notice of her carrying her luggage, she couldn’t bear but to make another remark. “You ungrateful bitch! After everything that we have done to you!” She followed Daphne behind her back. “I knew it! I knew from the start when Maverick introduced you to me! You’re a gold digger, just like your mother . . .”

For the longest time, Daphne had never once heard Tatiana complimenting her or be pleasant to her. Maverick’s mother bullied her incessantly, that it had become a usual thing for Daphne to hear her say every time she was near the bitch.

“Don’t talk to my mother like that as if you know her, Tatiana,” I warned her while pulling mg luggage.

Her eyebrow rose. “Because you know that I’m right, Daphne! You’re a slut, just like your mother!” she spat back with every intention of hurting Daphne.

However, Daphne had gotten hung with her insults as though it was just another appalling jingle, she had heard on a radio that was so bad you’ve just disregarded its existence. Moreover, Daphne knew that Tatiana was celebrating like it was New Year’s Eve when her son didn’t appear on their wedding day.

“At least I am not as horrible as you are,” Daphne murmured as she ambled throughout the room, gliding with her suitcase.

She was about to pull the gate open on the sidewalk when, all of a sudden, she noticed a blue car that was parked in the driveway. Daphne stopped in the middle of the path and saw Maverick coming out of it, looking fresh and blissful as if nothing had happened.

‘Well, fuck that asshole!’ Daphne hissed internally.

Maverick, however, had seen Daphne with a suitcase that made his brows furrowed, utterly distraught about it. “What are you doing, baby? Why do you have your bag with you? Are you leaving me?!”

He was about to touch her arms when she hit it quickly, shoving it away from her. How could he act as if nothing had ever happened? God, how did she love this narcissistic and vain man? She was such an idiot to be blinded by all the red flags of Maverick that were already waving in front of her for the past eight years!

“Don’t you dare touch me, Maverick!” Her emotions surged up like a firework that was about to burst out. She couldn’t bear to see his face or even just smell or hear his voice made her want to barf already.

Maverick yanked her wrist and said, “Come on, babe. Let's talk this through, don't just leave me hanging without talking this out to me." He paused for a while, raking his hair with his fingers, and continued, "I ran away because this whole thing scared the shit out of me!"

Daphne pulled a coy smirk. “Huh, yeah, you did, and you ran away with another girl even before our wedding, Maverick!” She pushed his arms away from her and distanced herself from the man she thought would never lie. “I’m not stupid and I’m definitely not an idiot, you jerk!”

“Daphne . . ." Maverick couldn’t think of another word that would somehow make her believe him again.

Then, he composed his bubbling anger as he tried to get hold of her by defending himself; however, she waved it away. “That's not it! Everything in the article was a lie!”

Daphne nodded and skewed the corner of her lips upward. “Yeah, it was all a lie. Just like our relationship and your feelings for me. It is all a lie.” And with no warning, she raised her arms, slapping him directly on his cheeks and making him as shocked as more than ever.

Maverick just looked at her with wideopen eyes, as he couldn’t believe that a woman like her who couldn’t break a glass could do that.

When his thoughts had already processed Daphne's gesture, he uttered, livid and furious, “Daphne, shit! Don't you leave me like this! We're not yet done!”

Tatiana came down to walk toward them. “Oh no! You don’t have a right to do that to my son! You bitch!” she shouted, lifting her arm aloft to hit her when Daphne stopped it by clenching it tightly with her grip.

“No, Tatiana. I won’t let you have it your way again, bitch.” She gritted back and before Daphne could hear the last insult word of her sentence, she walked away from them with full determination.

Maverick tried to run after Daphne, but immediately gave up when he realized talking it out with her would also be completely useless. On his side was his mother who reached out to him, cradling his manlittle boy in her chest and soothing her like a fiveyearold kid.

Meanwhile, Daphne stepped outside of the house and as she breathed in the freshsweet invite of the air, she cloyingly smiled in delight.

“At last self, you’re out. You did well.”

Heaving a sigh, she hailed a cab across the street and as a yellow cab stopped at her side, she quickly went inside, happy and excited about what her future would bring her.

“To sixtyeighth street, Eastwood Avenue sir,” Daphne said to the driver to which he just nodded.

When she got to Clara’s place, she was not in her apartment. Her friend was still at work and luckily, she was given a spare key to be able to get inside Clara’s apartment. As she placed her bags and luggage on the porch, she rubbed her palms on her jeans and roamed around her friend’s place.

Clara’s flat was quaint, small, and just perfect for a single woman. Everything inside was so Zenlike that the room looked so peaceful and refreshing. The entire place had every pot of plants hanging around on was on the top of a table. As she went to the lounge area, her lips went up when she saw a hammock by the window. Beside it was a side table and a cactus plant on top of it.

She slumped into the hammock and leaned her back on it as she tried to close her eyes. It was fortunate for her that Clara allowed her to stay temporarily in her place while she tried to find an apartment once she got back to teaching. However, the downside of this was that she might get accustomed to her friend’s flat, and she would have a hard time finding her own place that would be as comfortable as here.

When Daphne felt that her eyes were getting heavier, her phone started to ring. Grumbling, she ducked it out of her pockets and pressed the button.

“What is it, mom?” She asked begrudgingly because usually her mom only called if she was out of money or if she was in a tight position.

Yeah, her mom wasn’t really like other moms who were responsible and dependable. Truth be told, Linda was more dependable on her daughter than Daphne on her.

“Do you have an extra cash with you, honey?” Linda asked without any reluctance.

Daphne sighed in contempt. “You lost another game again?”

Linda explained, “Yeah…well, I was about to hit the pot Daphne, but damn, I was short of luck.”

Out of frustration, Daphne stood up from the hammock. “I told you to stop gambling, mom! We can’t afford to pay our debts right away. Eventually, I won’t be able to sustain you with your addiction!”

“Just this time, sweetheart.” Linda paused for a while and then fumbled as she spoke. “Fuck, I swear I’ll stop gambling. I can promise you that.”

Daphne rubbed her palms on her forehead. “You have said that a thousand times, mom. I don’t know if I still ever believe that—”

It was true, though. Daphne didn’t know if she would ever believe Linda again. Ever since she was a child, she had never felt her mother’s love. Linda would always be out in the morning and be back in the morning with a sour mood and a drunk condition. She would only take notice of Daphne or would heed her attention when she needed something.

That was also the reason she also couldn’t break her relationship with Maverick. Because at the moment Linda knew about Maverick, Daphne felt that her mother finally regarded her as her daughter and not just some responsibility she had to take care of. And, despite this, Daphne still hoped that her mom had loved even just a sliver part of her heart.

“Please, honey? Just this time, help your mama.” Linda pleaded on the phone.

Daphne tried to understand her mom’s situation. Sometimes, it was just too much for her to be patient with her.

Resigning with her shoulders in a slouch, she huffed. “Alright, I’ll think of something.”

“Great! You’re the best daughter!”

Linda dropped the phone after that, leaving Daphne to deal with her debt problem. She tilted her head high to breathe deeply, and as she release a heavy sigh, she uttered, “I’m your only daughter, mom.”

Nathan Kelly was buried under his work; even with that, he couldn’t stop thinking about that woman in an awful wedding dress. It was unexpected to meet someone so disturbing, yet so interesting, like her.

More so, the woman was not exactly that bad. Although she looked bad that night with her smear of blank goo on her face, and a botched look, she kind of looked decent if she cleaned up. Besides, he was not interested right now in doing dates or entering into a serious relationship, knowing it would only be a nuisance to his plans and his career.

The man had a lot of things that were more important than that.

When he was about to grab a file from the pile of documents, his phone rang suddenly. He yanked the phone by his side and answered the call.

“Hey, sup man? How is it going?” he said, leaning his back on the swivel chair.

He heard him chuckle. “Hey, man! I’m good!” The man on the phone stopped for a moment, then spoke again, “Anyway, you’re up for a drink later? Same time and same place, just like old times, Nathan.”

Nathan looked at his smartwatch. He didn’t have a meeting later and could probably fit his time into meeting his friend.

“Yeah, of course! Sure, Maverick!”

The call ended after that, and Nathan went back to his work.

Right now, Daphne was in a hot potato.

She tried to reason it out on her mom that she didn’t want to go back with Maverick and that she was done with him. However, since Daphne was a woman who had a golden heart, she obliged her mother and finally texted Maverick back. Daphne asked him if he could meet her and Maverick pleasantly agreed that they could meet in a hotel.

With that, Daphne came to the hotel and found Maverick by the café, surrounded by a bunch of women. She approached him without hesitation, pushing off each woman who was blocking her way in Maverick’s direction. As soon as she met him eye to eye, Daphne crossed her arms against her chest and lifted her eyebrow.

“I’m breaking our engagement, Maverick,” Daphne greeted him with indignation.

Although Maverick was a bit surprised, he held it back and looked at her impassively. He just laughed at her like Daphne was a complete joke. “I don’t really care, Daphne. Besides, I have never loved you in the first place.”

Daphne’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her heart sank to his cold, mercurial tone. Even if Daphne already knew that Maverick fooled her, his words of affirmation hurt like her. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fingers and balled them into a fist.

“Then you should pay for every single cent I’ve used just to purchase everything we needed for our wedding, which, by the way, should be your responsibility as the groom!” She pointed her index fingers at him and added, “And also for the emotional damages you have caused me throughout the years that you deceived, used, and humiliated me!” Daphne seethed with anger.

Maverick chuckled so loud enough to be noticed by everyone near them. “This is the reason you’ve always been fooled, Daphne. You’re so stupid!”

Daphne’s tears instantly shed not because she found Maverick’s statement insulting, but because she knew that what he had said was true. She was stupid enough to believe him and she was a fool to love him.

“Yeah, you’re right, Maverick. I was an idiot to believe all your lies, and I was stupid enough to love you, despite your shit narcissistic attitude. Yes, I’m that fucking stupid!” She slapped him on his cheeks as she tilted her chin to meet his gaze.

“This is for hurting me!” Daphne hit his other cheeks. “This is for humiliating me!” She slapped him back again on the right side of his face. “And this is for lying to me, you pieceofshit!” One more time, she hit him with full force to let him know how angry she was.

“Ann—” Daphne heard his voice. However, before she could fully hear his reply, she dashed out of his way, while her tears incessantly fell down her cheeks.

By the time she reached the hotel’s entrance, her feet halted when she suddenly bumped into another person. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked up and was daunted by a familiar face.

It was Nathan Kelly, the man who offered her a job, wearing a black slimfitted suit. His hair was tousled back in perfection, as though it took an hour to look as fine as hell. Daphne immediately stepped back, hunching her head down.

“Sorry,” the woman stingily replied.

Nathan’s eyebrow twitched a little. Before she could move away from him, he yanked her arms, placing his palms on her shoulder. “Miss Collins, are you okay? Did something happen?”

She shoved his hands away from her while trying her best to look away. “Yes, I’m fine.” Daphne cleared her throat and then was about to walk out when Nathan persisted in asking another question of her.

“Are you sure?” He blocked her way, staring directly into her eyes. She looked at him as though all the barriers on her eyes were almost naked. Her cheeks were scarlet red, her eyes were glinting with tears that he found so appealing and mesmerizing.

She softly nodded. “Yes. Thanks.”

Daphne was about to go to the entrance door when he turned around to ask her another question. “Uh, Miss Collins?”

She stopped walking and pivoted to her back. “Yes?”

Nathan gulped as he felt his heart skip a beat at the moment their gazes collided. Inserting his hands in his pants pockets, he asked again, “It’s the last day for you to decide, Miss Collins. Are you still up for it?”

“Yes, I accept the job offer,” Daphne quickly answered, with no hesitations.

He was dawned by her answer. Nathan didn’t expect that she would quickly accept it without asking for the specification of the job responsibilities. “Great! Finally, you’ve come to your decision.”

She bit her lips in contemplation, and after that, lifted her chin to answer him. “And thanks—really — for the offer.” His Job offer was a Godsent to Daphne, surmising that this might be her way to move on from Maverick and get her life back.

“No worries, Miss Collins. Glad I could be of help,” He replied.

Daphne pointed her finger at the back. “Well, I guess, I got to go, Nathan . . .” she said it with slight disinclination.

“My driver can take you home.” He fished out his phone and called his secretary. “Jonathan, please tell Isaac to drive Miss Jenning home.”

However, she waved her arms at Nathan, rejecting his gracious offer. “No! No—You don’t have to do that! I can just get a cab, sir!”

“I insist,” he retorted back while dropping his smartphone back into his pockets.

“Really, it’s alright, sir. My apartment is just two blocks away from here,” Daphne lied. It actually took her fortyfive minutes to get to the hotel and a fifty bucks cab fee. Nonetheless, she didn’t want to owe the guy more until it would get to where she could hardly repay him.

“I told you, just call me Nathan.” He rubbed his palms against his scruff. “Besides, it might be actually weird for my nephew to hear you calling me, sir.”

“Then I suppose you also have to call me by my name, Nathan. Since you said your nephew will get awkward about it,” Daphne rebutted.

Nathan couldn’t help but smile at her remark. “Touché, Daphne.”

Daphne’s eyes glittered with delight. “And you really don’t have to let your driver drive me home.”

“It’s fine, Daphne. Besides, Isaac must know where you live, so he knows where he could drop you off after your tutoring sessions with Chuck,” Nathan explained.

Her eyes widened. “I assume that’s your nephew’s name. Isn’t it?”

Nathan looked back at her and answered, “Yes, it is. Chuck for Chester.”

“I’m excited to meet him,” Daphne commented.

He didn’t know what to reply to her, that it rendered him mute. It was fortunate for him that his car arrived soon before Daphne could ask him another question.

“He’s here,” he informed her, and they walked to the entrance door and were welcomed by Isaac, Nathan’s driver.

“Take her to her flat, Isaac,” Nathan replied thriftily.

Isaac nodded at her and asked Daphne for her address. She was reluctant at first, but she then gave it away to the driver. As soon as both of them got inside the car, Nathan watched them as his gaze trailed to where the car was.

When it disappeared from his view, he turned away, walking back inside of the hotel to meet with his dearold friend Maverick while the smile on his face was still etched unwittingly.

Nathan went to the private room where he was going to meet his longtime friend, Maverick. As soon as he reached the location, he was overwhelmed by a crowd of prostitutes settling in the room. He cut into the mob and was greeted by lascivious and thirsty comments from the women who were surrounding Maverick.

“Hey, handsome!” A slut in a skimpy bodycon suit squeaked wantonly.

“Oh, who do we have here? Another daddy!” Another woman came forward, circling her arm to his.

Immediately, he gave her an alarming gaze. “Get off me.”

The woman obediently untangled her arms to him, stepping away from Nathan as he approached Maverick. By the time Maverick had noticed his friend coming forward, he stood from his seat and welcomed him with a partial bear hug. Nathan accepted his gesture and patted his back.

“Good to see you, bro!” Maverick said when he parted. “It’s been a long time! What’s up?!” He asked, giving him a bottle of beer.

Nathan sat across from Maverick. He took a swig of the beer and replied, “I’m good! Been better—” Then he paused for a while as he peered around the room. He felt unsettled with a horde of girls watching them like they were feasts to be gobbled in. With his cold mercurial gaze, his lips clenched into a straight line. “Can all of you get out of the room? You circling around us feels so unsettling.”

Maverick laughed at his comment. “Chill up, Nathan. These ladies just want to have some fun with us.” He then grabbed a piece of food from the table and ate it. While chewing, he smacked one of the woman’s asses lewdly. “Sweet pea, get out with your friends for a minute outside. I’ll be back with you later.”

The redhaired woman gave her a saccharine smile. “Okay, sure, babe.” She pecked Maverick’s lips first before heading out of the room with his ladies.

Maverick and Nathan were left inside the area as soon as all of Maverick’s sluts went out to get the two boys some privacy. Chugging his beer, Nathan was the first one to crack the silence between them.

“So, how have you been doing? The last time I heard from you was that you were getting married. Finally decided to settle down?”

Maverick leaned his arms on the back of the seat and gave him a wolfish smirk. “You know I don’t do that shit, bro.” He lifted his feet up on the ground and propped them onto his other legs. “Didn’t happen. I bailed out on the ceremony.”

Nathan wasn’t that shocked to know about it. Since their university days, Maverick had been the asshole in their group. He had been in and out of the jail for petty violations and was in numerous fights because he had hurt some brother’s or friend’s girl. His friend hadn’t changed a bit even after six years of being away here and going to the States to take over his brother’s failing business.

It was Nathan’s idea to take hold of the management of their offshore businesses since their global sales and accounts had been drastically down after that shocking incident. The stock market plummeted significantly and Nathan’s only choice was to manage their international accounts after what happened.

“You’re still a pussy, Maverick.” Nathan chuckled and swashed the cold beer in his hand. “Goddamn dude, you’ve broken again another poor girl’s heart,” he stated lightly, but with a slight intention of shoving the truth down on him.

Maverick raised his arms in the midair. “You know me, Nathan. I’m a fucking too exceptional for that shit.” He deeply laughed as he dropped his arms back to the armchair and continued, “Anyway, enough about me. I haven't heard anything about you since you left, man. How’s it going?”

“It’s alright. After our accounts internationally became stable, I decided to return here and focus on expanding a new product line to a new market,” Nathan replied with his usual business and acumen tone.

Maverick rolled his eyes as he grumbled. “Ugh, that’s boring, dude. Haven’t you had any fun for the last six years you're away?”

“You know I can’t afford to have that Maverick after what happened…” Maverick placed his empty beer bottle on the glass table and reclined his arms on the elbow chair. Crumpling his fingers into a clench, he added. “I have to fix my own shit.”

“Nah, bro, it isn’t. It was an accident, alright?” He threw him another beer bottle and lightly cheered him up. “Don’t beat yourself innit, wimp.”

In response, Maverick agreed to him and took care of everything else as Nathan boarded the plane. To his dismay, the moment he reached the hospital, his brother and his wife succumbed to the blow of the incident and were declared dead on arrival. Since that day, everything that he had ignored in life came down to him, whacking him with an enormous responsibility to his brother’s son, the company, and the debt that he inherited from his brother.

“So, how’s your nephew? He’s what? Already six or seven?” Maverick abruptly asked.

Nathan’s perusing was interrupted when he heard Maverick’s question. He chugged his beer first before reverting to him. “He’s going seven. The boy’s a damn clone of my brother.”

After her brother died, Chuck, his brother’s son, was left in his care. He didn't know how to approach or get along with Chuck at first. The boy had had enough trauma at an early age that it was too hard for Nathan to form a bond with him.

“Is he with you when you came back?”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I just actually got him a tutor a while ago. I don’t want him to end up like you, dickhead.” He chuckled, throwing him jokingly into a piece of nuts.

Maverick just shrugged his friendly chides like goodold times. Nathan had been his longtime friend, and they had been through the worst of times. He knew that Nathan blamed himself for his brother's accident, that he had been too distant from the grandeur and beauty of life and had been buried with his responsibilities and work.

“Your nephew must have been spoiled then,” Maverick commented, deviating him from his insults.

Nathan sighed heavily. “I guess so? Shit, I don’t know. I hadn’t babysat a child in my life, lest to take care of one.”

In fact, Chuck Kelly, his nephew, had been spoiled so much that he didn’t know how to tell it to the kid or scold him for his appalling behavior. Nathan had stayed with Chuck for six years and managed the entire business by himself with no help from others. It was then when he became so invested with their offshore accounts and transactions that he discovered the cause of his brother’s accident.

Nathan had learned that it was not really an accident, but an intended murder by their closest competitor. Hence, when Chuck turned four years old, he sent him to an elite school two years ago for safety, while Nathan stayed abroad to fix the business affairs and find out who was the perpetrator of the crash.

“Can’t disagree with you on that, bro.” He chortled and added, “You can't even handle a woman!”

Nathan just shook his head casually. He then shifted the topic to the woman Nathan had run over six years ago. “Speaking of the devil, do you have any news about the woman I’ve run into six years ago?”

Maverick’s face relaxed expression changed immediately to a galling sneer. “Don’t worry about it, bro. She’s doing fine.”

However, Maverick didn’t tell him it was his exfiancée, Daphne, who would be the tutor to Nathan’s nephew, Chuck Kelly.

The cordial greeting of the sunrise approached the translucent window by the room when he and Maverick had already caught up on each other’s lives for the past six years that Nathan had been away. With empty bottles and plates that were scattered around the glass table, Nathan, who was almost but not quite drunk, stood from his seat and tapped Maverick beside him. His friend was already snoozing with his neck craned to the headboard of the chair.

Cracking his neck, Nathan kicked his shins, startling him with a shout, “Dude, get up. It’s already morning.”

Maverick, who just dozed out from his seat, reclined his back away. “Shit, fuck . . .” He fumbled on the couch, searching for his phone. “What time is it?”

Nathan lifted his forearms and replied, “It’s six in the morning.” He slapped his knees and added, “Come on, let’s go. I need a lift.”

The man grumbled in protest. “Fuck, dude, don’t you have a car for that?” He staggered as he stood on the ground, to which Nathan had noticed quickly that he helped Maverick by supporting his unsteady walk.

“Yeah, I do have. But I can’t call Isaac. It’s too early,” Nathan explained to him as they both walked out of the room, trotting toward the parking lot.

By the time they got to the parking area, Maverick unhinged his arms on Nathan’s shoulder and fished out his keys inside his pockets. “You owe me a lot, Nathan.”

Nathan shook his head as he lightheartedly disagreed with it. “Not as much as you do.”

Maverick didn’t respond and just chuckled it off as they got inside the car and drove to Maverick’s place.

As the night greeted Clara’s apartment, Daphne was shocked to see her mother in the lounge with an unkempt and distraught face. Linda’s eyes were red as scarlet when she stood from the upholstered chair and stepped forward toward her daughter.

Combing her curly hair, she batted her messy eyelashes at her daughter. “Hey sweetheart, how are you?”

Awkwardly, Linda reluctantly hugged her, which Daphne found a little strange and sketchy. Usually, her mom only did it if she needed money from her.

“What are you doing here, mom?” Daphne tried not to grunt as she dropped the bag on the couch.

Meanwhile, Clara came to the picture with a ladle in her hand as she went toward them. “Finally, you’re here, Daphne! I kept calling you a while ago to tell you your mom is here.”

Daphne turned her gaze to Clara, smiling at her softly. “Sorry. I didn’t notice. Thanks, Clara.”

“Sure, and no worries about it,” Clara answered as she looked at Daphne and Linda back and forth. She then recognized the tension between the two of them that made her move backward. “Okay, I’ll just be in the kitchen, if you need something, Daphne…”

Daphne nodded at her friend and then, in a couple of seconds, grabbed her bag from the couch, neglecting her mom to go into her room. Linda, however, followed her behind, looking quite jittery and nervous.

When Daphne got inside, she placed her back on the table and removed her shoes to change into her slippers. Without looking at Linda, Daphne finally resigned to the thought of ignoring her by asking her mother straight away.

“Do you need the money right now?” She then walked to her closet and yanked on some shirt and pajamas.

Linda bit her lips for a moment and then plummeted her arms to the side. “Yeah. The guys needed the money, Daphne. I have to pay them immediately, baby.”

“Can’t it wait?” Daphne threw her clothes onto the bed and then raised her arms to prop them on her waist. “I don’t have any cash with me now, mom.”

Her mother’s face instantly became more anxious. Linda’s finger fidgeted relentlessly as she walked toward Daphne’s bed, sitting uncomfortably on it. Rubbing her palms onto her knees, she muttered, “I have to give them the money right away, Daphne.”

Linda tilted her chin and with trepidation in her expression, she added, “They’re going to kill me, if I don’t pay them back.” She buried her face into her palms and wailed.

Daphne couldn’t help but be worried about her mom. The shield she was fortifying against Linda soon crumbled down as soon as she heard her mother’s cry. She wasn’t merciless and certainly, she wasn’t a monster to not feel any empathy and compassion for Linda.

Linda was and is still her mom, and that would never change despite her flaws of being a wonderful mother like other moms.

She walked forward to her bed, brushed her mom's arms, and sat on her feet to tell her, “Didn’t I say I’ll help you with it, mom?” Daphne then pulled her forearms out of her eyes and looked directly at Linda’s face. “I just got a parttime today and I will start tomorrow. Also, I already applied to be a fulltime teacher at a private school.”

Her mom’s eye blinked. Then she wiped her tears off as though her distressed expression a while ago diminished in an instant. “You did, baby?” Linda smiled sweetly at her daughter, hugging her tightly. “I’m so proud of you! Mommy is so proud of you, sweetheart.” Kissing her temples, she added, “I love you so much, and thank you!”

“Just—I just need time, mom to pay for it. That’s the last thing I could ask you.” Daphne sighed, parting away from their hug.

Sniffing her nose, Linda coaxed her daughter by tucking the falling strands of her hair into her ear. “Of course, I understand, Daphne…”

Daphne couldn’t find the exact words to say to her, which became the reason for her giving Linda a robotic smile. After that exchange of reassuring words, her mother left Daphne in a devastating state. As she went back to the kitchen where the food was already ready at the table, she slumped her back on the chair, exhaling massive frustration.

At that moment, Clara noticed that after she placed a glass of wine by her side, she asked her, “Did she ask you again for another money?”

Daphne didn’t speak and just nodded to her with dejection.

“You can borrow from me for a while, if she badly needs it right now, Daphne.” Clara sat beside her, holding her hand.

“No, Clara. It’s fine. Besides, you’ve already done a great deal for me.” She forced her lips to curve upward. “I can handle it, don’t worry,” Daphne reassured her friend.

Clara pursed her lips. “Alright, but please do tell me quickly if you find yourself in a tight spot, Daphne. You know I always got your back.”

Daphne gave her a nod. “Yes, I will.” She then lifted her hand away beneath hers and then patted Clara’s hand with hers. Clearing her throat, she changed their subject as she grabbed the spoon by her side and scooped the risotto from the plate. “Great, I’m starving! Let’s eat!”

Clara didn’t push the topic through as she also picked up her spoon from the table and took a portion of the rice.

The next morning came by so rapidly that Daphne felt the strain of pressure on her nerves. She woke up so early to prepare all the things she would need for the first day of work. Wearing the most formal and professional clothes she had, she went to Nathan’s place even before the start of her work.

By the time she reached the place, Daphne was not surprised to be accosted by a thirtyfoot tall mansion in front of her. The house, or so she said, the manor was so commodious that it would fit more than a thousand people. It looked more like a commercial area with an aristocratic and expensive design, rather than a warm and comfy residential space.

She then fixed the creases on the hem of her blazer and pushed the bell button on the tenfoot tall column that was barricading the entire mansion. After a minute, an old lady came to open the gate in a formal blackandwhite uniform. The lady must be one of Nathan’s maids and caretakers of this house, along with other employees who live with Nathan and Chuck Kelly.

“Good morning. Um, I’m Daphne Collins, the new tutor,” Daphne greeted the lady.

“Ah yes, Mr. Kelly had already informed us. I’ll take you to Chuck’s room, Miss Collins,” the whitehaired woman replied to her while she pushed the front door open.

They walked to the massive space of the room and, as Daphne followed her to the stairs, her eyes couldn’t stop roaming around as though she struggled with the thought of comparing Nathan’s overthetop home to Maverick’s trifling mansion.

And by the time they got to the second floor, the old woman added a reminder, “You can tell me if you need anything, Miss Collins.”

“Sure. Will do,” Daphne politely replied. “Also, may I know if I need to know anything about Chuck, in case…” She paused for a while and then jerked up her shoulders briefly. “In case just something happens?”

She turned around to take a glimpse of her. “Not so much, Miss Collins. The kid will have to take his vitamins in the afternoon and need to eat lunch at the exact time. Also, we’ll directly bring the meals here so you two won’t get disturbed.”

“Ah, got it. Thank you so much, miss—?”

“You can just call me Mrs. Willis, Miss Collins,” the old woman casually answered.

“Just Daphne, by the way. I’m not comfortable with people calling me by my surname,” Daphne explained to Mrs. Willis.

The woman didn’t bother asking her about it and just shrugged it off. After a couple of minutes of walking down the hallway, they finally stopped at a white door. Mrs. Willis opened the door and upon entering the room, Daphne met a freckled young man on his bed.

“Chuck, your tutor is already here, buddy,” Mrs. Willis informed the kid.

Daphne stepped forward to the kindness and introduced herself to him with joy. “Hi, Chuck! Good morning! I’m Miss Collins, your new tutor.”

However, instead of being greeted pleasantly, Chuck jumped out of his blue rocket ship bed and threw his stuff at her. “I don’t like you.” Before Daphne could even reply, she was already strewn with water from the kid’s cup.

“And I don’t want you here!” Chuck stomped his feet so loud that made Mrs. Willis scolded him.

“Oh, come on now, young man, that is not how you treat your teacher, buddy. “

The boy snouted and shouted, “I don’t care! Leave my room! I hate you and I don’t like you in my room!”

“I’m sorry about this, Miss Collins. I’ll talk it out with him,” Mrs. Willis said to her as she approached the young man.

Daphne nodded at her, watching her appeasing the grumpy boy. The whitehaired woman sat beside Chuck and brushed the boy’s darkbrown wavy hair. “How about this, buddy? I’ll cook your favorite mac and cheese later, while you wait here with Miss Collins. Does that sound alright with you?”

The boy pressed his lips into a thin line. “But uncle doesn’t want me to eat that! He says it’s not healthy, Mrs. Willis!”

She raised her index fingers and then pressed them to her mouth, winking mischievously at the boy. “It’ll be just between us.”

Chuck thought it over for a moment. He lifted her head in Daphne’s direction and asked, “What about her? She’ll tell him about it…”

Daphne quickly answered Chuck, “I won’t tell your uncle. I promise!” She put her hand on her chest and added, “Scout's honor, Chuck.”

Chuck just grimaced at her as he rubbed his eyes. “Whatever.”

Mrs. Willis then stood from her seat. “Good boy, bud.” She approached Daphne and told her, “I’ll get back to the kitchen, Miss Collins. Do inform me if you need something.”

She bowed her head to the old woman and watched her leave the room to singlehandedly handle Nathan’s pompous and spoiled nephew.

Clasping her fingers, she pivoted her gaze back to Chuck, who looked completely uninterested. “So how about we do something fun and interesting while we wait for Mrs. Willis? Is that okay with you, Chuck?”

“You’re stupid. Studying is not fun.” He gritted his teeth, clenching his fist tightly.

She sat on her heel and responded enthusiastically, “We’ll make it fun, then.”

Chuck ignored her, crossing his arms to his chest as Daphne started to bring out her teaching materials.

Hours had passed, and the teaching session was a disaster. Chuck didn’t listen to her and kept on complaining. More so, Daphne endured the longhour session of patiently comprehending the problematic attitude of the child that when it ended, she never felt so damn tired in her life as now.

After they were finished, Daphne was about to go home when suddenly the spoiled brat’s uncle just arrived.

As soon as Daphne went downstairs, she came across Nathan in the hallway. Smiling at the man, she greeted him politely while he just returned her an impassive glower. Daphne didn’t make that man’s elusive gesture to her an issue as she decided to pass by him, walking toward the entrance door of the manor.

When she was about to open the door, Daphne suddenly paused by the time she heard Nathan’s voice stammering.

“You can have dinner here,” Nathan said in an uncertain and hesitant voice.

Daphne burrowed her eyebrows. She then pointed her thumb in the door's direction. “No, it’s okay. Anyway, I should be heading out since it’s already late.”

Then Nathan’s secretary interrupted. He was a man in his twenties whose extravaganza personality exudes in his colorful clothing. “Darling, you’re such a sweetheart! No need to be shy, darling.” He circled his arms around her shoulders and uttered to her ears, “Mr. Kelly never invites anyone to dinner in his house, so if I were you, I'll accept it because it is damn rare!”

Nathan seemed to have heard Elliot’s comment. His eyes glared at his secretary, clearing his throat. “Stop corroding her mind with your nonsense, Barker.”

“Boss, I’m just sayin’ the truth,” Elliot Barker retorted in a sassy tone.

Meanwhile, Daphne found their interaction appealing. It was her first time to see Nathan with his secretary have that dynamic, yet respectful, professional relationship between them.

“I really can’t. I have to go…” Daphne adamantly rejected his offer.

He lifted his left hand to loosen the tie on his collar. “I will have Isaac drive you back to your apartment. If that’s what you’re worried about.” Shrugging to himself as he tried to explain, he muttered, “Besides, I don’t want to be rude to my nephew’s teacher.”

“I haven’t been invited by him to dinner, mind you, Miss Collins. If I were, I would take that chance.” Elliot winked at her before looking back at Nathan. “Anyway, boss, I gotta go. All the documents for tomorrow are done and your meeting with the Saundra Land Corp. has been all set.”

Nathan nodded at his secretary. Elliot then waved his hands to Daphne and said, “Night, darling! It’s nice meeting you!”

“Same, here.” Daphne smiled at Elliot while waving her hand also as she watched him leave.

When the door in front of Daphne and Nathan shut closed, he gazed back at her and asked again, “So, would you want to stay for the dinner?”

“I really shouldn’t—" She chewed the bottom of her lips as she contemplated whether to accept his invitation. Her prethoughts wanted to refuse the offer, as she didn’t want to add her debts to this man. However, a part of her also knew that it would also be obnoxious of her if she rejected his offer. Furthermore, it was just a casual dinner among the Annistons’ and she surmised that not could go wrong with it.

“Are you sure?” Nathan asked her again as he waited for her with his other hand clutching a suitcase while the other was shoved inside the pockets of his trousers.

She shook her head with a bit of reluctance and answered, “Ohkay. Yeah, sure.” Daphne stepped forward, gripping her back onto her shoulders. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Uh, great.” He sounded odd, airy, and breathy. Nathan then turned to his left and pointed his index finger to the narrow passage. “Just walked straight here, turn right, and there’s the dining hall.”

“Er, sure. Thanks…” She roamed her eyes to the bright halls of the way on the right wing of the mansion. Then, as she was about to go, she noticed Nathan going upstairs. Stopping behind his back, she asked him, “Are you not, um, coming to eat… for dinner?”

Nathan looked back at her and pursed his lips. “I’ll head there late. Don’t wait for me.” He then continued walking upstairs when suddenly he collided with his nephew going down.

“Hey, kid. How’s your day?” Nathan greeted his nephew like he was just some child he casually knew.

Daphne found it odd, as she had thought that the two were close. Backing up her expectations, the man went to lengths just to get Chuck Kelly a credible tutor. If he didn’t care about the kid, he wouldn’t go through the painstaking process of giving the best of everything to his nephew.

Chuck, however, didn’t respond to him and just ignored his uncle. Nathan didn’t force the kid to answer him, even if Daphne felt Chuck was a tad disrespectful. Just like him, Daphne tried to ignore it as though it didn’t happen.

When the kid finally came down, Daphne approached him. “Want to go with me to the dining room?”

The kid, again, neglected her for the nth time and just spout a snide remark. “Stupid!”

Daphne just sighed in dejection while she followed the young man to the dining hall. On the other side, Nathan trotted up the stairs, going to his room.

Thirty minutes had passed when Nathan came to the dining table. He was wearing a lightbrown sweatshirt and loose pants. Daphne was sitting on the left side of the long mahogany table, while Chuck was on the right side, near the head seat.

“Why is your plate still empty, bud?” Nathan quickly noticed that Chuck wasn’t even lifting his arms to grab some food. “Are you not hungry?”

The kid gave him a grumpy look. “I’m not hungry.”

Nathan reached the bowl of beans in the center and took a portion of it to give it to Chuck. “And why not?”

Chuck harrumphed. “I don’t like the food and…” He shifted his gaze to Daphne, who was sitting two seats apart from Nathan and was a noticeable distance away from Chuck. “And I don’t like her.”

His uncle looked up at Daphne as he folded the knitted sweater on his right arm. “You don’t like Miss Collins?”

The brat nodded. “Yes. She makes me study so much!”

“But it’s for your own good, Chuck. I told you to have to study hard—" Nathan tried to explain to the child when Chuck intervened with him immediately with his tantrums.

“I don’t like to study, uncle, and I don’t like her! And I don’t like the food! I hate her and I hate this!” He shouted as he banged the utensils on the table.

Daphne jumped in her seat, surprised at the kid’s reaction. She knew that Chuck had a problematic attitude, but she didn’t know that it was deeper and more extensive than this.

Nathan didn’t scold his nephew. He raised his arms and pinched the bridge of his nose as he called out Mrs. Willis. “Mrs. Willis!”

The old woman came quickly while wiping her dark brown hands on her apron. “Yes, sir. Is there anything you want?”

“Chuck doesn't like the food.” Waving his hands to the maid, he added, “Bring him whatever he likes.”

Mrs. Willis nodded. “Right away, sir.”

However, Daphne felt this was too much. The kid was being spoiled rotten by everyone in this house, which intensified his insufferable behavior more. Gripping the spoon and forked, she meddled, “Hang on…”

Both Mrs. Willis and Nathan stared at her in bewilderment.

“Don’t you think you’re coaxing him too much?” She dropped the utensils to the surface of the mantle and then placed her hands under the table. “He needs to know that his behavior is disrespectful and appalling. Moreover, if you give him everything he wants, he’ll think that it’s alright to be rude and impolite.”

Nathan’s jaw tightened. He propped his elbows on the table and cracked his knuckles with his fingers. Ignoring Daphne’s comment, he signaled Mrs. Willis to take Chuck with her to the kitchen.

Mrs. Willis just obliged him as she approached Chuck, who was so cantankerous. “Come with me to the kitchen, dear. We'll make your favorite grilledcheese sandwich.”

The kid followed the old woman to the kitchen while Daphne and Nathan were left alone in the dining area. When Chuck and Mrs. Willis’ shadows disappeared in the room, Nathan grabbed his utensils again and forked some French beans.

“Don’t tell me what and what not to do with my nephew, Miss Collins. I’ll discipline him whenever and whatever I want,” he rebutted her suggestion a while ago.

Daphne wiped her lips with the cloth. “Please, just call me Daphne, Sir Kelly. As a teacher, I’m just giving you a bit of advice to help you with Chuck, and not, in any way, doubt your ability as his guardian.”

“Then just Nathan, Daphne. Besides, I don’t need your advice regarding him and, more importantly, I don’t like you intervening in our affairs,” he said softly, but with warning and indignation.

With this, Daphne didn’t try to defend herself back to her employer and just ate in silence with him. The past thirty minutes of them sneaking out stares at each other while eating was the most awkward and unsettling feeling Daphne had experienced in her life.

By the time their dinner finished, Daphne was about to go home. It was already eight o’clock in the evening and she had to still travel back to the apartment for at least fortyfive minutes. Nathan’s nephew, Chuck Kelly, was already in his room sleeping, while Nathan was in the living room with documents and papers scattered on the coffee table and on the sofa.

Daphne greeted him in the evening as she fished her bag on the couch. “I’ll be going, siNathan.” She bowed her head partially and added, “Thanks for the dinner. I sincerely appreciate it.”

In his spectacle glasses, his eyes titled up to meet hers. “Wait a minute. I’ll just call Isaac to drop you in your place.”

She hastily shook her head at him. “No, it’s alright. The ride on the bus would take me twenty minutes only, and the fare is not that really expensive, so it’s fine.”

“No, it’s already late. The walk here to the subdivision is too long—“Nathan explained as he got his phone and opened it.

“It is really okay, Nathan. Besides, Isaac must be already sleeping…I don’t want to bother him just to take me home,” Daphne insisted.

Nathan couldn’t respond to her and because of this, Daphne decided to head towards the front door, when all of a sudden, she heard him at her back.

“I’ll drive you home then.” He stood from his seat as he looked at Daphne. She was, on the other hand, surprised by his prompt gesture that made her eyes gape wide.

Waving her head in persistence, she rejected his offer. “No. No, no, it’s really fine. You don’t have to do that, Nathan.”

Nathan didn’t listen to her. He moved out from the table and said, “Wait for me here. I’ll just grab my keys.”

Daphne was about to stop him when she didn’t catch him up as he hastily walked upstairs to his room. Sighing in resignation, she hunched her shoulders down while she waited for him to come down.

After a few minutes, Nathan, with his long black coat, stepped down the stairs and walked toward the front door. Daphne, who couldn’t do anything about it, just let the man insist on his offer as she also didn’t want to make the atmosphere between them become more obdurate.

As they both stormed to the garage, Daphne went inside the car, and sat at the back, while Nathan sat in the driver’s seat. Nathan recognized it and was dismayed by her intended avoidance of him.

“Sit by my side,” He ordered her as he took a glance at her in the rearview mirror.

“No. I’m fine here.” Daphne wetted her lips, turning away from him to the window of the car.

Nathan raised his eyebrow. “I don’t want to look like I’m your driver, Daphne.”

“You’re not.” She shrugged obstinately.

“And yet, sitting there on the back, make me look like one,” Nathan stated to her as he shifted to his back and to give her an ultimatum. “Now, are you going to sit beside me so we can go, or will you keep on insisting on your point throughout the entire course, wasting our goddamn time?”

Sighing in defeat, Daphne didn’t have a choice but to change seats and sat on the passenger seat beside the driver. After getting situated inside the car, Nathan turned on the engine, revving and driving the vehicle on the road, together with a lady, who looked a bit conscious of the situation between them.

While on the road, Daphne couldn’t help but think about what Nathan had said to her minutes before when they were having dinner. She didn’t like the way he responded to her like she was a nosy bitch who meddled in other people’s life.

She knew she wasn’t that kind of person, as she was just concerned as a teacher toward Chuck’s reprehensible attitude. The kid was too much and way out of himself that he was downright rude to everybody, even to his elders. For Daphne, Chuck was just so disrespectful to them that she couldn’t let it go, even if this was the first time meeting and interacting with him.

For this reason, she broke the silence between them as she clutched her purse tightly. “I know this might be way too overboard as Chuck’s tutor, and I mean no disrespect for your parenting skills with him, but I think you shouldn’t tolerate his tantrums.”

Yeah, Daphne was stubborn, and even if Nathan Kelly would get mad with her, she didn’t care, and to the hell with it.

Nathan pulled the clutch, shifting his gears. Despite not looking at her, the anger on his face swelled up that it was evident to be noticed by Daphne.

Daphne became tonguetied after that. Even though she understood his point, she still couldn’t accept his explanation. She knew her limit as Chuck’s teacher, but she also knew her responsibility along with that role. Deep in her heart, she believed that as a teacher she shouldn’t only teach the kid with basics, but also inculcate a positive and wellmannered attitude toward the kid.

Being a teacher didn’t end in the four corners of the room. To be a teacher was also to be a second parent to the child.

And because of this, Daphne was absolutely annoyed with him. “Well, I wouldn’t tell that to you if you know how to treat your nephew, Nathan,” she muttered, to which Nathan heard considerably.

“If this is how you do your work professionally, Miss Collins, then I suggest this deal between us would never last long. Pay me the fine you’ve caused for the inconvenience and the ruckus you'd made.”

Daphne gritted her teeth. “Oh, don’t you worry, mister, because I’m not like others who run away from their debts!”

“Good to know! Because if you continue being an insufferable swot, then I don’t have a choice but to fire you, Miss Collins!” he shouted, stopping the car to a screeching halt when the red light blinked at a traffic light.

Daphne scoffed. “You don’t have to worry about that, Mister Kelly, because before you can even fire me, I already quit!”

“Huh, so this is how you want to do this?!” Nathan spat back.

“Yeah, because apparently, I’m a fucking insufferable bitch!” She snapped at him and hastily walked out of the car before Nathan could reply to her.

All alone by himself in the traffic, he thumped his hands on the steering wheel, looking pissed off and irritated. “I said swot, not bitch!”

As soon as Daphne Collins dashed out of the car, Nathan was left alone with a bothering thought about her. He couldn’t explain it, but somehow, he rather felt like a jackass to Daphne for the insensitive remark that he had made.

And not because he cared about her or took notice of her, but because, at the bottom of his heart, he knew that what she had said was right. He didn’t know what and how parenting was when Chuck was given to him. Nathan was just also a young adult back then with a childlike maturity to even handle that kind of tremendous responsibility.

So, without thinking about it thoroughly, he swerved the car to turn around in the nearest corner and shifted to the right, to where Daphne exited the vehicle. Parking the car by the sidewalk, he walked on the street, trying to find a woman with dark blonde hair, who was wearing semiformal clothes.

A few minutes had passed, and to no avail, he couldn’t find Daphne. Frustrated by it, he raked his hands through his hair and ran back and forth to the same street, scrutinizing every corner of the avenue.

Meanwhile, Daphne, who was still pissed off, was walking to the empty alley, all alone with the smoke from the car’s exhaust pipe and the flickering lights on every store sign she approached. Covered by a dark, grim night, the back street of the pathway was shrouded with an odd, deafening silence. Daphne’s back shivered in anxiousness as she felt the stiff brush of the breezy wind swirling around her as though it were whispering an omen to her.

She wrapped her arms, skidding away quickly to the eerie path so that she could get away from there as fast as possible. Turning to the left side of the alley’s corner, she collided with three buff men.

“Hey, peach! Want to come with us?” The short man whistled, wiggling her eyebrows back and forth.

Daphne just hunched her head down, ignoring the three hooligans. However, a tall man blocked her way when he cut to her front.

“Ain’t that booty banging, woohoo!” he hooted out, smirking deviously.

“You dressed up nicely, sweetheart. But it would be even better if I take those off on you!” The last man, who was quite large, scoffed.

This time, Daphne couldn’t keep quiet, and with that, she lifted her head to them with audacity and spat back, “Leave me alone! Assholes!”

The short man laughed, slapping his tall friend on his back. “Fuck dude, this one is feisty!”

“You like it dirty. Don’t you, bitch?” The bulky man among the three sneered, flashing his black smeared teeth.

Daphne cringed inwardly when her gaze promptly met his randy leer. “Get out of my way!” She warned the colossal man in front of her and pushed him away.

“Ah, this bitch likes to play!” The short man snatched her arms instantly, pulling Daphne to her. His friend, the lanky tall man, block the other side so she couldn’t have a chance to get away from them.

“Don’t ya worry, sweet cheeks, we’ll make sure you’ll have some fun!” the tall man on Daphne’s left side whispered in her ears.

Taunting shivers in her nerves ignited as his uncouth voice reverberated her thoughts, filling her mind and body with oscillating fear. She gulped deliberately when her fingers automatically curled into her sweaty palms.

“I said let me go!” Daphne miffed back.

Finally, the bulky, large man came forward. Licking his lips, he said to his two guys, “Get our lady inside, and make sure she’s all tied up.”

The two nodded at him. On Daphne’s right side, the short man uttered with excitement, “We’ll bound you so tight, honey, so you would keep on coming back.”

As soon as Daphne heard him, she tried to squirm out of his friend’s grasp. She wriggled her wrists that were tied to the two men’s hands and weighed drag her weight down so that they would struggle to lift and slog her to their place.

“No! Get away from me! You assholes!” Daphne screamed in protest.

“Ah dude, this bitch is a screamer!” The tall man commented to his friend as he slammed Daphne with a dirty rag from his jeans pocket.

As he excavated throughout the entire avenue, Nathan heard an alarming scream coming from the other side of the alley. He tracked the shrilling highpitched voice along the corners of the sidewalks and sprinted across the block to where the sound originated.

“Daphne is that you?!” He shouted, running to the dark alley of the street, and by the time he got there, he was astounded to see Daphne with three men hauling her like a piece of sack.

“Mmph!” Daphne cried to him when she saw Nathan while a cloth was blocking her mouth as she was being dragged by the group.

He fumed with anger as he witnessed what they were about to do with her. Running toward them, he “You fucking muggers, let the lady go!”

“Aw, looks like your boyfriend is here to help you, baby!” The short man teased.

The tall man snide, “Too bad, he’ll see you fucking us three with all of your holes!”

In front of Daphne, the bulky man added, “Shut it, Whicker! You’re wasting the time. Just drag the bitch to the corner!”

Both of his friends obliged their leader and pushed her to the corner of the block. Daphne writhed her body, trying to unlash from them.

Whilst, the large man waited for Nathan to come closer to them as he matched the glowering stare of the young man.

Unaware of what Daphne was about to do, the tall man felt the blow of the lady’s heel on his shin, resulting in his excruciating whine. Consequently, the short man abruptly loosened his grip on Daphne when she kicked him in his balls.

As a result, her back was smashed into the cold, arid concrete ground when the two men dropped her. She threw the rag from her mouth, spit the awful and disgusting taste from it, and skewed her back, wincing from the massive blow of the cemented surface.

Nathan was about to help Daphne when he paused to realize that the woman didn't need his help. While watching her tearing the two hooligans apart, he found himself chuckling in wonder how a small, petite woman like her could handle those guys.

“Daphne!” Nathan shouted again to Daphne, reminding her.

Along with her shallow breaths, she didn’t think twice about getting up and running away from them when all of the sudden, the hefty man hastily pulled the tail of her hair with intense force, making her scream with agonizing pain.

“Oh no, woman, you won’t get away with us just like that!” The large man warned her as he thrust her back to his chest. “I’ll make sure you’ll obey as I fuck you so hard!”

“Let me go, you bastard!” Daphne didn’t let her fear cower her. She stomped her heels to his feet to try to dash away from him.

However, the man dodged her stomp quickly. “Honey, you’ll have to do more than that.” He called again to his two men who struggled to get up and ordered, “You wimps, get your ass up!”

Nathan noticed it right away. The situation between them took a dark turn when the two men came to help their friend again and grabbed Daphne to her feet, carrying her inside the reclusive corner of the alley.

Because of that, Nathan rushed to get to them before they could do something to Daphne. Without hesitation, he punched the stout man in the face and hit him on the side of his limbs. His opponent was able to recover from his punch. Cracking his neck, the bulky man hit his face in return.

Nathan felt the massive blow of his punch, making his vision hazy and dizzy. He then shook his head sideways, waking himself to jab the man against his cheeks. To his dismay, the large man dodged it rapidly, turning his shoulders away from Nathan.

“Ya think you can kill me with a puny cock of yours, shithead?” The man jeered at him with his arrogant gait.

However, Nathan didn’t let his insults flinch his confidence down. The man was larger than him and taller. He knew he couldn’t beat the shit out of them if he attacked the front. Bearing that in mind, he probed into the opening sides of the man, looking for his blindside.

Nathan then moved to the left side of the open street as he waited for the right time for the man to bout him. And as what he had just surmised, his opponent rushed to him, raising his arm to punch him on right.

On impulse, he sloped his shoulders back, yanked his forearm, and snapped it with a twist on his back. When he got him in his grasp, he kicked the back of his knees, making him kneel in the progression.

With a hunger to knock him down, he banged his head on the nearest light post and threw him into the street. The tall man wasn’t about to attack him back as he plummeted on the asphalt cement and blacked out into oblivion. The two men recognized what had Nathan done, which made them react quickly to help their friend.

“Mother fucking, son of a bitch!” The tall man hissed.

Requiting for their friend, the tall man tried to blow him on his jaw, but he failed to do so when Nathan, in reflex, counterattacked him with an uppercut.

“Ah no, you shit! Don’t you mess with my brother?!” The short man then ran to smack his back with a piece of wood lying around the street’s alley. Nathan promptly noticed the wood; however, instead of dodging it, he caught its bark, gripping it tight to halt the man from hitting him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he cautioned the man.

Nevertheless, the short man didn’t recoil from his warning and extricated away the wood from him. He then proceeded to hit him on his ribs, which Nathan didn’t calculate right away.

“Fuck you phony superman!” The short man laughed.

Nathan instantly felt his ribs being forcibly pushed inside his gut. He balled inwardly, crunching the pain of the hit and grunting to bear the throbbing ache. Biting the inside of his cheek, he stood straight in a wobble, and then, while the short man was quite having a minor victory with himself, Nathan punched him in the face, driving him away to lose his balance. He didn’t stop there as he followed her to pull him up and blasted him against the graffiti wall.

The short man met his own demise in a flash as his body fell down on the ground, together with his other two hooligan friends. As his head dropped, the blood on his nose streamed down onto his philtrum.

Taking advantage of the situation, Nathan didn’t waste his time waiting for the group to rouse up. He ran to where Daphne was and helped the lady stand. He enveloped his arms to her back for support while Daphne reclined her shoulders on him.

“You okay?” Nathan’s eyebrow furrowed. The wrinkles and lines on his forehead were so clear that Daphne struggled to stop her chest from thudding erratically.

She didn’t reply to him as her gaze met the bruises on his face. There was a large swollen patch on the corner of his mouth. Narrowing her eyes and looking at him closely, Daphne suggested. “We’ve got to get you to the hospital, Nathan. Your lips are inflamed and your ribs might have a fracture.”

He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. Ignoring it as though it was nothing, Nathan refused, “Nah, I’m fine. Don’t sweat about this.”

But Daphne replied adamantly, “No, you are hurt. We should go, and the hospital is just three blocks away from here.

“Daphne, we shouldn’t. I could just call our family physician tomorrow,” Nathan countered her.

“No. I’m taking you to the hospital, Nathan.” She snuck her dainty arms on his back for support and continued, “Where’s your car?”

Resigning with a sigh, he pointed two blocks away from their location. Daphne helped him walk as they headed to where his car was parked. After a couple of minutes of walking, she unlatched her arms to his back and then held her palms in front of Nathan.

“Where are the keys?” she asked him casually.

Nathan didn’t contest with her. He took out the keys in his pockets and gave them to her.

“Thanks.” Then, Daphne opened the door of his car.

As he was supported by Daphne, who was behind his back, he managed to get inside the car slowly.

________________________________________

Nathan felt uncomfortable with the wrinkle lines on her forehead while he was holding the side of his ribs. Gazing up at her face, she saw her chest rise in and out as she went to the driver's seat. When Daphne finally situated herself on it, Nathan watched her close the door and buckle her seat belt.

She turned on the ignition and took off to the nearby hospital. About a few minutes later, they went to the emergency room, where the doctors checked the condition of his bruises. Daphne waited beside him as he was examined by the medical team and brought out some tests on him.

The good thing was that after an hour of examination, he was fine and as fit as a fiddle. Daphne exhaled a deep breath, hunching her head down to bury it in her palms as she heard the news.

However, Nathan, who was beside her the entire time, just looked at her in curiosity as he studied her from head to toe like she was some kind of problem that he oddly couldn’t find a solution to.

Even more, he felt his heart galloped in a flatout beat when he recognized her hand on the top of his while the nurse announced his medical results. The doctor said he was fine and luckily his ribs didn’t crack, but why did he feel like he had a sodding fever?

It disturbed Nathan so much that he thought he needed a large dose of Tylenol to cure him from this damn madness.

After settling for the medical expenses and medication fees, Nathan and Daphne exited the hospital. Holding the bag of medications in his hand, he couldn’t keep Daphne out of his thoughts.

Apparently, the woman had bugged her so much that the logical part of his brain was barely processing right now—that was if his mind still could process right after drinking more than the prescribed dose of Tylenol.

It seemed like even with the higher dosage of the medicine, his mysterious fever still didn't subside, since it became worse when the lady beside him was just an inch away from where he was.

By the time they got to the car, Nathan grabbed the keys from her. Daphne, whose eyes were as wide as a ladle, looked at him with an expression as though she were waiting for him to say something.

Because of this, Nathan appealed to her beckon and answered, “Let me drive the car. I’m quite fine, Daphne. Besides, you have done enough already to help me.”

Daphne swerved his remarks and said, “Okay, I’ll be going. Again, thanks for helping me, Nathan.”

Nathan turned to her with his eyebrows in a burrow as he noticed the lady going to the side of the road. “I told you I'll drop you off at your place.”

“And I'll tell you now that you don't have to. I can just grab a taxi from here.” She rejected his offer immediately, her eyes fixed on the road as she waved her arms to signal for a ride.

'Why is this goddamn woman so stubborn?' Nathan grunted inwardly before he heaved a deep sigh.

“Daphne, please don’t make this more complicated. I'll drive you to your place like what we have discussed before," he reiterated.

She just looked at him haughtily. "You're the one who insisted, not me, Nathan..."

He rubbed his palms on his scruff and added, “Look, if this is because of our fight a while ago, I’m really sorry. I was wrong to say that to you. Hell, you can even keep your job as Chuck’s tutor for a compromise.”

She dropped her arms to the side. Lifting her chin to meet his gaze, her eyebrow furrowed. “I can say the same thing to you, Nathan; but I've already made up my mind and I’m not interested in taking that job back.”

"Daphne!" Nathan’s jaw twitched.

He was about to grab her arms when suddenly the woman deliberately evaded him and ran toward the taxi nearby.

"Bye, Nathan! I hope you can find your nephew a tutor who is not as nosy bitch as I am!" She got inside the vehicle quickly without saying a word to him.

"God, you woman! That's not what I said!" He grunted, raising his chin up and taking a deep breath.

Dismayed by the lady’s seemingly uncaring gesture, he pulled his car door open and went inside as he yeeted the bag by the next seat.

Immediately, he started the engine running and drove off back to the place. Nathan couldn’t shut their fight out of his mind and kept gripping the steering wheel tightly as he drove to her apartment.

'That woman is getting on my nerves!'

He realized he should not have insisted on driving her by himself and could just instruct Isaac to do his job. Nonetheless, it was too late for him to wish for that scenario, as the lady had already decided to quit the job.

Sunday morning greeted Daphne with incessant badgering calls from her mother, Linda. And because of what had just happened lately between Nathan and her, she didn’t have a choice but to tell her mother the truth: that she was still on the job hunt. As she had expected, her mother groaned in disapproval and was constantly fiddling with restless words to her daughter.

Although she didn’t have that much experience teaching in schools and was urged to let her stay at home by Maverick all the time, Daphne had a few tutoring gigs with Tatiana’s socialite friend's kids to have some onhand experience at the job.

If odds were on her side, then she hoped she could land a job at this prestigious school.

As she walked to the steep block of the school’s entrance, she treaded to the side of the main road and was about to hail a cab when she caught notice of a familiar shadow across the street. Getting a clear view of him, she saw a man dressed in an expensive suit heading toward her as he ran across the road while cars continued to pass by.

When Daphne realized it was the man she swore to never see again, she avoided him immediately, dashing away from his sight. However, he ran like a cheetah that he had already blocked her way to get out of him.

Annoyed by his presence, Daphne stuck her tongue on the side of her cheek. “Do you mind, please?!”

He still kept on standing in front of her, trying to barricade all openings to where Daphne could run off away from him.

“Come back home, Daphne.” He held her arms and squeezed them tightly. “I want you back, baby.”

For the very first time, Daphne was perplexed to see a downcast look on Maverick. The proud smirk and valiant eyes of the man she had known soon crumbled as a soft, pleading expression confronted her today. Was this the same man she had lived with? Or was this all an act just so he could have her back again?

'He's using his puppydog eyes to persuade me. Ugh, god, how did I fall for that?' Daphne groused to herself.

Daphne didn’t know and never wanted to know what it meant. In fact, she doesn’t give a fuck anymore about his whereabouts. “You won’t get that from me again, Maverick.”

Maverick heaved a deep sigh. His hands were splayed on his waist while he lifted the other to reach her hand. Pressing her palms softly, he begged, “I can pay your mother’s debt, Daphne! Or let you get a job in one of the finest schools here…just, please come back home, baby.”

'Bullshit, Maverick!' Daphne had none of his shit.

She threw his hand away from her and gave him a deathdefying glare. “The moment you’ve ditched me on that altar, we’re already over, Maverick. Don’t get your hopes up because I won’t get back to you ever again! So please, for the love of God, quit pestering me!”

Maverick’s humble countenance vanished instantly. Huffing a large sigh, he chafed, “Come on, Daphne! I’m trying here!”

Daphne scoffed. “I don’t care, Maverick! I’m still not going back with a narcissistic guy like you, to your pathetic house, and especially to your horrendous mother!”

His genteel eyes snapped to a livid nightmare. He snatched her shoulders, pushing her against the bark of the tree behind him, and forcibly grasping her skin in constriction.

“Don’t you insult me or my mother like that?! You have no right to do that, bitch!” The edge of his mouth curved upward. “Mom is right. You’re just like your mother: a pathetic, golddigger slut!”

“Get off of me, jerk!” Daphne clenched her teeth.

'See, he's still the same guy I met before. The same proud and egomaniac guy who thinks he has everything!' Laughing inwardly, she was right all along.

Maverick had never changed, and he was still that same incorrigible man she had blindly fallen in love with. But now, Daphne knew better than to rub his prideful ego.

Her exboyfriend grimaced, baring his anger to once he called his girlfriend. “You can’t live without me, Daphne. Someday, when you’ve realized that fact, you’ll be coming back to me, begging me to take you back, bitch!”

He leaned into her ears and haunted her with his menacing voice. “So if I were you, stop squeezing yourself into your friend’s place, as you’re just disturbing her.”

She couldn’t keep her nerves calm about his appalling statements. Pushing him away from her, she derided. “You should tell that to yourself, Maverick. Stop squeezing in and out of my business, you fucking braggart!”

Then, without turning back to him, Daphne walked back again to the side street. As she hailed a cab, she heard him uttering one last sentence behind her back.

“You won’t survive in the real world, Daphne! You need me.”

She fisted her palms, pressing them with force as she waited for the taxi. In a minute, a cab stopped in front of her and ignored Maverick’s words as though she didn’t hear them when she get inside the vehicle. Along with the full tilt of the taxi’s speed, Daphne disposed of the lingering thought of Maverick’s remarks.