This was the day that all the students were expecting, Unmei Academy's sports festival!
Prominent figures, celebrities, tycoons even politicians and some royalties attended this event to watch and cheer for their family and friends.
The Academy had strict rules that observers, relative or not, should not, in any way, interfere with the event. They were not allowed to come close and speak to their sons and daughters during the entirety of the game. They were only permitted to watch and cheer and nothing else.
"Daniel!"
"Daniel!"
The huge gym reverberated from the earth-shattering sound of Daniel's name, the star and MVP player of the basketball game.
Basketball was a fan girls dream. It was a sport of athletic men who were often sweating, panting, and dealing with their feelings in a confined space. Thus, it was no wonder this game had many women cheering and going crazy in stimulus. Some girls even cried or at the verged of losing their selves.
Among them, Sisley's heart was fluttering, skipping a beat every time that Daniel scored. As she continued watching his remarkable display of skills, she fell even more in love with him.
Daniel is so . . . awesome . . . She thought, sighing in bless.
At the side, while Daniel and Max played like the star of an action movie, being cheered and cried upon, Eric was sitting on a bench, reading his notes. He was the only person on the bench. From start to end of the game, he didn't even get the chance to warm up.
Who would let him play with his nerdy countenance, appearing weak in strength and physical endurance? No one would take the chance with Daniel being a competitive man. All Daniel thought when playing was winning, and he would not allow a little slip just because he let a single person ruin the momentum of the game.
On the other side, while some of the management boys were busy playing basketball, some of the management girls were busy playing dodgeball.
Evangeline and her not so popular classmates were forced to play this game of pain. Since it was only the five of them who were present and no spare, the exact number to play dodgeball according to rules, everyone was required to come on the playing field.
Smirking, Evangeline knew it was planned by their class president, who was a girl by the way, and every girl hated her, that was why she was put in this game together with her other classmates of the lower stratum.
She inspected her opponents. Tall, well built like they came out from a football match and very able to break some bones. She then stared at her team.
. . .
. . .
Weak. It was the only word for it.
Her opponents sized her up, the corners if their lips twitched in an evil grin and she respond with her own signature smirk –– challenging them.
Hmp! You've underestimated me. She thought. Not waiting for another second, she raised her hand.
"I forfeit."
She grabbed her things and swayed out of the stinking room.
. . .
. . .
The teachers and students were speechless, to say the least. The teachers all wanted to shout and drag Evangeline back, but they knew that forfeiting wasn't against the rules.
All of them hadn't expected that Evangeline would give up just like that, knowing by relinquishing, their team would entirely lose the game since they had no spare.
They clearly underestimated her heartlessness and shamelessness.
----
After playing basketball, his second game in the morning, Daniel swiftly shoved his things inside his backpack, couldn't wait to be with Sisley in their secret meeting place.
With his still basketball attire on, he ran towards the exit into the deeper parts of the garden.
Likewise, Eric was preparing to leave when Max stopped him.
"Eric, right?" Max said, "Sorry, but can you give this to Daniel? I have another game after this and Daniel might need his phone," he explained, handing Daniel's phone to the nerdy man.
For a time, Eric stared at Max with his usual stoic face before he seized the phone and dashed to where Daniel had gone.
"Weirdo . . . ," Max muttered, shaking his head.
----
In the deeper parts of the garden where towering trees blocked the sun, Sisley carefully laid out boxes after boxes of food, making sure everything was perfect.
She giggled in anticipation, couldn't shake away the quivering of her nerves. And when the man of her dreams came in, panting and catching his breath, the sweat on her palms never ceased. It was like her hands turned into a faucet with a broken lever where cold water burst nonstop.
"Sorry . . . ," Daniel said between breaths. "Have you been waiting long?"
He ran his hand through his dump hair, beads of sweat trickling down his face. Coupled by his basketball attire, which formed his muscular frame, he appeared enticingly attractive.
Gulping, Sisley replied, "N-no . . . I just got here." She blushed when Daniel grinned at her.
"Liar . . . ," Daniel said, rolling the word longer in his tongue. "You're clearly here much early to set these all up. Are these for me?"
When he saw the bundles of foods laid before him, his heart felt like it would burst. Couldn't contain his happiness, he crossed the distance between them.
"Uhmm . . . W-well . . . Y-you are playing four games in one day. So . . . you need enough energy to replenish the ones you've lost." Sisley fumbled her fingers, eyes on the ground as her cheeks reddened.
Seeing her like that, all cute and adorable, Daniel let out a hearty laugh. He gently pinched her chin and raised her head to look at her lovely hazelnut eyes.
"Thank you . . . ," he whispered.
Sisley held her gasp when Daniel's hot breath fanned her face. Her hormones were rampaging in full gear as the smell of mint in his breath mingled with his sweat.
They were so close!
Super close that she could hear his heartbeat against his chest . . . or was it hers? She wasn't interested in knowing as she was swept away by the deep blue color of his world. She imagined the vast open sky where seagulls flew freely and dolphins jumped from the sea.
Time was at a standstill and no one wanted to disrupt the silence. Lost in each other's eyes, Daniel leaned closer and closer while Sisley's eyelids dropped inch by inch in anticipation.
"I hate to break your romantic moment, but I have to interfere as I can't stand the insects bites anymore."
The spell was broken and they jolted away from each other. Their eyes stretched to the maximum when they saw who interrupted their almost heart-warming kiss.
"E-Evangeline . . ."
Daniel muffled, a terrible sense of guilt flooded his mind. Acid rise in his throat, and the ground seemed to wobble before his feet. He thought Evangeline was still playing dodgeball!
Unfortunately for Daniel, Evangeline quit, and instead decided to sleep in the deepest parts of the garden. On the way, she even saw Sisley setting up lunch boxes. She ignored her and went deeper in the forest near the lake for a good shut-eye. Only to be awaken by that oh so familiar voice.
Just like Daniel, Sisley didn't know what to do. She trembled at the sight of Evangeline's cold piercing gaze and her knees almost gave way.
"Oh please, don't stop at my expense. After all, I'm just Daniel's girlfriend." Evangeline smiled, staring at the two guilt-stricken people.
"E-Eva––"
Daniel didn't finish his sentence when Evangeline raised her hand to stop him.
"It's okay, Daniel. I mean," Evangeline raised one shoulder in a graceful half shrugged, "I'm not exactly nice to you and didn't treat you the way a girlfriend should treat a boyfriend. But at least I was always true to you. Unlike you who is spouting kindness and compassion all the time, but is secretly meeting another woman behind my back?"
Daniel was speechless and couldn't utter a word of retort. He briefly lost communication with his brain and the overflowing emotion of guilt took over his mind. He could only stare at Evangeline with a face full of shame.
Evangeline arched an eyebrow at Sisley as her lips curved in a mocking way.
"And you . . . Sisley Lacroft. The girl that everyone loves. The girl who can't even hurt a fly. The one who is all nice and kind and full of compassion."
Evangeline briefly glanced at the lunch boxes and sneered. Her long stylish nails rested on her tantalizing red lips as she said, "So tell me, how does it feel to steal someone else's boyfriend? Not so nice and kind and compassionate now, are we?"
Evangeline laughed through her breath when the two couldn't even move their lips to defend themselves.
When a tear slid from Sisley's cheek, Daniel stepped forward and shielded her from Evangeline's view.
"Look, you can say anything you want to say about me," he said, "It is all my fault. Sisley didn't do anything wrong."
Evangeline raised an eyebrow paired with a sardonic scoff as she eyed the lunch boxes. Didn't do anything wrong, indeed.
"Don't get me wrong, Daniel," she retorted, "I'm not here to argue nor say something about anything to anyone."
With a domineering face, chin jutting out, she glanced at the trembling girl, who was cowering behind Daniel.
"Queens don't compete with hoes."
Her cold lilac eyes then stared at the man, who she thought was different.
"I am something you'll regret losing. I can promise you that much. I am a gold. A rare precious stone. The hardest orihalcon you can ever find." She chortled and lazily sized Sisley up and down. "But you prefer ores, and that's okay."
She then clapped her hands and nodded at the two.
"Congratulations. You two are perfect for each other. Both are hypocrites. Have a nice day."
She walked past the stunned male and female without glancing back, walking away like she owned the world. Though she didn't admit to it, she was bitter that something belonged to her was snatched right under her nose.
But that was it.
In the first place, she no longer believed in the male species. Though she gave Daniel a bit of her trust, she didn't entirely give him one hundred percent. And she never will in the future and never will with any man.
I don't believe in silly affections. She mused. A pity though. And here I thought he would be different.
Evangeline stopped when she noticed Eric was standing quietly at the side with his messy hair, dark thick-rimmed eyeglasses, and tattered backpack, holding a phone.
She didn't care if he heard and saw everything.
She flashed a lazy smile and walked past him.
As expected, the news that Daniel and Evangeline broke up spread like wildfire, surprising no one. The only thing that people said, 'It was about time that Daniel broke up with her.'
Daniel and Sisley remained as friends. Too guilty for what they did. Besides, Daniel still had lingering feelings for Evangeline. But as of now, Sisley dominated his entire heart.
Daniel never spoke to Evangeline after that. He was too ashamed and embarrassed to even talk to her. He had girlfriends in the past, and not once did he break his code of loyalty. He never dared cheat nor entertained the thought of it –– until today that is. Which was an accident, a slip of emotion.
Honestly, he didn't know what he should do. He even changed seat with Max and now was seated beside Sisley while Max had the unfortunate privilege to sit beside the Queen.
Daniel knew that he was in the wrong and his priority was to apologize to Evangeline. But how exactly –– I had no idea.
Just peeking at the icy face of Evangeline was enough to make him shrunk in shame and guilt much less talk to her.
Daniel didn't like the feeling he was having now. His mind was filled with nothing but complicated emotions he couldn't control. Everyday, he thought he could never live with the guilt and shame and the fallout from his integrity. He didn't like the feeling and swore he wouldn't ever cheat again. It was not worth it.
What he lost outweigh the gain. His values and honor crumbled. It was like he lost a part of himself, and he was traumatized by his actions.
I have to apologize to her!
He thought by apologizing to her would elevate some of his guilt and bring back something he had lost.
In contrast, Sisley tried everything to avoid Evangeline. But even though she didn't say it, besides the guilt and shame, she was thrilled.
Happy that she could be closer to Daniel now.
But of course, after that incident, they mellowed down. They kept their secret meetups to a minimum mostly for the reason they didn't want to ruin their reputation at school.
They secretly thanked Evangeline because she didn't spread any stories of what exactly happened. Well, even if she did, no one would believe her. And who would she spread the rumors to? She didn't have any friends at school.
At first, Daniel wanted to talk to Evangeline. To say sorry and asked for forgiveness. Breaking up in good terms and to ask her to keep what happened at that time a secret. Mostly because he didn't want Sisley to be the object of scorn and hate. He also didn't want to ruin his name. After all, he came from a respectable royal lineage.
But as time progress, it was becoming harder and harder to speak to her. It was even harder to glance at her without feeling embarrass.
Hence, when the days passed by, and Evangeline didn't spread any rumors, his apology was pushed in the back of his head. He knew Evangeline didn't like to gossip, not because she was nice, she was far from that, it was because she didn't care about anyone except herself. Others existence simply bore her.
At present, the students went on with their gossiping and cursing about the outcome of the sports fest, which the management course came out fourth place from the last because Evangeline forfeited her every match.
The management students were all angry at her. If not for the boys, especially Daniel and Max's effort, their department would have come out last. And they would carry that humiliation for the rest of the school year.
"Hey, do you know the latest rumor about our rotten Queen?" one of the girls whispered.
"What is it?"
"Look at this."
A group of students clustered around a phone the girl brought out. On the screen, there was an old man giving money to a beautiful woman at a park around night.
The students gasped, their fingers covered their mouths. The girls snickered while the boys looked at each other in disbelief.
"Turns out, this Evangeline is a slut who will prostitute herself to old men for money."
"But she's rich." One of the guys defended.
"Don't you know that she's been disowned by her father?" the girl countered. "And now that Daniel is no longer her boyfriend, who do you think will sustain her luxurious lifestyle? I'm sure she's using the money she got from those old men because her father wouldn't give her anymore, and she can no longer extort money from Daniel."
The girls sneered and continued to giggle and gossip. While the boys smacked their lips tight. There was logic to that. Two years ago, at exactly Evangeline's eighteenth birthday, the world was shock when Mr. Krisnov, CEO, and founder of FROZEN international, announced that Evangeline was no longer his daughter. No one knew why she was disowned. People dismissed it that the respectable business tycoon could no longer handle his estranged daughter's personality and cruel ways.
"Well, it's most likely . . . ," another chimed in. "You see, I saw her one time with a group of thugs."
"Really? Did you snap a picture?"
"Yes. Wait, it's on my phone."
Students huddled once more as the girl flashed her phone. On the screen, Evangeline was together with a group of boys with tattoos, piercings and unusual colored hair. Graffiti and bikes decorated their background as bottles of beers scattered around the ground. It was like they were –– a biker gang.
Evangeline was prettily sitting at the center like an Empress, holding a bottle of beer while the boys laughed merrily around her.
"Wow, I didn't know she was this heartbroken after Daniel dumped her. She would even hang out with goons now."
*gossip
*gossip
The gossips continued while the lone woman, who was the object of scorn, remained oblivious to it all. She continued staring at the scenery outside the window. Her expression portraying boredom.
Evangeline held her chin like always as she watched the leaves fall on the ground, greens and orange intermixed as the season turned to Autumn. The cold air caressing her face beckoned for the end of summer. She didn't care one bit about the rumors nor gossips that circulated around her, nor care about the man, who was sitting diagonally behind her, nor anyone else for that matter. At this moment, all her thoughts were occupied by her love ones.
Her furry, lovable pets.
Spring, the cute fluffy hamster. Summer, the hot-blooded energetic pink piglet. Fall, her prim and proper Maine Coon cat and Winter, her white lazy-cozy Alaskan Malamute.
She sighed, worried if those boys had already fed and bathe them.
Her long lashes quivered as the cold wind splashed across her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, below the second story of the four-story building, she saw that messy-haired guy.
Her eyes narrowed, pupils constricting as she stared at the man. He was removing his eyeglasses, wiping it with his clothes.
Below, Eric sensed that someone was observing him. Staring up –– and like nature knew its cue –– the wind blew his messy hair away from his face.
Evangeline didn't blink even when the breeze stung her eyes. Her vision remained captive by those silver poles hidden beneath the messy hair and thick glasses.
She didn't even know that she was already holding her breath.
Eric blinked several times, wanting to know who was looking at him from above. But all he saw were blurs. He put on his eyeglasses and his sight zoomed to a woman of fire and ice.
A Goddess who looked down at the mortal world.
He didn't give it much thought though. He arranged his backpack on his shoulder and sauntered inside the building.