Chapter 5 You're So Cold

SELEN still could not believe that she met Sage Avelino and that he was standing now in front of her with his wet pants. It was not a dream. It was indeed Sage, the man of her dreams. But the way he speaks was not the Sage that she knew from his dramas. He is far from those characters that he portrayed. He seemed cold.

Maybe he got mad at me...

Then there was a loud knock at the door.

"Sage, is everything okay?" asked the female voice outside the restroom.

He freed her arm.

"Yes."

Sage opened the door.

"Oh, God! We should go to the hospital." The woman looked down on his wet pants and turned at her. "Look what you've done."

Selen sniffed and pouted her lips. She may be at fault, but it was an accident. An accident could not be avoided.

"I-I didn't mean to hurt him," she said in a low tone.

The woman held Sage by the hand and dragged him out of the restaurant. She followed them to the parking lot.

"Wait!" Selen stopped the car's door from closing. "I am really sorry about this. I'd like to-"

"No need." Sage was pulling the door close, but she did not let it go. "What the heck? Let go..."

There go his menacing eyes again. She was hurt by the way he was treating her. If Sage only knew that he was a fan, maybe he would treat her better. Then she felt a warm hand wrapped around her wrist.

"What's happening here?"

It was her friend Reinald.

Selen finally let go of the door. She shut her eyes the moment it closed. The car already sped away when she opened them.

"Selen..."

She turned to face Reinald. His hand reached her eyes to wipe her tears. Yes, she was crying because she was hurt.

"What did they do to you?" Anger was evident in his voice.

Reinald was always like that when it comes to Selen. He did not want to see her cry, whatever reason it may be.

She threw herself to him and cried on his chest. Selen felt his strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Stop crying now... I will make sure to beat them next time." She heard him heaved a deep sigh. "Who the hell are they to make you cry?"

"It's Sage..." Selen said somberly.

"Sage who?"

"Sage Avelino."

"Oh, that boy you're so into?" He distanced himself a bit. "See? Don't tell me I didn't warn you before that he is no good. Don't you ever dream about him again!"

She pouted her lips.

"He is just mad at me because I spilled the hot soup on his..."

"His what?" Reinald's forehead formed a very deep knot.

Selen looked down there, and he did it too. His friend must have got what she was referring to. Reinald shook his head and laughed.

"If I were him, I'd get pissed too. You just ruined his most-prized possession, Selen!"

She pushed him hard. "How did you know? Have you seen it?"

Selen rolled her eyes and marched inside the restaurant.

"Hey, Miss crying lady!" Reinald called.

"Tseh!"

"Where have you been?" Nana Violy asked when she returned to the counter. "Ate is already throwing a fit because you went out in the middle of work."

"Nana..."

"What is it?" Nana Violy glanced at her. "What's the problem?"

"I think I just killed my future children." Selen started crying.

Her grandma gaped at her.

"What are you talking about, Selen? Your future children?"

She wiped her tears with her knuckles and sniffed.

"I met him. I met Sage a while ago."

Nana Violy smiled. "And?"

She cried again. "I... I spilled the soup in his crotch!"

"Jesus Christ... Where is he now?" Nana Violy looked around the dining area.

"They already left, Nana." Selen pulled a chair and sat there.

She felt like all her energy has been drained.

"Why are you sulking there?"

Selen looked at her grandma. "He's so cold when he talks to me."

"We can't blame him, though. Today is one of those unlucky days, after all."

"What should I do now, Nana?"

Her grandma shrugged and headed back to the kitchen.

REINALD saw her sulking and told her to go home early. He took over the counter. But instead of resting when she arrived home, Selen opened her laptop and started searching on the internet about Sage. Some of the results were old articles that she already read before when she began fangirling on him. There were only a few latest articles about him for the past few days that she was busy. It was all about his fan meeting last week to celebrate his birthday. Other than that, there was nothing significant.

She propped her hand on her chin while the other hand kept scrolling her mouse. All she could see now was Sage's posts on his social media account. Then there was this comment that caught her attention.

That place where he jogs looks familiar. I think that's the Empire Ville's quadrangle. Oh, my gosh! I'm from Empire Ville too! Does this mean that Sage and I live in the same neighborhood? Waaaaaah~ This is so exciting!

Selen blinked thrice. It took her a few more seconds before her mind processed what she had read in the comment section. Empire Ville? That was the village they were currently residing. And if it was true that Sage lives there, that could only mean one thing.

"We are really destined to meet..." She grabbed the pillow next to her and hugged it tightly.

Her next move would be hunting. Yeah, she will look for Sage. Selen was the type of person who does not give up easily. She already invested her feelings on Sage; it must not go to waste. Selen was so willing to do everything just to change his impression of her. Just like those dramas, the first meeting might be awful sometimes, but it leads two hearts to a happy ever after.

"I like that..." She stared at the ceiling. "I like happy endings."

Meow!

Her gaze flew to the opened door of her room. Her cat was sitting by the doorway, looking at her.

"Yes, Lulu... I think I'm in love."

THROUGH Selen's research and investigation, she figured out where Sage lives in Empire Ville. Thanks to her photographic memory. She had been there once when she biked around the whole village.

She donned her favorite pink hoody and put on a mask. Her plan is to stakeout near Sage's house. It may sound creepy, but she just wanted to check on him. Selen was worried that something bad happened to him because of that accident. But before that, she had to make sure that her grandmas would not notice that she was not home.

Selen aligned the pillows on the bed just her size and covered it with a blanket. She also wrote a note saying Do Not Disturb and posted it on her bedroom door. Then, she picked up her phone and send a message to her friend Reinald, informing him of her plans. Selen always did that so that if she runs into trouble, there will be someone to save her.

She brushed her palms against her jeans and put on her backpack.

"Yosh!"

Selen sauntered towards the window. She petted and kissed her pet Lulu before leaving her bedroom.

SAGE filled his bathtub and soaked his body in the cold water. He groaned as he felt the relief down there. The soup accident burned his crotch area a little, but the doctor said it was not that serious. He just had to put on the ointment until the soreness disappeared.

He grabbed the bottle of wine that he brought to the bathroom and filled half of the glass.

"I miss this..." he uttered as he smelled the wine. Sage never thought that its smell could be that calming.

Since he started acting as a lead actor in a couple of dramas, Sage never had the chance to spend time for himself. And with the fame that he was experiencing right now, it made him feel like he was slowly losing his true identity. If truth be told, Sage did not kinda like that. It was the very reason why he decided to be on hiatus after his last fan meeting. Sage suddenly wanted to find himself.

He was enjoying his wine when his phone rang. His eyes rolled upon hearing that designated ringtone that he set for his manager. Sage was forced to leave the bathtub to answer the phone.

"What?" Sage asked in a cold tone.

"You said you need a housekeeper. Why the hell did you fire the one I brought there?" Marceline said as if she was rapping on the other line.

"I have the right to fire that housekeeper because this is my house." He took a sip of the wine.

"Why? Why did you fire her?"

"Didn't she tell you why?" Sage sat on the edge of the bathtub. His fingers played with the bubbles on the side. "Ah, of course, she made me look bad. Am I right?"

"Sage..." There was a warning in her voice.

"She took a picture in every corner of my house, outside, and even inside my bedroom. And you know what's worst, she posted those photos in her social media accounts." Sage drew a breath. "Now tell me... Is it wrong to fire her?"

"You should have told me. She signed a contract with us. We can sue her-"

"Don't bother. I already fired her, and she deleted her posts too. She has a family to feed."

"But the photos were still circulating online."

Sage could only heave a deep sigh. The power of screenshots.

"But don't worry, we are doing our best to take it down," Marceline assured her.

"Good."

"By the way, how's your injury?"

"Still sore." He looked down there. "Don't worry. As long as it still... you know..."

Marceline laughed out loud. Of course, she understood very well what he meant by that.

"Oh, my gosh, Sage... I thought our bloodline would end just like that."

"As if I would let it happen." The face of that girl from the restaurant flashed on his mind.

"Anyway, I will try to look for a new housekeeper."

"I hope you could find a trusted one. You know how much I value my privacy," Sage said in a firm tone.

"Yeah, I know. I'm hanging up now."

"And I will resume my me time."

Sage was about to dip himself again when he heard a noise outside his house. It was coming from the backyard. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went outside to check.

He walked on bare feet so that he would not make any sound.

SELEN hid behind the bushes. But she regrets hiding there of all places. She stepped on a colony of ants, and they attacked her. She tried crawling away, but some already got inside her pants and bit her legs.

"Damn these ants!"

She kept stomping her feet as she scratched her legs.

"Who's that?" said the baritone voice from a distance.

Selen froze for a moment. Of course, she knew that voice.

Oh, no! Sage!

She bit her lip and tried to move as discreetly as possible. And when she was about to run off, someone pulled her bag. When she turned to her back, she saw Sage wrapped in a towel. His upper body was wet, and there was some residue of bubbles on his broad chest. Selen swallowed hard. The sight made her thirsty.

"What are you doing here?" There goes his cold voice again.

"I-I am lost..." Lost in your world, baby! "Sorry for interrupting your bath time. `Bye!"

Selen tried to run away, but Sage would not let go of her backpack. He pulled it hard, drawing her near to his body. She was tempted to let go of her bag, but she just can't. Inside her backpack was the rope that she would use to climb back to her room when she got home. There is no way Selen would use the front door going home at midnight.

"This is trespassing," he said.

Sage held her by the arm and tugged her to the house.

"Help!" She screamed when he pushed her inside his house.

Sage looked at her with furrowed brows.