Chapter 2 A

[Chapter 1]

"What color do you think looks best on me?" I immediately asked my cousin, holding up two satin wrap dresses, one black and one red.

"Girl, it's a casual birthday party, not a club party." I gaped at her. I thought it was a big party, and you know, you have to dress sexy for those. I had no idea. This cousin of mine is so annoying, she didn't tell me earlier.

"I didn't know, why didn't you say so earlier?" I rolled my eyes at her and turned around to look for a different outfit.

I quickly picked out a high-waisted black pantsuit with a white crop top and a black blazer.

I turned to my cousin who was already dressed. She was wearing a white silk satin top tucked into black high-waisted trousers.

"Oh my gosh, we look like girl bosses, hahaha." Yeah, she's right, we do.

"Well, let's hurry up, it's already 7:40, and the party will start at 8." she said, so I just shrugged and put on my sandals. I was already done with my makeup.

I grabbed my purse and we went out together. Good thing her room was near the stairs, unlike mine which felt like a million miles away.

When we went downstairs, the whole family was in the living room watching TV. The babies were playing on the carpet.

"We're going now," we said together, and they all looked at us.

"Wow, your outfits really suit you two." Tita Helly, their eldest aunt, complimented us with a smile.

"Of course, Tita, we have good genes so there's no problem with what we wear." I flipped my hair and we all laughed.

"Okay then, we might be late." We said goodbye again before leaving.

We got in the car and I drove. She can't drive yet and doesn't have a license.

We arrived at the party. There were many expensive cars parked outside, so we looked for a closer spot, and luckily there was one.

We got out and were immediately greeted by loud music from inside. There were even some guests we passed by who were dancing.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was 7:59.

"Alesendra! Ate Madeline!" We greeted Sara when we approached her, it seemed like she was welcoming the guests.

"Happy birthday, Sara." Alesendra and I hugged her.

"Come in, Alesendra, Keyla and the others are in the living room." She said with a smile. Alesendra nodded and we went inside and headed to the living room.

"Alesendra! Madeline!"

The women in the living room called out to us, causing some guests to look at them. However, we continued walking towards the five women who were Alesendra's friends.

"You two are so beautiful!" Abby said excitedly, hugging us one by one. We kissed the others on the cheek and sat down. I immediately sat in a cross-legged position, as it's more comfortable for me.

"Wine, ma'am?" A waiter approached me and offered me a tray of wine. I took one without looking at him, but I frowned because of his voice. It was so familiar! It sounded like someone I knew.

I shrugged and drank the wine, thinking it might just be my imagination. I smiled when I tasted the sweetness of the wine.

"Madeline! Is that you?" Someone called my name, and I looked up to see who it was. There were five women, and the one in the middle was the one who called me.

I looked at them up and down, but they seemed to have a different idea about my gaze. Their smiles suddenly disappeared.

"Well, it's nice to see you here...?" I replied, not remembering her name. I only recognized her face.

"Briana." She smiled, relieved that I remembered her.

"Well, Briana, it's nice to see you again. Anyway, I'll just go over there. I'm hungry." I pointed to the long table filled with food. I was hungry. She nodded, so I stood up.

But I stopped walking towards the food because a tray stopped in front of me, filled with desserts.

"You can have this, ma'am." The voice was so cold. He was tall, and I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a mask.

Out of curiosity, I looked up, and he was really tall. He was as tall as my neck, and I was wearing 4-inch heels. I wonder how short I would look if I were barefoot.

I grimaced when I saw his face. He was wearing a mask, but I saw his eye color, black. His gaze was cold.

I shrugged and took the plate with the desserts and the spoon. Then I looked up again and smiled at him.

"Thank you! Thank you for the wine earlier." I turned around and walked back to where I was sitting.

When I got back, Alesendra saw me.

"Where did you go?"

"I just got some food. I'm hungry." She nodded and I sat down and started eating.

After a while, someone placed juice on the mini-table in front of us. I took some, and so did Alesendra and her friends.

"Girl, let's go upstairs. Sara's parents are there." She nodded and I didn't look at her because I was busy eating.

"Myl!!" I quickly looked up when I heard that familiar voice. It's my friend! They're here!

"My gosh girls! You surprised me!" I stood up and hugged them. They hugged me back, as if they hadn't seen me in days.

But I looked around curiously because there were only two of them. Where's the other one? She's probably playing with her baby again.

"She's not here." Lyra said.

"Yeah, she's busy with her child." Nathalie added and took a bite of my dessert.

"You have such nerve, Nathalie, get your own!" I snatched the plate from her.

"Hmp!" She said before leaving, stomping her feet. What a brat! No way in my life would I give her my food, especially when it was given to me by that handsome waiter.

"How did you guys get here?" I asked Lyra, since she was the only one left. The other one was busy with the food.

"We were just passing by, and when we entered, Nathalie saw you right away."

"Can you believe her nerve? She's so shameless!"

"Yeah, we know. We just came from the other house. It's 10 blocks from here. We joined a party there."

"Whose house?"

"We don't know. We just went inside. We joined some grade 11 students who were entering the house."

"You guys are so reckless!"

"We know, but it was fun."

"After this, you guys go home immediately! If I find out you're doing this again, I'll kill you both." I rolled my eyes, annoyed at them. What if they get caught trespassing?

"We know, we know!" They said together.

"Here's some more dessert, ma'am?" I heard that familiar voice again. A waiter with a tray stopped beside me, holding a bowl full of my favorite ice cream flavors.

"Wow! Thank you!" I immediately took it without looking at him. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a mask.

"Hey, I thought this was self-service. Why are you serving her?" Lyra asked me, raising an eyebrow. I chuckled and winked at her. She grimaced and glared at me. Of all the girls in the world, only the three of us can't stand her. She's too picky and crazy. She likes girls who are like Maria Clara. What a weirdo.

"I'm beautiful and I deserve to be served." I giggled and continued eating my ice cream.

"Who's that guy you came with?" Nathalie asked. I answered her.

"My boyfriend."

"Shut up, Myl, you're 18 and you still don't have a boyfriend. And if you ever do, I don't know what will happen to him. We'll feel sorry for him and warn him to be careful with you." Lyra said, panting. I pouted. I'm still young! My mom says I'm her baby! They're so mean.

"Yeah, may God have mercy on him. You're scary, Myl. You're like a villain in a story." Nathalie added, so I kicked them both.

"You're so mean!"

"It's true though!" They said together.

"Tsk!" I rolled my eyes and continued eating my ice cream.

At 11 pm, we decided to go home. My two friends had already left at 10:40 because they were starting to get drunk. They really have no shame.

"Girl, someone is going to drive us home. Tita said we might get into an accident if we drive at night, and you seem a bit tipsy too."

"Yeah, I'm a bit dizzy."

"How many glasses did you drink?" she asked. I tried to remember.

"Maybe 20?" I couldn't remember exactly, but I drank a lot. I don't get drunk easily because I have a high tolerance for alcohol. I guess I was just full, so I got a bit dizzy. Alcohol hits me harder when I'm full.

"Wow, you're strong when it comes to alcohol. You're like Grandpa hahaha." She laughed, so I laughed too. Then a car stopped in front of us. We had already gone outside, and Alesendra said someone would drive us home.

We got into the car. I was the last one to get in, so I closed the door. I stopped when I smelled something familiar. I looked around, but there were only three of us, including the driver. Unless! I blinked. I looked in the rearview mirror and our eyes met.

His eyes! They're like a very deep blue ocean where the monsters are hiding! But his perfume was familiar and I immediately recognized it. It was the waiter from earlier.

What's happening?

Who is this guy? Is he stalking me?!