LIES & BETRAYAL: My Ex Wants Me Back

Andrea Salvador

I look terrified but this monster standing right in front of me looks so calm and intimidating.

Why am I still affected by his presence after so many years?- I mentally asked myself in a scolding manner.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed and glared hard at him.

"We need to talk" he said firmly. "We need to leave here" he added again in an authoritative tone as he held my wrist tightly.

I quickly yank my hand away roughly. "I'm going nowhere with you. Just go away" I hissed, staying firm on my words.

"Erm... Andrea, I think it will be best if you do as he says. I will excuse you two then. Francis, I wish you all the best!" Celine encouraged him more and left.

Betrayal! I'm her friend but she's supporting him instead.

•

We were both sitting at the Cafe across from my office having a staring competition right now. No one is ready to start a conversation.

Just as I was about to open my mouth and talk, he started. "You did well in hiding yourself from me, Chloe" He mocked and smirked at the same time.

"Don't call me that again! Just, Andrea for you" I hissed, rolling my eyes at him. Chloe is my second name and he was used to calling me that before we had a past.

"What do you want?"

"It took me 3 years to find you. Running away after everything was very childish" he remarks in a cold tone.

I stared deep into his blue captivating eyes and scoffed. "The last time I checked, you never cared so, why now?" I asked.

"Look, I don't want to ever meet with you again. We're long done and that's it! Stay away from me and I believe, this is what you also wanted. This should be the last setting eyes on each other, Mr. North" I said and planned on leaving but his words stopped me.

"After looking for you like crazy, you thought I would let you go that easily?"

"Looking for me you say?" I scoff, turning back around to face him. " 'I will never be trapped with a GOLD DIGGER and a BITCH like her. I'm only sticking to the bet we made and now, I have won. I played my part well' Those were your words, have you forgotten that so easily?!!" I burst angrily at him. Right now, I'm trying so hard to control the threatening tears that were about to fall out of my eyes.

"Why bother to stress yourself on a girl who was only after your wealth? The girl you never loved. The girl you made a bet on!"

"Chloe, I wouldn't be doing this with you if I still see you that way" he said, surprisingly in a calmer tone.

No, not again. I'm not going to fall for his trap for the second time again. No, I'm never going to allow that to happen.

"This meeting should be the last one between us. I came back for my career and not because of you. And I hope, we never cross paths again Mr. North. Excuse me" I'm so determined to leave this time around but out of the blue, he grabs my hand.

"Let's have a peaceful talk. We're both mature now and I believe we're both better than this"

"Matured my foot! You never thought of that before you treated me like a piece of trash! Your words are still clear in my head! You made fun of me! YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL!!" I burst again at him.

"Let's just... Let's just settle everything, okay?"

"No, I don't want to. I need to leave"

"Stop being childish and listen to me!" He burst at me this time around. I can sense that he's getting irritated by my behavior already from his voice.

That's it! That's the Francis I used to know and not the calm one pretending to be someone else just to have a conversation with me.

"You're stuck with me forever, Andrea. I'm yours and you're mine. You've run away from me for too long and now, now is the right time to come back to where you rightfully belong" He said in a cold tone. My whole body shivered from his last statement and without uttering a word to him, I left.

•

It's past 10:00 pm in the night and I've been tossing on my bed for the past hour now. I couldn't find myself getting a peaceful sleep. His words also wouldn't stop ringing like a bell in my ear.

What does he want from me now after all these years? I thought he hated me! I thought he believed that I was only after his wealth. I had thought he would never see the good side of me after everything that had happened so, why now? What does he want from me now when I'm on the verge of forgetting him? Why? Just why Francis North?!!!- I screamed at the top of my lungs frustratedly whilst I hit my hand vigorously on my soft bed.

He told me four years back that I would never forget meeting him and yes, he was right. I never did. Having anything to do with him in the past keeps haunting me every day and now, I'm having the same feeling again.

Going crazy for him!

Flashback

(Five Years Ago)

"Andrea! Andrea!! Andrea wake up!!!" I heard my mom's voice calling out my name. I took the pillow I was resting my head on and placed it on my face... not wanting to be disturbed right now.

I've been stressed lately. Working as a model and schooling at the same time isn't working well for me at all. University also has not been fair to me for the past three years and now, all I wanted to do is to sleep and have a nice rest.

"Chloe!!!" My mom yelled out my name again and finally, I fluttered my eyes open but closed them again. Chloe is my middle name and only the people close to me know about it.

"Andrea, wake up." I heard my best friend, Celine's voice say too.

"Still sleeping..." I mumbled.

"You brat." I heard mom utter and smack my butt roughly.

"Can you two just go away and let me have a peaceful sleep?" I complained.

"Get up, Andrea. It's almost 9:00 am" Celine complained as she uncovered the blanket on my body making me sit up.

Celine has been staying with us for a while now ever since her parent's death. Her mom and my mom used to be best friends before her parent's death and ever since then, she moved in with us while Aaron her elder brother managed their family business. They're rich and can choose to stay at one of their houses here in New York but she still chooses to stay with us which is fine by me.

"Stop being a brat and stand up already, Andrea." I heard Mom say before leaving my room.

"Get up and get dressed sleepy head" Celine stuck out her tongue at me before rushing out of my room.

I got up and sauntered to my bathroom, stripped myself, and jumped into the shower. A few minutes later, I'm out. I finished dressing up and sauntered downstairs to meet my Mom reading her magazine as always and Celine having her breakfast already. "I can see you're ready." Mom said.

"Do I have a choice?." I replied rolling my eyes. Celine chuckled and I joined her at the dining. When we were done eating, we left for school.

"Yaay! I can't wait to see Andrew" she exclaimed in an excited tone on our way to the school. It's just a few blocks away from the house.

Celine and Andrew have been dating for 3 years now and I swear, I hate it so much. I wish I could knock some senses into her head. She's dating one of the playboys in the school and she's happy about it. Even Aaron is not stopping her from seeing his best friend. I guess, he trusts him too much to allow his sister to be with someone like Andrew.

Wow!

"It's going to end in tears, girl. End it now and save yourself from the later stress" I advised her.

"Why don't you just give in to Francis instead? I see you two have this connection" She advises too. "Andrew and I had come a long way to end our relationship so easily. Girl, we're walking down the aisle together!" She added again in a happy tone before I could say anything.

"Whatever!" I hissed and rolled my eyes.

We both got out of the car and walked into the building. She left to see her so-called 'boyfriend'. I, on the other hand, made my way to the library. I need to start reading for the exam. It's that time of the year again for our exam to commence.

I walk up to my locker and bring out the textbooks I borrowed six days ago, I still have 8 more days left to return them to the library shelf. I felt someone suddenly hold my hand the moment I placed my bag in my locker.

I turned and widened my eyes in horror.

It's Francis North.

Andrea Salvador

"What are you doing, pervert? Let go of my hand this instant" I said and he let go.

"I'm sorry but, I really need your help"

"We're not friends so, I can't help you."

"We're friends, Andrea. We've been friends for three years now. You have to listen to me, it's important" he said.

"What do you want from me?"

"Let's talk for a moment outside" he said and walked away.

Brute!

For some weird reason, I found myself following him. I'm not supposed to do that right? I've always avoided him like a plague, I do not want anything to do with him even though we walk together every day with his group of friends. They're all playboys and everyone knows about that.

That's why I've been warning Celine to cut off whatever thing she has with Andrew, I'm positive that he's going to hurt her in the end.

"Stop having a staring competition with me and tell me what you want, Francis" I hissed as I crossed my arm over my chest.

"I need your help, okay? I need you to tutor me" he said in a serious tone.

"I'm not the best student in the class, why me?" He sounded suspicious.

Why me of all people all of a sudden? Besides, he's one of the best students in our department so, why does he need help to study?

"You might not know this but, I've been having poor performance in the elective course, accounting. I'm not good at calculations so, I need your help" he said and I scoffed.

"I'm not a fool, Francis. You're not good in calculations but you're good in business? You're a businessman? You've been doing so well for yourself and that's because you're good in business and now, you want someone like me to tutor you because you're not good at calculations? Lies! You're lying Francis North."

Everyone in this country knows about him and his friends. They might still be young, schooling but.. they're all doing fine for themselves since they all handle their family business. Francis to be precise is the richest of them all. Not only is he rich but also good-looking too.

And with that opportunity they've gotten, they've been using it to play with lots of innocent girls' emotions.

"Just because I'm into business doesn't mean I don't have my flaws, Andrea. Stop asking questions and help me out already. It's important I know all the basics in accounting."

"Ask Xander or Aaron to do that for you, everyone knows how intelligent they are when it comes to accounting"

"But not like you. Just help me out this once as a friend, okay?"

"Pay me then" I have no idea where that came from all of a sudden. I shouldn't have agreed to tutor him since I don't want to get involved with him but, for some weird feeling, I want to give it a try.

There's no harm in helping out a friend right? Yes, I might have been avoiding him but, we all have been friends for the past years now. And since Aaron is their friend, it makes things easier for both Celine and I to be closer to them; Xavier, Xander, Aaron, Andrew, and Francis.

"Name your price" he said and smirked.

•

A Year Later

Is there any other word to use other than perfection?

I think that's what Francis is. It's been a year already and we've become close. Literally, BEST FRIENDS.

Ever since the very day I agreed to tutor him, we became friends and now, we're hardly inseparable. I also noticed that we have a lot of things in common. We have also done lots of things together in the past months. Hiking together, going to the beach, cinema and even concerts too.

Not only that, he has cooked on several occasions for me and made cakes for me too.

Students and the paparazzi started to talk about us. It was so quick for them to take news about us since we're both celebrities. They concluded that something was going on between Francis and me even though we kept denying it to them, they wouldn't listen and let us be.

This is it, right? Being a celebrity isn't easy at all.

Both Francis and I get to know each other's deepest secret. He told me he was the son of a Mafia leader and all his family were wiped out including his kid sister he cherishes so much by his father's enemy. He promised to find his father's killer and make them pay for the pain they have caused him.

I started to feel attracted to him months after we became so close and it wasn't a one-sided thing, I knew, he felt the same way too but neither of us has admitted our feelings for each other yet.

I have always thought Francis and the boys are someone to avoid but never did I know, I was wrong. Celine was right, it's never right to judge a book by its cover. I didn't attempt to know the real them and judged them. Even though I always say it to their face yet, they never take any of my words to heart.

I'm so glad I get to see the good side of them. And presently, Francis is doing that to me. Always makes me feel like the most precious person on earth...

He called me an hour ago and told me to get dressed, he wanted to take me somewhere special... I had no idea that the special place he was talking about was the bookstore.

We arrived there and I bought as many books as I wanted. I just can't stop picking them one after the other.

While he was done paying for the book I bought at the counter, we both walked out of the store to where he parked his car. Out of the blue, I heard him call out my name and I turned to face him... "Andrea"

"Huh?" I said but he took me off guard and kissed me. I had thought it was going to be a brief kiss but, it was a deep and passionate one. I had no idea of what I was doing and rather, I pulled his head closer and deepened the kiss more.

Minutes later, we both pulled apart to grasp for some air. "Get in the car let me take you home. You look tired" He said as he caressed my cheek but I shook my head.

"No, I can go home myself. It's just a 5-minute walk from here, Francis" I remind him, chuckling.

"Why? You want to walk back home when I had brought you to this place myself? Plus, is everything okay with you? You weren't like this minutes ago. You look down" he said.

He was right, I wasn't like this some minutes ago. I have no idea if what's going through my mind right now does make sense or not.

Or, should I let it out?

"Chloe, talk to me. I'm here to listen"

"I.. Erm, don't you think everything going on between us is too fast?"

"Fast? How?"

"Everything. Everything between us, Francis. I think, it's kinda weird don't you think?"

"Nothing weird is going on, Chloe. And, nothing is moving too fast also. I think... I think I like you and this is not moving too fast for me" he said and my breath got hitched immediately after those words came out of his mouth.

He likes me? He finally admitted that he liked me.

I gulp down nervously afraid of looking straight into his eyes. All of a sudden, I'm scared and shy to look him in the eyes.

"Give me a chance to prove that to you. And I promise you won't regret it"

"But Francis, we-"

"Shush!" He placed his index finger on my lip to stop me from saying a word. "I know exactly what you're about to say. Don't say anything okay else, you want me to get hurt" he pouts and I smile shaking my head.

"You're silly" I said and hit him lightly on his arm.

"Only for you beautiful" he said and winked at me.