Saved by the billionaire

The day was just like any other day in the small sleepy town of Cadez.

Little birds chittered up in the trees, fluttering their little colored wings and fleeting from one tree to another.

These beautiful cedar trees lined up the driveway leading to the town's only high school.

The bricked walls were slightly faded with butchered paint markings left on them by mischievous college students.

As the boots of students hit the gravel, the crunching sounds could be heard all around mixed with student chatter.

It was the first day of school after a long summer break and everyone was excited to see their old friends and make new ones.

They moved in pairs and trios, pausing to greet and crack jokes before heading into the school's building; a spacious two-story building surrounded by low bungalows for practical classes and a greenhouse.

By the side of the greenhouse stood two students, a well-built muscular young man smartly dressed in an oxblood colored blazer and a pair of black pants and a girl with the same coloured blazer but a black pleated skirt.

The boy slung a carton-colored backpack on his left shoulder and on his wrist was a beautifully crafted black band that identified him as the captain of the college football team.

He rubbed the band absentmindedly while he nodded at some students who called out and waved at him as they entered the school building.

He was popular and well-liked both in school and in town for his brains in academics and sports ability.

He glanced at the girl some feet away from where he stood as she contemplated a yellow-petaled flower with a slender green stem. She had beautiful red hair that caught the lights in the sun as she bent her head slightly to look at a different part of the flower.

Rojo Alvarez could bet the twenty bucks in the left pocket of his black pants that she was a new student; she had that slightly bewildered look on her face. "You can touch them. They won't bite you know.

The flowers", says a chuckling Rojo. The girl, Sophia, started. She hadn't known that someone was watching her and when his voice had reached her, she had dropped the pink-colored notebook in her hand.

The last time she had looked around, she had been the only one on this side of the school. The air on this side of the school smelled nicer, no doubt tinged with the scents of the flowers growing in the greenhouse.

Some of the students were still crammed into the parking area while some were already in the halls.

Sophia took a deep breath to calm herself as she took in the boy in front of her.

He had dark curly hair, a lock of it just brushing his left eyebrow and he was much taller than she was. She put his age down at seventeen, the same age as she, which probably meant that they were in the same class.

Or would meet in the same class this morning, it was Sophia's first day at Cadez High. "Actually, I was looking at a cute little butterfly underneath one of the petals.

I didn't want to touch it because I didn't want it to fly before I was done admiring it", replies Sophia. She simultaneously reached for the book at the same as Rojo and their fingers brushed against each other.

Rojo cleared his throat and Sophia smiled, it was just like men to think they knew it all.

"Ah, I-I see. Well, what do you say we go inside and I can show you around for a bit before the classes start?

I noticed you first took a wrong turn when you came in earlier", says Rojo, determined to create a better impression of himself on the beautiful Sophia.

He couldn't let her get away with whatever thought she must have formed in her mind from correcting him earlier.

Call it pride or charisma but Rojo believed in doing things and doing them well.

It was surely what got him the shining scholar and athlete title he had both in his school and around their small town.

Sophia smiled again as she looked around warily as if she could disappear from his scrutiny by just looking around her.

She brushed down an invisible wrinkle on one side of her pleated skirt before focusing her eyes back on Rojo. "

In that case, then I think we should be on a first-name basis.

We should know each other's names for a start.

Mine is Sophia and I heard someone call out Rojo, is that you by any chance?

How do you spell it?" "R-O-J-O", says Rojo. He grinned widely showing perfectly capped white teeth and stretched his right hand out in a greeting.

He liked Sophia already.

She was direct as hell. Sophia brought out a slender left hand that Rojo took in his wider right and they shook hands.

From afar, it looked like both of them were calling a truce.

Rojo inclined his head to the right, in the general direction of the main school building, "Come on, let's head inside".

They walked side by side and joined a melee of other students who thronged into the school halls with their boots making squeaking sounds as they all went in under the sound of the bells that signified the start of classes.

Over the coming weeks, he and Sophia did everything together from going to classes to getting lunch together and heading back home after school.

They picked each other as partners for group projects and Sophia waited for Rojo sometimes after his football practices and afterwards, they'd stroll home together talking about anything and everything.

With each passing day, Rojo found himself falling deeper in love with her, wanting more than sneaky quick kisses with Sophia, never finding the time for a deeper physical connection. That is, until their school had conducted their annual awards and dancing night.

Rojo thought of that night as the night that changed the trajectory of the rest of his life.

Rojo could still remember the events that followed afterwards as clearly as if it was yesterday. He had arrived at the school premises to see soft light spilling from the beautifully decorated halls into the hallway. Anyone walking into the school's building could hear the fast-paced jams the deejay was rolling out. All around him, students gyrated, bounced and pumped their fists into the air when the deejay asked them to and when he did not. The night had been simply alive and Rojo felt amazing. He found Sophia by the punch table.

She was gorgeously dressed in a black dress with alternating straps across the back which showed off bits of her skin. Her red hair was piled on the top of her head with tendrils of it delicately escaping and framing her face and neck. She had minimal makeup on but her lips had been highlighted in her pale face with a smudge of rouge lipstick. "Is that your second glass?" Rojo shouted over the thrumming bass of the next song that had been played by the deejay. "What?" Sophia replies with a giggle. She thought she heard the word "glass" but the rest of the words had been lost in the noise of the hall. Rojo came much closer so that his mouth was just inches away from Sophia's face and that was when her scent hit him. She smelled so citrusy and flowery at the same time and it was a powerful combination that made him want to lean in some more. "I said, is that your second glass of punch?" "Oh, well yeah, technically." Rojo laughed. "What do you mean by technically? It's either your second glass or it is not." "Here, try this flavour. This particular flavour is my second glass of punch." Rojo watched her fingers as she dexterously poured bits of drink from multiple flasks into a glass. He realised what she was doing, she was mixing up the flavours to create a new one different from all the flavours on the table. She moved to hand him the glass of the peach-coloured punch but she had moved too fast and parts of the drink had sloshed down the bench and stained the clothes used to decorate the bed. "Whoa, easy. Maybe you shouldn't be tasting any more flavours tonight, baby", Rojo tells Sophia with a mild grin. "I've just had two glasses", insists Sophia, a dainty feminine hand covering her smile. "I doubt it. Plus the Punk Brothers have been known to spike the punch at such occasions. They've never been caught though but rumours can usually have a tiny bit of truth in them. Come on, let's dance." The song had slowed down to an easy tempo and Rojo with Sophia holding onto his left hand joined the other dancing couples on the stage to begin a slow waltz. One, two, three, sidestep and Sophia copied his moves beautifully. Rojo found himself staring at Sophia's lips more and more as they danced around, he knew he couldn't take it much longer. As they waltzed around the room for the third time, Rojo took his chance when he and Sophia moved to a darkly lit section of the hall. He planted a soft kiss on Sophia's lips and was pleasantly surprised as Sophia took the kiss and ran with it. She fully opened her mouth and took in Rojo's, finding his tongue, sucking gently on it and wrapping her tongue around his teasingly. Rojo groaned. "Can we step outside just for a bit?" "If you insist", replies Sophia. Her voice was breathless. The kiss had had the same effect on both of them. They had stepped outside to a night sky full of stars and cool air. The air and lighting contrasted sharply with the atmosphere in the halls. A student puked behind one of the cars parked at the far end of the school and Sophia giggled at the sound. Someone definitely spiked the punch drink, good thing she had stopped at two glasses. She felt someone tugging on her hands and realised it was Rojo. He was taking her to the quieter area of the school and Sophia knew they were heading to the greenhouse. It was far off from where all of the action was in the school tonight and very few people were bound to come to that area, if any students at all. She kept her eyes on Rojo's as they faced each other in the greenhouse after being careful not to step on any pots or vases used on their way in. It was as if there had been a telepathic communication between them about what they both wanted because, in the next breath, Rojo had covered the space between them and started kissing her all over her face, neck and chest. Sophia matched his energy and in just a few minutes they were panting and pulling off the clothes on each other. Rojo found the leading strap that held Sophia's clothes together and tugged at it while Sophia grappled with his belts pulling it off his navy blue pants. Rojo had already pulled off his suit vest when they had walked to the greenhouse. "Someone's passing the window. Duck! Quickly", whispers Rojo fiercely. Sophia ducked at the same time as Rojo and they grinned foolishly at each other while waiting for the person to pass. They rushed each other immediately afterwards and Rojo pushed Sophia up against the wall while pressing his body up against hers. Sophia moaned and encouraged his move, but neither of them stopped each other to cool things off until Rojo entered her and started thrusting. They both tried to keep their groans and moans quiet but Rojo knew that it was difficult and he could only hope that nobody else came across the greenhouse while they were at it. If not, they will be the hot topic of the school by the coming week. When they were done, they giggled at each other happily, having crossed the line and gone all the way this time. But neither of them had realised the weight of their actions that night. It will take them another month to realise it but that was the night that Juliana Alvarez had been conceived.

From the earliest of Juliana's memory, her parents have always been at loggerheads. They shouted, fought, and rained abusive words at each other. When she was younger around age five, her mother had tried to shield her from their battle episodes but as she got older, Juliana got to witness it more and more without anyone trying to protect her from the kind of damage these childhood traumas could cause. Even right now, she could hear them bickering. Juliana shuddered a bit even though the weather had been mild and she was wearing long pants and sleeves.

It made it hard for her to believe that there was ever a time her parents had been in love. From the pieces she had been able to piece from her mother Sophia over the last fifteen years, her father Rojo Alvarez had not been able to make it to college after his high school graduation because he had to take up a job to cater for Sophia who was heavily pregnant at that time with Julia. Her mother had said the confrontation had not been pretty and she always looked back on that day as the day that Rojo's feelings started to change towards her. Juliana tried to play it out in her head the way she felt the scene must have gone according to her mother's story. Her mother had waited for his father after his football practice. The high school team had been preparing for their final match with their seniors just before their final exit and graduation. She had watched Rojo happily hitting the ball, giving high fives, and shouting words of encouragement across the football field to his team players. He was an excellent captain and even their coach could not keep off the smug look on his face as he watched Rojo, he was counting on Rojo to play in the big teams when he went off to college next fall. Sophia knew this because Rojo had told her some time ago. The final whistle blew signalling that the ninety minutes plus two extra minutes were up. Sophia watched Rojo hug and clap the backs of his team members as he ambled over to where Sophia stood, he had spotted her towards the end of the football game. "Hey there beautiful", says Rojo happily to Sophia, damn glad to see her face. But Rojo on a closer inspection of Sophia's face noticed the gloomy look on her face and wondered what could be wrong. Was she sick? He thought it better he asked. "Sophia, are you not feeling well? Or did someone trouble you?", Rojo asks with genuine concern lacing his every word. Sophia had stayed up for the better part of the night wondering how she should go about telling him. She had stirred and turned in bed without getting as much of an hour's sleep last night. She knew she had to tell him, it was just the how that she did not know about. She just decided to be direct about it, Rojo has always commented on how much he liked her directness after all. As the day progressed, Sophia counted the hours until she had to see Rojo again. She debated telling him at lunch but discarded the idea, she wasn't sure how Rojo would take it, and what if he made a scene in the dining hall? But then she remembered it was a Thursday and Rojo had football practice on Thursday and she decided that after practice would be better. The time was now or never. "Rojo, I'm pregnant." "W-what did you just say? H-how do you mean? That's-that's not possible, it was only once", stammers Rojo. "I didn't see my period last month counting from the dance night and finally I had to take my friend's advice and get a pregnancy test done to rule out pregnancy. It came out positive, Rojo." Juliana's mum had told Juliana that this was the point her father had disengaged his hands from hers and the look of admiration had gone off his face in a flash. It was as if he realised then that they were in uncharted waters and their ship was about to capsize due to the raging storms in unfamiliar territory. By then, the last of the spectators had trickled out from the field and they were the only ones left by the bleachers. A boy with tousled black hair in yellow and purple sports gear and a girl in a pleated short skirt and oxblood-colored blazers slightly wringing her hands. "Are you sure it's mine?" Rojo asks in a voice he couldn't even recognize as his. Juliana remembered that this was the point in the story where her mother had raised her hands and slapped his father as hard as she could across his stupid handsome face. The temerity of the young man to voice out such a thought that she was some kind of bitch in heat who could not remember who she slept with and who she did not. Her mother had always gotten angry at that point of the story, always without fail, like the suggestion from her father had been a mighty smudge on her character. Which it actually was, anyway. Something crashed in the distance that brought Juliana back to the present and she listened carefully to hear what caused or followed the crash. "You're a pitiable weak man who can't even live with the choices he made", screams Sophia at Rojo. The walls were so thin that Juliana could bet that anybody outside could have heard her father and mother's voice as loud and clear as a new bell. "And you're a hateful, spiteful, ignorant woman. I regret the day you came into my life. I regret the days you both came into my life, you and your stupid ugly daughter", thunders Rojo from across the room. Juliana shuddered again and then she was out running away from the house, slamming the cheap door as hard as she could such that the door shook on its hinges.