FRIDAY

Dana:

Knock! Knock!

I turned my head sideways while I slowly opened my eyes.

The soft beige wall beside the bed was the first thing I saw. I turned my head and looked around the room. I frowned, realizing that the spacious room I was currently in wasn’t familiar.

There was an enormous window in front of me, while there was a sofa at the end of the bed. My left had a rounded part of the room – like an extended little tower, with a coffee table and armchairs in it.

On the corner to my right was an opened door that lead to what I assumed was the bathroom because of the tiled floor inside. My eyes then landed on my Louis Vuitton suitcase right outside the bathroom door.

Before I could ponder more over it, there was a knock on the door again.

Cautiously, I got up. I grabbed the robe that was placed on top of my suitcase and put it on. When I was ready, I walked toward the fine-looking white door.

“Good morning, dear,” warmly greeted by a familiar beautiful lady, as soon as I opened the door.

Out of nowhere, flashes of yesterday’s events flooded my mind.

My eyes widened, and my hands flew to my mouth as my jaw dropped.

Oh, my goodness! That wasn’t a dream?!

“Are you all right, dear?” asked Mrs. Tyler, concern etched in her voice. “Did you not sleep well?”

I quickly composed myself. I would collect my thoughts later. For now, I had to focus talking to this woman who kindly offered her home for me to stay at – even though, basically, she believed that her son and I were together.

Ugh. In reality, I wouldn’t be caught dead with that incredibly rude person. But I had made the biggest mistake on acting without clearly thinking about it.

I made a mental note not to do that again.

If it wasn't for the fact that I flew to DC to attend Faith's (my best friend) birthday ball earlier this week, I wouldn't encounter Ethan. However, since she had been by my side through all our years in boarding school and now in college, how could I not give back a little favor and attend her twenty-first birthday?

Even if because of it, I met such a crude person.

Oh, heavens. Faith. I forgot to call her last night and update her. She would no doubt be shocked by the sudden turn of events. Knowing her, she would be pleased as well. She had always pushed me to have some excitement in my life.

I made a mental note to ring her as soon as I finished talking with Mrs. Tyler.

“I’m fine, Mrs. Tyler,” I finally managed to tell her. I smiled and added, “Thank you for letting me stay.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, you can stay for as long as you like. And you can call me ‘Cher’.”

“Thank you again, Cher.”

“No need to worry, dear.” She smiled, patting my cheek with her hand lightly. “Now, I came to invite you to a luncheon with a few of my friends at the Country Club. Would you like to come?”

I had the strongest urge to roll my eyes. Gratefully, I managed to stop myself from doing so.

I was greatly used to people inviting me to luncheons, dinners, and parties. What bothered me about it was that they weren’t really inviting me for me. They only invited me because of my surname – because my father was Don Howard, one of the country’s richest men. And they wanted to get on his good side.

However, what they failed to acknowledge was that Father was a simple man who only wanted the best for his two daughters.

In a matter of fact, I was lucky enough to go to a University where I could independently live in my own apartment. Well, somewhat independent. Father still paid for my expenses, after all. And I had my best friend as my roommate. My older sister didn’t get that luck, though. Then again, she liked the spot light.

And like I’ve trained myself to, I smiled politely at Cher Tyler.

“I’d love to,” I replied smoothly, even though all I wanted to do was lock myself in the room for the rest of the day. “Will Ethan be coming, as well?”

She sighed sadly. “I could never get that boy to do anything. His father will be playing golf at the Country Club, but he reasoned that he wanted to catch up with his old friends. You may be able to convince him, though.”

“I doubt that I can change his mind,” I laughed weakly.

“Nonsense, dear,” she said. “You’re his girlfriend. Go right ahead to his room and wake him up. It’s the last door down the hall.”

Before I could say anything, Ethan appeared on the hallway already dressed up to leave. He looked quite manly in his black leather jacket over a white shirt, with simple jeans and sneakers. Despite the jacket, it was quite obvious that he had muscles underneath.

The moment he and I locked eyes, I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. Of course, he was nothing but a royal douche to me all this time. But I couldn’t deny the fact that he still helped me out on more than one occasion. And I felt like I should be grateful to him.

I saw his eyes rake my body from head to toe. If he was any other guy, I would’ve embraced myself and felt exposed with only wearing pink lingerie underneath the thin and short robe. I would have taken his eyes out for being an obvious pervert, as well.

However, this was Ethan.

I already knew that he was a pervert. But I also knew that he could kiss so fine that it would leave my head reeling all day long. And as much as I loathed admitting it, I actually longed for his lips on mine again.

I rapidly shook my head to rid of those foul thoughts. It angered me how he could make me be so irrational.

“Like what you see?” I asked sweetly.

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. A smirk slowly made its way to his lips.

“I love it, babe,” he answered a-matter-of-factly.

He walked toward me and briefly pecked the side of my head. I didn’t jerk away, for his mother was still watching us. Instead of moving away, he stayed where he was and placed his mouth by my right ear.

“If only you weren’t such a princess, I’d totally claim you here and now,” he whispered, low enough so only he and I could hear.

There was a mixture of emotions than ran through me. A part of me wanted to shiver in delight after hearing the latter part of what he said. But the other part of me, the part that still held her pride, over-powered the other one.

“You wish, lover boy,” I told him, smiling happily – the exact opposite of what I was truly feeling. But I knew I had to keep up the act.

He pulled away and shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t wish . . .” he trailed off, winking at me. He knew that he didn’t have to finish the sentence.

And he really didn’t have to. I still remembered what he said yesterday.

'I don't wish, babe . . . I do.'

“I’m leaving, Mom,” he suddenly said, turning to his mother.

Cher frowned. “Are you sure you won’t come with us?”

“Nah, I’ll only be a pain to you.”

That made Cher smile, which made me a bit surprised. It was a genuine little smile, no such pretense.

“You’re right,” nodded Cher thoughtfully. “I’ve forgotten how much of a troublemaker you can be.”

Ethan smiled smugly. “See you guys later.”

With that, he left.

***

Boredom . . . It was the proper word to describe what was surrounding my well-being as of this moment.

Years of talking about fashion, charity, and vacations abroad only made me used to it. Yet it still didn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t be bored talking about the same things over and over again – only with different people.

It took all my will power not to yawn in front of them.

I’m still a lady, after all – and a ‘Howard’ at that.

I had to keep my composure. It was the way I was raised, and the way I trained myself to be so that Father’s clients and business partners would see how well he raised me and my sister.

“How are the preparations for the event tomorrow going, by the way?”

“Very well, actually. Everything is set.”

“That's right. Cher and I are going to the venue this afternoon to make sure everything is in their proper place.”

“That rather sounds exciting. My son can't wait to watch the game tomorrow. It's been quite a while since Ethan and his friends were in town at the same time.”

My eyes were slightly awakened by the mention of that boy's name. It had been over an hour since they've stopped talking about my relationship with Ethan.

“Oh, those boys were a pain back in the day,” commented Belle, taking a sip of her tea. “They were a rowdy bunch, weren't they?”

In my honest opinion, she looked no more of Belle from the fairy tale than she did from the Beast in the story. It was very rude of me to think that way. But she really did remind me of the Beast. It was probably because of the hair . . .

“Especially your son, Cher,” said Evelyn, who quite resembled the actress who played Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter. She looked at Cher with an amused expression. “I don't know how you managed to control him all these years.”

Cher didn't respond, she only smirked.

I blinked.

So that's where Ethan got that look, I thought as I stared at Cher's smug smile.

“Still, I won't be able to count on my fingers how many girls cried over him when he was in his teenage years,” added Rose.

Rose was beautiful, really – especially in her age. But I strongly believed that Ethan's mother was more beautiful than anyone I've ever met. And I've met a lot of gorgeous women, so that was saying something.

“Your son was quite the heartbreaker, Cher,” Rose laughed.

He still is.

I suddenly got tired of the conversation. I honestly had no interest on Ethan's past quests. It only reminded me of someone I didn't want to remember as of this moment.

“Excuse me, ladies,” I said, removing the napkin from my lap and standing up. When they looked at me, I smiled politely. “I'll just go powder my nose.” And with the last word, I left. I pretended not to hear their conversation as I walked away.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d see the day Ethan would bring a girlfriend home.”

“And not just any girl, mind you. She’s Don Howard’s daughter.”

“I know. I thought you were only bluffing when you spoke about it, Cher.”

“Oh, ladies. Would I kid about something like this? I’m really proud of Ethan for choosing a girl with breeding, though. All this time, I thought his taste in girls is rather disappointing. And then, he brings home such a lovely girl.”

Finally, I turned around the corner and was out of sight.

I was used to hearing those things. In point of fact, there was really nothing wrong with their description of me. It was nothing but the truth. It was who I was.

And yet why do I feel so sad about it?

Oh, Daniella. You perfectly know why, said a part of me. It's because they didn't mention anything about you beyond what they already know. They don't know the You as a person – as a girl.

I let out a little sigh as I walked straight to the veranda, with the view of the golfing course. My feet led me toward the railing, and I leaned on it as I watched the landscape in front of me.

I couldn't blame them for not knowing who I really was past the surface. I wasn't an ordinary girl, I've accepted that fact long ago. Still, I couldn't help but be a little sad. When would the time come that I'd meet someone who would get to know me as me?

A tiny smile made its way to my lips.

How very dramatic, Daniella, I told myself. You're forgetting the fact that there's your best friend, Faith.

Ah, Faith. It made me recall our conversation this morning.

I told her the truth, leaving no details. She wasn't quite thrilled about the fact that I was staying with someone whom I barely knew, much less a guy. But while we were on the phone talking, sneaky as she was, she Googled Ethan Tyler on her iPad. After that, her complaints were thrown out the window as though they weren't even there in the first place. She didn't tell me what she read that changed her mind but instead, she told me I needed this – I needed this sort of escape. Though I wasn't sure what she was on about, I just let myself believe her.

I sighed again.

She was the only person who knew the whole me, and so well she did. Still, why did it feel like it wasn't enough?

“Yo, princess!” someone blurted out beside me.

I turned my head and saw Ethan. He looked handsomely refreshed for some reason, and he was wearing his famous smirk.

I blinked for a moment, shocked that he was here in front of me. But I quickly regained my composure.

“What are you doing here?” I inquired.

He said he didn't want to come here. There was no doubt that he believed that this sort of thing was boring. Well, he was quite right about that. For a moment, I envied him. He could do anything he pleased without fearing about what other people might think. He followed his own rules. Unlike me.

“Dad told me to come by for a bit,” he said, frowning as if he remembered something that he was irritated about.

“Oh,” was all I could say. Partly, because I wasn't interested. And partly, because he looked like the type of person that you wouldn't want to cross when he was in a bad mood. I was suddenly reminded of our heated exchange last night. Oh, what a headache that had been.

“So why are you out here?” he asked, looking at me again. “Getting sick of your perfect life?”

In all honesty, I wasn't in the mood to have a pointless banter with him. Besides, we were both in bad moods. I was sure this wouldn't end well.

“It depends on your definition of perfect,” I murmured, boredom clear in my voice.

“Aren't you already living it?” he snorted.

My jaw clenched. “My life isn't perfect, if you must know.”

Why did people automatically assume that my life was perfect and that everything was going great? I was still human. And as a human, I did have some flaws. But just because I had them didn't mean I had to show them off.

He laughed. “What, you finally accepted the fact that you're not perfect?” He put his hands together and clapped mockingly. “Congratulations.”

This judgmental person in front of me didn't know what he was talking about. How dumb could he be to only criticize me after only seeing what was on the surface? Couldn't he at least wait and get to know me a little bit better? Did I look that shallow?

I glared at him. “Stop talking about things that you obviously don't have the slightest clue about.”

“Right,” he nodded mockingly, “because a spoiled brat who's acting like a goody two shoes is so hard to understand. Having two faces must be so hard for you.”

I absentmindedly clenched my fists and faced him.

“You don't know who I am,” I hissed. “So stop acting like you do.”

“I've only known you for a day, and I've already met your two sides.”

“Stop judging me, you pompous jerk!”

I was quite close to crying because of the anger that was filling inside of me. My eyes were getting teary, but I willed them to keep from falling. I did not want to shed tears in front of this person.

“You look like you're gonna cry, princess.”

An exasperated grunt escaped my lips.

Did he have to point it out?!

“Who do you think is at fault for it?!” I snapped, slightly raising my voice.

Ugh. I hated losing my poise.

It was strange how our conversation immediately changed its course from a petty fight to a serious one. However, I was quite touchy when it came to how people view me and my life. And he didn't have the right to say those awful things when he had only known me for a day.

Finally, a tear escaped and rolled down my left cheek. My eyes quickly looked away from him, while my hand rapidly wiped the tear away.

I waited for him to make fun of me. But to my astonishment, he didn't say anything. I didn't dare look up at him to see his expression. I was too ashamed that I cried it in front of him, even if it was only a teardrop.

“You don't know what you're talking about,” I mumbled, before hastily walking away from him.

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I'm so proud of the fact that Dana and Ethan have very distinct POVs. I could tell the difference between the two of them well. :D

Watcha guys think of Dana now? ;)

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