Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 35: Vivien Aguilar

Vivien

I always considered myself as a hopeless romantic.

Hopeless but still hoping.

I fell in love at least ten times a day. With books, with movies, with those eight golden retrievers that my senile neighbor gave away when they were crowding up her apartment.

That was such a cruel goodbye. I was twelve at the time, and they were so fluffy.

I lost my mother to leukemia last year, one month after my 18th birthday. The only family I had left was my father, and I lived in constant fear that he was also terminally ill because my mom kept her condition a secret until it was too late to even try and extend her lifespan.

My dad worked abroad. He was one of the most highly-paid architects in Europe, and he was currently based in London, making sure to send me an allowance every month.

His job required a lot of traveling, so we seldom stayed in one place, but after I graduated from high school three years ago, he told me I could study wherever I wanted, and I chose the Philippines,which led to my independent life as a college girl in Manila.

I had a difficult struggle in selecting a university I would attend for four years, but in the end, I enrolled in Lynx University, named after a constellation like Orion University, which was coincidentally, the rival school of Lynx, though the hostility wasn't too severe, us Filipinos were known for our competitive spirit, both in love and in sports.

Becoming an architect was my dream job, and I was in my third year of college, excelling in all my subjects, when I met him.

Late August welcomed sunny mornings and heavy downpours in the afternoons. I exited the campus building at a quarter to six because I stayed behind to accomplish an important project for one of my majors. It was due two days later but I had felt the adrenaline kick into my veins, my fingers fluidly soaring over the keyboard, and in three hours, I was able to print out the 15-page term paper and clip it in a secure folder.

It was only when I stood under the gloomy sky, patiently waiting for a certain jeep to arrive, when I felt something fall on my raven head.It was a drop of rain. Followed by another. And another. And another. Sheer panic curtained my face. I felt frazzled as I rooted inside my pale red backpack for my white umbrella (with cat ears) but to my chagrin, it wasn't there.

I was wallowing in misery and disappointment as sheets of rain fell harder and harder on me. Any possible form of shelter was unavailable. College students from various universities occupied miscellaneous waiting sheds and building roofs.

"I thought we were waterproof," said a male voice. I was startled, hugging my red bag closer to my chest in a protective stance.

My mouth slackened in wonder at the sight of someone holding a green umbrella over me.

The first thing I noticed was the color of his eyes. They were orange, like amber or the glowing shade of volcanic lava.The second thing was the mustard yellow of his hair. He was tall, and he had a nice, healthy body, and I discreetly appreciated the roundness of his shoulders, the cinch of his waist, and the way his white polo,blue necktie, and blue slacks perfectly fit his figure.

But the strongest feature he had was his kind smile, which showed his dimple on one side of his cheek.

His uniform.

"You're from Orion?" I blurted out, willing my red blush to go away.

The blond stranger nodded. "And you're from Lynx," he observed, jutting his chin towards my uniform of a crisp, pink, short-sleeved polo shirt tucked into a white A-line skirt cut below my knees. I sometimes felt like an Anime character. All I needed was a big-ass weapon.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked him loudly over the roar of the rain.

He lightly shook his head, like my question saddened him. "Because you're smoking hot and I know you're rich, that's why," he answered with a flirtatious smile.

I stared at him in disgusted shock.

"..is what you thought I would say, am I correct?" he added, thrusting one of his hands into his pockets.

Heated shame tiding over me, I looked up at him. "You expect me to believe you're being kind for no reason?"

"Is that so impossible?" he fired back, never tearing his amber eyes from my gray ones. "Do you hold this belief that nobody is kind or generous without expecting something in return?"

My heartbeat raced with guilt because he hit the bullseye.

"Here," he said, proffering his green umbrella to me. I hesitantly took it from his hand.

The tall blond guy unzipped his purple backpack and fished out a thick orange jacket. He wriggled into it and pulled the hoodie over his golden head.

"Call me Li," he told me, extending his palm for a handshake, which I gave to him.

I opened my mouth to say my name but he already spun around and hailed a jeep.

When I got home, I closed the green umbrella and saw a name written on it in thin black marker.

Liam Garcia.

Inside my bedroom, I hurriedly logged into my Facebook account and searched for him.

After two days of reluctance, I sent him a friend request, which he accepted minutes later.

I felt confused and thrilled because I managed to make one sincere friend after moving into the Philippines.

For the next week following the umbrella meeting, we chatted online, day or night, about anything under the sun, but nothing too personal, since we met just a few days ago.

But something changed when I wanted to return his umbrella to him.

We arranged to meet in front of Lynx University, right outside the South Gate, where he shielded me from the harsh rain almost two weeks prior.

I brandished the green umbrella towards him, but he shook his head,making me frown.

"Didn't you want to retrieve this?"

"To be blunt, no." He rubbed his nape,peeking up at me. "I wanted to see you, Vivien."

I loved the way he said my name. "Why?" I asked,my heartbeat galloping like a horse.

Liam pressed his palms together and pointed them at me. "I like you," he confessed.

"Why do you like me?"

His amber eyes found my gray ones. "When I think about you, I can't stop smiling. When I'm talking to you online, I want nothing more than to hear your voice. And now that you're standing in front of me, all I can pray for is that you either reject me in the  most polite way possible, or you take my hand and say you feel the same way."

I smiled at him and reached for his hand. "I like you, too, Liam."

A relaxed smile blossomed on his face.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I like you?" I said in mock outrage.

"You can tell me during our dates," he suggested, wearing a cheeky grin.

I smacked his arm. "How noble of you."

A couple of days later, Liam called to tell me there was someone he wanted me to meet.

I wasn't sure how to feel about his vague declaration. I wanted more than anything to believe that whoever he wanted to introduce to me wouldn't pose any obstacles to our newly-born relationship as a couple.

Could he have been referring to his mother or father? But that was absurd. We've only been seeing each other for less than a week.

A sibling? But Liam was an only child like me.

Perhaps a cousin or best friend?

All I could do was wait and be myself.

What was the worst that could happen?