Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Lavender felt she became deaf in the car. How many times has she sneezed and tried to open a lawsuit but there was no response from the young man? She also did her own gimmick just to turn his attention to her but his full attention was focused on driving. Lavender frowned. She didn't know if she could ever go back there with the man. That may be the first and the last, even if she wants everything, it has a limit. She was saddened by that thought again. Yes, she had moments and time to be with the young man and even though it was short, she felt true love. For how many years of pursuing, it's the first time a man has treated her well. He made her feel that she was important to him, that he was a fantasy.

Lavender turned to Mars as he stopped the car. She just stared at the young man while his attention was focused on the front. She was surprised when it suddenly let out a heavy sigh and looked at her. He took off her seatbelt and slowly brought his face closer to hers. She closed her eyes to feel the young man's breath between her lips. Lavender wasn't in the right frame of mind at that time but her lips seemed to have a mind and heart that matched the rhythm and swing of Mars' lips.

When their lips parted, no words came out of the young man's mouth. He only gave her a faint stare before turning on the car again and continuing to drive.

Gosh, what's happening to Mars? Something is really off with him. That's the first thing she thought. She had noticed that before and that kiss isn't just a simple kiss, there's a hidden crisp and message to it.

After an eight-hour drive, they finally arrived in Manila. Lavender insisted on taking off at the flower shop, but Mars didn't want her to leave and it took her home.

"What's this, Dad?" Her parents greeted her with an envelope.

"Open up, sweetie." She carefully removed the folded paper from the white envelope and read it. "Slot for an Ikebana Training?" She was almost incredulous to her parents.

"Yes. Don't you want to study Ikebana in Japan? That's where we shot you a slot."

"My gosh, Mom, Dad! This is really my dream. I really want to study in Ikebana. I really like it." She hugged her parents with great joy.

"Well, there it is, sweetie. Chances are here so you can now study in Japan, grab it."

"Thank you so much, Mom, Dad." She didn't hesitate to thank her parents. She has long wanted to enter Ikebana Training in Japan in case it's difficult to get slots due to the number of enrollees around the world. But in fact, she can arrange flowers even without training. She can only search it on Google. But the on hand experience is really different, especially to be included in the International Flower Designers, it seems that it will also add to her resume.

She stopped at that thought as she wrote it in her room. She is going to Japan. Then what about Mars? She will leave the young man. Can she handle that? She really can't get out of here even for a few moments, what more for eight more months? She realized in her heart that for several years her life had revolved around him. Mars was all for her, and Lavender hopes she was too for the man. But that hint of optimistic idea wasn't even real even though she turned the world upside down because what happened to her in Baguio was just a pure lie.

The girl's duty at the flower shop ended early. It was the second day she had not spotted the man. Maybe it's in the conference hall with the managers of the various branches as their annual sales report is at the end of the month. Gertrude just accompanied her to the coffee shop to spend time.

"You probably didn't do anything with Mars in Baguio, did you?"

"Gertrude, I did nothing! You know me." She emphatically denied it.

"Yeah, I know you so you can't fool me. I know something happened to you and Sir Mars in Baguio, you just don't want to say it." her friend teased her. It really loves to tease her love life. She just nodded to her friend who kept it more.

"Gertrude, lower your voice." She hushed her.

"Is it bad to be excited? I mean, I'm happy for you. After all the hardworks, your years of tailing Sir Mars have paid off. Just kidding, he doesn't insult you anymore and you look like a queen now."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Gertrude. What if the magic lost its power? I'm sure Mars will drive me away and loathe me to death. He will definitely not forgive me. I'm afraid of what might happen."

"Why are you scared? You still have the ace. You just need to stop him from saying he loves you and there... You have no problem." Gertrude explained it to her as if that was all she had to do.

"But will I stop him forever, Gertrude? I can't do that." Lavender sighed at what had been said.

"If you love him, you can... unless---" Her eyes were asking as she uttered that.

"Yes, Gertrude. I'm going to tell him that everything isn't true, that I was just fooling him and I used the potion to take advantage of the opportunity."

"But why?" Gertrude's forehead curved.

"Because I feel sorry for him. I can no longer see him as a fool, adoring me like it's real when in reality it isn't." She replied passionately to her friend. She felt her grief and held her hand. The rest of the conversation was out of the topic. That is about the girl going abroad to train Ikebana in Japan. Gertrude, on the other hand, planned to start her own business so that she wouldn't be bothered if she no longer wanted to work in a flower shop.

All of a sudden, Alexa suddenly entered the scene. Gertrude nulged her when she noticed the witch standing behind her, carrying the Frappuccino tray. Gertrude shrugged it off and ignored the woman. They turned their attention back to the conversation but deliberately the woman was borned to be wicked. It stopped at their seat. They both looked at her. It smiled sarcastically at them and poured the entire contents of the cup to their front.

"Are you really kidding?!" Gertrude looked like a dragon pushing Alexa. Fortunately, Lavender stopped them. If not, the two will surely be picked up from the ground.

"Oops, sorry. The coffee shop's space is too small so I was mistaken for a trash can." Its two hands crossed as the woman said that.

"Who do you call trash, huh? Are we? After all, you look twice as trash than us." Gertrude exclaimed.

"I'm sorry if I mistaken you for trash. It really looks like trash is with you. You know the feeling that is very nauseating. The person is still picking up a lollipop that has been licked by others. So cheap. I didn't know you would step on it. By the way, at that level of Lavender, I heard that you're rich. Gosh, you're educated but your charm is out of place."

"You're being too much." Gertrude can no longer hold back and wants to put her palms on the woman's cheek.

"Gertrude, it's fine." She carefully pulled Gertrude to her back and glared at Alexa.

"What? Lavender, are you stunned? You're speechless because everything I said is real."

Lavender let out an irritating smile before she began to speak.

"Well, maybe what you're saying is true. But aren't you more pathetic, Alexa? Imagine that you actually went down to our level just to ruin us and what's so pitiful is that you are threatened by a beggar who loves leftovers? So who's more miserable than we are now?" The woman was shocked by what she said; the sharp smoke from her nose was obvious. She couldn't fail to answer; her parents didn't raise her to just be oppressed by anyone especially when she was justified.

"No matter what you say you are still a flirt. Even if you use any soap to clean yourself, a flirt will still remain as a flirt! I really don't know how you seduced Mars that he just clung to you that easily. But well, that's really it; the fighting spirit of the stealer is strong. You aren't ashamed like you'll run out of men!"

"You know, Alexa, of all the ex-girlfriends I met, you're the most paranoid and funny. Look at you, leeching through the cheapest girl as you've mentioned. But isn't it more painful, you as his girlfriend isn't even important to him? You've said I'm educated but flirtatious, but Alexa, it's good enough because at least I have brains. Unlike you, you're also educated but have a bad habit and manners. In other words, you're making yourself look like a squatter." She rolled her eyes at the woman.

"You b*tch!" It would have been appropriate for the woman to slap her but her hand was hanging in the air as she held it tightly. Lavender rolled her eyes and raised one hand ready to slap Alexa's face. The woman closed her eyes but it also returned the dilation of the feeling of no hand touching the face. Lavender's hand just stared at the air and then dropped them heavily.

"Do you really think I'm going to slap you, Alexa? I'm not at that level. Fighting violence with violence is beneath my level."

Lavender immediately turned her back and went back to sit, sipping her half-filled cup of Espresso. Gertrude, on the other hand, successfully smirked at the woman before sitting down.

"You also have a day with me, Lavender. I'll find out what you're doing to Mars and I'll make sure to ruin both of you."

"Enough with the talk, girl. You're losing your class and it's making you look like a pity. Shoo, fly away, leave!" Gertrude sarcastically judged her. The woman exploded and walked out of the coffee shop.

"You're so good at cursing soap opera girls, the class." Gertrude teased her. She only replied with a forced smile. The friend noticed that so she slapped her shoulder. "Oh, why are you frowning there?"

"Here is what I'm telling you, Gertrude. This is the day I dread. Because of what I did to Mars, many are affected."

"But you chose to be happy, Lav. So there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yes, Gertrude, I chose to be happy even though I knew someone would be hurt and many people would be affected. I didn't think at first what would happen. I'm being selfish and all I think about is myself." The girl sobbed when she said that. Gertrude rubbed her back. There seems to be a lot of reason to release Mars so much that the situation became chaotic, her conscience could no longer control what was happening.

"So are you going to stop?" She nodded and sobbed again, her friend hugged her.  Ever since she introduced the charm to the young man, there has never been a time that has not disturbed her mind. It continuously hunts her, she already feels guilty for what she's doing. So she will finish everything and it will just end where it all started - with her.

Lavender woke up early. The flower shop is closed every week but she wakes up early because her daily chores include taking care of her rose and tulips plants. Although they had many helpers, she didn't expect them to take care of her flowers. She wants to water them herself.  However, she had no other hobby so even with her hectic schedule in the shop; she never forgot to peek at the yard behind the mansion.

She found the helpers Aling Delay and Coring busy preparing for breakfast. Her Mom is in a corner shopping for curtains.  Because the curtains in their house are changed weekly, not because they have a guest waiting but because that is what her Mommy is used into. She looked at a part of the living room, where her father couldn't lose sight of the newspaper, it was reading in front of the big TV to watch the morning news.

"Good Morning, Mom and Dad." She greeted her in a lively voice.

"Good morning too, my daughter." They said at once. "A box came, sweetie. It was for you. It was placed in front of the TV."

"All right, Mom." She immediately went and took the box. She carefully opened and stared in front of her a large bouquet of roses, tulips and daisies that were all his favorites. She sniffed it and it smelled so good. The little note is stuck between the flowers. That came from Mars inviting her to dinner with him. Lavender got the chance; this is probably the exact time.

Lavender didn't fix herself very well. A light lipstick, a few powders and dried hair were the only highlights of her face. She also wore a yellow off shoulder dress with raffles on both shoulders; she only wore simple one-inch heels. As if she didn't want to wear high heels, it was difficult for her to walk and run.

She arrived at the venue as planned earlier; she really meant to have breakfast to get ahead of the young man so that she could prepare for the revelations to be said. Maybe she left the tears at home as much as possible when she would be telling him everything and she did not want to cry in front of him. She didn't want to look pitiful in the sight of the man. For her entire life, she has been chasing him. She tailed him everywhere it goes. From elementary, high school, college until she worked, she had nothing in her heart and mind but the name of Mars. All her life, she dreamed of being loved by the young man and in a short time, it happened. So for her everything was enough. That's all and she has nothing more to ask but the young man to be happy too.

She sat as her arms wrapped tightly around her. She smiled when she saw Mars. She deliberately prepared for that night because the young man arrived very formally. Dressed in a tuxedo, his hair was well gel and flies and insects would slip on the shiny shoes of his shoes. He sat down in front of her and grabbed her hand and it rubbed each other's fingers so tightly.

"You look perfect." he whispered to her. Lavender smiled. Those sweet notes were melody to Lavender's ears. But no, it isn't right. He withdrew his hand here as the waiter also served the main course. The waiter poured the wine into the goblet and left immediately. The young man gestured with his hand signaling the start of the guitar playing on their side.

"Lav, I have something to tell you."

"So am I, Mars, I want to tell you something." Lavender became nervous. "All right you go first."

"Nope, you go first. You say it first." Lavender awarded a forced smile at him.

"Actually, Lav, I've thought about it many times. And there's no such perfect time to say this but right now." Lavender was even more nervous as he touched her palm. His stares are soft and he kissed it passionately.

"Lavender Guevarra, will you do the honor of being my girlfriend?" Lavender was surprised to hear that. The words echoed through her ears. It was as if all the sounds around her were gone.

"M-Mars." She stuttered. When she wanted to admit everything to the man, he then said that to her. She can't ruin anything tonight.

Shit! Looks like this isn't the right time to do that yet. The man will only get hurt more by chance. But what will she do? What will be her answer to Mars?