Chapter 4: Chapter 4

"RAIN, rain go away, come again another day…"

I silently sang as I continued to stare at the non-stop pouring of the rain in front of me. I was standing in the hallway of the library for almost an hour now but the sky wasn't showing any sign of stopping.

I was used to singing that nursery rhyme every time I was wishing for the rain to stop. I got it from my mother. When I was little, she would always sing that nursery rhyme with me whenever we're waiting for the rain to stop.

I sighed as I looked at the dark sky. I've been waiting for almost an hour now. I needed to go home now but I didn't want to get wet. I couldn't afford to get sick since our college final exams week would start in the next two days.

Ugh. I was really stupid for forgetting my umbrella.

"Please, go away. I need to be home by five." I whispered as I glanced at my wristwatch. It was my mother's birthday today and I needed to prepare her favorite food before she arrived home from the office.

"Miss."

I stilled when I heard a masculine voice beside me. I cocked my head to the side where the voice came from. There was a tall guy standing beside me. Why didn't I notice him?

I almost gape as my eyes travelled to his face. He was… gorgeous. He has deep set eyes with thick brows, straight nose, perfectly angled jaw, a pair of pinkish red lips. And boy, he smelled so good.

His slightly wavy hair was disheveled but it only added to his appeal. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt and jeans.

I felt my heart move inside my chest.

"Here. You can use this." He handed me a yellow umbrella.

I stared at the folded umbrella in his hand. Then my eyes went back to his face. I watched as his red lips rose in a smile. A small dimple showed on his left cheek, almost near his lips.

"I heard you wanna go home before five," he said, his lips pursing. "So, here."

I felt my cheeks heating up. He heard me? I lowered my head and wished for the floor to just swallow me alive.

"Don't be shy. You have a cute voice."

I bit my lower lip. What he said only made my cheeks turn beet red in shame.

"Here. Please take this. It looks like rain's going to last for a couple of hours."

I slowly raised my head. And again, I was mesmerized by that handsome face. I felt like I would be having a hard time breathing if I continued to stare at him. Those deep eyes… they're too much for me.

"Come on, take it. Looks like you're waiting here for quite a long time already."

I bit on the inside of my cheek, then slowly took the umbrella from his hand. "How about you?" I asked him in a small voice. "You'll be needing this, too."

His lips just curled up in a smile. "Don't worry, I'll just call my girlfriend."

Oh. He has a girlfriend. Of course, what would I expect from someone as good-looking as him? "Uh… t-thank you." I gave him a small smile.

"You're welcome. And take care, okay?" He gave me another smile. As I opened his umbrella and walked away from him, I realized something. He gave me his umbrella, but then he took something away from me—my heart.

I woke up from a very familiar dream. I hugged a pillow beside me and shut my eyes. Damn. I couldn't believe I dreamed about Xander. Again.

I bit my lower lip, opened my eyes, and stared at the white ceiling of Mariel's guestroom.

It felt real. I shook my head. Well, of course it was real. It happened six years ago. That scene was how I met him. Everything was so clear in my memory.

That yellow umbrella he gave me that day, I didn't get the chance to give it back to him. But I still have it. In fact, I brought it with me to Greece. That's how much I valued that umbrella.

After our fateful encounter on the plane, he started showing up again in my dreams. I've been dreaming about him twice already. I wonder if I'd see him again before I go back to Greece.

I bit my lower lip. I should stop thinking about him.

After staying in bed for a few more minutes, I fixed myself and went out of the room. I headed to the kitchen. I found Mariel sitting on the island counter while having her coffee.

"So, where do you want us to go first?" Mariel asked me. I sat next to her after I made myself a cup of hot chocolate. Unlike her, I was not a fan of coffee. I was acidic so my stomach gets easily upset with coffee.

"Sagada, Boracay or Palawan?" she continued to ask.

We spent the past two days roaming around the metro. I also did some swimsuit shopping because I didn't get to bring any.

Those three places she mentioned were my top destinations. She knew I hadn't been to those places.

"Sagada?" I said after taking a sip from my cup. "We go north first before moving south."

She shrugged. "Whatever you want." She took out her phone. "I'll make an itinerary." Mariel busied herself with planning our trip while I started to cook breakfast.

"Mar." I said I placed a plate in front of her. I cooked fried rice, bacon and eggs.

She looked at me. "Hmm?"

I settled on my seat. "I dreamt about Xander again. Remember the first time I met him? It was exactly my dream last night." I placed some bacon on my plate, then stopped to look at her reaction. Her forehead was frowned. "Do you think it's weird? That I've been dreaming of him the past few days?"

Mariel rolled her eyes. "You've been dreaming of that guy because you're always thinking of him." She picked up the plate of fried rice and put some on her plate.

I bit my lower lip. Ever since I came back to the Philippines, Xander has been always on my mind.

"If you don't want him to appear in your dream, then stop thinking about the guy." Mariel continued, shaking her head. "I thought you're no longer the Charity six years ago, but it looks like you're still the same Charity who's obsessed with Xander Villarama. You can't even enter a relationship because of your obsession with that manwhore."

She picked up a piece of bacon using her fork and stuffed it in her mouth.

"I told you I'm not obsessed." I pursed my lips. "If I'm obsessed, then I should've stalked him or something. But I did not, right? And he's not a manwhore."

She snorted. "I saw you yesterday. You were typing his name on the internet." Her eyes slanted at me. I felt like a cat getting caught stealing my owner's food.

Yesterday, I tried to search him on the internet. Well, only because I wanted to find who he was dating right now. I heard him talking to a girlfriend on the plane.

"That's harmless stalking," I answered defensively. "That doesn't mean I'm obsessed."

She cocked her brows at me as placed a fried egg on her plate. "If you're not obsessed, then what are you?"

I chewed on my lower lip. "Well… I'm just… really in love with him, I guess."

After meeting him and talking to him on the plane the other night, I realized I was still freaking in love with Xander Villarama.

Mariel gaped at me in disbelief, then she kept on shaking her head. "Six years, Charity. That's how long you've been admiring him. God. I don't really understand how you stay in love with him through the years. Fine. I would probably get it if you two dated, but heck, Xander didn't even know you existed."

"I don't understand my heart, either. I guessed, the heart wants what it wants." I said, shrugging. I tried dating other guys but none of them seemed appealing to me.

She just rolled her head before reaching for her glass of water. "I couldn't wait for our vacation. I swear, I'll find you a nice guy so you finally get to move on from that Xander Villarama."

I just chuckled at her. "What about you? Any guys you wanted to talk to me about?"

She frowned. "Guys are just headaches."

I pursed my lips. Mariel proved to be a real man-hater. I never heard her date anyone. I wondered what her type of guy is.

"I wonder…" My words left hanging when the doorbell rang.

Mariel stood up and left the kitchen. She was back with Amanda behind her. She was Mariel's cousin, who also lived in this condo building. I already met her the other day.

Amanda greeted me and joined us for breakfast.

"I wish I could join you," Amanda asked when Mariel mentioned our trip to Sagada on the weekend.

"Excuse me." Mariel stood up when her phone rang. "I'll just answer this," she said, frowning while looking at the screen. I wondered who was calling her.

"You can join us, Amanda," I said to Amanda as I watched her pour orange juice on a glass.

"I wish, but I can't." She frowned. "I can't leave my work right now."

Amanda finished her college in Cebu and is currently residing here in Manila for work.

"See?" She pointed at her phone that was placed on the table. I looked at the screen and saw a resume. Mariel told me she was working as a HR staff.

"It's freaking Saturday but I need to sort out hundreds of resumes." She shook her head. "It was just yesterday since I posted the vacant position for our company yet I already received almost a thousand applications."

My forehead creased in curiosity. "What's the position?"

"Executive secretary of the VP for Finance." She pursed her lips. "Well, I heard that our boss fired his secretary because she tried to seduce him."

I gasped. "That's unprofessional."

"Yup," she agreed. "But I can't blame the woman, our boss was really good looking." She picked up a hotdog and bit it. "As in insanely hot."

My eyebrows arched in curiosity.

"He's one of the hottest bachelor's in the country," Amanda continued. "Plus, he's really nice. He's different from those typical snobs and asshole rich men. That's why girls are salivating for him."

She let out a sigh as she picked up her phone. "Our boss wants us to find him a new secretary ASAP.  But I couldn't understand him. He wanted a female and single secretary who was professional enough and wouldn't seduce him."

I slightly frowned. "He should hire a male secretary or a married one, at least." I remembered my cousin Luke. His secretary was a guy because he said he couldn't help but flirt with a female secretary, and he hates mixing business with pleasure.

Amanda scrunched her nose. "Tsk, I wished I could tell that to Sir Xander."

"Xander?"

"Oh. That's the name of our boss. The one looking for a new secretary."

I gape at her. "Xander… as in Alexander Villarama?"

"Yeah. You know him?"