"You're staring at him again," Valentina sighs.
"Hm?" I responded, not catching on to what Valentina was inferring. She tugs on my arm and shakes her head, chuckling.
"You were staring at Mateo." She takes a sip of her coffee, looking up at me.
"I'm...
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"Maliyah?! Are you prepared?!" My dad called from the first floor and I immediately smoothed down the wrinkles of my dress, before lightening my hair a piece that had now developed coming towards the end of my back. I applied my red lipstick and I stood straight respecting myself in the mirror.
I had come quite a long way, and I've dropped a couple of kilos but it makes me look like some sort of supermodel and I haven't felt this way in a long time.
"Maliyah, if we don't leave presently we're never going to have the option to arrive on schedule for when---," My dad says opening the entryway however once he sees me his breath is removed and you could fundamentally see the tears in his eyes.
I turned to face him and he immediately trapped me with his arms hugging me tightly. He pulls back after some time and he looks down at me with adoration. "Oh my gosh, can you imagine, you're growing up so quickly, quick stand there so I can take your picture," My father whips out his phone, gesturing for me to make some sort of pose while he snaps what it seems like over a hundred pictures.
He's about to take another one but I put my hand up and his phone moves from his face, "If we continue like this I'm never going to get to my graduation in time and I'd really like to be a certified assassin by the time I get back home." He laughs and I pick my dress, flashing my heels which were for show. My father offers his arm out and I take it, walking down and we exit the hotel where a limo had parked, waiting for us.
My father opens it and I send a smile towards him before entering and adjusting myself so I'm comfortable. My father also gets in and the car moves while driving in silence, looking at the city lights.
"Are you going to be okay?" My father asks, breaking the silence and I look towards him already knowing what he's talking about.
I sigh, "Dad, it's been two years, I think I'll be quite alright, Igor is locked up so I won't have anything to be scared of." He doesn't look convinced at all, if anything he just looks concerned and I can't blame him. When I got back here to the UK, Mateo was the only thing that was on my mind and it should be illegal for the number of times I had thought about him before going to bed or waking up. I literally couldn't stop thinking about him, and it hurt me so much. And I know he's going to be at the graduation but if I just ignore his stares, it'll all be fine. "Besides, I'm kinda excited to see some of my friends, it's been a while," I subconsciously fiddle with my locket that Val had given me for my twenty-fifth birthday.
"If you need anything or if you just feel like you have to get out of there--"
"I'll come straight to you," I turn back to him, "I know." He smiles and kisses me on my forehead, while the driver prompts me to a stop and he trunks to us gesturing for us to get out of the car where properly hundred of other people were walking in. My father exited first and he offered his hand for me to exit and I let out a huge sigh, taking it and putting on a smile for the paparazzi.
