Call from Destiny | COMPLETED | English

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: Fake Girlfriend?

E T H A N

When I saw the woman who bumped into Claire, I was shocked. The dress she wore was black but it was very familiar to me. 

That kind of braid and her walk gave me a deja vu. When the woman was already far away, I had a gut feeling to stay away from her and call Claire's name immediately.

She's here. Vanessa is here.

I just didn't approach her because she seemed to be irritated earlier after meeting Claire face to face. When I saw her approaching one of my teammates, I went over in the opposite direction and try to find Claire since the crowd became too much for me. 

I think it's best not to mess with her right now. Besides, it would be better if she didn't see Claire and me together.

She can be...very chaotic when she's jealous. 

"Ethan? Where are you?" I heard Claire call to me as I walked in her direction. Well, I think so. I couldn't really see her in the crowd. 

Though, the familiar red blouse already gave it away.  I approached her quickly, grabbed her hand, and moved somewhere crowded. 

I'm sure that when Vanessa hears my name being called, she will look for the woman who's calling me. And let me tell you, that's not a scenario that I would want to be stuck with. 

Fearing that Claire would meet Vanessa's rage, I turned to her. I could see her looking at me confusingly before focusing her gaze on my hand. She wanted to ask me where I went but the only thing that I could manage to do was to hug her tight.

Why? 'Cause I saw Vanessa looking at me already in the distance. 

She was throwing daggers at me with that glare of hers and a despising look plastered on her face. 

"How was the hug, cheater?" she didn't hesitate to ask once approached us. Claire got surprised by her voice that she immediately pulled away from the hug to look at who it was. Vanessa, however, didn't focus on her. 

She was staring at my soul with hatred lingering in her eyes.  

When Vanessa took a step forward, my instincts told me to put Claire right behind me. So, I did. Claire's eyes widened but didn't really complain about my reaction. 

"So, she is the famous fake girlfriend that everyone was talking about."

"Funny. It looked like your standards had gone too low. You picked her over me," Vanessa said while looking at Claire with a frown on her face.

"Tell me, how much did he give you?" Vanessa asked Claire with no hint of hesitation in her voice. I was sure that Vanessa really wanted to make sure that Claire wasn't really going to last for a week.

"Excuse me?" Claire asked as she removed my hand from her arm. Claire shakes her head at the statement, clearly not seeing that Vanessa was getting impatient.

"How much did he give you to make you his fake girlfriend? Twenty thousand?" I widened my eyes when Vanessa mentioned money. The audacity she had was really surprising. 

Even the look that Claire gave changed when she saw Vanessa smirking at her. Vanessa then put her hand inside her purse and was searching for something. 

"I'll give you another thousand for you to let my boyfriend go. Deal?" When she was about to show Claire some money, my girlfriend didn't even hesitate to push Vanessa's hand away. 

"I don't need your money and I wasn't paid in the first place," Claire retaliated, glaring at how Vanessa had acted. "I'm his girlfriend and he's mine."

Vanessa's laugh immediately caught the attention of everyone. So, instead of talking without gaining the attention of others as I had planned, had backfired. 

"And you actually believed that he loves you? Pity, if only you knew."

"I beg your pardon?" I couldn't help but frown when Vanessa decided to push Claire on her shoulders to make her almost stumble backward. Fortunately, I caught her in the midst of it, my hands on her waist to support her. 

"This was all an act so that he can bring me back here to the Philippines. He missed me and used you to bring me back to his side. Hence, making me jealous." Vanessa tried to get her again but I blocked her. She only scoffed at this and tried to look at Claire with that mischievous look of hers.

She was like that. She would always tell lies to manipulate someone. 

"You didn't know? I feel bad for you, honestly." Claire's gaze went back to me, her hands shaking in hindsight. I could already tell that she was a bit affected by what Vanessa had said. Though, I shake my head to tell her that it wasn't true. 

"Is it true? You just used me to see her?" Claire asked as I saw that her eyes were almost tearing up. That wasn't true. I wanted to kiss her right there, but it seems like it was a bad time to do that. My heart almost broke to pieces when I saw her looking down at the ground. 

Actually, I love Claire. Not Vanessa. 

"You just did it so you could be with me again. There's no point in denying it, Love," Vanessa tried to put her hands on my shoulder but I took a step backward and gave her a disapproving glance. 

"No," I replied as Vanessa gasped when she heard what I said.

The three of us became quiet while the music continued around us. Vanessa's reaction when I answered her was unreadable. I guess she didn't expect me to say that.

"No?" her voice suddenly cracked, her steps quickly backing away from me. "So, you love her? That fake girlfriend of yours?"

"Yes, I love her. So please, Vanessa, let her be," I told her with a hard tone in my voice so she'd know that I was serious. I expected that she'd stop and walk away or at least react angrily to what I said.

But, she didn't.

She just stared at me and laughed. "Excuse me? Let her be? Hell no."

"I want her to suffer as I did. I want her to feel how I feel. Two can play that game." She then pointed at both of us. 

"Mark my words, Ethan. I'll be your girlfriend's worst nightmare." After that, she finally walked away, her heels echoing at the venue. A lot of people were now staring at the scene and Claire was already hiding her face in embarrassment.  

I heard Benedict call us while Claire immediately hugged Sam. Benedict's gaze turned to me, wanting to know what happened. If only they knew everything that happened, they wouldn't confront me anymore.

Though, I have no choice but to tell them this.

God, what have I done?