Alluring Mask

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 11

"Why do you know me?"

I put down my spoon and continued to look at him with a furrowed brow. I couldn't remember meeting him, so he was unfamiliar to me. I tried to think if we had met before, but nothing came to mind.

"I'm Atlas Collazo," he introduced himself. My gaze lowered as he extended his hand to shake mine.

Atlas Collazo? I knew my face must have been a picture of confusion because I was even more puzzled by what he said.

"I know you don't know me. That's why you're confused now, but I'm your scholarship sponsor. Congratulations on your graduation, Ms. Dayanghirang."

My eyes almost popped out of my sockets when I heard what he said. I stood up from my seat and approached him. I bowed several times and accepted his hand to shake.

"Wow. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Collazo. Thank you so much for sponsoring me," I bowed again, thanking him repeatedly. "The scholarship helped me a lot because I was able to finish my studies. Thank you so much for everything."

"You're welcome," he replied with a small smile.

A smile spread across my lips that almost reached my ears. I finally met my scholarship sponsor. I had wanted to know who it was for so long because, out of all the students in my university, I was the lucky one to be chosen.

The problem was that the principal at my school refused to disclose who it was because that was what my sponsor had asked, so I was also very surprised when he suddenly appeared in front of me and introduced himself.

"Thank you again, Mr. Collazo," I thanked him.

"Just call me Atlas, Ms. Dayanghirang. And you're always welcome."

"You won't regret it—I managed to graduate, and I've been focused on my studies. Thank you again," I said happily.

"I know. I understand. That's why I wasn't wrong in choosing you to sponsor a scholarship because you are dedicated to your studies."

I nodded several times. I sat back down and couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I ate my ice cream again, unable to remove the smile from my face. It's good that he congratulated me, while my mom didn't even greet me, not even in a text.

I shouldn't expect them to do that, but there's still a part of me that hopes they would because I graduated. I don't know, I did everything to make them proud of me, but it seems like it doesn't matter to my family.

I just ignored the negative thoughts that were creeping into my mind. I should just be happy today and not dwell on those things.

A comfortable silence enveloped our table, and no one spoke. I continued eating, and when I looked up, I caught Mr. Collazo still looking at me.

"Why, Mr. Coll—Atlas?"

"Just call me Atlas. It's too formal when you call me Mr. Collazo," he quickly replied.

"I'm sorry, you don't like it?" I asked.

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms in front of him and looked at me seriously. It seemed like his natural expression to be serious, so it was kind of intimidating to approach him.

"No. I don't like it," he replied.

I smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay, Atlas."

"I have a favor, Ms. Dayanghirang. Do you already have a—"

"Sarah! Thank god you're here. I've been looking all over. There are so many convenience stores here. I'm glad I found you."

I turned around when I heard Ei's voice. Her forehead was sweaty, and she looked like she had been running when she saw me.

I stood up and approached her. I closed the lid of my ice cream and carried it along with my purse until I reached her.

"I'm sorry, Ei. The signal here is probably weak, so I guess my text didn't go through. I'm really sorry."

She shook her head and smiled, panting. She was holding her chest and was clearly catching her breath.

"It's okay. The important thing is I found you and nothing bad happened to you. I thought you might have been abducted or something."

I shook my head and laughed softly at what she said.

"No one would kidnap me, Ei. And besides, no one would be interested in someone like me," I replied jokingly.

She just shook her head and took my hand to pull me. I had no choice but to follow her because I noticed that her eyes were getting droopy. It was a sign that she had too much alcohol again.

I turned to Atlas behind me and saw him still sitting there, silently looking at me. I smiled at him and raised my hand to wave.

"Bye, Mr. Collazo! Thank you again!" I shouted.

I clamped my mouth shut when I mentioned his last name again instead of his first name. He just nodded in response and raised his hand to wave back at me.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"Who's Mr. Collazo?" Ei asked with her eyes closed.

She was holding her head. We were already on our way back to her condo unit, and I was worried about her because she might vomit.

"He's the one who sponsored my scholarship," I replied.

I moved closer to her and prepared a plastic sando bag for her in case she vomited again. I was worried about her, while our driver who picked us up seemed to be relaxed while driving.

"Don't worry, Sarah. I don't vomit in the car unless Caddel is here," she mumbled, her words slurred.

I sighed and looked at our driver.

"Kuya, could you please drive a little faster so Ei can rest? She seems to have had a lot to drink a while ago."

I saw him nod. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Caddel..." Ei mumbled.

I looked at her when she mentioned Mr. Winslow's name. We also arrived at Ei's condo unit. I took care of her as soon as we went inside. I started by removing her makeup so she could rest, and then I did mine.

I was gradually getting sleepy. I put the ice cream I brought in the refrigerator to prevent it from melting. My eyelids felt heavy as I removed the makeup from my face.

When I was finally done removing my makeup, I smiled bitterly as I saw my true self in the mirror, with no makeup on my face.

"No matter how much makeup you put on, you're still ugly, Sarah," I said softly to myself. "You're fake, and your beauty is not natural. You're not beautiful."

I smiled bitterly and threw the cotton pad into the small trash bin under Ei's vanity table.

I took a shower immediately and wore the pajama set that Ei bought for me. When everything was settled, I lay down beside her and fixed her comforter when I saw it was down.

"Caddel..." she mumbled when I lifted her comforter.

I became curious about her connection with Mr. Winslow. I turned on the lampshade on the bedside table next to me and turned away from Ei. I could already feel my eyelids getting heavier.

Atlas immediately came to mind when I closed my eyes. I couldn't get the sponsor of my scholarship out of my mind. I knew when I first saw him; I was surprised because I didn't know him, but when you look at him for a long time, it's like he looks familiar or like I've seen him before.

Darkness enveloped me completely, and I let myself fall asleep because of exhaustion, but it was still the same.

Until I fell asleep, Atlas was still in my mind.

SHANGPU