I am appointed by a Billionaire to be his Heir's Girlfriend

SNEAK PEEK to the SEQUEL

Author's note: DON'T GET EXCITED. This is not part of the story.

This is just to advertise the story's sequel entitled "THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY". This is the first chapter of the sequel to this story. Just a taste, in case you want to follow through Athena and Nate's story. If you guys liked it, feel free to check my profile for the ACTUAL STORY and add it in to your libraries. Thank you!

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Athena Vanderbilt POV

I could tell something bad was about to happen. It's like intuition—or like the way animals knew how to howl before a great storm. It was kind of irrational and yet I felt it. It's a nagging feeling at the back of my head for quite some time now.

But for the thousandth time, I asked myself "What could possibly go wrong?"

I was just declared graduate minutes ago. I graduated the top of my class. I received my letter of acceptance from Stanford several weeks ago. My family was complete now, more than I ever thought it could be. I've got the best boyfriend in the world.

Everything was perfect.

But it didn't feel like it.

Why did I sense this distressing feeling? It felt like an impending doom was about to occur any moment.

I was broken from my reverie when Nathaniel Van Warner slammed into me for a tight hug. I was brought back to reality by the loud cheers of my classmates. I barely noticed I'm in the middle of a celebrating crowd. At the very least, I felt the impact—we were really officially out of high school now.

"Congratulations, warden. Your speech made me proud." Nate whispered to my right ear as we walked together hand-in-hand to find our families in the crowd. I turned to look at him and smiled, "Thanks. Congrats to you too, Nate."

His face broke into a wide smile. He stopped walking and so did I. He was deeply looking into my eyes that even I in my anxious state had to acknowledge that intensity. The way he looked at me was different. It's full of love and adoration and something else transcendent.

And you know what I found alarming?

I got terrified of the look in his eyes.

He slid down on his knees. He was still holding my right hand with his, and he was smiling very brightly at me. My heart started pounding in my chest. I thought I knew what he was about to do. My head was whirling. My heart leaped in joy at the mere thought but at the same time, I get the unexplainable dread in my chest.

I'm not ready for this...

"Nate." I said his name with an unspoken warning in my eyes. I can feel all of my senses on alert. My anxiety was skyrocketing. "Please don't do this."

He gave me the crooked smile I knew so well. "Warden, chill. Don't mind the people. It's just you and me, remember? It's going to be quick and easy and it will be the most memorable part of our lives." He said nonchalantly. Everything always sounded better than they actually were.

Oh god he thought I am embarrassed by the people watching! Wait, am I? Was that the true reason behind this sense of fear? I bit my lip and my heart started jumping in my chest. My brain and all of my instincts screamed "RUUUUUUN!"

My heart tried to be calm and rationalize the unexplainable instinct. There was no reason to run away again. Or is there?

He started pulling a black velvet box from his pocket. The people around us who were starting to notice what was happening. We just graduated from high school for crying out loud! Hugs were broken. The pictures stopped. Whispers started. My parents and Nate's parents were watching us carefully from a distance, as if they were informed about this.

My heart almost stopped. My parents knew about this. Nate told them. My schoolmates and their respective families were all looking at Nate and I, eager to see what was next.

I tried to calm down myself as Nate cleared his throat.

He looked at me with his blue eyes and started, "I know it's just been barely a year since we met and that we've just graduated from high school fifteen minutes ago and that I suck at being romantic. I also know that you think I'm a royal jerk and annoying as hell. But I want you to know I have never been serious the way I am serious about us. You are the surest thing in my life. I could doubt everything but not about my love for you."

I smiled despite the turmoil in my heart. But... I can't do this... Stop... God why am I being like this pathetic ambivalent girl again?

"Nate," I whispered again, "Please. Don't." I can feel my legs trembling beneath my blue graduation robe. My heart was throbbing almost painfully. My stomach was doing somersaults. I tried to stabilize my shaking hand by squeezing his. He squeezed my hand back. I gripped his hand tighter, as if my body already knew what was to happen.

"Let me finish warden." He said. "You changed me for the better. You don't know how astounding you are for putting up with me. But I am thankful; you know that you are tolerating me all the time. You never left. You never gave up on me. You have always been there. You bring out the good in me. You are the most beautiful person I know, inside out. So please, just please..."

I sucked in a deep breath as I dreaded the words that will follow.

Nate opened the velvet black box to flaunt a dazzling silver diamond ring in the middle. I just gaped at it while he looked at me.

"Athena Soleil Vanderbilt, can we spend the rest of our lives together?"

I can feel everything increasing. My heartbeat. My number of breaths. Doubts. Insecurities. He was asking an easy question. I love Nate. It was supposed to be easy to say 'yes'.

But why am I full of hesitations? And dread? And anxiety?

I looked at Nate's parents and Nelly. They were smiling at me welcomingly. I glanced at my parents, and they were both nodding encouragingly. I looked at Chloe who was holding a bouquet of roses, probably from Dan. She was beaming widely at me and doing a thumbs-up. Dan was also there beside Chloe, grinning. He was holding a camera and was doing a gesture that he was videotaping the whole thing. Alex and Bliss were also there, a few feet away. They were smiling widely. Some of the audience were already chanting "Say yes", even our headmistress.

I looked back at Nate's blue eyes. He was looking up at me with such hope and adoration that I couldn't take it anymore. My eyes started to water and I was tearing up. I bit my lip hard to neutralize the emotions surfacing in my facial expression. I pulled my hand away from his and wiped my eyes.

"Warden?" he asked, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

I refused to look at him. I don't want to see that kind of faith in his eyes again. I couldn't bear it. I couldn't bear if it those trusting blue eyes will haunt me for the rest of my life after this—after what I was about to do. My body was on a fight-or-flight status.

"I'm sorry, Nate." I said and took flight.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED FOR ATHENA TO REJECT NATE? Follow up on the sequel if you wanna know!