Why Can't It Just Be You?

~ Eight ~

Stop Looking at Me Like That

"Evandros Xenakis?" Twenty-one-year-old Phoebe mused shockingly.

"Why? What's wrong with Evan?" Hector stared at his daughter, also surprised of her shocked reaction.

"Ba-ba..."

"He's known a great deal about you, dear kóri. Besides, he's a great friend of yours. There's not going to be anymore adjustments to make," the old man tried to lay his cards on the subject. "He's the best!"

That's the problem! He's the best! In your business, he's always the best! He's the best! Yet I can't marry him! Phoebe wanted to voice out. She cast a glance at her mother and the latter was just listening intently to the conversation.

"Well, it's no longer the same this time, Ba-ba," she uttered helplessly.

"What do you mean no longer the same?"

She didn't speak. What should she say to explain that everything was no longer the same? If she would tell her father, it was like setting up a bomb right before him.

"Tomorrow, the training is going to start. Report to the office after your classes," her father spoke in utmost finality.

She, on the other hand, had nothing to do but just deep breathed.

"Didn't we have a deal on this, kóri? In exchange of your constant partying is your training on how to run the company. Have you forgotten it already?"

"I haven't forgotten it, Ba-ba," she replied.

"Great. Tomorrow, I'll be expecting you to report to Evan's office."

Evan's office? Immediately? she reiterated in her mind.

Letting his daughter feel that everything was final, Hector went out of the family room.

Phoebe shut her eyes as her trembling hand held her aching temple. What was she going to do now?

Julie, from her seat, was just observing her daughter since the start of the latter's conversation with Hector. She noticed something was bothering Phoebe's mind and she wanted to know what it was.

She stood up and sat beside Phoebe. "What's going on, Phoebe?" She tapped her daughter's shoulder.

Phoebe sighed deeply.

"Any problem, agapité?"

"Nothing's the matter, Mamá," she replied briefly, not looking at her mother. She prevented her tears to fall. Could she tell her Mamá on what was bothering her mind?

"What am I sensing here, Phoeb? Tell me, are my senses right? Is it because of Evan?" Julie asked, brushing her back.

Is it because of Evan? Her mamá's question echoed in her mind.

What? Her mother knew how she was feeling?

"What's going on in between you and Evan, kóri?"

Feeling like her heart was torn apart into a million pieces, she looked at her mother straightly in the eyes. "What would you do, Mamá, if I'd tell you I'm in love with Evandros?"

Julie, for a moment, wasn't able to speak. She thought it was just some misunderstanding with Evan. She couldn't believe her daughter was in love with someone else other than Zarkos, her fiancée.

"No, please, tell me you're just kidding, Phoebe!" Julie exclaimed. "You know, you're getting married!"

Phoebe pressed her lips together. It looked like nobody could really understand how she felt, even her mother. She sighed. Then, she decided to change her expression.