redeeming alyson | ongoing

secrets unearthed

"So tell me Al, how's life been for you lately?" Di asked as she pulled over on the parking lot. She smiled. "How's work?"

"Adulting is exhausting, as you know," I said, wrinkling my nose. 

She nodded like she understood. Because of course, she did. While she's living a pampered life now, she lived a life of hardship for three years before her life turned around when she came back to Aslyr Island the summer when we were eighteen. Since then, the universe has been so kind to her after it was so cruel to a young lady with a pure heart.

She's the embodiment of divine feminine energy, and I was jealous of it. Jealous in the sense that it inspired me. I wanted that energy too. I wish I wasn't in survival mode all the time. 

From an outsider looking it, it looked like I lived a soft life but everything they see was a culmination of me crawling out of a dark place. I made it myself.

You have a stepfather who'll help you, but you're too stubborn to let him. Why not tell him?

I couldn't even tell my best friend about how I was struggling, not to mention my stepfather. Growing up, I always dealt with things myself. I always took care of problems myself because I had no other choice. I couldn't fail myself too. 

My mother was working herself to the bone to provide for us after she and my father divorced. I didn't ever want to bug her about my struggles because hers were far heavier. How she was able to pool enough money for three years of private highschool for Rush and I before our stepfather took over was no ordinary feat. She got sick so many times because of it.

"Any juicy stories to tell me about? Anyone you're dating?" Di prodded, shifting my attention. Her gray eyes deepened, as if wanting me to share more details about myself because I rarely ever did. When we spent time together, we focused on new experiences. 

Not that she didn't try. She always had her subtle way of letting me know she'd be there for me no matter what I'd say.. but she also knew there were parts of me that only I had access to.

I gave her a look, laughing. "You know better, Di. I'm still single and NBSB at twenty three."

I wasn't worried, but everyone around me was. It was a question my aunties from my mother's side often asked about. 

"The biggest irony in the world," she teased, pinching my cheek. "The most beautiful woman has been single for too long."

"Should I drop my standards?" I asked her in curiosity. "Everyone tells me I'm too picky. I'm almost twenty five and still single."

In island language, by that age, you should already have two children.

"Of course not," she said, aghast. "High standards all the way, baby. You're living the best life there is. A man should never enter the picture unless he's there to make it even better. Besides, you're Alyson di Liano. A complete package. Why should you settle?"

I grinned. "This is why I love you."

**

The crowd all but parted as soon as we entered the double doors of the club. Why wouldn't it when even the bouncers accompanied us safely to our table? Everyone here knows our names even without an introduction. That was how it has always been growing up.

I glanced at myself at the mirror and smiled. Donning the emerald earrings that my father gave me for my eighteenth, the House of CB Naia dress that Kayden bought for me, and Valentino pumps, I was the epitome of an heiress. I was glad I let Kayden convince me to let him treat me to a blowout too because I looked and felt exquisite.