Secretly Married (English)

Chapter 01

At the age of seventeen, Phoebe was already married and has been so for a year. Of course, no one knew, and if anyone outside her close family and friends found out, they probably wouldn't even believe it— especially if they knew whom she was married to.

How did it happen anyway?

Two years ago, Phoebe's mother and her best friend met a car accident that took their lives. Upon their death, their husbands took it upon themselves to make their lifelong plan come true: to arrange the marriage oftheir children to each other.

And so it goes that at sixteen and seventeen, Phoebe Bernal and Ken Tomas Fuentabella were whisked offby their fathers to New Hampshire, where they could be legally married at such young ages. They didn't exactly know what the hurry was, but they just couldn't say no. It was all out of respect for their dead mothers, they both thought. But now, after a year of being married, it's all suddenly creeping up on Phoebe just how unusual their secretly arranged marriage was.

And so it goes that Phoebe was legally regis- tered as Phoebe Isabelle Bernal-Fuentabella. Yes, Fuentabella, as in Kent Fuentabella. That famous actor whose face could be seen everywhere.

He was so famous the slightest move he made could create Twitter trends worldwide.

Every morning, Phoebe would get two knocks on her bedroom door. Both knocks were Kent's, who occupied the room across from hers. These knocks were quick raps on the door, accompanied by his voice just saying her name. She looked forward to these knocks because they were the only semblance that Kent actually cared for her—enough for him to care about whether she was actually awake to get to school on time.

"Phoebe!" Kent said through the door. "I'm leaving for school."

Kent always went to school a few minutes earlier than she did. They couldn't be seen going to school together because no one was supposed to know that he was in a relationship, let alone married.

To spite her husband, Phoebe opened the door, which startled him. He'd never seen the inside of her room because even though they were married, they weren't allowed by their parents to enter each other's rooms because of—you know—hormones.

No trouble with that, Phoebe thought as she took in Kent's frown. "Fine."

Kent turned to leave.

Just as Phoebe was about to close the door, he came back and stopped it with his hand. Phoebe couldn't help but feel like this could lead to something else, but then he ruined all illusions on her side and said, "Also, don't talk to me in school, okay?"

"What?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

"Just text me or something if you have anything you need to say," he added.

"Fine, fine. Whatever."

"What?"

"Whatever you say, sir," Phoebe said before slamming the door in his face.

It's not like she needed reminding. Part ofKent's

celebrity status required him to hide this particular facet of his personal life just because many—or make that all—of his fans were girls. Just one careless rumor could end his career.

Not that Phoebe cared, really. She never even wanted to be married to him in the first place. It's just that it's so hard keeping a secret. Every movement she made served one purpose: never to reveal their secret marital status.

After a few more minutes, Phoebe walked her way to the international school just a few minutes away from their house. There, she met Jhone, her best friend and one of the few people outside her family who knew about her arranged marriage. Jhone was waving frantically at her as she entered the hallways with a frown.