Secretly Married (English)

Chapter 19

The next few days were so busy for Phoebe and Kent that they barely had a chance to speak to each other in person. Kent was doing a lot of press for the new film while also shooting, and Phoebe was preparing for her party. Two nights before the party, Phoebe got a call from her father, telling her that he will be arriving a day before the party. This put her in a lighter mood even as she felt a stab of guilt whenever Kent did something for her.

She was with the designer ofthe gown and about to try on the finished dress when Kent arrived home the night before the party. Phoebe's father was also there. The two men hugged, and for a while, Phoebe felt content being with the two important guys in her life.

When she put on the dress and came out to "model" the dress, Kent just stared at her. "You're so . . ." But he couldn't even finish his sentence.

Phoebe couldn't meet his eyes. At that very moment, all her emotions were so mixed up she couldn't tell what she was feeling.

Her father got up to hug her. "Your mother would have been so proud to see you in that dress."

Phoebe started crying. She could feel Kent watching her as she hugged her father back. He simply got up and left the room without a word.

On the day of the party, Kent offered to drive Phoebe to the venue. Phoebe got into his car and didn't seem to be excited.

"Hey, Phoebe?" Kent started.
"Hmm?"
"I will announce to the whole party that we're together, okay?"

He reached out for her hand and held it as he drove on. Phoebe smiled tightly but didn't speak. When they arrived, Phoebe went straight to her best friend, Jhone, who was looking as worried as Phoebe. They went to the dressing room immediately, so Kent assumed that they were nervous about getting their makeup.

I should be the one nervous, since I'm the one making an announcement, he thought.

He watched from the sidelines as the ballroom started filling up with people from their year level. He was slightly pissed off to find Harley and Elisa there, but they had to invite them for decorum. Plus, no one knew about their issues with each other.

The party proceeded as planned. For the eighteen roses, the plan was for Kent to stay backstage, narrating their story as children growing up together, with photos ofthem together through the years. Then, as soon as he was done, he would go down the stage and dance with Phoebe.

He started, "We've known each other even before we were born. Our mothers were best friends, and so we grew up together. I've seen you bloom from a simple little girl to the beautiful lady that you are today. We both know how hard it is to keep this a secret, but we won't do that anymore . . ."

"Kent! Kent!"

Kent turned to his side and found Elisa, bran- dishing her iPhone and waving it frantically at him. He tried to ignore her.

"I'm proud to tell the world how much I lo—"

Then instead of the cue cards on his hand, he saw a photo of Phoebe and Harley kissing there on Elisa's phone.

Phoebe's heart has been thumping while Kent spoke, so when he stopped speaking, her heart dropped. She looked at the stage, but didn't see him there. She felt cold amid the spotlight.

Where's Kent? Why'd he stop speaking?

*later*