Written In The Stars - First Draft (Published Under Immac PPH)

CHAPTER 14

Written In The Stars

Valerie's POV

"Should I wear this one? Or how about this?"

Tyler said while holding two different polo shirts in dark blue and jet-black on both of his hands. We're at the mall because he wanted me to help him look for something to wear on Clare's birthday. I took one of the shirts and started visualizing what he would look like if he wore it. Honestly, he would look great in either one of them. Tyler has this trait where he would manage to pull any look off without needing effort, I smiled at him and he seemed confused. In the end, he chose jet-black.

After paying for the clothes, the two of us decided to hit the food court for a snack break. We have been roaming around the mall for hours already, in search for anything else he could add as a gift for her. It would be a lie if I say I wasn't hurting the entire time, a part of me will always feel regret and loss. But as they all say, when there is loss there will also be gains. I treat his happiness as a gain, I wouldn't mind feeling a little sting as long as he's feeling better.

And there's that sparkle of hope for me, that maybe when the time comes that they'd finally end up together, it wouldn't hurt me anymore. Being numb was what I wanted, feeling immune to the pain so that it would no longer hurt. It could still hurt... but I would not care nor would I feel that same defeat I always feel. That those thoughts of being in the same place as her will no longer exist. And that I'm bound to accept my place in his heart, that I can move forward without feeling the same regret I always feel.

We headed to the vacant table, Tyler was holding the tray with four slices of pizza on top of it while I was holding two cups of soda, following him from behind. As we sat down, I could feel my knees firing up all the way to my legs, it felt like it was swelling so bad. Maybe because we were walking around for so long and that we were also standing in line for quite a while. He was laughing while looking at me. I watched him as he took a sip from his cup.

"You know what?" He started speaking while I was busy watching other customers waiting patiently in line for their turn to order. I looked at him with both of my brows shot up, I was busy taking bites off my pizza. He rested his back on the seat, I did the same. "I'm very nervous about asking her to be my girlfriend... I don't even know if her parents would like me. I haven't met the Buenavistas yet."

I didn't know what to say. It felt wrong to respond when it's about Clare's family, the Buenavistas... We were never on good terms with them, right from the start, it was never just about me and Clare, it was with our entire family. Out of everyone in the business industry, our families would never wish to come across each other. It was not just because they are one of our many competitors, it was because the past was still binding us while wrapping the hatred around us.

My Dad told us many things about the past. From how Monteverde Corporation was made from scratch, to the horrible things my parents went through before they could even achieve this level of success. A particular detail from his stories stayed inside my mind until I grew up, and it was because of Clare's family. And because of that, I considered not wanting any interaction from them... valid. I wanted peace, and I hated the past. I feared it because of people like them, especially like Clare's father.

Felix Buenavista was not always the successful president and CEO that he is today. When Monteverde Corporation was still starting to build its name on the industry, Felix was not the triumphant businessman everyone knows, instead, he was a con man. He played dirty tricks for the money and fortune, he used various fake identities to cover his schemes, he gambled to use his opponents, tricking them... cheating to beat them, to get all the money for himself. And it only stopped when he built his company, and ensured that it was stable.