Avenues of the Diamond (University Series #4)

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[Samantha Vera, you're all over the news! My gosh! What did I say about being careful, huh?!]

I woke up so early to take Arah's phone call, only to be shouted at first thing in the morning! I held my head while my eyes were still closed, suffering from a mild hangover. Last night... Right. Last night, Haze dropped me off outside my unit and asked a driver to pick him up. Nakuha na kaya niya ang sasakyan niya ngayong umaga? 

I checked the news on my iPad to see what articles were written about me, and it was just like what I expected. 

The famous model, Samantha Vera, seen on a date with a mysterious man

Samantha Vera has a non-showbiz boyfriend? 

Samantha Vera goes home with a man

Different headlines, different tones, same photos. It looked like the person who took these pictures made quite a large amount of money by selling these, huh? Well, good thing the angle of the camera didn't get Haze's face, and I covered it with my bag in other photos. My face was clear, though, because I looked back.

It was so weird to see my name on the news. Out of all issues, I had never seen myself being involved in a 'dating' article. I couldn't even call it a scandal because dating behind the camera wasn't something to be treated as malicious. Actors, models, famous people... Lahat kami may buhay. It was just that an invisible spotlight was created by the media so they could get attention from people. 

"Well, it doesn't look that bad. My arms were on his neck because I was losing balance, and his hand was on my waist..." I told Arah while looking at the photos. "They didn't see Haze, and he didn't leave any trace unless they investigated the car. I don't think they saw the car because they should have figured it out already if they did." 

[You're so calm about this, huh? I'll take care of this. Do not answer interviews! Do not tweet, do not talk! Just do nothing! We'll say that you were so sick that you almost fainted because you've been overworking yourself, so a friend of yours drove you back to your home. Convincing story.] 

"Do whatever you like. It's not like we're really dating. I'm not guilty to deny it." 

I sipped on my cup of tea while still scrolling on my iPad. Arah reminded me about my shoot before ending the call. It was just one shoot, and then I'd probably go to the gym. After that, wala na rin akong gagawin but I didn't want to go home early, so I tried to find something to do while on my way. 

"Everyone says you really have a pretty face 'no, Ma'am?" Francine complimented me while putting on my lip gloss. We were already at the studio tent in a resort that was about two hours away because we needed to do the shoot at the beach. It was for a swimsuit brand, so I'd be wearing bikinis. 

"I don't think so, but thank you," I told her after glancing at myself in the mirror. A lot changed after years and years in this industry. My features became more mature, my hair was already long, and my body became more fit. It wasn't easy to climb up, but because of my communication skills, I built up my connections with a lot of people. 

I didn't really treat myself as one of the most famous models here and internationally. There were so many people with greater potential. I just wanted to continue doing what made me happy... and what could make 'her' happy.