Chapter 14

AVOIDING LEANDRO

Diane’s P.O.V.

He was silent for only God knew how long until he finally spoke. “I also knew your real name, D-Dayanara,” he confessed without even looking at me. I knew for a fact that he was guilty. It was damn obvious.

That was it. Tears immediately welled up my eyes, but I let out a sardonic chuckle to hide my hurt feelings. The word hurt holds a lot more meaning than its usual definitions, and I was hurt because he lied to me.

All this time, he knew, but he didn’t tell me?

Although I did not reveal my real name, I still stayed true to him for the sake of our friendship. I kept myself cool and empathic, even though I had already predicted that this kind of terrible thing could happen soon. I felt betrayed. I trusted him more than anyone, but I guessed he was not trustworthy enough.

People could say that I was too emotional, but nowadays, you could no longer fully trust someone. Now I realized that there were only a few people I could trust, and Leandro did not belong to them. Fidgeting, I slowly stepped away from him without saying a word. He tried to stop me, but I shoved his hand away before hurriedly getting outside of the club.

Grumpily removing my mask because of what Leandro had admitted, I placed it inside my shoulder bag. My duty was also over, so I guessed that it would be best for me to just go home and sleep. Sunday was waving, so I had to rest more to make up for my sleepless nights because of work and studies. Thinking about Leandro would continuously piss me off tonight. I had to remove him from my mind.

It was a good thing that I was able to get dressed before I talked to him about the flowers that he left outside our gate. If he could not give it directly to me, then at least, I was able to return it personally.

“Diane, please hear me out! I can explain—” I heard him chasing me. So aside from my real name, Leandro also knew my real nickname. Well, I would not be surprised at all if he also knew my second name, Clariz. That was where he was good at—by following me.

Did he really think that he could easily grasp me just because I talked to him more than the other customers here? If that is the case, I will show him that he could never possess me like his favorite gadget.

Leandro did not give up as he tried to follow me to the parking lot. Out of confusion and my spiking fear that he could do whatever he wanted because we were the only ones here, I quickly ran away. Seconds later, I ended up inside a luxurious black car because when I got tripped with my heels, I accidentally pulled over and opened the door to its front seat.

While biting my lower lip, it felt like I suddenly stopped breathing. I swiftly hid on the passenger seat. Upon realizing the windshield, as well as, the glass windows were darkly tinted, I knew that Leandro would not be able to see me here. Then, I mutely peeked at him.

He impatiently moved his head to scan the whole parking lot, trying to look for me. I even saw how he touched the roof of his car before irascibly kicking its wheel out of anguish. After a while, I could sense that he finally gave up looking for me, so I breathed a deep sigh out of relief.

Leandro shrugged his shoulders before standing up straight. He fixed his necktie first before he held his head up high while confidently pushing his torso forward, showing pride and conceit. He acted like nothing actually happened, but his eyes were burning with anger. He silently went inside his car and left. I could not help but exhale so much as if a huge thorn was pulled out on my chest.

Then, I felt that I was not alone here because the owner of this car was right beside me. I slowly turned my attention and noticed the person who was with me. He was sitting quietly in the driver's seat while an odd feeling made me paralyze in my seat. He stared at me intently, and my eyes that would like to come out of their sockets seemed to be magnetized to him.

Oh my God!

My jaw dropped, but before it could even reach my lap, I already used my clammy palms to cover my mouth. He tremendously looked like Leandro, but my two eyes saw how the latter left moments ago.

Am I dreaming?

I blinked my eyes to make sure that I was not really dreaming. I even squeezed them using my knuckles and looked at him discreetly to verify if I was not mistaken by the truth in front of me.

Is fate playing with me?

He undeniably looked like Leandro, but I could tell that they have a different set of eyes. His almond-shaped eyes paired with not-so-thick eyebrows could speak even more. His eyelashes were longer than Leandro too. In terms of hair, unlike Leandro’s which was always brushed up because of styling gel, the hair of the person in front of me had no style and was just a little bit wavy.

His nose was also more pointed, while his face was calmer and gentle. His jaws were clean-shaven and perfectly-chiseled. He was wearing a black tuxedo, but I could tell that he was physically fit, and I guessed that he was even taller than Leandro.

Oh, why am I even comparing them in the first place?

Swallowing real hard, it was the time I finally found my tongue. “I—I am sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Hmm, I’ll go ahead,” I apologized to him. Why would I suddenly get into someone’s car without even thinking of the consequence?

Getting ready to leave his car, I was surprised by what he did. Before I could even turn the door handle inside his car, he already locked it. I was not used to riding in a private car except for Lorenz’s, so I did not know how to unlock this.

His car was even more luxurious and top-of-the-line unlike my friend’s car, so I did not have the knowledge on how to operate things here. What he did only caused me unexplained anxiety and fear making me icy with panic.

“Sir, I d-did not mean to suddenly enter your car, and I am so sorry for doing that. I—I just tripped with my heels earlier because I was a-avoiding someone. I think I have to go now.” Terror sealed my throat as I stuttered while explaining things to him. My hands continued to sweat in fear.

I wonder what this person can do to me? Perhaps, his demeanor was like that of Leandro. For that, I need to get out of here!

“Miss, you told me that you were avoiding someone, didn’t you? When you get outside my car, are you sure that he won’t ever see you?” he asked solemnly with his stares that seemed to be melting me.

Glancing at him, I hated to admit it, but why does his voice sound so good to me? And when I heard that, why did I feel something odd that throbbed in my chest for an instant? It even ran peculiarly throughout my spine, making me freeze on my seat.

Why was I suddenly taken aback when I looked into his mesmerizing dark-gray eyes for a moment? I averted my gaze because I could no longer handle this foreign feeling. It seemed like everything had stopped, but at the same time, my heart was beating so loud like it would want to come out of my chest.

He had a point there, but he already locked the door before he could even hear my explanation. There must be something wrong here. This was the first time I saw him, and he was just a stranger to me. I should not trust him.

Yes, Diane. Do not trust him! That’s all you have to do.

“Ah, hmm… it’s okay, sir. I’m fine, really. In fact, he’s gone already. I—I saw him drive his car away,” I stammered to him. Silently convincing him that he should have let me out of this car with no further questions, I just wished that he knew how to read between the lines.