Chapter 42

UNREGISTERED NUMBER

Diane’s P.O.V.

And now, it’s Monday again. The worst day of the week!

My class would still be at one o’clock in the afternoon, but I woke up earlier than usual to finalize our documentary thesis. I was assigned to edit and double-check the computations, as well as to proofread its technical writing.

Although I considered myself an average student, I must admit that I was quite good when it came to Mathematics and English. That might be the reason why I landed as second honorable mention way back in my high school years.

Karen and Lorenz would surely kill me later, so I needed to finish everything today. Wearing skin-toned sleeveless and short black beach shorts, I was leaning on my bed where my chest and tummy were facing the not-so-fleecy mattress.

My fingers were busy typing on the laptop as if those were in a rush. My knees were bent, as my feet were rubbing against each other in the air, and my hair was tied up on a messy bun so that it could not be a nuisance.

Like David, I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone when I was busy studying and managing balance sheet reports. Well, some were indeed my schoolmates’ assignments and projects that I took as a sideline job on campus.

If time could still permit, I would also assist the librarian or the Information Technology Head to eye the library or the internet room. My small profit share would directly go to my tuition fees as deductions.

Quite perplexed, I was biting my pen. Scratching my head while still manipulating some formulas, there was still one problem that kept on lingering inside my head.

My eyebrows were almost entangled together because I wasn’t yet able to come up with a possible solution for this item. Trying to solve this one for nearly two hours, I still couldn’t get the right answer. I always ended up wondering what could have gone wrong.

I was in the middle of double-checking the formulas again when the cell phone beside my laptop suddenly rang. Quickly glancing at it, I saw that it reflected an unregistered number. Because I usually didn’t answer calls when those came from numbers not included in my phonebook—meaning I didn’t even know who they were—I just ignored the call.

Perhaps, it was someone to whom Socorro gave my number again like the previous times! She was assigned to do bartending in the club, but she was acting like a pimp sometimes.

Socorro admitted before that she made tons of money, even dollars, just by selling my number. That was when my phone could not stop beeping and vibrating because I received lots of dating texts and calls.

In return, she would always want to treat me in a movie theater. Impossible! If she wasn’t my friend, I already slapped her. But I was only kidding. I wouldn’t dare do that to her.

Because of what happened, I planned to change my number. However, it wasn’t included in my priority list for now. The money that I would spend on buying a sim card was already equivalent to Denise’s one-day allowance.

The loud sound of my ringtone roared in my bedroom one more time, and I ignored it again. But my phone just kept on ringing—that I disregarded it again, and again, and again. The call was still coming from that same unregistered number, but who could that be?

Ready to get back into double-checking our thesis, my phone rang again like the person in the other line doesn’t know about giving up. He or she only tried harder. This time, I answered it because it was already disturbing me. I would just drop the call and turn off my phone if I didn’t know who the caller was.

“Hello, who’s this?” I asked while manipulating new formulas. I was running out of patience to solve this one.

“Hi, Diane. Thank God, you answered the call! How was your sleep? But by the way, did I disturb you?” There was a hint of worry in his voice that I could still distinguish even though we were miles away.

A genuine smile suddenly escaped from my naturally red lips no matter how much I tried to control it. Even though I could not see the person I was talking to right now, I already knew who he was, and I knew that he also smiled when I answered his call. At that point, I automatically glanced at the elegant dream catcher that was now hanging on my window.

That voice of a man I wanted to hear until I fell asleep? And that man himself—the reason why I had some trouble with resting last night and slept late? In just one night, my body got already used to sleeping with him on the same bed.

Wondering about how just hearing his voice from the other line already made me feel so excited, butterflies in my stomach suddenly got awakened and started tickling inside me. I then fixed myself and sat properly on my bed. I crossed both of my legs in front of me—creating an Indian sit. If only I knew that he was the caller, I shouldn’t have let him wait for me.

You will never be a disturbance, Liam! I will always find time for you.

When I woke up this morning, I placed myself in front of the vanity mirror and saw from the reflection that his kiss mark was still on my skin. From there, everything became fresh on my mind again. I grabbed the concealer and applied it on the affected part just a little below my right collar bone.

It was a good thing that the concealer blended on my white skin well—successfully covering the purplish trace of Liam’s love bite. I had to hide it because we would be eating breakfast. I didn’t want Mom and my siblings to see the mark made by Liam. Mom would surely go hysterical.

“Diane, are you still there? Hmm, is everything alright? You never responded to me.” I could visualize that he was pouting his lips.

“Liam?” My smiles never left my lips now—like it would be painted on my face forever. I already knew that he was the caller, but still, I wanted to hear his voice once more.

“Yes, it’s me. So, how are you?”

“Oh… I’m good,” I mean, better, because I was able to hear your voice first thing in the morning, I wanted to add but opted not to. “Don’t worry, you didn’t disturb me. But hey, how did you get my number?”

“Don’t be surprised, sweetie. I have connections,” he replied. If he was only in front of me right now, he would probably wink at me again. Then, his dimple would confidently come out too, and that would complete my day even more.

Leandro had eyes and ears everywhere. On the other hand, Liam had connections—one proof was our subdivision sticker I didn’t know how he got to. They were possessive in their own ways, but it was Liam who captured me far beyond what I could wonder.

But wait, sweetie?

“Sweetie? We are not even in a relationship yet, and there’s an endearment right away? I wasn’t informed,” I teased him before I bit my lower lip.

It would be only a matter of time before my smile could reach my ears. I laid down on my bed relaxedly, then acted like a fool while rolling back and forth. The more I was trying to resist my feelings for him, the more it showed. Now, I looked like an earthworm sprinkled with salt. But unlike the earthworm, I wouldn’t die by suffocation.

“Now, you’ve been informed. Anyway, correct me if I’m wrong, Diane… but not yet? You mean, you will give me your sweetest ‘yes’ in the soonest possible time?” A hint of excitement was evident in his voice, and I was caught off-guard. I appeared to be so transparent to Liam.