Chapter 63

GRADUATION DAY

Diane’s P.O.V.

Several days and weeks passed in an instant. Months went in a blur. My heart was full of gratitude, knowing that today was already my graduation.

Everything felt surreal, but I just couldn’t get enough of being excited. My heart leaped up for joy, and my mind was engulfed with so much happiness. At the same rate, the feeling made my hands clammy with nervousness after remembering how I struggled to graduate.

It was all finding a needle out of a haystack, and gladly, in just a few minutes, I would be able to hold that needle—my college diploma. I still couldn’t believe it, but the first step towards success was already in front of me. I needed to be prepared because this was only the start of something great.

This is it! Board exam, you’re next!

In the span of five months, a lot of things had happened. That includes the last time I saw Leandro on the same day I answered Liam in our house. It was also the same day that something happened to Liam and me, where I first gave him my all. Well, I would even want more.

My boyfriend said that his brother already accepted his defeat and just quietly went to the States to take care of their business there. Perhaps, it would be better for all of us here because Leandro’s presence was quite alarming. Rage had always gripped him in. I just wanted to forget about his toxicity and live well in amity.

Knowing how people in the club already mattered to me for two years of working there, I still resigned from Lucy’s Club. Aunt Lucy, Socorro, Martina, Janina, and Shiela even threw me an all-girls’ farewell party at one of the VIP rooms.

They wished me good luck, and they also told me to always keep in touch. I would drop by some other time soon because I would miss them a lot.

Liam fulfilled his promise of giving me a part-time job as a Junior Accountant in Evangelista Group of Companies. It actually fell in my On-the-Job Training days, so I was even more grateful to grab the opportunity. I was already an intern for five months and waiting for regularization, hopefully.

While I landed a job experience at EGC, Karen had her internship in the small accounting firm owned by her cousin, and Lorenz had to work at VGC. While EGC and VGC were just adjacent buildings, I never ran across him.

And now, I was an intern who would be graduating. After that, I would have a high chance of being regularized as an Accountant at EGC. I already learned a lot of things, and those were mostly new things in my field. I also got the chance to explore the advanced version of ACC MZ Xcel, and I truly enjoyed working at Liam’s company.

My next plan was to prepare for the CPA board exam. I knew I wasn’t that smart, but I had the confidence in my heart that I could pass it. And I would do everything to pass the board exam in just one take.

Just a little more, and I would be a Certified Public Accountant. My name would soon become Dayanara Clariz N. Rivera, CPA. I felt like my feet barely touched the ground as happiness overtook me. My self-confidence had increased, and I was even more motivated when I passed our Certified Bookkeeper Examination two months ago.

Step by step, I would gradually rise and fulfill my dreams, most especially my dreams for Mom and my two siblings. I knew that wherever Dad was right now, he was indeed proud and contented while watching us today. That even without him, I kept all my promises to him as a filial breadwinner of the family, and we didn’t become rebellious children.

Going back to work, I was the one who requested Liam not to let our co-workers know about our relationship. Not because I was embarrassed by him.

How would I be embarrassed if I am Liam Arthur Evangelista’s girlfriend and almost every girl at EGC wanted to take that place?

They just knew that Liam was single, so other girls were trying to get his attention. Liam would just smile at them because he was born to be humble. Also, they were his employees. God knew how I wanted to shout to everyone and the whole world that he was indeed my boyfriend. That I captured the heart of the rich, young, famous, and handsome business magnate.

The problem was… who wouldn’t judge an intern like me once they learned the fact that I was the CEO’s girlfriend? As I said, I wanted to live my life low-key and at peace.

I didn’t want them to think that the only reason why I landed a job inside EGC was because of the strong and romantic bond I shared with the CEO himself. I must admit that it was partly true because even before I graduated, I was able to work there immediately.

But with insecurity and other things, people might be blinded to think that I still went through formal exams and interviews. They would end up gossiping about me and might call me a gold-digger. I never wanted to be the center of attention.

What I had always wanted was to reach for my dreams without my accomplishments being attached to my boyfriend’s name. I wanted to climb the ladder of success because of my own capability and knowledge to work systematically. I wanted to rise because I really worked hard to get to the top with compassion and certainty that I could do it. I had always been this strong-willed.

And most of all, I wanted to stand up for my family and for Liam himself. I wanted him to be proud of me as his girlfriend who had achieved something impeccably and not as a club dancer who used to twirl her body in front of men.

“Rivera, Dayanara Clariz N.

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.

Best in Thesis.”

Karen and I were still in the line, teasing each other when I heard my name. Our surnames, Rivera and Samaniego, were always next to each other for three years. Lorenz, on the other hand, a Villadares, was at the back of our queue and was left with no other choice but to mock us from afar with his smoky eyes and batting long lashes.

I went up to the stage and took my college diploma. I was also awarded a medal by one of our professors. I graduated as a second-honorable mention way back in my high school years, but I never dreamt of having an award in college.

As long as I could graduate on time, then it was already enough and a big blessing for me. I would be contented, and I could no longer ask for more. However, Karen, Lorenz and I, became Best in Thesis from all the Accountancy sections.

Even I couldn’t believe it. Perhaps, it was because we followed Lorenz’s brilliant idea. It was to add exclusive interview footage in our actual thesis presentation aside from enhancing our performance. Well, we just interviewed one of the young and most sought-after business tycoons not only in the country but also in America.

Hmm, who else? He was none other than my stunning boyfriend himself—Liam Arthur Evangelista.

Even the thesis panel members could not believe we had done that, leaving us with an overall rating of ninety-nine percent. We just informed them that the VGC owned by Lorenz’s father was an EGC sister company, in which we didn’t lie at all.

If they only knew that Liam was my boyfriend, they would be surprised to believe it, and I might even be given special treatment in our school. But only some students knew for sure. I never wanted to be in the limelight, and that was one thing I didn’t want to be known for. I wanted to be recognized for my own efforts, and not at the expense of Liam’s shadow.

After smilingly bowing my head in front of the audience, I headed straight to Mom, David, and Denise, who were waiting for me downstage. They praised me with lots of congratulatory messages. I could feel that Mom was so pleased to see me finally graduating because her eyes were full of happy tears.

After that, I waited for Karen who was greeted by her youngest brother, Michael, and their older cousin who I had known to be Ernest. He had this kind of dark aura I was uncomfortable with, but I didn’t treat it as a big deal. It was maybe because he looked like in his mid-thirties. Then, Karen and I went back to our seats together without paying any attention to Lorenz, who was still at the other side and yet to take his step on the stage.

Our graduation ceremony successfully ended with us throwing our black graduation caps in the air. It was a high-school tradition, but there was nothing wrong with doing that in college. It was cool. Soon after, we took some pictures together on our chairs, on the stage, and either side of the graduation hall.