Aquilina quickly dressed after her hot shower and tied up her hair, dressing up in her uniform for school.

She entered the elevator and tapped the home icon leading her away from their hidden underground training centre. She sighed as her tummy grumbled.

But that was the least of her troubles.

~~~~

"If you still think it was your fault, would you do anything to help me as a payback?"

"Okay. Only if possible." Aquilina responded a little too eagerly. She simply wanted to help.

"You can. So will you?"

"Okay," Aquilina replied naively, despite the alarm bells going off within her.

"It's a promise. No going back."

She nodded in affirmation and raised a palm, "My word is my bond. I won't go back on my word."

He surprisingly pulled out a little book in his back pocket and scribbled something on it.

"Sign it," he said, handing the mini-notebook to her.

Aquilina gave him a perplexed look before going through it. It was simple, a note stating she had to keep her word.

No harm could come of this, right? She tried to reassure herself despite the foreboding feeling growing ever so strong in her gut.

She quickly signed it before the feeling could grow any further.

Still probably being too paranoid, she thought as she handed it back.

"Pretend to date me for ten days." Prince Francesco had said.

Aquilina blinked, "Really, tell me what you want."

"I just did."

"You did not. I hate games, please."

"I am serious. Listen... I need your help with this to get me out of a situation. Come on, you owe me one, right?"

"No, that will be a lie, and I don't like the thought of deceiving anyone."

Was this what the warning was about?

She felt trapped, but it was too late to turn back, she knew.

"Okay, fine. You don't have to say anything. Just ignore them if you are asked."

"No, anything but that."

"Please?" He made an innocent face at her. "Just do this for me? As a friend. I just need you to attend an event with me. And say nothing about us... not even to Javier —for ten days."

"You do not even know me."

"Well, that could be rectified. Come on, you promised. Are you going back on your word?"

She bit her lip, furrowed her brows and wondered, she had indeed given her word. And she was not going to actually be anything to him.

Despite how she tried to rationalise the situation, a certain unpleasant feeling she could not place a finger on reverberated through her being, gnawing at her conscience.

"I'll be in deep trouble if you don't help me. Please?"

"Why me?" She finally asked after a moment of silence.

"You are different—and won't take advantage of the situation."

"Okay, but no funny stuff. No shenanigans. And I won't lie to anyone."

"Deal." And he offered her a ringed hand.

The significance of that ring made her question her decision. She had seen that kind of ring before. And an encounter with it had left her broken.

But she had given her word. She reluctantly shook it.

"Deal." And she offered a tight smile.

Breathe. This is just like another project... another mission.

"Okay, may I have your number then?"

"Sure." She tapped it into his phone.

"Just a second." He stood behind her and quickly raised his phone for a selfie. "Smile."

"What for?" She scrunched up her nose and looked at him.

"To give them something to gossip about. Just do it." He pushed her back to him.

"Smile."

And this time she did, with the fake smile she had mustered over the years.

I hope it looks real enough, she thought. But the ache of knowing she might have entered into something displeasing to her LORD did not abate.

Aquilina quickly moved away and shoved her items into her cute pink satchel bag.

"I will drop you off—and I won't take no for an answer." He went off toward his easel and grabbed his keys.

~~~~

She hit her head against the back of the elevator and groaned.

What have I gotten myself into? Sometimes, having a high IQ does not necessarily mean having enough common sense. I should have said no.

Once again, I have failed YOU, LORD. She hung her head in shame asking for His Mercy.

There was indeed no turning back. But, could her LORD forgive her?

She looked up as the elevator pinged and its doors swung open to find Jason looking strangely at her.

"Everything alright, cuz?" He scratched his head, and continued, "I sort of stumbled upon your picture last night —with Francesco. What's up?"

"I wish I knew..."

He cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, it does not mean anything." She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible and picked her nutritional bar from the kitchen counter.

"If you say so. And lest I forget, I'll have a buddy over tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"I guess not... do I know this 'person'?"

"I think you know him," Jason gave her his adorable dimpled smile and headed upstairs.

Who could it be?

She wondered.

• • • • • • • •

As the lunch bell rang, Aqui was relieved to finally leave the whispers and stares she had faced in the classrooms and hallways.

Natalie was also not on speaking terms with her.

"I thought you were my best friend and we shared everything."

No amount of trying to explain without actually explaining seemed to be working.

She decided to skip the Cafeteria altogether and walked toward her cubicle to drop her belongings before heading towards the library.

But she did not travel far before Francesco found her. "Hey, Lina."

"Lina?"

"Yeah, it would be nice to give you a nickname, don't you think?"

She suddenly felt conscious of the many eyes staring at them.

"Uhm... did you need something, please?" She asked uncomfortably.

"Come on, let's go to the cafeteria together." And added in a low tone, "We had a deal. Remember?"

She gulped and slowly nodded.

Breathe. This is just like another mission.

She reminded herself—again.

She straightened and gave him her practised smile, "Shall we go then?"

Francesco smirked and led her to the cafeteria. She felt her anxiety level rise as they walked to the centre table where no "Commoner" dared to approach.

It was elevated, and the table and seats were sophisticated. It was not that the other tables were unpleasant. They were above the normal standards. But these surpassed all.

He led her in the direction of where he normally sat—a hand placed at the small of her back —and seated her right between himself and Javier, who did not look the least bit pleased.

"What would you like to have?" He inquired. She told him and he left to get her meal.

Despite the diplomacy and show of flamboyance, they allowed all, Royals or not, to serve themselves.

When Francesco was out of sight, Javier leaned in, with his violet eyes a shade darker and looking more dangerous, he whispered to her.

"I knew you were no good. But I never pegged you as a gold digger also."

Aqui swallowed the pain and reminded herself of the words that had gotten her this far, told to her by her eldest brother and best friend, Luke, the Crown Prince.

What everybody says is not important. Not even what I say. But what GOD says about you, is all that really counts. And He says you are His Child, no matter what you might have done or not done... He is merciful and would abundantly pardon.

She had to find a way to extricate herself from this dilemma—no matter what. Because He was Merciful and would abundantly pardon.

Thinking about that, made her smile—a real smile, though not broad, it was something. Javier seemed to notice, and he looked infuriated.

"It's okay if that's what you think of me." She said softly, barely above a whisper.

It was a simple statement. But her soft voice triggered something within him. He quickly hid it with his signature look—an icy glare.

"I was not asking for your approval." He finished his bottle of water and left, leaving his food untouched.

Francesco appeared then with the tray of food.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." She gave her not-so-real smile again. "Thanks," she mumbled accepting the tray of food.

LORD, please, have mercy upon this stubborn child and show me the way out of this.

Francesco watched the retreating back of his friend and then turned to look at her. But her eyes were diverted.

He then squeezed her hand underneath the table, as if to say, "Don't be troubled."

He had told her the previous night as they had driven towards her home not to take Javier's rebuff to heart.

But she was used to such behaviours now.

After Lunch, during which most of the Royals had barely spared her a glance, Aqui decided things had ended better than they could have.

She had confessed and pleaded for her LORD's pardon, after all. And she wished with all her heart that HE would make a way out of this situation as well—no matter the cost.

Though she had yet to see His Light in her past failures, she could only hope and pray.

Her schedule told her she had a free period then, so with her newly found peace, she walked to one of her favourite places in Velvet Regent —the old library.

It was no longer in use and housed almost empty shelves.

Did she find it uncanny? A little at first. But she was used to it by now. She had never crossed anyone there.

But what drew her attention was, the Old Piano the school had left at the furthest corner.

After dusting a little bit and tuning sometime afore, she often found solace in playing the old guy.

It was in good shape and she wondered why the school had neglected it. But probably, they had better ones.

She hummed a little tune as she walked to it. The tune reminded her of the good old days when she would perform with her twin brother for their family.

But now, she rarely sang, though her twin brother was now a popular artiste (a story for another day).

Then she sat down, and after some time, began to sing softly and play the chords gently, reflecting on her many failures and the hope of trusting her GOD to work on her anew.

I was sure by now

GOD, You would have reached down And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day But once again, I say, "Amen" and it's still rainin'

Well, as the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain "I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I'll raise my hands and praise the GOD who gives

And takes away...

She wanted to cry it all out, but couldn't. She had long since lost the ability to let the pain out through tears.

After singing the chorus over and over, she stopped. Despite not being able to cry, that had felt... good.

She wanted to sing and play some more when she heard the groan.

She had not bothered turning all the lights on, just the ones around the piano this time.

She was startled, but not frightened. She rather analysed the sound.

Where was it coming from?

It seemed to come from the corner of the library. And it sounded like someone was in pain.

She slowly walked to the light switches and turned the other lights on.

"Turn it back off." And the person cussed in Spanish. His voice sounded pained.

"Why should I?" She asked after the shock of realising who it was.

"Por Dios, Chiquita (For GOD's sake, girl), I have a migraine here," Javier said rather crossly.

She saw the pain in his violet eyes and did his bidding.

In the faint light, she could see him sitting on the floor rocking back and forth with his head now buried in his hands.

She timidly approached him and sat on the floor beside him. He did not object and she did not say a word either.

"Where does it hurt?" She whispered softly, knowing strong sounds would cause even more pain. She was glad the song from before was soft.

After a long awkward silence, he replied, "The left side." He rasped out.

"Would you mind if I massage it?" She had learnt the pressure points for releasing migraines from an old man once in Taiwan and had used it on many occasions.

"If you want."

She gently lifted his head, being aware of any wrong movement, and started tapping and massaging around the pressure points.

She felt him begin to relax. He then laid his head on her lap. "Thank you." His throat sounded dry.

"Don't mention it. Are you thirsty?" She still kept her voice low.

"Yes, but... please don't leave me." He asked like a little boy afraid his mama would leave him.

"And... can you sing that song again?"———————————-

Hello, hello! *waves shyly* Please I hope your day has been pleasant.

Thank you all for your love, votes, and comments. Kindly let me know what you all think.

What do you think of Javier? Is he secretly kind?

Kindly don't forget to vote and to comment.

Much love, and Happy New Year 🥳