Shouldn't Have Asked: A New Adult Romantic Comedy Novel

by Mara Lynne

  I was promised a handsome pay, and I shall get it on the fortnight. If only the incident didn’t happen, I could have been five thousand dollars richer today.

  I let out a sigh after looking at an empty paper on my desk for quite a time. I wish my hand has a mind of its own and write something about Shakespeare or de Vere. In four days I would have to see Etheridge again. Unexplainable things always happen to me. However, I could still call myself fortunate for finding ways to survive so far. I just hope staring at this empty paper would help.

  “Angel.” Ray pulls the seat next to me and lays all his textbooks next to mine. “I have something to show you.” His newly polished fingers unfold a freshly printed newspaper as Ray’s palms are stained with ink. He goes straight to the business section and shows me the most astonishing news article. I can almost feel my insides flipping around, my blood gushing away from my face.

  “What happened to you?” he asks while examining my ashen face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Where did you get this?” Alarm is clear in my voice.

  “From the newsstand, of course!”

  Hurriedly, I try to cover Angel Grant’s face with my thumb as naturally as I could so Ray wouldn’t notice the striking resemblance I have with this stranger. This is the nightmare that I have been dreading. And yes, before I entered into this deal I knew I was going to make it in the headlines with the rich and all mighty Hunter Stone. It was completely fine with me as I knew that nobody in my circle reads the business section of a newspaper. Not even Ray to be exact, but here it is now. The nightmare is slowly unfolding right before my eyes.

  “Read here,” he continues, his finger pointing on the first line of the article. “Business tycoon, Hunter Stone, is set to marry before the end of the year, and he’s brought with him his new darling, his girlfriend of four months. Pretty lady, I guess. Wish they got a higher resolution of this photograph,” Ray says as his eyes zero in on Angel Grant’s face.

  Every beating of my heart accompanies every movement of Ray’s rather critical and scrutinizing eyes on my picture. I have my fingers crossed, hoping he wouldn’t notice anything. How on earth did he suddenly become interested in Hunter Stone? Why read this part of the newspaper?

  I quickly take the newspaper away from him and fold it crosswise with the article about Stone hidden inside.

  “Shouldn’t you be helping Ms. Tarth with her clerical duties?” I ask, diverting his attention.

  “I was just about to do that then I saw this on my way to the archives and thought of sharing the good news with my best friend.”

  “Good news?” How is being spotted by an overly curious friend good?

  “Ever heard of the Stone Holdings?”

  “No,” I lie through my teeth.

  “Ever heard of Hunter Stone then?”

  “No,” I repeat. I know how anxious I appear when I lie so I have to look back down on my papers so Ray won’t see my face.

  “Hunter Stone…” Then I hear this man’s glowing resume once more, all praises from his excellent work experience and achievements at such a young age. The difference is I’m hearing it from no less than my friend who highlights every minute detail of Stone’s life with emotions, as compared to Paul’s rather robotic fashion of describing his employer. “He’s got this massive publishing empire, and they’re looking for assistant editors. You can work there if you get lucky!” he concludes.

  Work for Hunter Stone? Under his empire? But he already hired me, only that I am in a completely different line of work.

  “How did you know about Stone Holdings, Ray?” I question.

  “I’ve always wanted to work there, Angel, and I plan on applying for a job after we graduate,” he answers.

  I thought he wants to be on the other side of the world with Charles someday?

  “And Charles?”

  “Charles is coming to live with me. We plan on buying some properties in New York after I get the job. It’s my dream job, and part of that dream includes you,” he says. “Will it not be nice to still have my back anytime you need me?”

  I smile. “You really love me, Ray!”

  “Like duh, Angel!” He rolls his eyes in a funny way as though taunting me for making that remark. “If I were a man, I mean a real man, I will marry you straight away. So, am I going to miss the Angel-Ray tandem after graduation or not?”

  I am caught in silence for a while. Working with Ray in Stone Holdings means total disaster. Hunter Stone, Ray, and me in one roof? It’s more than just disaster!

  “Of course, I’d love to work with you,” I answer, not thinking too much of the probable repercussions. “It won’t be the same without you, Ray.”

  Ray gives me a hug, irking the student assistant that she has to ring the bell to remind us that we are in a strictly noise-free area.

  “So are you ready for Shakespeare this afternoon?” He moves his chair closer to me. “I heard that Haynes moved the schedule for the debate today.”

  “How unlucky could I get?” I sigh.

  “I thought you were done with it this weekend.” He might have probably remembered how I refused his invite for Tracy McKay’s birthday party for a boring night of de Vere. “Didn’t know you also run out of ideas, Angel.”

  “I’m not an endless wellspring of knowledge, Ray,” I answer back as I begin piling up my papers and slipping them inside my envelope. It’s time to leave the library and face Haynes and witness Etheridge slam a pie of shame on my face. How will he do it? It remains a mystery until I step on the podium, carrying my paper that is in a full mess.

  With Haynes sitting in the front row beside his ‘friends’ with a doctorate degree in English studies, I literally feel my knees shaking. I don’t even think I could walk past the gutter without tripping off.

  “Where’s Mr. Etheridge, Ms. Mohr?” Haynes asks with one eyebrow arched.

  I have no idea where Etheridge could be at this hour. As a matter of fact, I thought he would be sitting in one of the chairs on the stage, his legs crossed against each other, his hands-free of papers as he is too good for a cheat, and his grin ready to mock me. But he isn’t there.

  I fell into silence as I look around, waiting to catch a glimpse of Damien.

  “You don’t have all our time, miss,” Haynes says as he peeks into his wrist watch, his other leg thumping against the marble floor. “You’re well aware that you only have ten minutes to defend your research. Time is running, Ms. Mohr. The panel doesn’t wait.”

  Good God! Where could Damien be? All of a sudden, I start imagining him doing his unnecessary extracurricular activity for the fulfillment of animalistic cravings. There’s no other reason for him to be away from class but this rather peculiar habit. The heck he chooses those girls over this very important matter! Fury surges within me. I swear I’ll strangle his neck when he shows up and tries to act like some immaculate, totally unsullied hero. My future is at stake here. He holds the key to my survival, and he knows that very well. Yet here he is, missing in action. What? Is he doing this on purpose? Does he really want to test my patience? Does he want me to show him how I am like when I’m mad? I have been holding my patience for him. I have been so considerate because I know he lacks a lot of things in a lot of department, and I know it will take a lot of time for him to make up for those humanistic deficiencies.

  But why now? Why abandon me now? Why torment me like this?

  “Professor, if I could just begin without…”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Mohr, but this is supposed to be a group effort. We can’t grade you without a partner,” Haynes answers.

  I feel all my strength leaving me. All hope gone. All expectations murdered. All hard work annihilated by one irresponsible ass!

  “Five minutes, Ms. Mohr.”

  I find myself still glaring at the door, waiting for Etheridge to arrive. Come to think of it, not all hope is gone. I still have a bit of it because I don’t want to give up. Despite the things that are happe
ning, I still try to believe in him. I still try to delude myself that Etheridge is not what I think he is. Maybe he’s just one attention seeking idiot who wants to piss me off, that’s why he’s doing this. I try to believe that he’s actually coming to save me.

  I did until the long hand of the clock strike twelve, and my fate is sealed. I won’t be graduating. I wasted the most important ten minutes of my life for some good-for-nothing bastard.

  I am left all alone in the podium, my eyes starting to fill with tears. I don’t want to give in, but it’s not like I could do something to change my situation. I had ten minutes to change my pre-determined fate. Those ten minutes could have been used wisely if I didn’t allow myself to be blinded by misplaced trust. I should have known better. I should have known that Etheridge shouldn’t be trusted. Why did I let myself believe he’d arrive? I could have started saying something even if Haynes forbids. At least he would know that I can do it without Etheridge, that I don’t need that guy to pass his class.

  The door suddenly opens, the slamming sound travels quickly across the room and jams my ears. My eyes go straight to the man standing there, breathless and gasping, his face as pale as paper.

  I quickly rise from my chair and pull up my bag from the floor. There’s no reason to speak to this despicable person. He is too late.

  I feel my shoulders weakening, my legs about to break, and my chest pounding. Why is he even here? I think I know why. It’s all part of his game. He clearly wants to twist my mind, but I’m not buying it. I’ve lost all my respect for him even if there’s only a tiny bit of it to begin with.

  “Where’s everybody? Where’s Haynes?” he asks innocently as though he’s completely clueless of what he’s done to me.

  I look at him from head to toe, his hair disheveled, and his polo shirt unbuttoned. There’s no question where he’d been or what he was doing. So predictable of him! I can’t help being angry at him. I start ambling towards the other door, so I could get rid of his presence when I notice him coming my way, his eyes speaking of concern and apology — something he doesn’t usually do.

  “Angel, listen.” His fingers clasp my wrist. I halt.

  His voice speaks in whispers. I feel his breath right on top of my ear, yet I feel nothing but plain resentment. His towering figure is four inches away from me.

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to do this. I swear. Here, see this.” He shows me his research paper. “I didn’t intend to—”

  “What’s done is done, Damien,” I speak as cold as I could. “You can’t undo it.”

  “I can!” he says confidently.

  I turn to face him.

  “How? Pay Haynes?” A crooked smile forms at the edge of my mouth. “That’s the thing you do best… pay people for your advantage.”

  “It’s not like I did this on purpose, Angel.”

  “Yeah, like you always do.” I turn my back on him and start walking away.

  Damien tries to catch up with me, trailing behind my tracks.

  “Come with me. Let’s do something about this. Let’s talk to Haynes,” he says.

  I walk as fast as I can, not minding the crowd of people watching us in the hallway.

  It’s not that easy. I’ll be stuck for another year while he and his powerful family can do anything to make him march on graduation day. How can life be this unfair?

  “Why don’t you just leave me alone and never ever show yourself to me again!” A tear finally drops to my cheek.

  “I said I’m sorry!” He grasps me by the arm and turns me around so that we were face-to-face. His face looks appalled when he sees me crying, and the crease that formed on his forehead loosens up.

  “Sorry won’t change a thing, Etheridge!” I cry, swinging my arm forcefully to escape from his tight grasp. “It’s not like when I forgive you, everything will be okay. You know how important de Vere was for me, yet you chose to play your damn tricks on me again. Are you not tired? Because I am! I am tired of your mischief. I am tired of you. Isn’t taunting me in the cafeteria or in Max’s enough? I can bear your tricks. I can bear being constantly mortified and hurt by you, but this! This is the one thing I want and need, yet you destroyed it. Please, don’t ever come near me again.”

  “Angel…” He tries to hold me. “Please listen to me.”

  “Didn’t I just say—”

  “Angel, let me explain.”

  My shaking palms push him away. I can never forgive him. I will never will.

  But he doesn’t give up. Instead, he continues to follow behind me as I stride along the hallway, walking faster and faster, almost sprinting and wishing I have plugs to cover my ears. We reach the lobby where four foyers intersect. There’s a huge granite fountain in the middle, splashing cold water from a fish’s mouth and a mermaid’s jar. Students in the vicinity stiffen as soon as they see Damien with some nameless girl. People are looking at us, most probably wondering why Damien Etheridge is following a nobody. They don’t know anything, so I do not care whatever malice has entered the holes of their skulls. I’m too far gone to care.

  Damien finally loses his temper, reaches for both my shoulders, and spins me around with brute force. Too much for his ego to contain, I guess.

  “I will not stop until you listen to me!” How demanding can he get?

  “I get it, Damien. You live to torment me and to make my life miserable,” I say, snuffling to stop myself from bursting into tears. “It makes you happy to see me like this. My suffering is your selfish pleasure!”

  He sighs. His mouth slightly opens as though in pure disbelief.

  “You got everything wrong,” he says, his voice still gentle but commanding.

  I laugh sarcastically, wiping the few tears at the edges of my eyes. Where did he get the courage to say that? It’s his fault I think of him this way.

  “If there’s one mistake I’ve done, Damien, it was asking you that stupid question,” I say. “I shouldn’t have done it. I shouldn’t have asked. Look where it put me. I am jailed in your clutch. You’re like a raven raking your claws at my neck, strangulating me, and trying to cut off my air. Oh, how stupid I was!”

  A slight grin forms at the corner of his mouth— an offended grin. Clearly, he isn’t amused with what I said.

  “Sure, it was a mistake,” he mumbles. “A great blunder, Angel. And I blame you for that.” His gaze, gray and cold, penetrates through my bones that I feel the electricity travel everywhere. Bubbles pop inside my stomach. His gaze is cold… burning cold.

  Chapter 16: Tailing

  “Do you think you are fully compensated, Miss Mohr?” Paul asks, his eyes quickly running sideways, probably checking for suspicious people. We are in the streets, just outside Max’s. He’s handing over my paycheck, and to my utter surprise, I receive more than I expected.

  My eyes glisten with suppressed tears. Paul tries to make the tears go by constantly telling me how large the compensation is.

  “Thank you for this, Paul,” I say, my voice cracking.

  “You deserve it. Mr. Stone seemed… happy.” His voice falters at the last sentence. Not sure how it sounds, but he seems unsure and not happy about it.

  “Mr. Stone was happy with what I did?” At the back of my mind, I am praying Paul won’t say anything about deductions. I want to stick my tongue with a pin for saying it. I shouldn’t have. The ghost of that incident still haunts me. Each time I remember how badly I wronged the poor, innocent waiter, I cringe. But what can I do? I need the money. I need it more than anything else in the world.

  “Apparently, he was.” The tense of the verb is heavily emphasized. I assume Mr. Stone has already forgotten about me. Nevertheless, it’s not a big deal. I got what I needed. I could secure Dad’s new kidney and probably help lessen the hospital charges.

  “So, Ms. Mohr, thank you for your services. We couldn’t have survived that grueling night without your expertise!”

  “Expertise?” I chortle. I don’t want to call it as that. I
am far from being an expert at anything. I acted upon the call of desperation.

  I suppose Angel Grant is dead now. I didn’t ask Paul who’s going to be the next lucky girl. My job is finished. I don’t have business with Paul or Hunter Stone anymore. Angel Grant is as good as a memory now. Tomorrow, I might be surprised to see Stone’s picture in the newspaper with a new girl beside him. This time, I’d know he’s faking it, as he always does.

  It took me more than an hour to secure a spot in the kidney recipient list of the hospital, but it doesn’t matter as long as Dad walks back home with a new healthy one. Though he doesn’t approve of it, he has no choice but to accept the circumstances I set for him. I worked hard for this to come true. Surely, Dad would not take this for granted. All of Stone’s paycheck was used for this new kidney which I have yet to see if it comes to real form. If I couldn’t get one, I could always demand a refund. The lady at the desk told me so. Then again, I don’t want a refund. I want a kidney for Dad. But I knew this is all a gamble. There’s no assurance that I get what I asked. I could only wish for luck. I wish we get the right one.

  His body has been recovering well recently. The doctor said when his vitals are stable, and there are no more abnormalities in his heart, he could go home. It was more than good news when Dr. Eric Martin told us. It felt like angels’ herald in a cold night. I see Mom almost bursting into tears while hugging Dad. Even if Dad didn’t say a thing, I knew deep in my heart that he’s thankful he no longer has to stay bedridden all day long.

  Putting down the medical record on the desk, Eric Martin smiles at Dad and shifts his gaze to me. “The tracings show no more abnormalities. No more blocks or slow and fast pacings. You might want to pack your things right away.”