Filthy Rich

Chapter Six

Heaven Amelie's Point of View

"I went to your bedroom apartment last Saturday and I went again the next day but you weren't there. Where have you been?"

Alison asked as soon as she saw me. She's my best friend. We are on the same course and happen to be block mates to almost all of my subjects. Lucky us. She's the "girl of my dreams" of a lot of men here on the campus. Beauty and brain type of chick.

"I moved out" I lazily answered her as I sat beside her. It's our intermediate accounting class. Just the mention of the subject makes my head hurt.

"What? When? Where?" she asked simultaneously. One fact about her: she's so nosy. I don't know if it is because she loves to investigate and analyze, just like what we've been doing with our endless accounting problems, or maybe she just loves gossip. When I say gossip, oh my gosh she knows all the gossip and talks about the town.

"Do you have answers to the problems in the book?" I tried to change the topic because, honestly, I don't know what to say and besides, I badly need answers for the assignment that I failed to do because my book was not with me during the weekend.

Alison gets her accounting journal from her bag and hands it to me.

The perks of having a genius best friend:

1. You will never worry about your unanswered assignments.

and

2. You have an instant tutor.

"Do you know Kaiden Enriquez?" she excitedly asked and I shook my head no as an answer. I opened my bag to get my accounting journal and some pens. I flipped the pages of her journal and started copying her answers. Alison continues talking and sharing her freshly baked gossip beside me.

"How come you don't know him! He's a catch, you know. He looks like a living God with his messy bed hair, chiseled physique and handsome face." she's giggling and scheming while admiring the guy on her head.

"I saw him this morning as I was walking to get here. He smiled at me, OH MY GOSH!" she kept hysterical and kept on hitting me on my shoulders. She's turning into a sadistic psycho again. She usually hits anyone close to her when she feels extreme emotions, especially when she's giggling over some hot guys she has met.

That's her morning routine and mine was to listen to her even though I didn't have a single idea of what she was talking about.

I'm now copying the answers at the fastest pace that I can before our professor enters the room. Damn Deus for putting me in this situation.

"Wow, you have an amazing ring", Alison suddenly grabbed my left hand, held it close to her face and admired the ring that was on my ring finger. I quickly took my hand away from her.

"I found it somewhere" I said, feigning unawareness, and I continued writing, ignoring her because I also didn't know what to say.

"It looks so expensive." she commented, still gazing at my ring flabbergasted. I stop writing and also look and admire the ring on my finger. It's so beautiful. Is someone looking for it?

"I was amazed how somebody else's ring perfectly fitted your finger. I think that was really meant for you. Are you really sure that's not yours?" she eyed me suspiciously.

"What? I'm not lying!" I rolled my eyes at her. "And who will give me a ring, huh?" I challenged her. She knows that I have never had a boyfriend and she finds me boring. I would rather stay single than to cry a bucket over a man just like what happened to her after her stupid ex-boyfriend broke up with her, saying that she's too intelligent for him. What an asshole!

" My poor Heaven, Amelie! You can get a boyfriend, you know" she laughed. "Don't tell me, you're a lesbian". She's getting on my nerves again. She always opens up whenever we talk about topics like that. Being a No Boyfriend Since Birth for twenty-one years doesn't mean I'm not into men duh.

"Don't start" I warned her as she burst into laughter. She loves pissing me off.

"Defensive", she added, and I chose to ignore her. I'm used to her accusing me of being gay and having a secret crush on her. Yeah, she's delusional.

After all of our classes, we decided to go to our favorite coffee shop. We both love coffee. We drink it 2-3 times a day during normal days and 2-5 times a day during exam week. Coffee is a great companion during sleepless nights. It doesn't talk but it can make you feel awake and accompanied through the night. I ordered a cold brew and a Frappuccino for her. We sat beside the big window giving us a view of the wide and busy street.

"Are you finished with the novel that I asked you to read?" I facepalm. I forgot about that. She's patiently waiting for my answer and looking excited to hear a yes. I think she badly needs someone to discuss the novel about. It was her favorite and she never found someone who loved it as much as she does. She forced me to read it.

"I haven't read it yet. I'm planning to read as soon as I finish Sherlock Holmes." She frowned at my answer.

"Make it quick. I can't wait for us to have a discussion about it. You'll love it. I promise." she widely smiled at me. She's that desperate that she voluntarily lent me her book last week. Unfortunately, the book was not with me when Deus suddenly appeared in my not-so peaceful life. If it happened to be with me, I'm sure I had already finished it because of too much boredom.

After some minutes, our order was served.

"Dad said he would introduce me to one of the sons of his business partners," Alison said while sipping her Frappuccino.

I worriedly looked at Ali. She looks unbothered but the atmosphere suddenly becomes gloomy. I'm used to her being jolly and talkative, so moments like this emphasize that she's dealing with something heavy and serious. It's her dad again. As always.

" I thought he was done playing match maker with you," I commented with annoyance. I sipped my coffee and waited for her reaction. This is not new, but the irritation I feel always felt the same. Who is he to control her? Yes, he's her dad, but matters like love shouldn't be manipulated by him.

Ali and his father had never been on good terms. Her dad was a womanizer. Her mom died because of too much anger and disappointment, causing her to collapse on the ground holding her chest when she found out that her father had impregnated her mistress. She died of Cardiac arrest. And now her father was trying to manipulate her by trying to arrange her marriage to some young business man.

" I'm so done with him, but I have no choice. I need to take over my mom's company. I need to get my mom's possessions away from him. His w***e of a new wife does not deserve anything." she said with a gritted tooth.

She wanted to run away from her father's custody and live with me instead, but her desire to see her father and her mistress suffering hinders her from doing so. She wants revenge and I can't do anything to change her mind.

I gave her an assuring smile to let her know that I'm always got her back. She raised her cup of coffee and offered a toast.

"Cheers for this f*****g life and for the f*****g dumbass people around us." she said with a smile, but her eyes were full of hatred and her voice sounded angry and resentful. I raised my cup to make the toast with her as I looked fixedly in her direction. I hate her smile. It's hoax. She's the jolly type of person. She always wears her best smile, making her everyone's friend on campus. If I didn't know her this well, I might never know her massive heartaches and battles behind her mendacious mask.

"How are you?" I asked her and she looked at me astounded. She eyed me like I had suddenly grown nine heads.

"Why are you asking me that?" she took a sip from her cup. I looked at her in the eye.

"You look restless, Ali." I said, stating a fact. She can fool everyone, but not me. Nah ah.

" I'm fine" she gave me her sweet smile again, exposing her pearl-white teeth. This girl could win a best actress award. I went to her and hugged her. I felt that she didn't expect this. She was stiff for a minute but hugged me tighter after she recovered.

We seldom hug each other, unlike normal best friends do. We are both reticent about what we truly feel, but we're still in the process of finally opening up everything to each other.

"I think one of these days you will be successful in making me cry," she commented as I returned to my seat. I wiggled my brows.

"I know" I say it in a sing song.

I never see her cry. Because of everything that happened, she restrained herself from feeling any pain and having any weakness. I always tell her that it’s okay to cry because crying can make her feel better, but she keeps on insisting that it’s a sign of weakness.

"But thank you for staying with me and for listening to my rants", she kissed my cheek. I stuck my tongue in her direction, trying not to take her seriously.

"Yieeee,. Ellie is feeling shy". She laughed. Ahh, she knew me very well. I'm not fond of people appreciating me. That's why I'm trying to be goofy to hide the overwhelming feeling.

"I'm not". I looked in the other direction, avoiding her eyes. She loves teasing me, you know. She really does.

She was so busy teasing me when my phone rang. I quickly fished it out of my bag.

Unknown number????