Unexpected Contract with the Billionaire

Chapter 6

Chapter 06

Serena Martin

“Hey, it’s my turn! ”Jordan screamed as he snatched the mirror and the brush from me, finally tired of waiting for me to finish painting my cheeks red.

“Wait! I’m not done yet! ”I complained and tried to take the mirror back because I felt like my makeup wasn’t balanced.

“Girl, that’s enough! It already looked like someone slapped you,” Jordan pointed out with a laugh.

I shook my head at him and just opted to use the camera on my phone. I wiped the excess on my cheeks, which indeed looked a bit too much. When that was done, I turned my attention to my hair.

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for. The graduation will happen this morning because there will be a party later this evening. I am excited yet nervous at the same time, especially because my family is here. I hope I won’t stutter or hiccup while I’m giving my speech.

“Congratulations, dear. We are very proud of you.”

Mom and Dad both hugged me, and I became emotional as everything I went through before I got to this point came back to me. They arrived last night, and they slept in my dorm.

“Congratulations, sister! Your school is huge! I hope when I’m in college, I will study here as well,” Jira exclaimed in admiration. Jira is three years younger than me.

“Why not? I will even help you,” I told her, wrapping my arms around her.

“Me too! I want to study here as well, so Jira and I can be together! ”Oliver excitedly said.

Oliver and Jira only have a year gap, so there is not much difference in their ages. Next year, Jira will be a senior high school student, while Oliver will be a junior high school student.

My parents are already old, and I want them to rest, so I will take on the responsibility of financing my siblings’ expenses. They don’t need to know that I have enough to support them, but I don't know how I will tell them about Liam.

The program started not long after, and my parents will accompany me to my march. While listening to the speech, my eyes kept jumping around. I don’t know; I suddenly had a strange feeling. Maybe I was afraid that Liam would suddenly show up and drag me away. This is the result of thinking about him all night and even looking at his picture.

There are a large number of graduating students this year, and our course is the first to be called. That’s why I’m so nervous. Aside from the fact that I have to give my speech in front of these people.

I didn’t even realize that the guest speakers were done and the program had started. They began calling the student’s name to climb the stage, and my heart started beating erratically.

My name is yet to be called, but I am already prepared. I kept glancing over to where my parents were because I wanted to see how happy they were to witness this day.

“Martin, Serena Jenner. Summa c*m Laude.”

As soon as I heard my name, I held my head high, my heart filling with pride, while listening to the applause. I smiled at everyone who greeted me, especially those who gave me my diploma. I looked at my family, and even from afar, I knew they were happy for me.

I stood on the podium in front of everyone with my heart on my sleeve. These are the parents, the faculties who guided us, my schoolmates, and the friends I’ve been with all throughout my journey. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before flashing everyone a confident smile.

“Good morning, everyone. As well as to my fellow students. Let me first thank our God that we were able to reach this day and gather for this special day. To our parents, who guided us and gave us inspiration to reach this chapter of our lives. To our dean, faculty members, and, of course, the students who became part of our journey. The day all of us are waiting for is finally here.

My speech continued, and there were a few times that I forgot what I was supposed to say, so I will smartly peek at my paper. I felt happy and sad at the same time as I was giving my speech because this is it; we will all start a new chapter of our lives. I might not be seeing my friends again, but I’m excited to see what our future holds. I ended my speech with a smile on my lips but tears in my eyes. I went straight to my parents the moment I climbed down the stage and hugged them. The program continued, and in the end, we ended it by throwing our caps in the air.

“We’ll miss you! ”My friends screamed, and we did a group hug. I couldn’t help but think of Winnie. Even if she did me wrong, I still think about her. I wonder what’s happening with her. Did she also graduate?

“Stupid! The world isn’t ending! We’ll still see each other someday, you know? ”I joked and wiped my tears away.

“Yeah! And didn’t we agree that after passing the exam, we would work in another country? ”Sara agreed.

Yes, that was our plan before. We promised to look elsewhere where nurses like us have better benefits.

“We still have the party later! You better make sure that you show up, okay? ”Whimper reminded us with a warning look on her face.

I nodded my head, and we took lots of photos as a memory. I said goodbye to them and went to my family, but I frowned when I didn’t see them. I looked around and asked for them, but they were nowhere to be found.

“Maybe they got bored and went back to the dorm? ”I asked myself, and I was about to call Jira when her name flashed on the screen. “Hello? Where are you? ”I asked while looking around, hoping to see them somewhere.

“We’re outside, Serena. We’ll wait for you here.”

“Huh? But we still have to take pictures.”

“We are not allowed to leave, sis. We are in a car, and the driver might get mad,” Jina replied with nervousness in her voice.

My whole body froze. “What do you mean? What car? Where are you? ”

I didn’t bother removing my robe and ran outside with my heart thumping in fear. When I was outside, I saw them waving at me while they were in a van.

“What are you doing there?“ I didn’t get to finish what I was about to say because Nath climbed down from the van and greeted me with a smile.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Miss Martin! Sir Liam sent me to fetch you and your family. Let’s go so we can take you to where he is.” She urged me as if merely inviting me to a simple gathering.

Why am I still shocked anyway? Didn’t I already anticipate this? But with my whole family? Why include them in this nonsense?

“Wait a second, Miss Nath, maybe we—”

I still want to celebrate our graduation with my friends later. I want to bond with my family, whom I haven’t seen in years, and explain what’s going on.

“Ma’am, we have to go. Don’t worry about your family because they are safe and sound.” She didn’t wait for me to respond and opened the door for me, and there goes my family waiting for me.

“It’s hot outside, Serena; come on in! ”My mom pulled me, looking comfortable sitting in an expensive van.

“Why did you guys get in here without informing me first? ”I asked them once I was inside and shook my head in disappointment.

“We called you, sis, but you were busy with your friends,” Jina defensively said.

“You got in here without knowing who made you do it or who the owner of this van is? ”I reprimanded them in shock.

“Well, the woman said she knows you and that she’s a friend. She told us this is a surprise because we’ll celebrate your graduation.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you serious right now, mom? Did you believe them just like that? ”

“Why? Did she lie? ”

I facepalmed and sighed. Can I blame them? This is their first time in New York, and they came from a province with little to no idea about what city life is. It is safe to say that they are as naive as me when I first came here.

“Miss Martin, are you alright? Can we go now? ”Nath asked me from her place on the passenger seat.

I looked at her with meaningful eyes and nodded my head in surrender. “Go on.”

And just like that, we are on our way to another journey that I now have to face.