Falling in Love with You

Chapter 2 The Message

Jessica POV...



My life was supposed to be perfect. Like floating in the sky like a beautiful cloud. Surrounded by beautiful kinds of butterflies, with flickering lights at night like fireflies, illuminating the crowd but it was too far from that.

People will never know and they would never know that I coveted a sin right in front of her nose. It was supposed to be her beautiful life but it is me who wears the perfect crown. I parade it like a queen who has always won the war.

They envied me and clapped as the lucky girl Jonathan Lewis chose to be his queen but luck has nothing to do with it. In this life, luck doesn't just come. You need to build it and I did.

Everything I have now was crafted perfectly with lies and lies and smiles. I wore the crown of manipulation that no one ever thought of. With a beautiful and supportive person, I dress my manipulation into a perfect friend. Mind you, it ws the easiest but maybe it depends to the person.

How could I not do it? She has everything! What I mean of everything is literally what everyone dreams of, but can only have one. Hers is overflowing. Gertrude is the beauty and brains, plus the fact that her ancestors were gifted to have it all and let Gertrude have it.

She as well has the kind of sophistication and elegance that people will worship, even breathing seems effortless to her while I am always the sidekick. Her good friend, good follower, and the one people noticed but never remembered.

Then here comes the hearthrob with a silver spoon in his mouth and I refused to let her have him too easily. So when he came to me and asked for help with company proposals, presentations, reports, and marketing, I gave him Gertrude's ideas. Her exact words, her smartness are all I fed him almost everyday but made him believe it comes from me.

Then the anticipation comes crashing like a storm. He began falling in love with a woman who never existed. A woman I specifically invented using Gertrude's pieces. The brain comes from her while beauty comes from me. I made sure her existence isn't important.

When he finally asked me to be his girlfriend I clapped becasue I won atlest that's what i thought.

Before graduation the next day i looked for Gertrude but instead I saw her laughing with Jonathan. I felt betrayed watching them ahppily interact, the touching and even opening drink for her as iif it ws happeed so many times and she smiled sweetly. it's the smile men fall on.

"No! I cnat let that append!" I mumbled almost shooting them daggers. I did not stole a man only to fall for the person I stole him from.

"Hi!" I deliberately block my body between them and Jonathan pulled me to sit on his lap. 'He's mine!' I keep on shouting in my head while looking at her but why doI feel like I am barrowing him from her.

Then she knew how to play the game as well dropping ahuge bomd.

"By the way my brother arrived alst night. i wantto intriduced my friend to him."

I almost gasped, losing my balance, slipping from Jonathan's lap stratling him but I managed to composed myself before exposing myself.

"Why not have an early dinner, right love!" I suggested and Jonathan agreed but at the dinner my worst fears deepened just like how the night started to play. Jonathan peeled shrimps and mussels, then served her. I as well caught him looking at her. My instinct is telling me his heart remembers something his mind couldn't and I wanted to scream because I know something Jonathan doesn't know.

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For someone who is graduating is was supposed to feel perfect but today it felt the beginning of a war I couldn't manifest. I saw Jonathan's family warmly speaking with Gertrude. The fixing of the toga and holding her hand with a warm smile feels like they were a lovely family.

My chest tightened as jealousy was eating me up.

Why is his mother too emotional with her and his father looks at her like that, as if they knew something no one knew about?

An hour past and here we are applauding when they called her name and being the cumlaude. As she walked towards the stage, the entire hall erupted and for some terrible reasons I hated her, 'coz even in silence, she outshines everyone.

Before anyone from her family saw me I made my escape quietly and looked for Jonathan, only to see him furious, shouting as his family dragged her out of the school venue, just when I heard the whispers that happened five years ago.

It was a buried scandal involving him and no one talked about it. My knees weakened, realizing the scandal wasn't just a joke. It was real, and they paid to shut everyone off.

Realization hit me hard about that woman, but why does it seem like Gertrude? I saw a photo hidden in his study room. Between the folded pages of his notebook is an old photo, kept and protected like a treasure. It is printed in black and white.

Actually it wasn't forgotten. It was just to keep hidden for a while.

My fist clenched, letting my nail stab my palm furious. 'That's impossible. So, the affair wasn't a stranger at all!' I gritted my teeth watching their retreating car.

Whatever I will ever do, he will never be mine but it doesn't matter now. I am the person he is with and thought of the woman he likes. I won't let him slip away from me and let Gertrude have him. It is our moment now, if I managed to keep him away from her for those years, then I would still can.

'Who cares if she was the cheerleader, but she wasn't-' I couldn't finish as my phone buzzed, interrupting my reverie. I looked at my phone and there was one message from an unknown number.

I frowned hesitating to open.

My eyes widened and I gasped in horror, reading the message: You should have left when you had the chance, Jessica.

He remembers her now.

And another message came through before I could digest it. I looked around in terror to find the sender, but couldn't see who, and across the graduation hall, my eyes darted with him and locked gaze unintentionally.

My body shivered in fear, frozen in place where I am standing.