Chapter 1
Melanie POV
"So your birthday is on Saturday?" I happily ask my two best friends, Liam and Lily. They are twins, and we've been friends for three years now.
"Yeah," Lily hesitantly responds. I don't know why but since we became friends, I have never been to their home; most of the time we hang out at mine. They never invite me to their birthdays either. If the gods favor me, this would be the first.
Sometimes it gets lonely at home since mum is always traveling and working, so needing company from my two best friends isn't much to ask, right?
"Am I invited to this one?" I ask, making my most vulnerable pouting face because I know they can't resist it.
"Of course," Liam agrees, and it causes me to squeal in happiness.
Finally.
"Yes," I beam, hugging him tight, and he chuckles, causing his dimple to appear. He has one on his left cheek, and I always find it cute.
My two friends are gorgeous, and sometimes I find it surreal that such beauty exists. They are completely different from anyone I have seen. From their physical structure to how they behave, it differ from anyone at school.
Their beauty is remarkable.
They are so lucky to have each other. I wonder what it would feel like if I had a sibling.No. No doubt amazing.
"Can jake come too?" I hopefully stare at them. Jake is my 6-month-old boyfriend.
We have known each other since childhood. We were great friends till late last year when he confessed he had feelings for me.
Being the soft-hearted person I am, I couldn't turn him down for fear of losing him and our long-term friendship. Also, the loneliness at home pushed me to say yes to his proposal.
Sometimes I feel guilty because he's a good person, and he deserves to be loved back. Hopefully, maybe in the future, I will learn to.
"I don't know, Mel, my brother said strictly family, sorry," Liam apologetically mumbles, and I nod in understanding.
I hope I won't be intruding, though.
"Your brother, is he hot?" I playfully wiggle my eyebrows, and they groan in unison. They are probably bored with my question because I ask them that all the time.
"Easy there, Melanie, you have a boyfriend, remember?" Lily lightly hits my shoulder, and Liam shakes his head in amusement.
I chuckle, "What? I'm just asking, you know I hate surprises," I say, scooping the salad into my mouth.
It's lunch break, and we are in the school cafeteria. School food is generally disgusting, that's why one of my guards brings me lunch every day.
Don't even ask me why I have guards, because honestly, I don't know. Each time I ask my mum, she brushes it off, and the conversation is never to repeat itself.
My mum and I don't have a relationship at all; she's barely at home. Being a fashion designer makes her travel a lot, and each time she's around, she controls my life beyond imagination, and it sucks.
The food I eat, the clothes I wear, and everything else must meet her standards. She made me start working as a model when I was 10. I started by modeling her designs, and later on, I got offers from different companies. With her influence of course.
Also, my mother made me go to etiquette classes. Can you believe that?
Sometimes it's hard managing school and work, but that's not my mother's problem.
According to her, I have to figure everything out by myself. She says nothing comes easy, and one has to learn to be independent earlier in life. I think everything is always about money to her, that's why I was raised by my nanny and guards. She had no time for raising a baby.
She stopped supporting me financially the day she made me start working. I'm grateful for that, though, because it made me realize how much I can achieve by myself.
I don't even know who my dad is; I have never met or heard of him.
I was denied a chance to experience a proper childhood, and I never did what normal kids do. Instead, I was forced to mature at age 10.
I'm planning to move out of her house as soon as possible because it never felt like home, not even once.
After a long, tiring literature class in which I got completely nothing, the bell finally rings, signalling the end of the lesson and the day.
God knows how happy I am since today I don't have to go to work. I need a good rest. I barely sleep anyway, especially on school and work days.
Sometimes my schedule is so tight that I don't get enough time for myself. So whenever I get time, is my lucky day, just like today.
We head to the school gates with my two friends, who seem to be in a hurry. Supposedly, they have a place to be like every other day.
They act like they're hiding something from me most of the time, but I always ignore the feeling. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.
Besides my car, Jake awaits, along with Axel, one of my guards.
"Hey, babe," he says immediately after I reach him and peck me on my cheek.
"Hi, handsome," I give him a warm hug.
"Axel," I acknowledge my guard, and he gives me a gentle nod. Just because I don't like the idea of having guards doesn't give me a reason to act rudely to them. I do respect them because I know they're just doing their jobs.
It has been that way since I knew them, and I'm glad we have a great and decent relationship. Better than the one I have with my mother.
"Any plans for today?" Jake asks, brushing the loose strands of my hair from my face.
What should I say? I want to take a long, long shower and just sleep till tomorrow. I owe myself that much after too much overworking, good thing I have no homework today.
If I tell him I'm free, he'll want to take me out on a date because he's been nagging about it for some time now.
I like jake, but there is no spark on my side, and that kills me every time I'm around him. It makes me feel guilty for not returning his love. It's bad enough we can't just love someone because we want to; it's a matter of our heart's choices.
So, like always, whenever he talks about us doing something together, I bring something else up, just like I'm planning to do right now.
God! I feel like I am a terrible person for lying to him.
I thought it was the best thing to do. I didn't wanna hurt his feelings, but now I'm regretting my decision. Maybe I should've said no to him or maybe I should learn to love him.
" Today I'm going out with my Mum," I lie, avoiding his gaze. I never go out with my mother if it's not work-related.
She hasn't been home for the last two weeks, and I'm positive she won't be there today either.
"Oh! I thought you might be free," he sadly mumbles, disappointment lacing his features.
Now I feel horrible.
" Sorry, Jake, what about tomorrow?" I have to make time for him. It'll lessen the guilt I feel every time I turn him down.
Sometimes I wish he were a jerk; maybe then I could have an excuse for rejecting him. But Jake is different in every sense.
"Really? " he perks up with excitement, his previous sad face brightening like I just pressed a happy mode button.
I chuckle at his cuteness. "Yes, really."
"Thanks, babe, I'm taking you on a date tomorrow," he lets out with a toothy grin.
Oh goodness! I don't wanna take away that smile.
I smile back, pecking his lips.
"Can I go now?" I request offering him a hug, which he returns enthusiastically.
"I will miss you, see you tomorrow, yeah?" he says, staring into my eyes like I'm some special jewel.
"See you tomorrow," I say back, smiling.
Jake opens my door and ushers me, the smile on his face only growing wider. Does love make people this happy?
If so, I don't deserve him.
Jake deserves better, and I feel like crap for lying to him. Okay, maybe I'm not lying. I have never said I love him too nor cheated.
So there is no need to feel guilty about it.
He leans forward and kisses my cheek one last time and walks away. I silently groan, tugging at my hair. I know I will feel bad if someone I care about or love doesn't love me back. It kills me that I'm doing just that to my boyfriend.
Sorry jake.
The drive home is silent.
I wish I could talk to my mum about the boy's problems. I wish she were there for me when I need her. I still dream of that miracle.
Looking out from the window, the weather outside is drastically changing.
The bright blue skies are turning to dark grey, a clear indication of the upcoming downpour. I hope it finds me home.
Resting my head on the backrest of my seat, I reminisce about the dream I have been having since my 17th birthday.
A silver wolf keeps appearing in my dreams. She's caged, and every time I look into her eyes, it's like she's begging me to release her.
The strange dream keeps recurring, but I always push it away. It's nothing serious, so I always thought.
If only I knew.