I Am The Queen 27 Chapter 25

"W-what?! Pull out all your money?!" The man on the other line nearly had a heart attack.

"No need to shout, Mr. Chu. I can hear you just fine perfectly." Evangeline stroke Fall's soft coat while she occasionally rubbed Spring and Summer's chin as they laid on her bed, ready to sleep.

"M-miss Kri--!"

"Hm?"

"M-miss Heart, why so sudden? This collaboration was already set on stone a month ago between two companies. To suddenly withdraw…. Does your father know about this?"

"Mr. Chu, I think you don't know who it is that you're talking to. I will have my lawyers attend to you tomorrow morning. I want the papers finalized and my money back by the end of the week."

"B-but… Why?! Without this collaboration, my company might go bankrupt! Miss Heart, please…"

"Not my problem. If you want to blame someone. Go blame your daughter."

Beep

Evangeline turned off her phone and placed it on the bedside table as she ready herself to sleep.

….

…..

*giggle

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help tossing and turning as Eric's lovely face flashed inside her mind.

----?----

Meanwhile, it was already two in the morning. In an old looking apartment on the second floor, Eric just got home and had finished taking another bath before he slumped his tired body on the bed.

He was soaked under the rain two times in one day. Thus, it wasn't a wonder that his body was rather heavy. Not to mention that he had to do his part-time job under an air-conditioned room.

He was about to close his eyes and go to sleep, not minding his wet hair when the telephone in the hallway near the foyer rang.

He grumpily stood up. Not minding the pounding of his head while he cleared his burning throat before answering the phone.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Eric."

Eric's back unknowingly straightened at the sound of that powerful deep throaty voice on the other end.

"I called to congratulate you on a job well done. I bet with the speed of your progress, it'll only be two years until you achieve your quota…. Then you can come home."

"….."

"Not bad indeed…"

"….."

"I won't hold you up…. Keep it up…. Son."

Tut…

Tut…

*sigh….

Eric brought the telephone down and slowly sauntered to bed.

He was exhausted, to say the least. He felt that his body was already reaching its limit while his eyes gradually closed, yet his mind kept on wondering to that time.

A distant memory under the rain and thunder.

A year and a half ago.

It was raining, the morning sky felt like evening as he got off the plane. He just arrived in Burberry country.

After settling everything in his not so bad apartment, he immediately went to find part jobs.

All day with just his raincoat and a few dollars for food, he went in all places that were near his apartment and soon to be school, inquiring for part-time jobs as well as familiarizing himself with his new environment.

And that was when he heard a whimper.

Whimper

Whimper

Eric glanced left and right to searched for that sound until his eyes focused on that small soaked cartoon box in a dark alleyway.

Without even thinking, his feet led him in front of that box as he squatted down to uncover what was inside.

Arf! Arf!

To his surprised, a wiggling white furball came jumping towards his knee, wagging his tail.

"Hey, little guy… what're you doing out here?"

Eric immediately extended his raincoat to protect the puppy from the rain.

Arf!

Whimper!

Eric glanced left and right hoping to see if an owner would come.

But a moment past and still no one claimed the pup.

He was contemplating whether to take the puppy with him or not. It practically took a long time for him to contemplate as he felt his legs turning numb from crouching for so long.

"I can't take you… My apartment doesn't allow pets."

Eric wanted to walk away and pretended that he didn't see anything. Pretended that he didn't just encountered an abandoned puppy along the way. He couldn't afford to take care nor bring the guy home. He didn't have time to take care of it.

"I'm sorry..."

Eric stood up and immediately walked forward, leaving the little guy in there, his forehead crinkled.

Whimper

Whimper

Eric bit his lower lip and kept on reminding himself not to turn around.

But his body betrayed him.

Watching the little guy there, sitting alone under the rain as it watched him leave with its round innocent eyes while it whimpered desolately…

He was reminded of himself.

With a decisive action. Eric grabbed the puppy and embraced it towards him to protect it from the rain.

"I'll just take care of you until I find you an owner." Eric absentmindedly mumbled as he watched the little furball laying on his back against his hand.

"Oh… so you're a girl." Eric chuckled.

"I'll call you Snow then." He rubbed the little girl's tummy as it giggled and barked happily.

----?----

Days pa.s.sed by and Eric managed to hide the puppy from the landlord. He could only sigh in relief that the little girl was obedient and didn't cause too much ruckus when he was not around.

It was already the second month of school, and Eric woke up late. He hurriedly went to do his morning routine without eating breakfast, but making sure that he left enough food for Snow to eat before he left for school, riding his secondhand bicycle.

Though it was already two months, Eric still didn't have a single friend in the Academy. Because of his nerdy image and poor countenance, he was quickly isolated by his peers. He didn't feel anything about it since he was somewhat used to it already. He sat in his usual seat near the window and watched as the heavy rain began to fall.

He listened to the lectures and played his role as an honor student. He even applied for a job in the cafeteria so he could eat free food, and worked as a janitor after cla.s.s for the extra money to pay his school related stuffs, like projects and other miscellaneous fees.

Maybe because of this that the students began to mocked him until it turned to outright bullying. But no matter how the students punched and kicked him, Eric didn't retaliate nor submit.

He was used to it.

And as the usual day, Eric laid on the ground with wounds and bruises scattered on his face, but he didn't grunt nor cried in pain. He just calmly stood up, arranged his broken gla.s.ses and wiped away the blood from his busted lips as he reached for his broom to resume cleaning the garden that was more like a forest.

And that was when it happened.

"Please, go out with me."

Daniel Richardson, the heartthrob and number one sought-after bachelor in the entire Academy, and Evangeline Heart, the number one on the hate list of the women and the number one on the f.u.c.k list of the men, were standing at a corner of the dense bushes and trees.

"Alright…"

The two were at a distance from Eric, so they haven't notice him.

Eric watched as the woman smiled, but the only feeling he got was coldness.

Such a cold woman.

Eric resumed his job without bothering them anymore.

He heard many rumors about Evangeline Heart, and it hadn't been all pretty. He wasn't concerned about it though since it was none of his business, but it was always the favorite topic of his cla.s.smates. Even though Evangeline was in another cla.s.s, it didn't stop his peers from discussing her.

Days past by like that for Eric. Wake up, go to school, if he was lucky, he wouldn't get beaten up, which not often happened. He went to his part-time jobs, and if he had the time, he would walk Snow around.

However, just as his mundane life continued its usual course, something unexpected happened on a rainy day.

When Eric returned home, he didn't know that Snow was no longer there inside his apartment.

It was raining hard so Eric was filled with worry as many unfortunate things flashed inside his mind from Snow's disappearance.

Without a second thought, he turned his back and immediately stormed the rain to find Snow with only his raincoat and flashlight.

He ran and ran around for two hours, searching every nook and cranny. He didn't even notice that he was already meters away from his apartment towards Unmei Academy.

Then he stopped on his tracks when he saw Snow.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the little pup shaking, hiding in the bushes near a shed.

A relieved smile appeared on his lips and was about to ran towards her when something caught his eyes as his legs automatically stopped.

"Well, h.e.l.lo their little guy… what are you doing there under the rain?"

Eric watched as Evangeline Heart bent down and grabbed Snow into her embrace.

He even forgot to breathe as he watched the woman, dubbed as a vicious, cruel pompous Queen, warmly smiled and protectively embraced the shaking little puppy against her arms.

"Did you run away from home? I don't see a collar though…" Evangeline smiled as she murmured, causing Eric to be at a loss for words. He even forgot about Snow as he was utterly captivated by that smile.

It was a smile that was so warm that Eric was even filled with warmth just by looking at it.

"You're shaking so much…" Evangeline hugged the puppy towards her, giving her heat on the little guy, not minding that her designer dress was drenched and stained from the wet and mud coming from the pup.

"Come on… let's get you home…"

Evangeline immediately hailed a cab, and that was when Eric snapped out from his reverie.

He was about to run towards Evangeline when something like a gushed of wind ran past him.

It was Daniel Richardson… and he seemed to be soaking wet as he held an umbrella.

Eric, once more, stopped on his tracks as he watched the couple until they got on the cab together with Snow.

Eric could only watch the cab leave while his eyes remained on that car, searching for someone inside it. As to who exactly, only he knew.

It could be said, that day was deeply imprinted on Eric's heart. And unknowingly… whether he admitted to it or not, he too started to fixed his eyes and ears for Evangeline Heart.

And unknowingly, without even thinking about why, he decided to apply to places where Evangeline would often visit.