Drunkenly Married to the Enemy

Chapter 1

“J, are you doing the shoot for the liquor brand?” Prayne, my personal assistant, asked me while I was busy reading my tell-all interview on a men’s magazine.

I put the magazine down and looked at him. “Nope, that doesn’t go well with my schedule,” I replied. “They said they will try to reschedule though.”

“Then why are you saying that you’re not doing it anymore?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I overheard Miss V saying that she’s going to give that to Renee,” I replied.

Miss V is my manager. She is also Renee’s manager. Well, I’m not really bitter about it. I have done a lot of shoots for liquor brands before. Renee’s a newbie and she’s also one of the sweetest people I know in the industry. She’s like a sister to me already.

Prayne nodded without asking any more questions. He knows that I am close with Renee and she’s not really a threat. Not that I am treating anyone as one. I am always focused on my craft and I don’t really compare myself to other people. The only person I am comparing myself to is my old self. I see to it that I strive to become better every day. That’s what the goal really is.

I went back to reading the article about me and tried to recall if what’s actually in there are the things that I answered before.

“You have a magazine shoot tomorrow morning,” he reminded me. “You’re actually clear for the day.”

My lips protruded before nodding. “Thanks,” I replied. “You can go if you’re done with that, too. I know you have a date with your boyfriend.” I grinned before winking.

He stood erect and placed his palm dramatically on his chest before looking at me like a lovesick puppy. “Glad you know!” he beamed. “I really miss Franco, you know! He’s been in Brazil for two months.”

His boyfriend is a photographer. They met at one of my photoshoots two years ago and now, they are dating for eleven months.

“He’s been texting me a lot, though,” he said before walking to me to show me all the text messages that his boyfriend sent him over the past two months that they are away.

Prayne, aside from being my assistant, is also my best friend. I never really had a friend when I was in college because I was home-schooled most of my life so having Prayne made a very huge difference in my social skills.

I met him when I was still new to the industry. He’s one of the people I trust so much.

My eyes widened when I saw photos of Franco’s naked top. “What the hell? I can’t believe the two of you are sending photos like this!” I whined.

Prayne gave me a look. “Why? When you dated Ashton, didn’t he send you some d**k or nude pics?”

My eyes widened in horror. “No! Oh, my god!” I brought the magazine down and started putting my hands on my ears as I shook my head—as if that would shake off the lewd thoughts he just gave me.

Ashton is a rock band drummer. We dated for five months last year. He is also my last relationship before my career started to hit off as a magazine model and brand ambassador.

Prayne raised his brow and gave me a knowing smile. “Are you sure he didn’t…” he trailed as he wiggled his brows.

I hit him and gasped at what he’s trying to point out. “Can you not put lewd thoughts in my head?!” I complained. “I cannot believe you just said that! I can’t even imagine Ashton naked!”

Prayne narrowed his eyes at me. “Really?” he asked in disbelief. That actually made me feel like he’s shocked that I didn’t do any silly business with Ashton while I was still dating him. “You never had s*x with him?”

The horror his words brought me was so overwhelming that I feel like I’m about to vomit at how gross that is.

“Oh. My. Good. Ness.” He exaggerated his words. “You never had s*x with that band god?”

I pursed my lips and let out a heavy sigh before rolling my eyes. “I am not having this conversation with you. Ashton is already an ex,” I told him before standing up and walked towards my things in front of the vanity mirror.

“So, are you still a virgin?” he asked without a filter in his mouth.

I snapped my head at him with eyes wide. “You did not just—Oh, my god! Prayne!” I was already hysterical and panicking because of the direction this conversation is going. “Can you just drop it?”

Prayne laughed out loud and shook his head. I’m sure he’s having fun in this. He’s very open to his s*x life but I never thought he’d suddenly ask me about mine at a random time.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he looked at me from head to foot. “That Ashton is a hottie and you didn’t even taste God’s creation?”

“My goodness, Prayne! Stop it! It’s not nice!” I was already yelling at him. I want the earth to swallow me whole right at this moment. Who would have the guts to actually say something about her s*x life in front of someone? Well, I can do that but since I don’t have one, I can’t talk about it right now.

Prayne laughed at my reaction. “Oh, my god. I can’t believe you’re still a virgin at twenty-four.”

I frowned at him. “Hey! Don’t say it like it’s a mortal sin!”

He arched his brows before shrugging. “I don’t know,” he uttered. “I think you need some experience on that, Jelia. You need to be—”

“I need to surrender it to the person I love, Prayne,” I interjected. “And besides, I’m in no rush. I want to make sure that my first time will be with someone who I will never regret. I want it to be with the person I would spend my whole life with.”

Prayne raised his brow. “You should stop thinking like an old maid,” he singsonged.

I pouted at him as I slung my bag around my shoulder. “Sorry, I’m not as liberated as you are,” I told him, shrugging. “I value my virginity and I want my first time to be with someone I love.”

I don’t usually say the L-word. I can only count the times that I’ve said it to Aston and to all my past boyfriends. I am not the type who always says it but I try to show it as much as possible.

Prayne smirked and shook his head. “I really think you need some kind of treatment for that. How about a night out?” he suggested.

I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t want any night out,” I replied. “You know me. I am not the type to go out in clubs. I don’t even drink alcohol.”

Prayne walked beside me and hooked his arm around mine. “Don’t worry, J. I will take care of you,” he beamed with a wink. “How about tomorrow night? You have three days of rest. I think you can come with Franco and me so we could all have fun!”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want to be a third wheel,” I deadpanned. “And besides, tomorrow’s going to be tiring. I would probably want to just stay at home and sleep.”

He made a face. “Dear, you need to hang out so everyone could finally say that you’ve moved on from Ashton!”

I scoffed. “I have already moved on from him!” I exclaimed. “We didn’t date for long. It’s not like we have a lot of memories that I would hold on to.”

I am about to go out of the dressing room but Prayne pulled me and looked at me with puppy eyes. “Please?” he asked in a cute voice. It’s gross, by the way. “After this, if you really don’t want to party, you can decline all the other invitations I will ask you in the future.” He grinned widely and batted his eyelashes, leaving me with no choice but to just nod and agree so I wouldn’t have to look at how gross he looked.

“Fine,” I said before a deep sigh. “Just stop making that face. It’s annoying!” I whined and faked a shiver as if something’s crawling under my skin.

Prayne glared at me and rolled his eyes. “I know. I’m so cute,” he cackled flipped his imaginary long hair.

I scoffed and shook my head as I walked to the door. “Just send me a message about that night out, then,” I told him before opening the door.

He smiled victoriously before giggling. “You know it, sister!” he remarked and put his thumbs up. “You should dress appropriately!” he reminded me before I finally left the room to go to my car.

I haven’t even imagined myself in a club, having fun and getting wasted. I am the Netflix and chill type so I am usually in my pad, watching movies all day while munching on popcorn—a guilty pleasure.

I walked to my Cayenne and placed my bag on the shotgun as I got settled on the driver’s seat. As I was about to start the engine, my phone rang from inside my bag.

Mom’s name is flashing and I can’t help but narrow my eyes on the screen. It’s almost dinner time. I wonder what she needs from me at this hour. I am not really used to her calling me because she is usually busy with work with my father.

Still, I answered. “Mom, hello?”

“Jelia!” Her high-pitch voice was not something I was expecting. “Where are you? Are you at work?”

I pursed my lips and immediately noticed that there is something wrong with the way she called me. But then I still answered. “No, Mom. I’m about to go home,” I replied.

“Really? That’s nice!” she beamed, sounding like she’s in a celebratory mood. “You should come and eat dinner with me. I'm in the restaurant a few blocks from your place.”

I narrowed my eyes. I already have a bad feeling about this. My mom was never like this.

“What do you think? I already miss you, honey. You should come and spend more time with your mother,” she said in an almost pleading voice—something I never heard of her. I was used to her being authoritative especially when she’s talking about our family business.

I pursed my lips and thought about it for a few moments. But in the end, I ended up nodding. “Okay,” I replied with a long sigh. “Just share me your location,” I said before hanging up.

I wonder what I’d be putting myself into.