Princess wannabe (English) (UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 2

 "I was paid not to hire you. It was a big amount of money so I accepted the offer."

I heaved a sigh as I remembered what the interviewer whispered when I was about to submit my resume earlier. I’d threaten her that I will send her to jail if she would insist not to state who paid her.

Why do people keep rejecting me when they urgently need an employees. Just so they know, I can work immediately! The doubt continued until a stranger appeared when I went out of the last restaurant I applied for, he said that he wanted to talk to me.

At first I was hesitant but when he said that he has a job offer, I straight away wanted to grab this opportunity.

He explained that he was the one who paid those restaurants and other establishments to not hire me. I applied at almost thirty establishments in one day but no one accepted me. I thought that there's something wrong with the employers’ eyes when I was told that an attractive physical appearance is one of their major requirements. I am aware that I am pretty, nobody told us that my mother is ugly.

I bet he hired someone to watch my every move, just like in the movies when a male character stalks a woman for his prey. And this thought creeps me out.

He put the coffee cup down on the table after drinking as his eyes drifted to me. I immediately avoided his gaze and tried to shift my attention to something else around the corner inside the cafe. I remember him as the Johnny Bravo who stared at me like he was going to skin me alive. What was his name again? I was not paying attention when he said it and it was also hard to memorize.

"Accept my offer," he said with finality in his voice as if I was not allowed to refuse. He has been forcing me to pretend as a princess of a family. Even though I had always dreamt of becoming a princess, I did not want to take the risk, knowing that it might backfire in the end.

"Why me?" I asked him as I drank a cup of juice.

"Why not? You have a striking resemblance to the princess."

I coughed, "Really? Am I that beautiful to look like a princess? Tell me, how beautiful is she?"

"Uh, she's not that beautiful. For me, I can't tell if she has beauty at all."

Ouch! That hurt my ego so much. I could almost hear my Auntie saying ‘You’re the most beautiful ape if you’re one of them.’

He explained everything I needed to know about this princess. She is a wealthy heiress, whose high-profile family has great influence in all international business industries. Her father was an illegitimate child from a man who came from a royalty in Great Britain. Her father and her grandmother came to the Philippines to start a new life. He got married to a Filipina after he achieved a successful life. He was blessed with three sons and a daughter with his first wife who died due to ovarian cancer. He got married again to another Filipina who he is still with until now. And ten years ago, the heiress went missing after an accident. They didn't find the body so they believe that there's a big chance that she could still alive. That’s it! They have been searching for ten years now.

He mentioned their property and business one by one. My eyes widen in amazement finding out how big and wealthy they are! Whoever could find her will be given a portion of their wealth. The declaration of the reward made him offer me to become a princess for a lifetime.

"No! I can't freakin’ do it! Find another woman but not me!” I left him at our table. I saw him handing cash to the waitress, maybe to pay the bill, then followed me. He pulled me and carried me to his car, he locked the door so I couldn’t escape.

He started the engine and drove away. Later on, he broke the deafening silence when he started talking.

"I'm Elijia Morgan. You can call me Mr. Morgan." my captor introduced himself.

"Alice Fuentes," I said as my eyes looked through the window. We were talking earlier and didn’t even ask for each other's names.

"How old are you, Ms. Fuentes?" Why is he asking about my age now?

"I am not interested in an old man, Mr. Morgan."

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"I can't be interested in you, Mr. Morgan! I'm only nineteen.”  I hissed. I looked at him as he made a weird expression before he laughed out loud.

"Ms. Fuentes, I'm already married and loyal, I can't be interested in a young girl like you. I don’t want to get accused as a pedophile." he managed to explain well between his laughter. He cleared his throat and continued speaking, "But anyway, I'm just asking your age so I could compare it to the princess’s, she should already be seventeen now." he said smiling, getting over with his tickles.

"You're lucky because you're the one I have chosen to pretend a as the princess. You know why?" he said all of a sudden. I glanced at him while his eyes were directed on the road.

"Look, you can live there whenever you want!" he exclaimed as he pointed at a classy, well-constructed hotel.

"You can change and wear expensive clothes every time, you can eat healthy and delicious food, maids and butlers will serve you, you will love the surroundings. Last but not least, you can have your dream guy with all of that er uh looks. Who would like to reject you? Nobody!" he marketed his offer to me as if he was a pyramiding investor who invited me to join them.

Suddenly, I have felt the ambition-to-be-princess syndrome again. It was a syndrome that I cannot keep my brain out of it and imagine things like being a princess. It wasn't contagious. Specialized in-born syndrome just for me.

"Whatever you ask will be given to you." he pointed out the mall. Did he even plan to stop? I am losing all my patience. 

"Wherever you want to go, they will take you there through a private plane." A plane passed above us.

"You will live like a princess. No one will be equal to or above you. Unlike your current situation,  no money, no home, no nice clothes.” He shook his head in disappointment.

”I can pretend as long as I like, right? Okay, I accept the offer." I do not know why it came out of my mouth immediately, maybe because I was carried away by what he said. But I knew that it was because it came from my heart.

"Good," he smirked as if claiming his success.

I was in a certain hotel room with Mr. Morgan, his friends, and the funckin’ Johnny Bravo look-a-like is among them. They almost filled the entire room. All of them wore a tuxedo and were talking in an unfamiliar European dialect. They were observing me while Mr. Morgan was only watching nearby. He’s looked so calm as if he had never been anxious his entire life. I saw two old men who seemed to be talking to each other with their eyes.

"If you are the princess, do you remember anything in the past before the accident happened?" Mr. Morgan’s not-so-old friend, who was wearing a pair of glasses asked, as if digging up the hell out of me.

I was so nervous, I was trembling in fear, and every time I say a word, I stammered. At the time, I was hoping that I will still be alive in the next few hours.

"Unfortunately, her memories have been lost since then. Retrograde Amnesia is what it is called." Mr. Morgan answered him.

"Okay, we want proof. We need a DNA test result. We want to talk to the person who took care of her, we need all of that, ASAP." The man’s voice rose with finality. Mr. Morgan nodded confidently. What are they talking about? DNA? I had an X-ray before and I think it was related to it.

"Don't worry." he whispered.

A few days have passed in the hotel. I needed to stay there while I was still under investigation. CCTV was installed to watch all of my actions. Mr. Morgan advised me not to do anything strange which could have resulted in a possible failure for both of us. He paid a woman to pretend as my grand nanny who took care of me for the past ten years when men in black uniform gathered to interrogate us.

 "How did you know that she is the princess?" the detective asked her.

"I raised the kid without knowing her real identity, until Mr. Morgan told me about her life and saw her mother’s picture that resembled a lot of her. DNA result came, and that moment, I knew I have to let her go.” the old woman hugged me and cried. I knew it was fake, I have to do it as well. Go with the flow, Alice!

"Auntie, I'll leave you but I promise to visit you!" I cried out loud and hugged her too.

"Do not abandon me, visit me on your free time. "

"All right!"

Suddenly, an old man entered the room. He was panting when he said, After ten years of searching, we finally found you, Princess Sophia Wilson!" He hugged me tightly. then showed the paper to the people inside the room.

"The DNA test result says it's positive!" Everyone clapped their hands and was smiling as if they won the lottery.

Oh my God! I will become a princess. I cannot believe it! I will be recognized as Princess Sophia Wilson. But I still have a mission to find my real mother. I hope this will help me to find her. I’ll be using Sophia’s power and connection. I know I can.