The Secret Admirer

Chapter 8: Humble Abode

WE stopped in front of a row of 4 townhouses. The exterior of the houses are beautiful and my eyes zoomed in at the unit on the far end which looks to be unoccupied. This house looks like it’s freshly painted.

Jasmine: “The owners had the whole house repainted, including the interiors. If you noticed, it stands out among the other houses. The other units are occupied by their owners.”

I was nodding my approval as I looked at all the units and compared the one I was interested in.  Jasmine was right. The fresh coat of paint set the unit above the rest.

Jasmine asked me to walk with her to the unit as she made her pitch.

Jasmine: “These townhouses were built 5 years ago, and the owner of the one you’re interested in left about 2 months ago to migrate to Canada. Everyone in their family has moved there so they won’t have a need for the house anymore since they might not be returning anymore. They’re having it rented for now, but they will be selling it eventually. If you like living here, you might want to consider buying it yourself.”

As we walked past the second to the last unit, a sudden movement caught my attention. As I looked as a tall man emerged from under the car that was propped up by a jack. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he has a defined chest and abs. I stopped myself from lingering at his torso, and looked up to see the most enchanting eyes I have ever seen. It looks mysterious but vulnerable at the same time. It’s like he doesn’t want to let people in because he’s hiding a lot of pain. As I surveyed his whole face, I zoomed in on his plump lips, and it suddenly made me think of what it would be like to kiss those lips.

When he saw me looking at him, he looked back for a while, then sniggered before turning around and walking inside the house. I was stunned. What was that about? Was there something on my face that disgusted him?

I was taken out of my reverie when  Jasmine   called my name and tried to get my attention.

Jasmine: “Ms. Abella? Vanessa? Is there something wrong?”

Vanessa: “No, nothing’s wrong. I just got distracted for a moment.”

I was distracted alright, by that mysterious man. He’s not the most handsome man I’ve seen, but I can’t help being drawn to him. What is going on with me today? First, my boss, now my prospective next door neighbor. Maybe I miss the intimacy I used to regularly have with Ron. We never miss a week without making love. Now, it’s been almost a few weeks since we’ve broken up. Maybe I just need to get laid.

I shook my head and silently chastised myself. I’m not that kind of girl. I love s*x, but I don’t sleep around. I was sexually active, but I have only been with one man. I thought he was the one even from the moment he started talking to me, so I did not mind giving up my virginity to him. I was so wrong.

I decided to stop thinking about men and s*x, and just focused on  Jasmine   and her tour of the house. The unit has a spacious one-car garage enclosed in a steel gate. The gate is fairly low, but  Jasmine assured me that the subdivision had guards and is very secure so I don’t have to worry about strange people getting in. The house is also equipped with a CCTV camera so I can see anyone trying to get in and out of the house.

As soon as we entered the house, I nodded my head in approval. The walls are painted white, so it’s like a blank canvass. Aside from cooking, I’m also interested in  interior decoration, and I can’t wait to decorate these walls with various art works.

There’s a 3-piece couch set with a center table facing a blank wall where I can imagine mounting a large flat screen TV. As we walked further inside, I saw the adjoining kitchen and dining area. There’s an island partition that serves as an extension of the sink. I can imagine myself chopping up onions and garlic or preparing the ingredients for the dishes I will be cooking. There’s a big sink and a gas stove with an oven. On top of it is an exhaust vent and on the corner of the kitchen is a two-door refrigerator. 

Jasmine: “The owner loves to cook so she had the kitchen modified to make it bigger.”

There was a small bedroom, a bathroom and a laundry area on the ground floor.  Jasmine   said that the bedroom here is small, because it was meant to be a maid’s room. She said I can use it for storage instead. That’s exactly what I was planning for it. I don’t plan on getting a maid so there’s that.

Jasmine asked me to follow her to the second floor, and gladly obliged. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom, with one being slightly bigger than the other. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet and a terrace where I can sit and read while sipping my morning coffee. There’s also a door that connects the room to the bathroom.

I looked at the other room, and it’s fairly spacious too. My parents wouldn’t mind staying here. Overall, it was a nice house and very suitable for me. It’s about five times smaller than my parents house, but since I’m going to be living here on my own, this is perfect for me.

Jasmine gave me more information about rent, deposit and advance payments, among others, but I’m already convinced. The moment I’ve stepped into the house, I can already imagine how I’m going to be furnishing and designing it, which means that I can see myself living here. She was seemingly very pleased as I said:

Vanessa: “I’ll take it!”

Jasmine: “Great! When would you like to move in?”

Vanessa: “I’ll be checking out of my hotel in 2 days, so I can move in by then.”

Jasmine kept smiling as she invited me back to their office to sign the lease. As we got out of the house, I remembered the mysterious man earlier and I was disappointed when I didn’t see him again. I figured I’ll see more of him. Maybe we can be friends, or even more. D*mn it, Vanessa, stop it!

------------------------------------

After I signed the lease and made the deposit p*****t, I went back to my hotel room. By now, my feet are already hurting. Wearing the heels while traipsing around the city was a bad idea. I should make sure to always have some comfortable shoes with me next time.

Once I had taken a shower and changed into comfortable clothes, I called my mom and sent her pictures of the house. I told her I’ve signed the lease and that I’m moving in a few days. I have a few things from home that I need her to send over so we talked about how she’ll get that done. She assured me that she’ll make sure that I’ll get my things as soon as I have move into my new abode.

When the call ended, I felt myself getting hungry. I decided to just order in since I’m fairly tired and my feet are killing me. When my food arrived, I ate in front of the TV and watched a movie on Netflix. After I finished eating, I was already sleepy. I brushed my teeth after cleaning up and went straight to bed.

I couldn’t help but think of Ron once again. I thought about our happy moments. I really felt that he loved me and he took care of me well. Aside from not being invited to family functions and vacations, I never doubted his feelings for me. He always made time for me as well, which made me think when did he have time to f*ck around with those other women? Come to think of it, there were plenty of  times when he said he’s busy and can’t meet me. I just always assumed he’s busy with work. As it turns out, he’s busy screwing other women.

I still can’t wrap my head around how I let him fool me for 5 years. I’ve always fathom myself as a smart woman. When it came to love, I was really stupid.

My phone pinged and I saw a message from my best friend Alex. She has been updating me on what Ron has been doing although I didn’t ask her to. Somehow, she’s under the impression that I am so in love with him that I might succumb to his charm once more. I actually don’t think she’s wrong, which is why I’m not even giving Ron the chance to use his charm on me anymore. I just left without even saying goodbye.

I called Alex because I wanted to update her on what’s happening with me as well.

Alex: “Hey pretty girl, how’s life in the big city?”

Vanessa: “Exhausting. I walked around in 4-inch heels today.”

Alex: “Oooh, bad idea.”

Vanessa: “I know. Now my feet are paying the price.”

Alex: “So how’s the new office? Have you found a new place yet?”

Vanessa: “Their office is amazing. I signed the contract, and the package is bigger than I expected. They said they wanted to motivate me to move more. I also signed the lease to a townhouse. I’ll be moving in 2 days.”

Alex: “Wow, so this is really happening, huh? You’re leaving me.”

Vanessa: “You sound like my parents. I’m not leaving you, you can always visit anytime. I have plenty of room in the house. Besides, you can always apply to PharmaCo so we can remain as workmates.”

Alex: “Well, there’s actually something I wanted to tell you.”

Vanessa: “What is it? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”

Alex: “No, silly. I can't move there because Fiel has asked me to marry him.”

Fiel was one of our co-trainees when we started working at my former company. He’s moved on to another company since, but him and Alex started dating before he left. And now they are getting married. I couldn’t help but be happy for my best friend.

Vanessa: “OMG! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!”

Alex: “Are you, really? I was hesitating telling you because I didn’t want you to think that I’m flaunting it in your face or anything. We were both expecting you’ll be the first to get engaged with you know who.”

Vanessa: “Of course, silly, I’m so happy for you. I better be your maid of honor, otherwise we won’t be friends anymore.”

Alex: “Of course you’re the maid of honor. You better come up with a kick-ass bachelorette party.”

Vanessa: “Sure. I’ll even get strippers.”

We both started giggling. Once we settled down, Alex’ tone became serious.

Alex: “So how are you doing? Are you sad, lonely, do you want to cry?”

Vanessa: “Honestly, I’m sad, but I don’t feel like crying anymore. Moving here was a great idea. Seeing the new office and meeting the new boss has motivated me to do better at my job. I take what happened as a blessing in disguise, because had I not discovered Ron’s cheating ways, I would still be trapped and I might eventually marry that douche. Can you imagine what that would be like?”

Alex: “I know what you mean. He’s still trying to get in touch with you, you know? He won’t stop bothering me. He even resorted to stealing my phone just to see if you have a new number.”

Vanessa: “I’m sorry for getting you involved in this. Just don’t mind him, he’ll eventually get tired.”

Alex: “I’ve heard rumors that the reason why you broke up with him is because you don’t want to get settled and marry him. I bet he’s the one who spread that.”

Vanessa: “Just let him do what he wants. We’re not the only ones who knows he’s a cheating, lying son of a b*tch. When I hatched my plan to break up with him, Christina volunteered to make anonymous posts about him. I heard that there were other women who claim to have slept with him too.”

Alex: “He really is a man-wh*re, isn’t he?”

Vanessa: “That he is. That he is.”

After a few more small talks, I said goodbye to my best friend, laid down in bed and got ready to go to snooze off. Somehow, sleep eludes me. Ron keeps running in my head.

I know that he’s a douche and an ass, but I still love him and I miss him. I’m willing myself to forget him, but it’s not easy to throw away our 5 years of togetherness. Imagining him continuing to sleep around with different women has helped me hate him more. Hopefully time would heal my wound eventually. I just have to be patient.