Chapter 1 Rejection

• 🌹Six Years Ago🌹
• Sia hobbled toward the Evangelista villa looking ghastly pale. Her skin were curtained with blotches of insect bite, her face littered with charcoal.
• Her brunette hair extremely tousled and her clothes were in complete tatters.
• She struggled to breathe as she gravitated toward the villa with the last shreds of strength she had inside her.
• When she approached the gate, that was luckily flung open, Sia ambled inside, making a beeline straight to the threshold but suddenly a voice jolted her to stop.
• “Ms. Sia!!” she heard the person call out. It’s a man and she’s familiar with the voice, hence she mustered the last strength she had and pulled to a stop.
• Sia twirled around to the angle from whence the voice streamed and there stood the security man, Mike.
• She didn’t feel the need to plaster a smile on her face like she always does, so she pursed her lips in a thin line, waiting to hear what Mike had to say.
• Then, the man strode toward her and pulled to a stop right in front of her, sneering.
• “Mr. Lucas ordered us not to let inside the villa again.” Came the man’s voice.
• Hoping it was a mere joke as always, Sia let out a dry chuckle. Having no strength to proceed with the seeming conversation with Mike, she veered around and attempted to head into the villa.
• To her utmost surprise, Mike tugged her wrist, harshly, that she was just one breath away from falling down but luckily, she steadied her pose.
• Instantly, she swiveled around and lashed her weak eyes at Mike and eventually asked,
• “What’s this Mr. Mike? Why did you push me?”
• Her voice was slightly above a whisper. She could feel the water starting to form on the duct of her eyes.
• “I told you calmly that Mr. Lucas strictly ordered not to let you in!!” roared Mike, throwing his hands up in the air.
• “Meaning? Is this my first time shuffling inside the Evangelista's villa?” she managed to asked in between tears.
• She just want to relay to Lucas what happened last night. How she came back home and saw their house in the slum submerged in a sea of fire.
• How her mother got burnt yesterday by unknown people.
• That’s just it. She wants to tell her man the problem she’s facing.
• The dilemma.
• The depression of losing her mother last night in such a gory way.
• She’s the only one left in her family now.
• Twelve years ago, she lost her younger brother Nicole in an accident. However, his body wasn’t seen as people believe he got burnt too when the car caught fire.
• Lucas and Sia are from different worlds but love meshed them together. They have just dated for a year now. And Lucas treats her with so much respect and love.
• So what’s wrong?
• Why would he suddenly, out of the blue order the security guards not to let her inside his abode again?
• That’s impossible!
• They were together yesterday and when she arrived home she was greeted with the most shocking scene of her life.
• Her mother being burnt by fire.
• “it’s not your first time Ms. Sia but that was the order we got yesterday, from Mr. Lucas.” Answered Mike, keeping a straight face.
• Huff, Sia shook her head. She turned and continued to take strides into the building but Mike held her firmly in place again.
• This time, more harshly that Sia felt searing pains flash through her veins.
• She winced. While she was struggling to free her wrist from Mike’s grip, another security man zoomed toward them.
• “What’s wrong Mike?” the second security man asked Mike.
• “She’s stubborn. She wants to creep inside the villa against Mr. Lucas’s orders.” Mike growled.
• “What!!?” howled the second security man and immediately he clung Sia's other wrist to help Mike in dragging her outside the villa.
• “What are you both doing?” Sia screamed in shock.
• “Let me go!!”
• “let me go!!”
• “Let me go!!!”
• She wailed, struggling to duck from their tight grip.
• ‘When are we seeing each other again?’ Sia asked.
• ‘Tomorrow, baby!’ Lucas responded her.
• Their final words yesterday night crossed through her mind, vividly.
• Lucas assured her they would meet today. He did and she’s here to see him, so what are these men saying?
• How possible is it that her own Lucas would restrain her from venturing into his villa?
• ‘No, no this isn’t true. It can’t be true that he can possibly say such a thing.’ She pondered inwardly. Still struggling to free herself from their hold.
• “I said let me go!!” she screamed again.
• A sudden wave of energy surged through her as she continued to duck her hands from their vise grip.
• “You go no where Ms. Sia. We are just following instructions.” The other man said, looking her dead in the eyes.
• “This is nonsense!” she routed. “We met last night and he said I could come around today. So let me in and quit this childish act, for chrissake!!” she howled like a wolf.
• Her eyes was beginning to blear.
• How she wish these two men will understand her plight and let her inside so she could see him.
• She immediately pinned her knees on the ground so they could stop dragging her.
• “Listen! Don’t let us use force on you, understand?” came Mike’s voice.
• “Why are you doing this?”
• “It’s not our fault Ms. Sia. At all. This is an order we are trying to follow.” Responded the second man.
• Meanwhile, as this was ongoing, another lady dressed in a white boat neckline dress that stopped on her mid thigh zoomed in front of them when she alighted from her car outside the villa.
• Sia quickly stole a glance at the lady and could tell they’re same age. Twenty two years.
• The girl has a blonde hair that cascades down her clavicle, an oval face, sharp pointed nose, very luscious pink lips and eyes and a beautiful creamy skin.
• The lady is slightly taller than Sia or prolly because she’s on a five inches heels.
• Well, Sia assumes since she smells and looks like someone from a wealthy family.
• The lady curved the corner of her lip in disdain the moment she sighted what was transpiring.
• She pulled to a stop, throwing glances at Mike, who bowed his head to greet her.
• “Good morning ma’am Danika.” Both Mike and the other security guard greeted. Respect laced their words.
• “And what do we call this?” came the so called Danika’s voice.
• “Uh…uhh… nothing much, ma’am Danika. We just want to throw the trash away.” Mike snapped, smiling sheepishly at Danika who in return scowled.
• However, Sia read meaning into his words.
• He just called her trash!?
• ‘Trash? Me trash?’ She mumbled under her breath as her eyes began to smudge more.
• “Be fast about that, wouldn’t like this to create a scene here.” Danika accentuated and began to take strides into the villa.
• ‘Who is she? She can’t be Lucas’s sister because…because they look so much different. Who could she be?’ Sia wondered.
• She tilted her head back and studied Danika’s retreating figure and was in total awe when she spotted how the sun beamed on her creamy skin.
• Her straight legs made Sia feel inferior inside but that’s not the case now.
• She has more important things at hand which is to see Lucas so they could talk.
• Maybe he could help her rake for the person that set her mother on fire.
• “Mr. Mike? You…you just called me…a trash?” she drawled, pointing at herself.
• Sighs**
• Mike sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. “ain’t you one?”
• “But…” she tried to speak but something struck her mind.
• She indeed look like a trash. She glanced at her body and noticed for the first time how her clothes are in tatters, her skin covered with charcoal.
• In fact, she looked like a white girl in a dark skin at the moment.
• Not only does she look like a trash, she apparently lives in a slum!
• “isn’t it obvious?” Mike’s words snapped her out of her reverie. She looked up at him and she felt the scorching sun rays bash in her eyes immediately, making her look back down.
• “You smell so bad. You look so bad. You dress so bad!” Mike roared and his colleague burst into laughter.
• “Hahaha…that’s pretty harsh, Mike.” The man spat, pinching his nose as though what Mike spewed now is true.
• Sia stinks.
• Sia wrapped her hands on her face and was shedding tears. They are slurring her.
• They are abusing her with words.
• “I just wonder how Mr. Lucas manages to spend fucking time with you considering how you stink!” Mike laughed, covering his nose.
• ‘Oh mum! Where are you?’ She called out inwardly as waters drifted from her eyes.
• “Seriously! You’re right Mike. I bet Mr. Lucas can’t dare plant a kiss on her forehead talk more of her parched, stinking lips.” Said Mike’s colleague.
• They’re taunting her and she’s just there powerless. Frail and abashed of herself.
• If she were that lady…Danika as she’s called, will they mock her like this? She asked herself.
• If she were that Danika will they abuse her? Or restrain her from seeing Lucas? She asked again.
• But it’s very obvious. It’s as clear as day that they won’t talk to her like this.
• They would respect her just like they respected Danika.
• While still dunk in her pool of thoughts, Mike and his colleague clamped her wrist again and pulled her up to push her outside the gate.
• But Sia did what actually surprised her. She mustered strength from no where and bit Mike on his hand, making him wail.
• “Ptui!”
• She turned to his colleague and spittle on his face.
• Then she turned to run inside the villa but bumped into something. More accurately speaking, someone.
• Sniffling, she could affirm the familiarity of his strong, bergamot cologne.
• Sia pulled back and saw him.
• The man she came to see but was restrained.
• A soft smile mixed with tears tugged her lips apart as she ogled into his face.
• However, she noticed that something’s odd.
• So odd.
• Lucas didn’t return back her smile.
• Heck!
• He kept a straight face. His coffee brown eyes bored into hers and all she could see is anger!
• Is he angry with her? She wondered.
• “L-Lucas…”
• “Don’t!” His baritone voice that once sent shivers of delight down her spine scared the little life she has left out of her system.
• Sia hoisted her head to bore her eyes into his to understand what’s transpiring. “why?” she asked.
• But she got the shocking response she never thought she would get from him.
• “It’s over, Sia.” He worded. His face stoic.
• “What!?”
• “It was all a game!” Lucas spat.
• Her breath instantly hitched.