“AUDREY, aren’t you going to school today?” Kristine asked her daughter when she noticed that she was not hurrying to eat her breakfast. “Is there something wrong? You seem silent.”

Audrey looked up and smiled at her mother. “I’m fine, mommy,” she said and took a bite of her bacon and egg sandwich. “My headache is not going away, and it’s kinda distracting my focus,” she added and pressed her fingers to her temple. “D’you have some meds?”

Kristine gave her one tablet of ibuprofen and a glass of water. “After the meal,” she said and sat in front of her. “Does it really hurt? Why don’t you skip classes today and go with me to the clinic?”

“Hell no, mom,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t want to skip the only days that I’ll see Justin.”

“Is he the cute guy from the Psychology Department?” Kristine asked, which made her daughter smile sweetly. “Did you talk to him?”

“Nah,” Audrey replied. “He’s snobbish. And he only talks to the professors. I’ve never seen him talk to other students, except for his own classmates.”

“Maybe he’s just avoiding attention from other women,” her mom said. “You said he’s a popular guy, right? If he talks to other female students, it might cause issues.”

Audrey frowned. “That’s kind of illogical,” she complained. “He’s a psychology major. He should practice social interactions.” She pressed her lips together. “He’s very different from Dr. Edward, even though they’re both in the same field.”

Audrey’s mother didn’t speak, but Audrey was used to that. Every time she mentioned Dr. Edward, her mom always switched to her “not in the mood” mode. And for nearly her entire life, she never saw her talk to the doctor politely. Whenever he visited their house, her mom always pretended to be busy in the kitchen.

“Mom,” Audrey got her mother’s attention. “Don’t you want to remarry?”

Kristine stopped putting bacon on the loaf. “I’m busy in our bakeshop. I don’t have time for that.”

“But, Mom, it’s been seventeen years since Dad died. I think you should find someone that can be your life partner,” she said and stared at her mother. “How about Dr. Edward?”

Her mother dropped the fork on her plate. The impact echoed around their kitchen.

“I want to spend my life taking care of you, Audrey. You’re the only one that I have.”

Audrey’s mind went blank for a second, then her head ached again. She held her head and groaned in pain. She heard her mother get up from her seat to hold her shoulders, but Audrey swept her hand away.

“Audrey, what’s happening to you?” Kristine asked in a startled voice.

Audrey drew her brows together as she struggled to see what was in front of her. But after just a few seconds, everything went clear again. She looked up and smiled at her mother.

“Mom, why are you looking at me like that?”

Her mother looked at her questioningly. “Does your head still hurt?”

Audrey knotted her forehead. “It’s gone now,” she said. “But I will bring ibuprofen, just in case my headache kicks in again.”

Kristine stared at her for a moment as if she saw something in Audrey. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your head ached just a while ago.”

“No, it didn’t,” she said, brows still furrowed. “I’m fine, Mom. Stop worrying about me. It might give you worry lines,” she added and laughed. “Just kidding.”

Audrey finished her breakfast and got up from her seat. She kissed her mom on the cheek before she hurried out of their house and got in the family car. Their driver, who was her nanny’s husband, nodded at her with respect.

“Good morning, Audrey,” he said and smiled.

“Good morning, Sir Tonio,” she replied. “How’s Palma? Isn’t she going to visit me? It’s been years since I last saw her.”

The old man’s expression suddenly changed. “Your nanny is a little busy with our children, but I will tell her that you asked for her.”

“Thanks,” she said, then remembered that she wanted to take the bus today. “Ah, Sir Tonio, could you please drop me at the bus stop today? My classmate and I agreed to take the bus together.”

“But Kristine told me to take you to school—”

“Just for today, please?” she cut him off. “I promise I will not tell my mom about this.”

The old man swallowed hard and nodded. “But, please, be mindful of everything around you, Audrey.”

Audrey knotted her forehead. “I’m not a kid anymore,” she said and laughed.

After just a few minutes of driving, they reached the bus stop just in time. Audrey quickly got out of the car and ran towards the bus. She looked inside and found Justin sitting in the last seat, and all the seats near him were occupied. The only chair available was in the middle.

Audrey went to the vacant seat, and because it was beside the window, she had to pass by the man sitting in the aisle seat. “Excuse me, sir. Could you please move a little?”

The man smirked but still moved an inch so she could squeeze herself in the seat. As the bus moved forward, Audrey noticed the man beside her dozing off. She ignored him and took out her phone to get secret photos of Justin. His seat at the back was elevated, making him visible for her.

She giggled when she saw him on her screen. Justin was oblivious that she was taking photos of him. Audrey wanted to record a video when she felt something warm caressing her leg under her school skirt. She looked down and found the man’s hand going in and out of her skirt.

“Don’t make a noise if you don’t want to be killed,” he threatened her in a throaty voice.

Audrey’s chest hammered wildly. As her heart rate went up, she felt a pulsating ache on her temple, making her stare blankly at her skirt for a couple of seconds. She then blinked twice and angled her phone’s camera towards the man’s hand under her dress. She shifted it up for a second. Then took something from her bag.

“What if I killed you first?” Audrey asked and stabbed a ballpoint pen in the man’s left eye.