Chapter 15: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SAPPHIRE’S last class for the day was extended by an hour. It was around seven in the evening when she was dismissed.

She was surprised to see Hapi waiting for her in the corridor a few feet away from her classroom door. Sapphire could not help but smile. He looked charming even while leaning on the wall with his eyes close and his headphone on. He was mumbling something she could not hear. It made him looked like he was in a different world. And outside that world that Hapi created for himself, girls were lurking around, looking at him as if they want to eat him alive.

Sapphire decided to be his protector. At the back of her mind, she imagined a bloody scene along the corridor. She killed those flirts one by one in her imagination.

Okay, enough for my imagination.

She sauntered towards Hapi and pulled his headphone away.

He opened his eyes. “Hey—Sapphire.”

Hapi’s voice was too loud. It caught other students’ attention.

“Why are you here?” she asked nonchalantly and returned his headphone.

He hanged it on his neck. “Well, I’m waiting for you. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Ah.”

“What took you so long?” Hapi asked with pouted lips.

“The prof, of course. And don’t pout your lips like that. Why complain when I didn’t even ask you to wait for me?” He said he would see her at home. “What’s eating you, Hapi? Your words don’t match your actions.”

She saw his ears turned red when he looked away.

“Uhm…” Hapi turned his gaze back at her.

“And what is that thing that you wanted to tell me this morning?”

Hapi did not answer her question. Instead, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the building. She just lets him take her wherever he wants to go. Why protest when she wants to be with him all the time?

He took her to his car.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she looked at him.

“Just hop in.” Hapi opened the door to the passenger’s seat.

“If you’re gonna take me home—”

“I’m not taking you home…yet. We’re going somewhere. Hop in. We’re running out of time.”

Clueless, she did what she was told.

“Care to tell me where we heading to? Cause quite frankly, you’re making me feel anxious,” she told Hapi after he positioned himself at the driver’s seat.

“Put on your seatbelt.” He buckled up.

“Answer me first.”

Hapi turned to her with a knotted forehead. “We’re going to the mall.”

“So, you want to do last-minute shopping. Yeah, we should hurry.” She put on her seatbelt. “What are you going to buy, anyway?”

His hand grabbed the steering wheel, and the other one started the engine. “I’m going to buy a gift for Ruby, and I need your help.”

“You’re the one who’s friends with her. You should know her likes by now.” She snorted. “If you’ll ask me what to give her, here’s my answer…don’t waste your money. Ruby has everything.”

“It’s the thought that counts, you know,” Hapi countered.

“Then, greet her a happy birthday in the most thoughtful way!”

He turned to her with disbelief written all over his face.

“Eyes on the road,” she told him.

“So, you won’t buy your cousin any gift and just greet her?”

“I won’t do both. We’re not that close, you know.” Sapphire sighed.

“You won’t come to the party either.”

“Yep.”

Sapphire’s plan is to go to Claire’s apartment and sleepover to make it look like she went to the party. If ever her mother learned about the truth, then she would apologize for lying.

“Come with me, Sapphire.”

“There’s no way you can change my mind—”

“I’m not persuading you. It’s an order from your master,” Hapi said sternly. “I want you to be there. I need you there.”

Sapphire’s hands clenched against the fabric of her skirt. Now he was using the master-slave card to make her attend the party. She never thought he would do that.

Should I punch him or not?

In the end, she loosened her knuckles. It would be a crime to hurt such a charming face. Ah, why did she have to be that soft towards him?

“What if I don’t go with you?” She looked at him intently, but he would not take his eyes off the road.

“Then you have to pay the price…”

Her brows furrowed. “Are you threatening me?”

“Were you threatened?” Hapi countered.

“No,” she said lazily.

DON IGNACIO sent Alexander early in the morning to fetch her. Sapphire declined because she and Hapi would go to the party together. Yeah, Hapi made her say yes to that, but it did not mean that she was threatened by his words. Sapphire realized that attending the party would not kill her. Well, unless someone poisons her. But that was too much imagination.

“Sapphire, your boyfriend is here,” Danna informed her.

She laughed exaggeratedly. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Soon-to-be boyfriend. Are you happy now?” Danna grinned.

“Silly.” She grabbed her duffle bag and headed downstairs.

Hapi was waiting for her at the front porch. He was wearing a pair of blue cargo shorts and a plain white V-neck shirt, with matching shades.

“Are you ready?” Hapi asked enthusiastically.

“Hm…yeah.” Sapphire did not match his energy.

“Oh, come on, Sapphire. I’m not taking you to prison, okay? We’re going to a party. P-A-R-T-Y, party!”

Sapphire looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, give me that.”

He took her bag and put it inside his car’s trunk. Then, he went to the passenger’s side and opened the door for her.

She hopped inside his car.

The moment Hapi closed the door, she leaned her head on the windshield and closed her eyes.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Hm…” She could not sleep well because her brain was too busy thinking about what would happen at the party. “Keep your mouth shut, so I can sleep well.”

Hapi put on her seat belt.

“Sleep well, beautiful…” He kissed her cheek.

Sapphire’s heart skipped a beat, but she kept her eyes closed.