Chapter 8 – First Date

“THAT MIKAELA Dela Cerna is a real flirt, believe me. I heard she flirted with Lucas all night at her birthday party. And now, he wouldn’t contact me anymore. This is all her fault! How dare she steal someone else’s man? She has no shame and to think that she’s nothing compared to me! Without her Daddy and Mommy dearest backing her up, she would be a nobody!”

“I agree. She’s a total show-off, too! My cousin wanted to get her service as a photographer but that nasty bitch declined him and even threated him with her bodyguards just so he wouldn’t go back there anymore! It still irritates me whenever I think about it. That’s my favorite cousin and he’s such a good man. He said that maybe he didn’t meet her high standards when choosing clients. Poor Harold.”

Mikaela’s table was filled with some of the best dishes in the entire town. Blaze had brought her to a French restaurant in a five-star hotel. He had ordered soupe à l’oignon, confit de canard, coq au vin, tarte tatin, and chocolate soufflé as their dessert. They paired it with the restaurant’s most expensive wine. They were all superb especially the confit de canard since the meat was from a goose and was served with confit roasted potatoes and garlic on the side.

And yet, Mikaela was having a hard time digesting the food.

She had always known that there were nasty rumors circulating around about her, but she had never really paid attention to any of it until tonight. She was just thankful that Blaze went to the men’s room for a while, so he did not hear any of those things. It would be really embarrassing if he had heard them.

This was the reason why Mikaela wanted to explore and make a name of her own, but her mother would not let her. She wanted to be a wild life or a landscape photographer. But since it meant moving from one place to another in order to get good pictures, her mother forbid her and told her to become an event photographer instead but only in La Union.

When she insisted to follow her dream and packed her things to leave their province, her mother gave her two options. Either Mikaela remained an event photographer in La Union or work in their Airline Company. Of course, since she had no interest in their family business, she chose to settle for the second-best thing. At least, she could still get to hold her precious camera.

But now, no matter how hard she worked, she doubted if anyone would ever take her job seriously since everybody was thinking that she was only getting clients because of her parents’ influence which could be true since many of her clients were really her parents’ acquaintances.

And in Mikaela’s every project, her bodyguards were always around which would capture the guests’ attention more than the celebrants and it was very inconvenient. Those clients never took her service again. It was driving her insane. Whenever she would complain, her parents would suggest that she work in their Company instead.

As for the flirting issue, Mikaela could still remember the guys they mentioned. And it was the other way around. Lucas was the one who kept bothering her during her birthday party, he kept asking about her phone number. While Harold had a gray aura in him and kept “incidentally” touching her the entire time they were talking about business. When he “bumped” into her which made him “accidentally” touched her breast, that was when she snapped. Her bodyguards dragged him out of her studio.

And yet, those two-faced guys had the nerve to act all miserable and put the blame on her.

Mikaela lowered her head as the gossips went on. She could stand up and defend herself, but she chose not to do it anymore. Their auras were bright green which indicated both jealousy, bitterness, and resentment. She had tried standing up for herself before and it did not end well. There were cameras around. There was a chance that she could get photographed and it would reach her parents.

And then the day after, Mikaela would just find out that the people who gossiped about her had lost their careers or jobs and never got them back again. Their businesses would either suffer from bankruptcy or her parents would pull out as their investor which would damage the other party’s reputation. All those things would only trigger more resentment. Her parents did it a few times before.

Her parents, especially her mother, would always do something she never asked for. And whenever Mikaela would argue, her mother would become ill which would often make her feel guilty. Looking back, her whole life had been so… restraining. Her parents loved her so much, but that love made it hard for her to breathe at times. It was like she was walking with huge and heavy chains on her feet. And those chains were linked to her mother. Every time she attempts to fly, the latter would pull her and drag her back to her cage and call it “tough love”.

Right now, Mikaela’s mother may be quiet, but she knew that the latter was already thinking of ways to make her surrender eventually. Maybe that was also the reason why she was drawn to Blaze. With him, she felt a little brave. He was the only thing that she had the courage to fight for. Because since the first time she had met him, it was strange, but she felt like a part of her soul had been freed.

Although not completely. As if that could ever happen.

Mikaela sighed. She had a sullen expression as she gazed at the people around the restaurant. How she envied their freedom. How she wanted to break-free.

BLAZE’S brows furrowed when he saw Mikaela looking so deflated. She was not like that earlier. He only left for a moment to answer his assistant’s call. Did anyone bully her while he was away?

“Mikaela’s face and background were the only thing she can boast around. She’s an empty shell. And now look, after flirting with my boyfriend at her party, she’s with another man again. And a total hottie at that! I’m sure she was the one who flirted with him first. I bet that’s the only thing she’s good at.”

Blaze glanced at the three women sitting near his table. Hmm… so these humans were the reason. And here he thought that places like this were only for hopeless romantic fools. But gossipmongers were allowed entry in here, too.

He walked towards Mikaela. She raised her head and smiled timidly. “You’re back.”

“Are you done eating?”

She nodded.

“Then come with me.”

“To where?”

Blaze did not say another word. He just took Mikaela’s hand and brought her towards the gossipmongers. The women had stopped chatting when they saw his grim expression. “Thank you for complimenting me. But you got it wrong, ladies. I’m the one chasing Mikaela. Goodness, this lovely woman beside me doesn’t even know how to flirt.” Heck, she doesn’t even know how to kiss. And she blushes so easily. So how could someone like her be an expert at flirting? “I get that you envy her since she is the loveliest woman in this place right now, but must you really pull that ugly trick to bring her down? Get your facts straight before spreading rumors. Do this again and I will not hesitate to sue you all for oral defamation.”

The women became pale. This was the reason why he disliked humans. Most of them were too shallow for their own good.

“I-I’m sorry,” they said in unison.

He turned to Mikaela. “Do you forgive them?”

“Y-yes,” she replied, still surprised.

“See that? Mikaela is different from all of you that’s why she chose to forgive you. But I don’t. I will remember your faces. If you do this again, then be prepared for the consequences. Come on, Mikaela. Let’s get going.”

After passing by their table, Blaze motioned his hand. The gossipmongers suddenly threw up.

“What’s happening? My tongue feels like it’s burning!” He heard one of them complained in a rough voice while they desperately called the waiter for a glass of cold water.

“Thank you,” Mikaela said in a low voice when they were back in his car.

“Don’t ever let anyone do that to you again. I’m the only one who can bully you, Mikaela Dela Cerna. Remember that.”

She pouted. “And here I thought you were concerned.”

He grinned and started driving. “So, why did you keep quiet?”

After a while, Blaze massaged his temples. What he did back there was pretty childish. He was too old for such crap. He could almost imagine Silas laughing his heart out if he heard about that. Blaze was surrounded by rumors all his life and he was always too busy to give a damn. But the minute he saw Mikaela’s face, he could not just stay still. His body moved on its own to defend her before he knew it.

I can’t believe I just praised the woman I’m supposed to hate and even defended her honor. Blaze even threatened Mikaela’s enemies including that dog Landon and had his servants took care of him. According to Gilmore, his assistant, the dog would flee to another country soon.

I must be out of my mind. Why the hell am I protecting something that I’m supposed to break?

“I was afraid,” Mikaela replied after a moment of silence.

“What?” Blaze asked, disoriented.

“You asked me why I kept quiet. That’s because I was afraid.”

“Oh.” Where the heck is your mind wandering off to, Blaze? “You are afraid of standing up for yourself?”

“No. I was afraid of what my mother would do once she finds out about those people. I could still endure the rumors. We can’t please everybody anyway. I just didn’t want Mom to be involved. If she heard about them, she would certainly avenge for me whether I like it or not. And it wouldn’t end well. I would hate it if such a small thing would ruin other people’s lives. I’ve seen people who ended up losing everything just because they badmouthed me. My parents, especially my Mom, could be merciless at times. Those ladies from the restaurant were wrong for badmouthing me, but I believe that they’re not exactly bad people. Maybe they’re just having a bad day and seeing me had triggered their negative feelings.”

Blaze’s forehead creased upon hearing the resignation in Mikaela’s voice. He was right in thinking that Sylvia would fail in comparison to her daughter. He had a full report about the Dela Cernas’ lives that’s why he knew that Sylvia still had that same obsessive personality even after becoming human. In fact, it seemed like her case had gone worse.

Or was it because she was scared that Mikaela would end up shouldering her mother’s sins that’s why she had become this protective?

“Instead of getting angry, I actually envy those women, you know. They get to have their dream jobs. They get to be in places they want to be. They get to do what they want. While I’m stuck here in La Union with my bodyguards. I get to keep my job as a photographer, but lately, I don’t feel happy anymore even if I’m holding my camera. These days, my heart feels empty when I’m looking at the pictures I took. I’m not even excited to take pictures anymore. That one thing that gave me so much happiness before was that same thing that was giving me emptiness now. With the way things are going, I’m afraid that one day, I might not be able to take pictures anymore.”

The sadness in Mikaela’s voice cannot be denied. Blaze glanced at her. She looked like a dove who had lost its wings. She was still a beautiful bird, no doubt. But he wondered what would she looked like if she could fly?