After my last class for the day I hurriedly went back to my room to get ready for my appointment with Ms DelRosa.
A pink dress was laid out on the bed already along with a pair of white strapped heels and a matching white bag. A grateful smile pressed on my lips and i sighed in relief. "I'm sure going to thank her for this when i get back" i whispered to myself and waltzed into the bathroom.
I sat in front of the dresser to get myself ready after dressing my body with a lotion and deodorant. I styled my curls up in a bun and used a pin to hold it up to avoid some stubborn curls from escaping the knot and then applied my favorite gloss since I saw no use for a full makeup.
Satisfied with my facial appearance I picked the dress up from the bed and put it on. I got into my shoes and sprinkled perfume on my body.
Giving myself a last glance in the mirror I picked up my portfolio and bag and exited the dormitory. I got to the lobby and pulled out my phone to book a cab when the glass door swung open and he strode in confidently with a heart swooning smile looking all good in the suit he was putting on.
"Romero?" He grabbed my waist to kiss my forehead and I took in the inebriating fragrance of his cologne. "W...what are you doing here?"
He placed his hand on his chest and twisted his face in feign hurt. "Ouch! That hurt tesoro. Of course I came to pick up my girlfriend" my heart swooned at the title and my cheeks heated up in delight.
"You're going with me?" He tucked his hands in his pocket and rolled his eyes. "You ask the silliest question at times Angel"
"I'm sorry. I don't just want you to miss your classes because of me" he sighed and pulled my hands in his. "In as much as my academic is a priority, you are too and I'll always make out time to be with you especially on important days as today and to prevent you from over thinking things, today is Monday, I have no classes today" realization dawned on me and i sent him an apologetic and a grateful smile.
"C'mon let's go, I don't want you to be late" I nodded in agreement and locked my arm around his then we left.
"By the way Damon said he'll meet us there and if he can't make it he'll be there for dinner" he informed me once we were settled in the car.
"He plans on coming too?"
"Yeah. He said he doesn't want to miss being by your side cause he knows how much you've been waiting for this day" I turned my face away from him to hide the tears in my ears.
I remember when I used to seek for God to give me an answer to a particular question that always made me question my existence.
I use to ask him what I did to deserve the loss of my parents and get adopted by Nora. I used to ask that question cause I saw myself as an innocent little girl who committed no sin to deserve the harsh life i was thrown into and now I am going to contradict the question; What did I do to deserve such good people in my life?
I didn't commit a horrible sin to lose my parents neither did I do the most righteous thing to get blessed with the friends he gave me.
I've come across so many people testimonies online sharing with us how their very horrible situation changed in the blink of an eye without them even realizing it which proved to them that 'God works in a mysterious way' and now he has given me a reason to believe that too.
From taking away my loving parents and aunt to taking me into the clutches of a selfish woman who claimed to be my Mom and now he has brought different humans to fill my life up with colors.
Nora may not have been physically abusive but her taunting words and controlling actions were far worse than being tortured physically. Every child would have been happy to get adopted by a wealthy woman like her but I'm not every child and I despised being adopted by her.
I'd choose being adopted by a poor family that would have loved me the way my parents did than getting adopted by a narcissistic controlling lady.
I never imagined my freedom would come anytime soon but here i was. I was no longer a caged bird, I'm out like a free bird soaring up in the blue sky getting ready to achieve all my dreams and the dreams my parents had for me.
I wanted my life to have a good turn but what i didn't expect was for it to turn so quickly. I have it at the back of my head that I'd face many more obstacles but as long as I have my best friend, Nicole, gyeong, Rishi and... I shifted my gaze from the window and twisted my body to face him only to find him looking at me already.
My cheeks heated up in embarrassment and I hid my face to wipe my tears but he stopped me before i could. "You really have a strong attachment to those precious tears hmm?" He kissed the tears away from my face while caressing my cheeks with his thumbs.
"Thank you so much Romero, thank you for coming into my life" he smiled and rose my head up by my chin. "You don't have to thank me Angel, you should thank God for writing our destinies together and I should thank him for sending one of his many Angels to me" my tears fell on his knuckles after his sweet words and he pulled me into a kiss filled with love and passion.
~~~~
"Andrea relax would you?" He held my jerking thighs down and shot me a reprimanding glare. "You can't blame me Romero, w..what if she suddenly decides that she doesn't like my works again and....
"Your brain sure knows how to think the strangest things. If she suddenly made that decision she would have sent you a text telling you not to bother with the meeting cause why'd such a busy lady waste her time on something she'd end up rejecting?" He reasoned which made absolute sense but it didn't stop me from worrying.
"But Romero I... "Ms Garcia?" I froze under the call of my name and slowly turned to look at the kind secretary that brought us in. "Yes"
"Uhm Ms Delrosa will see you now" she informed and I felt my heart drum louder. "Give me a second" she nodded with a kind smile and left me alone with Romero.
"Andrea" he gruffed out with a deep sigh and cupped my cheeks. "Stop over thinking this alright? I'm sure everything is going to be just fine and if anything does happen you are a strong lady and I know you can handle it besides I'll be just here for you hmm?" He whispered soothingly and hugged me.
"A..are you sure you'd be fine all by... "Angel" he called warningly and I smiled nervously before getting into the room that determined my future career and dreams behind its door.
The soft scent of her perfume mixed with cherry welcomed my presence and I looked around the beautiful office loving the sky blue and white theme that threw off a soft yet cool vibe.
Different paintings created by professional and talented artists decorated the walls but a particular one caught my eyes.
I squinted my eyes to be sure it was the same painting I made when I was still very little that hung there. That was my first art piece and it had been missing since I was five so how did it get... Only one person could answer the questions in my head.
"Ms DelRosa?" She twirled her seat around to face me and it felt like I was struck with thunder as I stared at the replica of my mother. "Hello there princess" she smiled at me while i kept staring at her to be sure she was the one.
Her brown skin glowed under the ray of the lights, her braided hair was up in a high bun and she looked more mature than the last time i saw her.
"A..aunt Aurelia?" I choked out as I gawked at the one true family I have left in this world. Arabella DelRosa. My mother's maiden name rang a bell in my head. How did I never see this clue?
She got up from her seat and came towards me. "Andrea, princess" she whispered and pulled my body into hers and without wasting a second I wrapped my arms around her body and succumbed into her long lost embrace.
The last time I got to hug her was when she was leaving me and it felt so good being with her again cause I felt closer to my mom.
She pulled away and i looked into her brown orbits filled with tears. "I'm sorry for disappearing from your life Andrea, i hope you get to forgive me" I smiled between my tears and shook my head.
"I never held it against you Aunt, I may not had known your reasons for leaving but i believe you did that for a good course and now I wish you'd let me know" she smiled and brushed the tears off my face.
"Of course sweetheart, you deserve an explanation and I'm going to give you the answers to your questions once we're done with the main reason I called you here" she tried switching the mood into a professional one but failed cause we ended up laughing.
~~~~~
"So you were there during the exhibition?" She smiled and rested her back on the chair. "Yes princess, I was upstairs when you walked in and it took me self control not to come there and take you into my embrace but i held myself cause this idea struck in my head" I laughed and shook my head in amusement cause I found it funny how we can be oblivious to the presence of the people we're searching for.
"So you decided to buy my works for your gallery because I am... "No darling. I didn't choose to display those master pieces because you are my niece. You see, Museu Gråfico deals with talented, professional and fantastic artworks and it so happens that my niece's artwork meets the qualifications of my gallery" i grinned at her compliments.
"Thanks aunt, you don't know what this opportunity means to me" she smiled and waved it off.
"You deserve it princess besides who was the muse?" She raised a brow with a knowing look on her face and I looked away to avoid her accusing gaze.
"Uhmm.. Aunt, well you see... "You two are together? And you are engaged even" she cried out dramatically. "That's not it aunt, yes we're together but what gave you the idea that we are engaged?" She scoffed and pointed the ring on my fingers.
"Can you explain that princess?"
"Ohhh. Well you see aunt this isn't an engagement ring, it's more like a promise ring" I explained with a shy smile on my lips.
She said nothing and just stared at me deep in her thoughts. "I'm not going to judge yet cause I don't know him personally and I haven't been in your life for long so i can't just show up and start detecting how you should live but I'm going to trust you with this decision and also believe that he is a good guy after all he is the son of the Rodrigos' so I'm expecting him to be a good guy?" I smiled and went to wrap my arms around her neck.
"Thank you so much aunt" she pulled my hand and kissed my knuckles. "You don't have to thank me sweetheart cause I promise while I'm in your life I'm going to make up for our lost moments and prove how much I really love you" my tears fell on her shoulder and I kissed her cheek.
"I love you too aunt"