Still angry with Grae, Audrey decided to wake him up when they reach Batangas City.
While staring at the man beside her, she suddenly realized that this annoying sleeping guy was actually her savior when she almost fell from a ladder at the bookstore just a week ago.
She somehow calls him her guardian angel since she doesn't know his name.
She recalls what happened that day at the bookstore.
"Ate* Lianne, I reached the bookstore. I'm already looking through their shelves." Audrey was looking at each shelf for books about photography while she is on the phone talking with Lianne, a friend who's older than her. She also considers her as her own big sister.
[Great. You'll find a book about photography and its techniques. Just look for the ones you can easily understand so you can train step by step. Okay?] Lianne explained.
"Oh, right. Thank you for helping me with this, Ate. I really want to learn and be trained by professionals like you." Audrey smiled while thanking her.
[Oh, c'mon. I'll never break my promise. Also, I really want to work with you. I missed you a lot. You've been busy since you started college.] Lianne pouted on the other line.
"Alright, Ate*. I'm going to look for the book now. See you later." After ending the call, she kept her phone in her pocket and started looking for the book.
The only problem now is how will she find the book that she needs in this very big bookstore?
"I guess I need to find it the hard way. Oh well. Books don't have GPS in them, Audrey. Start looking." She whispered to herself.
She couldn't find anyone who could assist her anyway, so she decided to just look for the book on her own. She even tried to look for any title of the book randomly on google which will make things easier for her.
She tried to find it from different shelves. She even used a ladder since the other books were too high. After almost an hour of searching, she finally found what she's looking for. It even matches the title she saw on her google search results.
"Does it really have to be that high?" She asked herself like a crazy woman.
She had no choice but to use the ladder again. She climbed up on it until she reached the top shelf.
She was in a rush to reach the top that she forgot to move it closer to the book that she needs.
Now, it's hard for her to reach the book on her right because it's too far from her reach.
A crazy idea formed in her mind. If she tiptoes while reaching the book, she could finally get it. She sighed.
"I know this would be crazy but better than going down again and moving the ladder. It would take too much time." She had another monologue with herself.
Grae was on the phone with his hired wedding photographer and friend, Lianne, when he accidentally heard Audrey's monologue.
He finished talking with Lianne before looking up and saw Audrey talking to herself.
"Is she talking to herself?" He smiled and tried to hold his laughter. "What is a crazy woman doing here?"
He saw her tiptoed on the ladder and trying to reach a book on the shelf.
"Silly girl. Is she stupid? Why didn't she move the ladder closer to the book she needs?" He shook his head.
He just watched the girl and saw the serious expression on her face. Grae suddenly smiled again as he found her cute with that kind of expression.
Just a minute later, he realized that the ladder started shaking. He suddenly got worried for the girl and ran closer to the ladder.
Audrey slipped and closed her eyes. She almost fell when Grae saved her just in time.
She slowly opened her eyes again when she realized that she did not hit the ground.
She saw a pair of hazel brown eyes staring back at her. His face is just a few inches away.
"Am I seeing an angel?" She thought.
"Are you okay, Miss?" He asked her worriedly.
"Oh, God, am I seeing an angel right now? Why am I too close with his face?" She thought to herself again.
The incident didn't even sink in her mind. She was just too shocked and scared to process what just happened.
"Miss?" Grae looks at her leg to see if she has any injuries before looking back at her.
" H-huh?" Was her only answer.
Audrey was back to her old self when she realized what just happened.
Embarrassed, she moved down from being carried by him. She didn't even look at him. Grae picked up a book that fell on the ground.
"Uh, t-thank you for saving me." He gave her the book that he picked up. It was the book she was looking for.
Grae saw what is the title of the book and smiled again.
"You're a photographer?" He asked her.
"Well, not professionally. Not just yet." She answered while holding the book. "Sorry, I need to go and pay for this. I still have to study this book. Again, thanks for saving me. Bye." She quickly left.
'Gosh! That was embarrassing!' She thought as headed to the cashier to pay for the book. 'I still need to wait for Ate in the reading area. Right. I should just wait for her and read this book.'
~***~
"Audrey." Lianne called her as she approached her.
Audrey smiled when she saw her coming.
"Big sis!" She called back.
"We should go to the Bookhaven cafe. It's just on the other side of the street. I just had a call with my client and told me to meet him there." Audrey nodded and followed her.
When they came to the Bookhaven cafe, Lianne looked around to find her client, Mr. Montereal.
It's easy to find him since she knew her client-slash-close friend anyways. She knew his favorite spot in the cafe.
"Hey." Grae greeted her.
"Grae! So sorry, I was late. There was a traffic jam along the way." Lianne apologetically explained.
"No worries. I had to go to the bookstore anyway. So I didn't wait here that long." He reassured her.
"By the way, I came with my other friend. I hired her as my assistant. Would you mind letting her join us? She will be helping with the photoshoot anyway." Lianne asked him.
"Sure. No problem." He answered before looking at the woman beside her.
He was surprised to see her again. Audrey looked at him as if she didn't know who she was talking to. She had forgotten about the incident after being too busy studying the book she bought and Lianne's sudden announcement with her client.
"This is Audrey Alcantara. Audrey, this is Mr. Graeson Montereal. He will be our client." Lianne introduces them to each other.
"Nice to meet you, Sir Graeson." She politely greeted.
"Nice to meet you too." He greeted back.
He thought she was trying to pretend she didn't know him just to hide herself from embarrassment. That's why he pretended like she was just another stranger he met.
They started talking about Grae's pre-nuptial photoshoot and the venue. Although Audrey is still starstruck with Grae's good looks, she stills listens with what he wants for his wedding.
"It must be perfect." He lastly says.
"We'll do our best, Grae." Lianne reassured him and he nodded.
"Well then, I need to go first. I still have some important things to do this afternoon." He suddenly looked at Audrey and smiled. "Audrey, it was nice meeting you. See you guys next week." He finally left.
"We need to go too. We have a lot of things to prepare. I'm going to check the venue they choose." Audrey nodded with what Lianne said. They also left the cafe.
~***~
It was Wednesday when they started the shooting. The bride looks stunning.
"Audrey, watch the photoshoot and pay attention to what I'll be doing. I know you're a fast learner. You'll definitely catch up. Tomorrow, you'll be the one to continue this at the other venue. I'll just supervise you." Audrey nodded with excitement. That will be her very first photo shoot.
She watched the Lianne as photoshoot started. Audrey suddenly thought that there was a problem between the couple. Because the two didn't cooperate with the photographer and there seemed to be awkwardness between them.
"What's with the atmosphere? They look like they're about to get imprisoned." She thought.
"Miss Ciara, please smile. We're almost done," Lianne said. Trying to lighten up the mood.
~***~
After a few more shots, the photoshoot was done. The couple went back to the dressing room. Audrey started packing up the equipment and helped the other staff.
While passing by the dressing room, she heard the voices of Ciara and Grae arguing.
"Ciara, are you sure about this?" It was Grae who asked.
"Why wouldn't I? Don't you want it too? With this, both of our companies can merge. It will strengthen the bond between our families, Grae." Ciara smirked.
"But that's not what I-" Ciara interrupted him.
"Let's not talk about this if you don't want us to be fighting like this, Graeson." She stared at him with a warning look.
"Okay." When Grae agreed, Ciara left him.
She saw Audrey when she opened the door. But she didn't say anything and left.
Audrey saw Grae staring at her. She was surprised when he suddenly smiled.
She was back to her old self and quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry, Sir Grae! I didn't mean to..." She clasped her hand as if praying for forgiveness.
"No. It's okay. I know you didn't mean to eavesdrop." He stared at the floor before shifting his gaze on Audrey. "Would you like to have coffee with me?"
Audrey just nodded.
"C'mon then." He quickly held Audrey's hand before they left the studio.
~***~
They arrived at the coffee shop just a few blocks away from the studio. Grae ordered a slice of ube cake and iced coffee for Audrey. While he ordered one americano coffee for himself.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." He started.
Audrey just didn't know what to say and just kept silent.
"To tell you the truth, we were just forced to get married. It's… our parents who actually planned everything." He continued before shifting his stare from the table to her.
"Oh… okay. I see." Audrey didn't know why she suddenly felt nervous. She quickly drank her ordered iced tea to hide it.
"By the way, since when were you and Lianne became friends? Or, is she one of your closest cousins?" Grae took a sip from his cup.
"No. Lianne is just one of my closest friends. She was our neighbor before. She even became my playmate and best friend when we were still kids. We treat each other like we're sisters." She smiled after explaining.
"I see." Grae smiled, showing his dimples.
"Oh God! Why is he so gorgeous?" She thought to herself.
"Do I have something on my face?" Audrey snapped back to reality when he said that.
"No." She just shook her head as she responds.
"Okay." Grae just nodded.
"This is just awkward. Is he really my guardian angel?" She thought.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
"That must be Lianne," Grae stared at her again. Making her feel nervous.
"Sorry, excuse me." She quickly answered the call. "Hello?"
[Where are you?] The woman on the other line shouted.
Audrey smiled apologetically as if Lianne will see it.
"H-hey, Ate. Sorry. Actually, Mr. Grae invited me here at the coffee shop near the studio." She answered and shifted her stare from the table to Grae.
[I see. You made me feel worried. My staff didn't know where you went.] Lianne massaged her forehead.
"I'm sorry about that, Ate." After sipping his coffee, Audrey quickly looks away from him.
[It's okay. I think Grae just needs someone to talk to right now. I can feel there is a problem between him and his fiancee. We can't even make it look like they really are in love in their picture.] Audrey felt the same way when she was watching the photo shoot.
"Do we need to go now?" Audrey asked her.
[Yeah. They're ready.] Lianne answered.
"Alright. We'll be right there." She reassures her and the call ended. "We should definitely head back now, Mr. Graeson. They're looking for us."
Grae smiled while staring at his coffee.
"You can just call me Grae." He stared at her, still smiling. "Just Grae would be fine. We're friends now anyways. Lianne's friend is also a friend of mine."
When they came back, they continued doing the photo shoot. Audrey watched the soon-to-be couple with sadness and pity.
If only there is a way she can help them. A bit of advice maybe?
~***~
Present…
"Why did they even continue with the marriage when they don't even love each other?" These questions are still running on her head.
"Seeing how they've been treating each other lately, they must've been really forced to get married, huh?" She shook her head. "It's really hard to be living with a rich family. Some rich people had the power and money, yet rich children sometimes don't have their own decision. Sometimes, their life has already been planned out for them by their parents. What a sad life!"
She suddenly stared at the window on her side with her chin resting on her palm.
"I wonder if mom and dad would've done the same thing for me if they're still alive. If that were to happen, I will never let them do whatever they want. I have my own freedom and right to choose. It's my life and I should plan my own future." She glanced back at the sleeping Grae beside her.
"I wonder if it's okay for him to stay at our place for the meantime?" She whispered to herself.