Nic never once had a serious relationship. He only had three girlfriends in the past and the longest was three years ago and lasted only for three months. Either he sucks at keeping a relationship or his standard was just too high.
Matthew was different though. Olivia was his first girlfriend and it looks like she will be the last. It just proves that Matthew was good at keeping a relationship and making his woman happy. Or maybe, he just found the one for him earlier than his friends.
After a while, Nic changed the topic. "Have you told her about us?" He asked.
Matthew looked up from his coffee and shook his head. "Not yet. But I am planning to tell her before proposing," He said this time, his face turned serious. If he was going to step up his relationship with Olivia, he wanted them to have no secrets from each other. He was certain that Olivia was not hiding any secrets from him. But he does.
And it was not an ordinary secret. There could be a high chance that Olivia would hate him or worse, break up with him if he told her. But he decided to risk it. He doesn't want to hide something that huge from her. But he will make sure that he will make her see that he is not a bad person. She could hate him but he will never let her go.
Nic looked at him with uncertainty. "Are you sure about that? What if she doesn't like this kind of life? What if she rejects you because of that?" He asked. Not that he doesn't like Olivia for Matthew or he was underestimating her, he just thought that Olivia was too good.
"Then I'll work hard to make her see our point of view. I will not let her go that easy," Matthew said with determination.
"Is she deserving of this?"
"She deserves everything in the world," Matthew replied as he stared at the burrito that Olivia made for him. He loves her more than he loves himself and hell would freeze first before he let her go. She might hate him or despise him in the beginning but he will not let her go. He will make her see the good in what he was doing and he just hopes that she loves him enough to see it.
An hour later, Matthew and Nic's separate cars parked in front of an imposing building. The architecture was old yet very sophisticated and was obviously well-maintained. Thankfully, it was still early in the morning and the sun was not high enough to shine on the marble walls of the building that would definitely reflect and blind those who would stare at it.
The building was located on a street that was famous for its arts and culture. Everywhere you look, you can see signs of art like murals, sculptures, landscapes, and the like. Different kinds of artists of all ages flock around the streets carrying their canvases and easel. Some carry huge cameras. Others were dressed with dust and whatnot on their clothes.
The sophisticated building was among the four famous theaters in the country that was located on that street. Only two of those theaters were still operating by its definition. One has already been turned into a museum while the one in front of them has turned into a dance and theater school.
The school was run by Matthew's mother, Isabella Brown who was once dubbed as the country's prima ballerina, and Daxon's mother, Lily Kho, a former singer and actress. With their background, they managed to operate the school while keeping up with the standards and expectations.
Through the years, the school had already created numerous prima ballerinas, professional dancers from different genres, and actors on screen and stage. All of those did not come from rich families because the school was sponsored by a nonprofit organization with the aim of helping aspiring dancers without means or any kind of financial resources to reach for their dreams.
Upon reaching the school, Matthew soon realized that the reason why his mother called to meet him is that she just wanted to know if he had proposed already and was asking what was Olivia's reaction.
When Matthew told her that he hadn't proposed yet, he received a smack on his head and his mother instantly chastised him. She accused him of having second thoughts but when Matthew said that he was just finding enough courage to propose to her, both his mother and Daxon's mother who was also present started to mock him.
Apparently, Matthew asked for his mother's advice when picking up an engagement ring. In fact, his mother was with him when he bought the ring. So she was expecting Matthew to propose soon. But she didn't think that Matthew would take too long to propose just because he doesn't have enough courage.
It seems like when it comes to facing possible rejection, Matthew got his cowardice from his father. His father made a mistake with his mother in the past. But in fear of rejection, instead of facing her, he procrastinated, and took him ten years to finally get the courage to face his mother and begged her to forgive him and come back to him.
When Matthew heard of his parent's story, he looked at his father with disdain and even said that he was surprised that his mother forgave him.
When Isabella and Lily recovered from mocking Matthew, Nic diverted their attention and asked Lily if she had heard from Daxon. It was only then they found out that Daxon left the city and was somewhere in a secluded mountain having his own retreat.
They were not surprised though. It was common for Daxon to be missing for days only to return and tell them that he was in the middle of the sea or on top of a mountain finding inspiration for the song he was writing.
Though used to Daxon's peculiar behavior and eccentricity, his mother doesn't approve of him going anywhere alone. She fears that something might happen to Daxon while he was alone and they do not have any idea or any way to find or help him.
Matthew and Nic were forced to stay until lunch much to Nic's dismay though he never showed or expressed his approbation. Both Matthew and Nic have such high regard and respect for those ladies that they cannot even say no to them. Especially Matthew.
Isabella and Lily were Nic's mother's best friends so they were like mothers to him as well. Lily, being his Aunt, was much more.
Isabella and Lily ordered lunch from their favorite restaurant, Sadie's, which was owned by Timothy's sister, Sadie. It became their favorite not because they were partial to its owner but because Sadie's really lived up to expectations.
The restaurant was newly opened a couple of months ago but it already gained popularity and reputation.
After lunch, Matthew and Nic were finally able to leave the school and headed toward a mountain that was two hours from the city. Most of the mountain was owned by Nic's family. It houses the headquarters of a nonprofit organization that was founded by Nic's great-grandfather. His mother was the current chairman.
But aside from the headquarters of the nonprofit organization, an underground facility was hidden in the deepest and most luscious part of the mountain. It was hidden underground but above the ground, it was concealed by thick vegetation and lush trees.
Matthew and Nic's cars parked far from the underground facility simply because it was impossible for their car to get near it since there was no road or trail visible. They trekked towards the underground facility while chatting as if the long arduous walk was nothing to them.
Well, they were just simply used to it since they have been coming here ever since they were teens. The mountain and the underground facility were their playgrounds. All of their friends except the three women used the underground facility as their training ground and hang-out place when they were young and were hiding from their mothers.
It was indeed a very peculiar place to play and grow up with.
The entrance of the underground facility was hidden by vegetation. The main door has plants creeping on it. The biometric scanner was hidden behind layers of vines and leaves. Since it was Matthew who was standing in the front, it was he who took the initiative to enter his biometrics into the scanner.
He placed his palm on the scanner. Then it was followed by the iris scanner. After that, they heard an automated voice of a woman. "Please state your name and user code,"
Matthew cleared his throat first to make sure that he would state his name clearly because there were times that if the name was stated unclear, the automated voice would deny passage. "Matthew Brown," He said clearly and then he followed it with a series of numbers and letters as his passcode.
Everyone who has access to the underground facility has their own user codes. Only a few were allowed access. Those were Matthew, Nic, and the rest of their friends in their circle, then their fathers.
Except for Nic's mother who technically owned the place, the rest of their mothers don't have access to the underground facility not because they were not allowed but because they simply don't want to participate in whatever it is that was going on there.
Well, Matthew's mother is also another exception because her violent nature would require her to an hour or two in one of the rooms at the underground facility.
Soon, the door behind the leaves and vines opened. Nic and Matthew had to clear the vines away so that they could pass through and then return them to their position behind them. Once inside, the floor they were stepping into started to descend.
When the underground facility was first established, there was no elevator but multiple flights of stairs that would lead them hundreds of feet underground.
Now, the underground was more advanced and innovative. The main door itself was made of tons of ballistic steel. Though the facility was not heavily guarded by humans, its security system was by far the best in the country. It was impenetrable and only the right people were given access inside.
Above the underground facility, there were multiple sensors scattered all over the place that would alarm the person who runs the facility when an intruder was spotted even from miles away. Though there has never been a case where an intruder or even a lost mountaineer was spotted because the facility was inside a private property.
Trespassing inside the property was impossible because of the heavy security, even more so, getting near the underground facility.