I was rushing because I needed to go to work. I walked straight out of the school, and there he was again, leaning against his car. What could he possibly want now?
"Get inside the car," he said authoritatively.
"I have work, Alzid. Stop bothering me. But if you plan to drive me, then I'll get in," I replied.
"We need to go somewhere. Postpone your work for now," he said, sounding emotionless. He seemed different today.
"What? Are you hearing what you're saying?" I asked in surprise.
"You have a contract with me. Before you take that job, you first signed a contract," he said, raising his voice.
"And where are we going? Please not now. You know how important this is to me," I pleaded.
"But this is more important to me," he said seriously.
"Let's go," he said, gripping my wrist tightly. I couldn't escape.
I got into his car without knowing where we were headed.
"Hey, answer me. Where are we really going?" I asked irritably.
"Just don't ask too many questions," he said seriously while driving.
I decided not to press him further until we arrived at a mall, specifically in the parking lot. We immediately got out of the car.
"What are we doing here? Are you just here to hang out? Seriously, you're really into this, aren't you?" I almost shouted at him. But he didn't speak. There was something off about him today; he seemed tense and extremely serious. What could be wrong?
We went inside the mall and headed straight to a boutique.
"Give her the most fancy dress," Alzid instructed a saleslady, who promptly complied.
"You're buying a dress and making me come with you?" I teased him.
But he ignored me. I was getting more annoyed with him. He hadn't been paying attention to me all this time. What was the point of bringing me here if he was just going to interrupt my work?
"What's your problem? Why are you ignoring me? Are you really just trying to annoy me? You're so weird," I said angrily.
He just looked at me, staring into my eyes with no visible emotion. He was really strange today.
"Here it is, sir," said the saleslady.
"Try it on," Alzid said tersely, his arms crossed.
"What? Me? Why me?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yes, you. Hurry up. I don't want to waste time," he said, glancing at his watch. I panicked and took the dress, heading to the fitting room.
The dress was stunning. It was simple yet beautiful, and I almost didn't want to take it off.
When I came out of the fitting room, Alzid examined me from head to toe, making me feel a bit awkward.
"How much is that?" he asked the saleslady.
"238,000 pesos, sir," the saleslady replied with a smile.
I almost dropped my jaw at what I heard.
"Okay, I'll take that one," he said.
I immediately approached Alzid. "Hey, what are you doing? Why are you buying this? It's so expensive. If I were you, I'd buy from a thrift store. Who are you giving this to? Your girlfriend?" I asked him.
If he was just going to give it as a gift, why spend so much? It's not about the price; it's about the effort and sincerity. I felt that spending 238,000 pesos was excessive. Even if I worked myself to exhaustion, I wouldn't earn that much in a single day.
"Yes, I'm giving it to my girlfriend," he said seriously.
"You're incredible... rich person. Wait, I'll take it off," I said, preparing to head back to the fitting room.
But he grabbed my arm.
"What?" I asked, puzzled.
"You'll wear it now. We have somewhere to go," he said, looking directly into my eyes.
"What? I thought you were giving this to your girlfriend?" I asked, still confused.
"Yes, and... you're my girlfriend, right?" he said awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.
I was stunned by what he just said, and I was still in shock. I only came to my senses when the salesladies started whispering and giggling. I felt embarrassed, knowing my cheeks were probably flushed. As if that wasn't enough, he also bought heels for me to wear.
I didn't deserve this. Why did he need to spend such a large amount on me? We walked out of the mall, and I struggled to walk in the high heels since I wasn't used to them.
And this man, with no hint of gentlemanly behavior, walked ahead, seeming impatient, constantly glancing at his watch.
"Hey! Wait for me. I'm struggling with these heels! I didn't want to wear them!" I shouted at him, but he continued walking, getting further away.
"HEY, YOU STUPID MAN!" I yelled.
My anger and the pain from the heels made me shout. I didn't understand why I had to wear such uncomfortable shoes.
He stopped and I felt embarrassed for yelling because people were staring at us. How humiliating. He turned around and hurriedly came towards me.
"Why do you need to wait for me? You can't even—" I didn't finish my sentence because he suddenly picked me up, which shocked me even more. He carried me like a bride and hurried towards the parking lot.
"Hey, what kind of scene is this? It's so embarrassing! Put me down!" I screamed, feeling utterly mortified.
Many people were watching us, which made it even more embarrassing. But he remained silent, focused on getting to the parking lot while carrying me. When we arrived, he put me down.
"Hurry up and get in the car. What time is it!" he shouted at me.
"I'm not getting into that car until you tell me where we're going. Do you understand? I don't know what's happening or why I'm dressed like this, so explain it to me now!" I demanded authoritatively.
He took a deep breath and then spoke.
"Okay...Okay, fine," he said, and I waited for what he would say next..