Private Affairs by Libby Lestrano (free books to read txt) 📕

Chapter 1

It’s not easy to clean a mess, especially when the clutter has been accumulated for nearly six months, as in the case of Cornelia’s room. She has been cleaning for almost an hour and she’d finished only half of the place. Although Cornelia has more distinct biceps than other ladies at her age, she works extremely slow, judging by the size of her room which is only three meters in width and length, enough for a small lady like her.

After several minutes, she started cleaning her cabinet which is the only one left untidy. She opened the first chest and instantly found empty bottles of cosmetic stuffs. After putting out all the unnecessary objects, only a half-filled bottle of perfumes was left. The second chest was quite heavy which made her more excited.

“This is more like opening gifts.” She thought.

When she was finally able to open it, she sighed dryly.

“Oh, books!”

She never liked books, especially the ones in her drawer. Science books. High-school stuffs. She hates single thought of it. It was only then that she realized she hadn’t been emptying her cabinet since high-school days.

“It’s time to get rid of these,” she uttered. When everything was gone, she let out a big sigh of relief when the drawer became lighter and a lot easier to open.

She pushed the pile of books and empty bottles to give way, for the third drawer. The third chest was also heavy. When she opened it, she found another heap of books. This time, it wasn’t about science but of martial arts. She took one which reads: Muay Thai: The Basics.

“I think I have to put you to another place.” She uttered to her self. She took out all her martial arts books and carefully placed it in her study table. She leaned closer at the opened drawer and found a yellow-green, hard cover publication. It was her high-school yearbook.

“I almost forgot I had this.” She thought.

She sat on the floor and opted to skim a little through the pages. She instantly opened the half part of the book and her eyes landed on a semi-beautiful female student: McCAULARY, BELLADONNA. She remembers this American girl. Bella’s one of the richest, if not the richest, student in her batch. She turns unto another next page and a very familiar huge-smiling face greeted her.

“Yan. William. Will… Oh, how can I forget?”

She remembers how she dislikes Will. She doesn’t like the way he shows how cool he is. He wears trendy clothes and always has the latest gadgets. He even speaks about how he maintains high grades without becoming a dork who reads loads of books. Moreover, he was a big bully. Together with his best friend Lucas, they keep bullying other kids in the school. Cornelia, on the other hand was never bullied a lot. She was way too serious and it’s very rare that somebody plays prank on her, probably thinking that she isn’t fun to be played upon.

“Well, where’s mine?”

She skimmed backwards and finally found hers. DIAZ, CORNELIA. She scanned thoroughly. She looks exactly just the same as in the picture.

“Nothing’s changed. Look at this… my hairs just the same. Maybe, it’s high time to change my hairstyle.” She said as she slowly closed the book and returned it to the drawer.

She continued dusting off the drawer and she was relieved to see only one drawer’s left.

The last drawer, however, is very light. It appears empty, as she looked inside.

“Didn’t I put anything here?” She asked her self.

She leaned closer and something metallic caught her eyes.

She reached out her right hand to grab the thing. She took it out. It was a bullet. A semi-golden bullet coated in dust. She let out a what-is-this-thing-doing-here look. She wiped it with her shirt and closely looked at it. A grin flashed in her face as if she had just made a love potion.

“Funny how little things change.” She muttered.

Chapter 2

Tok! Tok! Tok! Somebody’s knocking in the door.

“Are you done cleaning?” It was her mother’s voice.

“Not yet.” She cautiously placed the bullet in her closet. “I still have to…” she closed the closet, “finish cleaning the drawer.”

“Okay, and what’s taking you so long?” her mother patiently asked, “Well excuse me…can you please open the door first?”

Oh! Stupid! She thought, blaming her self for being so blundery.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she hurriedly opened the door, “it’s the trash…They’re blocking the door.”

“Yeah, that’s what you get for not letting me clean your room. You really thought you’re a grown-up lady, aren’t you?” her mom muttered making some gestures. She admits she doesn’t want seeing Cornelia grow-up yet.

“No, of course not. It’s just that…you throw everything away. Everything you find unnecessary.” Cornelia said sluggishly.

“Okay, okay, fine. By the way, Mrs. Park invited us tonight at her birthday so you better get ready.” Her mom spoke rapidly. “I hear she throws good parties.”

“Fine. Okay. I’ll go.” She answered. “So is that all?”

“Why do you want me to go away?” Mrs. Diaz asked roughly. “Don’t you want to see me? When you were younger, you always want me to go with you. Things have changed a lot…”

“No. it’s just that I’m cleaning the room,” she said soulfully. “and I don’t want to be late tonight.”

“Okay.” her mother said comfortly. “I’ll go now.” She walked away. “And don’t forget…8 o’clock!”

“8 o’clock. Okay!” she shouted back. She slammed the door.

She let out a sigh of relief as she heard her mother’s footsteps fading away. Her mother, being a single parent has been a very busy mother. She is working in an insurance company and has been so close with her past and present clients. She is a gregarious woman. She loves going to big events and meet different kinds of people. That’s one thing Cornelia hasn’t acquired from her mother. Her mother is also a very lenient person. She even respected her decision not to go to college. Her mother trusts her so much which give her a queer feeling

They arrived at the venue at exactly 8. It is a grandiose place and is elegantly decorated. Some details are in crystal white which suits for the Madame’s 75th birthday. But the background is principally white. White tables. White chairs. White flowers. White theme for the guests’ suits. Almost everybody is in white. Cornelia looked at herself.

She’s wearing pink.

“Fine.” She sighed. She has only two casual dress which she wore during her Junior and Senior Prom nights; the one she’s wearing and the second which is a yellow dress. Good thing she hasn’t changed a lot physically. It still fits.

After a short while, the birthday celebrant came out. She’s an elegant looking Caucasian woman wearing a white dress embroidered in silver and black crystals with ends almost touching the floor. She walked straight into the middle.

The crowd became silent.

“Ladies and gentlemen, nice to see you all here!” she began. “As the more respective of you has probably realized by now, this is my birthday.” The crowd burst in to modest laughter. “And I am 75 years old.” She whispered her age. The crowd continued to giggle. “So I’m not making this long and I want you all to enjoy my party tonight!” she ended. And the people applauded loudly as the musicians started to play their melody and the whole place was filled with sumptuous music.

Cornelia was enjoying herself with the party. Drinks were offered which she gladly took. She’s not into meeting other people and making new acquaintances. She enjoys being alone. She looked at her mother and found her talking with the birthday celebrant. It looks like Mrs. Diaz is enjoying the party very much.

“Hello, Diaz. How are you?”

She turned to see where the voice came from. A man wearing a broad smile greeted her. He was holding a drink while staring at her, smiling. She smiled back.

Do I know you? She thought playfully. She doesn’t recognize him but she kept on smiling.

The man is wearing white spacious long-sleeves paired with black pants. She can tell that the man has a foreign blood but she can’t identify specifically. He’s tan-skinned of about 5’10 in height and has a good posture. He is a bit untidy compared to other guys inside the place but his aura is quite masculine.

“Hi.” She said timidly as she continues to display her almost-fading smile. “Ahm…um…uh.” She doesn’t know what to say. She glanced around trying to find anything that she can talk about.

“Uh, well.” The man broke the silence. “ probably you don’t remember me Cornelia, but I remember you too well. By the way…It’s Park, Lucas Park.” He said as he stretched his arm for a handshake.

She took his hand but she kept on thinking. Park? Lucas Park? She tried to remember her childhood memories, her playmates and classmates, but she can’t remember of any Park.

“I’m Lucas. William Yan’s cousin.” The man pointed out probably noticing her bewildered face.

Her face lightened up. “Yeah, yeah…I remember you.” She uttered delightedly. She remembers William and his cousin Lucas. Funny, she even thought of them this morning. The big bullies in school. Lucas, however, is two years ahead of them that’s why she has a hard time recognizing him. And besides, he has changed a lot,. He was lighter-skinned and way way clean and fresh-looking during their high-school days. Anyhow, he’s as handsome as before, but in a different phase, this time, he has turned to be a real man.

“So, why are you here?” she asked.

Lucas smiled. “Well, it's my mother's birthday.”

“Oh!” she laughed as if trying to say how foolish she is. She remembers that Will has an aunt who cannot have a baby and had tried almost every way to become pregnant. It must be Lucas' mother, she thought. His mother is 75 and Lucas is only about 27. It is indeed a big gap.

“Well, you've changed a lot, you know.” Cornelia continued.

“Did I?”