Wherein Regina isn't sure who her heart and mind desires.

or, Regina being in a relationship with Brian but loves Narda.

-----

Regina is incomplete. Aside from her dad's position in their company, she already have everything else she wants and yet, she still feels like something is missing.

"Regina, what do you say we'll go have dinner later?" her boyfriend says, she can feel him looking at her.

"hmm." she pretends to think.

She honestly wanna say no. She's had dinner dates with him for months now. She sees him everyday. It's too much if you're going to ask her.

"come on babe, we'll do our usual routine after." he said as he walks towards her.

She looked at him, his smile showing yet his eyes hinting something unholy.

She smirks, "is that all your head can think of Brian?" she asked.

She saw how his smile vanished, "it's not like that Regina. It's just tha-" she cuts him off with a chuckle.

He sounds pathetic, honestly. Why does she even bother to be stuck with him if she thinks like this about him? Simple. For power.

As stupid as it sounds, she'll only be able to fully have the position her dad has when she marries this guy. Vanguardia and Robles, two powerful families. It will only gain them everything more. It will give her everything she needs.

She's bound to this and she'll have it, even when she does not have feelings for him.

who cares about love anyways?

"I'm just kidding Brian, sure, let's have dinner and do that." she smiles with a nod.

Brian showed her his million dollar smile, the kind where girls fall for.

Too bad she isn't one of those.

She took in the scenery of the entire restaurant. Nothing changed. Every week, they literally come here for one of their dinner dates.

She waits for Brian to pull the chair for her, something along the lines of being a real gentleman.

But what is he doing anyways? hmm, right, he's already on his seat, looking at the menu.

She shook her head, such a disappointment. she thinks as she puts her things on top of the table.

guess I'll be a gentlewoman to myself, like I always do.

However, as she was about to pull the chair for her to take her seat, somebody already did it for her.

"good evening, ma'am." a voice of a girl says behind her.

She turned to look at the person, she feels her world paused for a scecond.

The girl smiles at her, the kind that makes her fall.

who is she?

She's never seen this girl even with her usual visits here with Brian.

she's new.

"good evening, thank you." she says, returning a genuine smile as she sat on her seat.

"no problem ma'am." the girl replies before standing beside her.

Taking a pen and a notepad, the girl smiles once again at her and asked for her order.

She eyed the girl, observing her entire form.

The girl is for sure shorter than her, her hair in a ponytail with her bangs like a window seeming perfect for her looks, wearing a white t-shirt and simple black slacks.

Her eyes, they look like stars shinning and gazing at her. Her nose, it's like any other nose but hers looks cute, for some reason she cannot fathom. Her lips, they look too captivating.

The girl's nametag says, "I'll get an----" she just lets Brian speak, whatever he wants.

She just wants to stare at this beautiful stranger in front of her. She's shameless for that.

"how about you, Regina?" she heard Brian asks.

She almost rolled her eyes, how dare he ruin such a beautiful moment.

"steak and your best wine, please." she finally says.

Surprised as to how she added please when she's the type to not care.

She decided to think about it later, for now, she's going to stare at the girl walking away from her.

Narda.

She did not mind Brian, he's talking about his golf tournament last week, one she does not care about.

They're currently eating and yet, her eyes can't seem to stop following Narda.

"Regina, are you listening?" she snapped out from her own thoughts as she looked at Brian once again.

"you know I don't give a fuck about your life, Brian." she directly says.

Brian looked offended, does she care? No. Not at all. He always talks about himself, about how he's got everything because of the power and money he has. How everyone adores him.

It makes Regina sick. Sure she feels the same, she loves the power being a Vanguardia have. But she knows there's more to just that power. Responsibility.

Brian does not have that sense of responsibility.

"you should at least pretend you do Regina, your dad wouldn't like it if you continue being a bitch." he said with a smile on his face.

How she wants to slap that smile away.

"right, you tell everything to my dad like you're some bitch who needs daddy's attention." she said.

She can see Brian gripping his utensils, her smile now showing.

She lets go of her utensils as well, meeting his glare.

"no usual fucking for you Brian, I'll go home on my own." she said as she drinks her wine.

She then stood from her seat, walking towards where the restroom is.

Regina looks at herself in the bathroom mirror.

until when will I be like this?

She asks herself. She admits she has her own fears.

She does not like being below everyone, power is all she ever wants. But she likes to think she's not that bad. Sure she can stay with Brian, but how long can she last?

Her thoughts stopped when one of the stalls opened, catching her attention.

She feels herself catching her breath when she's met eye to eye through the mirror with the girl who caught her attention earlier.

She watched as the girl smiled at her and nodded politely before washing her hands beside her.

She watched the girl's every move. Hell, she hopes she does not seem creepy from all the staring she gave earlier and now.

"have a good evening, ma'am." the girl tells her with a smile before walking out of the room.

that smile will be the death of me.

"what? it's not my fault he's an asshole dad." she says, answering her furious father. Brian really did said some shit about what happened last night and it's making her blood boil.

such a pussy.

"Regina, if Brian backs out with the wedding, you will not have the position you ever dreamed of." he told her.

Now she's the one that's furious.

"I'm still bound to that position no matter what, I am your daughter for fuck's sake dad!" she yelled.

Now, Regina's a calm one, but when she's mad, damn, run.

And who else can survive when she's mad than her own father.

"then act like one, act and think like a Vanguardia." he says before opening her door and leaving.

"I fucking hate you Brian Robles!" she yells after a few seconds of silence, smashing her laptop to the ground.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

It's a good thing her office walls are soundproof, it's a good thing nobody can see her lose her composure. It's a good thing nobody else see her this broken.

She walks towards a coffee shop, she'll have to fix whatever shit that happened between her and Brian.

of course he isn't here.

What does she even expect. He always does that, make her wait.

She rolled her eyes right after taking her sunglass off.

She decided to order first then find herself a comfortable seat afterwards.

She took her book out while she's waiting for Brian, planning to read another two or three pages. It's been her way of passing time since he is always like this.

"---for Regina?" was what she heard, she got so immersed in her reading she forgot she ordered something.

But that's not the point, she is familiar with the voice.

Narda.

As if a switch inside her flicked, she remembered the girl's name.

She immediately stood and went to get her coffee.

She's just unsure if the girl remembers her, 2 days is a already a long time for strangers like them.

"oh, ma'am. it's you." Narda greets her with the same smile she saw that night.

she does remember me.

"hi." she says, feeling like a teenage girl once again.

She thinks it's stupid if you ask her, but the feelings this Narda girl gives her is now her new favorite thing.

fuck money.

"Regina." she says, offering her hand for a handshake.

She waited for the girl's shift to end, it's kind of a blessing how Brian ditched her for some golf today. She got time to get to know this girl.

"Narda, ma'am." the girl said, accepting her hand.

"you can quit calling me ma'am, Narda. Just call me Regina or whatever floats your boat. just drop the ma'am, please?" she asked and Narda smiled at her.

"okay, I'll call you Reg." she's never heard anyone call her like that.

Now, that nickname should only come from Narda.

"take a seat?" she asks, motioning for the chair beside the girl.

"you sure you still want to stay here? you've been here since 12, it's 4 now." Narda asks her.

"right. do you want to go anywhere else?" she asked.

"are you sure you want to go out with a stranger?" Narda asked as she motioned for her to come with her.

Regina's not stupid. For all she knows this Narda could be a serial killer or someone with bad intentions.

But somehow, her instincts says she can trust Narda. Heck, she's even the one who waited for her.

"I know your name, we're not strangers now." she replied as they walk together, almost out of the coffee shop.

"plus, if anything, you should be the one to think about your safety..I'm a stranger who waited for you for hours, for all you know I'm a bad person." she added that made Narda chuckle.

"well, if one of us is bad, everyone saw us together..they just have to trace things to know." Narda tells her and she smiled.

They started walking towards God knows where, until they stopped.

"this place is just near the coffee shop, we can talk here." the girl tells her.

They are now in the park she does not know exists.

Narda wiped the bench with a towel before motioning for her to take a seat.

She looked at the surroundings. All the kids playing seemed to be free. Just little hopeful kids.

She remembers she used to be just like them. Happy and contented.

"so, why did you wait for me?" Narda asks her after a while of silence.

"I wanted to get to know you." she honestly said.

"why?" Narda asks.

She chuckles at the girl's question.

"why else would I want to?" she asks instead.

"I don't know, you tell me." Narda replied after rolling her eyes.

Regina laughed. It's a genuine one. For quiet awhile now, she's never laugh like this genuinely. The kind of laugh she's never had after her mom died.

"I want to be friends with you Narda." she said with a smile.

Narda looked like she's pondering about it for awhile before nodding.

"then we're now friends." the girl tells her.

"I like that." she replied.

"Regina, let's have a date." Brian tells her as soon as he entered her office.

She rolled her eyes at his words.

"you've been M.I.A for a month Brian. why the fuck are you asking for a date now?" she asks.

Brian did not actually sent her a message or chatted or even let her know he's still alive since that day.

Her dad told her he's probably just busy with business meetings, but she knows it's all bullshit.

She's not stupid, Brian isn't at all cautious with his games and dirty secrets.

The whole month he's never around, he's banging and fucking every girl he wants.

She doesn't care, honestly. But she had to hire those detectives to investigate about his affairs. She needs proofs. She needs something that will ruin Brian in front of her dad.

Or so she thought.

She remembers how her dad and her argued about the pictures she showed him. How he said it's just Brian enjoying his youth before he gets tied to her.

Like, sure, she hates Brian, she does not have any attraction or love for him, but she never cheated on him.

At least not with her actions. She's not sleeping with Narda. She's only been in love with her, but nothing more than friendship is happening between them.

The girl respects her and values her, Narda makes her feel safe and important.

And she finds it quite funny how she cares so much about Narda, how she values the girl and respects her as well.

She never cared for anyone else except for her best friend and for money.

The changes she noticed on herself made her happy. She feels more free.

But then, it doesn't make her clean though. She's as guilty as Brian is. He cheated and fucked every girl he wants and can get while she's here being in love with someone she can't call hers.

fucking set-up. I love Narda.

"Regina, let's just go. we're bound to get married in a month, it's not like I'll be able to do things I like after that." he reasoned.

She gets it now. Her dad told Brian to try and fix whatever it is he did.

She chuckled at her own thoughts.

"you know what Brian?" she said, standing from her office chair.

"go fuck yourself and your money." she said as she took her bag.

"we're over. I don't want to see your face here in my office when I get back." she said as she typed a message in her phone before walking away.

"Regina, how did you even think of this?" her best friend, Ali, asks.

"I mean, how did you reached at the conclusion that you'll be needing this huge amount of money one day?" he elaborated.

A year ago, she told Ali to keep her money. Put it under his name. Every week she adds and adds different amounts to it. She's saving. For what? She does not know at that time.

But now, she sure does.

That whole month she got to know things about Narda is also the same time she got to know herself more.

She's realized a lot since the girl came into her life.

Narda works as a writer, in fact, she's the author of the book she was reading when they met at the coffee shop. Aside from that, the girl has 2 part-time jobs. The one at the coffee shop and the other at the restaurant.

Clearly, Narda can have the things she wants. But she does not crave for power and all the things money can offer. The girl remained humble and simple. One that made her love Narda more.

Their everyday and every night routines of seeing each other, sleepovers, breakfasts, lunch and friendly dinner dates..She's never bored of it. She knows there's more to it.

She's not stupid, she knows Narda feels the same way for her.

But at the same time, Narda knows she's in a relationship with Brian for something she wants, Narda knows what Regina Vanguardia really wants---power.

She wouldn't be able to have that if they go beyond being friends.

"I honestly don't know. But right now, I'm very glad I did think of this." she told her best friend.

She sure knows how her dad will react when he finds out the things she's going to do and willing to go through for love.

fuck money and power. I love Narda more than anything.

"Reg." Narda calls as soon as she entered the restaurant.

"Narda." she went and hugged the shorter girl.

"hmm. what's wrong?" Narda asks her, hands comforting her just simply by tapping her back and hugging her protectively.

"nothing's wrong." she tells her.

Narda's shift isn't over yet, Regina knows that and so she distanced herself from the girl after the comforting hug.

"let's talk after work, Narda." she said at the same time Narda's boss called for her.

"I'll be quick Reg." the girl told her with a worried face. She smiles as she watches the girl go.

God. I am so in love with her.

She thinks as she took her phone out, calling someone.

"hey Ali."

"yes Regina, are you really going to do it?" he asks from the other line.

"I called to say that yeah, I will. she's all I need and cherish Ali. I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't do this now."

"your dad will surely disown you." he reminded her.

Her best friend, Ali, is not against her decision. He's actually proud of her, but of course, he knows how much Regina valued being a Vanguardia.

"when did I ever feel like he's my father, Ali? I don't recall any memories spent happily with him. I don't recall being treated as his daughter. Never in my 28 years of existence. But I still chose to stay. I was blinded by everything he has and forgot what living really is. But not anymore Ali." she said.

"so he can keep his last name to himself, I'd rather have nothing than be like him." she continued.

"I'd rather be a Custodio, than be a Vanguardia-Robles." she lastly said.

"you have all my support Regina. I already prepared all things needed." he said, smile clearly heard from his voice.

"thank you Ali." she replied, she's lucky she still have Ali, the best boy in her life that she's ever met.

"good luck with your proposal, your cliché idea is kind of cute. Also, I'll leave once I see your car." he said that made her smile so wide.

"thank you so much Ali, I owe you this." she said.

"you don't owe me anything Regina. Your happiness is on you and I'm very happy for you. I'll always be here, 'kay?" he said.

"yes Ali, I know." she answered and then after saying their goodbyes, she ended the call.

Just 5 minutes left and Narda's shift will end. She really waited that long and paid for the table served with just water just to wait for the girl she's in love with.

She stares at her watch as if she can make the time pass by quickly.

Dad calling...

Get back here Regina. You are not calling off your engagement with Brian. If you do, you know the consequence.

Regina. Don't be a bitch and just get back here. Think before you lose everything.

She didn't mind the messages and missed calls on her phone, she wouldn't let Brian and her dad ruin things for her.

"Reg." she heard Narda's voice once again.

"Narda.. let's go?" she asks, standing from her seat.

Narda nodded at her, the girl automatically holding her close to her as they walked out from the restaurant.

"are you cold? I have a jacket here." she asks the girl beside her.

"hmm? it's fine Reg." Narda tells her.

She opened the door to the passenger seat and lets Narda in before going to her side.

"where are we going?" Narda asks her, fixing her own seatbelt.

"you'll see." was what she said after she fixed her own seatbelt as well.

"hmm, a surprise?" Narda asks, squinting her eyes at her, trying to get some details from her.

She smiled as she started driving to a place close to her heart.

She did not miss how Narda just stared at her, the same stare the girl gave her the first time they met. The stare Narda only gives to her.

I really love you Narda.