Would you be willing to pretend that your boyfriend is the boyfriend of another girl? And you pretend to be the girlfriend of another guy? In simple terms, an 'exchange partner'. Evo and Chloe's significant other is a Chinese person destined for each other. In other words, they are part of a Chinese tradition of arranged marriage. It's strictly forbidden to have relationships with others, especially outside their ethnicity. Due to doubts from their significant other's family, Chloe and Evo are forced to pretend that they are the ones truly in a relationship. However, what shouldn't have happened occurs. One night of mistake by Evo and Chloe leads them into a messy and complicated situation. Their parents force them into marriage. But because Chloe doesn't want to hurt anyone, she chooses to keep their marriage a secret and asks Evo to continue his relationship with his real girlfriend, while she does the same with her boyfriend. What if one of them falls in love for real? Can they bear seeing their own spouse being embraced and kissed by someone else?
Chapter 1 1
Chloe's POV
I was in front of our house, waiting for our driver. He dropped off my mom at the office first because her car was at the auto repair shop. While I balanced my books over my chest, making drawings on the ground with my foot, a black van suddenly pulled up in front of me. I tilted my head to look at it and smiled. The gang. The door swung open, and Liam was sitting closest to the door.
"Hey, Chlow, what's up?" Liam said in his deep, fruity voice. Evo was seated next to Liam, smiling at me.
"What are you doing here, Chloe?" Evo asked. This man always spoke in an appealing voice.
"I'm waiting for Mang Nestor," I replied. Mang Nestor has been our driver for over 3 years since we moved to Manila.
I was born in Bataan, but we moved to Manila over 3 years ago when I was 15 years old. My mom accepted a job offer from a company that was hard to resist, they said.
My mom is an accounting manager and a single mother. My German father left her after she got pregnant with me. I've been on this earth for over 18 years, but I've never even caught a glimpse of my father. Lucky me!!
I only know his name - Niklas Hoffmann - but I use my mom's surname - de Jesus, Chloe de Jesus. And the house we live in now is one of the company's gifts. Not entirely a gift, because my mom still pays the entire amount. It's like a house loan, but the company covered 30% of it.
"Just come with us," Evo offers. The window on the passenger side rolls down, and Kelly greets me with a smile.
"Good morning sister, move in," I just smiled.
"Come on, Chlow, sit with us," Liam says.
"You go down first. Sit next to you," Evo instructs, and Liam obediently climbs down. Evo gets out too and helps me in. The two of them get back in, and Evo sits beside me. I'll just text Mang Nestor.
"Chloe, why are you so pretty?" Liam asks.
I smile, "Maybe, because there's no such thing as 'ugly' in your eyes, as long as they're wearing a skirt," I teased, and everyone bursts into laughter.
"That's because not all girls can be swayed by your sweet talk, dude!" Yuan teases.
"Shut up, Yuan! Maybe you're just too weak when it comes to girls. Damn! I already sent you a seductive lady, but you just sent her away. Maybe you're gay," Liam's response is just a loud laugh.
Oh! Liam really is a ladies' man. I wonder how many girlfriends he's had. He always seems to make them cry. I think all our girl classmates have been his girlfriend at some point. Friends fight because of him. Enemies team up just to get back at his current girlfriend. Let me rephrase that- his fling.
I turn my head to my right to look at Liam as my head leans against the car's backrest. But it turns out Evo had also leaned his head forward, so our gazes meet with our faces just inches apart. He looks serious while looking at me.
Why is this man so handsome? So kind, not arrogant despite all the attention he gets. He's still humble. He doesn't use his good looks to attract girls. He even avoids them when they flirt with him. He's perfect! More than perfect.
Oh my! My eyes nearly popped out of my head, holding my breath. Suddenly, Evo's face moved closer to mine. From inches apart, it became just an inch. His eyes widened in surprise. I gulp repeatedly.
He quickly pulls back. "Liam, what the heck?! You're so restless!" he scolds Liam. Due to Liam's fidgeting, he accidentally pushed Evo closer to me. I immediately look away from him. Argh! It's embarrassing! I feel like my face is turning red.
When we reach the school, we all head to the classroom together. The two lovebirds behind us are so sweet! - Dyllan & Kelly. They'll say goodbye to each other like it's going to be forever. They act like they're going to a faraway place.
When we reach the front of the classroom, Troy immediately hugs Kelly and pulls her inside.
Haha! Dyllan's face is priceless.
"Bye, hubby!" Kelly shouts. Dyllan swears and gives Troy a dirty look.
Well, Dyllan was asking for a kiss, and Kelly's cheek was ready, but she suddenly disappeared. Dyllan also looks cute when he's annoyed, so Troy and Rex always tease him by flirting with Kelly.
"Hi, Evo," Cheenie greets Evo.
"Hello, Cheenie," Evo greets her back.
"Hello, Cheenie, when are you going to answer Evo?" Liam interjects. Cheenie just smiles, and Evo quickly dismisses Liam.
Junjie comes out of their classroom, which is right next to ours. Cheenie and Junjie are classmates, and I think they're childhood friends. We're all in Senior High. Junjie immediately beams when he sees me. He's been a persistent suitor. Junjie was about to approach me when Liam suddenly pulls me in.
"Let's go, Chlow, let's go inside." I didn't get a chance to speak as Liam drags me into the classroom.
"You know, Chlow, you and Junjie don't match. Umm... I think we're a better fit, I'm cute, right? Should I court you? Do I stand a chance? I promise I'll be serious," he smiles at me while holding me. To be fair, this guy is good-looking too. But I'm sure you'll end up in tears if you entertain him.
"No, Liam. If I entertained you, it would be like hitting myself with a hammer or using a sledgehammer to break my own heart," I told him but still smiling. This guy is really persistent. I know he's not serious anyway. I freed myself from his hold and took my seat. Mannilyn is beside me and she kisses me and Troy. Kelly and the others are in the next row.
***
I'm so hungry! Just one more subject and it's break. We're in our specialization subject now. Kelly, Troy, Liam, and Evo are my only classmates here. We just entered.
Suddenly, Liam sits next to me, where Troy is supposed to sit.
"Let's switch seats, Troy," Liam suggests.
"Can you not, Liam? Stay in your own seat." Troy responds, a bit irritated.
"Come on, let me sit here, you sit next to Evo." Evo is seated behind me. Kelly is beside me, and Troy is on the other side, but Liam snagged his seat. Troy finally sighs and sits beside Evo.
"Chlow, can we be partners for the Chemistry project we're doing?" Persistent Liam again.
"Sorry, Liam, Chloe and I are partners," Evo said from behind me.
"Come on, Evo, you and Princess Grouch can be partners."
"No way! Rex is my partner," Kelly quickly responds. Kelly is really thankful that Rex showed up. They don't get along with these two.
"Chloe, can I borrow your English textbook?" I heard Evo. So I quickly turned my body to look at him. But everyone groaned afterward.
It's like the world stopped turning. I couldn't move my entire body, I was frozen. Oh my! My first kiss! It finally happened! Just as I turned, Evo's face was so close to mine. So his lips met mine.
Evo slowly pulled his lips away. Our gaze locked! He was shocked too. I gulp and gulp and gulp until my mouth is dry. Slowly, I leaned my body forward.
I saw Kelly was shocked with her mouth agape and eyes wide. Liam had the same reaction as Kelly.
Oh my god! What happened?
"Oh my god! Chloe, Evo, you just had your first kiss with each other!" I heard Kelly. Amusement is clear in her voice.
"Are you okay, Chlow?" I heard Liam with a hint of concern. I looked at him. He doesn't look amused, he actually seems concerned. I nodded at him. I heard Evo sigh. But he's not saying anything, and I don't want to look at him either. I felt embarrassed. Our teacher arrived, and I stayed quiet for the rest of the class.
*****
I was under the tree, sitting on the stone bench, lost in thought. I remembered what happened with Evo. Wow! I couldn't believe it happened. I hardly even looked around the class until it was over.
"Hey, Chlow," someone sat beside me.
"Hi, Cheenie."
"Um. I heard what happened earlier?" Oh my! I firmly shut my eyes for seconds long and opened them again.
"I'm sorry, Cheenie, it was an accident," I apologize.
She smiled, "I know, it's okay," she said.
I know she meant it. Cheenie is one of the most genuine people I've known. She's so kind, no wonder Evo's courting her.
"But you don't really have feelings for Evo, do you?" I felt a bit awkward with what she said, even though she was smiling.
"N-No! I-It's not like that! What are you thinking!" I almost stuttered my response. Do I sound defensive?
She laughed, "Sorry. You know what Chloe, I really like Evo, I really do."
"Then, why haven't you said yes to him if you like him?"
"How could I? He's not even courting me," I looked at her, giving her an inquiring gaze. She nodded.
"I don't know, he's confusing. We enjoy each other's company. When we talk on the phone, it goes on for hours. But geez! He never says he's courting or trying to court me. I'm just waiting for him to say 'I love you', I'll definitely say yes," I sighed at what she said. Because I knew Evo is indeed courting. I don't know! Or maybe he's just shy. God! With how perfect he is, he's still shy.
"And you, Chlow, haven't you ever liked Evo, even just a little bit?"
"No! Come on, not even a little," ugh! Why is she asking me this?
"Good! I have no competition then," she said playfully, and followed it with a laugh.
"Chloe! Evo!" I heard someone yelling my name and... Evo? Cheenie and I turned to look.
"Evo!" We both exclaimed.
"W-what are you doing here? Oh god! Did you hear... Arghh!" Cheenie covered her face with her palms. She looks too embarrassed. It seems like Evo overheard our entire conversation.
"What are you doing here, Evo?" I ask.
"Um. I just.. um. nothing, I just saw Cheenie, so I approached." I nodded my head. Why does he not seem happy? He should be happy if he heard what Cheenie said.
"Hey, Chlow. You're taking so long, Evo. You should just call Chloe," Liam calls out to me.
But why? They should have gone home by now. And what did he say?
"Come on, Chloe, let's go together. Mang Nestor called Evo, he's been trying to reach you for a while. Your mom's still at the office, he said you should just ride with us." Liam went on and on. I was too lost in my thoughts to pay attention. My mind was elsewhere anyway.
We got in the van once we reached the parking lot. After a few moments, Evo arrived and immediately got in. He didn't sit beside me this time. Liam was in between us. I looked at Evo, he closed his eyes. Why does he look upset?
***
"Hi, Pretty Yaya, is Kelly here?"
"She's inside, Pretty Chloe, come on in." I entered after the nanny opened the gate. I went straight to the main door.
But I stopped when I heard that it seems like what happened between Evo and me was the topic of Kelly's conversation.
"Finally, Evo, your lips are no longer virgin." Kelly said and laughed. I also heard Aunt and Uncle laugh.
"Why don't you just court Chloe instead, Evo? Hay! But it seems like she doesn't like you either. Why doesn't your charm work on Chloe?"
"Will you please shut up, Kelly! You keep saying the same thing over and over. So what if Chloe doesn't like me, I don't like her either!" Evo shouted at Kelly. I instinctively held my chest. It's like my chest suddenly tightened! It hurts to hear that.
"Chloe, why haven't you gone inside yet? Come on," yaya pulled me inside.
"Kelly, Chloe is here." I don't know why, but my attention suddenly focused on Evo. He looks surprised to see me.
"W-Were you there just now, Chloe?" Evo asked. I nodded slightly. I didn't want to lie, I wanted him to know that I heard what he said. That he's rude! He's not rude, Chloe, he was just telling the truth. Yeah right, conscience. You're absolutely right! Definitely right.
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