Independent.
"Being independent sometimes takes a lot of courage. You doubt yourself if you could do it, but sometimes, all we need is a little push to proceed. Some of us chose to be self-reliant, but some of us were just left with no choice."
And for Senthie Salvador, it was both. She wanted to be self-reliant because she was left with no choice. To live her dream life, she had to be independent.
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"Huh?" Was the only word that left SENTHIE's mouth.
She was surprised by Walter's question, so she gave him a questioning look. Furrowed brows, mouth hanging open.
"I said..." He stood up as he folded his arms and walked toward her. "Why were you in the VP's car?"
"Wait..." Senthie held up a hand. "How did you know that? Do you know him?"
Walter chuckled and shrugged. "Of course, I know him."
Senthie gave him a puzzled look and he continued, "he's my boss."
"What?" she asked, surprised. "You mean you're working at GMC?"
"Ahm. Yes." His answer was more of a question than a statement. "Why do you look so surprised?"
Senthie couldn't believe he was working at GMC.
"Of course, I'm surprised!" she exclaimed as she sat on the sofa again. Walter did the same. "Did you know that I will be opening my store in Grand Mall?"
If he knew, it meant that he was in a high position like the manager or something. He was a bright child, after all.
Walter graduated with flying colors. He was a cum laude and had a lot of achievements. He was also her mom's favorite. Senthie was always being compared to him since she was a child until now--one of the reasons why she moved out of their house. She hated being compared to anyone.  Well, she could say that she was the least favorite in the family. All of her siblings were smart and always at the top of their classes. While her? She had to admit she had never been above average.
Senthie had three siblings, Simon being the eldest and her favorite; though they weren't that close; she loved being around him because, unlike Walter, Simon was caring and a kind big brother to her. Perhaps, because Simon was 14 years older than her. Next was her only sister, Cindy, six years older than her--Senthie was never close to her sister. It was as if she had an invisible wall around her that Senthie couldn't break, or rather, she never tried to. And lastly, Walter, who was three years older than her but behaved like a child towards her. Senthie wondered why he was only acting like that to her. Maybe he just loved making her day at worst or even loved seeing her miserable.
"Yes. That's why I'm here to congratulate you."
"Okay, you did it. You may now leave," Senthie said as she stood up and walked upstairs. Walter followed her.
"Hey, Sen. It's already late. It will take three hours to get back home," he complained.
They were halfway through the stairs when Senthie stopped and turned to look at him behind her. "Don't tell me you're planning to stay for the night?"
"Of course, not!"
Senthie smirked and continued to ascend, him still behind her. Before she could ask him why he was following her, Walter said something that made Senthie flabbergasted.
"Stay for the night? Nahhh. I'll be living here."
She turned to look at him, hands on her hips, and hissed, "what? No freaking way!"
There was no way that she'd let someone so annoying as him live in her house.
Whenever she was with him, Senthie would become the exact opposite of her personality. The hot-headed, rude, confident, and conceited Senthie. Only her introverted side never left her.
"Yes, freaking way," he said. He even sang it to annoy her.
Senthie wanted to say 'what the heck?' but instead, she smiled devilishly and challenged him. "Do you think I'll allow it?"
"Of course, you will," he replied confidently as he folded his arms.
She hated him. She thought he was annoying. He was like that since they were kids and he was even more annoying now. It couldn't get any worse. He was so insensitive, Senthie thought. Why couldn't he be more like Kenzo?
Kenzo. The thought of him made her heart ache, but she decided to just shrug it off.
"Wow," she said as she smiled sarcastically. "I'm amazed by your overwhelming confidence. Give me three reasons why I should allow it."
Senthie turned her back on him and headed to her room. Walter followed her.
She took out a pair of pajamas and threw them on her bed. She was going to take out a pair of underwear, too, when she remembered that Walter was in her room. Instead, she plopped her butt on the bed and turned to look at him. With his back against the wall, Walter was looking at her with his brows raised as if he was saying 'what now?'
"Go ahead and state three reasons," Senthie said with a bored face.
"First..." He paused to wait for her reaction, so she raised her brows. A hint for him to know that she was listening.
"First, you are kind," he continued as he began counting with his finger.
Senthie nodded in agreement. "True."
"Second, you're beautiful inside and out."
"Definitely!" she agreed.
Ignoring her remarks, he continued. His attention was all on his fingers as he counted. "Third, you believe that you have all these qualities. But, can you prove it?"
This time, he turned his gaze to her and smirked as he raised a brow.
He got her.
"Of course, I can!" she exclaimed as she stood up.
With a hand on his hip, he half-smiled. "Then, prove it."
Senthie clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. That was her total defeat.
She stomped her feet as she walked towards him, making him straighten up as if readying himself to receive her punch.
"Fine! You can stay in this house, and sleep wherever you want downstairs. But upstairs is all mine!" she blurted out as she placed her hands on his shoulders to turn him around. She pushed and kicked him out of her room.
They were nearing the stairs when Walter held up his hands in submission. "Okay, I got it." He turned around to face her. "You didn't have to push and kick me out." He let his hands fall to his sides and flashed a teasing smile.
Senthie rolled her eyes. "You're not allowed to set foot here."
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The day of the Grand Mall opening came.
Senthie spent her three weeks doing her everyday routine. Eat, jog, and sketch in the morning. Eat, sketch, and check her social media accounts in the afternoon, and in the evening, eat and watch either anime or sometimes Korean dramas.
Basically, she spent her waiting time in her house and she swore--it was pure bliss. She enjoyed her time alone, away from humans--she wished she could say that, but Walter living in her house stained her so-called 'pure bliss and away from humans'. His morning routine was to tease and annoy Senthie. He'd never stop banging on her door--completely breaking the rule not to set foot upstairs--and when Senthie would open her door, he had already run away to the front door. And to get her beyond annoyed, he'd slap his butt as he stuck out his tongue. He would always do that before he'd gone to work, and it freaking infuriated her. Again, why couldn't he be more like his best friend?
Speaking of his best friend, Kenzo didn't visit her like he used to. Knowing him, he was still hurting and Senthie was giving him enough time and space to heal. But she checked him once to let him know that she wasn't cutting him out of her life. She asked him how he was, and he replied that he was handling himself better than he imagined and that she didn't have to worry. Senthie hoped he was telling the truth.
She didn't tell anyone about their breakup yet. Not even to her best friend, Cecile, she wanted to tell her in person, but she didn't know how to break the news to her. She was sincerely rooting for their relationship. She was totally shipping them like some love team in dramas or movies.
Today would be the day, Cecile was going to show up since it was the first day of Fashion Sen's.
"Finally," Senthie muttered under her breath.
She let her eyes wander around the place; the exterior of the mall was incredibly unique. It was like two rubic cubes were put on both opposite ends of the top of the shopping mall--Senthie assumed them to be office buildings. There was a bridge connecting the two, and below it was the rooftop of the mall.
Senthie was still amazed and captivated by it, though she was just here a week ago to display her three mannequins and bring all the things that she needed for the store: a computer, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, decorations, sofa, table, hangers, etc. And of course, women's tops, dresses, and gowns that she was going to sell to make money. She rented a truck to transport all of them at once. The driver helped her lift and organize things inside the store, so she paid for his labor. It only took three days to fully say that the store was ready to be shown to customers.
Senthie did all of that in just three days; she didn't want to bother anyone, so it was all her work--well, almost everything except for the driver's help.
"Let's go!" the man beside her said.
She glanced to her side and saw Walter grinning from ear to ear.
"Wait, you're coming, too?" she asked, and then she began to walk to the entrance.
He walked faster to pick up her pace and made a face. "Why? Am I not allowed? Do you also own this place?"
She shouldn't have fallen for his trick that night.
He never failed to annoy her every single day. She didn't even know how he could be consistent with it. With all his effort, perhaps, she should give him an award for making her blood boil and her wanting to punch his face. If she were a dragon, the mall had already been burnt to ashes with just one snort.
Senthie was about to show off her fangs but decided to keep her cool when Walter added, "besides, it's my day off today. I need to unwind."
"Unwind here? Really? What a lame excuse. How can you unwind here when this building is owned by GMC, too? It would only remind you of work."
He turned to face her and began to walk backward. "Don't worry, it's still a mall. I can unwind here."
"Hey, don't walk backward," Senthie instructed when she saw that he almost tripped his foot.
He took her advice and walked by her side. "Don't worry about me. I also want to help in your store."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not worried. Besides, my store doesn't need any help from anyone else. I'm already enough."
Senthie's store was located on the second floor, so they took the escalator. There weren't a lot of people since it wasn't the mall hours yet. Only the employees of shops, stores, restaurants, etc. were to be seen.
"I'm already here, so stop whining."
As soon as they reached the top, they stepped out of the escalator and headed left to see the signage of her store, the name 'Fashion Sen's' embossed in silver and violet color. The store was discernible because of its lavender color theme. Three mannequins were displayed wearing her designs--from the left, it was a pair of top and skirt that could be worn in business events; in the middle was an evening gown, and the third one was a silk dress that could be worn on simple occasions, such as on dates and casual events.
"Fashion Sen's, huh? Pretty witty for a name," Walter said.
Senthie smirked secretly. She thought that her brother could be nice for once.
"Why only clothes for women? How about for men?"
He seemed genuinely curious, so she answered truthfully. "Because it's not my specialty. I'd only do it if it is requested by the customer."
Senthie could design clothes for men, but she had never been satisfied with the outcome. People say her works were impressive, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. How could she believe it when she, herself, couldn't see it? She felt like she was deceiving herself. She thought it wasn't just her forte.
Senthie unlocked the glass door and pushed it wide open. The interior of the store was exactly as she designed. The counter was at the left corner adjacent to the room used for taking the customer's measurements, and next to it was the VIP room. Across these were the two fitting rooms. Senthie gave the interior design to GMC and they built it exactly alike. She was awestruck when she first saw it.
Senthie headed to the counter and took the feather duster from the drawer. When she turned to look at Walter, she saw him inspecting the store, his head turning from left to right, up and down. Senthie thought that he was amazed by the look on his face.
"Wow! Sen," he uttered under his breath. Shaking his head with a hand on his mouth, and a hand on his hip.
"What?" she said as she crossed her arms over her chest, feather duster still in her hand.
He grinned widely as he walked towards the counter to approach Senthie.
"I swear, your store is cool. I'm impressed." His eyes roamed around the store.
Senthie smiled devilishly. "Yeah, right. Good thing you're here. You said you'll help, right?"
He turned to look at her. "Yeah, why?"
"Start by dusting," she instructed as she handed the feather duster to him.
"Sure."
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After about a half-hour of cleaning and organizing stuff, a few more minutes and it would be the start of mall hours.
Senthie texted Cecile to ask her when she'd arrive, and she rolled her eyes at her best friend's reply. "Don't get so excited, I'll be there before you know it! XOXO."
She must be on her way--on her way to her house. Senthie had given her a spare key to her door so she could drop her things at home first and then head straight here to the mall. She knew this day would come and it was their dream to live together under the same roof. A sleepover party every day!
Senthie checked her watch to see it was already 9:57 am--three minutes before the mall hours. With her enthusiasm, she held up a fist and exclaimed, "alright! I've decided. First customer will be my lucky charm!"
Little did she know that her lucky charm would lead to disaster.
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Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter. Hope you liked it. :D
Walter and Senthie are siblings, did you get it right?
Why do you think Walter acts like a child only to Senthie? Any guesses, theories?
What can you say about Senthie's personality?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D