7

I'm not surprised that I receive one in the middle of the sea. He always does things out of the ordinary.

There's a note that says: "My Ash, you'll always be my queen even if you find another king. Be happy on your date. I love you. -Josh"

Awww. So sweet constantly, Josh.

What an awesome way to start my day. He's a loyal fan. I've never met him. I wanted to but he refused. How did I know?

There's a certain man who always delivers the flowers whenever I'm at home. I asked him to send a message to Josh for me. I wrote a letter that says: "I want to meet you. Thank you for your love and support."

His response was a note with a pot of Gardenia flowers, "I already answered thru the flowers. -Josh"

That's when I realized that he always sends the same lovely white flowers. I researched it and it means "Secret Love". He really doesn't wanna be known, that's why I find him romantic and mysterious.

Whenever I have a trip abroad or a show in the States, his flowers will be sent to my hotel room, concert hall, dressing room, even on the plane. He never fails to amaze me.

I'm reminiscing those moments while getting all dolled up when I hear voices talking about me.

"She's so pretty."

"Wow, she's gorgeous."

"She's fit and sexy, too. Those perfect curves, very nice."

"It's true. She's like an angel. She fell face flat from heaven. Everybody thinks she's kind and all but she's a devil in disguise."

People turn their heads to that person. It's Sabrina.

"That's true, sis. I look more gorgeous, elegant, and sexy than her. Her career is going downhill. She's a soon-to-be-down-and-outer." Joan adds. She glares at me, "Enjoy this while you can, you won't be Miss Happy for long."

I just stare at her as she awaits my response. I don't want to say anything. It's not worth it anyway.

Joan grumbles as she walks out of the dressing room. She did not receive any word from me, I think she's pissed. Sabrina follows her.

Tony arrives appearing confused. He must've encountered Joan and Sabrina on his way to the dressing room. He stares at me as if asking me what happened.

I just shrug my shoulders in reply. He gets a glance at the bouquet of flowers on the table. He furrows his eyebrows, looking irritated

What's happening to these people? So early in the morning. Let's spread love y' all.

"We're done! Amazing! Look at yourself, you're so fab!" The stylist is ecstatic about my look. I'm wearing a baby pink off-shoulder dress that hugs my body and a pair of white stilettos.

The vanity mirror shows a reflection of me wearing light make-up and hair with big curls at the bottom. I love my look.

Did I just saw Tony's eyes glisten as he examines my entire body? It disappeared in an instant though. I must've mistaken. He appears serious and in a bad mood.

"What happened to you? You look like you're bent out of shape." I ask him. He must be jealous after seeing the flowers. Dream on, Ash.

He's looking in front of us, "Smile. They're taking our pictures." He smiles widely while placing my hand in his arms. I felt somehow affected by his gesture but I suppress my emotion and shyly smile in front of the camera.

After they photographed us, Tony faces me and he seems concerned, "We have a bit of a problem."

"What is it?" I reply.

"Cath told me that we'll be performing with a live band in the bar tonight, in front of an audience. I refused but she said that it's part of the contract with the Myers."

I gaze at him with my mouth agape.

He continues, "Contract? That's bullshit. We're here to date, not to become entertainers." He balls his hands into fists.

My half sisters know about my fear of the crowd. This must be Joan's doing.

I feel like blood was drained out of my face. I'm not ready for this. I scan Manager Kim's number on my phone, called her up but instead of her gentle voice answering the phone, a loud and authoritative voice of a man spoke to my surprise, "Hello, what is it, Ash?"

...

Uh-oh. It's President Rogers. I wince. I breathe deeply to calm my nerves, "Nothing, President. I just want to know how Kim is doing and I'd like to update her that the cruise is now on its way to Japan."

"I see. My wife is not here. She went out. Let me just remind you of why you are there. You need to silence the media regarding what happened to your recent concert. You better do something about it or else..." He issues a stern warning.

"Yes, President." I end the call immediately. My body trembles in fear. No, I can't do it. I can't sing in front of so many people.

This feeling brings me back to that gloomy memory.

*Start of flashback*

I was ten when I dreamt of becoming a famous singer. My friends, neighbors, Mommy Grace, Daddy Ron, and Grandma cheered me on. I always sing during parties, holidays, and even if there's no special occasion. They're all praises to my angelic voice. Mom and Dad are very proud of me. They decided to have me enter a State singing contest in Oklahoma.

On the day of the contest, Paris Myers and my half sisters all came to our city.

The competition is about to start when I heard a familiar voice at the backstage. I saw my Daddy Ron and Paris arguing, the latter is forcing my dad to go with them. I learned that they live in Miami, Florida.

"No. I'll not come with you. We've been separated for more than 11 years. You're the one who cheated, Paris. Why are you even here?" Dad is angry and spoke quietly through clenched teeth.

"I received the divorce papers. I'll never sign them. Over my dead body, Ron!" She looks scary. Her voice is high-pitched and booming. Other contestants look at them.

"Don't make a scene. Calm down. I know you're just here because Arthur is dating young women nowadays. You'll be okay because he'll go back to you in the end." Dad explained.

"No, I love you and I'll not let Grace take you from me. I'll kill that homewrecker bitch first. You know I'm very capable of doing that." Paris pointed her finger to my dad's chest.

"Paris, please don't make it hard for both of us. I have a peaceful and happy life here. Don't ruin my family." Dad gently moved her hand.

"We are your family. I'm your wife and we have four girls." Paris is crying now.

"When you were unfaithful to me, you treated me as if I'm dead already. You ruined our family. For years, you secretly dated Arthur while we're together. And even after we separated, you brought him to our home. It's disgusting. I'm sorry, we cannot go back to how we're used to be. We'll see each other in court if you refuse to sign the papers." Dad shook his head and walked away.

"You'll never get away with this. I'll kill Grace and your bastard, Ash! You'll regret this day!" She went hysterical. She's rummaging something out of her bag.

I heard a teenager's voice shouting, "Papa! Papa!"

The announcer's voice called my name, "Our next contestant is our very own, Ash Myers!"

I went up to the stage. Everything feels dreamlike.

I sang my favorite song which is "Hero" by Mariah Carey. It's supposed to be dedicated to my dad. I'm a daddy's girl. He's the one I look up to but this changed in a snap.

While singing, confusions and questions needing answers fill my head. Is it true that dad has another family? Is my mom is a mistress? Are we the reason they have a broken family?

I went out of tune a lot of times. My mom, who's part of the audience, signaled an okay sign using her hand. She's cheering me on.

A young, teenage girl grabbed the mic that the host was holding. She stepped up the stage. I'm distracted and I feel suffocated while singing.

"Stop it, Ash! So you want to be famous? I'll make you one! Your mother is an immoral woman who crawled into our lives like a snake. She's a homewrecker and you're the fruit of their sin! You're an illegitimate child!" Tears fell from her eyes. Her voice quivered in pain and anger.

The audience was silent. I can see shock and loathing on their faces.

"Sabrina, let's go. Your papa is going with us. We have a plane to catch." Paris called out. Sabrina alighted the stage.

I spotted Dad's back a few meters away. "Dad? Daddy! No! Please don't leave!" He's leaving us. I can't believe it!

He arrived in front of a brand new, black Mercedez Benz, opened the car door and got in without looking back, without a single word. Sabrina and Paris entered the car. There are three other girls inside.