FLASHBACK...
EIGHT YEARS AGO...
School bell rang....
All students were rushing in...to hurry to their classes, including Hardin..
It was the start of a new school year...and he couldn't afford to be late.
Hardin was a bit of a clumsy student...more of a nerd...but with a charm, that made girls turn their faces after he walked past them.
He was a very quiet kid, the only time he spoke was when he was giving an answer...other than that, he wouldn't easily talk with everyone.
And just anyone....
Spending his time alone, either in the library, or class at the back...no matter how many girls approached him, gave him love notes and gifts... he'd just discard it all..
Meanwhile...outside the school gates, a car that had brought Tara had just arrived.
"I still don't understand why dad wants me to go to this lame school...and yet Irene and Corey went to a better one while in highschool...uncle"young Tara spoke pitifully while still seated at the back....to her uncle who was in the driver's seat.
"Your dad just wants you to learn something new, something that your elder siblings couldn't get to experience at your age" her uncle replied.
"Whatever....if I don't like it, I swear...I'll run away" Tara said before she got out of the car.
"Have a good day!"Her uncle bid her goodbye.
"There's nothing good about it"Tara said to herself..as she entered.
She didn't have anyone to escort her on her first day...her parents were always busy...Irene and Corey were already in college too.
She didn't really need it, she was enough herself.
Tara's new class was the same as Hardin's...and the moment she laid eyes on him that day, she liked him right away...and wanted to be his deskmate...
"Hi, my name is Tara...it's nice to meet you"she formally introduced herself in front of Hardin... but all he did was keep his head buried in his book...
"........."
He ignored her...like he did with the rest of the girls.
But as confident as Tara was....she removed the book he was pretending to read...and it forced him to look at her.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of girls....with that poker face, I doubt you even have a girlfriend"
That was the first time anyone ever treated him like that..... the first time he ever stared into a girl's eyes directly....
The first thing he liked about her....were her eyes...then how bold she was... she had his attention..
"Hardin Cruz..."he eventually replied...
From that day onwards...they became deskmates, with Tara clinging to Hardin regardless of the situation...
Even when they had nothing to talk about, she'd simply stare at him, while Hardin read his books..
"Did anyone ever tell you how good looking you are when you're serious" she'd always whisper...
Following him around to school...even to the library...his basketball practice, school cafeteria during lunch....his school club...
He acted like he it didn't bother him,but deep down...Hardin Cruz liked it.
He eventually got used to having her around...and close to himself..
He liked her, and his feelings for her grew every single day... whenever he saw her, and they spent time together.
Her playfulness...and her bright smile she always had on her face around him brightened his days..
Everytime her grades came back lower than his, she'd trick him into tutoring her.. every after school....she was the first girl he ever did that for.
Teasing him about his poker face made him smile more...
Tara's creativity made him happy.... every after her tutoring session with him, she'd purposely send her uncle who always came to pick her up away....just so she could walk home with Hardin.
He grew fond of her.....her recklessness made him want to protect her, the injuries she got from trying to defend some classmates from bullies... Hardin would always treat them....
"I'm really fine, this is nothing"young Tara would always say...
"Look at yourself...do you call this fine? Tara Montesino, with how reckless you are, you won't survive this cruel world" Hardin replied.
"If you're so worried about me HC,you can always stay by my side and protect me...with how you treat my injuries...I trust that you'll be a great doctor one day"
Tara spoke like she didn't mean it, but Hardin took those words to heart..
Motivation
The more time he spent with her, the more he came to realize that he was in love with her....and no matter what happened, he'd always be there for her...
END OF FLASHBACK...
If only circumstances didn't separate him from her...on the day he planned to confess his love to her... they'd have been far by now..
They could've been together by now.. he wouldn't be hiding his feelings like he was...
She was his first love...only love...for years...and no one could replace her..
~~~~~~~~~~
TARA
What a disaster! Of all things I could actually do.....kissing him?
I did it, but I still can't believe it..and what I did after was such an embarrassment...
"I.... I'm tired, I want to go home"
Aren't I a coward? I still couldn't tell him I like him, even after that beautiful kiss..
My first kiss was from my first love....
Instead of embracing the moment....all I could do was run away and try to hide from him. I can't even face him after that...I don't know if he feels the same way about me too.
He didn't say anything either...what a jerk! I'm not the only one at fault, he kissed me too....and I still don't know what it meant...
I want to ask, but the moment we got home last night, I didn't even wait for him to park the car properly....yet I was pretending to sleep the whole journey back...I just ran inside and locked myself in my room.
Up to now
It was close to midnight last night, and now it's almost eight in the morning.
The entire night, I avoided Hardin Cruz..
After all my acts of confidence...I'm still reduced to being a failure at love..
The best thing I can do...to make both of us forget what happened...avoid him..
~~~~~~~~~
Tara kept thinking of ways she was going to avoid Hardin, they shared the same house...and he was her personal bodyguard....
She was in her room, and if she went through the door, she'd bump into Hardin...and she didn't want that to happen.
Staying in her room all day wasn't an option either, she still had a tight schedule ahead of her for the day, and she needed to clear it out.
Since they were sharing a house, she'd already told him about her house rules, the Do's and Don'ts....shown him where the spare keys to the rooms were kept...
Hardin would soon force his way into that door, either by using the spare keys of breaking it open...
"Tara, are you awake?" Hardin asked while knocking on her door.
He was worried about her...she didn't even have dinner the previous night..
"Yeah...I'm soon coming out" she replied..
"I made your favorite breakfast, and we need to talk about what happened last night" Hardin said...and it only made Tara want to avoid him more.
"I understand, just wait for me" Tara replied...
She entered her bathroom and took a shower, changing out of her pajamas into fresh clothes..
She put on her usual make up and styled her hair, wore her shoes and grabbed her things..
"Lian, come quick at the old junction....I'll be waiting" she sent a voice note to Lian on her phone.
Instead of using the front door, she used the balcony to leave.... without Hardin noticing..
Escaping from her own home!....Tara was full of surprises...
She climbed down slowly and then ran away once her feet reached the ground.
Meanwhile... Hardin waiting anxiously in the living room for Tara almost lost it.
She was taking longer than usual to come out of her room, he thought something bad had happened..
The next time he went to her door, he didn't say anything...he used the spare keys to open it...but the room was empty..
He searched every part of the room, but Tara was no where to be seen...his mind immediately thought about her being in some kind of trouble again...
But just when he was about to go crazy looking for her...he received a text on his phone, and it came from Tara.
"Sorry, but I've already left...you can have the day off today...focus on your hospital duties...thanks for the breakfast"
When he tried to call her, she didn't answer...
All the four times he called non stop, she didn't answer....the fifth time, she declined.
"Tara Montesino... you're surely testing my patience" Hardin thought to himself....before he stormed out of her room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
TARA'S COMPANY
CEO'S OFFICE
"Thank you so much Lian, I don't know how I'd have escaped without you being my get away driver again" Tara said, sitting in her office chair, spinning around... finally relaxing.
"I still don't get why you're running away from your super cool bodyguard...do you still want to get kidnapped?"Lian asked confused.
She sat down on the chair opposite hers... exhausted as well..
They'd first dropped by the police station for Tara's questioning.... anything that could help in the police investigation....with finding Mr X's true identity and who was trying to kidnap her...
"Gosh Lian, I wish it were that simple...I don't want to see him" Tara replied.
"So you kissed, and then ran away....are you guys now playing mouse and cat" Lian said...
Clearly...she didn't understand what Tara was upto....
"Anyway, he's still your personal bodyguard...you guys signed a contract...you'll have to see him again, even if you don't want to" Lian added.
Tara's phone rang again...
"It's the twentieth time in just two and a half hours...what's wrong with him!" she complained after seeing the caller ID.
Hardin was calling, and she just declined it too.
"I still don't get it, don't you like this man...you should be answering all his calls" Lian said.
"I don't want to answer... he'll just ask where I am and bring up the kiss issue again" Tara replied.
"Ok, putting that aside, about your meeting with the famous fashion icon from France...it's scheduled at eleven.... she asked for some new designs..."Lian said.
"She'll be having a runway show soon and wants to have your brand on her top models"Lian added.
"I've already prepared what to present to her...but Lian I'm scared, if my brand shows up on her runway, my secret will be exposed to mom and dad"Tara replied.
"Tara, it's not your fault that you created your own company behind their backs, they made you feel left out of the family business...and that's why you did it" Lian said.
"Your dad should be so proud of you, because he taught you well..." Lian added.
Tara had created a rival company for her family's business....
Her family didn't believe in her abilities and that she could get somewhere on her own, but her company was booming.
She made more billions every single day...and she didn't have to rely on the Montesino name...or her dad's fortune like Irene...she made it all on her own.
"I'm curious...who could this Mr X be, and what does he want from me and my family? He even dragged Archie into it" Tara suddenly brought it up again.
"Money? I mean you guys are filthy rich... He could be after your money" Lian replied.
"Maybe, but if he wanted money, he could have just robbed us ...there must be something else he wants from my family... especially from me, but what could it be"
Tara was left in a daze... she'd been on his target list...and the engagement party was her second attempted kidnap.
Third time is a charm,if she wasn't careful, Mr X could succeed in kidnapping her....