Book of Fate

The two finally reached their homes. As William entered the house, he immediately noticed voices coming from the living room—multiple voices, not just one.

He walked closer and found his mother and father sitting together, looking straight at him. What puzzled him was the person sitting with them, her back turned toward him. When he stepped nearer, his mother noticed him first and called him over.

She stood up with a bright smile as she approached him.

“William! Good thing you’re here. We have a surprise for you.”

William frowned but didn’t say anything yet. Suddenly, the girl who had been sitting with her back to him stood and faced him. His eyebrows drew even tighter.

“Charice?”

She smiled and stepped forward.

“Long time no see, William.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked bluntly, showing no hint of happiness at seeing her.

Charice’s smile faltered. William’s mother quickly stepped in.

“I’m sorry, Charice. My son must be tired. He probably just needs to rest first.”

She gave Charice an awkward smile, then pulled William aside while Charice and William’s father remained in the living room.

Out of Charice’s sight, Clarissa sighed.

“What’s wrong with you? Why did you react like that to your childhood friend?”

“Ma, why is Charice here? Isn’t she supposed to be abroad?”

Clarissa let out a slow breath.

“I’m sorry for surprising you, but she came home to study here until she finishes college.”

“Won’t she have problems transferring?”

“I haven’t asked her yet. Maybe you should ask her yourself?” she said with a hopeful smile.

“You handle it, Ma. I don’t have time.”

He left before she could follow him.

Clarissa returned to Charice, who was still standing politely.

“Please don’t mind William. It seems he doesn’t want to talk right now.”

Charice forced a small smile.

“It’s okay, Tita. Maybe he was just surprised. He probably needs time.”

“It’ll be fine. Dinner is almost ready. Stay and eat with us—Lydia’s cooking already.”

Charice nodded. She waited for hours before William finally came out of his room again—only to find that Charice was still there, now joining them for dinner.

Unfortunately for him, the only empty seat left was right beside Charice, so William had no choice but to sit next to her. He sat down silently.

As they were finishing the meal, William’s father spoke.

“Son, Charice wants to talk to you after dinner. Is that okay?”

William froze but eventually nodded. If his father said something, he couldn’t refuse. After he finished eating, he went to the garden, where the chairs were set up.

He stood there quietly, staring at his mother’s plants.

“What are you doing here?” he asked calmly when Charice approached.

Though surprised, Charice answered honestly.

“I’m here to study until college.”

William gave a short, sarcastic chuckle.

“To study? You have such a good life abroad, with so many great schools. Why force yourself to come back here?” His tone was serious, even cold.

Charice looked hurt by his question.

“Can’t I study here?”

William finally faced her, giving her a tired stare.

“You should’ve at least finished high school first before coming here.”

He turned back to the plants.

“And where exactly are you planning to enroll?”

“In your school,” Charice replied without hesitation.

William’s brows knitted tightly.

“Why enroll in the same school as me?”

“I just want to,” she said simply.

William let out a humorless smile.

“Do whatever you want. Just don’t bother me if you really end up studying there.”

He walked off, passing her without even glancing her way.

Charice watched him until he disappeared inside the house.

“He’s changed so much since the day I left,” she whispered before following him inside.

Charice and William had been together since elementary school, but they went separate ways when high school started. She went abroad to study, leaving William behind. What hurt even more was the promise she broke—she had once sworn that wherever one of them went for college, the other would follow. But she failed to keep that promise when her parents took her overseas.

Now that she was back, she was determined to regain his trust no matter what it took.

Meanwhile, Daniella sat on her bed, staring blankly at nothing. She suddenly felt a strange heaviness she couldn’t explain.

“Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen when I go back to school?”

Confused by her own thoughts, she pushed the negative feeling aside.

Morning came. Students filled their classrooms, including Daniella and William. Their teacher entered, and before starting the lesson, she made an announcement.

“Good morning, class. Before we begin, we have a transferee student—and she belongs to this section.”

Bree leaned toward Daniella.

“Her? So it’s a girl. But why transfer now? School started almost a month ago.”

“I have no idea what her deal is. Let’s just wait and see.”

Daniella looked toward the blackboard, waiting for the new student to enter.

William had a strong suspicion about who the teacher was referring to. He wasn’t surprised there was a transferee—but he was confused why she chose his section of all places.

The door opened slowly, and Charice walked in, scanning the room. She was clearly searching for someone. When she spotted William, she gave him a soft smile—something Daniella immediately noticed and found strange.

“Oh no, Dan. I saw that look! Looks like getting William just became ten times harder. You’ve already got a rival,” Bree whispered dramatically.

Daniella squinted at her.

“You’re not helping. All you’re doing is making me overthink.”

Bree just grinned and turned back to the front.

“Introduce yourself,” their teacher instructed.

Charice flashed a bright smile, making many students smile back.

“Hi! My name is Charice Lopez. Nice to meet you all.”

She even bowed politely.

The teacher looked around for a seat and stopped right in front of Daniella.

“Looks like Miss Paz is absent.” The teacher turned to Charice.

“Charice, sit there.” She pointed to the empty chair directly in front of Daniella.

“And class, tell Miss Paz she’ll be sitting at the back from now on. Not in her old seat. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You may take your seat, Ms. Lopez.”

Charice thanked her and walked to the seat, though her eyes were not on the chair—she was staring straight at William, who kept his eyes on the teacher, expression unreadable.

Once seated, Charice settled in. Daniella, however, kept glancing between William and Charice, unable to ignore the curious way the new girl had smiled at him earlier.