My Handsome Uncle, Please Be Mine!

Part 22.

The morning sun began to rise, streaming through the gaps in Clara’s bedroom curtains.

Her phone had been ringing several times. There was a call from Joe.

Clara quickly slid the screen of her phone to answer the call from the man.

“Good morning, Uncle!” Clara greeted.

“Good morning, Clara. I’ve already left, sorry I couldn’t take you to school,” the man said from the other end of the phone.

“But why, Uncle?” Clara protested.

“I feel like your efforts won’t succeed, Clara. We’ve been pretending to be in a relationship for almost three weeks now, but… I’m not interested in you at all,” Joe said.

“But Uncle! This isn’t even halfway through, 45 days is still a long time, Uncle!” Clara tried to plead. “Uncle Joe doesn’t intend to terminate the contract agreement before its time, right?” Clara added, getting out of bed. Her chest felt tight as if she had just been heartbroken by her lover.

“No, I just need to focus on my work!” Joe reasoned. He just didn’t want to put Clara in a difficult position. If Mrs. Linn felt bothered by Clara’s presence, Joe was afraid that his mother would push Clara away from his life.

“But Uncle!”

“What else, Clara?” Joe asked, his tone firmer than before.

“Didn’t you kiss me last night, Uncle Joe? Doesn’t that mean you like me?” Clara asked, recalling the events of last night. She felt like Joe had kissed her, but she wasn’t sure if it was a dream or real.

“What? You’re dreaming, Clara! I never kissed you! It’s clear that you were dreaming!” the Uncle accused. “Don’t be too confident, Clara. Your taste may be high, but sorry, you’re not my type,” he said. Joe had to say those harsh words not to hurt Clara, but to protect her.

Click. Clara, hurt by Joe’s words, ended the phone call just like that.

She stood up, grabbed a towel, and headed to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Clara finished her shower routine. She emerged from the bathroom wearing her uniform.

After getting ready, Clara left her room. She walked quickly down the stairs, accompanied by a driver to school.

Joe watched Clara from his balcony. He remembered the events of last night when he left Clara’s room. His father, Mr. Bond, was still in the living room.

“My wife and I consider Clara as family, but that doesn’t mean you two will get married and become husband and wife. Be careful, Joe, or you could lose Clara if my wife finds out about this!” Mr. Bond said upon seeing Joe coming out of his room.

His father’s words made Joe take action. He had to take a step back to keep the girl by his side.

“Clara, you’re beautiful and smart. I don’t want to ruin your relationship with my family. I just have to make sure your future is secure,” Joe muttered as he looked at Clara’s picture on his phone screen.

==❤==

This morning, the handsome CEO asked Antoni to pick him up. His secretary sat behind the wheel, while Joe sat in the back.

The man looked gloomy, with his eyes always looking out the window. Something was bothering his mind. However, Joe wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

“Sir, are you daydreaming?” Antoni asked. “You seem different this morning compared to yesterday,” he added.

Joe raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” His voice was flat. Antoni was always interested in observing, compared to Vivian, his ex-wife.

“Yesterday, Mr. Joe, you were always smiling. Especially during lunch, you always smiled while enjoying your lunch… Uh, this morning, I didn’t see the floral pattern paper bag!” Antoni said, looking around.

Joe remained silent, trying to decipher what was in his heart. As if there was a speck of dust bothering him there.

“Sir!” his secretary called.

“What’s your mistake, Antoni?” Joe’s gaze sharpened as he looked sharply at the man.

“Frankly… I followed you yesterday!” Antoni confessed.

“You followed me?”

“Yes, I was very curious about the person who gave you the floral pattern paper bag!” Antoni said, hoping Joe wouldn’t get angry.

“And then?”

“Forgive me, sir, I followed you from in front of the house until we arrived at the office!” he confessed.

Joe glanced away.

“Is it the high school girl who made you lunch and made you very gloomy this morning?” Antoni couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“Shut your mouth, or I’ll…!”

“Yes, sir!” Antoni interjected, scared of Joe. He didn’t expect his boss to be this angry.

==❤==

“Aren’t you eating, Clara?” Nadia asked. Usually, Clara would open her lunchbox.

“No, I’m not hungry,” Clara replied, resting her head on the bench. Every break time, Clara always sent a message to Joe. But not today. Clara even hesitated to open her phone screen. She didn’t want to see Joe’s picture, which always greeted her when she opened her phone.

“Is this because of Uncle Joe?” Nadia accused. Who else could it be but the handsome CEO uncle? Clara’s sadness and lack of enthusiasm were clear reasons for Nadia.

“Don’t talk about him for now, please,” Clara requested.

“Okay, okay, I won’t,” Nadia complied.

Her friend took another sip of her juice, her eyes always observing Clara.

“Nadia!”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I should just give up?” Clara asked, feeling desperate.

“Give up?”

“Last night, I dreamt that Uncle Joe kissed my forehead. I’m scared, I’m afraid of getting hurt because I’m hoping too much,” Clara lamented.

“If it makes you happy, go for it. But if it makes you sad and gloomy like this, it’s better to stop before you get hurt,” Nadia advised. Seeing Clara sad and without parents, Nadia felt touched. Sad!

“Okay, Nadia, I understand,” Clara replied.

Ding…

Ding…

The bell for the last class rang. It was time for math class, Clara’s favorite subject.

Usually, Clara would pay full attention during math class. However, this time she couldn’t focus. Her mind wandered elsewhere. Moreover, when she checked her WhatsApp messages, there wasn’t a single message from the handsome Uncle.

Until the bell for dismissal rang, Clara was still lost in thought. Not a single piece of information entered her mind.

“Let’s go home!” Nadia invited. Clara didn’t hear the dismissal bell. Yesterday, she always looked at the clock above the blackboard because she wanted to call Uncle Joe right away.

Clara followed along and took Nadia’s hand as they walked.

Arriving at the gate, Nadia, who was no longer in the dormitory, was always picked up by her mother on time. While Clara this time was still waiting for the family’s private driver to pick her up.

A message came in from Mrs. Linn.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

[Clara, you go home by yourself, the driver is taking me and Kimmy to the doctor!]

[Okay, Mrs.]

Clara walked towards the bus stop next to the school gate.

“I’ll take you home!” Mario said, suddenly appearing beside her. Her classmate was sitting on his motorcycle.

Clara returned Mario’s gaze.

“Come on! Don’t refuse, I won’t let anything happen to you!” Mario explained. He just wanted to give Clara a ride.

“Okay,” Clara agreed. She took the helmet from Mario and put it on. Then she got on, riding behind Mario.

“Hold on!” the high school senior instructed Clara.

Clara held onto both sides of Mario’s shirt. The latest model motorcycle from a well-known brand started moving, cutting through the city streets in the afternoon.

Mario drove slowly. There were a few things he wanted to ask the girl riding behind him.

“Clara!” he called out.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you ever reply to my messages every night?” Mario complained. It was tiring to send messages, already checked the blue ticks, but got no reply.

“I’m studying, we have final exams soon, Mario!” Clara reasoned. Although every night, she studied accompanied by Joe. She didn’t have time to reply to Mario’s messages, because the time spent with Joe was very valuable.

“Really? Don’t you have a special guy friend?” he probed.

“No!” Clara adhered to the agreement, she couldn’t tell anyone except Nadia.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he said. “How about tomorrow afternoon I pick you up?” Mario offered.

“Where are we going?” Clara asked. She had no plans to leave the house, let alone go out with Mario.

“Did you forget?”

Clara thought for a moment.

“Tomorrow we have an event at school, a prayer event for the senior students! You’re coming, right?” Mario reminded her. He was surprised that Clara could forget.

“Yes, I’ll go,” Clara replied.

“Shall I pick you up?” Mario urged.

“Yes.”

Mario arrived in front of Joe’s house. He parked his motorcycle.

Clara got off Mario’s motorcycle.

“Thank you,” Clara said as she returned the helmet to her friend.

“You’re welcome,” Mario replied, flashing his sweetest smile for Clara.

She walked away from Mario. Opening the gate and entering the house.

Mario then started his motorcycle and went home. He felt happy. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow. He wanted to pick up Clara with his red Ferrari.

…

Not long after, the sound of Joe’s car was heard. The eagle-eyed man arrived at his house.

“Hasn’t Clara come home yet?” Joe asked, not seeing Mr. Joko’s car in the garage.

“Clara has already come home!” the female servant watering the flowers replied.

“Where’s Mr. Joko?”

“Mr. Joko is taking Mrs. Linn and Mr. Bond to the doctor, sir,” she answered.

“So Clara came home alone!” Joe emphasized.

“Clara was brought home by her friend, sir!” she replied again, raising her eyebrows. It was unusual for Joe to ask in such detail.

“Oh!”

Joe hurried into the house. He climbed the stairs to the second floor quickly and widely. Two steps at a time.

The man barged into the room. Impatiently! He turned on the CCTV because he wanted to know who had accompanied Clara.

His laptop screen started playing the event from fifteen minutes ago. Even though she was wearing a helmet, Joe knew who had accompanied Clara. “That Mama’s boy.”

“Look, Clara! You’re not a faithful girlfriend. Just one day I didn’t pick you up, and you let someone else take you!” Joe exclaimed. He grimaced harshly, impatiently wanting to talk to Clara right away.