Wishes Do Come True

It was the perfect plan.

Wes had spent half the day preparing and used the rest to set it in motion. Unlike his past courtship attempts, he didn’t hide behind anonymous gifts and letters this time, nor did he hesitate. He could not wait that long to tell these feelings —

These feelings that led him to incur Seth’s wrath yet again as he snuck out of the office, ordered a romantic gift package, and reserved the café for a private rendezvous.

Mia wasn’t good with people. She probably wouldn’t feel comfortable if he made a spectacle of things. That's why he had the employees pack up early and only allow her entry. He messaged her afterward and waited for her to arrive.

“I-I’m rooting for you, Wes! You can do it!”

But then, she had assumed he was going to confess to Alice. He didn’t think he’d been obvious with his motive, but neither did he expect she’d jump to that conclusion. Not once did he mention Alice, after all, not even during their makeover mission.

But he couldn’t blame her, considering that’s why they became friends in the first place.

“Uh, you're confessing today, right? Ms. Alice will be here in a short while… I-I happened to see her on the way,” she'd gone on to tell him.

She thought he invited Alice so he could ask her out again, which he did not. He wondered what the odds were that she was even anywhere in the vicinity. Her elder brother, Xander, had said he wasn’t aware of any business she could have around here.

‘In any case, it might be useful if Alice Quin does come,’  he deliberated. ‘She has a huge following. She can be the first to learn about our relationship and spread the word.'

He wanted as many people as possible to know soon. He wanted to show how special this person was. 

This way, certain individuals would learn their lesson—that Mia was not someone they could mess with. 

'Alice Quin might recognize me either as the boy who confessed to her or the celebrity she idolizes, but nothing changes with the plan,' he concluded. 'Let’s give it a few minutes and see if she’ll really appear, and if she doesn’t…'

Wes would go right ahead and selfishly savor the expression on Mia’s beautiful face when he confessed, keeping it all to himself.

The press could wait. The world could wait. He would take her on dates and just let the public go wild over some paparazzi’s exclusive scoop.

The time to confess arrived, and Alice did end up coming.

With her was her followers, much to his dismay. The moment could’ve been more intimate if they're not around. To make it worse, his target was no longer where he had left her.

‘The crowd must’ve scared Mia away.' Wes held back a sigh, regretting it more when they caused a ruckus at the mere sight of him. ‘But if she figures out who I am with this… Maybe it’ll make things faster…’

“Listen, there's something I realized; I think he confessed to me once.”

Upon hearing Alice’s remark, Wes couldn’t help but raise a brow. It seemed she’d chosen to identify him as ‘the boy she rejected’ rather than what was already clear to everyone–rather than the model and actor he's famous as. If what Xander said about her crush on Wes Ashthorne was true, she should’ve realized it was him.

‘I wonder... Will she act as if she never humiliated me and finally treat me like a decent human being now that she’s seen my true face?’

He could not care less. To begin with, he wasn’t doing this for petty revenge. He had moved on.

“Oh, what a wonderful surprise!”

Like Mia, Alice thought this was all for her.

This pained him to watch. For both her sake and his, he quickly finished the charade she’d imagined herself in; he ignored her and kept walking. It mattered not to him what her reaction was.

His priority was Mia, who was, apparently, nowhere to be found.

‘Mia?’ He checked the other tables, thinking she’d moved to avoid attention. ‘But where is she? I didn’t notice her leave, and why would she…? Ah!’

To his relief and delight, Mia had only taken a seat at the farthest corner. He dearly hoped she’d give him a break from all these heart-stopping stunts of hers. If she did leave without a word, he wouldn’t know what to do –

No, he knew; he would run out of there and chase after her no matter what.

But at this moment, thankfully, there wasn’t any sign that she would do so. Everything was in his head; he was just nervous. Never did he feel like this before, not when he wooed others, spoke to thousands of fans, or discussed with the board of directors. 

Only she could make him feel this way.

The thumping in his chest was getting louder, harder. When she called his name and locked eyes with him, dizzying heat hit him in the head. The air became warmer, the noise lesser.

Every step felt like a fraction of eternity, each bringing him closer to what he wished for most in life. As she stared back at him with mixed emotions, he vowed to bare the whole truth to her once he had her in his arms.

'I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise or confuse you.' He took a deep breath.'You deserve only the best, so I…’

It had to be the perfect plan.

---

Mia couldn’t believe what’s happening.

Her surroundings melted into a blur. Time seemed to slow, and each step Wes took felt impossibly long. She saw nothing but him, thought of nothing but him.

Him walking forward with red roses in his arm and stars in his blue eyes, and her waiting and struggling to hold herself together—it’s as though they were the only people in the world.

In these seconds, a flood of memories surged in. She remembered her first crush telling her she was irritating, then the second one who mocked her stutters, and then the third who recoiled from her as if her social anxiety was contagious. Those words had scarred her, had made her believe she never deserved love.

"You're boring. You're awkward to talk with. Don't even bother hoping you'd get liked back.”

They had broken her. She could no longer hope for much because no one would ever think she was worth it. That was until he came.

“Mia…”

His low and deep voice snapped her out of her spiral. He now stood in front of her. Her eyes searched his for any misunderstanding or mischief.

‘Maybe he’ll just ask something he forgot, or he's mistaken or nervous or…’

But all she found was clarity, desire, affection, and something else she couldn't figure the extent or depth of.

“W-What are you doing?” she asked, the tremor in her voice betraying the whirling emotions inside her.

“I’m confessing to you,” he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe, and it was, but just that it's not supposed to be to her. “Forgive me. I haven’t really told you everything yet. Shall I spell it out, then?”

Before she could react, he took her hand in his. She gasped as he lifted it to his lips and pressed a soft, gentle kiss on its back without breaking eye contact with her. The pounding in her chest intensified, and her cheeks burned. 

“I love you, Mia. Will you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?”