"Lars," Hana tapped my shoulder as soon as we entered the club. "Isn't that your secretary?"

Napalingon ako sa tinuro niya. It was, indeed, my secretary. I didn't expect to see Miriam in this kind of place. At least, not while she's pregnant.

Sinabihan ko ang mga kasama ko na maghanap na ng pwesto namin. Ako naman ay lumapit sa pwesto ni Miriam upang batiin siya.

"Miriam?"

My secretary was shocked at the sound of my voice. She rose from her seat to greet me. "Sir Lars!"

"I didn't expect to see you here." I remarked with all honesty."Wait, are you even allowed to drink? You're pregnant!"

Miriam waved her hand. "No, no. Don't worry, I won't drink."

She was with three other girls. Friends, I suppose. One of her companions, who was seated right in front of me, flinched upon meeting my gaze.

"Huh?" My brows lifted in surprise. "A nun?"

Tila nahiya naman siya sa sinabi ko.

"Uhm," She faked a laugh. "God bless you."

Pfft. She's funny.

After exchanging a brief introduction with her friends, I reminded Miriam about the applicants for tomorrow. Since she was pregnant, I was in search of a secretary that would replace her.

For the last time, I smiled to the girls before taking my leave. I could still feel their curious stares on me as I made my way to my group.

"That's Miriam, right? Pwede ba siyang uminom? She's pregnant." My youngest sister, Suna, inquired with genuine concern.

I yawned lazily. "She's not drinking."

"More importantly," singit ni Haru habang nakatingin sa direksyon ni Miriam. "That girl, she's wearing a nun costume..."

Muli akong natawa. A nun in a club.

"Don't tell me you have a nun fetish, Haru?" My twin, Lucy, teased her husband. "Should I dress as one tonight?"

Namula naman si Haru sa pang-aasar nito.

God, ang landi naman ng dalawang 'to.

Napansin ko namang tahimik si Hana at tila malalim ang iniisip. I nudged him on the shoulder and gave him an inquiring look.

"What are you thinking about?" tanong ko kay Hana.

"I was just thinking about how small she is."

I figured he was referring to Miriam's friend who was cosplaying as a nun, Aria Moya.

"Well, she's notably small." tamad kong sabi.

"Doesn't she kind of remind you of someone?"

I flinched. I don't like where this is going...

"Who?" patay-malisya kong tanong.

Ngumiti si Hana. "She reminds me of Tia."

"Who's that?"

Hana sighed. "Si Tia, 'yong ka-dorm natin dati."

"Ah, Florentia." I chuckled dryly. "A shorty, indeed."

She's not exactly someone I remember fondly.

Tia. Haven't heard that name for a while.

When I reached for the shot glass, I glanced over my secretary's group and caught Aria staring at me. She nervously looked away in an instant.

I grinned. She's like an open book.

I noticed that she excused herself from our friends. I also did the same because I was bored. I wanted to have fun. And Aria Moya seemed fun.

When I passed by the table of Miriam and her friends, we talked for a bit and she told me that Aria was actually in search of a job. So Miriam recommended her as my secretary.

Shortly, I looked for Aria around the near the bathroom area. I found her along with some annoying bugs that just had to be annoying tonight.

So I scared them off for her.

"Hands off the sister, my friend."

One of the guys was being particularly annoying, so I grabbed his balls with my hand. Squirmy.

"WHA- WHAT THE FUCK, YOU ASSHOLE?"

I could see Aria blushing at my deed. Cute.

"Now you know the feeling when someone touches you against your will." malumanay kong sabi at mas lalo pang dinakot ang hawak ko. "I told you, hands off the sister."

Finally, the guy scrambled away with his friends. He seemed utterly violated. Hindi ko naman naiwasang mapahalakhak sa tuwa.

"Why did you do that?" Aria curiously queries.

I looked at her in the corner of my eye.

"Do what?"

"You just grabbed his balls."

I smiled. "I like balls. They're soft and squirmy."

"What?" She shot me a horrified look. "Balls aside, you touched him against his will. That's sexual harassment, you know!"

"Well, he touched you first." depensa ko. "Anyway, Miriam told me that you're looking for a job. Is that true?"

She bit her lower lip. "So what if I am?"

"Hmm." I stared at her. "Wanna work for me?"

She was taken aback.

"We can do the interview right here and now. I only have two questions, anyway." paliwanag ko at nagpamulsa ng kamay.

"Sandali lang!" Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "Sigurado ka ba rito? Ni hindi mo nga ako kilala!"

I laughed. "Who cares? Miriam recommended you to me. We worked together for three years. I trust her judgment."

Natameme naman siya. Well, let's do this.

"Alright," I cleared his throat. "First question,"

She stiffened.

"Are you homophobic?"

Tila nabigla naman siya sa tanong ko at hindi niya ito inasahan. Nang makabawi siya sa gulat ay mabilis din siyang sumagot.

"Absolutely not. But, why?"

I gave her a small smile. "Because I'm gay."

Napanganga naman siya.

"I want someone who wouldn't mind when my boyfriend visits me. I don't need a homophobic secretary who secretly looks at me with so much disgust and judgment."

"No." She gulped. "I'm not like that, Sir."

My face softened. "I'm relieved to hear that."

Umiwas ako ng tingin sa kanya at nag-isip.

Ah, why am I remembering that girl now?

In truth, Aria looks like someone I know. Specifically, a college crush that didn't end well with me.

"Do you smoke?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry?"

I crossed my arms. "I prefer a secretary who would smoke with me on a shitty day. So, do you?"

Because that's what we usually did in the past.

"Not really. But I do. Sometimes." Aria replied.

My lips formed a smile. I must be mad. I took a pack of cigarettes out of my pocket. I placed one stick on my mouth then handed her a lighter.

"Please light it for me." I said politely, to which she complied. She carefully lit the cigarette on my mouth.

I gave her a small smile.

"You're hired. I look forward on working with you."

I hired her out of a whim. She was a small girl. And small girls were my type because of a certain girl that I met back in college.

So I didn't really give it much thought. Aria was cute, too. I enjoyed looking at her on a daily basis. Her reactions were also funny to watch.

But she was kind. Like, the super kind of kind.

Her kindness turns me on. Her thin lips make me weak. And then I thought to myself, god, she's totally my type. I was in deep trouble.

"Your lips..." Aria trailed. "They look nice, Sir."

"Hmm." My lips waned into a thin smile. "Wanna kiss?"

For a moment, she was rendered speechless.

That was the first time I asked her to kiss. Honestly, I was only kidding... but I didn't expect her to say yes.

"I have never kissed anyone before." Out of shame, she closed her eyes tightly. "But for some reason, I want to kiss you now. I'm sorry, Sir Lars. Am I fired?"

Well, damn if that wasn't cute.

"Shall we?" I broke the silence between us then rose from my seat. "Right now, I'm actually in the mood to kiss. Shall we do it, Aria?"

"Uhm," She lowered her face in embarrassment. "If it's okay with you-"

I couldn't even let her finish. I just found her too cute at that moment and I wanted to kiss her so bad.

When her knees failed and she was about to fall, I caught her by the waist in a swift.

"Don't faint on me. You wanted to kiss, right?"

"Enough! Mababaliw na ako!"

Napanguso ako sa repleksyon ko. Sinulyapan ko si Aria at pinunasan ang mga labi ko. "Look at the mess you've made, Moya. Now I need to redo my lips."

I loved getting trouble when it came to her. When we kissed for the first time, I realized that I was smitten and there was no turning back from this.

I had spent the past few months fooling around with Genesis, but he was someone whose dick would never settle for one person. So I didn't really like him that much. Well, I think so. We just needed each other in bed.

Still, he was a part of my family. Genesis was the older brother of the deceased Uriel, who got Suna, my younger sister, pregnant when they were in high school. Sadly, Uriel passed away before I could even meet him.

With that, Genesis was a permanent part of my life. That was a fact. But I didn't expect him to cause so much trouble in my romantic relationships. He had an obsessive tendency. Sometimes he would harrass men and women who got involved with me.

Aria was no exception, of course.

Then we got into an accident. I lost some of my memories, specifically the time period when Aria joined the company.

But I was certain that I was in love with her.

I could feel it. I just knew it. I didn't even need to know my memories. I was so damn attracted to her and I couldn't take my eyes off her. Even though I couldn't remember her, I knew I was smitten.

However, things got messy. I was confused for a moment because of Genesis. That was his talent, to confuse the hell out of people. So when he gave me a fucking blowjob, I couldn't think straight.

I never enjoyed any second of it.

Pinagsisisihan ko iyon.

Dahil sa pagkakamali ko, nasaktan ko si Aria. She ended up hurting me unintentionally, too. The difference in the pain that we inflicted was that mine's a visible scar on the eye while hers was a stab on the heart.

Kaya hindi ko rin siya masisi kung bakit siya umalis.

I also recovered my memories way too late.

"Lars," My twin sister, Lucy, told me once when I was drunk "Get your shit together. It's been five years. Move on, will you?"

Easier said than done.

When I met Aria five years after our breakup, I still loved her. How could you not love someone so purely kind and beautiful? There was no one like her in this world.

But I had to let her go. I needed to.

"This will be the last time, Moya." My lips trembled as I spoke. "We need to be done with each other tonight. If you don't want to leave my life, then I'll leave yours."

I cupped her cheeks then rested my forehead on hers. Moya, my adorable secretary, the love of my life...

"Huwag mo akong iwan. Mahal kita." pakiusap niya.

"I'm sorry." I told her in between sobs. "All I want is for you to be happy. I'm sorry. I love you."

I mustered all my courage to say it.

"I'm going to be a father soon, Moya."

The truth was, I didn't mind losing one of my eyes. I still had the right one. But Aria was the only woman in my life. When she left me, I was completely devastated.

So a few months ago, when I saw someone from my past, the reason why small girls were my type, the one who taught me how to smoke, and the college crush that didn't end well with me, I was fucking pissed.

I wish I hadn't met her at all.

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even spare a glance on girls with short legs and thin lips. If it weren't for her, I would've been busy fooling around with long-legged blondes and ripped dudes.

But she just had to come and go in my life.

I took an interest on Aria because she resembled her a lot. Now look where that life has taken me, I'm so miserable and pathetic.

That's right. I met that woman again five years after my breakup with Aria. It was supposed to be a one night stand, but then I got her pregnant.

Florentia.

My first and last smoke.

---

I think you already have an idea of how Love and Cigarettes will end. Thank you! This is almost done lol. One last chapter for the main story!

Yours Truly,
Aomine-san