Sometimes We Can Deceive Everything Except Love

I was minding my own business in the convenience store when a hooded guy suddenly jumped at the cashier, pulled out a gun, and demanded cash. Everyone started to panic, except me. I had been waiting for this moment.

"Hey, idiot!" I shouted. Everyone gasped as the robber turned to me. I walked up to him, slowly removing my jacket. "It's so hot in here, don’t you think?"

"Back off, sweetheart. I have a gun."

"Not anymore," I replied, grabbing his wrist and twisting it until he dropped the weapon. I locked him in a tight grip and pinned him to the ground. "It's jail time, baby." As the police arrived, someone approached me with a proud smile. It was Detective Andrew, whom I had met during a summer program for aspiring detectives.

"You're really something else, Zartasha," he said. He was just five years older than me but treated me like his little sister, which was annoying because I liked him.

"Learned from the best," I replied.

"If you're free tonight, do you want to have dinner with me?" he asked. My heart raced, hoping he would confess his feelings. But at dinner, he got straight to the point. "We have a big case and need your help. It's a gold smuggling operation, and the suspect, Mr. Anderson, has a son named Chase. We need hard evidence against him, and we want you to pose as Chase's bodyguard."

"Mission accepted, officer," I said. My dad had trained me in martial arts since I was two, and I was eager to use my skills.

Andrew prepared my fake documents, and I was hired. When I met Mr. Anderson, his face screamed danger. His office was full of surveillance cameras, making my task harder than I thought. He handed me a portfolio of Chase, and I was struck by how attractive he was. When I met Chase, he jumped on me, terrified of a cockroach. After I crushed it, he looked at me with wide eyes.

"Take that disgusting creature away from me," he said.

"It's gone," I reassured him. He was handsome but also a spoiled brat. "I'm your new bodyguard, Zartasha."

"Dad sure knows my type. Do you want to make out?" he asked.

"Do you want to die?" I retorted, giving him a powerful blow that sent him flying.

Later that night, I installed spy cameras around the mansion. The next day at school, boys flocked around me, and Chase threw money at them to make them go away. "I want you to focus on me," he said.

One day, I caught him in my arms when he slipped on a tissue. Our faces were so close that I got lost in his beautiful blue eyes. Then Vanessa, his clingy girlfriend, showed up, screaming. "Hoppy boo, are you cheating on me?" she shrieked.

"She's my bodyguard," Chase explained, but Vanessa was relentless. Later, Chase dragged me into a janitor's closet. "I don't like Vanessa. I dated her because I felt bad for her. From now on, keep her away from me."

At night, I checked the surveillance videos. Mr. Anderson went straight to his room, which I needed access to. On my way out, I bumped into Vanessa, who warned me to stay away from Chase. "Sorry, I can't do that. I'm being paid to be by his side."

The next day, I pretended to be sick to avoid going to school with Chase. I sneaked into Mr. Anderson's bathroom, found a hidden button, and discovered a trapdoor. I called Andrew and took pictures of the gold bars before Mr. Anderson caught me. Just in time, Andrew and the police arrived and arrested him.

"Good work, future detective," Andrew said, hugging me. "You can get rid of that punk and hang out with me again."

But Chase had seen everything. "So it was all about this, huh?" he said, hurt. "Congratulations on your successful mission."

I watched him walk away with tears in my eyes, realizing I had broken his heart. I didn't see him again. Two years later, while studying criminology, I tried a new restaurant and was shocked to see Chase as the chef.

"It's nice to see you, Zartasha," he said, looking even more handsome than before.

"It's good to see you too, Chase," I replied, but I felt a pang of jealousy when Vanessa walked in, hugging him.

As I left the restaurant, Chase ran after me. "Are you jealous? Vanessa realized she likes girls, and we became friends. I've been in love with someone else for a long time."

"You’re supposed to be mad at me for putting your dad in jail."

"I'm not. He deserved it. I was upset because you pretended to love me."

"Who said I was pretending?" I blurted out.

He blushed, and I grabbed his collar, kissing him. "Sorry, it's just a reflex."

"Let's make it a habit then," he whispered, smiling.