Six years ago

Angela Su was a known socialite. With her family’s wealth, she was always partying, always attending social events, always out with friends. She spent her father’s money and she just didn’t have a care in the world. She was young—and she thought that she had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted to do in her life.

Growing up with only her father and brother around, life wasn’t really a breeze for her. There were too many restrictions and because of that, she rebelled a lot. She didn’t really get into too much trouble. It’s just that, she wanted to escape the confines of her home and hang out with her best friend Nina in clubs—either going out on a date or getting herself drunk. She would sneak in and out of their house in order not to get caught by her father. There were a few times that her father would know about it but almost every time, her brother Oliver would get her out of the scolding.

Angela and Oliver’s father had a friend–General Leos. The Greek-American General and his wife had a son named Evan. He was several months older than Angela and the two met back when they were still kids. However, it was only when Angela was nineteen when she met him again—and it was when they started hooking up whenever he was in town.

Evan Leos was a Marine. He was six foot one, had broad shoulders, light brown skin, green eyes, and very dark brown—almost black hair. He looked every bit a Greek man. Very much her type.

Everytime Evan would come home for a few weeks, his family would visit the Sus—and he would spend time with Angela. Despite knowing that he was in the military, she didn’t mind it that much since she wasn’t looking for anything serious anyway. When he was around, they were together. And when he wasn’t, they weren’t. No strings attached.

However, when Angela was twenty-one, the last time that Evan came to see her, their relationship changed. He spent a week with her and before he left, he told her that he wanted to make their relationship exclusive. It was a huge step for her especially because he wasn’t going to be around much, so she was hesitant at first.

Evan started calling her regularly almost every day whenever he had time. He would call her through video chat whenever he got the chance and they exchanged messages whenever possible. Angela was conflicted because of how difficult it was to maintain a long-distance relationship. But she tried her best to do her part because she started falling for the man.

He was just like how novels would describe Greeks. Very affectionate and passionate. He would spontaneously give her compliments and treated her like a queen. It was probably why it didn’t surprise Angela when she started falling for him. He was always the gentleman. A Greek-American Marine? Who was she to complain?

When Evan came back to Esmea, Angela was already twenty-two. She didn’t know that he was coming home earlier than what he told her. So with Nina’s help, he surprised her. Angela was in a coffee shop with her best friend one afternoon when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Slowly, she turned her head and looked up to see a man in a grey t-shirt and black coat and pants. She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth in surprise, “Oh my god!”

“Surprise.” Evan pulled a charming smile on his face, flashing his pearly whites.

Jumping up from her seat, Angela squealed in excitement and threw her arms around his neck. “I thought you were coming home next week?”

He caught her instantly, his strong arms circling around her tiny waist. “Hello…” he whispered just before he kissed her lips.

“Hello to you too, Sergeant…” Angela’s smile reached her ears. She wasn’t at all prepared to see him this soon but she wasn’t complaining. It had been a year since she had last seen him. After being away for a long time, seeing him again just felt nice.

“And… that’s my cue to leave. Bye.” Nina got up from her seat and left the coffee shop in a hurry without waiting for the couple to respond.

“Did you plan this with Nina?” Angela narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed, “I just wanted to surprise you.”

“If you had told me that you’d arrive today, I would have worn something nicer.”

Evan pulled back and gave her a once over. She was wearing a white halter mini dress with a purple floral design. His brows furrowed as he shook his head, “What are you talking about? You already look nice.” He pulled her close again and placed a kiss on her cheek. “You look nice no matter what you wear.”

Angela scoffed but also blushed at his words. Evan was always the charmer and she always fell for his charms. He gestured for her to exit the coffee shop by placing a hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go. I’ll take you out for dinner. My treat.”

They got in his black two-door convertible Audi and Evan drove them to a fancy restaurant where he told her his plans as they ate. “Actually… I’ll be home for more than a month this time,” he said.

“That’s great!”

“Mhmm… After this break, I’ll be joining the Raiders–Special Ops when I go back. I’ll be very busy because of the grueling training.”

“Oh… Okay…” Angela wasn’t sure how she felt about this news. She was already a bit apprehensive about the whole long-distance thing. What was this now? What did this mean?

Noticing the confused look on her face, Evan reached for her hand across the table and told her, “Good news is… I’ll be nearer. The camp is just in North Carolina. I’ll ask for permissions but I guess you can visit sometime?”

The look on Angela’s face was replaced with a smile and she nodded. It was no big deal then. She didn’t know what was in store for them but come what may.

“Let’s not talk about it. I want us to enjoy the evening. Alright, beautiful?” He winked and kissed the back of her hand.

See? Gentleman. Affectionate. A handsome Greek god who serves the country. Angela almost had everything a woman could ever ask for!

If only she saw the signs early on…