Free KNOWN BY MY HEART by Michelle Bennett

CHAPTER I
     
    São Paulo, Brazil
     
    The words, "Feliz aniversári!" and "Happy birthday!" resounded in the faculty room for almost the whole day. Indeed, Marco is well loved, not just by his fellow professors, but by the entire student body of the prestigious university where he teaches in the College of Computer Science. At 27, Professor Marco Rubio is the faculty’s pride and the campus heartthrob. Standing at six feet four inches with a body builder’s physique and black beauty appeal, he is the envy of all men and the dream of every woman in nearly the whole city.
     
    Marco was used to being successful except in love. With his brains, beauty, and wealth, any woman could easily fall in love with Marco. True enough, Marco has had several relationships in the past, but none seems to be truly deserving of being accompanied by him down the church aisle. Through the years, Marco learned that the woman who deserves his heart is she who would be able to make it beat in a special way for all time. This search for the right woman turned Marco into the loner that he is, spending most of his time in front of the computer for academics or computer game purposes.
     
     
    North Carolina, USA
     
    The two best friends, Jasmine Shepherd and Monica Carpenter, are regular visitors of the North Carolina beach, as both almost always do their workout trainings beside the ocean. These 26 year-old friends have come along way in their friendship since their  childhoods spent in the countryside.
     
    While Monica is a karate athlete with a thick physique, Jasmine is more ladylike, relying on swimming as her exercise since it did not require much money for  training. Away from the beach, Monica is an Internet buff, while Jasmine is content working in her garden when not on duty as a lifeguard.
     
    With her usual mischief, Monica hides behind an oak tree, once again having stolen her brother’s laptop to log in to her favourite networking sites. Her eyes almost popped out upon seeing that someone has replied to her friend request despite using a cartoon character as her profile picture.
     
    The delight in Monica’s eyes faded when she noticed a message in her Inbox. It was a note from her new friend named Sunset. "Sunset," like Monica, doesn’t show his face in the networking site. Instead he uses the picture of a pristine ocean with the setting sun in the background. Sunset’s message was short but quite alarming in Monica’s viewpoint. "Hi there, my new friend! I am quite interested about you, but will you please show me first your real picture?"
     
    Monica was dumbfounded as the glow from her eyes turned into restlessness and fear. Knowing that hers is a body that is considered heavy and a face that is quite unattractive, Monica felt sad that she might once again lose a potential boyfriend. Sadness is reflected in her eyes when suddenly…
     
    "Hi Monica! Are you okay?" asked a gentle and feminine voice. Monica was certain whose voice it belongs to. True enough, it was from Jasmine, her best friend since childhood. Monica’s face glowed again in Jasmine’s presence. "Jasmine! Right! Jasmine!" was all she thought as Monica returned to her usual self.
     
    Jasmine is Monica’s neighbour, classmate, and childhood friend, but with a different personality like that of her stout best friend. Unlike Monica, Jasmine has a noticeable slender body frame, long black straight hair, and a face depicting her tame personality. She was the typical country girl type, but is nevertheless a consistent honour student running for valedictorian in downtown’s College of Computer Science.
     
    The next time Monica met Jasmine was  in Jasmine’s favourite sanctuary, the seashore. It was quite a giggly and playful get-together, as Monica brought her father’s digital camera to take pictures of Jasmine. Monica’s mischief enabled her to steal pictures of Jasmine, despite her svelte buddy’s struggle to hide from the stolen shots. The two girls