The crinkle on Shane’s forehead increased when he saw how well Audrey got along with the blonde man who’s showing off his biceps by wearing an apron and not a proper shirt early in the morning. He stood a few feet away from the dining table, leaning his back on the metallic door frame, and watched them conversed while exchanging soft giggles that irritated him. It wasn’t his thing to eavesdrop, so he faked a cough several times to announce his presence only to be totally ignored as the two were totally immersed in each other.
‘Who is he?’
Shane combed his jet black hair with his fingers when Audrey couldn’t stop laughing while brushing her teeth. He thought for a moment she changed because of losing a lot of weight but seeing how careless she could be, he knew that she’s definitely the Audrey he grew up with. Reminiscing some scenes fifteen years back, a smile crept on his lips but immediately faded when he heard what she said.
“What did you say?” he asked in a soft voice, but he made sure she heard it.
Audrey froze in her seat. The expression on her face was somewhat surprising and at the same time worried. He waited for her response, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she started taking a bite and complimented the man beside her about how he cooked the food and came up with a superb flavor.
“I’m talking to you, Audrey,” Shane’s tone was no longer calm. There was a hint of annoyance and urgency in his voice.
“We can talk about it later, Shane. Why don’t you take a seat and eat with me?” Audrey replied without looking at him. He clenched his fist and walked closer to the table.
“Who is he?” he asked her the question that lingered in his mind when he saw the other guy. His eyes were focused on the topless blonde who just picked his folded shirt on the counter to wear. The latter looked back at him and their eyes met. Shane didn’t like it that the other had a pair of green eyes and it suited him very well. He was the first one to pull away from his gaze. ‘Where did she meet this guy? He’s definitely not a local,’ he asked himself as he sat on the chair in front of her.
“His name’s Nathan,” she answered after taking a sip of freshly squeezed orange juice. “He’s currently working for me,” she added and continued munching on her favorite fried chicken wing.
‘Working for her?’ Shane almost choked on his saliva on what she said. “Why?” he asked, still not convinced that the guy’s simply working for her. His eyes shifted back to Nathan who took another set of dishes for him.
“Nice meeting you, Mr. Vargas. I’m Auddie’s assistant,” Nathan said which made him cough for real.
“Why would she need an assistant?” he asked but Nathan just shrugged. “Hey Chub, don’t tell me you became someone great while you were away?” He turned to her with disbelieving eyes. “That would be impossible… haha! I mean you may have lost weight but you aren’t someone like a big star or something who needs an assistant, right?” He shook his head while trying not to laugh at his own idea. “I don’t even have my personal assistant anymore despite being a famous actor… Hahaha. I’m sorry, it’s just that my idea is so silly that I wanted to laugh but…”
“Who cares?”
Shane didn’t complete his sentence when she gave him a cold look. “W-what?” He couldn’t believe he stuttered in front of her.
“Audrey I-”
“I said, who cares?” Again, he didn’t expect her to interrupt him for the second time. “So what if you’re famous and I’m not? Is the privilege of having someone work under him or her exclusive only to people like you?”
He was unable to retort anything against what she said. She was right and he was insensitive. His hands trembled as he felt shivers from her cold stare. Her crisp voice added up to the freezing tension he felt. Shane was aware that he went overboard, and he was guilty. “I’m sorry if I have offended you,” he whispered before attempting to leave.
“Stay,” Audrey said, which made him stop.
“Eat your breakfast. You don’t have the habit of wasting food, no? Finish everything up,” she added and emptied her glass. That was when Shane noticed her cleared plate. ‘She finished her food so fast.’ He nodded his head like a good boy. For some reason, he felt intimidated by the way she treated him since she came back.
“Where are you going?” he asked the lady when he saw her storming out of the kitchen.
“None of your business,” she plainly replied and went on.
Nathan, on the other hand, cleaned up after Audrey’s used dishes before following her outside the kitchen. Shane was surely amazed at how efficient the guy was towards his employer. “I wonder how much she pays him,” he blurted out in a daze.
“Just a few bucks, really.” He was taken aback when he heard Nathan’s answer. He turned his head and saw him come back to get his phone on the table. “She gave me more than what I needed though, enough for me to offer her my utmost loyalty,” Nathan muttered and left.
“Phew!” he breathed when he was finally alone. “Why do I feel that I don’t like that guy? And he called Chub Auddie… Audi? Hah! Even with his blonde hair and green eyes, I think I still look more charming.” Shane rubbed his chin as he drowned himself deeper in his thoughts about comparing his visuals to the foreigner. He went back to his senses when he heard the loud sound of the car engine from the front.
“There she went after telling me that we’ll have a talk,” he mumbled, rubbing his temple. It was his first day of the week off he got for the last six months, and he was supposed to relax yet having Audrey return saying they have something important to discuss made him anxious. He was trying to play it cool though he could see the indifference in her eyes.
‘All right, Chub. Let’s get things straight and free each other.’
“Enjoy,” was what his manager said before hanging up the call. Shane slumped himself on the couch. “Easier said than done,” he muttered with his eyes closed. Just right when he finished his breakfast, which was great, he received a call from Lucy, his manager, telling him about the change on his schedule. The company would be giving him another week off if he could shoot a TV commercial in three days. But of course, it meant that he would only have three days' rest from now, and he should go back to work again. Then he could have an additional free week after that. Shane wanted to say no, and he would be lying if he had that choice. Despite being one of the most famous artists in their entertainment company, he could barely have time for himself because of the long lists of jobs he got and never-ending offers too. Yes, he got good pay in line with his profession, but he’s still young, and just like other men of his age, he also wanted to
‘Shit.’ Audrey was cursing herself when she couldn’t find her phone in her bag nor her pockets. “Ah! Where is it?” She rummaged through her things inside again, and she wasn’t contented, she poured everything in her bag on the ground. “I’ll be doomed if I can’t find it. After all, I don’t want to ring the doorbell and let that guy act like he’s the house owner,” she murmured while picking her things up, one by one, and putting them back. “Found it!” she happily exclaimed when she saw her phone lying on the surface. In fact, it wasn’t in her bag earlier. It fell from her pocket while she was busy looking for it. After accompanying Nathan to his apartment which happened to be nearby, he drove her back. She insisted on getting off at the main gate to take a walk. Nathan agreed and went back to his place to arrange the interior, so they bid their goodbyes. She made sure to ask him about the passcode before getting out of his car. And he told
Folding her arms on her chest while crossing her legs, Audrey patiently waited for Shane to return after dragging Stephanie outside. “Gosh! What’s taking him so long?” she murmured when he still didn’t come back after several minutes. “Did he decide to drive her home or something?” “I didn’t,” Shane said, walking towards her. “Take a seat then. Stop wasting my time,” she retorted. She watched him settle on the couch in front of her. Between them was a small, round, glass table with envelopes on top. Audrey saw how Shane’s face turned pale after noticing the brown envelopes. “Check it out,” she started, ignoring the sudden tension in the atmosphere. “What is this all about, Audrey?” Shane’s question made her laugh, a sarcastic one. “Annulment papers, what else? I know, divorce sounds better but it's not legal in the country yet. Since annulment also means legal separation then we might as well sign the papers, so we could get over with this,” Audrey said, hitting the point instantly
“I’m so stupid!” Audrey kicked a stone out of frustration. She was already far from the house but hadn't left the estate yet. “Why did I run away? For Pete’s sake, that was my house. Ah!” She pulled her hair after realizing what she did. “Aw!” she flinched when she felt the stinging pain from her brims. Since she didn’t want to go back until three days when she expected him to sign the annulment papers, Audrey took her time sitting on the rock while thinking about what she should do next. She planned to stay at Nathan’s place, so she called him to pick her up. Besides, she would need to try out some new recipes with him. It would be more convenient for both of them if they’re together. Convenient as in, someone would clean up after her mess in the kitchen. She waited for less than fifteen minutes before her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID. “Nate, that was fast. I’m heading to the gate n
‘Is it because of him?’ Shane couldn’t help but think about the reason why Audrey wanted to get an annulment. He could give her what she wanted but something was bugging him since he got to meet Nathan. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her. So many events in her life for years she needed to fill him in with. He was sure that Audrey would have stayed with him if that blonde guy didn’t come to pick her up. Seeing how she could smile when she’s with him, he chose to let them be. As for her request, he was afraid he couldn’t sign the annulment papers she was talking about. At least not yet. He needed to find a way to talk it out with her and as long as the problem he caused wasn’t settled yet, he didn’t have any plan to give in to her demands. Shane went back to his car and fumbled his phone. He checked his contacts to find someone to talk to. A heave of a sigh escaped his mouth when he remembered having no friends who’re not ce
Audrey’s eyes lit up when she stepped inside the door. She was in the same place a few hours ago, and she honestly thought it was a different room. Nathan did a good job of matching the white, black, and gray furniture and ornaments in his living room. The place looked bigger though she was certain it wasn’t that spacious before.“Whoa! I like it here,” she mumbled, striking an elegant pose on the couch. “How do I look?” she asked when Nathan passed by.“Like an idiot,” he answered without any doubt.“Ah! How could you say that to your boss? 50% salary deducted, amp!” Audrey snorted, flipping her head to the side. A clear glass vase caught her attention. There were no flowers in it, just red liquid. “What is this?”
That feeling when you were taking your time while enjoying the fantastic ride of endless good things in your sleep and then suddenly a loud noise banged your eardrums leaving you with no choice but to open your eyes and see what was the cause of such disturbance. Anyone would definitely feel bad, not to mention when it happened early in the morning.Audrey felt exactly the same when she was in the middle of munching a giant chocolate wall in her dream. Her mood drastically dropped from 100 to -1. Without opening her eyes, she roamed her hands on the side where her ringtone could be heard. She had no idea of who was calling her that early and she was ready to pull the trigger of her very own mouthchine gun."Good morning, chef Audrey. This is Secretary Lim of Gourmet Gold Enterprise," a man's voice greeted her from the other line."Good morning, how can I help you?" she responded.'Gourm
The gentle breeze and the sweet scent of budding flowers in the garden mixed in the air pulled a wide smile on Shane's face when he opened the window of the room after turning off the Aircon. The melody that the birds tweeted on the tree branches made the morning jolly and full of life.He woke up early to buy some groceries and fill his fridge. He had been living along in Audrey's villa ever since she left. He hired two or more cleaners in the agency to come and clean the house regularly. As for his meals, he learned to cook in the past few years.The food he cooked wasn't as excellent as those he usually had in restaurants but was enough to fill his empty stomach when he's home and starving. Although Shane still preferred to eat homemade dishes, he was unlucky to have no one to ask. And sometimes, Lucy would drop by, bringing him some warm soup."Let's take more of this, Nate." Shane halted from pushing his grocery cart when he heard Audrey's voice. With what