"How are you, Architect? I was worried about you earlier," asked me a rather old woman who was a friend of Mommy's. "I'm alright, ma'am. Maybe I'm just tired from yesterday's work," I answered, then shrugged my shoulders. "Oh! You should get some rest sometimes. Don't just work; take some rest. Health is more important," she reminded me. "I don't know about that daughter of mine. She works too hard, and even on weekends instead of resting, she's still working!" Mommy has fuel there. I just laughed and shook my head because I had become their topic. When I was relieved, I announced that I was going to meet my other co-workers and friends who had attended the party. I saw Wendy earlier, but because there were so many people there, she disappeared from my sight. The engineer and architect acquaintances I saw there, I said hello to one by one, so they only asked me if I was fine because they said they saw what happened to me earlier. I was holding wine while greeting the guests ther
"Hey! he called to me. When I felt him getting closer to me, I moved further away from him. I'm ashamed now because I couldn't stop the tears from coming out of my eyes. I covered my face with my palms, and no matter how hard I tried to calm myself there, I couldn't do it anymore. "Are you crying?" he asked, as if he couldn't see my sobbing. "L-Leave me alone. P-Please!" I scolded him and pushed him away again. My voice finally broke there, which is why I almost closed my eyes tightly. "Why are you crying?" he asked, and there was a hint of concern. When I mustered up the courage, I straightened up and immediately wiped away my tears. I took a deep breath, then walked over to a bench to sit there. I'm a little calmer now, and there aren't too many tears coming out of my eyes. "I'm going to ask you one more question. Why are you crying?" he repeated his question earlier. That's serious, and it's like he's really curious why I'm crying now. Isn't that obvious? Isn't it obvious
That's what happened to the whole party. We just drank there with our old friends. Marcus' group also joined us because we were all friends there. Even though we were having fun there, I still limited my drinking. I feel that something bad will happen again if I get drunk that night. "Shoot it!" Marcus told me. I looked at the glass in his hand, which was full of wine. They are drinking hard drinks now, and we are all at one table. I shook my head and moved his hand away from my face. "Wow. You're in denial now?" he asked, then laughed. "It looks like he's really changed," said Liam, who was also next to me. I'm between them and Marcus now, and our friends are busy talking. We would have been almost complete there, only because Stella and Caroline weren't there. "Yeah. Maybe her boyfriend forbade her not to drink too much tonight," Marcus replied to Liam. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him because Marcus started teasing me again. "Shut up, Marcus. I don't really have a
I ignored what Cristiano told me, and I just left there to go to my car. I found my key, so I went straight to my car when I saw it parked there. I didn't say goodbye to Mommy and Daddy because, just like Mr. Reyes said, it was just for a moment. Even if they find me, there is one person who knows, and that is Cristiano. I just drove to the hotel where Mr. Reyes is staying, which is not far from the hotel where we are also staying. A few minutes passed until I got there. "To Mr. Reyes," I said to the receptionist when I arrived at the hotel. I texted Mr. Reyes when I got there, and the few minutes that I waited for him in the lobby had already passed. That's why I asked the receptionist to call the room of Mr. Reyes. Maybe he fell asleep waiting for me. "Ma'am, Mr. Reyes asked me if you could go to his room because his feet hurt. He said he couldn't walk properly," the receptionist immediately explained to me. "Oh, alright then," I agreed. I was given the hotel room by Mr. Reyes
"Lily!" The voice echoed like thunder inside the hotel room of Mr. Reyes there. I was even more surprised when the door opened. My eyes widened when I saw who had entered. It finally got in there and quickly walked towards us. I just blinked, and Mr. Reyes caused my eyes to grow bigger. Less than a few seconds later, Mr. Reyes fell down, and there are traces of blood on his face. When I finally got my strength back, I stood up. "Cristiano!" I shouted and immediately came to him. He did not stop punching Mr. Reyes in the face. That's why I'm so scared and worried, because maybe there's something else Cristiano can do to that old man. "Stop it! Enough!" I said to him. I grabbed Cristiano's arm to stop him and pulled him away with all my strength. He was breathing fast, and I could see it in the rise and fall of his chest. I cried even more when I saw that Mr. Reyes face was almost erased because of Cristiano's punches. "Are you all right?" he asked me. I couldn't speak because
I don't know how I slept that night. The only thing I remember is falling asleep on the sofa while my friends were watching over me. When I woke up, I was already in bed in my room. I have also changed my clothes, and I guess Sabrina did it for me. I moved on the bed to get up, but I groaned when I felt the pain in my body. I feel like I've been beaten, and that's not far from what happened to me last night because of what Mr. Reyes said. I don't feel fear anymore, but I'm still not sure if the trauma has completely disappeared from me. I forced myself to get up from my bed and take a shower immediately. I soaked in the bath while remembering what happened last night. If Cristiano hadn't come last night and if I hadn't grabbed the key card from Mr. Reyes to open the door last night, maybe it would have been worse for me. I had no idea that would happen to me because I had so much trust in him. That's why, to this day, I still can't believe that he did that to me and that he planned
"Are you sure it's okay if they interview you?" Cristiano asked me. We were in the garden now, and it was just the two of us there because Sabrina and my three other friends had already left. They still have some work to do, and they really just came here early to check if I'm okay. "Yeah, no problem. Also, I have to answer that," I answered, then shrugged my shoulders. Cristiano nodded at me. He said that there are policemen coming here to interview me about what happened last night so that the case against Mr. Reyes can proceed. "You can say no if you don't want. We all know that you've been traumatized by what happened last night," he told me. I shook my head because it was fine with me. Another thing is for me to be clear about what really happened. Someone is spreading false news that I'm Mr. Reyes mistress; that's why I went to his hotel, where he was, and I knew that those were our company's competitors. Daddy is also taking care of that because he is clearing our name now
I left home with more thoughts. I don't really need a bodyguard, but what else can I do? I want to complain and don't let my guards go with me, so I can't do anything because they don't want to follow me in what I want. They said that's what Dad instructed them to do and that they will follow what I want as long as I don't send them away. I can't help but hide and sigh. I'm going to the restaurant where Stella and I will meet. I used my car, and behind me was the car of my two bodyguards. What they even wanted was for them to drive for me, but I didn't agree. Daddy only ordered them to watch over me and not to drive, so they didn't do anything about it. "Stay far away. I don't want anyone to see that I have bodyguards," I instructed the two. "Alright, ma'am. We'll take care of it," Romel answered me. "I'm going to the restaurant, and you can order what you want. You eat first, and I'll take care of the bill," I instructed them. They agreed to my order. When I got there, as soon a