CHRISTY:Everette and I were not talking as we were driving to his company. We were using his car, even if I insisted that I wanted to ride with Happiness. The sense of comfort and security that the car gave me was at the highest level.I felt him constantly glancing at me now and then but pretended that I did not care a bit.I was still mad at him for snapping at me. For making me feel as if I did the greatest sin of all—touching his phone. I admit it was not good to touch someone else's phone, but still…why did he have to be mad?It only showed that he was guilty. “About earlier…” he started while his eyes were glued to the road.I folded my arms in front of my chest. “What happened earlier? I no longer remember.”That should be enough to tell him that I was not in the mood to be talking about it. I was afraid that if he kept on insisting on what happened earlier, I might snap and tell him hurtful things that I might regret earlier.The best thing to do was to keep silent. “You k
CHRISTY:The moment I stepped out of the car, Everette was there to assist me. He offered his hand, which I gladly accepted. He was a complete gentleman all along the way and never failed to assist me.He looked at me with kindness when he felt my cold hand."Don't be nervous. My people are all kind. I already told them that any kind of disrespect towards my wife would never be tolerated."Lies. No one was kind except Poppy, Kelly, and Sebastian.My own mother was not even kind to me so why would they do the opposite? They would only talk behind my back. “I’m not nervous,” I denied. “What made you think that?”“Your hands are like ice.”“I'm only cooled. It does not mean anything, Everette. Mind your own business.”Upon entering the lobby, the security guard was all smiles.“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Watson.”I returned his greeting while feeling Everette's pat on my hand. My steps faltered when I saw Everette's employees were in line as they waited for us. In front of them was
CHRISTY:Could the ground swallow me whole now rather than answering her answer?What would I say? Dammit. I was expecting that everyone was given a memo on my face to watch out. "Miss?" the woman asked. "Are you lost? I'm sorry but if you don't have an appointment, you cannot meet the CEO." The woman was only doing her job, but a part of me was a little bit annoyed at the outcome of this tour. Right. Would Everette tour me around his company or not?“Ahm…is it really necessary?” I mumbled.“I’m so sorry, Miss but that is one of our protocols. I cannot do anything about that. Mr. Watson might fire me.”“Are you perhaps the other secretary?”“I am Secretary Levi’s secretary, Miss.”Oh. This might be the woman Everette was talking about earlier. The other secretary. Well, it was not my fault that she was not there on the ground floor earlier.“I know Levi. I am his friend.”The beautiful woman scratched her belly. “Secretary Levi doesn't have a friend.” She motioned for the door. “I w
CHRISTY:The meeting ended roughly two hours later. As much as I wanted everything to finish in only a minute, we had a lot of things to deal with. The next thing I knew, it was already late. I continued looking at my watch and phone. She had not returned my messages. When we were on Swiped, she always returned my messages, but now, it was rare.“Be safe on your way,” I exclaimed and ended the meeting shaking my business partner’s hands. “My secretary will update you on the progress.”“It was nice having business with you, Mr. Watson.”“You, too,” I retorted and waited until he was out of the restaurant. “It’s my pleasure, Mr. Smith.”I checked my phone again. No replies from Christina. She was not fond of replying. She could have at least replied to me. Was that too much to ask?She was always giving me a headache. She was stubborn. Defiant and won't even submit. I did not need full submission, but it would help if she would listen to me now and then. Her nostrils flared whenever s
CHRISTY:I felt Everette’s gaze on me, but I tried to pretend that it did not bother me at all. Little by little, his tears were making me unconscious, and it was too damn hard to pretend that I was not affected at all.“Remember when I said back then that I want to open a coffee shop where customers are also allowed to read whatever books they want while they are waiting for their orders?” Poppy’s eyes brightened as she played with Sebastian’s hands. “Oh, that one? Go for it. What are you waiting for? Bastian and I will always be at your back. We are always one call away, Poppy. Please remember that.”Poppy’s loyalty and friendship had already been tested since time immemorial and she was not the type who would leave me alone. When I ran away from my wedding…when my parents disowned me, she was the one who stood as my family. I chuckled, temporarily forgetting about Everette. “I think I need to plan for that. I still haven’t decided on the location, yet.”“There’s a two-story bui
CHRISTY:If Mom meddled, it only meant that she was up to no good. She was brewing with something I did not know at all and that was something I should be wary about.Everette did not know the woman behind that smiling face and I should protect him from Mom. Mom…how do I say it? She was good at dealing with people to the point that she could easily befriend them and when you lowered your guard, that was the time when he would strike.“Your Mom has been constantly texting me. Are you listening to me, kitten?”Everette snapped his fingers in front of my face.He did not know anything so I must pretend that there was nothing to be watched out for. I groaned inwardly. She must be planning something. “What did she say, Everette?” Maybe I will visit the mansion again? To have a chit-chat with Mom.“Nothing much. She was asking about you. If you are well.” Mom would never ask if I was still alive or not. “She also asked about our relationship. If you are taking care of me. If we are not fi
CHRISTY:My hand started to get cold. After seeing how Everette’s mom looked at me, and how Clara hated me, it was enough to say I wouldn’t be going to their family dinner. Why would I pretend that I wanted to be there when in fact I did not? I was always not good at faking everything, especially when it comes to people. And I was certain his Mom would only want his child and was only forced to ask me to join because I was Everette’s plus one.“Kitten, Mom, and the rest of my family were already expecting us. The elders wanted to meet you.”Was he certain his Mom was included? I did not think so. “What’s the point of having that dinner?” To fake myself? To put myself on display for their judgments, I asked, stood, and went to look for a rug to clean the table. I put the peelings in the trash while shaking my head. I put up with going with him before because Poppy and Sebastian were there, waiting for us. But this so-called dinner? There was no Poppy. I would only put myself in an a
CHRISTY: I must keep my distance around him or I will be crying in the end. For the nth time. Whenever I loved someone, it was I who always cried whenever we broke up. This man…if he kept on doing this, I should never be blamed if I fall for him.And if you truly fell for this man, what would happen to you? No one loved you for real, Christina. All they cared about was what you could offer to them in return and that was it.I wanted my heart to rest even for a bit. “Touch me and you are dead,” I threatened. He grinned from ear to ear. “Please don’t kill me, kitten. I have a lot of things to do. A lot will cry when I die.”Lucky him while I? No one would shed tears for me when I left this world. It was only Poppy and Kelly and their baby. “This feels like a date,” I commented all of a sudden without thinking about it and it was already too late when I realized what I just said.My cheeks flamed and I just wanted to hide under the table. Everette gave me his signature warming smil