Part 28

28

"Surprisingly, haven't you left yet, dear?" Margareth greeted Carlos, who was still engrossed in his newspaper. He usually left for the office before Margareth woke up, but this morning, he was still at home, waiting for Cecilia, who had her first day of college.

"I'll be taking Cecilia to campus," Carlos replied without putting down his newspaper.

"Why not Vano?"

"Vano left earlier. He said he had a morning class. So, since there's no urgent work at the office, I'll take her to campus."

"I see. But last night..."

"That was Cecilia." Carlos folded the newspaper when he saw Cecilia descending the stairs. She looked radiant, unlike her usual self.

"Good morning, Mom. Dad," greeted Cecilia, flashing a sweet smile, concealing her dislike for Margareth getting close to her husband.

"Let's go!" Carlos said, immediately heading out, leaving Cecilia to say her goodbyes to Margareth. He didn't want Cecilia to get angry, so he preferred Margareth to embrace her instead of getting scolded by Cecilia.

"I'll head to campus first," Cecilia reached for Margareth's hand and kissed the back of it.

"I'll come back with Dad later, okay, Mom? After class, I'm going to Dad's office. There's still a lot I need to learn before working there."

Cecilia hurriedly followed her father, fearing her mother might chase after Carlos. As a result, Margareth was left stunned, watching Carlos disappear, followed by Cecilia a few seconds later.

"So when are you going to talk to Indri?" Carlos asked once they started their journey, after a prolonged silence as they were lost in their own thoughts. Remembering last night's heated incident, they both felt awkward.

"I don't know, Dad. I'll find the right time to talk to her. Besides, I have some business to attend to at the campus."

"What else do you need to take care of?"

Cecilia shrugged. "I have a boyfriend at college, so today I'll end my relationship with him to avoid any misunderstandings with you, Dad. I'm afraid you might hear something untrue about me on campus. So, instead of hearing it from someone else, I'd rather be honest with you that I'm still in a relationship with a guy. But I swear there's no love involved; I just don't want to embarrass him when he professes his love to me in front of others. He's the son of a lecturer, and it would be very embarrassing to reject him in public. There's nothing special between us; we're just a couple."

Cecilia hugged Carlos's arm. "So, to maintain the harmony of our family, I'll honestly tell you everything about my life."

"Although I haven't been able to tell you that Vano knows about our relationship and our marriage. It's also one way to get your approval." Cecilia continued in her thoughts. She still wasn't brave enough to tell Carlos the whole truth, hoping that by the time she did, Vano and Celine would be married.

"Will you take a taxi home from your dad's office, or should I pick you up?" Carlos asked as the car was parked in front of the campus gate.

"Dad, wait. You didn't mind what I said earlier?" Cecilia protested because Carlos didn't react to her statement.

"Which statement? That you have a boyfriend? Why should I? You're being honest about it, which means there's no relationship between you and that guy. So, it's a waste of time if I were to get jealous or make a big deal out of it."

"Really?"

"Indeed, I appreciate your honesty by allowing you to handle all the issues at the campus and any other matters without interfering with our family life." Carlos stroked Cecilia's long hair. "Well, if that's the case, I'll head to the office first. Will you be coming home later, or how do you want to do it?"

"It's up to you, Dad. If you're not too busy, you can pick me up. If you are, I can go to the office by myself."

"Alright, take care." Carlos unlocked Cecilia's door. He didn't want anyone to see Cecilia getting out of the car with a man of his age, as it would surely invite judgment.

"Is that all?" Cecilia raised both eyebrows.

"What else?"

"Do husbands really talk like that when they say goodbye to their wives leaving for somewhere?"

"So, what do you want, dear?" Carlos asked.

"Want this." Cecilia leaned slightly and rubbed Carlos' lips with her thumb. Carlos pulled the corners of his lips into a happy smile because Cecilia began to relax back close to him. The man immediately kissed Cecilia's lips briefly.

Preventing Carlos from releasing the kiss, Cecilia grabbed her husband's nape to hold it so that the short kiss turned into a deep hug, even though it removed the liptint on his lips. It doesn't matter, the important thing is that she can feel how warm and sweet her husband's saliva is.

"If this happens, Daddy will end up taking you to a hotel instead of letting you go to campus."

Cecilia laughed. "Yes, later we will sleep at the hotel if Daddy wants that." he whispered, right in Carlos' ear. Don't forget to leave a little wet trail there to lure Carlos down there.

“Cecilia,” Carlos said. "Later, Dad's car will step on the gas again so you can't go to campus."

"No problem, just call Vano later and say I'm sick."

"Base,"

"What basis, Daddy's beloved basis?"

"Yes, you are Daddy's favorite." Carlos ruffled Cecilia's hair. "Yeah, already went to college. "After you finish talking with Indri and your lover, Daddy will pick you up here."

"Allright darling. Be careful on the way." With a short speed, Cecilia planted a kiss on Carlos' cheek, before she got out of the car.

She took a deep breath looking at her husband's car which was getting further away from her gaze. Cecilia thought about how to surrender herself to Carlos completely without making him feel sorry for her. If it continues like last night, of course she will never be able to become a wife, let alone have a child.

"I want to talk to you," Cecilia hurriedly grabbed Indri's hand as their class ended.

Her friend had been avoiding her and keeping her distance, but Cecilia didn't care. She wanted to resolve the issue that had come between her and Indri. Their friendship had been going on for a long time, and for Cecilia's peace of mind, she wanted to know how much respect Indri had lost for her to be willing to sell her to that man that night.

"I'm busy," Indri brushed off Cecilia's hand.

"You can be busy, but I only need five minutes of your time to confirm what happened that night."

"Which one? I don't remember," Indri tried to escape from Cecilia. If it weren't for the need for her diploma, Indri would have refused to continue her studies here, especially in the same class as Cecilia.

Usually, she couldn't wait for class to start so she could chat with her best friend, but now, she just wanted to leave quickly to avoid Cecilia questioning her about that day.

"Don't pretend you don't know what happened that has caused this rift between us. Just so you know, my father has identified the man, and he'll take legal action against both of you if there's no goodwill to apologize to me."

Indri abruptly stopped her actions, releasing Cecilia's grip on her wrist.

"What do you want?" Indri reluctantly sat back down, ready to answer any questions Cecilia had.

"Now tell me why you chose me as the sacrificial lamb that night?"

Indri shook her head. "Because I had no one else to ask for help."

"Yes, but why do it to me, In? Especially when there are many other ways I could have helped you. Not by selling myself like that, especially when you know I'm strongly against such disgusting things."

"Anti, you say? But you were the one tempting that old man, weren't you?" Cecilia clenched her fists, trying to suppress her anger and emotions when Indri referred to Carlos as an old man.

"Don't interfere in my personal affairs when you yourself are worse than me. Don't think I don't know what you've been doing all this time, selling yourself to get everything you want! Ah, or maybe even for your tuition fees..."

"S-Shut up, Cecilia!" Indri pointed her index finger at Cecilia. "I never used that dirty money for my education; I did it all for my mother's medical expenses. If you were in my shoes, you'd do the same."

"Same, you say?" Cecilia scoffed. "Have you forgotten? My father has been ill for a long time, and I never once used that dirty money for his medical expenses. Yet, God took my father away, or perhaps he left because there was an intention within me to use that dirty money to provide him with better treatment than usual. Maybe if I hadn't accepted your outrageous offer that day, my father would still be alive. And just so you know, there are plenty of ways to make money without having to sell yourself like you did."

"I didn't sell myself," Indri began to cry as she pushed away all the accusations Cecilia was hurling at her, because what she possessed wasn't due to selling herself.