Chapter 7 Confession

The smile on Andrea’s lips that lingered from last night’s passionate lovemaking quickly turned into a pout after reaching her hand out to her husband’s side of the bed, only to be welcomed by the cold emptiness of the sheets.

Eyes still heavy, she called out for him, “Seb?” The bright sunlight that seeped through the curtains, almost blinding her, informed Andrea that it may have been late morning already. “He must have gone to work hours before,” she said in a raspy voice and decided to get back to sleep.

But much to her surprise, a deep voice grumbled from behind the door, “Andy, breakfast.” This made her abruptly get up, all her desire to doze off gone. To make sure she wasn’t just imagining her husband's presence, she asks, “Sebastian? Why are you still here?”

The door was opened wider to reveal Sebastian, already dressed in his usual formal black suit. The burgundy tie, which Andrea picked out for him last night, was neatly strapped to his collar. A normal morning in the Adams household that the actress still wasn’t used to. “Why does he keep getting more and more handsome every day?”

His wife’s incessant stare made the CEO conscious as he cleared his throat, “The shareholder’s meeting was canceled, so I decided to stay here for a while. Are you coming?”

“But you don’t normally make breakfast for us,” Andrea whispered as the date dawned on her. “It’s almost our first anniversary!” She thought. Throwing the blanket aside, she jumped to the bed and ran to her husband’s side.

But she was soon dragged back to the disappointing reality when Sebastian answered, “I didn’t. Rose came early this morning,” pertaining to their housekeeper. “Oh.”

Andrea repeatedly had to remind herself not to get carried away with Sebastian’s irresistible actions, regardless of how they made her heart beat a thousand times faster.

“Of course, he’d be sweet because he has to, his grandfather and the public are watching us.”

“This is still, to him, a business arrangement.”

“The small things that we do together like picking out each other’s clothes and having movie nights are just things we have to do to make living together bearable.”

All these to convince herself that Andrea was not falling head over heels for the man. But it cut deeper when it was Sebastian who reminded her of what their relationship was, a hoax built from their own selfish motives.

The rest of the walk down the dining table was quiet as the housekeeper laid out the plate of fruits and an assortment of pastries and jams to go with it. “Here’s your smoothie, Andrea,” the older woman said softly.

“Thank you, Rose. But please, wake me up when you arrive so I could help with the chores,” Andrea pleaded. She was never used to having someone else do those things for her. Even when she still lived with her mom, she had to do clean up after Laura and whoever she invited into their cramped apartment. And that included the days when she came home late from a day of audition after audition.

And since the couple decided the housekeeper to only come a few times a week, Andrea whole-heartedly did the household chores. Even successfully roping Sebastian into vacuuming and doing the laundry. Memories that never failed to put a smile on her face.

“Oh, nonsense. I heard you came home late from a commercial shoot yesterday,” the housekeeper protested. “Oh yeah, the commercial.” Andrea looked at the other reason, who is refusing to meet her gaze, that kept her up all night.

“You should get plenty of rest. That way, there’s more chance for you to conceive.” A comment the couple clearly heard but chose not to entertain.

Andrea went on to eat her breakfast as Sebastian sat, going through some documents, on the head of the table. A confused look graced her face after the third time she caught Sebastian staring intently. “Are not going to eat?” She asked. “No, I’m fine.”

A ping on Sebastian’s phone and a consequent car horn sounding off from outside the Adams manor took all their attention. “That’s Robert.”

“Well then, I’m off.” It was a surprise when Sebastian tenderly pulled Andrea’s head and placed a kiss on top. Seeing Rose watch their interaction like a hawk, “Oh yeah, he only does this when other people are around,” she thought. But damn did Sebastian make it all seem so true and natural.

She observed his broad shoulders and firm back as he walked towards the front door, already having memorized this side of him. But just once. Just this once, she wanted him to look back and give her a genuine smile, the one he gave at the wedding when he said, “Lilith.” And just like all the other days, he never did.

“Should we go straight to the office, Sir?” Robert asked once the CEO had settled in his car seat. “Yes.”

“By the way, Sir, is everything okay? You postponed the early meeting with the shareholders for three hours. Everyone was worried something happened in your home.” Bombarded with questions from the investors, Robert had to scramble for an acceptable reason other than his boss wanting to stay home a bit longer to wait for his wife to wake up.

Thankfully, the ever-supportive chairman, who was overly joyed at what he heard, took over for the assistant. “I had my grandson do some errands for me. Please be patient and we’ll meet back in three hours.”

“I’m sure Ms. Andrea appreciated the effort.” Robert teasingly wriggled his eyebrows at the rearview mirror, gauging his boss’ reaction.

“She doesn’t know.” Sebastian glared at the mirror with a warning tone, “And she never will.”

“Alright, Sir. I’ll make sure she won’t.” All Robert could do was laugh then close his mouth with an invisible zipper. After spending years working for the coldest and surliest businessman and finding ways to peel off the facade, all it took was Andrea Scout’s fifty million debt to reveal that Sebastian Adams was a sweet guy after all.

>>>

“You can’t be serious,” Ren scoffed at her friend’s absurd reasoning. “You guys are doing all that fluffy domestic stuff actual newlyweds do.” She pointed her fork at Andrea. “And now you’re telling me that,” she mumbled the rest of the sentence, “it’s still a fake relationship?”

“Because it is, Ren,” Andrea sighed.

“Then what about the sex?” There was no hesitation in her assistant’s question. Ren had always been open in her way of speaking, even if it made Andrea wince at times. “Shh! People might hear you!” She was starting to regret inviting Ren to lunch. Though fortunately, people really won’t hear them from inside the private booth. A perk she got ever since having the surname, Adams.

“You know I’m not wrong, Andy.” Ren was her close friend, but she was starting to push it.

“It’s not what you think-”

“Yeah, seeing you get this flustered over your HUSBAND makes me believe that you guys are not at all-” Andrea stilled in her seat while the other chose to ramble on. “Ren.”

“Come on, Andy. I know you. And it’s only been a year but I seem to have an idea on the CEO.” The frustration of their argument was beginning to get on their nerves as they face each other in a staring contest. “If you have an idea on him, then you’d know that this is all business for him.”

Andrea broke eye contact first when her friend asked, “Then what about you?”

“Me?” She wrapped her hands on her arms, enclosing herself in a self-embrace as she looked away. Opting to focus her attention on the window’s city view.

Not noticing her reaction, Ren rambled on, “Yeah, you. The actress who makes me rearrange her schedule to go in sync with her husband’s. The friend who blows off invitations just so she could spend more time with him. And lastly, the woman who’s reverting to her old antics of sacrificing her whole life to make others’ day better than hers.”

Andrea’s jaw dropped at Ren’s conclusion, especially the last part. “This is different.” Sebastian is far from her abusive mother and the loan shark, nor can he be compared to Madeline.

“I know, Andy because you look happier than you’ve ever been.” Ren’s softened expression let her know that the debate was over. She reached out for Andrea’s soft hands to give her comfort. “But it’s at the same time the saddest I’ve seen you.”

All the emotions hit Andrea when Ren’s words jogged her mind to reveal a confession that she was denying this whole time.

Tears began to form in her eyes as Andrea shakily clung to her hands in defeat. She said in a trembling voice, “Ren, help me. I’m in love with Sebastian Adams.”

>>>

“Miss Quinn?” A woman, holding a placard with bold letters spelling ‘LILITH QUINN’ on it, approached her among the multitudes of people likewise waiting for arriving passengers in the airline terminal.

Letting go of her suitcase and taking her sunglasses down, the said woman replied with a cautious tone, “You are?”

“I’m Celia Stone. I’m hired by your dad to be your assistant from now on. Didn’t he tell you?” Her voice quivered in anxiety. She has heard about the socialite from everywhere and never expected to talk to her and stand this close to her.

This was Lilith Quinn she was about to work for. The heiress of the multi-million fashion company, Quinn’s Couture. She’d be crazy not to take the job offer, especially since they overlooked her lack of experience in fashion and being poor as a mouse. Not to mention she looked up to Lilith because of her allure and grace that no actress could ever reach.

“He did, it’s nice to finally meet you, Cecilia. Thanks for picking me up,” Lilith’s mellow but polished voice made her feel ashamed of her high-pitched, scratchy one. Even just the way she moved her hands was way too similar to that of royalty.

Cecilia fought hard not to ogle in fear of her new boss misunderstanding the admiration of her elegant beauty as something offensive. “Oh, it’s no problem at all. I’ve prepared everything for your arrival to make sure there won’t be any inconvenience.” From the car right to her meals until next week was already written down on Cecilia’s clipboard.

“You’re so thoughtful.” What an amazing lady. It was right there and then that Cecilia decided she would be at this woman’s beck and call.

“I did so because your dad told me you’ve been sick for a whole year?” Cecilia, with great caution, observed every part of Lilith’s body to check for any sign of bandages or crutches.

“I was,” Lilith sighed as she stared off into the distance. She knew it was unfair to wish it was that Sebastian who’d be waiting for her at the airport, with a bouquet of her favorite flowers in his hands. Blue roses and lilies.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Sebastian wasn’t there with her now, but he was somewhere in the city. And knowing that was more than enough for the socialite as she breathed in the air and admitted freely, “Now that I’m here, I would say yes. I feel much better.”