Chapter 03 - Gray eyes

Chapter 03 - Must have been the wind

Solene

I eventually received my salary and I went to the department store together with Ethienne. I don't want to die early because of hunger.

When it comes to money, I'm pretty frugal. When I get paid, I always prioritize the necessities. I don't waste money that easily, especially on things I don't even need. It's so hard to work and it's better to save money in case something happens.

To sustain me, I want to purchase my own home and start my own business. It's difficult to make money, therefore I'm doing my best to work. I can't even rely on someone else because it is just me who can support myself with my efforts.

Ethienne asked me earlier to eat at a fast-food chain. I didn't even refuse because we rarely see each other. We are often busy at work, especially her. She works hard since she has a family to support and two younger siblings who are still in school.

"Grab that one! Trust me, it was good," she said, smiling while pointing at a random kind of snack. It was probably her favorite and she's asking me to buy it in a kid way.

I scratched my neck. I guess she forgot that I was the one who was going to pay for the items in the cart, and my needs were always my top priority. I merely shook my head and laughed a little.

Just let her be Solene. Ethienne was Ethienne and you can't change her.

Aside from being a spendthrift, she also likes to eat every time she is at my apartment. She always brings different kinds of snacks. Sometimes, when bored, all she did was eat and eat until her stomach was full. Well, she really can't live without food.

I'm always curious as to where she gets all of her appetites. She isn't even gaining weight, which I find unusual, or perhaps it was just me. To be honest, I'm not used to eating as much as she does.

"I think this is enough. I don't want to run out of money. All I have is already on a budget. I only have enough for groceries now, " I said softly while looking at the list of things I'm going to buy.

I noticed the sudden change in the expression on her face. I know she'll complain and I was right.

"Look at your cart, you witch. That's why you're so skinny because you don't eat properly. I'm sure this is not enough," she assured.

I was stunned for a moment and looked at everything that I had put inside of my cart. She was right. It doesn't seem like it's enough for me, but my frugality really prevailed.

"It's fine. What is important is that I can still eat three times a day." She didn't agree and I don't even have time to convince her.

"What's more, guess what? It's not a bad idea to save money, but please eat properly, okay? I don't want you to get sick because you don't eat enough."

I met her with serious looks, and I seemed to have been consumed by nervousness. She's much worse when she's angry. She looks like a lion and is about to devour a living person any time. Is it really that bad to be frugal? I was just trying to save money. I don't mind if I don't get to eat tasty dishes as long as I eat three or two times a day. Back then, I was used to starving to death and I couldn't be any more grateful right now. I can now eat well.

"Add this slice of bread. Put it in your cart. Don't say no, I'll pay for it."

I was still hesitant to accept that because, even though she was my friend, I was still embarrassed. What will her parents say, her mother? that I'm only after her money? 

"It's fine, you don't have to." I met the strange look on her face and it seems that she was cursing me in her mind for being stubborn.

"You know what? I would love to cut your hair off. I said that you shouldn't even try to refuse! Do you want to go bald? or you'll accept that?" I just smiled and hugged her.

I'm grateful to have someone like her as a friend.

"Are you my friend? Is it true?" She didn't move an inch so, I laughed.

"Of course, Do you think of me as a plastic friend? If I were plastic, I would have been blown away by the wind to other plastic people for a long time now. " She abruptly flipped her hair in my direction.

I am grateful because she is always at my side and supports me in everything, whether I need something or not... Only Ethienne and her family are I consider as my family. Auntie, Astria, and Uncle... they're also my family but I don't think they consider me as one. 

While walking, our cart bumped into another cart.

"Look where you're going woman," I looked at the person in front of us and I stared into his familiar eyes. I remember him. He was the man who was arguing with a woman outside the Third fractio the night before. I got a feeling I'd seen him before, but I couldn't remember him.

He has a pair of gray eyes.

"What the heck? You're the one who bumped into us," Ethienne said sarcastically. I know she won't leave without arguing with this man. I better be ready. This is now or never. 

"It's fine, let it go," I responded, knowing she had no intention of stopping She doesn't like losing in a fight that's why she keeps going.

"I'm sorry, Sir," I said politely. I'm the one who's ashamed of Ethienne's actions.

"What's happening here, Hyde?" It was a woman in a black turtleneck, a gleaming necklace, and an LV bag clearly more expensive than her clothing.

From head to toe, everything she wore screamed luxury. I don't know how wealthy she is but it's kinda insane. She's just so expensive.

"He bumped his cart into ours and he didn't even apologize. I will not let it go easily," my friend complained. Some of the people were looking at us, and I was very shy because I don't like gaining attention.

"Hyde, apologize," His mother told him and it seems that he was upset. The looks on his face are telling me that he'll never do it.

"Really? You're telling me to apologize to them?" He said in a rude tone. I'm quite disappointed with his behavior. He should've respected his mother at least because he might regret everything he did in the end.

"And now, being rude to his mother? that's different," Ethienne whispered in the air. I'm sure this man knows that she was referring to him.

"Did you say something?" He asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders. She'll never lose because she never wanted it and she'll never allow it. I signaled her to stop, but she never listened to me. His brows furrowed, and he seemed as if he was about to devour the two of us. He even managed to ask even though he knew that my friend was referring to him.

 "You are free to leave. I'm sure I can handle him," the woman said. She gave us a small smile and I returned it to her. I don't want to look rude though.

"Alright, we'll get going. Sorry for the trouble Ma'am," I replied, and I saw Ethienne stick her tongue out.

I'm curious as to what she ate that caused her to act like that. She's got a lot of guts!

"You should have just let it go."She turned her gaze to me with a frown shown on her face.

Did I say something wrong?

"You already know I'm not going to let it go so that easily. What did you think I'd do? allow him to make a snide remark about us?" I only sighed as she raised her brow.

"We can't do anything if his attitude is like that," I said and I got shocked when she held my hands out of the blue.

"You know what? Fight for yourself too. Don't let others insult you or step on you, they'll abuse you."

I fell silent for a moment. I'm sure she couldn't stand it any longer and reprimanded me as if she were my mother. She always does this and I keep receiving the same old words from her. I just don't want trouble, if possible, I'm the one who always adjusts. I'll avoid it myself the best I can.

I'm not used to squabbling about minor issues.

It's almost late when I realized that we're next on the line to pay. I took out my wallet, Ethienne also did, and waited for the cashier to punch all the items in our cart. We bought a lot of stuff because of her.

"Remember my words, it's for your good. You're important to me and I don't like seeing you being hurt because I'll get hurt too." I smiled widely.

It's wonderful to have a friend like her, and I consider myself fortunate to have her, even if she can't stop talking gibberish all of the time. Her mouth is brimming with nasty and pleasant remarks.

"Thank you," I said in a small voice, but I was sure it was enough for her to hear.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

"What happened?" Gaius asked his employee who suddenly entered his office, and he assumed that it was some important matter.

"Sir, there's a commotion outside!" His forehead was automatically wrinkled.

"It was Solene."

The moment he heard her name, he quickly left his office and rushed outside, only to find Solene there being harassed by a customer. She was trying to talk to the woman, but she never listened to her. Her shirt has a red stain, ketchup.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but I'm sure that I served the right order and we always make sure that we serve clean meals in accordance with the rules and regulations."

He heard what Solene said and she was trying to have a good conversation with the complaining customer. She obviously doesn't want a calm conversation and keeps pointing at the employees, accusing them that they served filthy food.

"I need to talk to your manager now!" The woman shouted and Gaius entered the scenario.

"The manager is currently unavailable," he explained. The woman raised one brow and gave him a puzzled look.

"S-sir," Solene got startled when she saw the appearance of her boss.

"I can handle this," he assured.

"And who the hell are you, Mr.?" the woman rudely asked.

"I own this pizza parlor, and it is my right to know what is going on here," he said. Gaius' strong and baritone voice drew a few guests' attention.

The woman is intimidated by Gaius' deep voice. Even Solene herself wouldn't want to see his angry face because it was way too scary. The woman grinned, but the expression on her face was swiftly replaced by annoyance.

"I just ordered two burgers. I clearly said that mustard is fine with me and they mustn't add ketchup, but look, they did add ketchup and I'm allergic to it. They even served me with a cockroach in it. Are you trying to make me go to the darn hospital?!" The woman complained, and Gaius closed his eyes because of annoyance.

He always makes sure that everyone follows the rules and regulations, and that no meal with a cockroach, a mouse, or anything else in it is served. Solene had a feeling about the woman's behavior because everything she claimed was plainly a lie and way off the mark.

"First and foremost, you have no right to yell at my employees, and for your information, we always make sure that we serve clean foods. Did you really order two burgers with mustard?"  The woman avoided Gaius' eyes.

"Where's the receipt?" he asked Solene, and she handed it to him quickly.

He carefully examined what was written on the receipt and when he saw that the order was two burgers with ketchup, his face darkened. He was well aware that the woman was only out to smear the Third Fractio's image.

"Are you trying to make me laugh? It's written here on the receipt that you ordered two burgers with ketchup, not with mustard."

Gaius grabbed the spoon and started to dig into the burger with a cockroach. The people there were shocked when Gaius touched it and examined it carefully.

"It's fake. It's not a real cockroach, believe it or not," he said. He looked sharply at the woman who was very annoyed earlier and now was merely only looking down at her shoes.

"Tell me, what's your plan? Are you trying to ruin the name of this pizza parlor?" the woman's mouth was parted, and she appeared scared. At this point, she became agitated.

"N-nothing, let's go Renei." She pulled the other girl's arm. Before they could even leave, Gaius grabbed the woman's arm.

"Don't ever come back. You won't like what will happen to the two of you next time," the woman took back her arms and quickly left.

"Everyone, sorry to interrupt you. Please continue eating, and all of you please go back to work," he ordered his employees, and everyone followed him.

"Solene, come with me,"  Solene lifted her gaze, and then she nodded in answer.

"Let's go to my office, follow me." She followed him quietly and didn't bother to ask why. She was blown away by Gaius' office's interior design when they first walked in.

It was really big that even three cars could fit inside.

The shelves were stacked high with a wide variety of books. There are some vintage paintings and photo frames hanging on the wall if you look closely. There's also a lampshade beside the worktable, as well as a sofa that can comfortably accommodate five people.

In the middle of the room, there's a vintage coffee table made from a block of pricey wood. Although some of the vases are vintage, their originality and beauty remain prominent in all of the arrangements. She got startled when her boss cleared his throat.

"Excuse my actions, Sir. I was just amazed and it's my first time to see your office. I guess I was lucky, " she shyly said and remained standing.

"Have a seat."

"Thank you." He nodded and then examined Solene's shirt, which had a stain on it.

"Are you fine? What happened to your shirt? Did that woman do that? " She was hesitant to tell him because she thought that it was just a small problem.

"I'm fine, this is nothing and, besides, I'll go home later, so you don't need to worry, Sir." She started to feel uncomfortable when she saw how her boss looked at her.

"Let me lend you a new one," He walked right into his walk-in closet and found something Solene could wear. She can't help but be awestruck once more.

She felt dizzy when she saw how many clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry there were.

"It's really fine, you don't need to," She refused when he handed her a clean, plain black tee.

"Come on, just accept it. I don't want customers to make fun of you." She didn't have any other choice than to accept it.

I'm happy to think that there are still people like him until now who do not choose who to help. Regardless of their status in life, whether rich or poor, his palm is always open for all those in need.

"Go to the left, the bathroom is there."

When she got to the bathroom, she was mesmerized by its manly smell and it was fully equipped. She smiled as the scent invaded her nostrils. After dressing up, she went out and nearly jumped out of surprise when she saw Gaius, waiting for her.

"Did I scare you?" She shook her head.

"No sir," she said shortly. They were about to return when they heard a noise coming outside of the office.

"Who's there?" Gaius asked.

"Where are you bud? It's Phoenix and Hyde."

When they arrived at the living room of Gaius's office, they found Hyde sitting there comfortably while Phoenix was searching for a glass of wine at the minibar counter.

"What brought you here?" Gaius calmly asked his friends.

"Chill, we want to talk about something, and also, we came here for a drink, but it seems that you're busy, " Phoenix said meaningfully and shifted his gaze to Gaius and Solene. Hyde also did.

"I'll go back to work. Thanks a lot, Sir, I'll return this tomorrow." Gaius nodded and gave her a small smile. She was about to leave when Hyde approached her and her chest throbbed for no apparent reason.

She averted her gaze first when their gazes collided.

"Tell your fucking friend that I'm going to kill her if ever I meet her again," Solene's forehead crumpled up. She properly excused herself then went out of the office.

                                                               _ _ _

Must have been the wind

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