Today Oriaga got some news that made him feel calm and better, he heard that his lawsuit against 'Seize' had been taken care of by the police, and they summoned some important parties from the local brand for investigation.At least Oriaga can still breathe normally after facing the fuss his wife made, he returned home after staying two days at the mansion to keep an eye on Amanda. As his wife had suspected from the start, Oriaga put more guards around the mansion.He hired contractors to remove the metal door near the gazebo and had them raise the boundary wall and close the former metal door so that there was no way out other than the mansion's main gate.The thing that annoyed Amanda the most was when two trees in the backyard were cut down after Oriaga remembered his wife had observed them, making him think that Amanda could repeat the same thing one day using a different method."If you cut down those trees and summer comes, how am I supposed to shelter from the sun there, huh? D
"Sir, Seize's CEO would like to set up a meeting with you." Joana appeared in Oriaga's office to tell him something after receiving the call ten minutes ago."What for?" The man was busy examining a report containing a graph of monthly sales data from Gregorious Jewelry. It had been a long time since they released a new style in the market because they were still focusing on clothing products, plus Gregorious had just received a problem."They want to negotiate with you. One of them is about withdrawing the charges from the police, and they intend to compensate Gregorious for all the losses due to the design plagiarism.""I don't need their money. Just keep it in your pockets," Oriaga replied casually without looking up from the stack of folders."Alright, I'll confirm that you've declined the meeting's wishes.""Yes. Don't give a chance to those who made a mistake on purpose because they could repeat it at any time."Joana agreed to her boss's words and then asked permission to leave
Amanda had gotten used to the silence of the mansion's workers after her escape attempt that night. Even as the fall season drew to a close, they remained cold as if they had never met, making her occasionally feel uneasy about living with living statues.She stood in the hallway of the backyard as she folded her arms across her chest, now that the scenery was different after the apple and avocado trees were cut down according to Oriaga's orders.The woman snorted. "He's the best at reading the smallest situations and opportunities, and I have to applaud that man. Is that why he managed to become a businessman?"She looked back, more precisely, at the red-aproned figure visible from the large windows around the hallway. Amanda always found Aunt Rosemary busy in the kitchen in this position.Amanda longed for a moment of intimate conversation with the woman, but Aunt Rosemary always avoided her, allowing Oriaga's wife to open up a time-binding discussion for them."Now I'm always talki
Jeff is still very curious, and the man continues to find out why the Griscouv family suddenly disappeared from their home in the De Pijp area, making Jeff continue to think that even while working, he is afraid that something bad will happen to Amanda.Today, Jeff is back in Amsterdam after a month away from the city for work, and he's sure he'll have to approach the developer's office to find out where the Griscouvs went."They just said they moved to the Nieuwmarkt en Lastage area, that's all. The rest we didn't know anything about."After hearing a bit of information from a staff member at the developer's office, Jeff thanked them and said goodbye.He thought about it after sitting behind the wheel, a situation that made Jeff feel quite awkward knowing the economic hardship on Amanda's family."Nieuwmarkt en Lastage? Aren't the houses there more expensive than the houses in the previous neighborhood? Doesn't Amanda's family also have complicated financial problems?" Jeff grumbled.
All the residents in the mansion became a bunch of strangers because they had no contact with each other, especially Amanda. After she found out the real situation behind the reason for everyone's silence, she relented and went along with Oriaga's plot.It was almost ten o'clock at night when the air became colder than usual. Amanda had not closed the large window in her room since the afternoon. She had deliberately left it open so that the air could enter her room freely, so there was no need to turn on the air conditioner.However, the degree of temperature seemed to be decreasing to be colder. She had slept for several hours and finally woke up because she wanted to close the window. She was only wearing pajamas with short pants, making her skin easily contact with cold air."Wait, what is that?" Amanda was interested in getting a better look at the situation outside the room. She passed through the window and ended up on the balcony.Both of Amanda's hands looked up, and she rece
"What did he come here for, huh?" Amanda chuckled in annoyance when she noticed Oriaga's appearance from the third floor of the mansion, and the man was seen talking to Zayn, and they were back to their usual familiarity. Oriaga could not continue to be selfish when he still needed the help and labor of others, even those who had worked with him for years.Amanda immediately entered the room and slammed the door, deliberately so that others would know the woman's frustration, including Oriaga, who looked up at the empty hallway on the third floor of the mansion. He just realized that his wife had been there."Alright, you can go," the man said before parting ways with Zayn, heading for the glass elevator and declining Aunt Rosemary's dinner offer.If Oriaga usually opened the door to the room immediately without knocking, now the man did the opposite. He knocked on the door and waited for Amanda to open it herself."Can't he just come in without bothering anyone else?" Amanda clucked
The man wasn't lying, and he sent many things to the mansion the day after visiting his wife. Many boxes piled up in the main room, making Amanda angry at her husband's behavior.What looked like a variety of gifts from many people, and damn those items were from luxury brands. Amanda regretted she should have insisted that Oriaga buy something ordinary so that she could wear it without thinking about the price."Miss. Should we move all these boxes to your room?" asked one maid among the other two; they witnessed Amanda getting frustrated."I don't know." The woman sat down on the sofa, supporting her chin with her hands as she stared at the pile of multicolored boxes. "Why would he buy this much stuff, huh? It's too much, and he could have used the money to donate to an orphanage or something.""But, Miss. Isn't Mr. Oriaga a regular donor at an orphanage?" A servant interjected as Amanda spoke to herself."Really? Where is it?""I'm sorry, Miss. But, we don't know enough about it."
Amanda's feelings became anxious after Oriaga ended their video call. Although his expression was flat when he spotted it, intonation was enough to emphasize that the man was angry, even though Amanda had not shown the final part of the lingerie that she had cut out carelessly.Amanda swallowed; from the beginning, she realized that she had challenged Oriaga, but when the man answered her challenge—it caused a different kind of anxiety, and Amanda didn't like the way she felt.She lowered the lingerie box from the top of the closet, double-checked, put the item back, then double-checked. She kept doing this because the confusion, as the saying goes, 'rice has become porridge,' fit Amanda's anxiety perfectly.Time passed, and it became dark. All the lights in the mansion were bright, including Amanda's room, but she still couldn't shake off the anxiety. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the lingerie box on the surface of the dressing table."What else am I supposed to do with