It's past eleven, but Amanda is still awake, cross-legged on a chair in front of a table with a mini-shelf with several thick books, a glass of hot chocolate with only a little left after taking multiple sips, and an open laptop. The laptop screen displayed the profile of someone who had recently managed to disrupt Amanda's life.The room lights had been left off, the nightlight by the bed was on, and the light from the laptop screen was enough for Amanda to see everything. She didn't realize that the bedroom door wasn't closed yet.The woman hovered down, and she read silently through each post until she stopped at the achievement section.Amanda snorted. She had just realized that her old friend had become a successful man as businessman of the fashion and jewelry brand 'Gregorious' over the past few years."I just realized he is no longer the Oriaga Niel I recognized. He's still the same, and he's just become more mature, handsome, and annoying." Amanda gulped down the rest of the
Anxiety set in as Amanda walked through the office courtyard, her fear of losing her job lingering like a parasite on a host plant. Jeff's story the other day couldn't be put away quickly.Amanda wanted to be positive, but it didn't seem easy.She had become quieter than ever, often daydreaming when Louisa spoke to her or sitting in her cubicle.The wired phone connected to the CEO's office rang, and Amanda answered it immediately."Yes, sir. Do you need anything?""Please come to my office, Amanda.""Yes, sir."Amanda took a deep breath after hanging up the phone. She looked at the CEO's room door, then moved to follow her boss's orders.Amanda briefly knocked on the door, then entered after opening it herself. She smiled warmly to greet CEO Eddie.The man's expression was still like yesterday, listless. He took off his glasses and opened his drawer."Please sit down, Amanda. I have something important to talk to you about.""Yes, sir." Amanda sat on the chair across from CEO Eddie,
"Sir, you must attend an evening charity event today with the owners of 'Keihl and Diamond' at Hotel X at eight." Joana checked the iPad in her hand once more."Did you prepare a suit?" Oriaga was busy flipping through every page of the new jewelry magazine he'd gotten this morning, and he always got the latest issue every month because of his subscription."I have, sir. It will be here soon.""That's good. I'm still looking at the pictures here.""Are you interested in anything?" Joana stood beside Oriaga while he sat on the sofa in his study."Yes. I'm feeling a little really into the 'Diamond Hope.' It's wonderful, but the price is quite shocking.""I remember 'Diamond Hope' being one of the most expensive diamonds in the world, right?"Oriaga nodded. "Very true, Joana." He closed the magazine and placed it on the table. "I'd like an americano before I go to that charity event.""Of course, sir. I'll make them for you." Joana walked out of there.Oriaga leaned his back and head aga
Towards midnight, Amanda's cell phone rang. Coincidentally, the woman had not yet fallen asleep because she was busy thinking about her fate after losing her job. She found Jeff's name on the screen."Hello, Jeff.""Amanda.""Yes?""I was in front of your house.""Huh?" She went to the window and pulled back the curtains to see the situation outside.Sure enough, Jeff was across the street, the man sitting on the hood of his car."What are you doing there, Jeff? Didn't you look at the time on your phone?""I know, but... I don't know how I'm confused. Can we talk?""I'm going out." Amanda ended the call, left the room, and ensured her mother was asleep. She didn't want Pamela to know that Jeff was nearby.She opened the door to Pamela's unlocked room. Fortunately, her mother was already lying soundly in her bed. Amanda could breathe a sigh of relief.She rushed out of the house to Jeff on the other side of the street."What's wrong, Jeff? You're worrying me now."Jeff smiled at Amanda
"Amanda, why don't you get up even though the alarm on your cell phone keeps ringing?" Pamela reprimanded her daughter for being disturbed by the alarm that had gone off five times while Amanda was still lying comfortably on her bed. "Come on, get up. Or you'll miss work today, hm?""Mom. Today I—" Amanda's lips closed at just the right moment, quickly realizing that she had not yet admitted to the problem.As the young woman pulled back the covers and sat up, she found Pamela pulling back the curtains before opening the window to her daughter's room."Are you going to miss work?" Pamela repeated the question.Amanda shook her head. "No, Mom. I'm going to take a shower now.""That's good. I made toast with pineapple jam spread for you." She walked out of her daughter's room.Amanda swallowed. She saw again her mother's feelings so warm, further tormenting Amanda and making it difficult for the woman to be honest. She could only grumble and mumble."How could I hurt her little heart wh
"I have something important to tell you." Amanda gathered everyone together when Nadine came home early, and she couldn't hide her work problems."What's wrong, sister? You're being so tense," Nadine said. She and her mother sat on the couch while Amanda stood across from them.Her sister took out a thick brown envelope under her T-shirt and placed it on the table, making Nadine and Pamela glance at each other."What's this?" Pamela picked it up, surprised to find many bills inside. "What money, Amanda?""Bonus money from my former boss, Mom." Amanda's expression was so flat when she said it."Ex-boss? You mean?" Nadine asked for an explanation."I've stopped working since yesterday. Sorry for being late telling you the truth."Pamela was silent; she was almost happy that her daughter received a sizable bonus, but after the woman admitted the reason behind it, Pamela became shocked."You were fired?" Pamela asked. "What kind of trouble did you get into that your boss chose to terminate
Oriaga smiled after receiving the news that Zayn had sent his gift to Amanda's house. He stood on the balcony of his room smoking an e-cigarette, the smoke billowing away, occasionally trying to calm down by taking a drag without Grandma Gloria knowing.He was almost surprised when his cell phone rang and showed that Amanda's number was calling him. Oriaga could guess from the start the man's way of seeking attention was utterly unpredictable.Oriaga used a tug of war; he silenced the phone until the ringing ended, but it turned out that Amanda insisted on calling him again to ask for an explanation."Yes, Ms. Griscouv. I was so surprised when I got a call from you. Do you want to know what my expression is now?" He smiled amusedly."Stop saying nonsense, Oriaga. Don't give me anything.""Why? Don't you want that thing?""If I want it, I can buy this dress myself. You don't have to bother buying it for me.""Really? You already have a lot of money?" Oriaga laughed dismissively."I'll
"Sir, the first issue of 'Talkie Jolly' magazine containing your written interview has arrived. Would you like to check it out?" Joana held up a new magazine still wrapped in plastic."Of course. Have you seen it?"Joana shook her head. "No, you can see it first." She tore off the plastic wrapper before placing the scented magazine on Oriaga's work surface.The man smiles as he sees his face back on the magazine cover. Several magazines have had him on the cover after working together. Feeling proud, he opened the page to the place where his written interview was located."Would you like to consume something, sir?""Yes. Honey tea.""Alright, it will be ready soon." Joana went out, and while Oriaga went through every line of the thousands of words that made up the sentence, he was still able to find some of her photos to be interesting. 'ORIAGA NIEL THOMPSON, Successful Young Businessman, Handsome and Charming.'"Grandma should see it when I get home." Oriaga closed the magazine and
"Immediately prepare the data of all office employees with contracts that are about to expire at the end of this year, Joana. The data should be ready by the time I get to the office, probably in an hour due to the situation outside. Thank you." Oriaga put his phone back after ending the call.The three were in the car, still halfway to the mansion. As Zayn was driving was deliberately slowed down to keep up with the clearing of the surrounding snow piles.Zayn deliberately set the music to make the atmosphere in the car less quiet because since the pair of humans sat in the passenger seat, they were united in silence as if there was a cold war."Sir. Do we have to return home after taking Miss Amanda to the mansion?" Zayn asked as he glanced at the overhead mirrors, confirming the situation behind him."No, no. It's too time-consuming. I have a few changes of clothes in the office.""Alright.""Do you want to buy anything before arriving at the mansion?"The question had not been rea
"What were you guys talking about that you only came back to this room near midnight? You seem to have a lot of energy."Amanda snorted as she stared irritably at the gray-shirted man on the bed. She thought Oriaga had fallen asleep since leaving the living room about two hours earlier, while Amanda had joined her family to relieve her longing."Although I have little energy, I will try to make the most of my time when it comes to my family." Amanda sat on the edge of the bed, her back to her husband."Yes, of course, you can only see them when I give you the chance."Amanda made no sound. She lay in the space beside Oriaga as she pulled up the blanket. She didn't want to face the man, so she tilted her body to the right."You're going to ignore me?""You ignore me a lot, Oriaga. Don't overdo it.""Exaggerate? I very rarely even lie beside you.""It's not my fault, you did it. I've always been lying in the mansion's bed at your convenience while you chose to sleep elsewhere.""You're
Amanda was all smiles from the moment she stepped back into her parents' home, receiving a warm welcome, and it was fortunate that Nadine had returned to work as soon as she could after receiving word from Mateo that her sister would be visiting.If there had been no such news, Nadine would most likely have approached Rudolf at his coffee shop to help her lover."Mom, I have a gift for you," Oriaga said as he took something out of his coat pocket before removing it: a blue jewelry box with the 'Gregorious' emblem on the top. He placed it on the table right in front of Pamela.About five people sat on the sofa by the lit fireplace, the atmosphere becoming quite warm as the light in the sky dimmed."What is this, Oriaga?" Pamela grabbed the object and opened it, and she was quite surprised to find a bracelet with several pearls around it, very pretty and luxurious. "Oh my! This must be expensive.""Is it the latest collection from your brand?" asked Nadine.Oriaga shook his head. "No, i
"I want to go back to work.""Work?" Pamela was surprised to hear her husband's wish. "Why go back to work? Don't we have enough to live for?""Yes. I know." The man grunted as he leaned back on the sofa—they were sitting by the dying fireplace. "Your son-in-law did guarantee our lives, even paid all the debts, but don't you think if one-day Oriaga announces his marriage to everyone, they will ask, 'Who is that man married to? What is her family background?' do you know what I mean, Pamela?"The wife paused, then snorted as she understood the meaning of Mateo's words. "It seems like this could cause a bit of trouble.""Right, aside from the judgment of others, I also want to protect my daughter from anyone's evil words. Although I'm sure Oriaga is taking good care of her, there's still a bit of guilt when I remember why Amanda had to get married."Mateo thought back to the past. If it weren't for the massive debt, he probably wouldn't have accepted Pamela's decision for Amanda to marr
"You know a guy named Jeff pretty well, huh?"Amanda didn't budge, as her husband was visiting the mansion in the middle of the night for the winter. In other people's homes, they choose to rest or watch thrilling romance movies, but at the mansion, a man named Oriaga Niel Thompson is trying to harass his wife.Amanda is already asleep and is forced to wake up due to Oriaga's relentless harassment, causing her to almost punch him in the face.Now, Amanda had to stand facing Oriaga in the library, and the opening question was enough to make Amanda understand the annoying situation."Why not answer it, Amanda?"The woman exhaled harshly, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm sure you already know the answer, so why ask, huh?""I have the right to say anything.""How ridiculous. You woke me up to ask about Jeff, huh?""Again, I have the right to say anything. After all, this is my house. I also have the right to disturb anyone, including you.""I hate to hear such strange rules.""Seco
Oriaga had examined some of the latest jewelry designs submitted by the three Gregorious jewelry designers. Still, the man had not shown any satisfaction with the images on the table, either because he had not found the best or was influenced by something else.It was a good thing he was alone in the CEO's office, so he wasn't asked to comment on the designs because Oriaga didn't have a definitive answer yet, his mind like a ship adrift in the middle of the ocean. Thanks to Amanda's words this morning, he was not eager to work.He collected all the design papers and intended to put them in a drawer. He could review the designs tomorrow or the day after before commenting on their flaws or satisfaction. Still, after pulling out the drawer and finding Amanda's cell phone, Oriaga's attention was distracted.He put the design paperback on the table and took out Amanda's cell phone, which had been stored there for months. He immediately connected the object to a powerbank. When the cell pho
Amanda exhaled harshly when she looked in the mirror before the sink and found several kiss marks around her chest and neck. The man was being quite brutal, more than usual, making Amanda feel tortured even though it wasn't violent.She quickly took off her entire towel kimono before soaking in the bathtub filled with soothing, warm water. At least this room was the best reason for Amanda to secure herself. If Oriaga woke up, the man would immediately repeat their hot activities like a hyper while his wife had given up.It was now close to midnight, and Amanda ventured into the bath as the snow piled up more and more outside."That man should go home. I don't want him to stay here, and all my joints are aching from the pressure of Oriaga. What's gotten into him like that, huh?" She complained even if she said it in front of Oriaga, he wouldn't care; he was just obsessed with Amanda's body.She hadn't realized that someone had woken up and searched for her while feeling the bed's surfa
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
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."