Arleena couldn't believe what Keenan was saying. There was no way Hugo would come home from work without giving her a nice word. Or just an update on social media that shows you're on your way home.
Unfortunately, Keenan said the correct sentence.When someone suddenly came to tell them that there was chaos in the courtyard where the event was being held, Arleena rushed to the location with Gabriel and Keenan. The three of them never expected with what sight to find."I LOVE HIM! HE PROMISES TO MARRY ME!"Arleena was taken aback, her mouth gaping involuntarily. On the event page there was a woman screaming in frustration. The guests had already dispersed to escape the woman's tantrum as she approached one table at a time."What is this?" Keenan just came beside Arleena. He was both confused and shocked at the chaos on the event page.Arleena and Gabriel couldn't say anything. Both of them were too stiff to react, because the strange woman there seemed to be possessed.The panicked screams of the female guests were heard mixed with the tantrums of the foreign women who had just arrived. There is no security guard. Arleena was too confused why someone other than a guest had made it through to this event.Arleena didn't feel familiar with this woman at all. He thought there was no way she was part of Justin's family. Especially members of his extended family."WHERE IS HE? I WANT TO MEET HIM!""Hey, anyone, stop that crazy woman!" One of the female guests, Eliza's sister—Arleena's mother, called out. When she saw Arleena's whereabouts, he hurriedly ran over to trouble. "Why didn't you do anything?! You see, there's a crazy woman! How did she get into this event?!"Arleena just froze where she stood, looking at her mother's sister in a daze.Really, it was as if Arleena's entire body was locked in something. Arleena thought of a woman who could suddenly enter this important and private event.Thinking back, Arleena wasn't wrong to invite people. She had already counted the total number of members of her extended family or Justin's extended family. Including those who confirmed they could not come to this event.So, it's impossible that there are extended family members of him and Justin who haven't come yet. What did this woman say just now anyway? Marry him? Who wants to marry her?"Isn't anyone going to stop him?!" Now the adult male guests exclaimed when the strange woman suddenly laughed while walking in a daze.Gabriel held Arleena's hand from the side. "Arleena, who is she? You have to stop her now."Arleena already knew that the conditions were not conducive when the foreign woman was acting crazy. On the other hand, Arleena calculated the possibility that if she stopped her: wouldn't something like grab each other's hair happen?Because Arleena thought that the woman's psychological condition was unstable. Arleena is afraid that if there is an unwanted fight."WHERE IS JUSTIN?! I'M LOOKING FOR JUSTIN!"Justin?Wait, Arleena seems to have misheard the name that woman called."JUSTIN PROMISES TO MARRY ME!"Arleena stared in surprise. His ears didn't hear wrong.Coinciding with the statement that came out of the strange woman's mouth, Arleena saw Justin's arrival. Out of nowhere the man arrived late to check.But Arleena realized the worry and surprise was very clear from the look on Justin's face. It was then that the two of them made eye contact. The only thing Arleena could see in Justin's eyes was panic.Like I've just been caught doing something big wrong."JUSTIN GILBERT!"After the woman screamed Justin's name so loudly, all the panicked screams slowly faded away. All guests' gazes suddenly focused on one point: Justin Gilbert.Then, the spotlight, which was originally aimed at the stage, moved slowly to highlight Justin.When the atmosphere became silent, Justin did not give any reaction and Arleena who looked at him with eyes asking for an explanation, the sound of applause was very loud.Suddenly all the direction of the eyes turned to the source of the sound. And, how shocked Arleena was at what she saw: the figure of Hugo in an all-black tuxedo walking down the stage clapping his hands. A satisfied smile curved across his face.Arleena froze. So did Keenan, Gabriel, and Arleena's parents."Congratulations, Justin! You're doing great!" Hugo shouted loudly in front of the guests using the microphone. He walked up to the strange woman, then let out a rough breath. 'Jesus, what are you doing with the women, huh?'No answer.Justin didn't react either."Why? Are you confused?" he asked. After glaring at the woman beside him who looked angry at Justin, Hugo continued, "Isn't this woman someone you were in a relationship with... one year before you were in a relationship with Arleena?"After hearing Hugo's sarcastic words, there were voices of surprise from the guests.Arleena immediately turned to Justin who looked nervous. Meanwhile Gabriel held Arleena's hand tighter, not expecting and feeling sorry for Arleena."H-hey! What... what did you say?!" Justin protested. But his voice stammered.The guests, members of Arleena and Justin's extended family, immediately whispered to each other. They all looked cynical, but some looked still in disbelief."She's just a crazy woman!" Justin glanced nervously at Arleena. "S-he's not... a nobody!""You fucking bastards!" The woman beside Hugo exclaimed while pointing at Justin. "You've had sex with me many times! Don't you remember this engagement ring?!"Hugo immediately raised his hands to low to his chest, deliberately putting on a facial expression as if to say: I'm not participating in this matter.Justin was getting panicked. Without answering the woman's words, he immediately approached Arleena. As if he had no guilt, Justin immediately grabbed Arleena's hands and held them tightly."Arleena... Arleena, listen to me. I don't know that woman, and we are not related," Justin pleaded with Arleena.Arleena was actually a bit surprised by Justin's begging her. So, Arleena spontaneously released Justin's grip."What are you doing?" asked Arleena.Justin looked at Arleena imploringly. "Darling, I did make a mistake when I had a relationship with you. However, I did not have a relationship with another woman before you.""YOU, JERK MAN!" The woman beside Hugo spoke again.Arleena just laughed sarcastically and looked away. Anywhere but not staring at Justin's sickening pleading face."Darling?" sigh Arleena. "I can't believe you still call me that. Men... woah, even the term 'asshole' for you is still too polite. Why should I be in a relationship with you?"he shook his head. "No, don't say that. I can't be in a relationship with you."Arleena shook off Justin's hand, who wanted to hold her hand again."Do you think you're so cool when you play with women's hearts? Do you think I'm a stupid woman?" Arleena paused for a few seconds. She turned her gaze to Hugo. "To be honest, I actually have something to confess..."After saying that, Arleena took two steps back. He kept looking at Hugo as a plan emerged in his mind.Arleena turned around to take a step closer to Hugo. The atmosphere around remained silent. All eyes watched Arleena's movements, including Justin who looked curious.Arleena steps closer to Hugo. Arleena ignored Hugo who was confused and seemed to be guessing what she was going to do. She could tell that Hugo was asking her through a glance.Unfortunately, the plan in Arleena's brain was too strong. Her adrenaline was racing, encouraging his belief to carry out her plan. The feeling of excitement made her heartbeat beat fast, and the rush of blood rippled was ridiculous.Amidst the silence, Arleena was now standing in front of Hugo. Both of their eyes met each other. Very deep. The eyes that Arleena had not seen for nearly three years. Now Arleena could realize how 'mighty' Hugo's mature, sharp gaze was.Arleena felt herself getting nervous because of the pounding in her chest. As close as two inches between them, Arleena noticed the details on Hugo's face. After three years of separation, there were quite significant changes: a cleaner face, a charming and mature aura, a strong jawline, and beautiful beady eyes."What would you do?" asked Hugo, speaking almost in a whisper."Carried out my plan," Arleena replied.One second after answering, when Hugo frowned, Arleena immediately grabbed Hugo's collar. Without further ado, Arleena grabbed Hugo by the collar with a grip so strong as to shorten their distance. Hugo didn't have time to resist Arleena's sudden tug.Then, their lips met.Arleena closed her eyes.Hugo stiffened in surprise. So did all the eyes that witnessed Arleena's actions.That night, Arleena and Justin's relationship was damaged. Can not be fixed. So Arleena knew there was nothing she could do but spoil it even more in revenge for Justin's actions.One Month Later.Arleena was all smiles after being recognized as an exemplary employee. One of the company's big projects that lasted for four months had been completed. They all managed to achieve high targets-even more than they had planned."Congratulations, Arleena. You've worked hard. We'll give you a bonus for your achievement," said Danielle, the CEO of the company where Arleena worked.Arleena gave a sweet smile and bowed again. In front of her were her coworkers from the same and different divisions."Woah, Arleena, she always works so hard that she gets bonuses over and over again," said Denny, Arleena's male coworker from the finance division."That's right. I can't imagine how tired you were when you took part in a product collaboration project with a foreign company," Wiliam, who came from the same division as Arleena, also replied. He looked admiringly at Arleena.Arleena didn't really take them all seriously. Her chuckle sounded and made her dimples appear. Her heart w
"Hey, Arleena, did Justin come to you again?" In front of Arleena, Gabriel asked a question.Now, Arleena was in a supermarket that had a special area for eating food. At the center table between Arleena and Gabriel, there was already an order of food that had just arrived a few seconds ago. Arleena deliberately invited Gabriel to come to this supermarket so that he could accompany her to chat."Yes," Arleena replied briefly while nodding once. "I don't know why he keeps coming and bringing up our canceled wedding plans."Gabriel smacked the glass divider beside them with his clenched fist. He was so furious, Gabriel couldn't say anything and made Arleena look at him in horror."That ex-boyfriend of yours... he blames you for your aborted marriage. He thinks you should have accepted him back like you did before," Gabriel grumbled at length in exasperation, remembering Justin's treatment all these years.Arleena only gave a faint smile in reply to Gabriel's words. At that moment, Arlee
"What did you say just now?" Hugo immediately answered in a panic as well as a huff.Arleena just looked at Hugo casually as if she didn't feel guilty at all. Just like Hugo a few moments ago, during dinner with her family, Arleena folded her hands while putting on an innocent face. Really pretending not to know where she went wrong."What did I say wrong? I'm just asking and clarifying your words," Arleena replied with an innocent face that was annoying to Hugo.Hugo let out a long sigh as he lowered both shoulders limply. His eyes looked at Arleena in disbelief."But that doesn't mean we have to make babies now!" said Hugo exasperatedly. His voice was almost a whisper and full of emphasis. "I mean, if papa keeps bringing up babies, we have to figure out how to explain that marriage-""Are you crazy?!" Asleena immediately cut Hugo off. Instantly, the look on her face that had been holding back amused laughter became one of panic. "If we tell Bernard that our marriage is fake, he'll b
Arleena spontaneously hit Hugo's back softly in surprise at what he had just said.When Hugo turned his eyes to Arleena while grimacing in pain and surprise, Arleena just glared at him. But Hugo didn't feel there was anything wrong with his words at that time. Instead, he wondered why Arleena hit him just because of that question."Papa, he's often careless when he speaks, isn't he?" asked Arleena as she laughed awkwardly to Bernard, Quinn, and Albrack.While Hugo was still stroking the spot where Arleena had hit him, Bernard was frowning with an amused smile. The three Hugo family members looked at each other and chuckled, realizing that Arleena's situation was awkward.The truth was that Arleena just didn't want to have a discussion like this. Because she was not ready to face a request that was more responsible. But Hugo just blurted out and made her think of the issue of children."Yes, he does like to talk out of turn," Bernard replied, nodding his head in agreement.Quinn and Al
The aroma of steak wafted into Arleena's senses after her order arrived.Arleena looked lustfully at the tray of special steak plates brought by a waiter. One by one, the plates were placed on the table with warm smoke in the air. Arleena's eyes were glued to the smoke from the food that was still cooked and warm in front of her."Oh my, that looks really good," Arleena commented.Hearing Arleena's remark, Hugo immediately snorted with an amused smile. "You already ate steak during your office lunch hour. Now you're still tempted after seeing the steak again?"As if ignoring Hugo's words, Arleena immediately nodded her head. Arleena moved swiftly to pick up her fork and knife to get ready to eat the food she ordered.Hugo only noticed Arleena who was very bright looking at the food in front of them. Arleena's reaction at that moment reminded Hugo of the memory when they both ate at their favorite restaurant together a few years ago. Over the years, Hugo felt that Arleena had not chang
"Why is he still coming to you? It's obvious you guys don't have anything to do with each other anymore," Hugo grumbled after his second encounter with Justin.Arleena remained silent. Justin's arrival was not what she wanted or expected. And that made Arleena feel like her mood was ruined. Throughout the trip, Arleena just looked out the window with her head resting on her hands.Arleena's mind replayed what Justin had said a few minutes ago. Even though she knew clearly that their canceled wedding plans were not his fault, but still. As time went on, Arleena was so moved by Justin's words that she lost focus.Arleena didn't know what was going on. Why did Justin keep coming around and couldn't accept the fact that they were separated?"Arleena, my offer still stands," said Hugo who noticed Arleena was distracted. Hugo tried to speak softly so as not to disturb her.There was no answer from Arleena.Hugo still paid attention to Arleena occasionally, alternately looking at Arleena and