Chapter 6: The Gold Cleaner

Too many questions swirled and played havoc in Emily’s mind. That was when Viona dropped her bomb. 

“The Gold Cleaner will be in expert hands. Jacob is the best choice,” Viona said further though she said it in a lower voice. “I must go. Talk to you later.”

Emily hid herself to ensure Viona didn’t see her, but she could take a deep breath because Jacob’s assistant walked farther and went to an elevator. Before she could think, a gift wrap assistant approached her with a pretty package. 

“It’s done, miss.”

She blinked and forced a smile. “Oh, thank you. It’s lovely.” Emily paid the price and bought the package. 

When Pauline found Emily, she waved from afar. “Hey, Em! Done yet?”

“Yes.” Emily bit her lower lip because she didn’t want to disappoint Pauline, but she wanted to go home. She held the two shopping bags tightly, but her mind was elsewhere.

When Pauline was a few steps away from Emily, she noticed how pale her friend was. “Em, what’s wrong?”

“I … I ….”

“Calm down. Take a deep breath.” Pauline immediately led Emily to a seat. After sitting, she asked, “What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost.”

Emily put the two shopping bags on the next seat and covered her face with both hands. “Oh, Line, what should I do?”

“What happened?”

Then Emily told Pauline about Viona’s conversation with someone she called Art. Pauline listened closely to what Emily said. When Emily mentioned the Gold Cleaner name, her eyes bulged because she knew about it.

She reached her hand to Emily’s and squeezed it. “Are you sure?”

“What?” 

“Are you sure it’s what Viona said?” Pauline looked around to ensure none was near them to overhear what they said.

Emily nodded. “Yes. Why?”

Pauline bent her body forward and whispered in Emily’s ear. “The Gold Cleaner is a mafia syndicate in the capital.”

“What?!” Emily gasped as she stared at her friend in horror. “It can’t be!” It was impossible! Jacob was always nice to her. How could he involve himself with a mafia syndicate? Line had to be wrong.

Pauline covered her friend’s mouth with a hand. “Quiet!”

After Emily nodded slightly, Pauline finally released her hand. “So, what will you do now?”

“Are you sure about it?” Emily asked her friend. “I mean about the Gold Cleaner?”

“That they are a mafia syndicate? Yes, 100%. I heard some people whisper about it.” She held Emily’s hand. “For sure, your parents didn’t know about it.”

“Yeah.” Emily bit her lower lip and let out a long sigh. “No way they knew it. They wouldn’t approve it if they knew.”

“Will you tell them?” Pauline looked her friend in the eye. 

“I don’t know …. It’s …. I don’t know.” Emily covered her face with both hands again because she was clueless. It was too much for her. “Knowing Jacob bought gifts for Amy has been hard for me, but it’s nothing new. Now, this?”

Pauline didn’t know what to say. Her friend was in deep trouble, and she badly wanted to help her. But how?

“Jacob once told me Amy helped him by lending him the money he needed when the mafia threatened to kill his father. So, he said he would always be grateful to Amy and Samuel though he didn’t tell me why he mentioned Samuel’s name too.”

“Hmm … is it possible Jacob is confused about old love and gratitude?”

“I don’t know …. But I still remembered how he stared at Amy at a family meeting. He thought I didn’t see it, but I did. At that time, I thought it was just … well … I thought I was jealous, or maybe a little insecure. But now, I remembered how tender his gaze was toward Amy.” Emily shook her head. “How can I compete with her?!”

Pauline squeezed Emily’s hand. “Look, Amy was his past. Besides, she’s happy with Samuel and their children. She won’t be a threat to you.”

“I know …. But what if Jacob can’t love me? How can I spend the rest of my life pursuing his love?” 

“You can walk out of this, you know.”

Emily shook her head. “No, I can’t ….”

“Why not?”

“There’s only a month left. Mom and Dad already invited all the important people. Dad repeatedly told me how he liked Jacob and was impressed by Jacob’s achievements.”

“And your mom?”

Emily shrugged. “Mom loves how he treats me well. I thought he loved me. That’s why I said yes …. I love him, and I thought it was like a dream came true when my parents told me about the arranged marriage.”

“It’s not too late to cancel it,” Pauline tapped her chin with her fingers, “or you can ask for a delay.”

“I can’t!” Emily took a deep breath as she felt a panic attack already. She tried to breathe slowly. 

Pauline, who knew Emily’s history of panic attacks, immediately grabbed her friend’s hand. “Where’s your aromatherapy?”

Emily pointed at her handbag. Pauline grabbed Emily’s bag and opened it to find a tiny potpourri bag there. She took it and brought the dried flower with the scent bag to Emily’s nose so her friend could breathe the aroma. 

After six or seven inhaling, finally Emily could breathe normally. She bit her lower lip and her tears started pouring down her cheeks. 

Pauline hugged her friend and patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“It’s been a while …. I thought I was already okay, especially after the arranged marriage … But then, it happened again.” She wiped her tears with her hand. “I can’t do this ….” 

“It can happen to anyone, Em. You are under great stress. It may trigger a panic attack.”

Emily closed her eyes. “Jacob doesn’t know about this …. If he knew, he might not want to marry me ….”

“Em, you are sweet and kind. He’s lucky to have you. If he can’t appreciate you, it’s his loss, but never think less of yourself, okay?”

Emily nodded a little. Pauline was her friend from junior high school, and they had been friends for ten years. So she knew Emily well. 

“Thank you, Line. I don’t know what I’d do if you’re not here.”

Pauline shook her head. “You will be okay. You could survive this for so long. Don’t think about Jacob and the future for a while. Let’s enjoy tonight.”

Hearing what her friend said, Emily finally nodded. “Let’s go upstairs. You need to shop!”

“No, no. We can shop another time. It’s better for you to go home and rest.”

“Nah, I need it to distract my mind.” Emily grabbed Pauline’s hand and smiled a little. “Let’s go shopping.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll buy you the dress you wanted and don’t say no anymore!” She grinned at her friend. “I will hate it if you lose the dress because you refuse me to buy it for you.”

“Fine, if you insist.” Pauline shrugged.

Emily bought ten dresses. So she carried seven shopping bags to the car: five for the dresses and two for Jacob’s gifts. When they were in the car, she gave Pauline the five shopping bags. “For you, and don’t say no. It’s not a gift, but my thank you.”

Since Emily already insisted, Pauline couldn’t reject it anymore. She needed some dresses as she would start a new job as an intern in a huge export company (Montgomery’s Export). Since she didn’t have lots of money to buy fancy dresses for work, she was grateful for Emily’s support.