2: For Jarred's Benefit

“YOU CALLED FOR ME?” Celene asked as she entered Jarred’s office. He nodded in response, and she made her way to his table, feeling a smile spread across her face when he took her hand and guided her onto his lap. “H-hey we’re at work,”

“I know, I won’t do anything.” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist before nuzzling his face into her neck.

“Then why did you call for me?”

“I have a dinner meeting scheduled with Mr. Nakamura, but my head is already pounding from work. I really just want to go home and rest. Could you attend the meeting in my place?” He gazed up at her with pleading eyes, his lips tugged into a sweet smile that Celene couldn’t possibly reject or refuse.

“All right, give me all the details of the meeting and what exactly I needed to do,” she said as she caressed his cheek, fully aware that she still had a mountain of paperwork to tackle as the general manager. However, adding another task to her plate shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, this was not the first time she attended a meeting in place of her husband—the CEO and founder of J Advertising agency.

“Should I get you a medicine?” she asked, concern etched on her face.

“It’s fine, I will take one later. Thank you.” Jarred placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand before filling her in on the agenda.

He had claimed to have a headache, but that was just an excuse because he knew Celene would be more effective at closing the deal with the Japanese investor. Besides that, he wanted to go home and spend time with Agnes since he hadn’t been able to talk to her much, as he didn’t want his wife to suspect anything was going on between them.

Meanwhile, Celene who had no idea what was going on inside her husband’s head, skipped meals and breaks to complete all of her work for the day before heading to the restaurant.

“I hope he’s fine,” She muttered under her breath as she typed out a message to Jarred, checking in on how he was doing. She anxiously waited for a reply, but none came. She had just assumed he must be asleep and tucked her phone back into her bag before getting out of the cab once she arrived at the restaurant.

Once inside, she sat down at the reserved table and waited for Mr. Nakamura to arrive. While she was speaking to the waiter, she flinched when the loud sound of a slap resounded behind her. Instinctively, she turned around, her eyes widening as she saw a familiar face.

“You’re such a freaking jerk!” The woman in front of him yelled before she stormed out. Celene’s jaw dropped in surprise, but she quickly shut it when she made eye contact with Noah. She looked away and resumed her conversation with the waiter, pretending as if she didn’t see him.

“Ah, that’s all. Thank you,” She flashed a smile at the waiter as he finished taking orders. Once she was alone, she saw someone pull up the chair in front of her. For a moment, she was stunned to see Noah sitting there casually. She blinked a few times, watching him loosen his necktie.

“I can’t believe you’d witness that,” he said, staring deeply into her hazel eyes and making her flinch.

“What... What do you think you’re doing? Get out of here, I have an important meeting, and the client might show up anytime now.” she grumbled while looking around.

“Wow, that was cold... Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m fine?” Noah propped himself up on the table, resting his chin on top of his clasped hands. He smirked, causing Celene to arch an eyebrow in response.

“I don’t see why I would do that. We aren’t exactly in a relationship where we have to look out for each other’s well-being,” she replied, crossing her arms against her chest.

It had been four years since she last saw him, and she couldn’t recall him ever being this amicable. From what she could remember, Noah was always distant and intimidating; he seemed unapproachable. He still looked the same though, with his black hair slicked back in a wolf-cut style, a tribal snake tattoo on the side of his neck, and piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare right through people.

“That was harsh, we were once engaged,” Noah remarked, leaning back.

“I never agreed to the arranged marriage, so it was never official. Stop spewing nonsense.” Celene frowned but when she caught sight of Mr. Nakamura entering the restaurant, she stood up and immediately pulled Noah out of the chair, “Come on, get out. I don’t have time to chat with you.”

“Fine, fine, we’re going to see each other again anyway.” He scoffed and nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets before walking away.

Celene was taken aback, trying to make sense of his words. However, Mr. Nakamura had already walked up to the table, snapping her out of her thoughts and forcing her to switch into professional mode.

While she was trying her best with the meeting despite the uncomfortable way Mr. Nakamura spoke and stared at her, her husband was enjoying dinner with Agnes and his mother at their house.

Celene was completely unaware that she was being excluded and that Agnes was subtly attempting to win her husband and mother-in-law’s favor.

“Aren’t you supposed to be closing this deal? What’s so hard about having a drink with me?” Celene felt a shiver run down her spine as Mr. Nakamura’s eyes, full of malice, locked onto hers.

She gripped the side of her dress under the table, feeling her stomach churning. However, she pushed the discomfort aside. She didn’t want to let her husband down by failing to secure this deal, so despite being frustrated with Mr. Nakamura’s behavior and the uneasy feeling it caused, she agreed to go with him to the nearby bar to have a few drinks.

Once they started drinking, he continuously refilled her glass, making a deal that if she could keep pace with his drinking, he would sign the contract. Celene was aware that this type of behavior was completely unacceptable, especially in a professional setting.

However, for Jarred’s benefit, she chose to remain silent and go along with it.

“Are you drunk already?” Mr. Nakamura asked, a grin plastered on his face as he rubbed his chin. Celene whose vision was already blurry looked at him as he continued to stare with malicious intent. If only he weren’t such an important client, she would have loved to smash a glass in his face to silence him.

“I think we should call this a night—” Celene’s body tensed when the bastard’s hand started to stroke her thigh. His smug smile and proximity made her freeze, unable to fight back against his unwanted advances. The sudden rush of dizziness only added to her helplessness at the moment.

‘Was this old man spiked my drink?’ that was the question Celene was currently thinking as her breathing began to pick up speed, her vision spinning as she held onto the edge of the counter to support herself.

Mr. Nakamura’s voice reached her ears, but it was muffled and unintelligible. Her mind felt like it was drowning in thick, muddled waters, making it difficult to comprehend anything he was saying while his hand rested on her waist.

“G-get off your... Fucking filthy hands on me,” she muttered, her voice barely audible as she tried to push his hand away from her body.

But to her surprise, a familiar voice rang in her ear. She didn’t know why, but despite how awful she was feeling, she was able to pick up whose voice it was even if she wasn’t paying attention to the owner.

“Get your fucking hands off her, pervert old man.” Noah stood behind her, holding onto Mr. Nakamura’s wrist tightly. The old man winced in shame as the other customers nearby began to murmur and look at him with disapproval.

With that, he gritted his teeth and yanked his arm out of Noah’s grasp before running away.

Noah attempted to chase after him, but the image of Celene being unconscious with her head resting on the counter caused his jaw to tighten and a scowl to form on his face. He gently brushed her long wavy brown hair away from her face and placed her bag over his shoulder before picking her up in a bridal-style hold, letting out a sigh as he did so.

“You’re not acting like yourself ever since you married that Jarred bastard. Why did you let that old man sexually harass you when you usually stand up for yourself?” Noah muttered under his breath before letting out a disappointed sigh and leaving the bar with Celene in his arms.

“UGH!” Celene frowned when she felt her head throbbing as soon as she woke up. She reached for her temple, feeling a bit disoriented until she opened her eyes and noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered drinking with Mr. Nakamura.

As if on cue, she looked under the sheet and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she was still fully clothed.

“Fuck, what happened?” she muttered, startled when she heard someone come out of the door. She turned her head and saw Noah, his black bathrobe hanging loosely on his frame as he towel-dried his damp hair, “W-what in the world... Why are you here?!”

“Why not? This is my room.”