Chapter 3

pg. 04 | chapter 3

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Althea managed to drag herself back to reality when she heard her partner touch her bare skin. She turned her gaze towards the man still standing in front of her before she gradually accepted it for a handshake.

"It is nice meeting you, Mr. Sibal," she replied, as though familiarity started to draw on their bare skin touching. She couldn't help but quickly pull out her hand. "I'm sorry, my hand was sweaty," she said, trying to make an excuse for her rude gesture.

The man just looked at her with a timid smile.

"It's alright, I'm used to it," he said meaninfully before his gaze turned back to the old man.

The two seemed to start talking in a foreign language about something confidential, and from time to time, the man named Mr. Sibal would turn to look at her.

Is this man charmed by her as well?

She took a sip of the champage right across the table while her other hand was rolling the sushi using chopsticks. She couldn't help but stare at the man who was idly stealing glances at her until their eyes met.

He flashed a smile through his lips, and quickly enough, something from inside her chest started to thump.

Did she just feel fluttered at the man's smile? Fuck, no way!

The man was indeed attractive. He had such striking features, resembling characters from foreign movies.

Seated dignified at their table as though he was an ordibary business man, he already looked like the apple of the eye that everyone would immediately notice.

He was that hot and alluring.

His eyes were a dark chocolate brown reflected by the lights on the gala, his pointed nose was just perfectly aligned, his lips looked soft and pinkish, and his facial hair covered his chin and cheeks slightly.

"Mi amor." She suddenly hears something that quickly makes her turn her gaze.

For some reason, the sound of his voice calling out to her was giving her butterflies in her stomach.

It felt as though his voice was something her body remembered, but that's just impossible. This is the first time she has met this man in her whole life.

Once her attention was caught by the two gentlemen, she noticed they were staring right at her again as though they were waiting for her to respond.

"Y-Yes?" she asked, unable to hide her embarrassment. It was obvious that she was out of her world the whole time the two men were conversing.

"Honey, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?" her partner asked her He acted as though concern was expressed through his face, but truthfully, his hand had another agenda in mind.

It was crawling onto her back, stroking her secretly.

Disgusting.

She only lets out a wry smile before she looks at the old man. "I-I'm fine. I might have just been tired," Althea said before lowering her gaze on the table.

She could feel his hand lowering towards her thighs as he tried to curve his hand, feeling the soft lump of her buttocks.

"Let me know if we need to take you home, alright? I won't let anything bad happen to my darling," he added, his voice sounding worried.

The creepy man's voice was sending a shiver down her spine. She can't help but think how this man can stomach such clichéd lines as it is easier to vomit in front of him than endure a night of another crime.

She rolled her eyes to the side, lifting her head. She tried her best to act as though nothing was happening to her as she drank from her glass again.

"I-It's alright, I'm fine," she said, reassuring him and the man they were talking to.

It would have been humiliating if the gentleman took notice of this sexual predator trying to play her in front of him.

Throughout their conversation, the old man kept doing what he wanted. He would touch, caress, and insert his hand all over her fitted dress.

At one point, as the young man in front of them shifted his gaze towards her direction, asking her simple questions, she couldn't help but squirm at the sensation of her partner gaining access to her underwear.

"It seems that you know a fair share about stocks. Are you perhaps interested in joining our trade?" Mr. Sibal asked her as she continued to struggle from below her region.

Just as she was about to answer, she almost widened her eyes and let out a moan when the old man suddenly slid one of his fingers inside of her.

This is embarrassing and disgusting.

She only lets out a wry smile in front of the man before she answers in between her struggling breath.

"Mr. S-Sibal, despite knowing a few things about... hmm... about stocks, I-I feel like I am still a b-beginner at it." She then lowered her face towards the table.

She had always known that this man had such disgusting thoughts in his head that she was starting to get pissed off.

She could feel the insides of her getting tickled as the old man enjoyed the grimace on her face.

Damn him.

"Oh, I see."

She lifted her head to look at the man again when she heard him speak, and upon their eyes meeting, she couldn't help but feel her heart racing.

For some reason, she felt nervous while staring right into his orbs. He was just there looking at her as though he could read her mind while she couldn't even discern the thoughts in his head.

The man paused for a second upon his words, and immediately, she felt like her world wanted to crumble.

Shit, what if this man knows that this old man is sexualizing her in oublic? This would be humiliating!

A smirk flashed through his lips upon the seconds passing, and before she could even speak a word, she almost let out a sharp groan from the sensation in her lower region.

In an instance, she wasn't able to take it anymore and she stood up from the table. The sound of clattering plates erupted through the whole gala as the chair she had been sitting on roughly made a noise through the four corners.

She even slammed her two hands on the table, her head still lowered, before she slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting the young man mostly.

"I'm sorry, I think we have to pause this conversation for our next meeting. I'm not f-feeling well," Althea said after regaining her breath.

Her face was flushed red, her forehead dripping with sweat, and her lips pursed.

The old man turned to look at her, surprised at her sudden action, but she didn't care at all.

She glared at him as though she wasn't happy about his actions, and immediately, without a word to him, went straight to the washroom.

Her four-inch heels cluttered through the marble tiles of the gala as she secretly lowered the hem of her fitted dress. She knows she still can't act the same way she does mostly, unable to hold the perfect elegant stature when she has been provoked too much by the old man.

She walked towards the people idling around her while her face still flashed furrowed brows.

Once she reached the cubicle, she slammed the door closed and went straight to one of the stalls.

"Fuck that old man!" she cursed while trying to reach for something inside her bag.

It was a good thing that there were no people in the washroom when she decided to let out all of the fuses in her, because it made it easier for her to act the uncouth she is.

She brought out a lighter and a cigarette stick she had been hiding in her purse and quickly smoked through the toilet, her legs crossing.

This was something she had learned through her years of surviving in this cruel world, and one of her previous men had taught her to smoke.

And he's right. Smoking does let out a few of your frustrations. It makes sense, considering that she has quickly calmed down from her earlier agitation.

Just as she was enjoying herself inside the washroom all alone, she could hear the people from outside complaining. She knew it was because she locked the door to the public restroom while she was also smoking inside.

She looked in their direction with coldness in her eyes before she stood up and opened the door to the cubicle.

"What the hell? Do you even know that this is a public restroom?" the woman complained to her. She had blonde locks flowing through her shoulders while wearing an elegant white dress.

Althea only stared at her blankly before she smoked the remains of her cigarette stick and blew it through her face.

"Do I look like I care?" she asked her afterwards, removing the elegant image she tried to cover through the whole gala before she pushed the woman away from the door and walked as though nothing had happened.

She could even hear the woman shouting from behind her, but she didn't care anymore. She's just done with her partner's fucking actions and will cut ties with him immediately.

After going through crowds of people trying to woo and stare at her with judging eyes, she was finally able to get to the exit, secretly going to the other side of the building to avoid the old man's eyes.

She knows that the man is already pissed off by her sudden action earlier and that she's willing to bet that he'll kill her if she gets found out.

Once Althea reached the outskirts of the establishment, the cold breeze hitting her bare skin and the sound of leaves brushing past each other, she let out a sigh.

She could still see some people across the place, some intrigued by her beauty, while the others were just whispering among themselves.

Does this always have to happen? Sometimes, it's tiring to be the center of attention, even when you're not trying to do so.

She rolled her eyes on the side, her arms crossing. She can feel some men wanting to go near her to talk to her, but suddenly, a luxurious car stops in front of her.

This made the man halt in their tracks and quickly hesitate to go near her. Meanwhile, Althea was surprised at his familiar stature, who slowly got down from his vehicle.

What is this man doing here? Isn't he with her partner earlier?

His eyes never once left her as he went nearer and nearer to her direction.

For some reason, something was in his eyes that she couldn't help but be drawn to.

And at that moment, it felt like they were the only people in the place—well, technically, the people around them suddenly disappeared for some reason.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Suddenly, she felt like her heart was thumping hard from just listening to his voice. He was just looking at her with a stoic expression on her face, and yet she was already this ticklish from the inside.

"I... I wasn't feeling well, so I had to leave early. I'm sorry, Sir," Althea replied to his question. She quickly tried to walk away from his direction to avoid the awkwardness building up between them when the man offered her a lift.

"Why don't I just take you home? It seems that you and your partner have fought. That's why you're leaving alone. Did something bad happen?" he asked, one after the other.

Althea didn't speak a word. It's not like she can just blatantly tell him that she is trying to escape that man after what just happened at the gala. That would be too embarrassing.

"I'm alright, Mr. Sibal. I can just take a cab," she said, refusing his offer. She tried to walk away from him when he spoke again.

"I insist, Ms. Corazon. I can escort you home and I promise I won't do anything to you," he narrated, and that made her stop.

Why is this man suddenly so pushy? Is he literally charmed by her the moment the two of them met earlier?

It's not like it's a new occurrence but... there's just something in him that's off and she can't put a finger on it.

"It's getting quite late, so it would be dangerous to take a cab," he added, trying to persuade her.

"It's not like it's also safe to get a lift from a stranger," she retorted as silence tranquilred through the place.

Well, he's not wrong, but she's also not wrong. The two of them make sense, but it is still undoubtfully dangerous and concerning.

Again, Althea lets out a sigh when a long minute has passed and she turns to look at him again. Time was running late and it was getting darker and darker. Unable to think much anymore since there were no cabs coming her way, she decided to take his offer.

"Fine," she said, upon her change of mind. "But please just take me close to the entrance of my town. I can manage just fine on my own afterwards," she continued, trying to assure herself of her safety from the man.

"Sì, I'm fine with that," the man uttered, and with that, the man named Mr. Sibal escorted her in his Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Once they were seated in his car, Althea was immediately surprised by how wealthy the man was.

She was welcomed by luxurious decorations at the front, while the smell of his vehicle was like the scent of his manly suit.

"Are you alright? It looked like you were sick earlier," the man suddenly uttered once he started his engine and maneuvered his car on the road.

"Y-Yes, I am," she replied, remembering what had happened earlier. She had almost forgotten about it since she entered her car, and all she could think of was how to slip some of his items into her purse or something.

However, now that she thinks of it, she hasn't heard from the old man since she left the gala. She was so sure that he'd start going bizarre, raging through her phone with multiple calls and messages, yet she didn't receive even one.

Did the old man suddenly change his mind about her? Because she'd be relieved if he did it on his own accord. He was the wrong man she had charmed in the first place, and she needed to be careful with their creepy antics the next time.

"Anyhow, how did you two meet?"

Just as silence was reigning upon them, Mr. Sibal, who was driving all this time, suddenly asked. She turned to look at him with a dumbfounded look.

Why is he so fixated on her and the old man?

"Why? Are you jealous?" she asked, trying to tease the stranger. She already knows that this man is charmed by her, so it's easy to just act silly and comfortable around him.

The man stole a glance at her, surprised that she would utter such words, before letting out a sneer.

"And if I am?" he asked her, what made her frown.

What?

However, just as they were starting to converse, the vehicle suddenly stopped, and the road around them was as familiar as home.

In less than twenty minutes, they had already reached the entrance of her town.

Without a word anymore, Althea came out of the car and slammed the door shut.

For some reason, when the man looked at her as he said those words, it sent a shiver down her spine.

How was it possible that he was jealous when this was the first meeting they had ever had?

Her heart was thumping hard, trying to catch her breath when suddenly, her attention was caught by him opening his window.

"Alright, since you got home in one piece, then it means I did my side of my promise," he said, a smirk flashing through his lips.

It was like staring at a picture from one of the magazines she skims every now and then in a salon.

"T-Thank you," she replied, once she realized what she had just done earlier. It was just instinct that saved her from him when she felt like at any moment he'd leap at her.

Once the car started to maneuver away from the stature of the woman, the man named Mr. Sibal finally flashed a stoic expression on his lips.

He was forcing a smile the whole time, trying to talk gently with her.

Immediately, he pulled out a gun from the compartment of his luxurious vehicle once he stopped not too far from the restricted highway road.

"Now that the first deal is done, it's now time to go with the next agenda," he mumbled, talking to himself.

His eyes suddenly reflected a sharp gaze, mirroring the reflection as the sound of banging could be heard faintly through the vehicle.

A devilish grin flashed through his lips before he loaded his .45 caliber with bullets and came out of his car.

He opened the trunk of his car, and there, there was a man lying on the dirty sheets of his luxurious car, wrapped in multiple ropes while his face was jammed and his lips sealed with duct tape.

It was none other than the old man he was supposed to have a transaction with.

Israel pointed his gun at him and, in one instance, the sound of his gun echoed through the place with no hesitation in his eyes.

"Bang," he muttered as he blew the smoke coming from the tip of his weapon.