2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

THE SUNLIGHT filtering through the curtains was enough to wake Citrine. Her eyes were heavy and swollen from crying yesterday. In the end, she couldn’t present her project proposal to Revan because she stormed out of the restaurant using the back door. She went to Lustrio Hotel and cried her eyes out in her office until she fell asleep. 

“Fuck, I’m a mess,” she muttered as she caught sight of herself on her phone screen. Her hair was a disheveled mess. Her cheeks were streaked with mascara and her face was pale as a sheet. She couldn’t help but sigh at how pathetic she looked. She lazily opened her phone’s screen and saw ten unread text messages and four missed calls from Gael.

Where are you?

Did something happen?

I’m worried, you haven’t been responding to my texts and phone calls.

Babe.

She read all of Gael’s messages and noticed that Trisha had also messaged her, asking why she wasn’t home and she was worried sick.

Citrine laughs sarcastically. She would believe Trisha and Gael genuinely cared for her if she hadn’t known they were having an affair. She felt stupid; they’d been doing shit behind her back, yet she hadn’t any slight idea until yesterday.

“Fucking asshole, you proposed to me while cheating on me with my half-sister?” she exclaimed, staring at her wallpaper. It was a photo of her and Gael from when he proposed to her three months ago.

She clutched her phone and closed her eyes as four years of memories flooded her mind. She then emotionally went to her phone’s gallery and deleted every picture of her with Gael. Her vision became blurry, and tears streamed down the screen.

“Shit.” she sobbed and it took her five minutes to calm herself and stop crying.

Citrine tried her best to pull herself together and entered her bathroom to take a shower. She needed to clean up herself before facing anyone else. Once she was done, she dried her hair and went to her dresser to pick some clothes. Her office was her second home, so it had a bedroom attached to it.

She put on a white blazer dress that reached her mid-thighs and a pair of black high heels that she rarely wore. She combed her long brunette hair and looked in the mirror. Her eyes weren’t red anymore, but they still looked like she was going through hell, so she put extra effort into her makeup and straightened her hair to look presentable. She then exited her office and proceeded to the hotel’s conference room.

Today’s meeting required her presence. Even if she doesn’t feel well right now, this is what she must do. She cannot afford to be late or have problems at work simply because she is experiencing heartbreak. She always made sure to work diligently but she failed to do so yesterday—she had to find a way to fix it.

When she entered the conference room, she found that everyone was already there. Most people greeted her warmly, except those who judged her for being illegitimate. A few whispered to each other but Citrine pretended not to hear them.

The director sat down on his chair and cleared his throat. He looked exhausted but composed nonetheless. 

“Good morning everyone; I’ve called a meeting to discuss the new projects we’ll be launching this year. We will consider a large-scale project in France for our international collaboration…”

After an hour of discussion, the meeting ended smoothly and Citrine went straight to the function hall to check if the preparation for tonight’s event was all in order. A politician was going to celebrate his birthday at Lustrio Hotel and Fabian assigned Citrine to take care of it. 

When she finally arrives at the function hall, Bianca, one of the front office’s shift managers, runs towards her.

“Ma’am Citrine. I heard the news,”

“News? What news?” she asks, puzzled.

“Uh... Y-You didn’t know yet?” Bianca sweat profusely, worried that she did something she shouldn’t have.

“What is it?”

“I-it’s... I heard someone will take over your role as general manager.” Citrine frowned; it took her a few seconds to process what she had just heard, but once it did, she left and went to Lustrio Holdings to ask his father about it.

“Ma’am Citrine—” she went straight into the chairman’s office, ignoring its secretary.

“Is it true?” she inquired as Fabian motioned for his secretary to leave because he had followed inside.

“What is?” Citrine clenched her fist when her father just kept signing the papers on his table without pausing to look at her. 

“Are you really removing me from my position as general manager? I nearly sacrific—”

“Spare me the bullshit. You are no longer a member of the family,” Fabian said as he set his pen down and looked her in the eyes. Citrine was not expecting such a direct response.

“What?” she asks in disbelief. She already knew he was going to toss her aside when she was no longer useful, but she still can’t believe he did it without batting an eye. 

“Once you marry Gael, you’re no longer a member of Lustrio,” he replied “Trisha will graduate next month and will take over management duties then, so teach her everything she needs to know.”

He went back to signing documents while ignoring her. Citrine couldn’t hold her rage any longer and slammed her hand on the table, forcing Fabian to stand up and slap her across the face. She fell to the ground, clutching her cheek as she watched her father with wide eyes in shock. It wasn’t the first time he had physically harmed her, but she was still taken aback.

“I’ll deal with you at home,” Fabian said as he grabbed her by her arms to pull her back up, only this time he dragged her out of the room and shut the door. The sound alone made Citrine feel sickened with humiliation.

“A-are you okay?” Victor asked, leaving his table to help her in picking herself up off the floor. Citrine simply nodded, trying to hold back her tears while smiling at her father’s secretary.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice huskier than usual. She straightened up and exited the building to return to her office, where her secretary informed her that Trisha was waiting for her inside. She clenched her fist and tried her best to remain calm. Her cheeks were still throbbing from the pain, but the swelling had subsided thanks to the cold compression she had applied in the car.

“How long has she been waiting?”

“Almost 30 minutes, miss,” Citrine sighed. 

“I see, thanks, Jules,” she said before opening the door to her office. Trisha immediately stood up from the couch and hugged her tightly. Citrine felt disgusted and didn’t want to reciprocate.

“Did you sleep here last night? I was worried when you didn’t tell me you weren’t coming home; you know, I thought something happened.” Trisha pulled away from the hug, and Citrine saw concern written all over her face. Originally, she would feel guilty, but now that she knows her sweet little sister is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, she couldn’t care less.

“Yeah, sorry about that. There’s just a lot of work that I had to deal with yesterday.” She smiled before walking past her and sitting in her swivel chair. “Don’t you have class today?”

“I have, but I was worried about you, so I decided to stop by,” Trisha replied, leaning on Citrine’s table and facing her. “You don’t look too good. Are you sick?”

Trisha tried to feel her older sister’s forehead but Citrine avoided her hand, which surprised both of them. They stared at each other silently until Citrine spoke.

“Sorry, I was just tired, nothing serious. I’ll get better once I rest properly.”  She smiled before touching Trisha’s cheek affectionately. She wanted to slap her so badly, but she knew she shouldn’t. At least, not now. All she wanted to do now was pretend she didn’t know her younger sister and fiancé were having an affair. That way, she could gather evidence and expose them both later.

It’s unfortunate that Trisha is a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has twisted the lion’s tail.

“JULES, could you call Mr. Revan Soldevilla’s secretary and see if he has time to meet with me,” Citrine stated over the phone. She leaned back in her swivel chair, her gaze fixed on her engagement ring.

“All right, miss. I’ll get to it right away. Is there anything els—ah!”

“What’s the matter?”

“Uhm, your fiancé was here.” Citrine frowned and sighed as she pressed her lips together. She despises having to deal with people she does not want to see. And the incident with her father had only added to her stress, she couldn’t seem to catch a break.

‘Are they doing this on purpose?’

“Let him in. Thank you, Jules.” As soon as she hung up the phone, Gael walked through the office door, carrying a bouquet of red roses. He gave her a smile and handed it to her.

Gael’s love language is gift giving and it is one of the reasons why Citrine falls in love with him. She isn’t materialistic but she appreciated his efforts. He also courted her for a year and it was around her 21st birthday when she finally decided to date him. Since then, Gael made it a priority to always make Citrine feel special. His love for her has never wavered, but that was before he had a one-night stand with Trisha.

“What’s with the flowers?” she asked, faking a smile as best as she could. When Trisha left earlier, Gael called, and she had no choice but to answer. She hadn’t expected him to drop by unannounced as Trisha did.

“Well, I thought it might lift your spirits. You sounded exhausted on the phone earlier, it made me worry,” he said softly. ”Have you eaten yet? Let’s have lunch together.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I don’t have an appetite,” Citrine said, trying hard not to sound annoyed. It was difficult to look at his face after what she had discovered yesterday. Her heart was still aching from the shock, but she didn’t want to think about it now. That would only make her cry and feel worse than she already did.

“Did something happen? Is your meeting with Revan the reason why you seem so down today?” His expression became solemn. “Did he reject the proposal or perhaps did something to you?”

Citrine shook her head. The last thing she needed right now was his concern.

“No, of course not. I was just tired; you know I’ve been busy these past few weeks with doing the business proposal and preparing for our wedding.” She forced herself to smile, and close her eyes when Gael kissed her on the forehead.

“I’ll handle the distribution of our wedding invitations next week to lighten your load, okay?” He kissed her again and caressed her cheeks, making Citrine’s skin crawl with disgust.

“Are you sure?” she asks, trying to hide her displeasure.

“Yes, leave it to me. You should take a little more time off to rest. Our wedding is next month, and I’m sure you don’t want to look haggard on that day.” His eyes were filled with affection. His expression was gentle and caring. Citrine couldn’t help but be amused by how convincing he made himself appear.

“All right, then. But let me know if there are any issues. I want our wedding to be perfect,” she said as her eyes glinted with mischief.

“Of course, a woman as precious as you deserves the most beautiful wedding,” he smiled and pulled her closer to him, their lips almost touching.

“I love you,” he whispered. Citrine flashed her fakest smile and stared deep into his eyes.

“I love you, too,” she replied sweetly, giving in and kissing him. 

When Gael finally left, she went straight to the bathroom. She didn’t hesitate to wash her face and rubbed her lips to remove the traces of Gael’s kisses. She then rested her hands on the sink and stared at her own reflection. The memories from yesterday and today flashed through her mind, making her miserable.

“Wait for my fucking revenge,” she muttered through gritted teeth, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall.