3: Schemes & Agreement

“MS. CITRINE?” When Jules knocked on the door, Citrine quickly grabbed a towel and exited the bathroom, wiping her face. She saw her secretary peering through the door and eventually entered, closing it behind her.

“I’ve already spoken with Mr. Soldevilla’s secretary. She said the CEO wants you to contact him personally,” Citrine frowned and walked over to her desk. She took a deep breath and nodded, she felt so drained.

“Okay, thank you,” she said, and Jules returned to her desk outside. Citrine didn’t waste any time and called Revan’s secretary; as soon as he picked up, she stated her concern, and the secretary immediately transferred the call to Revan’s office.

“I didn’t expect you to contact me this fast; to what do I owe this pleasure?” Revan asked with his usual bored and sarcastic voice.

“Let’s meet tonight, I have something to discuss with you,” she said flatly, and Revan hummed on the other side.

“Is this about the business proposal?” he wondered aloud as he turned his chair around and rested his back on it. “Or is there something else?”

Citrine remained silent. Now that she knows Fabian will discard her, she must find a way to save herself and survive, and as much as she despises admitting it, Revan was someone who could help her.

“Both, and I want to make a deal with you,” she stated calmly. Revan arched his brow, waiting for her to elaborate further.

“I will wait for you at the rooftop of Kopi café at 7:00. Show up if you’re interested in hearing my proposition,” Revan grinned dryly over the phone. Citrine’s unpredictable attitude hasn’t changed in six years, which amuses him.

“All right, kid.” Citrine flinched when he called her a kid. That’s what he used to call her back then. And it brings back a mix of happy and painful memories, triggering her to hang up the phone in frustration. She heaved a long sigh and bumped her head against the desk several times.

“Am I doing the right thing?” she muttered to herself.

MEANWHILE, Revan was grinning as he continued to turn around his chair, making his best friend, Zeke stare at him in utter shock.

“Why are you acting creepy? Who was on the other side of the phone anyway?” he asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously while drinking his coffee in Revan’s office. 

“It was Citrine, you remember her right? Reliana’s friend.”

“Ah, the one you dated for a month?” Zeke said, slowly sipping his coffee again. “Are you still in contact with her after you dumped her?”

“No, but we had a business meeting yesterday.”

“I see, talk about fate, huh? But, didn’t she despise you?”

“Yeah, and that makes her more interesting. She’s 25 now, and she’s transformed into a fine lady,” Revan smirked, recalling Citrine’s boyishness back then. She’s changed a lot but she still has a fiery attitude.

“Oh, do you have a picture of her? I’d like to see it! Perhaps your relationship will succeed this time. I mean, you probably don’t need to hold back on her since she’s already an adult.”

“Do you think I’m a creep? Why would I have her picture?” Revan asked, frowning. “Also, she’s already engaged.”

He stopped turning in his chair and suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. Now that he thinks about it, Citrine’s voice sounded restrained on the phone earlier. As much as he wanted to curse Gael for hurting her, he didn’t have the right to do so. After all, he was no different from him.

“Hmm,” he hummed under his breath, thinking about the deal Citrine would strike with him later tonight.

After a few hours, he arrived at the rooftop, where Citrine was waiting for him. He was curious how she was doing after what happened yesterday. He expected her to be depressed, but she looks pretty composed for someone who got cheated on by her fiancé.

He smirked and pulled the chair across her, sitting down casually. Citrine’s eyes widened slightly; she hadn’t expected him actually to come, on top of that… He arrives on time.

“So, let’s hear your proposition,” Revan said, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest. The night was clear, and the moonlight shone brightly on them. The wind made their hair move along with it and it felt surreal how calm the situation was now, even though Citrine was about to say something outrageous.

Revan was staring into her hazel eyes, anticipating her words. There was silence between them until the wind blew again and Citrine finally spoke.

“Let’s get married.”

“Hmm? Were my ears playing tricks on me?” Revan asked. His face was expressionless, but he had a million questions buzzing around inside his head.

“You still like me?” he asked again, making Citrine look at him in disgust. He wasn’t even serious with his question, but he was offended by her reaction.

“Sorry to burst your bubble but, no. I know it was sudden, and you’re probably confused right now,” she said fiddling with her fingers from under the table. 

“Let me get right to the point. I want to get revenge. You heard my fiancé and half-sister’s conversation yesterday, right?”

“Hmm,” Revan nodded. He placed his hand on his chin and tapped his lips before continuing. “Are you saying you want to use me for your revenge?”

“That’s right, and what I’m proposing to you was just a contract marriage,” Citrine said, leaning back in her seat slightly. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, which made him raise a brow. He then called the attention of the waiter who passed by their table and ordered himself a black coffee.

“Your boldness hasn’t changed,” Revan remarked after the waiter had left. “But what makes you think I’ll agree to this scheme?”

“Because this marriage will benefit us both. I don’t have a habit of making a deal that will only benefit myself, you know,” she smirks, taking a sip of her tea. “I heard the chairman will give Devin your position as the CEO if you do not marry by age 31. That will be next year.”

Revan scoffed in disbelief. “How did you know about that?”

“Did you forget I’m friends with your litter sister? We’ve been in contact recently since she returned from Paris last month.”

“Wow, your stalking skills are just as impressive as they were when you were young,” he said as his coffee arrived, he sipped it slowly and looked at Citrine, who was staring at him with an amused expression.

“Stalk? Stop deluding yourself. I just happened to mention to Reliana that I’m in charge of presenting a business proposal to you, and before I knew it, you were already the subject of our conversation.” Citrine shrugged. “She said that you turned down every marriage partner that your grandfather had to offer.”

“That brat and her fucking big mouth.” Revan rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. “So? What do you have in mind?”

“Just like I said, let’s get married and we’ll kill two birds with one stone,” she replied, “I’ll use you for my revenge and you’ll use me to stop your grandfather from arranging a marriage for you.”

Revan set his cup on the table and looked at Citrine. He couldn’t help but be intrigued by her serious and determined expression. He considered her proposal; honestly, it seems plausible. His grandfather has been nagging him to marry for years, and he is sick of it as he never really wanted to marry because his parents’ divorce had left a gaping wound inside of him. Also, if his memory serves him right, his grandfather was fond of Citrine.

“What do you think?” she asks, jolting Revan from his trance. She was a little nervous as they stared at each other, but it faded when he finally responded.

“All right, let’s get married then.”

Citrine took a moment to register what had just come out of his mouth; she didn’t expect him to accept it, given that they aren’t exactly on good terms anymore, or so she thought.

“Really?” she questioned, sounding relieved. Revan just nodded and finished his coffee before pushing his chair back.

“Let’s take this conversation elsewhere; I’m sure we still have a lot to talk about in this contract marriage,” he said as he stood up and walked to the counter to pay for their drink. Citrine followed him and insisted on paying, but Revan had already given his card to the cashier before she could.

“Did you drive here?” he inquired as they walked out of the café.

“Yes, why? Where do you plan to continue our conversation?”

“At my place,” he replied, causing Citrine to stop following him to the parking lot. He turned around to face her and grinned at her reaction.

“Have you lost it?” she asks, perplexed by Revan’s smug expression. “I’m still engaged to Gael, and it wouldn’t help us if someone, where to, caught me going to your pla—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Revan said, raising his hand to make Citrine stop talking. “You haven’t broken your engagement yet?”

Citrine nodded and looked at her wristwatch. It’s nearly 8:00 p.m. She still has a lot to explain to Revan, and she doesn’t have the time of deferring everything until another day.

“My bad, I forgot to tell you about that; should we go out for a drink?”

“All right, your call,” Revan said as they walked towards their car. When they arrived at Citrine’s favorite bar, she sat in one of the high chairs and ordered a double shot of whiskey from the bartender. Revan took the seat next to hers and looked around after ordering the same drink.

“This place seems cozy,” he commented, noting that, at this hour, it was a perfect place to have a peaceful drink while chatting with someone.

“Right, this is where I go whenever I need some time alone to think,” she said, taking the drink from the bartender, who had given them their drinks and then left them alone.

“Hmm, I wasn’t expecting you to tell me about yourself,” Revan said as he took the first sip of his drink. “Didn’t you hate me?”

“I do,” Citrine admitted, swirling her own glass in front of her face. She didn’t look at Revan, but she could tell he was watching her. “But, don’t get me wrong, I’ve already moved on; however, just because I’ve moved on doesn’t mean I’m willing to forget.”

Revan laughed and took a small sip of his drink. He was aware that was the case, but he was relieved she didn’t despise him to the point of ignoring his existence. After all, they had a lot of fun together back then.

“Well, let’s not talk about the past,” Citrine says as she sips her drink and orders another.

“All right.” Revan nodded, “Care to explain why you didn’t break off your engagement yet?”

“I haven’t confronted Gael yet, and even if I do, he’ll probably deny his affair with Trisha because I don’t have evidence,” Citrine explained. “So, what I’m planning to do is pretend that I didn’t know about their affair, and while I’m at it. I’ll gather pieces of evidence that will expose them both.”

Revan remained silent and listened to her plan unfold. Citrine, as far as he recalls, was a cunning person whose personality was unpredictable and difficult to decipher. She’s someone you don’t want to be an enemy of because she’s capable of anything when provoked. He thought she could be very useful.

“My revenge was a little excessive, but I plan to expose them during my wedding. Then you’ll show up and replace Gael as my groom.”

Revan raised an eyebrow in amusement at her plan. “This is what happens when you watch too much drama, but it wasn’t sound so bad.”

“Are you going to go along with it?”

“Well, I already agree with your schemes, so why not go all the way?” he shrugged, “But you also have to follow my demands if I need you to.”

“Of course, we can use each other to our heart’s content.” Revan grinned at her statement. He set his glass down, grabbed Citrine’s chair, and turned it to face him directly.

“W-what?” she stammered as Revan held her chin between two fingers. He didn’t respond right away but his gaze became more intense by the second as the tension between them grew thick. Citrine gulped hard, unsure how to react while trying desperately not to tremble under the intensity of his gaze.

“You shouldn’t say that easily,” Revan said before leaning into her ear and smirking, “What would you do if I said I wanted to use your body, too?”