Ch. 496..500: Charmed by the Billionaire CEO Chapter 496-500
Chapter 496: Where the hell is she!
Sweat broke on her forehead and she gulped nervously as she frantically moved her eyes. ’What is he doing here?’ she thought.
Mia had been careful on her way here. Even in her frustrated state, she kept her eyes around making sure, he wasn’t around, but...
As if losing her strength to even turn and excuse herself felt difficult for her in this situation. She felt trapped but she also knew she had to answer him somehow to ease this building tension.
Taking a moment, Mia tried to ease her beating heart and finally decided to turn.
The moment their eyes met, she saw Riel smiling at her in the same way he had been doing for some time now. She could feel her palm turning cold at his twisted gaze, but she decided to remain composed.
Gabriel on the other hand smirked watching her helpless state that she was trying hard to hide. But whom she was trying to fool.
Keeping his eyes fixated on her, Gabriel then took a step ahead only to see her taking a step back. Cocking his brow in amusement, he enjoyed her contemplation.
He took another step just to tease her and she did the same. Gabriel was enjoying the fun of scaring the shit out of her and just when he was another step away from her, she quickly pushed him by his shoulder and ran from the spot.
Mia didn’t care what Gabriel would come to think of her, but she couldn’t handle his creepy ways of scaring her. So when he stepped again, she decided to do the opposite and leave the site as soon as possible.
As she ran from there Gabriel’s face changed from playfulness to serious and he turned to look in the direction she ran off to.
As if getting an affirmation, a cold glint crossed his orbs and he pulled out his phone and made Tristan a call.
"My doubt was right, it’s her" Those words were enough to let the man know what he was talking about.
As soon as he finished conveying, Gabriel ended the call and left from there with a winning smirk appearing on his face.
*****
As soon as Gabriel ended the call, Tristan’s face turned grim. His palm around his phone tightened, ready to crush them as he couldn’t digest the news, he learned.
"Boss, do you want me to bring her to you," Jack who was standing in front of him noticed the subtle change in Tristan and understood the scenario.
’So it’s confirmed. The person is none other than Mia, the former model of Dream Agency’
Tristan snapped out hearing Jack’s words, quickly declining his request. "Not yet Jack. We still haven’t found everything about her" he said.
After failing to find the rider, Jack felt dejected. He tried to use every means to find the person but failed again and again, until one day Tristan asked him to look for Mia.
Averted from his task, Jack immersed his attention on Mia instead of gathering every possible information about her, until that day when Ashley expressed her thought of seeing the same jacket as that of the rider on Jennifer’s new spot girl.
At first, she thought of brushing it off, but then something clicked in her instinct and she decided to perform this act involving Gabriel with them just to confirm their doubt.
Ashley was sure, she wasn’t mistaken, but she just wanted to be confident enough to throw an arrow as an attack on them at the right time.
Now that her assumptions were right, the culprit was finally found, but there was one thing they still had to confirm and that was whether she was somehow involved with her new boss Jennifer.
Jack stood helpless when Tristan refused to give him the command, but he didn’t try to go against his words by expressing his displeasure.
Tristan was a man who worked with facts though his instincts would be highly active, still, he needed everything under control. So when he refused him, Jack understood there was something much more behind the declination.
"But I have something for you to do," he said giving him a meaningful stare to which Jack reciprocated with a ready-to-do look.
Satisfied with his reaction, Tristan explained him everything to which Jack agreed without any second thought and excused himself from the office to follow his orders.
*****
Mia left the set without informing Jennifer. It had been an hour since she tried to reach her but as if she vanished into thin air, Jennifer was unable to connect her.
Her was unreachable and it had started to give her a headache.
"Damn... this useless piece of shit, where did she go" Jennifer snapped in anger when she again failed to reach her.
Mia wasn’t someone who would go against her word, but after returning home when she still didn’t find her, Jennifer began to panic.
Knowing how Tristan’s men were trying to find her, suddenly the thought of her getting caught crossed her mind and she started to feel dread.
"What if they caught he-" Those words slipped out from her mouth automatically but she shut her mouth before she could finish and shook her head in denial.
"No no, I am just stressing for nothing. She must have gone to her old place or something" she muttered coaxing herself from thinking the worst.
She knew Mia wasn’t stupid enough to get caught by Tristan’s men. But then, where the hell was she?
Worried for her, Jennifer was about to step out of the house when she caught the sight of Mia stepping into the house.
She seemed to be too lost to even notice her presence but that didn’t stop Jennifer from marching to her in fury.
"Where the hell were you and why is your phone unreachable" Stopping in front of her Jennifer blocked her way, demanding an explanation.
Mia baffled by Jennifer’s outburst, frowned. She was still upset with the way she talked to her back then and even now she was doing the same.
"Why do you want to know?" maintaining a straight face, Mia snapped back.
Chapter 497: Won’t punish them
Jenifer’s face crumpled at her audacity of speaking rudely with her and in the heat of the moment she raised her hand, ready to slap her for her arrogance, but before her hand could reach her face, Mia blocked it.
"Are you out of your mind" Mia surprised by her sudden action, stared at Jennifer in disbelief. It took her a second to gather her thoughts before returning to her usual self and she jerked her hand away.
Jennifer stumbled on her feet but the rage in her eyes didn’t stop. She wanted to tame this rude woman who suddenly dared to speak against her. But instead of being scared of her, Mia looked more furious than her.
"You-" she was about to burst but Mia quickly stepped forward as if cornering her and she lost her voice the next moment.
"Listen, Jennifer, just because you are my boss that doesn’t mean you can treat me like trash. Just to let you know, if you try to do anything to me, then I will expose all your wrongdoings in the media and that includes everything" Mia confidently overshadowed her making her eyes go wide at the warning.
Jennifer felt her blood run dry at the sight of her terrifying eyes and instead of trying to fight back, she instantly took a step behind.
Mia smirked at her mouse-like movement and walked past her, heading straight to her room, while Jennifer remained rooted to her ground with her face turning ugly at her defeat.
While the atmosphere inside the house was tense, a person standing outside smiled in victory before making a call to his boss.
*****
Inside the moving car, Tristan ended the call from Jack and shoved his phone back into his suit pocket. Leaning his head on the headrest, Tristan closed his eyes only to open them the next second.
The calmness within his blue orbs was the sigh of storm lurking around. Both Jennifer and Mia had joined hands to destroy Ashley’s career, but they forgot no matter what they did, he was there to protect his wife.
They took their silence as their win, but now, he had to show them their real place.
With this persistent thought in his mind, Tristan soon reached the Knight Mansion. Making his way to his room, the first thing he did was to call Jennifer’s agency.
"Mr. Carlsen. It’s Tristan here. I hope I am not disturbing you at this hour" he sounded as calm as ever but there was a tinge of awareness in his tone which the person on the other end couldn’t resist.
By the time he finished, Tristan’s expression remained the same., until the door clicked open and Ashley entered.
As soon as their eyes met, she smiled vividly at him and said," I hear Gavin agreed to go on a blind date" The sight of her happy face washed all the dread in his heart and he nodded his head while approaching her.
Engulfing her into his embrace he heard her further say," Mom is very happy"
Ashley was aware of Grace being persistent in setting Gavin with girls. She knew he wasn’t someone who would flirt with any girl but deep down she wanted him to have someone whom he would spend his life with.
"I am sure she is, after all, it’s me who convinced him" Tristan proudly flaunted his achievement, making his wife chuckle.
Tristan was her happy pill. Just being with him, listening to him washed away all her tiredness.
"I just hope whatever mom is planning for him turns out to be fruitful" Ashley expressed.
Spending a few more minutes in each other’s embrace, Ashley then headed to get freshen-up, up while Tristan waited for her outside.
He had yet to break the news about Mia and Jennifer to her. Once she was out, Ashley watched Tristan staring at her without any break. As if understanding the meaning behind his stare, she tossed the towel aside and joined him on the bed with her bathrobe on.
"What is it?" she said turning her attention entirely on him. She understood there was something he wanted to tell, so instead of beating around the bush, she asked him straight away.
Tristan took a moment to analyze her before disclosing the truth. With every word that left his lips, Tristan started sensing the coldness around Ashley. Those blank eyes stared at him while she silently listened to him.
Tristan knew Ashley was just waiting for a confirmation and now that she got what she wanted, he wondered what was her next step. Though mentally he had already schemed about their downfall, but at the same time he also wanted to know what she had in her mind.
A few minutes passed and Ashley remained quiet. She wasn’t surprised at all, but she never thought Mia, someone she had long forgotten would come into the picture somehow, and that too with Jennifer.
As she finally grasped the revelation, Ashley’s lips perked into a humorless smile soon turning into a peal of laughter that even took Tristan off guard.
Staring at her with utter shock, Tristan tried to access the meaning behind her smile.
"Ah.. this Jennifer, I shouldn’t have underestimated her" she spoke shaking her head in disbelief. Though she had stopped laughing, her lips were still stretching wide.
Soon, even that fake smile vanished and her face turned grim. "And Mia... hasn’t she already learned from her previous mistake. Does she still want to repeat it" she asked mostly to herself.
Tristan silently watched her talk to herself until she returned to normal. With his eyes still fixed on her, he asked," What do you plan to do with them now"
His words caught her attention to which she simply shrugged.
A deep line appeared between his brows as his expression changed from soft to serious. "Aren’t you going to punish them?" he asked as he tried seeing through her calmness.
"Why do you want me to punish them, when their fake stories didn’t affect us or our career anyhow" she stated.
Tristan wasn’t expecting this answer from her, but whatever she said did make sense. Though they tried to defame her by posting absurd news about her life, she had gracefully managed to come out from it with her head held high.
The frown on his face slowly dissipated only to return as he raised his thoughts," But still, don’t you feel they need to be taken care of? What if they are planning something big now"
This time it was Ashley’s turn to frown. She might have thought of letting this matter slide but what if Tristan’s words turned out to be true and what if their silence is just a signal of something huge.
Tristan knew that he had hit the right spot and the change on her face was the evidence.
Unknowingly, a smile pestered on his lips and his hand reached to cup her face as he softly stroked her cheek and said," Don’t worry. I have everything under control and I am sure after tomorrow they won’t bother you" his words came like a bolt to her as she stared at him in shock.
Ashley might not say, but in the back of her mind, she had been expecting Tristan to do something, and look what, he had already started it.
All she could do was to watch him smile proudly.
*****
[Fortis Plus Hospital]
On Gavin’s order, Jenny had already managed to gather information about Doctor Martin today’s schedule. As soon as she got it, Jenny immediately forwarded it to him.
Sitting inside her cabin, she waited for Gavin’s reply and soon her phone buzzed.
[Thank you so much for the help once again~ smiley emoji] he texted and unknowingly a smile crept on her lips.
Ever since she rushed out of the coffee shop, getting flustered by the sudden closeness, Jenny tried to brush off those fleeting feelings. She kept telling herself that she was just Gavin to find Bianca and nothing else. But every time she was alone or deprived of any work, she would keep thinking about the same incident.
Jenny soon realized that she was again getting distracted by those emotions, so she quickly discarded the smile on her face and switched the screen off, keeping her phone aside on the table.
"You can’t let those emotions sway you" She repeated those same words from earlier losing the count of how many times she scolded herself, saying the same.
Closing her eyes she tried to clear her head when her phone began to ring this time. Jerking on her seat, she snapped her head towards her phone and frowned.
She would have ignored entertaining anyone, but this particular call was from someone she couldn’t ignore.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and answered the call. "Hello mother," she said switching her mood from grumpy to kind one.
Jenny loved her family, but she also knew her mother wasn’t someone who would disturb her during her working hours. So when she saw her name flashing on the mobile screen, she fell silent for a moment wondering what was this time she was going to say.
Chapter 498: Blind date
Claudie, Jenny’s mother frowned hearing her dull greetings, but in the back of her mind, she already knew the reason. So instead of expressing her displeasure, she continued being polite.
"Jenny, how are you, my dear daughter" Claudie asked.
Jenny rolled her eyes at her mother’s politeness. Someone who had just talked with her in the morning happened to ask about her well-being, again.
"Mom, haven’t you asked me the same question this morning? Why is that you are repeating those same words" she asked right away, silencing Claudie instantly.
"I-I just felt the need to ask you how are you doing by the way" Claudie knew she messed it up already but to keep this conversation going in a good way, she had to keep with her act.
Jenny couldn’t take her mother’s lies anymore so she directly asked," Is there anything you want to talk Mom"
Claudie realized there was no way, she could continue playing dumb when her der daughter had already gotten her intentions.
Taking a moment Claudie began to speak and before she could complete her sentence, Jenny bluntly declined. "I won’t. There is no way I would go on that blind date"
"But why? How long are you going to be like this Jen? Is this because of that boy... then let me tell you, Jenny Han, he is never going to return" she yelped making the girl on the call freeze.
Claudie harsh words hit right into her heart and her eyes began to tear up.
"So let go of your stubbornness Jenny, because I am not going to listen to you this time. You have already taken a lot of time. It’s time for you to settle now" With that Claudie ended the call leaving Jenny disheartened as a tear rolled down her eyes.
She didn’t want to recall those memories and let her mother’s words break her, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t forget it. They were vividly present in her mind and the more she thought about it, the more she cried.
Jenny had tried forgetting the past and the reason why she was against getting married was because those memories still kept haunting her, turning her cold. She knew she had long closed her heart, stopping herself from feeling any emotions, but how long was she supposed to do that?
Her parents tried their best to get her out of that phase, supported her in every way, agreeing to her and giving her the time she needed to heal, but even after all these years she still couldn’t find herself to fall in love again.
As if that emotion too disappeared along with him only leaving behind a cold heart.
It took her some time to calm herself but once she was back to being indifferent, she picked up the phone, wrote a text, and pressed the send button leaving a message on her mother’s number.
[ Fine, I agree but there’s one condition. If I don’t find the man up to the mark, I will leave the next second] Those were the words she wrote in the text to which she got a reply.
[Deal] Soon after she received the text, her mother forwarded her another text mentioning the location along with the time and day.
Heaving out a sigh, Jenny closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair with her eyes staring emptily at the wall ahead.
This time her mother was persistent in making her attend the blind date. But what made her curious was the guy whom she was going to meet. Never once this thought cross her mind, but now that it did, she wondered who is the guy whom she was going to reject, anyway.
With that thought firmly fixed in her mind, Jenny got up from the chair and left the cabin ready for a round-up.
****
Meanwhile, Grace was happy that Gavin finally agreed to the set-up. All thanks to her elder son who managed to put some brain in his stupid head.
"Honey, I am getting old," she asked Trevor looking through her dressing table mirror.
Trevor had been busy reviewing some documents on which Tristan wanted his signature, raised his head and shook his head in ’No’
Satisfied with his response, Grace resumed to do what had been busy doing.
"I just hope, Gavin happens to like the girl. She is everything he could ever wish for but there is a problem," she paused and turned to look at Trevor who by now had finished signing the document.
"What if the girl doesn’t like him? After all, he isn’t good with words, and what if his blabbering mouth scares her and she ends up rejecting him first" Grace expressed her fear.
Trevor who had been quiet the entire time, partly agreed to her but the other half, he chose to decline.
Gavin might be an inexperienced person in this field but he knew his young son was considerate and wise enough to know the situation. So he was confident that even if he got rejected it wouldn’t be because of his blabbering mouth of indecency.
But if he still gets rejected as Grace said, then it must be because of the girl he would be meeting.
Trevor knew the girl with whom Gavin was going to meet wasn’t someone who would fall for his looks or background. But instead of stopping Grace, he thought to give it a try and see where this blind date goes and how his son manages to attract her.
As he thought about the future a subtle smile curved on his lips. With his eyes looking back at his wife, he softly assured her, "Don’t worry, everything going to be fine. I am sure Gavin won’t disappoint us" his words held a hidden meaning which Grace failed to see. Nor did he try to explain, but he simply kept smiling at her, until she relaxed.
"I hope so" those were her only words as she tried to eliminate all the negative thoughts and decided to believe in Trevor’s words.
Chapter 499: Something different
Morning came and Riel got ready to leave for the shoot, but on his way through the corridor, his eyes fell on Janet, the maid he assigned for Bianca. Halting his steps, Riel watched her stand outside Bianca’s room with the trolley of breakfast all depressed.
’What’s wrong’ he frowned, making his way towards her.
The moment he reached outside Bianca’s room a voice roared from inside leaving both of them glancing at each other in shock.
"I SAID... I AM NOT HUNGRY"
"..."
Gabriel didn’t say a word, but he understood the reason why Bianca was refusing to eat.
Last night Janet informed him about Bianca’s refusal to eat dinner. She tried convincing her but still, she declined to have anything.
At first, he thought to confront her but then dropped the idea and headed straight to his room, instead. He knew the reason behind her disappointment, but he couldn’t help it.
Gabriel just wanted to be safe, but if Bianca refused to listen to him, he had no other choice but to warn her.
Glaring at the door with a complex expression on his face, he ordered Janet to leave.
With a calm demeanor, he then turned around and knocked on the door diligently.
"Doctor Bianca, it’s me" he called before taking a step back, patiently waiting for her response.
Gabriel never liked invading anyone’s privacy, but since Bianca was his responsibility, he had to make sure she was been taken good care of.
With that thought, he kept staring at the door and watching it slowly getting opened.
A subtle smile curved on his lips when Bianca came into his view. Her eyes threw a dagger at him but he gently dodged her glares aside and asked," Why aren’t you eating your meals?"
Bianca frowned at his least bothered expression, but then she noticed the small curve on his lips, erasing the crease between her brows
’D-did he just smile’ she thought suddenly getting butterflies in her stomach when she realized he was smiling at her.
Bianca snapped out of her thoughts and looked at herself. She thought her unkempt appearance might have made him laugh at her, but when she realized she wasn’t looking that bad, her head snapped in his direction.
Blinking her eyes a few times, she tried to clear her head and once she was composed she answered," I said I am not hungry" her voice firm and determined as she stared right into his face.
Gabriel’s smile dropped at her words and he resumed being back to cold and indifferent.
Fixing their gaze, he crossed his hand over his chest and asked," And why is that so? I heard you skipped the dinner too. Are you on a diet or are you being stubborn about my objection" he sounded like an old man, scolding her over the food.
Bianca stilled for a moment, watching him scold her but then she remembered how rudely he declined her request, assuming that she would disclose his truth.
"I don’t need any reason for that and please, if you are here to scold me then let me tell you I won’t die starving" she spat without holding back her anger.
Gabriel was stunned at her outburst but took all her words gladly. He knew she was upset because of him but he never wanted her to starve, and vent all the anger on herself.
Letting out a sigh, he tried to ease himself and then the moment he looked back at her, he saw tears welling in her eyes. She seemed as if she was ready to cry but was holding them back because she didn’t want to appear weak.
The guilt inside his heart widened when a lone tear rolled down her eyes and she quickly blinked the rest off.
Ashamed, Bianca tried to look elsewhere as she could handle his intently stare, which only made her fall weak.
"Please excuse me," she said trying to escape him but before she could turn around Gabriel invaded the space between them and cupped her face, startling her by his action.
Her eyes snapped at him in surprise as she kept staring right into his eyes. Don’t know why but she felt a sense of guilt crossing through his orbs that left her speechless.
Her tears once again began to stream from her eyes and the next moment she felt him gently wipe it off.
"Don’t cry" He said and she felt like drowning into that tender touch.
Bianca closed her eyes, feeling the sensational of his hand touching her face with utmost care and the way he said her to stop crying, somehow soothe her down.
Never in his life Gabriel had felt the need to coax someone, not even when he was with Sandra or when he got attracted to Ashley, but with Bianca, everything seemed so different.
He knew he was the reason behind her tears, but he also couldn’t see her cry.
Why is that he felt so connected to her that even her tears started to bother him.
’What’s wrong with me’ he asked himself without looking away.
As if Gabriel was silently asking her, begging her to answer him back but those words never left his mouth. All he did was to look into her teary eyes and drown himself into the pool of feelings.
Bianca found it hard to maintain his gaze. Don’t know why but the way he looked at her made her churn into a pit of happiness. She couldn’t describe the feeling she was going through, but somehow his words did affect her and she slowly found herself calming down.
She had finally stopped crying but her eyes didn’t left him.
He was the very first man who made her feel this way. Her heart that never pounded for anyone was beating inside her chest, extremely fast.
" Are you feeling better " Gabriel suddenly asked.
Bianca who was enjoying the sight of his beautiful face, snapped out of the trance and frown, confusingly.
’ What is he trying to say’
Gabriel who finally realized she had stopped crying, he couldn’t help but keep cupping her face. He knew it wasn’t right of him to get closer to someone who be barely knew, but Bianca, she felt different.
When she didn’t answer back, he frown, glaring at her with an unexplainable feeling.
Her lack of response made him confused, leaving him wonder of she was still upset with him.
Bianca noticed the subtle change in his expression and quickly took a step back.
"I... I am fine" She said. Her breathing quickened at the intensity between them.
She didn’t wanted to get swayed but Riel, he was confusing her.
Unable to see right into his face, Bianca wiped of her lios, nervously as she suddenly felt a heat rushing through her body.
Gabriel stilled with his hand still hanging in the air while his eyes kept looking at her strange behavior.
As of strucked by lightening, Gabriel soon realized what he has done and why was she behaving like this. ’Damn you... Gabriel’ he cursed mentally and quickly retreated his hand back shoving it right into his pocket and cleared his throat.
"Ahem... That.. Just.. I " Ashamed of what he had done earlier, Gabriel immediately took a step back and pointed at the good trolley.
"The breakfast, you can’t miss it if... If you don’t want me to object talking with your father" His words took Bianca by surprise as she snapped her head in his direction, all wide and round.
"What! What did you say? " She asked, assuming of she misheard something wrong.
Gabriel felt his face burn at the sight of cute, innocent looking face and he heart race like a speeding car.
Looking away, he answer, " You heard me right. Don’t skip any meal if you want me to permit talking with your father" The moment he finished those words, Gabriel turned around and left corridor, almost running on his feet.
"Did he already have gave me the permission" Bianca who was still processing, look put of the room, but found Gabriel gone.
Confused, her head then turned toward the food trolley and with a cheeky smile, she dragged it inside the room, closing the door shut.
Following Gabriel words Bianca had her breakfast in the room when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in" Hearing her order, Janet walked inside and stood next to her bed. The lady still seem to be quite scared because of the way she screamed earlier but watching her finish her food gave her a breath of relief.
"Doctor" She said passing her cellphone that Gabriel ask her to give her before leaving.
Blinking her eyes in disbelief, Biance took the phone hesitatingly from her hand and watched her smile.
Janet did waited a second after that and carried the empty food trolley out from the room, leaving the girl alone.
Bianca felt Gabriel was just messing with her, but whatever he said, he truly meant it.
Happy by his thoughtfulness, Bianca quickly called her father.
The moment he answered the call, Austin’s worried voice roared from the other end.
"Bianca.... Where are you? "
Chapter 500: Sincerity
Jennifer marched out from her agency building with a sullen face. Mr. Carlson, the head of the True Artist Agency summoned her this morning and warned her to keep a distance from all her fellow co-stars, especially Ashley, whom she supposed to have some kind of resentment.
Jennifer couldn’t believe she would get lectured by her boss. She learned that someone from the team complained about her misbehavior with Ashley, but she wasn’t a fool to never understand who that someone was.
Sprinting towards her car, she breathed heavenly, trying to calm her anger. "Ah..." slamming her palm on the window, she flared with burning rage in her eyes and cursed, "You dare to pick a fight with me, Ashley"
Jennifer’s manager flinched at the sight of her maniac state and remained tongue-tied. She wanted Mia to be here with her because she feared getting targeted by her boss if she happened to utter a word.
But Mia was nowhere to be found. She was not even picking up her calls. ’Where are you Mia..’ the lady cried silently eyeing Jennifer from a distance.
Dropping her head down, Jennifer tried to calm herself down, and when she somehow found some breather, she turned around and hopped into her car.
"Let’s go" she ordered before shutting the door, startling the poor girl to quickly walk on her feet, following her silently.
*****
"Good to hear that. I hope from today onwards your artist won’t cause any trouble for my wife" Tristan answered on the call before hanging it up and turned to his side.
Lying on the bed, Ashley stared at her husband and asked," Are you happy now that you have gotten rid of Jennifer" Her eyes moved all over his face as she watched him join her back to bed.
"No, not yet," he said making her frown.
"Why, do you still doubt her" she asked propping her head on the palm as she turned to face him.
Tristan let out a deep breath and bobbed his head in agreement. " You think warning her is enough when she dares to sabotage your image that too using Mia." his words confused her.
"Have you still not understood?" he asked.
When Ashley didn’t answer he reached his hand out and pulled her closer to him, making her head rest on his chest, and said," They both have been offended by you in the past. With Mia, it cost her, her career but Jennifer, she considers you a threat who would take over her position soon and to stop that, she is using all means to get you down"
Tristan’s words slowly seep into her mind and her eyes widen in bewilderment. Ashley might never consider her intention, because they were all lame but what if behind this long silence, she is planning something big?
"You are right, how could I ignore how much they both hate me, more than Jane" she stated and watched him nod in response.
"And I am sure after today, she would try to do something. All we have to do is take advantage of the situation" Tristan said meaningfully, looking down at Ashley.
Curling her lips upward, she smiled and soon leaned forward to kiss him. It was a kiss of affirmation that she would do as he wished. She would never doubt his intentions towards her even if they are twisted at times and she found them humbling.
Pulling back, Tristan rubbed the tip of their nose and said," I won’t let anyone harm you Ash" he promised, slowly opening his eyes.
Those blue orbs shone with determination, conveying his deep determination for her.
"I know" came her response and they once again sealed their lips.
It was slow in the beginning but soon things got heated between the two with Tristan hovering over her with a swift turn.
Pulling away, he breathlessly asked," A quickie," he asked and watched her give him a nod.
With a sluggish smile curling over his lips, Tristan dives right into her mouth, sliding his tongue deep, hungrily.
*****
[Gabriel’s House]
Bianca sighed in relief after she managed to convince her father that she was fine and had been working day and night for the past week. But little did she know, her father was aware that his daughter had been missing from work for days.
"I hope he doesn’t come to check on me as he said earlier" Bianca lamented recalling her father’s words from before.
When he reasoned with her about her absence, she did lie to him, but the words he threw next made her fumble on her answer.
"Then let me come to meet you"
Those words from him left her worried but she quickly gathered her thoughts and politely declined him. To make sure he wouldn’t doubt her, she even sent him a photo of the room she was staying in, making sure that proof was enough.
"It seems he is finally convinced" she assured herself after Austin didn’t question her further.
Now that she had finally talked with her father, Bianca felt at ease. But then suddenly Riel’s face popped into her mind and she mumbled, " Should I treat him for his kindness" This thought suddenly popped into her.
It had been four days since he recused her from that abandoned road and also extended his support. In return for his kindness, treating him was the only thing she could do for now but...She paused realizing she didn’t have her wallet with her and all her wish flew out from the window.
The light on her face dimmed but soon another thought popped into her mind and she squealed excitedly.
"How about I cook for him instead" she chirped enthusiastically.
Bianca had never cooked in her entire life, but for Gabriel, she was ready to do anything. She just wanted to show him her sincerity.
"Sigh.. you can do it" she encouraged herself. Cutting vegetables was just like surgery where she had to precisely chop the ingredients and cook them.
"Yes, you can do it" With one last encouragement, Bianca walked out of her room.
*****
After an entire day shoot, Gabriel drove back home. After checking up on Bianca in the morning though Janet, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Gabriel regretted raising his voice on her the other day, but whatever happened between them today, he started doubting himself. His always calculative and focused thoughts started to sway because of her tears.
It was something he never experience within himself for a long time. His life was never simple and after Sandra faked her death, he ended up bottling all his emotions throwing them away. All he wanted was a revenge but now that his life was returning to normal, all those bottle up emotions were popping out of nowhere.
He was unbelievable, but deep down he finally felt alive.
Gabriel found it unusual, but Bianca managed to stir those emotion in him. He had long given up on love, because they never found it’s way to him. He was satisfied on living a life alone, but something inside him stopped him from thinking so...
"Was it because it’s been so long that I opened to someone or it’s just a sympathy I have for that girl" those words he had been asking himself since last night, but wasn’t able to decide.
"No, it can only be sympathy" he said shaking all those fleeting thoughts that have been occupying his mind, concluding a firm decision.
Stopping his car in front of the house, Gabriel then walked inside. He was supposed to be heading straight to him room but his stepped halted when he hear a loud voice of vessel falling and his legs moved towards the kitchen on it’s own.
Gabriel never intended to check on his servants because they were perfect with whatever they do, but tonight, something seemed off.
As soon as he reached the kitchen area, he noticed a few maid standing outside the door frame and along with them was the chief of the house.
The moment they saw Gabriel, their head instantly hung low as of they were regretted their actions and were ready to get scold by him.
"What’s happening here?" ignoring all their fearful faces, he asked moving his eyes around before turning his head towards the door.
Janet who stood among the other servants, decided to speak when...
THUD!
Both Gabriel and Janet rushed towards the kitchen followed by other, but it was their boss who barged in terror.
The moment he entered inside his steps stopped midway and his eyes widen in shock watching Bianca cook inside the kitchen.
The entire area was messed, with everything scattered around.
"Doctor, what are you doing here?" he asked staring at the women who kneeled down on the floor in defeat, looking at the art she created.
Gabriel understood what was she trying to do, but what confused him was why.. why would she step inside when she didn’t know how to cook.