Casandra, still behind the bedroom door, shook her head in disbelief at Cesilia’s behavior. Cesilia acted as if Alexander didn’t understand her position, while she was the one playing with fire by being involved with another man and readily disregarding Alexander, who truly loved her.
Alexander had been patient and tried everything to wait for her for four years, just to accommodate Cesilia’s desire to pursue her career. But when the time came, Cesilia betrayed her promise and asked for another two years. Of course, Alexander was disappointed. Anyone would have felt the same and done the same in expressing their disappointment.
“I wonder what makes Sir love Madam Cesilia so much? Even though she’s already cheating on him like that. I wonder what would happen if Sir found out that Madam has another boyfriend?” Casandra scratched her head, even though it wasn’t itchy.
Upon reflection, she was tempted to tell Alexander that she saw Cesilia kissing another man last night. But Casandra didn’t want to break Alexander’s heart. That seemed like a good possibility, but what if it went the other way? Alexander might not believe her and accuse her of making it up, getting angry instead. Those were the two possibilities Casandra was afraid of right now, so she chose to remain silent and pretend not to know anything.
“Are you done?”
Casandra was startled when she heard Alexander’s baritone voice suddenly sounding close to her hearing.
“Uh, yes, Sir!” Casandra reflexively opened the bedroom door, inviting Alexander to come in.
“Haven’t even done anything yet? Weren’t you supposed to go to the bathroom? Why are you eavesdropping?” Alexander bent his body to be on the same level as Casandra’s face.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping, Sir. I mean, I accidentally heard. I wanted to ask where the soap was, but you and Madam started arguing, so I waited. When Madam finished speaking, then I was going to ask where the soap was.”
“Don’t make up excuses. You were eavesdropping, right?”
“Hehehe, yes, Sir.” Casandra closed her eyes, prepared to receive Alexander’s scolding.
“Well, since I’m too lazy to argue this time, I’ll forgive you. Hurry up, take a shower, pack up, I’ll accompany you for a walk outside.” Alexander turned around and left Casandra by the bedroom door.
“Oh, Sir.” Casandra approached Alexander. “Are you sure you want to accompany me? Why not just give me some money so I can go out on my own? So you can…”
“So I can what? Let you get drunk again? Make trouble for me again? Vomiting all night, dirtying the bed covers, and forcing me to bathe you in the middle of the night like last night. Talking nonsense, stumbling around causing a ruckus. Is that what you want?”
“Hehehe, no, Sir. I’ll take a shower first, and thank you for accompanying me.”
Whether it was an error or still under the influence of alcohol, one thing was clear: Casandra now felt lighter and more relaxed in facing Alexander. Even though she had been scared of the handsome man all this time.
***
“What are you doing? Instead of changing clothes, you’re just standing there. Are you planning to go out in a kimono and towel?” Casandra shook her head. “No, Sir. I don’t have any clothes. I can’t possibly go out wearing a spider-web-like dress, can I? You know yourself that Madam put all sorts of strange clothes in my suitcase. I can’t possibly go out wearing your shirt and pants. I’d look like a flag in the middle of a rice field.”
“That’s your clothes.” Alexander pointed to a paper bag on the bed.
“What’s that?” Casandra was afraid she had misheard.
“That’s your clothes. Didn’t I already say that?”
“I know, but…”
“Don’t talk too much. I’ll wait outside for five minutes. If you take longer than that, I’ll leave you behind!”
“That’s okay, Sir. You can leave me behind. As long as you leave the money so I can…”
“Cas, stop talking!” Alexander closed the bedroom door, leaving Casandra smiling.
She was amused by Alexander’s expression. She was truly satisfied with playing a prank on her employer. When else could she have this chance to tease Alexander, who was known to be cold and hard-hearted? It seemed like Casandra had found the formula to get closer to him. Pretending to be foolish to win his heart didn’t seem too bad after all.
“No worries!” Casandra shrugged. She grabbed the paper bag and checked what was inside. Her cheeks turned red as she saw a beautiful dress inside. It fit her perfectly, somehow Alexander knew her size and there were no issues when she wore the dress.
To enhance her beauty, Casandra used the tools Meri had given her and applied a bit of lip tint, tying her hair into a ponytail.
Then she came out of the room.
“Come on!” Without further ado, Casandra opened the door and gestured for Alexander to go ahead.
“Where are we going, Sir?”
“Just follow me, don’t ask too many questions, let alone protest.”
“Geez, you’re so harsh,” muttered Casandra as she followed Alexander’s long strides. Upon second thought, she realized that she might not be able to keep up with Alexander’s wide and fast pace.
However, there was no choice. She had to follow his lead to enter Alexander’s world.
“Let’s have breakfast outside, how about that, Sir? Over there, at that small food stall. It looks delicious.”
“Don’t you want to have breakfast at the hotel?”
“No, I prefer to find a breakfast place by the beach, Sir.”
“Wait here, I’ll find a car.”
“Wait, aren’t we taking a plane? Do you have a car?”
“No, I’ll rent one.” Alexander took out his phone from his pants pocket.
“What do we need a car for, Sir?”
“Seriously, Yas. Can you just be quiet for once? I’m looking for a car rental so that we can find the food stall you mentioned earlier. Shut your mouth, stay quiet, and just wait to see what I’m going to do.”
“No need, really!” Casandra took Alexander’s phone and put it in her shirt pocket. “Let’s just walk and enjoy the beach. It would be nice to relieve stress from work, Sir.”
“Suit yourself!” Alexander, in fact, agreed with Casandra’s suggestion, but he didn’t want to appear weak by admitting that what the girl said was right.
Alexander walked ahead, leaving Casandra behind as a form of approval.
Casandra smiled, finding it amusing to see Alexander’s shy demeanor now.
“So, this is how you conquer an Alexander. Not difficult, but quite challenging. Okay then, Darling. I will conquer you and eliminate Cesilia from Mama’s mind!” Casandra thought to herself.
Perhaps this was her final decision. She had firmly decided to accept this marriage and change everything according to her desires.
She didn’t want Alexander to continue to be played and betrayed like now by Cesilia. After all, Alexander had been kind to her, taking care of her all night and sacrificing his sleep. That was enough proof for Casandra that Alexander was a good man, but circumstances had turned him into a terrifying monster like yesterday.
This morning, Casandra had successfully convinced Alexander to take a walk with her, even though he pretended not to admit it directly. As a result, now they were walking side by side along the beach, looking for a place to have breakfast by the shore.
As they enjoyed the sea view, Casandra’s steps halted. She saw Cesilia doing a photo shoot on the beach.
“Sir, it’s Madam!” Casandra exclaimed excitedly.
“Yes, so what?” Alexander replied nonchalantly. In truth, he was just as eager as Casandra.
However, considering the brief argument he had with Cesilia earlier that morning, Alexander didn’t feel like discussing his wife right now.
“Let’s go there, Sir! I want to see how the photo shoot is done.”
“No, I’m hungry!” Alexander objected.
“Oh, come on… just five minutes. It won’t make you starve.”
Casandra wanted to go closer to Cesilia and watch how she worked. She was genuinely curious about what made Cesilia so enthusiastic and willing to push Alexander away.
But just a few steps later, Alexander warned, “Cas, one more step away from me, and I’ll go back to the hotel. Our breakfast plan will be canceled!”
Alexander’s warning made Casandra stop in her tracks.
“Sir, just five minutes, please.” Casandra continued to try to persuade Alexander. She put on a pleading expression.
“Join me or I’ll leave!”
“Fine, I’ll join!” Casandra finally gave in and returned to Alexander’s side, following his steps to find the food stall as planned before they left the hotel.