“Maxime, please. Just this once, give me ten minutes to talk to her. Besides, it’s not like Alexander came here with Casandra. I’m sure he’s here with his mom or his friends, enjoying the water park. There’s no harm in him greeting his employer himself.”
“Yes, but…”
“Please, just this once. Consider my wish, and show some respect for everything I’ve done. It’s not that difficult to fulfill this one request, especially when you forbid me from talking to Alexander too much. This is Casandra, not Alexander.” Cesilia emphasized once again, and Zayn finally allowed her to go.
“Ten minutes, no more than that. If not, you’ll see the consequences.”
“Fine.” Cesilia walked away, quickly catching up to Casandra, who was quite far ahead. “Who did you come here with? Mama?” Cesilia asked quickly because she only had ten minutes.
“With Sir. He’s waiting for Madam in the parking lot. Let’s go, he said he has some questions to ask Madam.” Casandra immediately took Cesilia’s hand and led her towards the parking lot.
Though Cesilia hadn’t said yes or no, she willingly followed Casandra’s lead.
“Whose car is this?” Cesilia raised an eyebrow.
“Dr. Frans’s car.” Casandra pointed to Frans, who was standing not far from the car. “But Sir Alexander is inside. Please get in.” She opened the car door and let Cesilia in before joining Frans, who was standing nearby.
“Instead of waiting for Cesilia and Alexander to finish talking, let’s not be under the sun like salted fish. It’s better if we go inside and try some rides. How about it?” Frans offered, thinking that the conversation between Alexander and Cesilia would take a very long time. Since it had been a long time since he had seen the woman he loved, he expected a lengthy conversation.
Hesitant, but still, Casandra followed Frans’s lead. After all, there was no point in standing and roasting under the sun like this. Although she was used to the sunlight from working in the fields, this was a completely different situation. Standing like a statue in the middle of the crowd would only make her feel embarrassed.
As a result, Casandra ran a bit to catch up with Frans and entered the water park. Since she didn’t bring any money, she pretended not to notice when Frans bought tickets for both of them.
“Tell me who he is!” Alexander immediately showed Cesilia the photo that had just been sent by his informant.
“He’s my new boss. Why are you suddenly questioning all this?” Cesilia felt uneasy.
“He’s the guy Robert met last night, the one who dared to kiss your forehead in a crowded place. Now tell me the extent of your relationship with him!”
Without hiding anything, Alexander bombarded Cesilia with questions. She stammered in response.
“B-but, this is not true. Robert just made up stories. I was reaching for my fallen lipstick on the floor, and accidentally my head touched Maxime’s lips when I stood up, and he wanted to help me pick up the lipstick.”
“Okay, if that’s your version of the story. Now tell me why you told Robert that he’s your cousin.”
“W-well, he misunderstood, so I had to lie to him to avoid more questions, especially since my boss was in a hurry because we were going to do the next photoshoot. Instead of saying too much, you know how talkative Robert is, but there’s no substance behind it,” Cesilia mocked Robert, even though he wasn’t there.
“Okay, I’ll accept your reasons again. Now tell me when you’re going back home. If you don’t mind, I’d like to know your photoshoot schedule, so I can know when you have time off and how many hours you work in a day. If it takes up too much of your time and you don’t rest well, it’s possible that illness will easily haunt you.”
Cesilia nervously clasped her fingers together, afraid that Alexander would find out too much about her relationship with Maxime. “I’ll send it to you through a message. So wait for it. Well, I have to go back to the filming location now.”
Almost ten minutes had passed, and Cesilia was now feeling anxious. “You’ve only talked for a few minutes, but you’re already so restless. What’s really going on?” Alexander held Cesilia’s wrist, preventing her from leaving the car.
She looked rushed and agitated, as if she were a fugitive being pursued by the police.
“I have to work. Six years should be enough for you to understand how busy my schedule is.”
“No, for six years I could still talk to my wife. Spend time with her, even if it’s just a few hours in the evening. But today, you can’t even spare time to change clothes, and I see that you’re just wearing the costume provided by the agency.”
Not wanting to be outdone, Alexander continued to hold Cesilia’s hand to prevent her from leaving the car.
“Let me go!” Cesilia jerked her hand to release Alexander’s grip. It had been more than ten minutes, which meant she had to return. She was afraid that Maxime would be angry and punish her for breaking her promise.
“I’ll let go if you give me a definite time to go back because there are many things I want to talk and ask you about. There are too many odd things happening when you work with this brand.”
“I’ll send you my schedule and arrange a meeting with you.”
“Why are you acting as if I’m your manager, and your job is to beg and sneak around just to meet your own wife? I’m the head of this household, and you should obey me!” Alexander raised his voice.
“You won’t understand because you never really know who I am.” Cesilia managed to get out of the car without heeding Alexander’s call. It didn’t matter if her husband was angry or not; she didn’t want to face Maxime’s cruel punishment tonight. It felt like he treated her roughly, and she wanted to rest tonight, truly rest, as she hadn’t experienced real sleep for the past few days.
Maxime was always bothering her with requests she couldn’t…
Alexander tried to chase after her but quickly stopped as he was not in a healthy condition. Running like this caused pain in his chest. He squeezed his chest, trying to alleviate the discomfort caused by his lungs pumping oxygen too quickly.
Alexander smiled faintly, laughing at himself because he seemed more like Cesilia’s fan than her husband. He then looked around, searching for Casandra and Frans. He didn’t know where they were now. Intent on contacting Frans, he was already annoyed after reading the message from him.
Frans said that he didn’t want to get bored waiting, so he took Casandra to the water park. He also said to send a message when Cesilia’s conversation was done.
“Where are you guys? Come out; I want to go home!” Alexander immediately scolded Frans when he answered the call.
“I can’t, Casandra and I are waiting for other visitors to ride the roller coaster. If you don’t mind, wait for us in the car; I want to take Casandra around for a while. She said she’s never been on any of the rides here. Just imagine, she’s challenging me to ride a ride I’ve never tried in my entire life. I can’t lose to this girl,” Frans glanced at Casandra, who was sitting next to him.
The girl looked excited and couldn’t wait for the roller coaster to start.
“I’ll prove to her that I’m not afraid of heights.” Rather than accepting Alexander’s order, Frans declined to return to the parking lot because Casandra was really testing his patience.
The girl was underestimating Frans, who was afraid of heights. So, he and Casandra waited for other passengers, ready to fasten their seatbelts before the roller coaster started.
“How long do I have to wait for you guys?” Alexander protested. “You better come down and cancel your childish plans. Remember your age, don’t act like a kid.”
“Don’t be like that; if you want to go home, just order a taxi. I want to play with Casandra for a while; it seems fun to take my little wife here to enjoy the rides. Frans teased a bit, luring Alexander to follow them inside.
Instead of him being asked to accompany Casandra, it’s better for Frans to entice Alexander to join so he could take over. Too many extreme rides could give him a heart attack and die young.