“Mia, have you seen Gabriella?” Max asked as soon as he left the room.
“I saw her following Mr. Sebastian.” Her index finger pointed towards the room of the man she mentioned.
The CEO’s eyes spontaneously opened wide. “What are they doing?”
The secretary could only grin. “I … don’t know, Sir. I just told Mr. Sebastian about-”
Max already walked away with his brows furrowed in displeasure.
“How dare that woman accuse me of wanting to divorce her, whereas she’s with another man,” the CEO muttered with his fists tightly clenched. He didn’t notice that he breath had turned heavy.
Unlike the door to his room which was completely made of wood, there was a transparent glass box on the door of the secretary’s room. As soon as Max peeked from there, Gabriella was seen sitting opposite Sebastian who was laughing casually.
“Since when did they become friends?” Max thought before snorting.
Before he could reach the doorknob, his heart had already jumped almost leaving his body. Sebastian just moved to Gabriella’s side and held her face. The CEO could no longer see.
“God damn it! How dare she let another man touch her. Is my warning still not firm?”
Without seeing what was going on behind the door, Max left with a burning heart. He had never felt like it before. Little did he know that Gabriella had just slapped the secretary’s hand away and was standing with furrowed brows.
“Sorry, Mister. I know you want to help. But I don’t feel comfortable being too close to other people.”
The smile on Sebastian’s face suddenly faded. After a moment of silence, the corners of his lips lifted again, though not as high as before.
“Sorry. I don’t know you were the type of girl who keeps her distance. Because all this time, you seem close to Max. I think we can get along that well too.”
“I’m not an easy woman,” Gabriella said with a slightly downcast face. There was a little guilt for having to be firm with a man who had been nice to her.
“Yes, I know. Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean closeness in a negative sense, but close as friends.”
The woman bit her lip and furrowed her brows. After thinking once again, she realized that her reaction was a bit exaggerated. Sebastian just wanted to help her treat the wound. No other intention.
“Please sit down. Don’t make me feel guilty. And, stop using formal language. I’m trying to be friends with you.”
After a moment of hesitation, Gabriella finally sat down. Her position was a little further from the secretary than before.
“This … treat your wound. Don’t get infected.” Sebastian handed her a cotton swab soaked in antiseptic solution.
With an awkward motion, the woman accepted the help. “Thank you.”
The secretary replied with a faint smile.
“Do you know? I didn’t like your presence before.”
Gabriella’s muffled moan was suddenly devoured by tension. “Why?”
“Because I feel you snatched Max’s attention away from Quebracha. But, who would have thought, you actually came up with a very brilliant idea. From then on, I started to like you.”
The woman’s blink slowly melted away the stiffness. “You like me?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes. More precisely, admire you. I think the board of directors do too. How did you come up with such an idea?”
Tension immediately filled the cells in Gabriella’s body again.
“The idea just came to me when Max showed me mockups of small houses. If the dwelling is stacked into a building, there is not much land that needs to be evicted,” she answered stiffly.
Miraculously, Sebastian nodded. “So, you don’t want other people to feel your sadness.”
The arch of Gabriella’s lips stretched out once again. While suppressing anxiety, she put cotton on the wound to avoid the secretary’s gaze.
“It must be difficult for you to cooperate with Max. That guy is too perfectionist when it comes to design.”
The woman immediately smiled. With a fleeting glance, she expressed the difficulties that had been hidden for so long.
“If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact me. Including if Max gives you a tough task. Understand?”
Gabriella’s heart felt lighter. “Thank you,” she said regretfully. Why is the husband not as good as his secretary?
“So, how far has the building design progressed? Is it almost done? Max said it still needs to be refined.”
In an instant, the woman’s comfort faded. Sebastian had chosen the wrong topic.
After waiting for a moment, Gabriella never found an answer that was considered safe. Feeling threatened, she decided to stand up and hold the cotton in her hand.
“Sorry, I have to go back soon. Mister CEO will be angry if I don’t finish my task today.”
Sebastian’s high arched brows clearly expressed disappointment. “Too bad. I still want to talk to you though.”
After standing up and opening the door, then the warmth greeted again. “I hope we can relax in the next conversation.”
Gabriella just nodded slightly and gave a small smile. A second later, without wasting any time, she hurried away from the secretary.
“Tsk, my lie is almost exposed. I must be more careful and should not be carried away by his attention,” thought the woman who had forgotten the wound on the eyebrow.
As soon as she entered the CEO’s room, Gabriella’s steps immediately stopped. Cherry looked so happy leaning on Max’s shoulder. The two of them didn’t look like they were discussing business.
“It’s true. They really are that close,” Gabriella thought, commenting on the excitement that just faded when Cherry’s eyes fell on her.
“You still dare to come in here?” The beautiful woman’s neck straightened, while her chin lifted arrogantly.
“Sorry. But, I have to continue my work,” Gabriella answered with her head down. Without waiting for an answer, she sped toward her table, making the lady’s blood boil.
“Look, Max! Your maid is very arrogant. She didn’t feel guilty at all for hurting me. You should consider extending her contract. If you can, terminate it.”
The CEO’s jaw suddenly hardened. With a burning heart, he looked at the back of his wife who seemed cold.
“You are right. I’ll have to consider it,” Max muttered before rising to his feet. “How about we continue somewhere else? I don’t want anyone to eavesdrop on our conversation.”
The corners of Cherry’s lips lifted in satisfaction. “Of course.”
With a graceful motion, she took the bag and took the man’s arm.
When they were about to reach the door, Max’s steps suddenly stopped. After waving his index finger for a moment, he turned towards his wife.
“Make sure your job is done before I get back, and don’t try to get out of here or you’ll regret it.”
Gabriella could only look down and shut her mouth tightly. The air in her lungs felt very dry, as if it could hurt the throat.
After hearing the sound of the door closing, the woman immediately took a deep breath, trying to cool her heart. As much as possible, she held back the emotions that pooled tears.
“Why do I feel sad? Isn’t it obvious that he prefers Cherry?”
With a light tap on the chest, Gabriella calmed the strange throbbing in her heart. “Come on, Gaby. You have to prove yourself strong.”
After nodding confidently, she grabbed the marker and started tracing the pattern. No matter how bad the tremor was, the woman continued to do her job.
“I have to finish quickly in order to be free from this suffocating space.”
***
The hands of the clock had turned for the umpteenth time, but Gabriella was still at work.
“Ah, why is the result even worse?” the woman grumbled as she stretched her fingers. His hands were shaking faster than the flutter of a bird’s wings.
“Do I need to rest?” she thought, glancing at the timepiece.
After blinking a few times, the woman knew the exact direction of the clock.
“No wonder I’m hungry and dizzy. Lunch time is far past.”
Gabriella’s hands began to massage her temples. However, the spinning in her brain did not subside.
“Should I just go out looking for food?” she muttered quietly.
After one long breath, the woman shook her head and straightened the marker again. Max’s annoyed face just crossed her mind.
“He forbade me to get out of here. I can’t take the risk,” she thought, forcing the focus.
While panting and occasionally wiping the cold sweat off her forehead, Gabriella tried to control the direction of the marker. However, instead of following the line, the marker slipped off and landed on the floor.
Witnessing the evidence of her own incompetence, the woman could only stare at the marker with a maximum frown on her brow.
“Why can’t you cooperate?” she complained before bending down and reaching.
Suddenly, the light disappeared from sight. The ringing in her ears grew louder before suddenly being gone.
Two seconds later, instead of lifting the marker, Gabriella gave in to gravity and hit the floor.
After that brief commotion, no more sound was heard. The woman had fallen asleep with pale lips and growing beads of sweat on her forehead.