As soon as she opened her eyes, Cherry immediately groaned and held her heavy head. The smell of alcohol wafted from her breath made a frown. However, as soon as her brain checked memory, the woman’s eyes opened wide.
“Does my plan work? He doesn’t know my lie, does he?”
A second later, Cherry looked around. The corners of her lips pulled up when she found her bare body under the blanket.
“Apparently, my plan works,” she muttered before giggling coquettishly.
“But, where’s Max? And, why is this room so dark?” the lady thought as she watched the thick curtain that blocked the sunlight.
Suddenly, there was a sound of the door opening. In a flash, the woman who was still lying down, took off the blanket and put on a seductive pose.
“That must be Max. Let’s see what he will do to me,” the impostor thought behind her tightly closed eyes. She had absolutely no idea that the person was not the man she wanted.
“Cherry’s still sleeping? No wonder she didn’t pick up the phone,” Gabriella muttered while closing the door in slow motion. After that, she walked silently and put her clothes on the corner of the bed.
“I hope she doesn’t mind wearing my dress,” the woman thought before starting to tidy up her husband’s belongings.
Meanwhile, the waiting lady started to furrow her brows. “What’s he doing? Why does he touch the suitcase instead of me?”
Even so, the lady remained silent, expecting attention that never came.
After a while, Gabriella finished packing. Holding the suitcase in her hand, she stood looking at Cherry and sighed in pity.
“What kind of man would reject a girl like this? Is he stupid or brainless?”
A second later, Gabriella approached the lady. Carefully, she pulled the blanket to cover the exposed body.
Right at that moment, Cherry raised her eyelids. As soon as she saw Gabriella, her hand reflexively slapped the woman’s cheek.
“How dare you touch me!” Without feeling guilty, she showed anger.
“It’s not like that. I just want to keep you warm,” Gabriella explained while covering her red cheek.
Listening to the honest explanation, Cherry’s annoyance slightly softened. “Why do you come here? Is it Max’s order?”
Gabriella immediately pointed at the dress she brought. “I come to deliver clothes as well as to take Mr. CEO’s stuff,” the woman explained after swallowing the anger.
In an instant, the beautiful lady’s expression was shrouded in astonishment. “Why doesn’t he do it by himself?”
“Because Mr. Max doesn’t want to stir up rumors. He also said that he didn’t want to see you naked,” Gabriella answered through the doubts. She couldn’t possibly make up excuses that could lead to misunderstanding.
Knowing the truth, Cherry’s eyes suddenly widened. “Wait a minute. Didn’t Max and I spend last night together? Why does he hesitate to see me this morning?”
The CEO’s wife blinked instantly. “Nothing happened between you, Miss. After bringing you here, Mr. Max ordered me to clean your body.”
An incredulous sigh suddenly escaped from Cherry’s mouth. “So, it’s you who took off all my clothes, not Max?”
“That’s right, Miss.”
Annoyance immediately skyrocketed to the top of the beautiful lady’s head. “What an insult,” she thought, gritting her teeth.
A second later, a sharp gaze was drawn towards Gabriella. “Then where is Max now?”
Gabriella suddenly fell silent. She couldn’t tell that the CEO was in her room. Their lies would be exposed.
“In his room. He booked another room.”
An snort was immediately heard. While getting down from bed, Cherry gave the order, “Then prepare water for me to take a bath.”
“Sorry, Miss. I have to leave right now. Mister Max is waiting for me,” Gabriella refused without thinking. They really needed to check out as soon as possible.
Not expecting that kind of response, the lady in blanket raised her brows. “Do you mind serving me? Have you forgotten that your status is just a maid?”
A lopsided smile automatically appeared on the face of the CEO’s wife. “I was wrong. This woman is no different from Amber. No wonder Max doesn’t like her. At this rate, I can’t let her bully me,” she thought before taking a deep breath and lifting her chin.
“Sorry, but you have no right to give me orders. Excuse me.”
Without wasting time, Gabriella dragged Max’s suitcase to the door. She didn’t realize that her words had provoked the wrath of the lady who was stepping towards her.
“Do you think I don’t know?” Cherry grabbed the CEO’s suitcase while keeping the blanket in front of her chest. Her face was no longer beautiful, but filled with frowns of anger. “Max must have sent you here to serve me. So, do your job now!”
Gabriella sighed in exasperation. “My duty is not to serve you, but Mister Max.”
“I don’t want to know. Right now, prepare the water for me!” Cherry’s index finger pointed to the bathroom.
Facing that bad temper, Gabriella could only take a deep breath and widen a smile. “Sorry, but Mister Max is waiting for his suitcase. You really have to do it by yourself.”
Cherry’s emotion was no longer contained. Ignoring the blankets landing on the floor, she reached for Gabriella’s hair. “I am really sick of you. It turns out, you are indeed arrogant and ignorant!”
Not wanting to lose, the woman who was previously trying to be patient, finally fought back. With all her might, she grabbed the hair of the person who attacked first.
“You have no right to oppress me!”
“How dare you! Get your dirty hands off me!” Cherry shrieked as she added strength. However, Gabriella was not an easy opponent to beat.
“I won’t stop until you stop!”
“No way!”
For a few seconds, the two women grabbed each other. Their faces were as red as fire, and their hair was no longer neat. Unfortunately, no one intended to yield. Their attacks only subsided when there was a knock on the door.
“Max?” the two women sighed in unison.
A second later, their grip loosened. As Gabriella opened the door, Cherry settled into a sitting position on the floor and began to cry.
“Max, help me! Your maid is so heartless,” she complained as the man walked through the door.
Looking at the chaos in front of him, the CEO was wide-eyed with a burning chest. “What happened?”
“Your maid attacked me simply for refusing to prepare water for me. Why do you hire such a cruel woman?” Cherry sobbed louder.
A second later, the man’s gaze turned to his wife.
“She attacked me first,” Gabriella explained before looking down and biting her lip. She was afraid that the CEO would not trust her.
Instead of letting go of anger, Max showed concern. He raised his wife’s chin and stared intently.
“Are you hurt?” the man asked as he ruffled Gabriella’s hair.
Witnessing the unexpected thing, Cherry’s fake cry suddenly stopped. “What is this? Why is Max paying attention to that girl?” she thought with tears reluctant to give in to gravity.
With the same surprise, Gabriella shook her head and replied, “I’m fine.”
“But your cheek is red,” Max said while stroking his wife’s face gently. After one breath, he pulled Gabriella’s hand to follow his steps towards Cherry.
“What have you done to my lover?”
Not only the lady, but also Gabriella gasped at the CEO’s question.
“Y-your lover?” Cherry lips trembled violently, barely able to utter a word.
“Don’t you notice? I can’t let a stranger accompany me most of the time.”
In an instant, the lady realized that her reputation was on the verge of danger. The ridiculous charade had to stop.
Pulling the blanket over her body, Cherry stood up and put on a sorry look. “I’m sorry, Max. I won’t be rude if I know that she’s your lover.”
The CEO snorted in annoyance. “At this rate, I become hesitant to continue our cooperation.”
Again, Cherry’s eyelids pulled up. With the corners of lips twitching, she tried to gain the mercy of the old friend.
“Please don’t be rash, Max. This incident has absolutely nothing to do with my professionalism,” she shook her head, hoping for understanding.
“I can’t carry on a project with person who likes to act like that.”
Suddenly, Gabriella shook her husband’s hand. “Don’t be like that, Max. Poor Cherry. Hadn’t she just been dumped by her lover? It’s possible that her mind is in a mess.”
Hearing Gabriella’s defense, the lady let out a sigh of relief. She had no choice but to accept help from the person she had hurt.
“What she said is true, Max. My mind is really messed up. Because of that, I had a hard time controlling my emotions.”
“Doesn’t that mean you could mess up my project with your uncontrollable emotions?” Max’s argument suddenly made Cherry shake her head at the speed of light.
“No, no. I promise I won’t get out of hand again.” The woman didn’t care about shame anymore. She didn’t want her reputation to fall just because of a silly mistake.
Once again, Gabriella shook the hand that gripped her finger. “Give her a chance, Max. After all, it isn’t entirely Cherry’s fault. In the first place, we don’t clear up the misunderstanding so she thinks I am your maid.”
Max was silent in contemplation. After taking a deep breath, the man made his decision. “Okay, I will still cooperate with you …, but on one condition.”
Cherry’s eyes beamed with hope. “Whatever the condition, I will definitely do it.”
In an instant, the corner of Max’s lips lifted meaningfully.