Before Sebastian could reach Mia, Julian had grabbed him by the arm.
“Don’t bother her,” the CEO said emphatically.
“Why? You know that I can hardly stand to see people as arrogant as your brother. That girl is one of them.”
A second later, Sebastian pushed Julian’s hand away and continued walking. However, the CEO again stopped in his tracks.
“I said, don’t bother her.”
Sebastian snorted in disbelief. “Are you really in a love triangle with Mia?”
“She is mine.”
An exasperated sigh suddenly escaped from Amber’s mouth. Her ears were hot at Julian’s statement.
“Are you crazy? Since when did that girl become yours? You’re already tied to me,” the lady said through a pinched vocal cord.
“Haven’t we already broken up?”
Furious with the commotion that was going on, Sebastian chuckled and jerked his arm. “I better get out of here.”
With quick steps, the man left the room. Little did he know that the CEO’s eyes were watching him, making sure that he didn’t disturb the secretary.
Realizing the direction of Julian’s attention, Amber’s chest tightened. Feeling disapproved, the lady stamped her foot then chose to go with high steps.
“This is very annoying!” Amber grumbled as she walked past the secretary’s desk. After casting a sharp gaze, the lady focused on the path to the elevator.
After the room was quiet again, the CEO lowered his head while closing the eyes. His mind was completely disorganized. Julian didn’t know how long he could endure the mess.
A moment later, Julian groaned out of annoyance. A girl who was typing a message at the outside table spontaneously gasped. Holding the cell phone, she considered.
“It looks like I need to secure myself,” Mia concluded before grabbing the taser and rushing to the toilet.
***
“It’s very chaotic here, Madam. Mister Julian is insane. Sometimes, he is silent as if he doesn’t hear anything. But another time, he screams as if something is noisy in his head. I don’t know what will happen to Quebracha if it continues like this.”
Hearing the secretary’s report, Gabriella furrowed her brows. “Is Julian like that because he is haunted by guilt?” she muttered, tilting her head while holding the phone to the ear.
“It seems so. Earlier, Mr. Julian started to get out of control when I mentioned his sincerity towards Mr. Max.”
A second later, Gabriella pursed her lips. The plan she had devised was not right on target. “That means, we don’t need to put pressure on him. He’s punished himself.”
“That’s right, Madam. Mr. Julian even denounced Sebastian as the real criminal.”
The woman’s eyes suddenly widened. “Sebastian?”
“Yes. He just came with Amber. I don’t know what their goal is, but things just get worse.”
“Then, are you okay? Being among a bunch of bad people must be very difficult for you,” Gabriella said with furrowed brows depicting pity.
“I’m all right, Madam,” the girl said, trying to hide the trembling voice. Julian’s image just appeared, shaking her courage.
Detecting the doubt in Mia’s words, the woman’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure? If you want, it’s okay to get out of that company. I don’t think you’d have any trouble applying elsewhere.”
A light sigh suddenly escaped from the secretary’s mouth. “I can’t, Madam. I owe a lot to the Evans and Quebracha. There’s no way I could just leave.”
“Tsk, you’re too loyal, Mia,” Gabriella muttered with slightly drooping shoulders.
Suddenly, the speakers on the ceiling started beeping. In a sudden, the woman’s eyes widened. She had to pay attention to the announcement.
“Do you have to get on the plane right now?” the secretary guessed.
“Yes. Sorry, Mia. I’ll call again later. Be careful in Quebracha. Always carry your taser gun. Understand?” Gabriella said, sounding like Max when he was possessive. Realizing the resemblance, the girl smiled.
“Thank you Madam. Have a safe trip.”
When the call ended, Gabriella rushed to wet her hands and came out of the toilet. But, when she took one step through the door, her eyes opened wide.
“Max? Why do you wait for me here?”
The husband curled his thin lips. “Because I don’t want to be away from you.”
With a smile, Gabriella wrapped her arms around the man’s waist. “Then let’s get on the plane. I can’t wait to see our new home.”
“You’ll like it,” Max said, stroking his wife’s shoulder. As he walked, he waited for the right pause. “So, what do you plan to do with Mia?”
“Hmm?” The woman looked up with high arched eyebrows.
“There’s no need to hide it from me. I can smell your lies from thousands of kilometers away.”
Realizing that her secret failed to be kept, Gabriella grimaced. “I just want to make Julian feel guilty for being bad to you. Therefore, I asked Mia to exaggerate your reason for handing over the documents.”
Instead of being angry, Max kissed the woman’s forehead quickly. “I know you love me, but you don’t have to do that lie, Gaby.”
“Yes, you’re right. According to Mia, Julian is punishing himself with guilt. It turns out, my plan is in vain.”
Seeing his wife’s lips pursed, the man made a faint smile. “Gaby, will you promise me two things?”
Gabriella’s eyes widened again. “Of course. What are they?”
“After arriving at a new place, let’s not talk about Quebracha anymore. I am going to start a new company.”
“Is that true? Will it rival Quebracha?” the woman replied with a bright face.
“No. The company in my head is in a different field. My focus is only on design.”
Gabriella nodded as she stopped in line. “You must really like design,” she whispered, afraid of disturbing others.
“Yeah, almost as much as I like you,” Max replied, quietly placing a peck on his wife’s ear.
Feeling that her husband had managed to overcome the sadness, a sigh of relief wafted through Gabriella’s small laugh.
“Alright, I won’t talk about your old company anymore. Then, what’s the second?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t make plans to avenge the other’s crimes. I don’t want their revenge to rise and chase us to the new place,” Max said, successfully shrinking his wife’s smile.
In just an instant, cold sweat started to roll down the back of the woman’s neck. With a flat blink, Gabriella maintained her stiff curling lips.
“Okay,” the woman replied in a strange tone. After a few seconds, she widened the awkward smile.
Knowing the strange behavior, the man automatically tilted his head. “Why? Have you already made a plan?”
Gabriella’s brows slowly began to furrow. With pursed lips, the woman nodded. “That plan … is being rolled out right now.”
An incredulous sigh escaped from Max’s mouth. “How could you be so fast? What did you plan?”
Gabriella’s eyeballs spun, considering the danger of her fad.
“Something that won’t arouse grudges,” she answered slowly and uncertainly.
“Is it a bucket of ink?” Max guessed with no less wide eyes.
A second later, the woman in his arms grimaced.
“Take it easy. The target won’t chase us all the way here,” Gabriella said while shaking her palm. “She would just scream hysterically until her vocal cords nearly broke.”