Chapter 5 The Call

It was already ten in the morning when I left the guest room and already dressed up. I didn't find Freya in the living room, so I went to the kitchen only to witness her making out with a familiar guy. He was the same one from yesterday...

"Oh, C-Cindy!" My best friend tried pushing the guy off of her as her cheeks flushed. I only raised an eyebrow, shaking my head before sitting on the other side of the table.

"Come on, Terrence! Step back!"

I put a strawberry jam over my toast bread, silently watching them. Freya smiled at me as she tried fixing her skirt, while the guy named Terrence only smirked as he sat on the chair across from me.

"I thought you'd be up later, Cindy..."

What the hell?

Her cheeks turned redder. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, do you want coffee? Juice?"

"Juice, please..." I watched her nervously move around. She even almost dropped the glass when she caught me still staring at her. My eyebrows furrowed.

My eyes turned to Terrence. He was casually eating. He only glanced up at me when he felt my gaze. His eyes were cold, eyebrows were sharp and thick as it furrowed. Just by looking at him reminded me of Ron, though Terrence had that snobbish air around him.

I wondered how he met Freya. To note, he was the only man my best friend had ever brought here. And the way she acted when I was here, as if she was hiding something, proved to me that they had a special relationship.

Oh, well. I wouldn't say anything in the meantime, I guessed.

But seriously? Freya? Special relationship with someone?

And to an alpha, huh.

"Here's your juice, Cindy," Freya settled next to Terrence. I only gave her a look that I was sure she understood.

'I need an explanation.'

***

"He's Terrence Zariente-"

"What!" I exclaimed. Freya bit her lip, eyes were still focused on the road as we drove to the nearest mall, two in the afternoon. "You mean the owner of the biggest Real Estate-"

"Yes! Let me explain first!" She sighed, while I only stared at her in disbelief. Zariente was in the same elite circle with Montero! "I met him while he's in a business trip while I had a modeling job abroad."

"In a resort?"

"Yup," she smirked. "I didn't know who he really was back then, I just grabbed the opportunity." She laughed when I frowned at her. "But when I found out, I tried to run away because who would even want to get involved with huge people like him? I wanted a normal life!"

"It's not like you'll get married."

"Shut up," she hissed at me. "Anyway, he didn't let me go. So now I got tangled up in a contract."

"You two have a contract?" My eyes widened. I couldn't believe it!

"Yes. For only thirty days, though," she shook her head as she pulled the car to the mall's parking space. "Now enough with me! We should be talking about your meeting with Dion Montero later, no?"

I only shook my head as I stepped out of the car.

"I forgot to ask Terrence if he knew that man," she added as we entered the mall. "Probably he doesn't as well. No one knows who Dion Montero really is after all."

My phone vibrated in my jacket's pocket. As Freya murmured things about Dion, my eyebrows furrowed when I saw the caller. It's Matilda.

"Why did you call?" I grabbed Freya's wrist and dragged her to the corner. She watched me with a raised eyebrow, and rolled her eyes when I mouthed my stepmother's name.

"You don't need to attend the dinner, Cindy."

My eyes narrowed. "I only follow my father's order."

"This is your father's-"

"Oh, stop fooling around." I wanted to laugh. This witch probably was planning something. "Dad calls me directly when he needs something, especially when it's as important as this. Now tell me the real reason why I shouldn't."

The silence that followed made me even more suspicious. What's with the sudden call and forbidding me to come? Maybe it had something to do with Dion Montero? Well, he was the main reason for this special dinner!

"You don't wanna get married to Mr. Montero, right?" she asked after a moment. "Then don't come. Let me handle this. I'll just talk to your father and-"

"Wait, are you concerned about me?" I almost laughed. Freya made a face in front of me, but stayed silent. "You're never concerned about me, Matilda. So I wonder what's going on?"

It was something that would certainly benefit her. What was it? Truthfully, I really didn't want to come and meet that man, but by how Matilda acted just now, my curiosity was suddenly getting the better of me.

"Just do as I say!" She suddenly yelled in frustration, making my lips part in amusement. I could imagine her face turning red in impatience. Soon, I heard her clearing her throat and breathed heavily as if calming herself. "I'm doing you a favor, Cindy. I'm saving you from the life you don't want to have."

"I don't have to thank you for sure." Freya giggled at my response... "But fine." Her giggles instantly faded at my next word, though. Her eyes widened.

"Really? I know you'll agree with me, Cindy!" Matilda's high pitched voice hurt my ear. She's really happy, huh. "Don't worry, I'll do everything to explain it to your dad! I'll make sure he won't get mad at you!"

"Yeah, whatever."

And I dropped the call, turned my phone off, and slid it back inside my pocket. Before I could say anything, Freya already voiced out her thoughts.

"Don't! Don't follow that manipulative witch, Cindy! You have to go!" She grabbed my wrist and started grabbing me to the first clothing store she had spotted. "I'll be your fairy godmother today and I'll be sure to make you gorgeous!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I chuckled.

"Come on, don't play dumb," she suddenly faced me. My grin faded when I saw how serious she was. "It's obvious that Matilda doesn't want you to meet Dion Montero. It's as if she already knew something we still don't, and she's using that to her advantage. I have a feeling she's planning to set up one of her daughters for him instead."

My eyebrows furrowed. "But it was her who was highly against of arranging Lyna in a marriage-"

"Did she even know that it was Dion Montero her daughter was supposed to be engaged with?" I blinked at Freya's question, my mind suddenly looking for a certain memory.

"I... I don't think so?" I replied with hesitation. As far as I remembered, Dad had only mentioned that he was planning to arrange Lyna in a marriage, but he never mentioned with whom. So Matilda declined. Then my father didn't push the idea on her and just jumped on me.

"If that's the case, maybe Matilda found out that it's the billionaire Montero, so now she's desperate to get the engagement back!" Freya dragged me again.

"But Freya..." I shook my head. "Did you forget? I don't want to get married at all. So it doesn't matter if Matilda wants my supposed fiance for her daughter."

She faced me again with furrowed eyebrows and obvious objection, but her shoulders dropped in defeat when she realized how serious I was.

"You're right," she sighed. "It just infuriates me how greedy that witch really is. What if you're okay to be engaged with him?" She ran her fingers through her curly hair. "It's really obvious whom her daughters get their behavior from! They both have the hobby of stealing someone else's man!"

I only forced a smile, the memory with Rey and Lindsay yesterday crossed my head. The ache was still there, of course. I was just really distracted that I thought I finally forgot everything that happened, especially the pain. But now that Freya indirectly mentioned it...

"I'm so sorry, Cindy!" She hugged me. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I'll still go."

"What?" She immediately pulled herself away from me with her wide eyes. Even if she's trying to suppress it, an evil grin started forming on her lips. "Really?"

"I'll only go because my father told me to," I flipped my hair. "And to show them that I'm not someone who will do whatever they wish."

"B-But you said-"

"Of course, I was just playing with Matilda, no!" I gave her a smirk.

"That's my girl!" Freya tapped my back a little too hard, ignoring my glare. "I can already imagine their reaction after your grand entrance!"

I hoped I wouldn't regret this decision.