Hello, CEO! Don’t Play With Me!

“Like Andrew said, you’re a chocolate fanatic,” Fania said as she pulled out one of the dining chairs. She smiled too broadly. In her hand, a bouquet of flowers that she had probably just received on the way to their appointment, was placed unceremoniously. She glanced around a little in case someone was following. But when it felt safe, he let out a long sigh.

“Andrew has a lot to say about me, apparently.” Giselle chuckled. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I ordered a few things from the menu. Do you mind?” She set down her mug of hot chocolate. While waiting for Fania to arrive, there was no harm in the company of her favorite drink.

After all … the main menu has not been brought out by the waiter.

Fania shook her head quickly. “I am indeed hungry. I don’t think finishing all your orders tonight will be a problem. I need more energy.”

Giselle still had some laughter left on her face. “Hosting an event like this is quite draining.”

“You’re right.” Fania reached for her drinking glass. She downed it until there was no water left in it. Pouring back the contents so that it could accompany her meal later. “But the end of the show was already very satisfying for me.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Shall we eat before we talk?”

“I guess so.” Giselle agreed with Fania. Not long after, all the dishes Giselle had ordered were served at this sizable table. Since the west wing was a fairly private space, Giselle was at least relaxed about the food. After all, this star hotel restaurant’s cuisine was enough to whet her appetite.

Most of the topics they talked about were about the auction and the guests. There were also political issues and Miss World activities because Fania had been a part of them. Even though she was only a guest speaker, the event was not forgotten.

“The menu you ordered, I liked almost everything. Thank you,” Fania said quietly. She wiped the corner of her lips with a tissue in case there was any spice left.

“I’m glad you like it.” Giselle smiled cheerfully. “And at least, we’ve regained our strength.”

“You’re right.” Fania laughed. “Um… where does this story begin, huh?”

Giselle knew that they were getting to the heart of the matter. She straightened her back slightly, beckoning the waiter to tidy up the plate that had no more dishes left. Replacing it with the dessert she had ordered earlier. Just like her favorite; chocolate.

“Before you tell me, is Andrew doing well?”

That was met with an inexplicable stare in response. Fania seemed at a loss for an answer, sighing softly. Slightly massaging her temples, she hesitated to answer Giselle’s question.

“I don’t know. Our communication was cut off a month and a half ago.”

Giselle looked surprised. “How come?”

“I myself didn’t expect that what I thought was a joke from Andrew, he did. he really did it until I couldn’t move.”

“Replacing her with your lover?”

Fania nodded weakly. “Do you remember the SEO show with Harvey as the main star?”

For some reason, the way Fania mentioned Harvey’s name gave the impression of dislike. There was a heavy tone as well as an eagerness to get rid of the topic but obviously, the thing to talk about started there, right?

“Yes. At that time Andrew gave us an invitation.”

“I asked him to see you. Not to say goodbye. Not at all. Rather, I wanted a moment where we were released from our suffocating shackles.” Fania looked downcast. Her shoulders were shaking slightly as if she was holding back tears.

And that drew Giselle’s sympathy. She came closer, gave a gentle touch to the shoulder of the woman she had heard so many times, and took a deep breath.

“I’m sure, back then Andrew told me a lot about us. Including that damn arranged marriage, right?”

Giselle nodded.

“At the very least, you know I didn’t want the marriage to exist. Andrew is the same way. We have our own lives, which it would be ridiculous for our parents to interfere with so deeply. If there was a good reason, I might still consider it. But this is business?” Fania clenched her hands into fists. She clenched her jaw tightly. “I can’t get over how our parents view things. It’s so conservative.”

Giselle chose to remain silent because at this moment, Fania was pouring out what was the biggest obstacle in her life. Even though she’s been through it, it’s not easy to forget and take lightly.

“After meeting you, Andrew was injected with great joy. He told me a lot about you and…”

Giselle’s brow furrowed. “And?”

“It’s a plan that I think is crazy. I didn’t want to hear anything he said because I couldn’t believe he could think of such a thing.”

“What is he planning to do?”

“Run away.” Fania grinned amusedly. “What else?”

“You two ran away?”

“Oh it’s not that easy, Giselle.” Fania laughed. “Do you think it would be easy to just let the two of us go, considering who’s behind us?”

Giselle joined in the laughter at last. “Alright, I won’t interrupt your story anymore. I was curious about Andrew’s news but I guess, the story behind your marriage doesn’t matter for me to know, right?”

“No.” Fania smiled. “Who knows, what actually happened to us might change your perception of Andrew.”

“What does that mean?”

“A month into our wedding preparations, nothing had changed. Everything was normal. I thought that his escape plan was just an afterthought. I also felt that there was no way Andrew would dare to do that. at the same time, I was heartbroken. I really felt that no one supported me at all. My boyfriend, Sean, you know, is now my husband. He himself didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t override all the decisions that had been made. Moreover, my mother is not playing around with threats. I’m sure Sean is just as miserable as I am.”

Fania sighed for a moment. She wet her throat with a glass of water. When she had enough, she continued speaking. “My mother made a frightening threat to Sean. I didn’t expect her to be so heartless to the man I love just for the sake of her ambition. What Sean has, built, worked for, and strived for all his life is threatened. Do you know how I felt?”

Giselle gave another gentle stroke in sympathy.

“Yes, I agreed for the wedding to take place. Blinded my eyes and heart to Andrew’s plans. And closed off all access to no more thoughts of Sean. I really was like a stupid robot. I thought, when I agreed to the wedding, Andrew was angry. Apparently not. He said, I knew this would happen. But calm down, I need time to think. We’ll get out of this mess soon.”

Fania raised her eyes. Staring intently at Giselle. “He’s actually realizing his plan. Replaced himself with Sean. Changed all our marriage papers to make it legal and religious. Our parents couldn’t do anything about the plan, which I guess happened without any constraints. I… I really didn’t expect it but on the other hand, I’m happy.”

“There’s at least something Andrew can do for you, right?”

Fania shook her head. “He’s doing this for himself, too. I later found out that his mother, who is the main obstacle to Andrew stepping free, fully supports what Andrew is doing.”

“But isn’t… her mother in a bad way?”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Fania nodded. “You were right. I saw her at the hospital. His psychological state is somewhat disturbed. Mr. Hanry really doesn’t mess around with punishment.”

“And Andrew?”

“He’s fine, it’s just that it’s not time for him to reappear. His message last time was that he wanted to start over. Including the relationship with you.”

Giselle was still not satisfied despite the relief that infiltrated her heart. “I can’t see him?”

“I told you from the beginning, right? Our communication ended a month and a half ago. I’ve asked my people to look for her but to no avail.”

Giselle sighed as she massaged her temples. “That doesn’t show any progress. I want to know the real news. It’s not impossible that Andrew’s father did something bad, right?”

“Are you worried about him?”

“If not, why would I listen to your love story that ends sweetly like a children’s fairy tale?” asked Giselle with a sneer.

“Calm down.” Fania smiled meaningfully. “I’m sure Andrew is fine, and when the time comes, he’ll show up. The person he’ll meet first will be you, Giselle.”

Giselle’s eyeballs rolled in annoyance. She wanted to leave this place immediately.

“because you made him make that crazy decision back then.”