Paper Rings (English)

Chapter 4

“Stop the car now, or I’ll jump out.” 

It was a clear threat. The glint in Primrose’s eyes was unyielding, and the vein in her neck kept twitching as if ready to pop any minute now. When Sander didn’t step on the brakes and heaved a sigh due to her abrupt demands, she started to grind her teeth. Before the perplexed man was able to open his mouth again and engage in a conversation she wasn’t interested to hear—her fast hands clicked the door open. 

“What the heck are you doing? You crazy woman!” he gasped on top of his lungs and immediately unbuckled himself from the seat. He reached across her and slammed the door shut. 

It was a relief that he managed to stop the car near an uncrowded sidewalk just in time, or else they may have gotten into a severe accident. He threw a stern gaze in her direction when she attempted to push him aside to step out of the car. 

“Get out of my way, swindler.” The redhead lady was unfazed despite his changed demeanor. She swatted his hand away from the door handle and slightly shoved him back to his seat. 

“You could’ve been hurt. You know that, right?” 

Her eyebrows squished together upon hearing the apparent panic in his voice. For a moment, the Mortel Mall’s President thought his concern touched her, but her pair of cherry-tinted lips slowly drew a smirk. She held his gaze and shook her head in disbelief. 

“Stop acting like you’re concerned, Mr. Goody-two-shoes. You think I’ll let you trick me again?” 

“Rosey—” 

“Don’t call me by my nickname, Messi Sander Mortel. We’re not close, and this is just a deal.” She reached for his collar and leaned closer. The traces of contempt were glistening in her eyes. “A deal that you can’t even uphold, you piece of scum.” 

Without any word next, she pushed him harshly and stepped out of the car. Sander couldn’t do anything after what she had said and decided to buckle himself back to this seat. But soon as the lady began walking away, he drove slowly and paced carefully to keep up with her angry footsteps.  

“Don’t follow me,” she hissed at him.

“I’ll follow you until you take a cab,” he firmly declared. “It’s already dark out. I can’t let you walk out here all alone.”  

“Just go away. I can take care of myself. I’m not a child.”

“Let’s talk properly.” 

“I don’t want to do that now. Don’t you get it?” Her loud voice caught the attention of some passerby, making her shift her gaze away from Sander. 

“Fine, you can stay angry with me. I won’t explain myself anymore,” the emotionally-resigned man compromised. “Just let me drop you home, at least.”  

She didn’t respond. Instead, the woman quickened her pace. However, with every step she took, the car still followed her lead. It came to a point where she abruptly stopped walking and decided to close her eyelids momentarily to ease her escalating frustration. 

Their eyes met again the moment she calmed herself down. At that moment, Primrose clasped her hand together almost as though she was ready to accept his condition. But after her half-hearted shrug, her innocent-looking visage turned grim. She wittingly took a step in the opposite direction because obviously, the car can’t counterflow and continue to follow her. 

“Don’t turn to that alley. Didn’t you hear the news?” His warning from the opened car window was loud enough to stop the woman in her tracks. There was a bit of amusement stirring inside him when his trick seemed to work on her unexpectedly. “Some delinquents lurk around that part of the city.” 

He was anticipating her reaction, but her face suddenly turned ashen. The displeasure in her gaze a while ago was swept away and replaced by a wary expression. The Mortel Mall’s President wasn’t so sure, but he thought he saw her tightly clutching her purse as if trying to remain calm. 

“D-Delinquents? Around here?” she asked with a slightly shrilled voice. Her lips and chin also trembled briefly until she managed to control it. 

“H-hey, are you okay?” 

Sander put his hands together on top of the steering wheel, furtively watching the lady standing outside the car. He felt a bit guilty as he only meant that as a joke and didn’t plan for her to be scared like this.  

“Y-yes,” her tone lowered into almost a faint whisper. Both her hands were jammed into her armpits as they locked gazes again. “You’re right. It’s late. Do you think you can drop me in my studio flat?” 

The man already lost count of how many times he cleared his throat while driving. In the end, Primrose went back to his car. Despite succeeding in gaining her approval to drop her off, she didn’t spit a word or an audible breathing sound. She was just facing the window and staring blankly outside—extremely different from her usual feisty self, just like how she retaliated lately during their argument. He honestly preferred that over this ominous silence. 

“I’m sorry if you felt tricked by what I did. I was meaning to tell you everything before the wedding ceremony.” His words brought a pinched expression in her visage, and she automatically looked back at him over her shoulders. “I know words won’t resolve this, but let me just say this.” 

Although she didn’t respond, her chin lowering to her chest while heaving a long sigh was enough consent to keep Sander talking. 

“I’m sure you heard it from Patricia already. Yes, I did fake my marriage when I was eighteen,” he openly admitted without any hesitation. When he decided to let Primrose spend time with his family, he already knew the chances of knowing these things were inevitable. 

“That’s why I wasn’t able to refuse my parents when they insisted on witnessing our civil nuptials.” It was a relief that he’s driving, so he didn’t have to meet her disappointed eyes. All he could do was to take hitching breaths to mask his embarrassment. “By all means, we can always push for an annulment or legal separation. I’ll make sure that it won’t be complicated or hinder you in the long run.”  

After his resolution, the silence only continued to put bricks and walls between them. It was only when they reached the parking lot of her studio flat that he saw her facing his direction again. She tossed her hair back, followed by a dismissive nod. 

“Thank you for the ride. Good night.” She broke eye contact and reached for the door handle. But not a second had passed, she halted. “Let’s talk about this some other time.” 

Upon alighting from the car, she walked inside the building without looking back. Sander was left there, watching as her slim figure and traces of shadow vanish from his sight. His hand reached for his ruffled hair and frustratingly combed his fingers through its strands. He c****d his head back to the headrest and started thinking back when all of this chaos started. 

IT WAS ONLY SEVERAL MONTHS AGO when a raging redhead slammed his office door open in the middle of his briefing with his secretary. He didn’t have the chance to react right away. In fact, he didn’t recognize her at first because they never really met officially. 

Just when he thought nothing else would surprise him more than her sudden appearance, the lady marched in front of him and threw a heavy palm across his face. The impact of that slap was so strong that he wasn’t able to forget it until this day. 

“Who do you think you are to bully my best friend, scum? Just because you’re her boss, you think you can get away and harass her like that?” 

There was no introduction coming from her, but he completely understood the context of her anger. All he could do was touch his swollen cheek and silently gave a signal to his secretary to leave the room when he attempted to interfere with the messy situation currently emerging inside the room. 

“You know what? I’m glad I stood you up on that stupid marriage meeting. I wouldn’t want to be associated or even just deal with the likes of you.” 

It seemed like Primrose didn’t mind having an extra audience that time. She continued spewing derogatory comments toward him, even though his secretary wasn’t entirely out of the room. When he heard the door shut, that was when he casually met her gaze.  He pressed his lips together while observing her flaring nostrils and protruding eyes. 

“If this is the incident about Wednesday Curtis, then I have nothing to say to you. I believe she’s the one I owe an apology for, not you.”

Her head flinched back slightly, obviously containing her rage. She rubbed her chin repeatedly and rapidly blinked. 

“Apology?” she asked, followed by a sarcastic snort. “Don’t ever think of coming near her again, or I’ll make sure that all your teeth will fall off the next time my palm lands in your face. Got it?” 

He was baffled by her childish threat but had zero chance of clapping back in her face because the woman immediately turned around and started walking in the direction of the door. 

For the first time in his entire life, he felt dazed by her unpredictable behavior. Typically, he would choose to shrug his shoulders and let someone have their way because he couldn't be bothered. However, he was already having a bad day after being kicked out from a project he was passionate about. The dashing man wasn't feeling all gracious enough to let her step over his ego. 

"You know what, it's quite amusing to see you stand up and fight for your friend when you can't even disobey your father's demands."

Just as he'd expected, Primrose halted her tracks and turned to face him again. Knowing how feisty she was, his senses were ready to counter another slap coming his way. So, he waited, but she didn't move an inch. Instead, she slightly raised her middle finger in front of him and silently mouthed the words that came along with it.

Those weren't the only odd encounters he had with Primrose. Strangely, they often bump heads at the most inconvenient times. Among those many unforgettable meetings happened just five months ago. He was quite surprised upon receiving her invite for a meal, but since the lady did intrigue the hell out of him, Sander didn't think twice.

"My father is bugging your Dad again, right?" Unlike the usual, her tone of speaking sounded resigned after sipping coffee from the mug she was holding. "After he got into Lowell Sebastian's bad side, he had been so restless and losing partnerships left and right. I'm guessing that's why he wanted to arrange our marriage as soon as possible."

With that, he folded his arms together and smirked. "Is that why you invited me here? Are you finally deciding to be a filial daughter and do what's good for your family?"

"Actually, yes. I wanted to meet because I have something to ask of you." She placed the mug down the tabletop and unconsciously licked her dry lips. "How do you feel about a fake marriage deal?"