Revenge of the Billionaire’s Ex-Lover

13. The Warmth of Hold (PART II)

“HE OFFERED YOU WHAT?!”

I immediately covered her mouth with my hand then looked around if anyone was around to give us any attention. Luckily, no one is around to give us a judging look. But one thing for sure, this woman knows how to react properly and even gives me so much anxiety when she knows well that it is not good for us to react that way in public, especially when the media could be nosy and suddenly want to pester my already messed up private life.

“I thought that you only agreed to be his woman secretly for the partnership. How come he is offering you marriage now?” She confusedly asked with brows furrowed. Suddenly, she squinted her eyes on me. “Don’t tell me… the two of you fixed things about the past already?”

A scoff escaped my lips. “Do you think what happened before is that easy to erase in his mind and heart? I can’t even tell what his real purpose is and I don’t know why he is doing all of these. Now, you are thinking we already fixed something impossible to fix right away?” I said, shaking my head.

Without letting her speak, I walked past her and decided to go inside the mall already. Throughout the whole time we were making our way to the restaurant for lunch, she didn’t even bother trying to close her mouth and keep asking about Don. I can let her do it since it is her choice anyway. The only thing that bothers me is the attention she is getting and it's not really a good thing, so I have no choice but to keep my mouth shut until we enter the private room I reserved for our lunch today.

“Now give me an answer! What do you mean by he offered you to marry him instead?” She exclaimed, sounding so excited with my complicated life as of the moment.

“It’s just like that! I was in the middle of arguing with Dad about Darryl being his son-in-law, then Don suddenly butted in and dropped the idea he had in mind. I wasn’t even sure if he was sincere when he first laid the idea, but when I talked to him in the parking lot before we left separately, he told me that he is serious about it. He is so serious that even gave me two options.” I shake my head with the memory of his given choices.

“Here I thought he was only out for revenge, but it looks like he has another purpose now. What are the choices he gave you?” She questioned, deeply interested in my private life. However, before I could even answer, the door opened wide with a waiter entering the room while pushing a cart. He placed the dishes on the table then walked out of the room afterwards. “So? What are the choices?”

“He says it’s either I choose to marry my childhood friend and be forever under my father’s control for the rest of my life,” I stopped for a while, processing Don’s words once again.

“What’s the other option?” She desperately insisted on knowing while I could only close my eyes first.

“I will marry him but I will forever suffer in his hands. In short, he will take this revenge on another level by taking me in.” I answered, shaking my head in disagreement. “He is crazy, isn’t he? Gerald told me in the elevator earlier that his friend is maybe a troublemaker but he is soft hearted who has a weak spot for his family and the ones important to him. He really wants to make things hard for me, but Gerald says it's not what Don wants to do.”

“Don’t you think Engineer Chavez may be telling the truth? After all, Donovan did confess back then how much he likes you. What if the revenge he is plotting is just to get your attention so he can use the opportunity to take you completely this time?” She pointed out with a clear point. “If I think this through, I think he really is just taking advantage of the situation wherein you need him so he took you in with the most fitted way where he will benefit so much, and that is to make you his woman. I mean, something even happened to the both of you already. If he isn’t taking advantage of the opportunity you gave him, then all of this is just for revenge then.”

All of this is just for revenge then.

For some reason, my heart feels like it breaks from just repeating those words in my mind. I know that it is not even the real answer and is just Kiana’s speculation. However, it does feel a bit painful for unknown reasons when I should have expected it so well considering the warning Don gave me since the very beginning.

He made it clear even years ago that he will come back for revenge. The first thing he did when our path first crossed was letting me see him f*****g other people in a restroom of the club he owned without even caring if I saw him pounding to her that time. The next was taking me once, which I can’t blame him alone for because I also wanted it. Based on what I remember, he asked me multiple times if I wanted it, and I said yes. The last one is making me his woman for the sake of the partnership my father wants. He did all that, making it clear that it is his way of revenge.

“Gerald actually told me something weird earlier. I wasn’t sure if I should overthink it or just let it just be like that.” I said without even thinking things through while looking at the untouch dishes still. “He told me that he knows a lingering feeling of Don that won’t ever change. He said he is not sure whether I am aware of it or even took it seriously back then. Thinking about that, there is only one thing that comes to mind.”

“And that is?” Kiana softly questioned this time, giving me her full attention.

I look up and see her gaze. I gulped down hard… knowing that I am pushing myself to believe that something is possible between us once again.

“Don is out to get me, not for revenge, but… to make me his completely this time.”

“Don't you think you are too naive not to realize that right away?” She sarcastically asked me, making me glare at her. She didn’t even bother minding my glare and just proceeded to mock me. “With all the things you have been telling me about Donovan, it's too obvious, you know?”

The way she pointed out things, it looks like she is so convinced that it wasn’t all for the deal only, yet I can’t even think of it that way. I couldn’t blame her because I am confused as well as she is, but I know well that, no matter how much he probably wants me to be his completely this time, that is the same amount he wants to take revenge on me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel the success of revenge he is waiting to have for many years.

“I’m afraid that your claim and mine can’t be that simply taken as a conclusion on what he truly came for me. After all, we never really know how deep is his anger towards me for what I did back then. It could even be deeper than I thought it was.” I exclaimed with a sigh.

All that pain I have given him before, I probably won’t forget it as much as he does. It is because what happened is something unexpected and something I didn’t really want to do in the first place. I never wanted to hurt him like that and say those lies coming from my mouth that probably hurted him more than my own actions. However, I can never tell him that because it will sound like an excuse only.

If only I could go back to the past and properly clean up my mess, I would do it. But it is impossible to do that now. We can never undo the things that already happened because it is meant to happen. All I can do now is deal with Don’s range towards me and swallow all the kind of revenge he will do, whatever that is, because I deserve to be given that. I deserve to be taken revenge and to be hurt by him now… even if it wasn’t really me who forced all of it to happen in the first place.

“Enough about Don! Nothing will change anyway no matter how much we come up with any conclusion. How about you?” She immediately cleared his throat, looking away. I squint my eyes at her, forming a smirk on my lips. “You know that you can’t escape, right? What about that woman you saw in Deven’s office? And why were you there in the first place anyway?”

She remained silent for a moment, probably constructing her whole explanation for me so that she could filter things out. One thing that is probably similar between her and me is that we are both in such a complicated and messed up relationship, if we can even call it as one. I am in a mess up triangle caught up by Darryl, my supposed to be force fiance, and Don, the person from my past that I gave such deep pain. On the other hand, Kiana is in a very complicated relationship with Deven that I can’t even find the right word to explain it now.

If I were to even think about them, their relationship is already far from just simply being friends. Every single time that Kiana chooses to filter her words and remain everything that is going on between her and Deven almost like a secret, it feels like something between them is indeed going on and it something that I couldn’t just know about. No matter how curious Jordan and I are about our friends' real relationship status, we can’t even keep pushing them to spill things out since it has been like that since we were in college. So we just try our best to keep it silent and watch them argue like an old married couple.

“Do you remember the woman in the club last December?” I wander my eyes around, blinking my eyes twice, thinking which woman she is talking about. I gave her an apologetic look and a small awkward smile, making her sigh. “I know there are a lot, but it is the woman he was with when you last flirted with someone in the club.”

“Ah! The one who is very clingy to him? I think she was also there during DTC Group’s hosted party, if I am not wrong. What’s with her? What did she do?” I curiously asked.

“That damn woman was trying to throw herself to Deven in his very office.” My eyes widened in surprise by her revelation. Well, I didn’t expect that at all. “What makes it even more frustrating is that she was completely naked while standing in front of him. They were like playing a scene wherein that asshole Deven is the boss and that woman is his employee. It was a disgusting view.”

For a moment, I only stared at her and observed. The way her brows furrowed and the way she looked so frustrated, I could tell that this woman is indeed bothering her a lot. I mean, Deven wouldn’t even bother going lengths to tell Zoey that Kiana is in his apartment when they have been so discreet to reveal things all of a sudden. He must be trying to pursue Kiana so bad the other day for him to do that.

So… I decided to make her confess right now.

I cleared my throat and tried to hide the playful smile on my lips. “So? What about it? Deven is a damn casanova so it is a given he wants to cosplay if I am not wrong.” I let out a playful laugh, making her look at me in disbelief. “Besides, he has been playing with that woman for months now. We should be glad that he hasn’t been playing so much with other woman these days.”

She looked at me in disbelief and was completely done by my claims. “Are you serious right now, Kaylie?” she exclaimed.

“I was just pointing out the truth! Besides, why does it bother you anyway? Are you two a thing or what?” I raised a brow, provoking her, making her glare at me. “Or maybe… are you jealous?”

“This is not funny, Kailey.” She threatened in the coldest tone I have heard from her, making me laugh softly.

She surely is jealous at this point.

As we continue with our lunch sharing about the things happening in our private lives as if we haven’t shared enough about it. It is actually funny how only a week or two has passed but it feels like we have so much to talk about already. What makes it even more funnier is that we mostly talked about our complicated statuses in love and the people involved in it. It does feel like it has been such a long time since we have been in such a position.

Before Don returned to my life almost a month ago, as far as I can remember, Kiana and I barely talked about my complicated lovelife. On my side, we mostly talk about my struggles with trying to make my father see my effort and appreciate it big time as well as my other identity shown in the club. She used to scold me a lot about it. As for her side, we mostly talk about her struggle in work as well as a glimpse of her complicated relationship with Deven, never deeper than we just talked about. However, right now, it feels like our conversations turn the other way round in just a short time just like how my life is making a turn right now.

My life since I was born was already a routine. I was exposed to the elite world so early that being included in one when I was older enough to understand what was going on around me doesn’t make me nervous anymore. In short, I was already used to the world that my father wanted me to see. But as I grow older, the world that I grew up in right in front of my eyes, I have grown tired of it, especially now that my own father has been wanting me to do one thing that seems so impossible for me to just follow.

Ever since that sudden announcement between the business partnership between my family and Darryl’s family through an arranged marriage between us, I can only notice how much my life has become so eventful lately. My arguments with Dad became worse and frequent. On top of that, my close relationship with Darryl was completely ruined because of that arrangement. However, if I were to pick the worst one, I would certainly pick the day Don suddenly came to my life again and, now, even suggested to my father for su to be married in return for the partnership.

It was a whole mess that I can barely keep up already. I just hope a moment will come when all of it will stop and all I could see is peace.

“Kaylie,” Kiana suddenly called for my name, making me turn around right away, tearing my eyes away from the top I was eyeing to buy today. She was looking somewhere with judging eyes. “Isn’t that Donovan?”

Without any hesitation, I immediately followed the direction of her eyes, only to see that familiar back of the man who has been bothering me these days. The moment he turned to face our direction, I could only let out a sigh as I got a view of the person he is with. The woman next to him is dressed in a white criss-cross front halter top tucked in jeans with a belt on her waist and chunky heeled boots. She has a chain square bag and a bit of heavy makeup on, something very unusual for someone who is only out for a walk in the mall… or maybe they have other agendas more.

“Do you know who that woman is?” Kiana questioned once again, obviously curious about the identity of the woman next to Don right now. I could even feel her gaze on me.

“Not really. But I think I have seen her before already.” I exclaimed without tearing my eyes away from those two who were standing a few meters away from us. “I think she was that woman in the club back then.”

Based on how she clung her hand into Don’s arm, it is obvious that something is probably going on between them. If I remember it right, she might be the woman I caught Don is f*****g back in the club last year when our path first crossed. I just can’t tell it properly since this woman has blonde hair while the woman before has a black hair, though they have the same features. Despite that, the fact that she even looks so familiar makes me doubt anything I have in mind now about Don.

Fuck the illusion! f**k the thought of even thinking that Don is not only out for revenge for me. I can see it well now. According to the people who are familiar with Don’s playboy acts, he never really dares to see any of those women outside the club, except if they bump into one another outside but that can either end up with them parting ways after a short greeting or they will have to do a quickie then parting afterwards. Seeing that Don has met that woman outside the club and even accompanying her here in the mall, they probably have something more… which makes whatever it is between me and Don nothing at all.

“She is handsy, I can tell.” Kiana exclaimed with a scoff escaping her lips as she shakes her head a bit.

“All of his women are probably handsy. What do you expect?” I pointed out before giving those two one last glance before turning around again to focus my attention on the top I am still eyeing. “You should just leave them alone and buy what you want already.”

For some reason, I suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at me. A part of me does wish that it is Don who caught me in the area, but when I looked at my side, I saw Kiana giving me a suspicious look. She probably has so many things running through her mind now.

“So, is it your turn to be jealous now?” She exclaimed this time, completely teasing, as I just let out a sigh and shook my head a bit as a response. There is no use arguing and correcting her anyway. She is probably waiting for this chance to get back to me earlier. “How did you even know all of his women are handsy? Have you experienced it?”

“Are you crazy?!” I look at her in disbelief, making her laugh hard. She is having fun, indeed! “Have you seen a playboy who is not handsy at all? I’m pretty sure you are well aware of that knowing that Deven is such a f*****g playboy too.”

The mention of our friend’s name immediately made the smile on her lips drop, and replaced a sigh instead. “Don’t even try to speak the truth. We really got ourselves in such a complicated relationship status with such notorious f**k boys in town.” She frowned with a scoff leaving her lips.

All I could do was shake my head with a small smile plastered on my lips. At least we are both aware of the kind of complicated relationship we are involved in instead of being clueless and fooling ourselves over and over again. The smile on my lips remains as I listen more to her complaint… not until that temporary happiness is taken away from me.

“Dianna? Why are you calling? Aren’t you on duty?” I bombarded my sister with questions as soon as I answered her call.

Instead of receiving a proper response, I hear her hard breathing and the enraged tone in her voice follows without a proper explanation afterwards.

[“Head to the house now. We need to check on Mom.”]

Those were the only words she told me before hanging up. For a moment, I could feel my heart skipping so fast. What happened now?