"What the h.e.l.l happened, Felicia? Didn"t I tell you to destroy that writer"s reputation?" Allegra grabs Felicia"s wrist aggressively as she watches Sheen talk with Clark.Felicia winced, "I"m sorry, okay? I was starting to tell them about her but everyone brushed me off as if they are not interested, even your grandmother. They all looked away as if they are scared."
"Scared? Is it Luke? That old woman is only afraid of Luke since he"s our hospital CEO," Allegra pushes Felicia away and took a sip of her c.o.c.ktail while throwing a glare at Sheen.
"That b*tch surely knows how to pull strings of people, huh? She made Clark propose to her with the Queen"s ring and she even wore Aria"s dress. She"s friend with Sir Kady, Sir Gerwyn and Sir Blue, even with that model."
Felicia looks at Sheen with a frown, she knows that Allegra wants to be in her shoes.
She"s jealous.
And when she"s jealous, she destroys the person she wants to be, and for now, it"s Sheen.
"You said she"s nominated as the Romance Novelist, right? Call the director, let"s destroy this bookworm," Allegra flashed a hideous smile that made Felicia and their other friends felt shivers ran down their spine.
As it gets deeper into the night, Clark and the others had said their farewell to Luke.
"I"m happy this banquet is somehow becoming more professional," Clark commented as he shakes Luke"s hand.
"Of course, I am not a fan of gossips myself and my dearest wife does not like lies," Luke smiled at Clark and takes a glance of Aria who"s looking at Sheen with a smile.
Sheen smiled back at Aria secretly, a way to say her farewell to her future sister-in-law.
Clark eludes the topic about his sister, "See you around then. Thank you for inviting us."
Kady, Blue, and Gerwyn shook his hand as well before going.
"Well, I think you are going with Clark, Sheen?" Kady asks with a forced smile on his face while glancing over Sheen"s ring.
Blue looks at Wyn who didn"t even say anything and went inside the car immediately.
After Clark announced to Allegra that Sheen"s his fiancee, Kady and Wyn started to get silent.
They went to being serious businessmen and didn"t even bother talking to Sheen.
"Um, yeah. Thank you for inviting me, Kady," Sheen smiled.
Kady"s heart suddenly felt heavy.
She belongs to someone now.
Her smiles belong to Clark.
He can"t do anything about it but watch.
"I hope you had fun," Kady smiled back and looks seriously at Clark, "Take care of her."
Clark gets his message, about what he means by taking care of Sheen, and nods, "I will. Thank you."
Blue looks over at Wyn who closed his eyes with his earphone plugged into his ears, "Wyn"s asleep, so we better get going," he excused.
"Remember what I asked you," Elgeen whispered to Sheen"s ear.
Bea and Dan waved goodbye to Clark and went inside Kady"s car.
Blue waits for Elgeen while holding the car"s door open for her.
"Yeah, no worries, just text me just in case I forgot. And I"m sorry for your dress," Sheen said with a frown.
It"s the first time she wore a dress from someone but she messed it up.
"Don"t worry, it"s no big deal as long as you know..." Elgeen giggles and waves her hand, "Goodbye."
Sheen waves her hand as everyone starts to leave.
Cj went inside the car first while Clark waits for Sheen.
"Did something happened? Why did you change your dress?" Clark asks while Sheen enters the car.
"Well... I spilled a c.o.c.ktail on my dress and a woman helped me get changed, I was too anxious to ask who she is..." Sheen laughs away her lies while Clark enters and sits beside her.
Mr. Rogers started driving while Sheen put Cj"s head on her lap since he"s sleepy.
"Don"t take things from people you don"t know, Sheen. Be careful next time," Clark held her hand tightly and put it on his lap while Sheen starts to feel sleepy as well.
"Okay... This dress doesn"t hurt me so no worries," She said and rests her head on his shoulders as she yawns.
Clark closes his eyes as well and rests his head on Sheen"s head.
"Why were you sad earlier?" Clark whispers.
"Hm?" Sheen moves her head to a more comfortable position, "Oh, yeah. Nothing, I was just wondering... Why do you want to be with me? I"m just a writer and your a.s.sistant. I am not that famous, I am not rich, I am simple--"
"Shh," Clark moves his head softly as if he caresses Sheen"s head, "What kind of lies are you saying? Not famous? Not rich? Simple?" Clark chuckles.
"Everyone knows your movie and books, you"re rich with friends, and you"re not simple, your mind is complicated," he snorted.
"What if one day, I do something that you will hate?" Sheen asks while thinking about Aria.
"I will never hate you. Maybe I"ll dislike you for a moment, to be honest. But when that time comes, please remember, don"t leave me," Clark kissed Sheen"s head and takes a deep breath, sniffing Sheen"s scent as they take a fast rest on their way home.
Allegra walks back and forth in her room while talking to the director of the Romance Novelist Award, "Yes, do something that will destroy her name. Anything, I don"t care what it is. Scandal? Crimes? I don"t care!"
"Yes, Sierra Haley whatever... Yes, Verrez! Uh huh, yes. Scandal? Like how? I mean, yeah, no problem with that, but I want it to be realistic!"
Allegra smirked and sat on her bed.
"With who? Her manager in Sir Kady"s company? What? Really? Okay... okay... you have photos? How? Oh... I see, okay. Do it now, or else 900 thousand will disappear, send me those photos too."
She put down her phone as she looks at Clark"s photo in her side table.
She"s obsessed with him ever since she knew that he will take over the Star Company.
He"s rich.
He"s powerful.
He has everything.
He"s handsome.
Who wouldn"t want someone like him?
For the past years, she tried to get his attention through calling his name through her interviews but Clark always manages to shut all scandals that she tried so hard to create between them.
Yet now, he"s engaged to a plain writer who can"t even buy her own dress.
She clenched her bedsheet as she takes a deep breath, "You"re going to be mine someday, somehow..."
After a few minutes, the photos she asked for arrived.
It shows Sheen hugging her former manager outside the company.
"Oh, isn"t she a sly fox? This is good for a headline: The famous author sheen seduced her way to be a nominee in Romance Novelist Award!" Allegra smirked as she stares at the picture.
Suddenly her phone rings, it"s the director.
"I posted it on a website, don"t worry, no one will suspect any of us. The photos are from a paparazzi of Mr. White during his first year as the President," he said.
"Okay, I"ll send you the money tomorrow," Allegra bites her lips in excitement.
Clark carries Cj in his arms as the little one sleeps his exhaustion away while Sheen enters his pa.s.sword.
"I"ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Clark," Sheen whispers and kissed Cj, "Good night, Cj."
Clark smiled at her and leans to kiss her forehead, "Good night too, Sheen," he said.
Sheen smiled back with a blush on her face.
She"s still not used to Clark being affectionate since she knows him as strict and professional but it makes her heart flutter and happiness just takes over her.
Clark opened the door while Sheen turns away to go to her s.p.a.ce.
"I should ask Bea for the video and photos," Clark whispered as he watches Sheen walk.
Sheen immediately went asleep after taking a shower due to tiredness that she forgot about Elgeen"s request.
She woke up with her phone ringing non-stop, as if it tries to wake her up badly.
The sun isn"t even out and it"s a bit cold, so she pulled her blanket higher to her ear as she reaches out to her phone on her table.
She didn"t even bother looking at the screen since it"ll hurt her eyes and just slide the screen to the right.
"Hm?" she breathed out as she rolls in her bed.
"WHAT THE h.e.l.l, SHEEN? WHY DO YOU HAVE A SCANDAL WITH YOUR FORMER MANAGER!?" the voice shouted, making Sheen move the phone away from her ears.
"Bea?" Sheen yawns still with her eyes closed.
She wasn"t able to hear clearly what Bea said since she moved the phone away.
"YES! GOOD FREAKING SAINTS, OPEN YOUR PHONE. I"M SURE YOU HAVE RECEIVED MESSAGES ABOUT THIS!"
Sheen creased her forehead and sits on the bed while she"s covered in her fluffy warm blanket and opened her phone.
And there, tons of notifications, messages, missed calls, greeted her good morning.
She opened the first one that she sees, "Did Sheen, a famous writer, seduced her former manager to get her nominated?"
Sheen"s sleepy eyes grew wide with fear and shocked and pressed the notification.
It leads her to a website where she is seen to be hugging Pim, her former manager who is gay.
She laughs hysterically as she reads through a bunch of lies and made up stories in the report.
"What? Have you read it?" Bea asks worriedly, a.s.suming that Sheen may be having panic attacks already.
"Oh, goodies! This is really funny! I should call Boss- I mean, Pim. Thank you, Bea. And, uh, good morning," Sheen turned off the call and dialed Pim"s number.
He immediately picks up, "Hey, my seducing writer," Pim greeted.
His voice sounded like he"s laughing that made Sheen smiled, "I didn"t know a hug between officemates means a scandal."
"Yeah, I read it after it went viral last night and I messaged Sir Kady already to clear things and he said he"ll talk to you, uh, today, since he said tomorrow last night so it"s today, yeah. And uh, I talked to the director who handles the award, but guess what! This is the bad news, he will erase your name as a nominee!"
Sheen"s smile slowly vanished, "What? Why? This is not even real! Kady can testify, Lucy can testify, a lot of our officemates can say that this is a bunch of lies," Sheen takes the blanket off her and pulled the curtain to look at the sunrise.
"I know, but he won"t listen. I told Kady about it and he said he"ll talk to the director. I think someone"s destroying your image, hunny," Pim worried sighs.
"I know... I"ve been through these things but don"t worry, we"ll clear your name."
"Me? My name? Gosh, Sheen, I ain"t worried about me- I am worried about you. How are you doing?" Sheen leans on the gla.s.s window as she stares at the rising sun.
"I"m good. I"m sorry I wasn"t able to contact you since I got here. How"s Lucy?"
"She"s doing fine. Don"t worry, I"m sure Sir Kady can clear this up, have you seen him? He"s there doing work."
"Yes, I"ve seen him a bunch of times. I"m sorry to drag you along this mess, Sir," Sheen closes her eyes as her headaches slowly.
"No worries, I don"t care about lies. I"ll call you if something came up, okay? I have to make breakfast for my hubby here," Pim said and chuckles.
"Oh, you have a new one?" Sheen snorted and went back to bed as the sunlight enters her room.
"Yes, so byee~," Pim said.
"Yes, bye," Sheen turned off the call and let her phone fall from her hand while laying down.
"Who is it?" She thought as she closes her eyes. "It"s just a lie but the director already has a decision? Why? He knows Pim, he knows we will not do such a thing."
She pulled her blanket and covered her chest, "I should call Kady," she said and took her phone beside her and dialed Kady"s number.
"Good morning, Sheen. Have you read about the news?" Kady immediately answers.
"Yes. Who did that?"
"I still don"t have any lead, Sheen. But I am working on it, I have a lead who took the photo already but whoever posted that garbage is still unknown, I"m sorry," Kady"s voice grew faint.
"Don"t be. It"s not your fault, I"m the one who should say sorry, I"m dragging your company"s name in this," Sheen silently shed her tears.
She"s destroying Kady"s company.
She"s destroying Pim"s name.
She"ll lose the chance to get the award.
Everyone will think she really seduced guys to be nominated.
She suddenly lets out a sob, surprising Kady, "Hey, don"t worry. I"ll catch whoever this as*hole is, just... just go to Clark, okay? Tell him what happened."
"No, I can"t drag someone else again, Kady. I"m so sorry I"m a mess, sorry..." she uncontrollably takes a shaky deep breath.
Kady clicked his tongue, "Sheen, none of this are your fault. And if you won"t tell Clark what"s happening, what"s the use of being engaged? He is supposed to make you feel better and support you. Sheen, you"re not alone, okay? Just go to him."
Sheen takes a couple of deep breaths and shakes her hand to remove her trembling feeling.
"Okay... I"ll tell him. Thank you, Kady. I owe you one," Sheen said.
"Yeah, don"t worry. I"ll take care of this. Also, your book will be published next week, right? I"ll buy a bunch for the whole company, okay? So don"t feel bad."
"You don"t have to, what if they don"t like it. It"s very... it"s a disaster, no one will like reading that book."
"Then, it"s their loss that they weren"t able to read the disastrous love story you made,"" Kady chuckles, "I"ll see you later, bye."
Sheen smiles, "Yes, bye."
She got up and stretched her arms and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.
"I"m sure Clark will understand. But what if he believes it? No, he won"t. But what if he did? No..." Sheen sighs as she waits for the rice to be cooked.
"What will he say? This is the worst morning! I hope I didn"t wake up," she worriedly shakes her leg while sitting on the stool but suddenly her doorbell rings.
She went outside and looks at the door camera, it"s Clark and Cj all dressed in their pajamas.
Her heart suddenly went crazy when she saw Clark"s laid back side again.
Even though she sees him in that look every morning, she still feels as if it"s her first time seeing him out of his office suit every morning.
She takes a deep breath and opened the door.
"Good morning, Mommy!" Cj greeted and hugs her.
"Good morning, too," Sheen smiled and hugs him back.
"I"m sorry we come unannounced, I wanted to talk to you about something but he woke up and demanded that we have breakfast here. But if it"s not fine for you we will wait... Hey, Cj!" Clark watches Cj as he enters the kitchen.
"Breakfast is being prepared! We can eat here, right, Mommy?" Cj shouts while in the kitchen, looking at the omelet Sheen has prepared.
"Yes, it"s fine. I"m glad, honestly, it"s the first time you will join me," Sheen smiled at Clark.
She felt so full of happiness that the two people she loves the most are in her condo to eat breakfast with her.
As she looks at the kitchen, Clark hugs her from behind and moved her hair then kissed her neck, making her stop breathing.
"Are you okay?" Clark asks in a faint husky voice while leaving pecks on her neck.
Sheen can"t even reply.
Her heart"s about to burst at any moment.
"Hm?" Clark stops since Sheen"s not moving and he let her go, "I"m sorry, that was inappropriate. I"m sorry for doing such a thing. I"m very sorry," Clark buries his face in his hands as he continues on apologizing since Sheen still hasn"t moved an inch.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Sheen thought as she tries to compose herself while the sensation in her neck still lingers.
His lips.
His warmth.
His hug.
His voice.
The scandal is a blessing in disguise to make Clark greet her like this in the morning.
"This is the best morning I have ever woken up to. I"m glad to be alive," She thought and cleared her throat and started walking away, "Let"s eat. I think the rice is already cooked," she said and looks back at Clark with a smile.