Half-day

Clara visited the office as soon as she heard the news. "Ruby called me many times. She even came to my place. I did not open the doors." 

Izzy was still processing everything from the morning. Thanks to Matcus she was able to control herself later, but the people were still talking. She felt extremely thankful to Clara. "Let's have lunch together. I have a new place in mind."

The new place turned out to be a new restaurant on the outskirts of the town. It was about half an hour's drive. Clara was telling her how amazing this new place was, how delicious and budget-friendly the menu was, and how picturesque the restaurant was. Being the editor of a travel magazine, she was always updated about such kind of places. Izzy was not ready to join her initially. "It will be a huge waste of time. Let's go to Subway insteda," she said. 

However, Marcus intervened. "Go to lunch and then take the rest of the day off. In exchange, tomorrow do some overtime." 

Throughout the drive Izzy stayed quiet. Clara knew her too well to say anything. Izzy needed some silence to think and bring everything in order. She had taken some initiatives from her end to help Izzy, but now Izzy's work had started. 

They ordered some light seafood, and lemon juice for Izzy. She didn't need to enjoy right now, she needed calm her mind. After some time when Izzy felt composed, she spoke first. 

"I asked Marcus about Sebastian Bishop. Do you know they are close friends? Marcus told me that Sebastian ahd asked him about me, how I was doing and all."

"Is it possible that he is actually interested in you?" Clara asked. She had thought about it more than once. 

"He offered to marry me for three years. A contractual marriage, Clara. Would you do that if you like someone for real?" 

Clara answeref quietly, "You are right, but I don't know why I keep thinking about it. Anyways, what is your plan now?" 

"I think I will shift into a new place by the end of the week. I have already sarted looking for places. I also need to talk to Sebastian about his plan." 

"You can talk to me right now," a familiar voice came from somewhere nearby. Izzy turned around to find Sebastian, in his usual CEO mode. 

"I am sorry, he asked me about you and I gave this address. I thought you would want to talk to him." Clara said in a low voice. She then stood up and greeted Sebastian. "Hi, I am Clara, and it's great to meet you in person." 

"Oh the honor is mine," Sebastian said with a steady handshake. He made it look like a business meeting.

"I just remembered I have a meeting to attend. Sorry, Izzy, I have to leave. Mr Bishop, would you mind dropping Izzy home?" 

Sebastian smiled at Clara and said, Call me Sebastian, please. I will make sure that your friend reaches home safely." 

Izzy felt as though Clara had betrayed her. She was not ready to Meet Sebastian now. He looked gorgeous as ever in his tailored suit and well-groomed appearance. Izzy, on the other hand, felt like a mess. She lowered her face and focused on eating. It was Sebastian who started talking. 

"I heard about Mike. Are you okay?" 

Izzy looked at his face and asked directly, "And I heard about your friendship with Marcus. Why didn't you tell me that you knew my boss?" 

'Marcus and I grew up together. I know both him and his boyfriend. I didn't think it was important." Sebastian paused and watched Izzy, who was watching him back with a thousand questions in her mind. "I am sorry. You are right, I should have shared it with you. When I found out that you work in his firm, I asked him about you." 

He paused again, the small gap of time made him realize what he had just said. "I sound terrible right now, don't I? Trust me, I just asked him if he knew you and the fact that you were Mike Willowby's girlfriend. That's all I did." 

"Do you know how confused I am right now? On one hand Mike and his behaviour, on the other hand, you, and to be honest your motive is not clear to me." 

Sebastian looked around and lowered his voice. "I am Sebastian Bishop, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and heir of the Bishop family legacy. I need to know everything about you before I marry you, even if it is fake. Once I have learnt everything I need, I am ready to commit. Do you think I am being unreasonable?" 

"No, I guess it's not." Izzy felt embarrassed of herself. She didn't engage in any more arguments. "So, what do we do now? Mike will make it look like I cheated on him, and he is innocent." 

"You are going to marry me, so it is now my problem to keep you safe from Mike and his antics. I think we should start dating, officially." Sebastian said casually. 

"You mean fake dating," Izzy reminded him. "I thought people already think that we already started that."

"What are your plans after lunch?" he asked her, changing the conversation topic.

"I have taken a half-day leave. After lunch, I will probably go home and rest, gather my thoughts." 

"Come with me, I want to show you something." Sebastian guided her towards his black, luxury sedan. He waited until Izzy was settled inside, then ignited the engine. "Do you get car sick?"

"No, why?" 

"It will take us some time before we reach our destination. What kind of music do you enjoy?" he asked, looking genuinely interested. 

"Anything will do, except hard rock and metal." Contented with her answer, Sebastian turned on the radio. Country songs started playing in the background. Izzy listened to the lyrics for a while before closing her eyes. She was thinking about her current state. She had borrowed money from some people when her mother fell sick. When she received the inheritance, she made a budget for everything. She had money kept for paying the money back, for her house, and for her future. At the moment, she was completely broke, and alone in the world. She wanted to scream and cry, but in Sebastian's presence, she couldn't even do that. 

She opened her eyes with a start. Somebody was calling her name. It took her some time to come to her senses and appreciate what was in front of her. She saw Sebastian peering into her face from a safe distance, concern etched on his face. His expressions made her smile. "I am sorry, how long was I asleep?"

"An hour or so. I thought you needed it, so I didn't wake you up." Sebastian sounded concerned too. 

"I guess I was too exhausted with all the drama going on. By the way, what is this place?" Before her she could see the river, looking like a multicolored ribbon under the bright afternoon sky. 

'Come, I will show you around." Sebastian extended his hand to support Izzy. She always loved chivalrous men. They were straight out of the novels she would read growing up. They would support their women when needed, but they would never impose their decisions. She wanted that person in her life. She was not unhappy with Mike, but she couldn't remember Mike putting extra effort into anything they did together. 

Izzy gave her hand to him while scolding herself internally. She should not compare these two men. They were very different from each other, and she must accept it. 

"There is nothing special. It's just the river bank, but since the land belongs to me, we will get some peaceful time here away from the crowd. This is where I come when I feel stressed, sad, or beaten up." Sebastian guided her to a concrete road that went on by the riverside. They walked down the road until they reached a point where it was diverged into two, one concrete road and a trail that went down towards the river. 

Sebastian took the trail and gave his hand to Izzy. "I cannot imagine you being sad or beaten up. I looked you up on the internet, and everything about you screamed confidence and success. One website even said that you have Mids' touch."

"And you believe everything you read online? Right now, they are speculating a lot about you too." 

Izzy took in the surroundings. There was no neighbourhood or any sign of human localities. There was the outline of a bungalow in the distance, but it was hidden behind trees. The trail went down to something looking like a garden, barricaded from the view by a high wall. 

She strolled along the riverside, feeling the gentle breeze against her face. The sun had not set yet. There was a warm, golden light over the water. She listened to the soothing sound of the river flowing and watched the reflections of the trees dance on the surface. Birds chirped softly from nearby branches, and the fresh scent of nature filled the air. She felt peaceful and content. Her problems seemed to be something from another world.

"Since you have already taken a half-day off, we better not waste the time."