Chapter 15:

KIEL'S POINT OF VIEW

"The heck, love, why did you do that?" I saw Zafira's shock at what I did. Her eyes became teary.

"I want her to know you were for me, so she can't step back."

"I told you to wait for me, and yet you took action without thinking about the consequences until next Friday. Fuck, what will I do now?" I rush towards Odette's room. I was about to knock when I saw her friends coming my way.

"What are you doing in Odette's room? If you are here to hurt her, I will warn you that once she gets hurt again by you, I will do everything to make your life miserable, stepbrother." Aria said she was Dad's daughter and one of Mom's friends.

"I didn't do anything; it was a mistake what she saw. I assure you, I love her." She looked at me from head to toe.

"Do you think I will believe you? Your dad's puppet, who will do anything to impress him—why should I believe you? Just because you say so, hell no, jerk! I just get lost in my best friend's life. I will assure you that if you do that, I will accept my dad's decision in my life. Just don't bother her anymore. I know my place in that family, and I knew what I should do, so stay away from her. Did you understand, brother?" Her friends look quite serious as they process what's happening in front of them.

I left them and went back to our room. I saw Zafira sitting in the corner of the bed, holding her head, looking at the floor. I took my bag and all my things and packed them immediately. She hugged me from the back, but I didn't know if I should just ignore her.

"Love, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Don't leave me, please." She kneeled, holding my legs. I let go of her hand on my legs.

"Let's talk once we get back. Now pack all your things. I need time to think about how to fix these things. "Dad will know what happened, and knowing him, I'll face the consequences of what you did."

"Love, I'm sorry. I don't even know if you planned this with your dad. I promise I'll behave myself from now on."

"Do you think I'll puppet myself and surround her just because I love her?" I held her chin and watched her look up at me.

"No, I just did that for my father's sake!" "To get everything in his company to be under my name and take revenge on what he does to us, Sloan."

"So this is all because of Sloan. I thought it was because of me." She laughed hard and stood up.

"At first, I loved her because of her, but now that I do this to marry you, I can give you everything you want."

"Give me fucking insurance that I will be the girl you love and get married to!"

"We can do that; just let me do this. I will assure you that after the event next week, we can be free to be in public, and I can marry you right away." I hugged her tight, kissed her forehead, and put my head on her shoulder. Am I too childish when I am with her? I started getting lewd right away once I felt her lips on me. She lay on the bed, and I went on top of her.

"We should sleep instead of doing this, love." I lay beside her, turned around to the other side, and went to sleep. I should be hard now, but I don't know, and I can't feel anything. My mind is full of stress regarding how I can get her back, how I can make things better, and whether should I court her. Or date her again? But what if she didn't agree?

I didn't notice that I fell asleep with all the questions in my mind. I took my phone off the table and opened Ivan's message.

"Emergency, you guys should be here right away once you read my message!" After reading Ivan's message, I woke Zafira up, took a quick bath, and put clothes on.

"Love, did Ivan tell you what the emergency was about?" I look at her while putting a belt on. After putting on a belt, I turned around and saw her in a pink maxi dress.

We run fast, and I drove fast to the company. I saw a lot of reporters surrounding the company. When we get into the parking lot, the security guards surround us. When we walk through the hall, the reporters try to get inside us.

"I've been calling you since last night, Kiel; what happened?" What's with this issue?" Ivan showed me his phone, which contained an article about me and Zafira.

News Article:

Kel Calvin Lopez cheated on her fiance, Odette Lim, with Zafira Ajax. Early this week, the actor confirmed to the media that he was dating his co-star in 'Caught in Your Arms," Zafira Ajax. But a post on social media shocked everyone: Kiel was still dating his fiance. A photo of Kiel and his fiancée kissing outside the lighthouse The speculations regarding his relationship with Zafira are just for their project. Some of his fans commented on the post, stating that the photo was Photoshopped. We are still calling and waiting for Kiel and Zafira to state this incident.

After reading the article, I sit in the chair in the meeting room. Ivan sat in front of me, and Zafira was next to me.

"Who posted those photos?" I said, looking at Ivan.

"The I.T. department was still investigating who posted this photo; it was a dummy account. Kiel, if we state in the meantime, please stand your ground. You two should separate in the meantime. Some fans are telling me that you may also cheat on Sloan with Odette, and now that you're doing it with Odette, you're a player. We should think about our next move. It may affect your career. Sorry, Zafira, but to tell you honestly, you don't have a career to lose, but Kiel does. So you should listen and know this is the best for him and the two of you." I can see how Zafira rolls her eyes after what Ivan says. We wait for a while, we roam around at the office, and we can't get out. Security was tight as the manager of the I.T. department went through the meeting room. Ivan stood up.

"Good morning, Manager Ivan. My team detected who splashed the photo in the media." He looked at Zafira right away.

"Ms. Zafira, it was from your mobile phone." We looked at her, and to our shock, she was quite even and didn't deny it.

"I was mad when I saw you two kissing." I didn't intend to create this mess. Sorry, love."

"Bullshit, sorry, do you think it will fix everything? You did this for what? Tell me! After all the impulsive decisions you made, do you think we can marry soon? Fuck! Did you ever think every single step you took was Zafira?" I said I was shouting at her.

"Let's issue a statement stating that it was an anonymous person who made this post, and in that official statement, we will also indicate what relationship there is between Kiel and Odette and also with Zafira. In the meantime, Zafira, you need to low-key everything now, even your social media posts. Think before you post anything; being emotional can lead us into this mess again. It would be great if all of us would cooperate so this incident would never happen again." Ivan stated this and tapped the IT manager.

I went out of the meeting room and took a coffee in the pantry area. I shake my head while my eyes close. I don't know, but since Odette saw I was kissing Zafira, everything was getting into a big mess. My phone suddenly vibrated. I took my phone out of my pocket and saw my dad's message.

"Do anything to make this mess clear, understood!"

"Meet me after the company releases the official statement in my office!"

"I'll tell Ivan to make things work in just a second; I want this out of the media, and tell me who the heck made this mess; I will make that person clean up this whole mess that he or she made!"

I can tell in the way he messages me his anger. I know my dad. I know what he can do to a person when he's mad. Fuck! I slammed my face against my palm and took my coffee. I took a sip of my coffee while sitting on the chair. Shit, this is the huge mess I got after all this time. This is so hard to escape from.

How could I escape this mess? How! I went to the rooftop of the company and sat in the corner of the wall. I scrolled through my social media, and all the comments regarding the issue were harsh; this gave me a headache.

"I knew this day would come; after I saw you go out of that resto-bar, I knew this would happen. The way Zafira looked at you when you first met her, I knew she was interested in you; even though she knew you already had a relationship with Odette, she took a risk to make all this effort." Ivan sat beside me and gave me a can of beer.

"Look what she can do to be with you; she's obsessed with you, Kiel; she was not just a fan or your co-star, but she was obsessed; she wanted to be with you no matter what it took. I'm telling you this before it was too late. "You're not just an actor I was managing but my best friend, whom I look up to as a brother." He taps my shoulder and drinks straight beer; I'm just looking at the can of beer in front of me. He has a point. Since I met Zafira, she has never gone out of my way. But I can't let her go; I knew I would be crazy if I lost her, just like what happened to Sloan. I don't know what to do anymore.

"I will talk to the management; I'll see what I can do about this mess she made." He stood up and left me sitting in the corner. My mind was full of blows. I have the answer to this problem, but it's not easy to pick from the choices. What should I choose?

If I choose to let go of Zafira, I will lose her forever, yet this problem will be gone. If I choose to let go of Odette, my life will be a big mess, and my dad will not allow it. He knew what he would lose if I hurt Odette—not just the partnership between the two companies but also his best friend for a long time and Odette's father. I feel my phone vibrating from my pocket; I ignore it and drink straight beer. Together, we took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. I didn't notice the door open.

"I knew you were in a rough time." I saw Odette standing in front of the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"The management called me and asked me to come here. I was never in front of a lot of media personnel before, so that's why I went here to take some air before I face them. Why are you here?"

"I was taking a break; we just finished a meeting in the meeting room."

"I see. Can I sit beside you?" I nodded, and she sat beside me. I could feel she was awkward.

"Odette, I told you the truth last night." "You saw what happened, right?"

"Yes, I saw everything, but I can't help myself to understand or believe it can happen anytime. Even in your future projects, you can do it on and off the camera. I might be your fiance, but that's not enough reason to believe. I was falling in love with you, but I knew it was not the same with you. Seeing how you look at her when you guys are kissing is not the same as seeing how you look at me. We may still have time to get to know each other, but I think the time we have right now is enough to call off the wedding. I don't want to marry you just because I love you. I want to marry someone who loves me the same way I love him." She left me hanging on the rooftop. I should choose now. I stood up and went back into the meeting room. I saw Odette sitting, while Zafira was on the other side, along with Ivan and the executives.

"Good thing you're here, Kiel; I want to have a conversation with you regarding this issue." I sit beside Ivan, and I just nodded at Sky; he is the executive producer on the project we are doing.

"The management decided to postpone everything you have on the schedule for the two of you. It will be the best for all of us. Knowing that it was hot in the eyes of the media and all the fans, we decided to release an official statement regarding this issue. If you don't mind, Ms. Odette, you'll be part of this plan too because you're his fiancée. We will tell the media that Zafira made that post to clarify for you and Kiel that the photo spread a long time ago. Is that okay with you?" I look at Odette, and she keeps silent.

I knew what was on her mind. I can see it on her face. Odette was serious about getting the wedding called off. I focused on what the executive producer was saying.

"So you guys can go home now; the company will provide additional security for your protection. Ms. Odette Your father called us regarding the issue; he wants to keep you safe, as he said you will go straight home. He will not accept any rejected answer, and he wants to talk to you privately. I'm sorry regarding this, Ms. Odette; we will make this mess clear for your safety." He bowed at Odette, but she was still in silence. Odette stood up and walked away. I followed her out.

"Let's go together to your father."

"Sure, I want him to know we will cancel the wedding as soon as we get there. We will tell him." For my sake, I don't want to be with you anymore." She walked quickly away from me without looking back. I'm sorry, my queen, for hurting you. I'm sorry. I'll make sure this will be the last.