Chapter 8

BACK TO NORMAL, it seemed like nothing had happened at the airport as Alexander and Damira walked out of the place. His mouth was sealed, sensing the woman beside him. He stole occasional glances, but he was prepared for a resounding slap if she so desired.

Restless, he couldn't shake off the feeling that what he did was wrong. First, he had rushed into proposing in front of a crowd just to get Luanne off his back. Second, he hadn't even given the woman a heads-up about what was going to happen. And third, he hadn't even asked for her permission before kissing her.

He closed his eyes tightly as he remembered that moment. He was still savoring the unique taste of Damira's mouth, which was not right for him. He felt a strange sensation while kissing her earlier, and it was completely wrong.

He shook his head to clear his mind of what seemed like a scene from a movie. He chased Damira as she descended the stairs.

"Good morning, Miss."

He even heard Macario's cheerful greeting from leaning against the car door. The woman simply passed by him. The two of them involuntarily tensed when she slammed the backseat door.

"Good morning, Sir!" She greeted him with a beaming smile, and he raised an eyebrow at her unusual appearance.

"Have you had your coffee?" he asked with a gentle tone.

"Of course! Congratulations on your engagement, Sir!" she said, simultaneously grabbing his luggage and placing it in the car's compartment.

His eyebrows met even more at what she said. "H-how do you know?" he inquired.

"Oh, come on! You guys are trending on social media apps. Don't you know?" She pulled out her phone and showed him the video from when he knelt in front of Damira until they kissed, receiving applause from an uncountable number of people.

"Oh my God!" he gasped while watching it. "What did I do?"

The man playfully nudged him. "It's all you, Sir. You said you wouldn't marry Damira. You even bought a ring in Singapore, huh? Was the dining area scene scripted?"

"How can I remove this?"

"It's right there. Even if you delete it, I'm sure more than one person recorded the video earlier. It's going to spread, for sure," his driver assured him.

"I'll call the Montelumieres later. I am confident that they can delete it from the app."

"Good luck, Sir. By the way, why do you want it deleted? Don't you like—"

"Yes, I don't like it. You know I'm not used to that kind of publicity. It needs to be deleted before Damira sees it. What happened today should never have happened."

Macario didn't respond, and they both got inside the car. He sat on the side opposite to Macario for fear that Damira might kick him out of the backseat. He noticed that she had her eyes closed with a headset on her ears.

"Let's go home..."

Midway through the journey, he couldn't ignore his hunger, so he asked the man to order some burgers they could eat while on the road.

"I ordered burgers from Macario, so we made a pit stop in the parking lot. Do you want something aside from that?" he asked when Damira woke up.

"I'll just have coffee at home," she replied with thriftiness.

They fell silent again. The woman stared out the window while he searched for the right words to apologize for what had happened earlier.

After coming up with an idea on how to talk to her gently, he took a deep breath.

"Damira..." He turned to her.

"Hmm?" she responded unenthusiastically, still gazing outside.

"I am so sorry for what happened earlier. It shouldn't have happened. I should've thought of a different way to get Luanne off my back."

He was surprised when she smiled at him. "It's okay. I knew that was the real reason you brought me here, right? It's just a play, Alexander. And I understand that."

He felt her icy stare, and right then and there, he knew that she was not okay with the situation.

"How can I make it up to you?" he asked.

"Look, if you think what happened earlier is a big deal to me, you're mistaken. I'm a professional, even though I only work at a convenience store. But the next time you plan to do that, let me know, so I can at least keep up with your script. I looked like a fool earlier."

He bit his lip. He couldn't find the right words to say next. Fortunately, Macario arrived. Damira had been asleep earlier, and he had persuaded the driver not to mention what had happened when she woke up.

"Good morning, Miss," he greeted her again as he took his seat in the driver's chair. "I apologize for the delay; there were so many people inside."

He handed each of them their food, and the journey continued. Damira didn't touch the food Alexander had given her. She even took it with her as she was the first to exit the car after it was parked in front of the mansion.

As she walked, she felt the eyes of all the people she passed fixated on her. She sensed that Alexander was behind her because of the sound of his luggage wheels.

The household staff in the living room were also staring at them. Trinity and Leopoldo were on their way down the stairs when they caught sight of the two.

"Damira," he called in a hushed voice, causing her to stop walking.

"What is it?"

"I... I just want to let you know how stupid I am to ask you to marry me. It shouldn't have happened. You already know that I can't marry someone I don't actually know. I am so sorry for involving you in this. I also want to let you know that someone uploaded our video to a social media app, but don't worry because I'll do my best to delete it from all platforms. I will sort out this mess that I've made."

The woman's face remained expressionless as she listened to his explanation. She simply stared into his almond-colored eyes and nodded.

"Good."

She turned away from him.

"I hope you have no feelings for me. I am not ready for anything. Even if you happen to like me, I can't give you that affection in return," he said bluntly.

"Fine."

She turned away from him once more. However, she returned after walking a distance.

"I forgot something," she said to him.

"What is it?"

His entire world seemed to shake when he couldn't prepare for the resounding slap the woman delivered. His cheek immediately went numb. He couldn't speak, especially when she smiled at him.

"I forgot to give it back." She removed the ring and opened her hands, placing the diamond ring in her palm. "I enjoyed this day. I hope it won't happen again." She rolled her eyes at him before walking away.

He was left dumbfounded. Yeah, I didn't expect that to hurt that way.