Chapter 24 Beating Again

Thera froze to the ground. Her gaze shifted to the woman who was applying foundation powder all over her face. She was scowling, and hatred was evident in her face as she said those words.

"Why does she even have to come back anyway? She could have just stayed under the ground where she was hiding from. The company had become a lot better without her presence," she continued, her voice clearly implying outrage. "Did you notice how the advertising and operations schemes got approved right away without her? She just wanted all of us to suffer; that's what it is,"

"She had gone through a bad patch for quite some time perhaps. I'd probably act the same way if the love of my life wanted to get our marriage annulled. Just try to imagine what we could have felt if we go through the same thing,"

The woman scoffed. "With that kind of unpleasant attitude she had? I doubt she's really capable of loving someone," she folded her arms, turning her back on the mirror to get her point across. "She doesn't have a heart. Look at what happened to our senior marketing consultant. That devil's mistreatment caused her to resign from the company last month. Mrs. Rose was the breadwinner of her family. On top of that, she had a child with special needs. Just imagine how difficult it was for her to file a resignation letter just because she can't swallow the mishandling she was getting any longer,"

Her head stooped down in shame, feeling so small. Sean was right. She probably won't survive a day in The Palace. Her day had barely even started yet, but she felt like her heart was about to tear apart.

"That's why I understand why Sir Sean was so eager to put an end to their relationship. She had grown horn over time, and she was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. No husband could ever—"

The door rammed open before she could continue her rant. They all turned to the door.

Thera wasn't sure who among them got more surprised seeing Sean right in front of the door. The two ladies huddled at each other when he rushed into the ladies' room.

"Sir. W-were just…" the woman who was talking a lot earlier attempted to reason out.

However, Sean walked past them. Instead, his steps were speeding directly towards her spot. He was staring at her eyes. Thera could not stop the pounding of her heart inside her chest. It was as though she's going to melt to the ground seeing him carrying the serious look on his face.

"Does the offer still stand?"

She swallowed, feeling disoriented. "W-what offer?"

"I want to be your husband again,"

His words rendered her speechless. Even the two ladies were unable to shake the surging tension in a small-spaced room as they watched them in utter disbelief.

Thera had no idea how they were able to leave the restroom in pieces. Her mind was too preoccupied; she didn't realize that Sean was holding her hand firmly until now.

Unsure where he was taking her. One thing was for sure; she heard him say his last words to the two employees before they stormed out of the room.

“See me in my office tomorrow,” there was an authority in his voice as he spoke those words.

Thera couldn't help but wonder how did he know that she was in the ladies' room? Aside from that, how did he know that she was being criticized severely there? Not only does he storm into that room just to inform them not to belittle her, but also to propose marriage in their faces. The fact that he came just in time was a relief for her.

Sean was still holding her hand as they walked through the corridor with long strides. Watchful eyes burning with curiosity trailed around them. Who would have thought that she would show herself up in the building with her not-so-typical get-up?

But what seemed to be more intriguing was the big boss walking hand in hand with the vice devil herself. It sure was an unusual sight to the employees. Never had they seen her with Sean, let alone seeing them holding hands. They were used to seeing Thera De Marco all by herself, carrying her own glory with her head held high.

Thera felt his gentle squeeze in her hand. It was as though he was telling her to focus on him and not on anyone else around. She heaved out a sigh, trying to shake the malicious stares around, and chose to concentrate on the elevator door.

She could tell that nobody wanted to join them in the lift when they all moved to the other one next to it. They couldn't allow themselves to get involved with the growing tension that Sean was projecting early on.

Finally, the lift door slid open, and immediately, Sean settled in. Thera silently followed behind. As she was about to do so, she saw a figure of a woman heading out from the second lift. It happened in a blink of an eye, so she wasn't able to catch a clear glimpse of her.

Could it possibly be Yumi? Her mind could not grasp a clear picture of her secretary. There was a part of her who wanted to blame herself for not checking her secretary's appearance on Facebook. It could have somehow helped her confirm her intuition.

“Are you all right?” Sean asked her the moment the door slid shut.

She lifted her face and turned to Sean. She broke the gaze afterward.

“Stay in my office for the time being. I have an important matter to do back here. After that, I could drive you to—”

“I have no plans on coming back to Baguio,” she cut him off.

“Let me finish first,” he told her, slightly bending his head down. They stared at each other. The intensity of his gaze was enough to make her heart go chaotic—the look in Sean’s eyes filled with emotions starting to surge piece by piece. “I'll take you to my condo unit. It was just a fifteen-minute drive from here,”

She blinked. “D-do we live there? I thought you have a mansion?”

“We live separately,” he answered. He wanted to add more but chose not to.

Thera fell silent. Quite so. They were on the verge of separation. She wanted to ask him for how long, but she was preceded by the ringing phone, interrupting her chance to do so.

She tried to release her hand away from his grip so that he could hold his phone properly, but he resisted.

His grip tightened even more, making her unable to take her hand back. Thera tried to calm herself. She's turning thirty, but she was swooning inside like a teenager. To think that she was about to burst into tears when they separated earlier that day.

She didn't expect him to come after her in Manila. But what was more unhoped-for was his sudden sweet affection towards her. Funny thoughts lingered in her mind trying to think for the probable reason that caused him to be that affectionate out of the blue.

Was it because of the liniment oil she rubbed on his body a few nights ago? If so, then she had definitely struck the gold.

One thing she knew was certain: she was bursting with joy. She wasn't as good as Sean in terms of hiding emotions. She knew that her feelings right now were reflecting her actions.

She stared at Sean. He was an old man to her seventeen-year-old memory. A few weeks ago, she just told herself that he didn't look like her ideal guy but look at her now. She was feeling head over heels without even knowing.

They headed to the exit when they reached the tenth floor. Unlike the eighth floor, this area didn't have so many people around. There was a huge door at the corner of the hallway, and they went in that direction. It was his office.

Sean finally let go of her hand once the door got closed. He turned to face her. “I know you have so many questions in mind,”

His phone rang.

“You seemed busy. My questions can wait,”

He didn't answer his phone. His eyes were still glued on Thera, watching her closely. “I would like to take a chance just like you, Thera. If you allow me to be your husband until you regained memories, I wouldn't mind to—”

“What if I changed my mind and no longer wanted a marriage with expiration? What if I wanted to stay even if my memories had finally returned? Will you still accept me as your wife?”

Sean didn't respond, staring at her keenly. “If you still have me, I’ll stay,” he answered. “No, I think even if you don’t want me, even if you push me away, even if it annoys you to the bones, I’m going to stay.”

Thera gulped sheepishly. She believed Sean was her only hope. Especially now, she was in Manila, and she will probably be facing the cruel world ahead of her.

Sean was trying so hard. He wasn't the kind of person who would make a decision without taking precautionary measures. However, she could see it in his eyes that he was trying to shake his doubts and inhibitions aside just so he could make an offer she could not refuse.

His phone hasn't stopped buzzing just yet when the telephone on the side table began to ring out. It seemed like the call he tried to ignore was something essential to take into consideration.

“Sean…”

He drew a deep breath. He picked up the phone and brought it to his ear. “Give me a few moments, please,” was all he said and hung up the call.

Afterwards, he turned to face her and said. “Do you want to go back to work in The Palace?”

Thera's mouth left agape. She was hesitant about the matter all of a sudden. However, she was thinking about why she stormed into the building in the first place; to recollect the missing pieces of her memories little by little.

Thera tried to console herself not to get affected by the harsh comments she heard back in the ladies' room. Just like what she said a little while ago, if she deserved all the bad-mouths she's about to get, then she had no right to complain.

Her intuition was trying to tell her that most of her memories happened here. Hence, this place shall do her an excellent turn to figure out the broken pieces of her memory she deemed to retrieve.

Thera stood from her seat when the door swung open, revealing a tall figure of a lady in a cream skirt suit. The excitement was evident in her eyes as soon as she saw her.

“Laida?” she tried to guess.

“Yumi. I’m your secretary,” the lady introduced. “I’m so happy to see you’re well. I've missed you, Thera,” she said sincerely, trying to be civil around her though she really wanted to give her a hug.

Thera felt glad. She wasn't expecting that there will be one person who longed to see her again.

Sean told her before he left that he'd send Yumi to his office so that she would have someone to talk to at least. He also added that she's trustworthy. Thera fell back to her seat while Yumi remained standing.

A woman back in the elevator flashed back into her. The woman was not wearing a suit when she saw her. Instead, she was wearing a stretch-fit black slip jumpsuit. If that was the case, then she's not Yumi. Who might that be? Why did she seem so familiar?

“Sir Sean is in the conference room. The meeting will probably last for two hours,”

“I have no idea he has a meeting today,”

Yumi cleared her throat. “It was an emergency meeting. Mr Hernandez called for it,”

Thera shook her head, but her forehead was slightly creasing.

“Mr Hernandez is the CEO of The Palace Mall and Hotel,” Yumi told her when she saw the confusion cross Thera's face. “I know you're still confused. I understand,”

“You knew everything about me, right?”

“Not everything. I only knew something that has to do with The Palace,”

“Then, could you tell me everything?”

“You like him now, don’t you?” she asked, referring to Sean.

Her forehead crumpled. “Did I stop loving him?”

“I don’t know anything about your real feelings, Thera. But you used to hate him before. Whenever you hear his name, you'll blow up,”

She was the one who's mad at him. She took note of that.

“He told me that he was my first love,”

Amused, the secretary's lips formed a smile. “You had that kind of conversation with him?”

“How much do I hate him? Ten out of ten?”

“Ten out of ten,” she confirmed.

Too sad for words, she drew a deep breath.

“Considering your reaction right now, he’s probably right,” Yumi added.

Confused, her forehead furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He’s indeed your first love,”

Thera couldn't hide her smile. She lifted her head to face Yumi, remembering something. She needed an answer to a particular question. It kept bugging her for the past few weeks already. Who was that 'babe' who called him a few months ago? She thought that she might be the reason why he couldn't say 'yes' to her right away.

“By any chance, if you're aware, is there another woman he's interested with?”

“As far as I know, he doesn't have any,”

A sigh of relief came out of her mouth. “Why was I angry at him? Perhaps, do you have any idea why?”

The secretary didn't answer. It was as though she was trying to calculate the situation. “If you like him now, I suggest you savour the moment, Thera. But if you really want to know, Sir Sean told me I can,”

She paused for a moment. “Will it hurt him?”

“It will hurt the both of you,”