CHAPTER 16: BEAUTIFUL

Maxine couldn't move from her position when she saw that her boyfriend Mark was in front of her. Mark Randel Chua is Chelsea's ex-boyfriend who was stolen by Maxine. His eyes were glaring with the anger that scared Maxine. She is still recoiling in fear.

"M-mark?! W-what are you doing here?!" Maxine asked shakily.

"Slut!" Mark yelled at Maxine's face while slapping her with great force.

Maxine froze at the pain of the slap she received.

[Don't tell me, did Red set this trap?] she asked herself in confusion.

…FLASHBACK…

Before Red could leave his office, he grabbed his phone.

[Come to my company and go to the waiting room for an interesting show.]

He then clicked the send button.

…END OF FLASHBACK…

"M-mark I can explain... Please let me explain..." Maxine insisted as Mark walked out.

"Explain what?! Isn't it clear what I watched, Maxine?!" He angrily scolded his girlfriend.

Maxine was taken aback by his sudden rise in voice, which he had never done to her before. Mark had never hurt her or yelled at her during their entire relationship. That's why she was so surprised that she acted like this.

"It's not like that, Mark. Babe, please... Let me explain... You didn't see everything, okay? That's not my intention. Please believe me, babe!" she begs.

"Isn't what I saw enough?! What else do you want me to see, huh? You kissing another man?!"

"No... Please don't be like this, babe..." Maxine's tears were starting to fall.

"I was blinded by the truth, I should have never left Chelsea... Let's break up!" he shouted before continuing to walk out of Buenavista's Company.

Maxine chased him while she was running and wiping her tears. When Mark got into the car, Maxine tried to get in, but it was already locked. She knocked on the window of his car while begging, but he didn't listen to her and immediately drove away.

Maxine was left in tears and collapsed on the road. He couldn't move because he was so weak from what was happening. He did not expect that his good plan would end up like this. He couldn't even think of what to do. It seems that all the plans in his brain disappeared like a bubble.

RED

I was back in my office when I caught a glimpse outside the window. I saw Maxine chasing after Mr. Chua.

"Chelsea's life has been ruined by your selfish actions. No one's allowed to bully or hurt my wife," I said while sipping coffee and watching a good drama outside of my company.

When I got fed up, I arranged my things to get ready to go home. Is Chelsea asleep now? For sure, she was already drooling because it was already 5 a.m. When I was finished, I exited the parking lot and returned home. On my drive home, I passed a store full of flowers. I stopped in front of it and examined every single flower on display.

"Hey, hello, sir! Are you going to buy it? Is it for your girlfriend? Perfect timing, we just got our freshly picked flowers, and they were just imported from Dangwa. What kind of flowers does your girlfriend like?" the lady happily asked.

"I actually don't know... Can you recommend a flower that she will like?" Red asked back to the lady.

"If I'm the one to choose, sir, your girlfriend will definitely like our tulip bouquet. This flower is known for its beautiful color and its significant meaning. It means perfect and deep love. I'm sure your relationship will be going well if you buy this, sir!"

Without hesitation, Red purchased the flower and placed it in his car. He continued driving and arrived at his mansion in a few minutes. Upon entering, he immediately went to Chelsea's room and saw that she was sleeping soundly. He even chuckled when she suddenly started snoring. She seemed tired from their wanderings yesterday.

He didn't bother to wake her up and just put the flower on the side table as a welcome gift for his wife. Before he left, he looked at her for a few minutes and fixed her blanket. Before finally standing up, he kissed her on the forehead and said, "Goodnight."

He slowly left Chelsea's room and went to his room to take a shower. While taking a bath, he suddenly remembered kissing Chelsea. He was stunned by his thoughts. He thought that he didn't really plan to kiss Chelsea, but he couldn't stop himself. He is still worried that he may have offended his wife with what he did. He washed his face to wake up from deep thought. After taking a bath, he went straight to bed and slept.

The next morning, Chelsea woke up early. She rubbed her eyes before getting up. When she got up, she noticed the bouquet of tulips on her table. There was a card stuck to it, and when she read it, she smiled in excitement.

[I'll protect you.]

She is unaware of the thrill she is experiencing. It's as if her whole body is electrified; she even jumps from her seat.

"How did he know that tulips are my favorite flower?" she wondered to herself.

But she didn't think too much about it and immediately took the vase and placed the tulips she had received there. When she finished, she washed up and got ready to have breakfast downstairs. After getting dressed, she immediately went out and stopped in front of Red's room. She opened it slowly and was very surprised when it opened. Not locked. When Chelsea peeked, the sleeping Red Chandler Buenavista was revealed to her.

"Even when you're sleeping, Redemon, you still look so fine..." she whispered before slowly closing the door and going straight to the kitchen.

She caught Manang Fe preparing breakfast, so she immediately helped her prepare the table.

"Good morning, Manang Fe!" she greeted.

"Good morning, ma'am! You look so blooming today! It seems like something good happened…"

Chelsea let out a huge smile. "It's just a secret for us, manang! Because when I woke up, I saw a bouquet of flowers on my table. Shhh. It's just a secret!" she shyly said to the old woman.

"Sir seems to be in a good mood today too! Do you know, ma'am, that this is the first time that sir brings flowers to the house? He didn't even buy some flowers for his mom. The hearts of the two are a bit far apart." Manang Fe gossips with Chelsea.

"Really? Mhmm... I wonder if you saw Red's mom. I don't see her here at the mansion anymore." Chelsea asked.

"Aren’t you aware? Mrs. Buenavista left the mansion with a suitcase. I don't know where she went," Manang Fe answered.

"Is that so? Oh, hey, have you eaten yet? Let's eat together." Chelsea offered to Manang Fe, but she refused because she said she had eaten breakfast earlier.

While Chelsea was having breakfast, Red suddenly entered the dining room, having obviously just woken up.

"Good morning," he said briefly as he drew the seat back.

"Uh-oh, good morning to you too. Thank you for the flowers you gave me. By the way, how did you know that tulips are my favorite flower?" Chelsea asked curiously.

"I don't know. The lady just suggested that earlier. It's a good thing that tulips are your favorite. Do you like it?" Red asked with a smile as Manang Fe prepared his orange juice.

"Yeah, I love it, thanks!" she said while simply fixing her hair.

They continued eating, and in the middle of their breakfast, Chelsea suddenly asked her husband.

"Don't you have anything important to do at the company today? Why don't you seem to be in a hurry to eat?" Chelsea asked in surprise.

"All done. So I'm free today. Do you want to do something or go?" Red asked his wife back.

"Uh, let's just stay here at home. I'm also a bit tired from our wanderings yesterday. My feet hurt from walking and riding rides, but I enjoyed it! Thank you for yesterday... You don't know how much I appreciate it..." Chelsea thanked Red, which made him smile, but he didn’t let Chelsea see it.

"Anything for you," he emotionlessly mumbled.

"Hurry up with what you eat and give Blaze a bath," Red suddenly ordered Chelsea.

“What?! Are you even serious right now? Did you just give me some flowers so that you can make me bathe your dog?!” Chelsea asked in surprise.

“No, and did you just complain right now? I am paying you, Ms. Garcia. Did you just forget about that?”

“But—but your dog might eat me alive!” Chelsea shouted.

“Blaze has a manner, and you didn’t look tasty at all, so don’t worry.”

“You—”

"Don't worry, I'll help you, so hurry up and eat,” Red interjected.

Frowning, Chelsea continued to eat the hot dog. She was wondering why the wind was blowing so fast and suddenly Red returned to his demonic state again. She glanced at him but was busy reading the newspaper.

"I'm done," Chelsea said.

"30 minutes," Red said while still reading his newspaper.

"Okay..." Chelsea growled as she returned to her seat.

A few minutes passed and Red still didn't move from his seat. Chelsea just looked at him bored. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she stood up and told Red that she will just watch TV in the living room. He just nodded to her. So she immediately left and went to the living room. When she turned on the TV, she saw the news that Mark and Maxine were breaking up. According to the reporter, the reason for the separation of the two has not yet been determined, but according to the Chua family, the planned collaboration of their company will not continue.

Chelsea watched it without emotion. She looks like she doesn’t care anymore. When the news about the two ended, she changed it to another channel and it took her to the Disney channel, and just watched it.

“Much better,” she said while leaning her head on the sofa.

Chelsea was so engrossed in watching that she didn't even notice the time. When Red suddenly appeared in front of her, she was immediately surprised.

"Are you going to kill me in shock?!" Chelsea shouted in annoyance.

"No, I’ll kill you with pleasure in bed." Red teasingly said.

He just scolded her and immediately turned off the TV. They went to the garden together to pick up Blaze. They were still far away when they heard Blaze's barking. It seems that he can smell his boss.

When they reached the gate of the garden, Chelsea noticed that Blaze wasn’t tied up in his dog house, so she let Red go in first to calm her pet dog.

"Hey, boy!" Red happily greeted Blaze which made the dog excitedly wag his tail. It barked and barked and reached for Red.

"Hey demon, grab him, he might bite me!" Chelsea ordered Red in fear.

"He doesn't eat fatty foods. You're high in cholesterol." Red laughed. Chelsea immediately walks closer to Red and hit him.

"Dumbass! I'm not fat! Hmmph!"

"Come, let him smell you so his nose can register your scent," Red instructed Chelsea to approach Blaze.

"He might bite me," Chelsea said in fear.

"I already told you that he doesn't bite. He's a well-trained dog, so you don't need to be afraid. Come!"

Little by little, Chelsea came closer to Blaze, and as expected, she was still hesitant to pet him. When Blaze got close to her and smelled her, he immediately returned to Red.

"See? Now he knows you. So you don't have to be afraid when he meets you." Red smiled as he scratched Blaze's belly, which the dog loved.

"How long have you been taking care of him?" Chelsea asked curiously.

"He’s been with me for 2 years now. He was given to me by the most beautiful woman in my life." Red smiled, but Chelsea’s world suddenly stopped as she heard what Red said.

The most beautiful woman in his life? Does this mean he's already in love with someone else?