CHAPTER 18: MINE ALONE

"Mark?!" Chelsea asked the man who was holding her arm tightly.

What is he doing here?

"What are you doing here, and can you let me go?" a frustrated Chelsea added.

"Chelsea, I want to talk with you. Can you please give me a chance?" It was this pleading that immediately warmed Chelsea's blood. She moved his hand to get out of Mark's tight grip on her.

"Mark, the chance you asked me for has been rotting inside me for a long time since you cheated with my own sister... So can you stay away from me? You can't bring me to your mercy anymore! I have been in oblivion for a long time, whatever we had before!" Chelsea shouted. She wanted to leave, but Mark tried to block her.

"Please get out of the way! I said what I had to say, and I hope you understand that."

But then Mark just wrapped his arms around his ex-fiancee, Chelsea. She wanted to slap him in the face to get revenge for the abuse done to her, but she didn't want to make a scene that would tarnish Red's image.

This surprised Chelsea when Mark suddenly knelt down and said, "I know sorry isn't enough. I just want you to give me a chance to apologize to you in the right way." He begged while holding Chelsea's hand.

The whispers of the people got even louder when Mark suddenly knelt down. Anger is also forming on Chelsea's face, which she is trying to suppress. She also tries to hide her face from people who are watching her.

"I know I wasn't loyal to you, but Chelsea, I still love you. I can't get you out of my mind. I regret what I did, so please forgive me." Mark begged.

"Yuck! A cheater begging for forgiveness?"

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

“The guy is so handsome! What a waste if he really did cheat!"

Whispers of people passing by. Chelsea was no longer comfortable with people's whispers, so she immediately pushed Mark and started walking when he suddenly grabbed her again.

"Let go of me!" Chelsea said angrily, but Mark didn't budge from her yell.

"Chelsea, please, I beg you to believe me just this once; I'll do anything to get you back, please." Mark's words were cut short when Chelsea's hand reached his face with so much force.

“Are you dumb? I said let go of me. If you're ashamed of what you did to me, you should be ashamed! Regret everything you've done. Don't make me feel sorry for the stupid things you do! Go back to your trash girlfriend, after all, you both have the same attitude! You are really meant together."

"Chelsea, please... I..."

"I don't want to see your face ever again!" Chelsea said angrily before leaving Mark who was being looked at by people.

She immediately looked for the car used by Kuya Roy. She knocked on it and ordered him to hand over the bag that was left on her seat earlier.

"Madam, are you all right?" He asked worriedly when he saw that Chelsea was anxious.

"Yes... I have to go back, Manang Fe is still waiting for me,” she said before leaving. Kuya Roy is not at ease. He felt that something else had happened to her.

When she got back, Chelsea saw Mark getting into his car. He was also looking at her but she ignored him and just walked quickly into PureGold. Meanwhile, when she entered, Manang Fe greeted her with a worried look.

"Why did it take you so long, did something happens?" Manang Fe worriedly asked Chelsea. She just responded with a simple smile.

After an hour they finished buying groceries and went straight to the cashier. While they were shopping and paying, Chelsea was silent and motionless. Manang Fe didn't know what was going on and didn't want to interfere so she didn't ask any more questions.

When they left PureGold, people seemed to keep on looking at Chelsea, which worried Manang Fe. She didn't understand what was happening so she quickly walked to the car. When Kuya Roy saw them, he immediately came out and helped put all the goods that they bought into the car. When he finished, he looked as if he was going to ask what happened to Chelsea, but Manang Fe just shrugged. Chelsea got into the car so the two hurriedly followed.

When they returned home, she was still silent. She just looked out the window and was dumbfounded. When she got home, she just went straight in. She even met Butler Lee on her way.

"You're back home, madam!" was a happy greeting from Butler Lee, but Chelsea didn't seem to see anything and just went straight up to her room. He looked at Kuya Roy and Manang Fe in surprise, but just like Manang Fe did earlier, he just shrugged his shoulders.

When Chelsea entered her room, she immediately locked the door and sat on the floor. She just stupidly looked out the window and watched the leaves dance because of the wind. When she realized this, she went straight to her bed and lay down.

She closed her eyes, but what she saw over and over again was the event that destroyed her world. The day she caught Mark and Maxine. It's been a long time since she buried it in oblivion, but she can't explain why it still affects her now. She feels tired in her body, and she just wants to rest and escape from all the problems that come into her life.

…

Meanwhile, while Manang Fe was arranging the groceries, Chelsea was brought into their conversation. Butler Lee was curious when he heard Chelsea's name.

"Did you notice that Madam is acting different today?" said Kuya Roy, who was already helping to arrange the groceries just to gossip with Manang Fe.

"What happened?" Butler Lee asked them worriedly.

Manang Fe and Kuya Roy looked at each other while waiting for an answer.

"I don't know; I was just in the car waiting for them to come back. When Madam left her bag, that's when I noticed that she seemed anxious." Kuya Roy answered.

"I don't know either. She was quiet when we were shopping. She didn't say anything. But when we went out, people were looking at us," Mang Fe said.

"Maybe Madam just has a problem; let's just leave it alone," Kuya Roy said again, and Manang Fe and Butler Lee agreed.

…

Meanwhile, while Red was waiting for the next meeting, his phone suddenly rang. A text from someone. When he opened it, the photo of Mark and Chelsea appeared before him. He can see in the photo that Mark is holding Chelsea's hand. Heat rose in Red's blood, and he dropped the phone on the table. He calmed himself down when his secretary suddenly knocked on the door because it was time for his next meeting.

"Ms. Dein, I'd like you to do some research on the Chua family and the business they're running. I want to know every single piece of information they have. Do you understand?" Red ordered his secretary authoritatively.

"Yes, sir."

"How about the Garcia's Land Project? Any updates?" Red asked.

"I hired someone to look for it, sir. I'll update you when I receive some news."

"Okay." He answered briefly before standing up and adjusting his collar. After finishing, he immediately went to the conference hall.

…

Dinner passed, but Chelsea still didn't come down. She hasn't come out of her room for a while now, which is making the maids nervous. They think that she may have done something bad to herself because of the way she acted earlier.

It was Butler Lee who insisted on going to knock on Chelsea's door. He knocked three times, but no one answered inside. They passed the time, but Chelsea still didn't come down. Manang Fe is worried about Chelsea's condition because it is past 9 p.m. but she still hasn't come down; that's why she immediately called her boss.

[Yes, Hello? This is Ms. Dein, secretary of Mr. Buenavista. How may I help you?] Ms. Dein answered on the other line.

"Dein, hija. This is Manang Fe. Is Mr. Buenavista there now? There is a problem here at the mansion," Manang Fe said worriedly.

[Manang, it's you. The boss is in a meeting today, and he leaves work later, at 11. What is that I can have him say it for you..."]

"Ma'am Chelsea... She hasn't come out of the room for a while. People here at the mansion are worried. She hasn't eaten yet, and they tried knocking but no one answered," Manang Fe worriedly said.

[Is that so? Don't worry, I'll let the boss know right away.]

"Thank you, hija; I'm sorry for the trouble."

[There's no such thing...]

When their conversation ended, Manang Fe immediately hung up the phone.

"So?" Kuya Roy asked.

"He's still in the meeting," Manang Fe said.

"Let's wait for Young Master to get home before we decide what to do. We can't just suddenly enter Ma'am Chelsea's room." Butler Lee added that the people there agreed.

…

Looking at the conference room, it seems like it's going to take a while. The phone immediately rang, and it was close to 11 p.m., but they had no intention of ending the meeting. That's why Ms. Dein entered voluntarily and immediately approached Red.

She approached and whispered to Red, "Sir, Ma'am Chelsea hasn't come out of her room for a while now. Everyone in the mansion is worried."

Red looked at her in surprise and immediately stood up. Everyone in the conference room stopped and looked at him.

"Let's continue the meeting tomorrow. I need to go." He spoke briefly and hurriedly took his things. After that, he immediately went to the parking lot and got into his car. He drove it to get to the mansion quickly. As he was driving, the photo he received earlier was stirring in his mind. Does this have a connection to why Chelsea is acting differently?

After a while, he reached the mansion and immediately went inside. When he entered, the maids, driver, and Butler Lee greeted him.

"Where's Chelsea?" Red asked them.

"She's in her room, master," Butler Lee replied, "and it appears that something is bothering Ma'am Chelsea since they returned from buying groceries."

Red immediately went to her room, but the door was locked. He went to his office and took the spare keys to the mansion's rooms and used them to open Chelsea's room. When he entered, Chelsea was not there, but he could hear the water dripping from the bathroom. It looks like she’s taking a bath.

He peeked into the bathroom and saw her naked while her back was facing the shower. When he was sure she was okay, he sat on the sofa in front of Chelsea's bed.

After sitting down, he immediately took his phone out of his pocket and called someone.

"Find him. I already sent you the information. Hmm. I got it. I want you to keep an eye on him," Red said to the person he was talking to on the phone. “No one can touch what’s mine. What's mine is mine,” he mumbled.