CHAPTER 9: COLISEUM

"However, you will be held accountable for breaking the contract," Red said to Chelsea which makes her shiver.

Chelsea was stunned by what she heard. Her body was stiff with nervousness and seemed to be sweating. Her lips started shaking, and she wanted to cry but her nervousness made her tears not form in her eyes.

"S-sorry..." she said, stuttering.

"I didn't mean... I didn’t mean to tell Kent about the contract..." she said, so scared about what will Red will do to her.

"Wow, you just called him by his name. You just met that person, Chelsea. You even forgot about our rule not to tell anyone about the contract. What would you think he thinks about me right now? He is probably laughing at what I did! You should have to think about that first before opening your fucking mouth, woman! Don't embarrass me in the eyes of other people. We may be in a fake relationship but because of the contract, we are legally married. Keep that in mind. Don’t ruin my surname!" Red stated making Chelsea burst out crying.

She can no longer stop herself and the emotion that she is feeling right now burst out. “No–no, it’s not like that…” Chelsea replied.

Red frowned, he seems annoyed and confused by what he heard. "Not like that? You're even brave enough just to call him by his first name, Chelsea. What did you call him again? Kent?"

"But—but he was the one who said that's what I should call him..." Chelsea defended herself.

Chelsea's answer didn't make Red feel any better; instead, it made him angrier. She was terrified and anxious to death because she could see the tension in his jaw as he clenched it.

"Are you aware that you're acting like a whore right now? Are you really that desperate to find someone that will save you and provide you with some money, that's why you stick to any man with potential?" Red shouted.

CHELSEA

Seriously? Did he actually call me a whore? Other than disclosing the terms of our contract to others, did I do anything else wrong to him? Why is he so angry with me?

"I'm not flirting with that person. Do you have proof that I flirted with him? You have no right to call me that!" I shouted in his face.

"As your husband, I have all the rights to complain about your behavior. You must act like you're committed, even if it's just a contract. If you don't follow my rules, there will be no way out of our agreement. Day by day, I'll make your life miserable. Is that what you want?"

He let go of that question and the room became quiet. I turned to look at his response. In addition to the irritation, I noticed another thing in his eyes, although I couldn't sense hatred. He seemed to be begging with me more than he was furious with me for breaking our agreement. Is he truly only concerned that I won't uphold the deal, or is there another issue that he's furious about?

Is she jealous of Kent Jackson Lee?

But what I'm thinking is impossible... Maybe he's just really angry at what I did. I didn't mean to tell Kent about our agreement. I was really drawn into the conversation probably because I felt light-hearted toward that person. But what if he's really jealous? Why does it seem like a big deal to him that I call him Kent? What if he has feelings for me that I am not aware of? What if he just kept everything from me?

I shook my head because of the useless things that were going through my mind. Wake up, Chelsea Leigh Garcia! Why am I thinking like this? It's impossible for him to like me because we didn't do anything all day but fight. We can be each other's, favorite enemy.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he snaps his finger at my face. "Are you even listening?" he added.

I immediately pinched myself to make myself wake up from daydreaming.

What the fuck are you doing yourself, you're embarrassing yourself, it's still morning but you're already dreaming. This guy might think I'm fantasizing about him.

"Y-yes… I promise it won't happen again, Mr. Buenavista..."

Anyway, what I did was really wrong but I didn't expect that to happen. I just wanted someone to talk to and Kent was the first person that listened to my story.

I took a deep sigh, a little more patience and I will be able to get out of this contract and when that happens I will continue to leave for Australia to find myself and start a new life by myself. Without the contract, without annoying sister and stepmother, without my asshole ex, and without Red Chandler Buenavista.

"Oh, yes. Make sure to not do it again. I'll make sure you'll regret it if you make another mistake, you understand?" he said emphatically while bringing his face closer to mine.

I look away as I get uncomfortable with what he did.

"Yes... I understand..." I answered him briefly.

"Good. I want you to be ready in ten minutes. We're going somewhere. I don't want to be late, so hurry up." he said in authoritative command.

"Where are we going—" I couldn't finish what I was going to say when he suddenly spoke again.

"I said hurry up!”

His piercing eyes instantly conveyed terror to me. As a result, I returned to my room right away and discovered a large paper bag containing a dress. Since I had already put on my makeup earlier, I just needed to make a minor retouch.

~

Chelsea finished getting dressed, and they left right away. Chelsea still couldn't get rid of the question that had been bothering her mind for a while, which was where Red would take her. She couldn't talk to him because she was still ashamed of what happened earlier at the mansion.

They had been traveling for more than 30 minutes and Chelsea seemed to be deep in thought and had been looking out the window of the car. Red looked worriedly at his wife but still couldn't shake his anger at what she did.

"Maybe you deserve what you're feeling right now. How dare you lie to me, Chelsea." Red wonders.

They reached the Araneta Coliseum an hour later. Chelsea was taken aback when she realized Red had brought her to the unexpected place she never thought he would bring her.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, surprised.

"What? Is there anything you don't like about coming to the concert with me?" Red mumbled.

Chelsea suddenly felt her cheeks heat up. She doesn’t know how to respond or what to feel in this kind of situation. She didn't expect that he would take her to Araneta to see her favorite band. He clings to Red's arm and gives it a really tight embrace out of delight.

"Thank you, Mr. Buenavista!" she said happily.

Red averted his gaze as if he were still upset at what Chelsea had done. Why are you hugging me? Don't think that if you hold me like that, I'll forgive you for lying to me. Red said in his mind.

~

Meanwhile, Mr. Lee had been standing in front of the coliseum for more than half an hour. Chelsea didn’t show up at their agreed time. When suddenly, his eyes turned to a woman getting off in a luxury car, and it was Chelsea. He smiled and ran closer to Chelsea when he suddenly stopped when he saw Red get out of the car.

He was shocked to see him with Chelsea. He expected only Chelsea to be with him to watch the concert. Red immediately approached his wife and held her hand while staring at Mr. Lee.

"Mr. Lee, you're already here... I'm sorry that I can't go with you because I want to be with my husband to watch the concert…Sorry…" Chelsea shyly said to Mr. Lee while squeezing Red's hand.

Red didn't pay attention to what his wife was doing because of his serious look at Mr. Lee.

"No, don’t say sorry, Chelsea. It’s not a problem.” Mr. Lee said while smiling at Chelsea. “Mr. Buenavista, I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time, and I'm extremely happy to have finally had the opportunity to do so," he said and smiled as he reached out his hand to Red.

Red accepted it right away while maintaining his gaze on Mr. Lee. They locked their gazes on one other for long minutes. When Chelsea abruptly broke the silence, the tension between the two was palpable.

"Ahh… How long will you guys hold each other’s hand?” Chelsea asked.

"I just wanted to express my gratitude to Mr. Lee for his help last time. Mr. Lee, thank you for your concern for my wife. Please tell me what you want, so that I can repay you."

"There's no need for that, Mr. Buenavista. I'm glad that I can help." Mr. Lee answered.

"Well then, my wife is very lucky," Red said while a grin on his lips formed.

"Yes, Mr. Buenavista has to be careful." Mr. Lee smiled as he respond. Those stares between the two have some kind of meaning that Chelsea doesn’t understand. Chelsea felt an awkward atmosphere and she suddenly pulled Red closer to her.

"Ahhh, the concert is about to start... Let's go, love?" Chelsea asked her husband with a smile while her eyes widened.

"Mr. Buenavista, if you don't mind, can I both join you on your date?" Mr. Lee asked, jokingly.

“No! — Ahhh, I mean…” Chelsea suddenly answered. She couldn’t look into Mr. Lee’s eyes after what she just said. Red narrowed his eyes as he looked at Chelsea’s behavior.