Elissa was hurrying to do her hair and makeup, in between muttering about Benjamin’s last-minute update about them going for dinner outside.
Satisfied with her look, she exited the room carrying the clutch and went downstairs directly where Benjamin was waiting for her. Reaching down the building, her mouth formed in the shape of an O when she saw the Porsche car behind Benjamin.
Benjamin was awestruck to see Elissa in that dress. Everything was simply perfect and the way she pouted her rosy lips and the widening of her brown orbs, made his heart flutter. He smiled and stretched his open palm forward for her to take.
Placing her hand in his, she asked with amusement, “Your car?”
“Hey, I am the CEO of the largest company at B, I do have some dignity” he joked making Elissa chuckle. He loved to see her smile and especially if he was the reason for that.
“Shall we get going?”
“After you” he opened the door for her and once she was comfortably seated in the car, he shut the car door and went to his side.
He buckled up his seatbelt and said, “I am sorry for telling you about this dinner at the end. The dinner was planned but it almost slipped my mind to tell you. ”
Elissa accepted his apology and asked more about his old friend. “Well, he and I attended the same college. We were good friends but then I moved to B city and we lost connection. It so happened that he is now my competitor– one of the toughest businessmen in A city, so I contacted him to have dinner with him. I'll tell you more when we will see him face to face.” Elissa chuckled and nodded.
He started the car and drove to the destination.
After fifteen minutes, they reached the restaurant. He parked the car outside of HELENA’S AROMA, making sure the space was clear. Getting out, he went to open the door for Elissa, and taking his hand, she stepped out of the car.
“Wow, the restaurant looks great” she complemented impressed by the restaurant’s exterior.
“You will like the food even more.”
Benjamin requested Elissa to place her hand around his arm and since he was requesting, she agreed with a sigh. Elissa started to feel at ease but when she saw a familiar face, it snatched her breath in a heartbeat.
The familiar blue eyes, the raven hair, and that face, no matter what, she could never forget that. Dressed in an expensive suit, Carson stood in front and was as shocked as she was. His eyes were wide and he felt his body going stiff. He wasn’t expecting to see her, not here, not in this restaurant.
Benjamin felt Elissa’s body tense and her eyes fixed on the man in front of them. He frowned and asked if she was okay. She could only lie. Benjamin stepped forward and gave a hug to Carson, making Elissa more surprised. So he was the man they were having dinner with?
Elissa could have managed easily if it wasn’t for the fact that Amanda was standing beside Carson with her arm wrapped around his. The memory of the day when she saw them in the same bed flashed before her eyes but she chose to disappear them.
“Elissa, he is Carson, my old friend and now my competitor” Benjamin hung his shoulder over Carson's as he playfully introduced him. “She is Elissa. The very best assistant I can ever ask for” he then introduced her to them.
Elissa took a step forward and gave them a tight smile. When Carson stretched his hand forward for a handshake, Elissa looked into his eyes and her heart ached to see the look in his eyes.
With a stiff tone, she shook his hand and said, “Hello, Mr. Waverly.”
Elissa turned her attention to Amanda who was glaring at Elissa. Amanda almost couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her. Thousands of questions were on her mind and she couldn’t ask them in front of Carson.
“She is Miss Amanda Havells,” Benjamin said, giving a playful eye to Carson. But Carson was focused only on Elissa.
“And his soon-to-be wife” Amanda chimed in, showing off her diamond ring.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Havells” Elissa shook her hand politely, keeping her tone formal. Amanda was hoping for a reaction from Elissa but she was surprised and annoyed when Elissa was so calm as if it didn’t bother her at all.
“Let's go to our seat then. Shall we?” Benjamin asked brightly. He asked Elissa if she was feeling okay because her face was pale and her body stiff as if she had seen a ghost. “Tell me once you feel uncomfortable. I will take you home.” Elissa faintly smiled at Benjamin’s care. The four went to the seat they have booked and took their respective seats. Benjamin and Elissa were seated opposite Carson and Amanda.
Amanda intentionally leaned toward Carson to show Elissa that they were deep in love and Carson had no feelings left for her. Elissa gave no heed to that and chatted with Benjamin.
“So Elissa, how does it feel to work for Benjamin Raymond?” Amanda asked. Elissa cocked her eyebrow giving her a cold look.
Elissa didn't want to talk, so she said perfunctorily, "Well, Benjamin is very capable. I learned a lot from him."
But Amanda didn't want to let Elissa off the hook, saying, "I see Elissa is a big fan of your boss." She looked at Carson and said, “if Mr. Benjamin hadn't said Elissa was his assistant, I would have thought they were a couple. They do make a good couple, don't they?"
Carson gave Amanda a homicidal look in his eyes. But Benjamin was very happy. He praised Elissa. At the same time, Amanda began to pull back.
Benjamin offered to raise a toast to his reunion with Carson.
“I'll go to the washroom. Excuse me please” Elissa got up and hurried to the washroom. When Amanda kept on touching Carson ever when he had said no, Carson hissed at her.
“I told you to not touch me. Don't you get it?” Amanda felt hurt but Carson had always been cold to her, yet, she tried all means to make him like her but his heart was stuck on Elissa. Amanda rose and excused herself to go to the washroom.
Elissa was coming out of the ladies' room when she noticed Amanda. Amanda walked towards her and scoffed with satisfaction. “Long time, Elissa.” Elissa ignored her which made Amanda angry. “Huh! Do you think you are something now that you have a rich man with you? I can't believe you, Elissa. You are such a slut.”
Elissa had enough of her nonsense and turned towards her, she glared at her. She noticed her clutch in her hand and snatched it from her hold. “I am not interested in having any kind of talk with you, Amanda.”
“Why? Oh, I see. You must be jealous knowing that Carson is engaged to me, right? Hah! So you better not go around seducing him or else–”
“Excuse me? Seducing him? That's your job, not mine” Elissa retorted. Amanda ground her teeth, a little surprised to see Elissa differently.
“So what if I seduced him? Carson loves me now. You cheated on him by hooking someone behind your back three years ago! I bet he must be that man” Amanda scorned, talking about Benjamin.
“What do you want, Amanda? You got him, he is now yours. What problem do you have now?”
“You! You are the problem! Why do you have to show up here? Did you already know that Carson was a friend to your boss? Is that the reason that you are back to snatch him from me?”
Elissa could only laugh at her condition. “My god, how insecure are you, Amanda?” She then coldly told her that she wanted to have nothing to do with her or with Carson. “He and I have nothing, whatever we did it was over years ago so please stop accusing me.”
Elissa was done cleaning and turned on her heels to leave. However, Amanda grabbed her arm outside the washroom and pushed her to the wall. “Do you think I'll believe you, you little slut! I saw the way you were looking at him. Hmph! How greedy can you be Elissa? You have a hot boss beside you but still, you want to steal my fiancé?–” A loud slap came to cross Amanda's face that made her ears numb for a moment.
Amanda gaped and her nostrils flared. “You!” But when she noticed Elissa's gaze somewhere else, she turned around to find Carson. She panicked if he heard what she spouted just now.
“Why did you hit her?” Carson asked, looking straight at Elissa with his eyes narrowed.
Amanda quickly started to act like she was the victim. She sobbed and went to Carson like she was being hit by Elissa for no reason. “Carson, she hit B-because I just shared that we were going to marry.”
“Apologize” he stated. For a second Amanda thought he saw right through her and was telling her to apologize to Elissa.
“Why should I apologize? Your fiancee came and started saying nonsense. She deserves that slap” Elissa stayed rooted to her grounds.
“What's happening?” Benjamin came at the moment and his eyebrows rose when he saw Amanda crying while her left cheek had the hand impression as if someone hit her.
“Nothing man. There was just some misunderstanding between the ladies but it's sorted.”
Amanda gaped at him with a baffled expression. How could he? She was about to open her mouth when Carson whispered in her ear, “If you dare make any trouble, I will break off this engagement.”
Elissa was watching them and her blood boiled. Amanda deserved that slap. Elissa had enough of her nonsense.
“Hey, are you alright? What happened?” Benjamin asked tenderly. Elissa shook her head, keeping her eyes on the couple in front of her.
“There's an urgent matter. We will get going now. It was nice to meet you, Benjamin, and Ms. Elissa” Carson said in a hurry, and grabbing Amanda's wrist, he dragged her out of the restaurant and to his car.
Elissa was drained. “I am not feeling well. Let's go home, please?” she said, more like requested. Benjamin quickly agreed and they went home.
~
Carson dropped Amanda at her house and left without saying anything. Amanda was in a rage. She stormed inside Havells Residency, yelling in anger. Her mother, Kimberly came out running from her room hearing her daughter's fit. She asked what was the matter. Amanda told her mother about Elissa.
“No, we can't let her stay here. We need to drive her out of the city” Kimberly said. They both started to plot an evil plan how they would chase Elissa out of the city. Kimberly also suggested her daughter let Hera know about Elissa's arrival.
Deliberately, Amanda dialled Hera's number. “Mom!” she cried. “You will not believe what happened today.”
Confused, Hera asked, “What happened, Amanda? Is this related to Carson?”
“Elissa is back!” the revelation was like a shock to Hera which made her jump from the couch she was sitting on.
“What? That wench is back?” Hera was fuming with anger now. She had assumed that Elissa must be back for the money and to seduce her son. She won’t let that happen.
Hera paced around the living room back and forth, thinking in tension about the arrival of Elissa. She tried to call Carson but he wasn’t picking up her call. She hasn’t slept well the whole night. She was worried and anxious about the thought of Carson and Elissa getting back together. She couldn’t let that happen and so she asked one of her friend’s help to dig out where Elissa resided. It was a mere work of half an hour to find the location. Hera decided to meet Elissa and tell her to stay away from their lives.-Elissa was making herself a cup of jasmine tea when she heard the doorbell. Yawning, she went to open the door. She almost lost her footing when she the person she expected the very least. Hera stood in front of her with her eyes narrowed. Elissa sighed and kept her cool. She assumed she was here because of her encounter with Carson. Before Elissa could say anything, Hera snapped at her.“How dare you came back! Did you forget what happened three years ago?”Of course, sh
Hera forced Carson to take Amanda out for a dinner. He was not at all interested, not after the argument he had with Elissa this morning. However, he couldn’t say no to his mother and so went with Amanda to a random restaurant. But to his utter surprise, he saw Elissa smiling and talking with Benjamin. His eyebrows furrowed and he was suddenly very jealous. Amanda followed his gaze and saw Elissa. Her skin burnt at the sight of her. She thought with a grimace, ‘Why does she have to be everywhere?’Amanda didn’t want to eat here and most importantly did not want to let Carson meet Elissa. She was about to tell Carson that they should go somewhere else but he was already walking toward their table like an angry bull. Amanda gritted her teeth and cursed Elissa for ruining her night with Carson.She strode towards Carson and stood beside him. When her eyes met with Elissa’s, she threw darts at him. Benjamin warmly welcomed them to join upon Carson’s demand and having no other choice, Aman
Carson was doing his work on his laptop in his room when he heard a knock on the door. It was his mother. He asked her to come in. Hera came to talk to him about the engagement between Carson and Amanda. Carson kept his laptop aside and looked at his mother. “There’s something I need to talk to you about, son.”Hera wanted the two of them to get married soon. She wanted Amanda to be her daughter-in-law because of her identity as the mayor’s daughter. It would only benefit both the families and there would be no place for Elissa. “Carson, it's been months since the statement of the two of you getting engaged soon. When are you officially declaring her as your fiancée?”Carson was upset about the whole thing with Elissa that happened yesterday and he didn’t have the mood to talk about engagement. “I don’t want to talk about it now, Mom. I am going to the office” Carson said perfunctorily and took his jacket from the chair. Hera urged again but Carson was out of the room already. Hera le
Elissa let out a horrified shriek when a hand pulled her from her behind. "Shh, love it's me" Carson spoke in her ear, assuring her heart at ease. Elissa's heart was still racing. She turned to face and lightly smacked his arm. Carson laughed."I was scared" Elissa pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. She turned her face away from him and pretended to be mad. Carson smiled and pulled her closer to him from her waist. Elissa tried to keep a straight face but she couldn't help but smile at the way Carson's eyes gazed at her lovingly. He tilted her chin and leaned closer to give a soft kiss on her rosy lips. Elissa smiled and kissed him back. How could she be mad when he showered so much love on her?Pulling back, she asked, "You came early. Is your work over?" Carson pushed the strand of her hair behind her ear and nodded. "But I am still not done with mine," she said with a teasing smile.Carson gave a peck on her nose, making her heart flutter, and said, "I know. I will wait an
Benjamin checked in the direction of Elissa’s workplace for the fifth time but Elissa was still not there. He thought that maybe she was running late and thought of giving her a call. However., her call went straight to voicemail and it made him worried. Elissa always answered her phone and it was also odd for her to be late. He thought to wait for another hour but when she still wasn’t present, he couldn’t just sit at the office. He took his jacket and left the office in a hurry to go and check on Elissa. He knew it would be awkward for Elissa to find him on her doorstep but he was worried for her. He drove his Porsche to her apartment building and went upstairs.He pressed the doorbell several times but Elissa was not responding. Benjamin’s eyebrows were knitted together and his anxiousness grew. He yelled her name but no response. Having no other options left, he banged open the door after several pushing. He was shocked to see Elissa lying on the floor of the living room. He immed
Benjamin gave Elissa gave a day off. Elissa didn’t argue this time because she felt she wasn’t ready to face him yet. Elissa was feeling better than before and did her pending work in her leisure time. Later, she got a call from Benjamin and she consciously accepted the call. Elissa felt awkward greeting him but Benjamin acted as if nothing had happened between them. “I would like your company to pick some things. Well, I needed to pick something to add to my house and since I am not really good at choosing items, I was thinking if you can give me a company?”Elissa blinked and took her moment to answer. She was hesitating because she didn’t want to give him any hope. “Elissa, I know where I stand. You don’t need to worry. I really need your help” Benjamin added, assuring her. Elissa heaved a sigh and agreed to go to him to the market in the afternoon.Elissa went to the market where Benjamin was waiting for her. He was in his casual wear so it was hard for her to recognize him in the
H&L Bar,“Get me another glass of this drink!” Carson yelled impatiently at the waiter, raising the empty glass in mid-air. The waiter gave an annoyed look at him but passed him another glass of vodka. Carson gulped down the liquid in one go.After arguing with Benjamin and Elissa, he drove angrily to this bar and had been ordering drinks one after another.Carson swirled the glass in his hand, imagining Elissa and the child she had with another man. His anger rose again and with a grimace, he was about to throw the glass when the waiter stopped him.“You dare do that and I will throw you out this second!” he warned and Carson stopped. He heavily sighed and lowered his down as it touched the cold metal top. His phone rang beside him but he didn’t pick up. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. The continuous ringing of his phone annoyed the waiter and he asked to turn off his phone. Carson ignored him which made the waiter roll his eyes in irritation. He went to him and grabbed his phone.
Benjamin was in his office, working on the laptop when he got a call from his father. He was a bit surprised and wondered what purpose he was calling him since he rarely initiated a call. “Hello, Dad.”“What is this, Benjamin?” Harold snapped from the other line. Benjamin’s eyebrows drew together and he was confused why his Dad was furious. “How can you not tell us about her?”“I don’t understand what you are saying, Dad.”“What is going on between that secretary of yours and you? Are you having an affair with her?”Benjamin was shocked. He wasn’t expecting this kind of conversation. When Benjamin couldn’t give him a satisfactory reply, Harold continued, “How can you have an affair with that kind of woman?”“What do you mean ‘that kind of woman’?” Benjamin questioned with a displeased expression. He was suddenly irritated when his father said something about Elissa.“That woman has a child, Benjamin” Harold revealed with disappointment in his son. Harold had high hopes for his son. He