Chapter 16

Elyana's Point of View Checking my phone was the first thing I did the next day. I was hoping Felicity had already replied to the message I sent him the other night, but I frowned just to discover I hadn't received a message from anybody that morning. It made me wonder where Felicity had gone, hoping nothing bad had happened to him. I tried to relax my mind by thinking he was just busy, but my brain refused to cooperate. In the end, I chose to call his number again, but I almost threw my phone away when a voicemail informed me that his number was still out of service and that he could not take my call. 'Ugh! Where the heck are you, Felicity?" I asked while staring at the cell phone in my hand as if that would answer the question. I did remember him telling me he needed to go somewhere when he begged me to date Quintin, but what if something else happened and that's why I couldn't call his number? That negative thought pushed me to find other ways to get to know his whereabouts. I searched for a telephone. There were none inside my room. I went downstairs into the living room. It was just around 8 a.m. that time, still early, but his secretary might be in their office already. One of the maids saw me walking hurriedly downstairs and gave me a confused look, but I didn't mind. There was an old-fashioned telephone in the living room. Something with a round dialer, and you need to put your finger inside the round hole and spin it until the number reaches the small arrow. I picked it up and took it near my ear to check if there was a dial tone. I was relieved when I heard a long beeping sound, but that joy suddenly disappeared when I realized I didn't have the number to dial. Yellow pages were the next thing I searched for, and I found one inside the drawer just under the table where I found the telephone. His matchmaking agency was not that difficult to find because it was the only agency that offered that kind of service during that time, and it almost occupied the entire page of the phone book with his face in it. I dialed the number right away, and in less than a minute, someone answered. 'Hello, good morning, Klara! This is Elyana, the one from yesterday. Is Felicity already there?" I asked as quickly as she said hello. 'Oh, ma'am, my boss isn't here yet. He wouldn't be coming today actually; he told me yesterday before he left that he might be gone for a few days," Klara politely answered. I slapped my forehead right after hearing that. He didn't even tell me. I suddenly thought maybe he was forcing me to date Quintin Generoso because he was in a rush to leave, and she didn't want that man to bother him. It was a smart move. He used me to calm the storm, and he could travel in peace. 'Did he tell you where he would be going? I had called his number since last night. I also sent him text messages, but he didn't give me even a single reply." I couldn't stop myself anymore from flooding her with questions. 'I-I don't know, ma'am, where he would be heading. My boss has that kind of habit. Sometimes he doesn't even show up for a week without informing me where he is. No calls, messages, or emails. He will just disappear and appear. Don't worry, ma'am, if he calls today I will inform him you're looking for him." 'Ah! That would be great, Klara. Thank you so much!" 'You're welcome, ma'am," she answered, and I hung up. I was quite relieved and confident he was not in trouble after talking to his secretary, but I was still uneasy about not knowing where on Earth that b*sh was. If he was on vacation and having fun, I wanted to be there too, and for a few moments, I thought about who I could visit and ask about Felicity. Maybe I could get information from his family, and there were only two places I knew. One, at the company where I could find Felix, and, second, at their house, where Lea and Aunt Eugene live. I still had a plan beforehand to see Felix, though. That would be perfect timing. Finding Felicity would be another great excuse to go to him. I took a quick shower, wore a comfortable dress, and put on light makeup. I made sure I applied my sunscreen from my face to all exposed areas of my body before leaving my room, and to make sure I would be protected from the sun, I brought a small bottle just in case I needed to apply more later that day. I went straight to the underground bar we had and walked into the cellar to steal one expensive bottle of wine from Dad's collection to bring to Felix as a peace offering. Felix can drink, and he doesn't have an allergy to liquor like Felicity. I didn't wrap it anymore. I just put it in a paper bag to hide it from the maids, because they might tell Dad. When I arrived at the floor where Felix's office could be found, I didn't see anybody sitting at the desk where his secretary was stationed when I last visited. Even the cubicles on the other side were empty. I was on the verge of thinking maybe all of them had gone on a vacation, but I heard voices coming from one of the rooms. It seemed they were in the midst of a meeting. It would be a shame to disturb their meeting. I didn't want Felix to get angrier at me. I decided to wait outside. I sat on one of the chairs near the secretary's desk, which I didn't expect would take me an hour and a half. Felix's secretary suddenly went out of the room and saw me. She was quite surprised to see me there again. 'Hi, ma'am! Sir Felix is still in a meeting. I'll just tell him you're here," she said as she approached me. 'N-No, it's okay," I insisted. 'I'll just wait here," I added. 'Are you sure, ma'am?" 'Yes, I am," I lied and still managed to smile at her. She left after taking some documents from her desk. Another hour passed by. It was already lunchtime when I saw employees going out one by one from the same room where the secretary entered. Felix was the last one to come out, along with one of his employees. They stood for some time right at the doorway and continued discussing something. The employee kept nodding as he listened to Felix's every word. I picked up the wine I placed on the chair next to me and walked straight to them. I got worried he would immediately leave without giving me a chance to talk to him, and that was why I grabbed that chance. As I expected, Felix noticed me right away. He turned his head in my direction, but with how his facial expression shifted, I could say he was still mad at me for what I said about Pretzel. 'Okay, Henry! Just bring the samples to my office this afternoon," he instructed the guy he was talking to. 'Noted, sir," the guy answered and excused himself while looking at me. I took my chance right after the employee stepped aside. I gave Felix my sweetest smile and showed him what I brought for him. 'I have something for you—a peace offering." 'Let's talk at my office," he said as he raised his eyebrow. It seemed he wasn't expecting me to come. He started walking without even looking at the thing I was trying to hand him. I heard whispers from behind that I didn't just slide. I looked at those employees whispering, and I knew instantly that they were talking about me because they immediately looked away when I gave them a gaze. If only I had so much time, I would give them words they would not forget, but I have important business there and they were not included. I chose peace over war by following Felix. I closed the door behind me so that no one outside would hear what we might be talking about. He might suddenly get mad and start to lecture me, and it would be embarrassing to come out if that happened. I walked closer to his desk. Felix stood next to it while facing the wall when I entered. He moved and faced me when I shut the door. I thought he would talk to me already, but he didn't. Instead, he went to his desk and started picking up folder by folder; next was his laptop, which he flipped closed. It seemed he didn't have intentions of talking to me, and because of that, I did what I came for. 'I came here to say sorry. I realized I was very wrong with all those accusations and bad words I spoke about her. You're right, I don't know her that much to make statements like that." I uttered apologetically. I paused and waited to see if he would react, but he continued sorting the files on his table. And because of that, I continued with my speech, 'I was just carried away by my emotions that day. I admit, I was just trying to be protective over you. You're one of the people close to me, and because of what happened to me...to my failed marriage. I just don't want you to get hurt in the end. By knowing that your relationship didn't start in a good way and it seems she's not into you…" I shut my mouth in the middle of talking in fear he would shout after he raised his head and stared me straight in the eyes. 'To be honest, I'm not sure if I will just forget all those words you've said about her. You are wrong about those. Pretzel is one of the kindest people I've met, and she's not someone with a low standard of living just like what you're thinking. She has her own business and is currently developing a remote island with the use of her own money," he explained, and honestly, I was quite shocked to hear that. She was indeed not as random as I thought she was. 'I-It's okay if you do not, but please at least accept my apology. I promise that will never happen again, and to prove that, I brought you one of Dad's collections as a sign of my sincerity." 'Are you crazy?" His eyes widened in disbelief. He knew how much my dad loved all his collections, and a missing bottle would turn him berserk in a snap. 'Y-Yeah…" I responded, stammering. A mad dad is easier to handle than a mad Felix. I saw Felix throw a sigh. I waited for his answer, and when he opened his mouth again to speak, I was very happy when he said, 'Apology accepted." 'Oh my gosh! Thank you, Felix!" I exclaimed. I almost hugged him, but I froze in mid-air when I remembered that he hadn't wanted such gestures ever since we were small. 'S-Sorry!" I quickly apologize. 'By the way, do you know where your twin brother went?" I asked instead. 'I-I don't even know where he went—maybe to his client," he answered, and I couldn't help but give meaning to the way he averted his gaze and began stuttering. 'O-Okay," I simply replied, but in my mind, it seemed he knew something that he didn't want to tell me, and that's why he lied.