Chapter 15

*CORA* I stormed out of his company and got into my car. Resting my head on the steering wheel,I felt like screaming,I felt like hitting someone or something but I wasn’t a violent person so I tried to calm my nerves. I was startled when a knock sounded on my window. Raising my head,I saw Alvin,he waved and smiled at me. Sighing,I let down the glass on the window. “Hi.” “Hey,I just got here and I saw you getting into your car,are you okay?” I nodded.”I’m fine.Don’t mind me,I’m sure you have business to do here.” “Not really,I called in on Watsons Group and I was told you were at Godoy company so I came here.” I frowned.”You came to see me.” He nodded. Taking a deep breath,I got out of the car. “What can I do for you,Alvin?” “Let’s have dinner together.” I stared at him from his head to his toe.He was dressed formally today,wearing a dark green suit and a tie,and his hair was meticulously combed. In this way,he looked more steady and unruly than usual. “I’m really not in the mood to eat now.”Although Alvin’s invitation was sincere,I really wasn’t interested. How could I be when my ex-husband and his lover just ruined my mood?! Alvin shrugged,pretending to be helpless.”I just came out of a blind date contest halfway to see you.Don’t you think you’re being cruel for refusing me?”And then he pouted at me looking so cute. I wonder how Tristan would look if he pouted. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him pout before. Shaking my head,I tried to get Tristan out of my mind.I didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. “Still,I…” I really didn’t feel okay about going to dinner with him. But he interrupted me and said. “I know how busy you are these days with Watsons Group.We could discuss business too.I have a project that is very suitable for your company.You might be interested in it.” Interested? Of course I was. I knew that if I wished to cut off all projects with the Godoy Group,I needed to secure other major projects with another company.That way,cutting off with Godoy’s Group wouldn’t raise any concerns with my father. And as far as I knew,Alvin’s company seem to be doing well. So without much hesitation,I got my bag and got into his car. ********************* Seeing Cora like this,Alvin smiled.He was going to attend a party today.To put it in a good way,he wanted to contact his friend but in fact,it was a blind date for him. At this party,all the famous people in the body took their daughters with them. Alvin’s family was very wealthy.He was related to Tristan from the maternal side,his father owned a very large business like the Godoy’s. It was the dream of many women to be married into his family.When he heard what happened to Cora through his spy at the Godoy Group,he had sped off to her aid as soon as possible and it helped that he was at a restaurant close to Tristan’s company. His father had to deal with the blind date arrangement.Of course,he would be scolded by his father when he came back home today but he didn’t mind. ********************* *CORA* Alvin sat opposite to me and introduced with a smile. “The owner of this restaurant is my friend,their Chinese food is second to none.I think you’ll like it very much.” I nodded and smiled.I was not interested in food or anything else.All I wanted to know now was the project in Alvin’s hand. If I could get it,I wouldn’t have to put up with Tristan ever again.Thinking of this,I braced myself up to engage in social activities with Alvin. ******************** Phoebe stared at Tristan who had been in a sour mood since Cora left. He had a frowned on his face as he looked through the documents sent by his secretary without saying a word. Phoebe was good at gauging people’s mind and scheming.Especially when she saw the angry look on Tristan’s face,she knew that she shouldn’t say anything right now so she just sat on the sofa,quietly and obediently. She seemed to be in a daze thinking about what happened few minutes ago. Tristan had appeared to believe Phoebe’s scheme,and he had been super pissed at Cora. Did it mean that he was extremely disgusted by her? Phoebe rubbed the bracelet on her wrist.She felt so disturbed.She had Tristan now.He didn’t exactly tell her that they were officially together but he wasn’t pushing her away either. Was he letting her hover around him because of his mother?Because he wanted his mother off his back? She hated that fact that Tristan still had his wedding ring on his finger. He wasn’t exactly defining the relationship between them,which made her very uneasy. Thinking of this,Phoebe’s lips curved up slightly.She began to draw up a plan to deal with Cora in her mind. She felt Cora still had a hold on Tristan. She needed to make him keep on hating her. ******************** *CORA* “Eat more.Don’t you know that you’re almost skinny now?”Alvin picked up some food for me and persuaded me to have more. Knowing that the food in front of me was delicious but each bite I took tasted like wax.I just wanted to go straight to business. And since he wasn’t saying anything about business,I didn’t know how to bring it up. “The dishes in the restaurant are quite unique.They taste heavily.”I said to him. Hearing my praise, I noticed his eyes lit up and his face lit up with excitement. “I’m glad you do.”He replied. Helpless,I wanted to ask about business but I tried to control myself. Although I was anxious,I knew that haste made waste.I looked up at him with a smile and said. “You should eat too.Don’t just watch me eat.I’m not used to it.”I lowered my head as I said that. “Okay then.” But then he start eating immediately.Instead,he took a tissue,stood up slightly,wiped the corner of my mouth and said with a smile. “I didn’t expect you to have such a cute side.There are rice grains on your cheek.” Totally unprepared for that,my face turned red,I was surprised and I couldn’t help but feel shy. Was this man seriously flirting with me? Pretending to be calm,I coughed and smiled awkwardly. I had good eating habits so I’m sure the rice probably got on my face because he keeps staring at me. “What’s wrong?You don’t want to eat this anymore?You can try the soup.”As soon as he said that,he ladled some soup for me in his own bowl. Tristan and I had been together for three years and no matter how many times we went out,he was never this thoughtful,thoughtful to notice if I had something on my face or dish out the meal for me. I always wanted him to be romantic to me but somehow watching Alvin do that for me made me feel uncomfortable. I had loved Tristan a lot,all I saw was him so I wasn’t used to socializing with other men at all. “You…you don’t have to…”At a loss,I refused. He had gone too far to help me wipe my face. Now if I had soup in his bowl,wasn’t that an indirect kiss? No way!The more I thought about it,the more I felt that it was inappropriate. I had an impulse to run away. Seeing that I didn’t take the bowl,he sighed and said,earnestly. “You don’t have to be so alienated from me.I just want to be good to you.I’ve seen how he treats you,he…I…”He paused. I knew Tristan and Alvin were pretty close unlike the rest of their relatives so he must know that Tristan never loved me. But he doesn’t have to feel guilty about it.It wasn’t his responsibility to treat me well. Just as I was thinking of what to say to him,my phone rang out. With a lingering fear,I let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Alvin. “I’m sorry.I have to take this.” After saying that,I stood up and left but I knew I was almost running out of the restaurant. After answering the phone at the restroom,I breathed a sigh of relief. “Hello,Zoe.Thanks for calling me at this time.” I felt that this call from my very good friend was perfectly timed because Alvin was freaking me out. “I came out to hang out with you.But you’re not home.I’m so bored,Cora.” “Okay then,I’ll go see you.How about that?”I didn’t want to continue this dinner with Alvin anymore. “Oooh.You’re agreeing so quickly today.I thought I might’ve have to beg you since you’ve been busy with work lately.Are you sure I won’t be disturbing you?” “Of course not.I’m having dinner with Alvin,but…” But it was time to end this dinner. “Alvin?Where are you?What restaurant?” Without thinking too much,I told her the name of the restaurant. “Are you coming to pick me up?” I frowned to see that she had already hung up. And she wasn’t coming to pick me up at all. She showed up and insisted on having dinner with Alvin and I. I cursed Zoe countlessly in my mind as I sat opposite Alvin while she introduced herself to him. Now it was impossible for me to leave.