Second Chance Soulmate: Engaged (Marked By Fate Series #1)

22: Sick

“Yes, yes, I am sorry, but the board meeting should be moved for days while Mr. Valdemor is recovering.”

Concluding the call as immediately as it started when a stubborn director kept on annoying him about the CEO's current state, Hunter winced at the telephone and pulled the wire that was keeping it online.

“Ah, why would you need to get sick during this time, Lucien. The half-year reports are one of the most important gathering to show March-Tech's growing potential, yet you are not here,” he hissed to himself, then fished up his phone to dial his Boss' personal contact to check on him and make sure he was still alive.

“Lucien, hey, still breathing, man?”

The smug question made the CEO scoff on the other line. Even if he was not seeing Hunter's face, he could still picture the latter's lips in a tightly pursed line curving upwards in an irritating grin. God d*mn, even in his imagination, the latter looked ugly..

[ “I really wish I could stop, so I would not have to see you again when I come back, no.” ]

“Oh? That's sad, then. How do you want your funeral to be?”

[ “Oh, shut up? ]

“You are well aware I would never—”

[ “Why did you even call?” ]

“Just checking on you. Did you drink your medi—”

Before he could even finish, Count has dropped the call already and ignored his last sentence about drinking a medicine to help him feel better faster.

Ah, at this man's big age, he still could not drink a capsule or syrup without the fear of its bitter taste. Count barely gets sick, but when he does, he becomes very stubborn, that even Hunter could never handle him fine.

“Might as well drop by that motherf*cker's home if March-Tech strives to stay as one of the top companies in the city,” he shook his head in dismay.

The secretary then walked towards the near stand and took his coat, wrapped it around himself, then fixed his hair for a few seconds before deciding to leave the CEO's office, so he could reach Count as soon as he could.

~

It has been two days since they have received the news that the CEO was sick and could not attend a special board meeting done with all the directors and largest stock holders, with newly interested investors sometimes.

And without Count's approval, the research and design team's proposal would not make it to the final screening until it could be presented to the meeting as the new project for the year's second half.

In order to make it as perfect as it could be while the boards were moved for days due to personal reasons Count had to deal with, the team has been busy all day and night, and did their best for it to fit Count's standards, with the help of Hunter telling them what to do and remove.

And during those days, Maxien had a time to finally think in peace and ponder the happenings until he reached the very last conversation they had with Brian bidding his goodbye, apologizing sincerely, and revealing each stuff he kept in all the years he lived together with Maxien.

And now, to think of it...

She has long seen and met Count every day, even before she has gone to March-Tech.

During the first round of her trainings as a newbie in the first company she applied to, the newly announced CEO of March-Tech had a business meeting with their boss, and has established a partnership between both companies in a matter of hours in the meeting room.

That was the first time she has ever met Count Lucien Valdemor, even after hearing quite a lot about him on the television and reading a fair amount of information on newspapers and magazines, as he was dubbed as one of the hottest bachelors in town, with a model-like face and figure every girl might choose to die for.

During one time when a few people from March-Tech paid their company a visit to check their facilities and make a direct connection with each of their department, as clumsy as she could be, she has found herself slipping on his heels and breaking her stilettoes. However, before her butt fell on the ground, there was a pair of strong arms that caught her arms and helped her stand up.

The person's perfume lingered on his nostrils and she could not help but sniff and sniff until it lasted.

And before she managed to come back to her reality, the figure was already walking out of her sight, and oh, lord of embarrassment, she recognized the man as Count Lucien Valdemor himself.

That first encounter was not a big deal and nothing too special has happened, surely, but it has left several memorable marks in Maxien.

And the memory from that first day was able to get retained by her mind, most likely because of the next thing that happened in the building's rooftop.

Their Boss has long been facing cases of s****l harassment, but neither of the two earlier victims won the trials and proved his guilt, so, the evil was set free and lurking around the building, preying on newly employed women, and blackmailing some to get easily promoted with a drastic raise in salary if they agree to please his carnal desires.

And Maxien was his new victim during that time.

She was invited in the rooftop, and then harassed forcedfully when she said no. She yelled for help, kept on screaming her boyfriend's name, as if Brian would ever appear in that building to save her from the predator out of the blue.

Instead of Brian, someone else has eventually heard her cries and launched forward without thinking twice, courageously beating up the company's perverted CEO and setting aside the fear of getting fired off his work.

But, oh, how would he get fired if he did not even work there? If Count Lucien Valdemor, March-Tech's CEO, did not even need a job there and could provide jobs for countless of people?

With her corporate attire nearly torn apart due to the force the man has exerted to get her off her clothes and have his way with her, she only remained sobbing on the floor, covering herself, and hiding her body, shaking in coldness and fear, could not move a muscle and stand up to run for her life.

Nonetheless, she was grateful. If not with the building trauma from that day, she would have thanked Count Lucien Valdemor with all the things she could offer to give back for his kindness.

Realizing how the girl was covering herself, the boy looked away and mumbled a few words Maxien was barely able to grasp.

And then, there was a piece of cloth wrapping around her trembling shoulders, before she felt a gentle and comforting tap on her back.

“Have it. I will take care of the s****l offender. He could rot in jail. Don't worry,” Count subtly mumbled before walking away and leaving his possession to Maxien's hands.

Up to this day, Maxien might have kept the oversized blazer in one of the rooms in her Mom's house. That coat started to look like a hero's cape, Count Lucien Valdemor's very own one when he stepped up and became her version of savior.

After that day, Maxien quitted from the job, declining to get herself purely involved in the trials and cases. After a few discussion with the initial victims and a representative of Count Valdemor from March-Tech, though, they have agreed to make her case anonymous and hidden, to completely pull her out of possibly sitting on the witness' chair.

That did not become the last time she has met Count. Although the boy could not seem to recognize her as the girl he saved, Maxien could remember the night very well. As the victim, who would not? When she was nearly... assaulted and lost her dignity... it would always haunt her, and it did, even when she slept.

In her new team, Maxien would often meet Count in a restaurant, eating with no one but himself.

Thay was when she realized; being strong, rich, attractive, intelligent, and having it all did not equate to living a happy and sociable life, just because people pretend and act as if they like you, just so they could ride up the hype and make their names loud too.

Every time she would be put under a lot of pressure and distress, it became a mystery why she would always spot Count anywhere near. And then, the next thing she knew, seeing Count alone was enough to comfort her at times, to ease her worries, and help her cope up with syress. For no reason at all, a sight of March-Tech's CEO saved her from so many break downs.

And then, Brian's jealousy happened and she was forced to quit from that second job. That occurrence has brought her o March-Tech's newly hiring for available positions in her very own specialty in the research and design department. So, she went for it.

The moment she saw sight of Count again after a while, she decided, she would give him back all the subconscious help he provided during her dark days. And even if Count could not remember her as the girl she saved from getting offended, of worse, getting r***d, Maxien made sure that Count would never feel alone again.

God, she still could not believe that she succeeded in making Count feel accompanied all the time. And right now, they were good friends, who were open with each other, and they found someone they could lean their backs on to during hard times in each other's presence.

Maxien could not be more thankful and content.

And even until she got to March-Tech, it seemed like Count's instinct to appear and save her when she gets in between a mess, has just intensified, and he was always there to pull her out of a situation that would greatly hurt her in the process.

Whenever she was in dire need, Count would mysteriously be there to, her savior, her hero, would always be beside her. The timing and coincidence has never failed to baffle her every d*mn time.

Just like that one time she was crying in the midst of the hardly pouring rain, with her blurry vision after she had a little fight with Brian and the boy left her alone in the theater, the same strong arms that caught her months ago has did it once more. Before Maxien stepped off the platform separating the busy road form the sidewalk, Count has thrown his own umbrella and pulled her close, held her tight so she would not run off and resume her activity of possibly committing a suicide.

Although that, too, could not be recalled by the CEO.

Now that she had the time to ponder about it, it has always been Count who was there when she was in need. Even if she kept on yelling for Brian's name in hopes the boy would appear to help her escape one mess, it would still be Count who would be standing beside her or near her, running alongside her with a smile in the lips, comforting and warm.

There was a sure connection between her and Count. It could not be named in the current time, but she knew it was special and one in a million, something she would not easily find in somebody else.

Also, in those days without Brian in her life, now officially dropping their engagement and letting everyone else in their life know what occured, Maxien has also realized a lot of things she decided to ignore while she was still with him.

Toxic.

If she could describe their past relationship in one precise word, it would be; toxic.

The way she has always been the one who would give way to make sure Brian would not feel strange, but when it comes to a similar request for it to be given back, the boy would refuse to do so, or would not even give her a fair amount of attention.

She let Brian control her and her life. As she has already shared; she even quitted her second job due to the boy's demands, for his childish and selfish reasons, because he was afraid that someone might take Maxien away, or someone might introduce themselves with the same birthmark as the girl and Maxien might realize that hit mark was not real.

Brian was manipulative, too, and Maxien has been a constant victim of his episodes of gaslighting. Whether that was an unconscious trait of Brian's, or he has basically plotted all that, Maxien never knew, and she would not plan to find out. That being said, she remembered just how many times Brian has conditioned her mind and made it look like she was always at fault.

If she refused to give it up, Brian would not communicate with her after they fought. It has always been like that. For a while, though, Maxien thought that it was what she should appreciate, that Brian cutting her off whenever they would need space to think alone, was the thing she should be thankful about.

And that was where she was wrong, he perceptions were proven wrong, because those moments just mad it worse and worse.

She realized just how long did she hold on to what she thought Brian was. For months? Years? She herself has deluded her mind into thinking that Brian was doing that for the both for them, that it was for their best.

Maybe they were just too immature to handle a relationship when they started. And even with the outside forces that could have taught them how to strengthen it, the view itself was never enough if Brian would refuse to mature alongside her. They were too dumb and young, they did not have enough time together to figure things out and make it work until the end of time.

Their love was toxic, yet beautiful at the same time. The important thing was; she had no regrets and she definitely felt some of her happiest moments when she was still with Brian. Maybe, they were not just made to last and stay, and they just met to make great memories to remember for a lifetime.

And now that she was currently in anew chapter of her life without Brian, once again I search for her destined pair, now her real soulmate and not just someone with a especially made and duplicated mark on their wrist to match hers, Maxien was ready to grow and be more wary of the red flags in a relationship, of the things she should not tolerate until she was struggling to hold on to the love.

In order not to break apart, she should not be the only one to give and give and give. A relationship should be a two way road, thanks to Brian and their failed love story, she learns that she must receive just too, in order to maintain balance and make sure it lasts.

Anyway, love could wait for the right timing. She was still young, at least in her perception of age, twenty-six or turning twenty-seven was still young. There are still too much things life could offer and show. As a believer, she knew that things would happen according to destiny's plan, and she would surely be happy at the end of the day, if that was the god's will.

But who was she to say no if it comes as soon as it could, right? She was just a mere human being playing a role until the heavens take her borrowed life and decide it's all over for that lifetime.

“Maxien!”

“Oh, good afternoon, Sir Hunter!” She greeted back at the CEO's secretary, as she faced the already panting man due to running across the hallway to get to her as fast as he can. “Do you need a thing?"

“Ah, yeah? Somehow? You know, Lucien is such a stubborn man. He is currently sick, as all for you in the department already know, but he would not drink his meds. Only his Mom could force him to it. However, I kind of have an emergency to attend to, and I could not go to him right now. Can you... please do it for me and make sure he drinks enough water ant take the capsules? Please?”

“Huh? Why... why does it have to be me?”

“He only trusts me and you, no one else. So, pretty please?”

“Ah... all right...”