Love at the Nth Time

Self-acceptance

Chapter 37

On the last runway, the ground hall was decorated with tables and chairs, white and pink flowers of some kind, chandeliers, long black curtains covering most of the walls. The indistinct chatter of the production team drew me away from the cluttered mind I allowed myself to dwell in.

It's insane. I thought of Celine whilst making out with another woman. I sighed and massaged the corner of my forehead as the pain struck.

"Hey." From a tap on my back, I gazed at Jeremy.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned. It's not our project this time.

"I'll attend later. Are you available right now because I want to introduce you to her," Jeremy murmured, then turned around to sign a woman to come closer to us. A height of 5'7 and a see-through dress paired with skinny jeans and stiletto, she extended her hand to shake hands with me. I smiled, and Jeremy introduced me.

What a surprise. It hadn't been a day.

I asked the two to have lunch with me in a restaurant. The woman, Dalla, behaved formally and feminine. I mean, she acted like a girl. Not surprisingly, Jeremy would take the bait.

A rang off his phone. Jeremy excused himself to take the call. Dalla sighed, which halted me from eating the spoon full of corn soup. She leaned closer to me and inquired, "Where can I smoke here?" I laughed a little.

"Is it your ritual before you eat?"

"No, man. It's just suffocating," she mumbled and leaned on her chair. I ate the soup to help me with my hangover.

"Aren't you okay with the crowd?" I asked, acting politely.

"I do. It's that friend of yours. He told me about you and him. He wanna date me even though he knows I'm like you? Aren't you into man either, right?" I let out a short laugh and shook my head. I checked outside to see the back of Jeremy with a phone near his ear. I uttered,

"Let's smoke."

With manners, I informed the front desk we'd go for a smoke and pointed to Jeremy as our man of the day, which was why I mingled on the small street next to the restaurant with Dalla.

"You act like a girl, a decent, timid girl," I stated and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Nope. It's how I am. I'm a beast in bed, though." She smirked. I laughed a little.

"You should turn him down. Why did you have a one-night stand with him?" She inhaled the smoke and gazed at me.

"He kept me wasted." I scoffed in disbelief.

"But you did kinks with him?" She nodded.

"Yeah? That's who I am, aren't you?" I looked the other way and shook my head. She couldn't believe it as the guy was taller than her. In addition to how Jeremy passed the identity of me being a womanizer. I gave up.

"I'm protecting my image," I mumbled.

"Oh? Is your girl private too?" A certain girl popped up in my head, face lowered. I nodded.

"Ah, so you really do have someone," Dalla confirmed. My hand let the cigarette fall on the ground, and I stepped on it, watching the vehicles' horns as the drivers tried to cut into the heavy traffic. "I wanna turn down that guy, but he's interesting. He's not prejudiced, and we're compatible," she added.

"I see. You swing both ways." She chuckled.

"I guess."

We finished our lunch and waited for them to leave in a car before stepping inside the company building again. I glanced at my phone and entered the elevator. It rang from an unknown number. I answered,

"Hello?"

"Hi, uh, this is Tamara. Do you have time today?" Was she the woman I last slept with?

"How did you get my number?" I questioned indifferently.

"It's your friend, Jeremy? I asked my friend about it, and she asked him." The elevator dinged, and my eyes widened, seeing Celine's back as she walked.

"Ah, sorry. It's uh, I was drunk and s**t. Don't call me again," I responded and lowered the phone. I cleared my throat. "Hey," the voice called out a little louder. Celine gazed at me over her shoulder. I walked beside her. My eyebrows creased, and she looked down as I noticed the swollen eyes. Her arm shoved a folder on me. I took it.

"Win asked me to bring it to you. I just visited to meet the partners-" I leaned closer to see her face.

"Did you cry?" She turned her head to the other side, evading me. She laughed a little.

"Yeah, I-I watched a movie drama last night," she mumbled.

"Don't think I'd believe you. That redness in your eyes is recent. What happened?" She didn't speak. We stopped in front of my office. I opened it and extended my arm as a sign to ask her to come in. She didn't move.

"Celine."

"I'm not gonna stay longer. I have to go home after my errands." Her eyes met my serious gaze.

"I won't let you leave if you don't come in. I'll jeopardize your business here. Do you want that?" Her mouth hung open a little.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Is it dangerous?" She shook her head in mere confusion.

"Look, I need to leave now, Seth." She turned to the left and headed to the elevator. I followed her.

"You're gonna meet the employees. I'll come with you, then."

"Why are you being so pushy?!"

"'Cause I want to!" She stopped walking and faced me behind her.

"I'm getting married," her voice quivered. My heart skipped a beat. It stopped my senses from breathing.

"What..."

"Ryan was talking to my mom secretly, and he arranged a fixed marriage between a Chinese friend of his and me. Mom, mom gave him consent and every document!" Celine exclaimed and covered her face with both her hands. She looked at her hands with agitation. "I don't know what to do. I-I'll meet the guy later, and I don't know."

"Do you like it?"

"Of course, I don't!" I grabbed the back of her head and embraced her tightly. She cried more. Kissed the top of her head to calm her down, her clasp on the back of my shirt held me accountable for the next step she'd take.

I watched her in the distance as she talked with the employees in the conference room. She was smiling, yet it was obvious something was weighing her down to carry on long conversations with the people, shutting the talk with a nod or silence in response.

Who the f**k that asshole was? He had no right to plan what was good for her.

I started my auto engine and glanced at Celine as she was busy with her phone. "Is Rose aware?" I asked. She nodded.

"She's fine with it. The man's loaded and nice. She met him first."

"What the heck," I muttered. "I bet I'm more than him," I whispered.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Ah, no. Call your sister. I'll speak with her."

"What are you gonna say?"

"That she's stupid for selling out her sister??" Celine sighed horribly.

"It's, it's tough in my family right now, Seth."

"How difficult is it to let your freedom be tied to someone you don't even like??"

"I-it'll take months to process. They need my signature too. I-I can take my time to find out about him," she reasoned.

"What. Are you backing out on your words now?? What the hell's wrong with you??"

"My father left us! I have seven siblings, and there are still two kids! The business has to support the team too, and we're the only ones who can provide for the family!" she bawled out. I took a deep breath. My eyes stung from the fact of throwing her battles at me. It's heavy, but I was thankful.

I stopped the car in front of a restaurant and faced Celine. Taking away the strands of her hair blocking her face and lips pressed on her cheek.

"I'm sorry. You'll get through with this." Hand lifted her chin to look at me. "I'm here." Celine bit her lip and rested her head on my shoulder.

In the house, Celine begged me to wait in the car. It's also a chance to talk to Rose.

*On call... Rose

"Oh, you do? Well, thank you for being a good older sister, but you don't have the right to choose what's good for her," I retorted.

"And you know it?" Rose questioned. My eyes lowered, and the anger stopped rising through my tone of voice. "You're also aiming for my sister. What's so good about you? What's the difference between you and that jerk ex of Ceng?"

Slowly, closing my eyes as I felt the piercing in my heart over the truth. It's my loss, and no one to blame other than me.

Celine hopped in the car and looked at me. I smiled a little as she wore a maroon empire waist dress levelled below her knee and two-inch block heels with a pair of silver earrings, necklace and bracelet.

"You looked...decent. Do you really not want to continue this?" I mumbled and drove the car.

"Should I wear a loose shirt and jeans? Mom won't let me."

"It's fine. I'll take it as a privilege," I whispered, talking to myself as I looked outside the window next to me. Silence fell in the small space. I had no courage to stop the unknown man and no guts from facing Celine as someone who's into her as well.

Celine sighed a little as she peeked at the restaurant in front of us. I smiled at seeing her nervous. "Why are you nervous?" I asked.

"I'm...I'm memorizing the lines I'll say. I wanna reject him nicely, so mom and sis won't get mad if it doesn't work out." I held her hand on her lap. She looked at it and turned her eyes on me.

"I'm just here outside. Contact me if you need me." She smiled and nodded. Eyes followed her till she came into the meeting place. Minutes I had left to pass. I hopped out of the car and entered too.

The male staff at the entrance greeted me. I looked around and spotted Celine sitting in front of a man. Thin, pale skin and small eyes, he wore a long-sleeve white shirt with a printed blue necktie and an Arnold and Son wristwatch. I sipped the wine, comfortably seated on a table far behind them. They looked nice, I admit.

Celine laughed with him and talked with ease as though the hate and anger she displayed had never been there, or it passed down to me.