Contract Marriage: Mr. CEO, Please Love Me Tender

Mistake Have Been Made

***

Flashback OFF

***

'I ...'

Sofia remembers now.

She fell in love with Arsenio ...?

Sofia opened her eyes, seeing Arsenio's face above her aroused strong feelings that she had previously buried deep, which she tried her best to forget.

'I ...'

As if hypnotized by his sparkling brown eyes, Sofia lifted her body slightly so she could kiss those tempting lips. She heard a muffled moan from his throat before responding with a passion that was also familiar to her.

What she missed ...

Weird.

Her feelings for him came so strong that Sofia didn't realize that she was Dominic's fiancée. She continued to follow Arsenio's movements harmoniously, intensely together.

The kiss broke leave them with short breath locking their gazes with each other without saying anything about what had just happened.

Arsenio was the first to move, pressing their foreheads together, occasionally he gave a kiss on her rosy, wet lips, not enough just once or twice after five years of not feeling it.

"You ..." Sofia started.

"Hm?"

"Get away from me!" Sofia snapped loudly surprising Arsenio, not to mention she also pushed him roughly until he fell to the floor.

"Agh!" Arsenio groaned in pain feeling his b*tt land roughly on the cold floor, "What are you doing?" He asked still holding back the pain.

What had she done? Sofia asked herself.

Sofia Harrington just kissed Arsenio Grace; what makes it worse is he didn't knock some sense to her but instead melted into their kiss.

"This is so wrong on many levels!" Sofia began to panic. Now she understood why Dominic warned her not to get too close to Arsenio.

Here's an example.

The feelings she had previously suppressed suddenly appeared just because of his small touch.

Sofia fell into her deepest thoughts. She thought her feelings for him were gone, she didn't even respond when she saw him with Cindy all this time, now it's starting to appear again? She didn't understand.

'Is there still a tiny bit of my love for Arsenio?'

Sofia asked herself. Considering how her body felt alive when he started to kiss her back, maybe she still—

No.

Sofia shook her head vigorously, "I have Dominic!"

"What about him?" Arsenio asked calmly as if the situation was fine, "What we did was normal by the way."

"Are you insane!? I'm in love with someone else!" Sofia didn't accept his opinion about what happened, and... why was he so calm? Didn't seem guilty or anything for kissing an engaged woman!?

Her question was answered when Arsenio took his position on top of her again, forcing her back down on the bed.

"Honey, don't you remember? We're married. Anything we do together is normal ..."

Sofia pushes him again from above her, "It's not a matter of us getting married or not."

Arsenio knows their marriage is fake, he knows very well how she feels about Dominic.

Sofia is not a cheater.

"Enough for today." Sofia tilted her body getting ready to sleep.

What they did earlier was a mistake.

Sofia squeezed the pillow on her head.

Just a mistake.

There's nothing to worry about.

Sofia closed her eyes, shutting out all the possibilities that would come out of her head to contradict her judgment.

***

The next day, Sofia wakes up without Arsenio by her side.

Sofia got out of bed, getting ready to clean herself first before going to the dining room. As planned, her mother noticed a few bites on her neck, but surprisingly, Arsenio explained calmly, not bragging as usual.

Which is weird.

Normally, Sofia would be glad he acted like an adult, but his calm act reminded her of their fight last night.

Arsenio must still be disappointed in her.

'Who cares what he is feeling! Is not like we are married for love or anything.'

Sofia avoided chatting with him during breakfast, which was difficult, of course, but she managed and was proud of herself, at least until they were in front of the door facing each other.

"Okay, I'll go first babe," Arsenio was the first to break the silence between them, "try not to argue with your mom."

Sofia rolled her eyes, "yeah, yeah."

Arsenio approached to whisper, "Your mood makes your mother's suspicions rise again, you know?"

Sofia looked away, but quickly his hand held her chin so they could meet each other's gaze again, "What?" she asked irritated he was currently acting as he pleased.

"Good morning kisses for your husband?" Arsenio asked while daringly caressing her lips sensually.

Sofia held his hand that was on her chin intending to remove it, but she held it to look at the situation over her shoulder, where her mother was washing dishes with her back to them, "bye." she said coldly.

Arsenio sighed, but didn't say anything. He leaves waving his hand.

Sofia stroked her chin slowly where he had touched.

'You really are unpredictable, Arsenio.'

Sofia is confused as to what she is trying to do here, but finally gives up and wonders when her father is coming to take her mother home.

'There's no way dad's going to live here too, is there?'

That's a silly thought, but knowing her father, it might as well happen.

Oh God ...

If her father also stayed here, Sofia doesn't know what else to do to earn his trust too.

Suddenly came Arsenio's idea suggesting they make love on the balcony in her head.

Sofia shook her head.

'That kiss itself brought back my past, I don't want to do anything crazy anymore.'

Sofia turned around and went back to her room getting ready to go to work.

***

Her father came here to persuade her mother to come home before Sofia was about to leave. But the persuasion ended up with her father suggesting dinner together, including Arsenio.

Sofia clearly refused with reason tonight there would be dinner service, and she suggested her parents have dinner without her because she couldn't go home early. She also refused to act in love with Arsenio in front of them.

Unfortunately, her father suggested tomorrow night.

"I just want to be alone!" Sofia screamed in frustration.

Can everyone just mind their own business?

"Sofia, you don't have to scream," her father—Oliver Harrington tried to calm her down.

"How can I calm down if you keep pressing me to do things I don't want to?" Sofia asked tiredly, "Arsenio and I need some time alone. We just got married. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Oliver replied, "I just wanted to know more about Arsenio."

Sofia rolled her eyes.

'You can hang out with him alone without me.'

Sofia took a deep breath. Why is she so easily angry like this? To her parents who obviously wanted to spend time with her? Nor did she remember the last time they were together.

'That kiss affected my mood more than I thought.'

"I'm sorry, Dad," Sofia regretted, holding his hand gently, "next time we talk about this?"

Oliver nodded slightly, then gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead, "be careful, ok?"

Sofia nodded, then looked at her mother, who had been silent for a while, "Mom, if you need anything, my credit card is in the drawer. Bye."

Mia just waved her hand until her daughter came out of the penthouse she turned to face her husband, "What do you think?"

"You're really exaggerating, Mia."

"I'm sorry if I'm worried Sofia just ends up like Faye," Mia quipped loudly, "it's exactly like that to me."

"Well, if that's what you think, I don't see any reason why they got married? Neither you nor Fay knows about this, do they?" Oliver wondered.

Mia just realized it. There is no strong point that makes Arsenio and Sofia dedicated to a marriage contract.

"Maybe they've been in a secret relationship all along. Sofia said she's been dating since college, right?" Olivier said simply, "stayed here all night did you see the love between them that you didn't realize before?"

Mia sees that many contradict her suspicions, and there are also few who support them. She wasn't completely sure, "this is confusing."

Oliver massaged his wife's shoulder affectionately, "Let go of your worries, Sweetheart. And come home with me, don't you know how much I worry about you? Let everything flow like water."

Mia lets out a deep breath. The problem is that the man their daughter marries is Faye's son, "You know what? I agree." this is absorbing her energy, her head is often dizzy because she keeps having bad thoughts, "I'm going to stay another night."

"You will?"

"Just wanted to give a few words to Arsenio." Mia can't go to the company or to the restaurant where Sofia works because Faye will be there, "I promise I'll be home tomorrow."

Oliver can accept it, at least his wife's eyes are much softer than when he heard the news about Sofia marrying Arsenio, "then, want to go to work with me, Sweetheart?"

"You don't have to ask about that~!" it's impossible for Mia to refuse the joint activities they've been doing since they were dating.

***

Sofia already knows that she will be the center of attention of the people in the restaurant about her wedding, meaning she is marrying Arsenio Grace, the son of the owner of the restaurant where she works.

"You don't have to do all this," Sofia said, seeing many flowers and gifts in her office.

"You got married in Las Vegas without us, at least let us give a little present for the new Mr. and Mrs. Grace~"

Sofia should get used to this Mrs. Grace call from now on, right? It doesn't matter, just the name changes temporarily. At the right time she will become Mrs. Miller.

She couldn't wait for it.

"Oh, do you want to know the guests who paid for dinner service tonight~?"

Somehow Sofia doesn't like the tone of her friend who works as a sous chef, "May I see it, Mateo?"

Mateo hands over a small note, but it has large writing that Sofia can read only when the note is pointed at her.

Sofia covered her mouth which was gaping in shock, "No... no way!"

The freedom she expects at her place of work is just wishful thinking.