Cheating On You

V

"Everyone, I want you to meet Mrs. Adda Quirino, my wife." The whole office broke into applause.

"Congratulations, Sir!"

"Congratulations to both of you!"

"Congrats Sir Elijah for scoring a beautiful wife!" They laughed and cheered at that, and I found myself smiling too until Elijah leaned in to whisper.

"Stop enjoying it, we're just pretending." I felt my face burn with embarrassment, but I forced a smile for everyone's sake.

I was at his workplace so he could formally introduce me to everyone, and also give me a tour of his office.

"Sir, we prepared something for you. Ma'am, this way." They led us to a room, where a long table was filled with food and a smaller one held gifts.

"Wow, thank you so much. This is so sweet." I couldn't help rushing over to the gift table.

"Thank you all so much, you've made my wife very happy." I looked at the presents. There were wine, home decor, and some wrapped items I couldn't see inside.

"Anything for you, sir. You know, ma'am, he takes such good care of us-"

"Okay, that's enough, Lance, you're turning this into a drama." Elijah joked. So he could actually know how to joke around?

The man turned to me. "No, I'm serious, ma'am. You're lucky to have him. When my kid was in the hospital and I was drowning in bills, he gave me a company loan with no interest and the deduction from my salary was so small I barely noticed. Now my kid's better and back in school, and I got promoted last year. He looks tough, but he's a good man." I never expected to hear something like that about him.

I stared at Elijah as his other employees shared more stories his cheeks bright red with shyness. There was a former janitor he'd helped finish college, now on the marketing team. He'd given scholarships to other employees' children. Most of his staff had been with him for 9 years or more. That might seem short, but he'd only been in business for 13 years and had already cared for so many people.

"You guys, come on, let's eat! You've prepared so much." He looked at me and held out his hand. "Come here, let's eat." Everyone helped themselves, relaxed and comfortable. They even served us so we wouldn't have to reach over the crowded table.

"Thank you." A woman handed me some sushi.

"Carl, can you bring the guards from downstairs up here so they can eat too?" I didn't know he could be so thoughtful.

We ate and talked happily. He'd arranged breakfast for all employees that day, and the senior staff had joined us for the celebration.

"Sir Eli!" An older man in a security uniform walked in.

"Ben, come eat!" Elijah went over and gave him a fist bump.

"Hey, just the other day you said you'd never get married, who's this?" The old man teased, pointing at me. Why did everyone seem so at ease with each other?

"Hahaha, go get some food over here."

The old man greeted me before getting his plate. After we finished eating, he asked his secretary to show me around the company. We visited other floors and met more employees, and I saw how well cared his employees are. The pantry had free coffee and pastries, there was a break area, and an in-house clinic. The women's restroom even had free sanitary pads, no coins needed. In these small details, you could see how much the management cared. I was truly impressed.

After the tour, we headed back to Elijah's office. "You done?"

"Yeah." I sat on his sofa and took off my heels, my feet were killing me.

"It's already 10AM, and you have your cooking class at 10:30, right?"

"Oh right, shit."

"I'll have my driver take you there." He didn't even look at me, just kept working. But it was better than arguing, so I didn't complain.

"Okay, thanks." I stood up, unsure if I should hug him goodbye or just leave.

"what?" He noticed I was hesitating and looked up.

"O-oh, nothing. I just said bye." I rushed out of his office. What was wrong with me? We weren't in that kind of relationship!

"Ugh, Adda, what's wrong with you?" I scolded myself. I took the elevator to the parking lot. It was my first cooking class, so I couldn't be late. When I arrived, I changed quickly and put on an apron, good thing the instructor hadn't come yet.

Time flew by, and I surprisingly loved the atmosphere. On our first day, we only learned the basics. Cutting techniques and how to prep vegetables and meat properly. I made a few friends. Like me, some were newly married or about to get married.

After class, I stopped by my mom's house to pick up some things, including my car so I could get around without needing a driver. I was about to leave when the security guard called me.

"Why?"

"Ma'am, sorry to bother you... this is a bit personal, so I was hesitant to ask. But I couldn't stop thinking about it." I laughed a little. He was so cute when he explained himself.

"It's okay, go ahead. What is it?"

"Ma'am, did you and Sir Kenji break up?"

"What? Why do you ask?" My heart skipped a beat. I broke out in a cold sweat, terrified of what he might say next.

"Ma'am, last night he was standing by the gate. I said hello, but then he saw you and your husband on the balcony of your room. He didn't come in, he just went back to his car and told me not to tell you he was here. I'm sorry, I just couldn't stop worrying."

It was like I'd been slapped awake from a dream. My head spun as reality hit me. I was so stupid. "Thank you for telling me, manong. Don't worry, I'll handle it."

I drove off, checking my calls and messages but there was nothing from him.

'Did the whole afternoon pass without me even noticing?'

I hurt him again. He saw us. Seen me kissing someone else, seen someone else touching me, and worst of all, he didn't even see me pull away.