Sadistic Obsession

Chapter 8

After cleaning up the venue, Faustina came to fetch me so we can have dinner together to celebrate a successful event. I did not feel like eating tonight, but still, I forced a smile and followed her lead.

We went to the same sushi place where she took me before. However, this time, our room was a private one. I was more than sure that these rooms were more expensive so I held Faustina’s hand before she could enter.

“I don’t have enough money for…” I pleaded with my eyes. “...this.”

She chuckled, dragging me inside instead.

“You are not paying today, Reyna.”

It made me feel uncomfortable. As much as I wanted to trust her, the feeling of uneasiness did not go away.

What if she was paying in order to get something from me? Or do something?

The memory of Mrs. Kade handing me the money crossed my mind… What if something like that happens? My gaze landed on Faustina who was looking over the menu.

I knew she gave me a new opportunity to try things, however… There was nothing much I could offer in return. So what exactly…

“Is something wrong? Are you not feeling well?” Faustina asked, snapping me out of my pool of thoughts.

I immediately shook my head. A forced smile tugged at my lips.

“Nothing… I just want to thank you for paying for our dinner. I’ll be sure to treat you to a meal next time,” I replied.

“Don’t worry about it.”

She then turned to the waitress and gave our order. When the waitress finally left the room, Faustina let out a heavy sigh. The relaxed aura around her a few minutes ago seemed to have disappeared.

“Reyna… Can you be honest with me?” she asked in a serious tone of voice.

“A-About what?”

She leaned back against her chair.

“You see… When the party ended, Kade spoke with the HR manager and me. He asked how you were hired and everything all that… I found it weird until I heard some rumors going around about him getting divorced recently…” Faustina paused while looking me in the eyes.

Even without her asking out loud, I knew what was running through her mind. I looked down at my clasped hands before slowly nodding.

“I am his ex-wife…” I muttered. “But… Please do not tell anyone. I… I… I don’t want–”

My voice almost broke until Faustina held my hand and gave me a reassuring smile.

“My lips are sealed,” she said. “Don’t worry, he did not ask the management to remove you from work. He just inquired how you got hired and I explained how we met.”

I held back my tears and nodded. No words left my mouth as it scared me to speak. One word might just lead me to bawl my eyes out in front of Faustina. That would be embarrassing.

If Kade went that far, I hoped it was clear to him that I was not following him.

Faustina’s stares told me that she was itching to ask me questions, probably about my marriage. As of the moment, I did not want to talk about it. Plus, I signed a contract where I cannot openly speak about it as well. Hence, I merely flashed a smile at her as our food arrived.

“Will you give it a shot if someone offered you to work as a model?” she asked, looking at me with expectant eyes.

I was quiet for a while. The thought did not cross my mind before.

“I’m not sure…” I muttered.

“You should consider it. You can work as a part-time model. It’s another good source of income.” She smiled. “Besides, if you need help, you can always come to me.”

My only answer was a small smile and a nod. Being in front of the camera had been one of the things I tried avoiding after getting those uncomfortable stares from people, may they be someone I knew and even more strangers.

After that night, my daily routine returned to waking up early in the morning and working as a full-time request in the restaurant. Faustina dropped by once in a while to eat and vent out her frustrations at work.

“Reyna!”

Faustina’s voice made me look up from the monitor while I was taking up some orders. She rushed towards the counter with several other people behind her.

“What time do you clock out of work?” she asked in an almost hushed tone.

“Until closing time, 10 pm.”

“Oh…” A look of worry flashed on her expression. “Can you be the one to serve our orders later?”

I nodded with a smile before taking their orders as well.

“Will you be paying cash or card?” I lifted my gaze to check up on Faustina, but came face to face with someone else.

He was one of those people on the same table with Kade back at the party. If I remembered it right, he was the only one who did not criticize my looks in a bad way.

“Card.” He handed me his black card, which I accepted immediately. “I’m Valiant, by the way.”

My gaze landed on his extended hand. Out of panic, I held out both of my hands and shook his. A chuckle came from him, making me feel more embarrassed with my own actions.

“Sorry…” he said.

“No… no… I… uhm… I’m Reyna,” I replied with a forced smile.

“I know.”

Valiant, huh. His name sounded pretty familiar.

After swiping his card, I handed it back to him and caught a glimpse of the name written on it before he turned his back to join the others.

Valiant Grant.

So that was why his name sounded familiar. As far as I knew, the Grant family was one of families that the Storms had been in close relationship with. There was also a party Kade and I attended that the Grants had hosted, but I did not see Valiant there.

But on a serious note…

I stole a glance at their table. Why would he come here? Just thinking that it was because of work sounded farfetched, especially that there were Michelin-recognized restaurants around the area where they could have possibly gone to.

After some time, I grabbed their orders and served them myself just as Faustina requested.

“Do you need anything else?” I questioned upon serving the last dish.

“We’re all good, Reyna. Thank you so much,” Faustina replied. “By the way… Sit next to me for a quick minute.”

There was no way for me to just do that, especially during working hours. Hence, my gaze immediately darted to Mrs. Leonora behind the counter just a few feet away. She gave me a knowing smile and a nod as if she already knew what was going on.

I sat next to Faustina and right across Valiant. On his right side was a man I didn’t recognize, but his enthusiastic smile made me flash a smile back.

“Valiant already introduced himself a while ago since he seemed to be so eager to see you again…” Faustina then motioned to the man next to Valiant. “This is Mark, a scout agent from Valor.”

We shook each other’s hand with a faltering smile on my part. It felt like something was about to happen that made me feel uneasy.

“Habe you heard of Valor before?” Mark asked.

I nodded.

“It’s a production company. I saw several videos produced by Valor before,” I replied with a polite smile.

“Great, great, great!” Mark then handed me a small card. “I am actually recruiting for an important role. Our client was very specific with his choice of actors and I think you fit the description… Thanks to Valiant here, I am able to see you.”

“O-Oh… Uhm…”

“If you are free tomorrow, you can drop by our studio just to take a look. Then, you can decide whether or not you want to take a shot. How about it?”

Tomorrow’s my day off and I had nothing important to do anyway. Would it be okay? But… It would be in front of cameras, too.

“We’re going to film a music video for the client so it will just take one or two days of shooting,” Mark added, seemingly eager to make me say yes.

He even clasped his hands together and added, “Please, just give it a chance. We do not need anyone experienced for the role so you do not have to worry about that. Not to mention, you will be given instructions on what to do. Please, please! You’re the first person we found that fits the client’s demand and it would be hard to find another one.”

I slightly glanced at Faustina. Her eyebrows rose and fell as she smiled, seemingly encouraging me to say yes. However, the feeling of turning it down was far stronger…

“You will be paid $1,000 per day.”

My eyes lit up.

“Okay, I’ll drop by tomorrow!” I immediately replied.