Chapter 45: The Talk
GEORGE personally presented the finished project to Albert, and the latter was very pleased with the outcome. After a week, he signed a partnership with Caldwell Incorporated and, as he promised, appointed Lucius Vaughn as his Managing Director, who would have an office inside Caldwell Incorporated together with his team.
Everything that needs Ripley International’s approval will go through Lucius and his team. George promised the whole 15th floor to them. Soon his team moved to C.I. and they occupied the 15th floor, but there were so few of them in the team, that the floor looked like a ghost town.
Soon, George added a few people from C. I to occupy the floor with them; a few employees also moved from C. I to R. I, under Lucius, since their partnership is more of a soft merging. Now, Albert owns parts of the C. I around 10%, making him a major investor, plus the partnership of their brands giving R. I, the leverage to voice anything they want.
Meanwhile, C. I enjoy the R. I’s international fame since the company has been around for more than 100 years. It’s easier for them to close deals since Albert is backing them up. In the end, it’s a win-win for both parties.
The event should have uplifted Lucian's mood, but it did not. He is far from being jovial, calm, or contented. What he feels is more of uneasiness and on edge. It had been a month since he let go of Sieve, and he hadn't had the time to speak to Malena, but today he needed to face her and confess everything and hope that their relationship was savable.
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Lucian was waiting for Malena in the café, the same café where John and Viv saw her with another man. He couldn't stop glancing at the photo on his phone, her sweet smile, the way he looked at the man with those emerald green eyes, how she extended her hand to touch the man in front of her. A sight he can't seem to swallow, as it is rare for her to be this sweet to him, but it seems easy for her to be this romantic with others.
He checks his watch and sees it's 10:10 am. She's already 10 minutes late. He texted her but she did not reply. "She’s probably driving," he thought to himself.
After 5 minutes, she arrived at the café. "Sorry, I’m late. Got stuck in traffic." She says as she stood in front of him waiting for him to pull out the chair and help her sit like he always does.
He stared at her for a few second at lost in the sight of her.
"Why are we in this small café?" She asks. Knowing that he doesn’t usually go to places like this.
Her voice brought him back to his senses and he finally helped her sit.
"I need to talk to you about something." He says while staring at his phone.
"What is it?" She asks enthusiastically, thinking he’s about to propose to her.
"It’s about our relationship," he says, but is unsure how to proceed.
"Yes!" She replies with a smile on her face. She even initiates holding his hand. Somehow, for him, her touch became meaningless.
"I need to come clean. I’ve been unfaithful for the last 3 years." Her smile gradually became a frown. " After getting my master’s degree and working my way to the company, I got extremely stressed out and sex became my way to relieve that stress." He explains while staring at her intently.
She did not respond, she just stared back at him with shock and confusion in her face. She can’t believe that he’s been cheating on her. When he met him 6 years ago, she thought he was a bland and boring person.
After collecting herself, she then says, "You mean for the last 3 years, you have another girlfriend aside from me?"
"No, I slept with different women, it's a series of one-night stands." He explains while patting her hand.
"Don’t touch me," she yells, but there's no hatred in her gaze, just mere disappointment.
"I understand if you want to break up with me, but I really want to fi..x..." He hadn't finished his sentence when she interrupted him.
"Break up with you? So you can be with one of your girls?" Her voice became shaky.
"Then tell me what you want?"
"I want to be Mrs. Caldwell." She demands.
He was taken aback by her words. "This is not the right demand for the person who confessed to cheating. Shouldn’t her request supposedly stop sleeping with random women," he thought.
"You know I cannot do that, my parents will not allow it." He responded with a hint of doubt on his face.
"You’re 30 years old. You can do whatever you like. Would you rather lose me?" She roared at him, then crossed her arms and leaned on the chair.
He lowered his eyes, unsure what to say. Then an idea came to his mind.
"You’re right. I can marry you, but if I do that without my parents' blessings they will cut me off from their Will and I need to resign," he explains while staring at her intently, observing any subtle changes in her expression.
"You know you are right, I would rather lose everything I owe as long as I can keep you with me," he added while still staring at her, watching for her reaction.
Her eyes widened, clenched her fists, then gritted her teeth in anger, but she quickly hid it. However, Lucian saw everything and it broke his heart. He knew he was at fault, but he never knew that she liked his money more than him.
"When I told her about me cheating she only looked at me with confusion. I couldn’t sense anger in her, just dismay, but the moment I told her that I would lose my fortune, her face reddened with rage. Luckily, I did not have the chance to finish my sentence earlier. This is beyond repair. Why am I so blind? We should just have broken up 3 years ago," he thought as he smiled bitterly.