CHAPTER 44: Anniversary Gift

Atilla's POV.

Yes, I know that, but we already made our decision... are you saying that I'm a liar? Excuse me, but we just weighed our options, and it's just too bad that we found a better deal, so if you'll excuse me, I have a lot more things that I need to do. Good day to you."

I didn't wait for him to respond and ended the call. I had a lot of things to do that day and no time to listen to someone complain.

"Sour loser much?" I heard Vanessa say this as she entered my office.

Ever since I started working at Henry's company, Vanessa has become one of my closest friends.

After my fake mission with Nicole, she decided to return to the Philippines.

Fortunately, I became close to Vanessa, she was the one who taught me and Nicole everything when we first joined the company.

"You got it right, Vanessa; I can't believe that they are taking it too personally; I mean, it's just business," I said, closing my eyes briefly to calm myself.

"No one can deny that you did a great job after you handled this company. It was already big when you got in, but because of your leadership, it grew to be one of the biggest companies in Australia," she said, admiringly.

It had been almost two years since I started working for Henry's company. At first, I only took the job to forget someone. But now, I genuinely enjoyed the work Henry had given me.

I was no longer the naive, weak, and innocent Atilla. I am now the new CEO of Cervantes Heavy Industries. Henry didn't just give me the position; I proved my leadership skills, and he finally entrusted me with a company in Australia that wasn't really losing money.

A lot had changed in two years. Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't left the Philippines and forced myself to stay. But I quickly dismissed that thought. There was no use in thinking about the past.

If I hadn't left, I would still be weak, unlike now, where I am an independent woman.

They couldn't say that I was only Henry Cervantes' sister because I proved that we had more in common than just our last name. We were both successful in the business world, at least here in Australia.

I tried to avoid any business that involved Asian countries because I was afraid that Ram might find me.

Thinking about Ram wasn't as painful as it used to be, but there was still a certain ache in my heart that hadn't gone away in the past two years.

A smile spread across my lips as my phone suddenly rang, and I saw who was calling.

Hi, gorgeous," I heard Ang's baritone voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi to you too, Mr. Sweettalker," I laughed, glancing at Vanessa and indicating that she could return to her own desk.

He chuckled softly at my reply. "You know I'm just telling the truth. You are the most gorgeous lady that I have ever met," he said, teasingly. To convince me even further, he added, "I'm serious."

"So, why did you call?" I changed the subject, momentarily forgetting about his compliment. I wasn't the kind of person who was comfortable receiving compliments.

"I just want to invite my girlfriend for lunch. Even though you're the CEO of the company, you can still join your humble COO for lunch, can't you?" He said, teasingly.

"Of course. Will we meet there?" I asked, but I stopped when I heard a noise outside my office. I moved my phone away from my ear and walked towards the sound.

I couldn't help but feel touched when Ang's handsome face greeted me with his guitar, and then he started singing with his soothing voice.

He sang "Passenger Seat" by Stephen Speaks.

After singing, he took the flower Vanessa handed him and approached me with a smile. "Happy anniversary," he said as he kissed me briefly on the lips.

"Happy anniversary to you too, Ang; thank you for coming into my life," I replied sincerely.

He helped me every step of the way without asking for anything in return, which is why I was able to move on and become successful. It was easy for me to accept his proposal and become his girlfriend.

Time flew by so fast, it's been a year since Ang started courting me for a year before I said yes, and now it's our anniversary as a couple. We left the building together and headed straight to a nearby Japanese restaurant just fifteen minutes away from our office.

We only had lunch since we both had work. Our relationship wasn't clingy; we prioritized work and only had the chance to enjoy each other's company on weekends.

"Do you have plans tonight?" I asked him while we were on our way back to the office and as he drove the car.

"Uhm, no, why?" He asked me in confusion while waiting at a red light. "Nothing, I just asked," I said with a smile, and I saw him raise his eyebrows as if he suspected I had something planned.

Time flew by quickly that day due to the amount of work we had to do in the office. Even though I was the CEO, I preferred to be hands-on in many things. When I saw that it was already 5 p.m., I decided to finish everything the next day to focus on the plan I had for our anniversary with Ang.

I knew we didn't have any plans for today because we decided to celebrate the occasion on Saturday. However, I wanted to surprise him tonight. When I arrived at my condo unit, I immediately filled the bathtub in my room with warm water and poured some aroma oil in it.

I ate a light meal before returning to my room, taking off all my clothes, and soaking my tired body in the warm water. It felt like I was on cloud nine.

We have been together for a year now, but we have never had an intimate moment. I was grateful for this because I didn't want to force something that I might regret later, especially since I wasn't ready.

Ang, being the gentleman that he is, didn't demand me to have sex with him, and the only intimate moment we had was just a passionate kiss, but tonight was going to be different because I was ready to give myself to him completely without any inhibition.

I stayed in the bathtub for almost an hour, then stood up and immediately put on the bathrobe on the side. "What to wear, what to wear," I whispered while biting my right index finger.

Then, I saw a plastic bag on the side of my closet, and when I opened it, I saw a lavender see-through nightgown from Victoria's Secret that Nicole bought for me the first time she visited me.

It only covered my private parts, and I hesitated for a moment if it was the right thing to wear on our first night together, but I quickly erased that thought from my mind because I had already decided to give myself to him completely without inhibition.

I spent about thirty minutes getting ready and making sure I looked good in the mirror before I left the house and got into the waiting car.

Around eight, after I finished getting ready and made sure I looked presentable in the mirror, I quickly left the house and got into the waiting car.

I spent about thirty minutes driving before finally reaching Ang's residence, which I now knew the location of.

I let out a deep breath as I arrived at Ang's house. "This is it, Atilla. No backing out this time," I told myself, trying to gather my courage as I approached the door to Ang's place.

Carefully, I opened the door to his unit using the key he had given me. I had to be cautious because I really wanted to surprise Ang. Once I made sure the door was locked, I quickly took off the coat I was wearing, revealing the sexy Victoria's Secret lingerie I had gotten from my dresser.

"You can do this, Atilla," I said to myself as I walked towards the closed door of Ang's room. I chose not to turn on the lights in the room so that my surprise would be more believable.

"Ang," I whispered softly in the dark, trying to stay focused.

Slowly, I reached my hand towards the bed where Ang was supposed to be sleeping, but I was surprised to find that his body wasn't there.

I stood up and went straight to the back of the door, where the light switch was.

For a moment, I was blinded by the sudden light, but my eyes adjusted quickly. It was then that I realized that Ang wasn't in his bed, which was strange because I knew he had come home early.

"Where could he possibly be?" I wondered to myself. Just then, my cell phone, which I had left in my coat pocket in the living room, rang. It was Ang calling.

"Hello, Ang? Where are you?" I asked as soon as I answered.

"Sorry, Atilla. I'm on my way to the airport. There's an emergency that I need to take care of concerning my brother," he replied.

"Is he okay?" I asked, concerned.

I hadn't met his brother before because he was based in the US, and he never visited Ang here in Australia.

"He's okay... for now. Wait until I get my hands on him," he said seriously, but I knew Ang well enough to know that he wouldn't hurt his own brother, even if they were only half-siblings. Despite having different fathers, I knew that Ang loved his younger brother.

He didn't talk to me for long because he was about to board a plane. So I sat in his living room on the lazy boy's chair.

For some reason, I didn't feel disappointed but rather relieved. Perhaps I wasn't ready to give myself to someone else yet, even though I knew I loved Ang.

"Do you really love him, or are you just obligated to return his feelings because of his help to you?" my mind asked.

I quickly dismissed the thought because I knew that I loved Ang. I felt at ease when I was with him as if nothing bad could happen and I didn't have to make any effort.

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing again. Thinking it was Ang, I answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Miss me already?" I asked with a smile.

"Atilla, it's Elaine. You need to come home now," she said with urgency in her voice.

"Why, what happened?" I asked anxiously, but I became even more

worried when I heard her crying on the other end of the line.

"Elaine! What happened? Where's Henry?" I started to panic when she didn't respond.

She continued crying for a few minutes, before finally calming down.

Sorry, Atilla, Henry had an accident, and we need you here," she said.

I was so shocked and worried when I heard Henry got into an accident, and after telling me a few more details, she finally ended the call.

I immediately dialed Vanessa's number, and after a few rings, she finally answered.

"Vanessa, I want you to contact the heads of the department and tell them that I need to fly to the Philippines," I said as I drove back to my unit to prepare my things and get my passport.

Once I had everything ready, I decided to just take a taxi to the airport.

"Hang in there, older brother," I whispered tearfully as I got into the taxi that would take me to the airport bound for the Philippines.

I didn't have any plan to return to the Philippines anytime soon, but I had to, it was about my brother after all, and I would leave everything for him.