(FREYA'S POV).
In the morning, I woke up with Devan no longer beside me. It seemed like he had gone to the office since it was almost noon. I didn't realize that I had slept too long. But last night...
I bit my lower lip with an uneasy feeling. Last night we had sex. Something I thought would never happen in our entire marriage.
I don't know why he did it, but I think he regretted it. That's why he left while I was still fast asleep because he wanted to avoid me.
Ugh, I don't know what to do the next time I see him.
I covered my face in shame. But there was a tightness in my chest when I thought he might call it a mistake and tell me to forget everything that happened last night.
He even put his shirt on me and I don't know when he did it. Doesn't that mean there's a bit of concern he has for me? Although I'm scared, I want to at least hope for more from him. Hoping that someday he would realize how much I loved him and we could start all over.
But I still didn't understand the reason why Devan could hate me so much. Every time I ask him a question, he never answers it and gets angrier with me. Should I find out for myself? Or ask Jason? He's his best friend, maybe he knows.
"Ah," I groaned as I felt pain all over my body. I only realized how many kiss marks Devan had left when I looked in the bathroom. My eyes were even puffy like someone who had been crying for a long time.
"How do I cover up all these marks? I have to go to the boutique. I can't possibly go looking like this," I muttered. I tried to find something inside my make-up case. And found something that could cover the kiss marks around my neck.
As I was busy covering it up, I heard my cell phone ringing. I quickly grabbed my cell phone that was on the bedside table.
It's from Becca.
"Hello, Becca," I greeted her after I picked up her phone call.
"Miss Freya. Can you come to the boutique right now?"
"Why? Is there a problem again?" my face immediately paled when I heard Becca's voice that didn't sound okay.
"Uh, the men who came to the boutique a while ago, they are here."
"You mean the man who bought our building?"
"Yes. They just came and looked for you. They said there was something important they wanted to talk to you about."
I could hear Becca's voice trembling with fear.
"All right. Please tell him I'm on my way to the boutique. And don't be afraid, Becca," I said trying to calm her down.
I hung up the phone and hurried to get dressed. I left in a hurry by taking a taxi. Within a few minutes of traveling, I finally arrived at the boutique and immediately went to my room.
When I had just entered the boutique, Becca was standing by the stairs with a worried face. Pacing back and forth like a person on edge.
"Becca," I called as I approached her.
"They're in your room. They're waiting for you," Becca informed me.
"Okay, I'll go meet them. You prepare the drinks and bring them to my room."
I went straight up to the second floor and when I entered my room, I already saw the man who had come to my boutique a while ago.
"Mrs. Freya," he greeted with a friendly smile.
I cringed when I saw how politely he greeted me. I shook his hand without thinking and sat down on the sofa.
"Sorry. Did I keep you waiting long? My secretary said that you wanted to see me," I said politely.
"Yes, we did want to see you to discuss yesterday's matter."
"Wait. Didn't you say to give me until the end of the month to move out of here? I'm looking for a new building for my boutique. I'm working on it. And there's still a week left before the end of the month." I glanced at the calendar on my desk. It was exactly a week before the time she gave me expired.
Instead, I saw a small smile on the corner of his lips. It made me frown in confusion.
"You don't have to worry. You can stay here without looking for a new building for your boutique," he informed me.
"W-What?" I furrowed my brow. Staring in disbelief at him. "Wait ... you just said that I don't need to move from here? Didn't I hear you wrong?"
"No, you didn't hear wrong. It just so happens that I've found a great place in the center of town. And we have confirmed that we will build our new bar there. Therefore, you can use this building for your boutique. You can pay monthly rent starting next month."
I was surprised to hear his words. I didn't know how to react. Between excitement, shock, and disbelief. This was too sudden. I had even borrowed money from Jason.
"Why did you suddenly change your mind?" I looked at him with a probing gaze.
He chuckled. "You don't have to be afraid or suspicious if I'm going to cheat you. My friend found the place. And I can raise more money by renting this building to you. Besides, it's also in your favor since you don't have to look for a new building."
"What ... are you serious?" I asked incredulously.
I was a little scared because of the incident that happened a while ago. I had to be more careful to make sure I wouldn't get scammed again.
"If you don't believe me, I brought a contract for you."
He took something out of his bag. A document which he then handed to me.
"You can check the rent. I've put it in the contract including the payment terms for each month," he explained. "Oh, and this is my business card. You can check it if you're still unsure. I'm a businessman, so there's no way I'm trying to cheat you."
I glanced at the business card he handed me. And sure enough, there was the name of the bar and he was the owner. Then my gaze refocused on the contract document that was now in my hand.
I widened my eyes in surprise when the rent he gave was much cheaper than the previous monthly rent.
"Are you sure about this rent?" I asked with a surprised look.
"Yes. I gave you a low price because as you know. I have quite a lot of money. And I think that's more than enough to make me a profit."
I paused. Trying to think things through. If I accepted, I wouldn't have to look for a new building anymore. I could also return the money I had borrowed from Jason. But, was he really a good person?
"Do we need to call a lawyer to check it out?" he chuckled as if he was teasing me because I kept doubting him.
I just cringed in response to his old-fashioned sense of humor.
"Alright. I'll take it."