Chapter 21
Mariana
“It’s all over the news!” Ri
sneered. “They are calling you a workplace bully.”
I knew she wasn’t going to give up that easily; this had Emily written all over it.
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “They are the ones bullying me.”
“It could be avoided
if
you
tell them you’re the princess,” David said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I don’t want to get by in life because I’m a princess,” I shot back. “I want them to actually respect me.”
Before he could say anything in response, the door to the living room swung open and Sean stood there. He looked furious but the anger melted off his face quickly as he caught my eyes. He ran over to me, wrapped me in a hug, and held me close to him.
I wanted to push him away; I wasn’t interested in him, and I wasn’t in the mood to keep pretending I was. I only agreed to go out with him because Joseph was watching.
Not that his opinion matters or anything; but seeing his face falling was satisfying.
“I already spoke with the media; they are canceling this news story. I told them it was only a rumor, and they have nothing to go off of,” Sean assured me.
I felt myself sighing with relief.
“Thank you,” I said to him. “If there’s anything I can do in return…”
“Actually, there is something,” he said with a smile. I felt my face heating up; I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.
“I recently opened a new restaurant in the kingdom. It’s quite popular. I can close it down tonight, so it’ll only be the two of us. But I would love it if you joined me for dinner,” Sean offered.
He looked almost nervous; it was adorable. I couldn’t help but wonder what his game plan was though. He never expressed much romantic interest in me during our childhood. He’s always been such a great friend; he was my best friend, besides Rita. He always knew how to make me laugh and how to make me feel better during tough situations.
He was there for me when my mother died. The problem is that he sleeps around with everyone whenever he wants. He wouldn’t be a stable partner. I was sick of being used and I told myself, after my marriage ended, that I wouldn’t put myself in that position again.
But then again, he did save me from public humiliation by getting the news story taken down. I kind of owed him as painful as it may be.
“Alright,” I said to him. “I’ll come with you tonight.”
“Excellent,” he said cheerfully. “You’re going to love it there. It’s on the corner of the Moonstone Pack and the Silvertooth Pack.”
I frowned; that was strange. It was right now Joseph’s office building. Why would Sean open a restaurant near Joseph’s office building? I couldn’t help but wonder if he did this on purpose.
“I’ll return for you tonight, my love,” Sean called over his shoulder to me as he left.
“It seems you’ve dodged a bullet,” Michael said, putting down the newspaper and leaning back in his seat as he stared at his son. “She seems like an awful
woman.”
“I told you, father,” Ella muttered, folding her arms across her chest
think it’s best if you just forget about this scheming woman,” Michael suggested. “It seems trouble follows her.”
“There are still so many women that would love to be your luna,” Cheryl chimed in. “Were you able to get a look at the profiles we sent you? Your father and I went through each woman to find someone suitable for you.”
Joseph started to tune out his parents; he knew they were right and that he shouldn’t be thinking about Anna that much. She made it obvious she wants nothing to do with him; he just wished he knew why. He thought he gave her a decent life; she didn’t need to do much. The divorce felt out of the blue and random. But he had to stop dwelling on it.
But he also wasn’t sure he wanted to date anyone else.
1/2
Joseph was exhausted from the day. He sat in his office, staring at his computer and not being able to process what he was seeing in front of him. He’s been feeling a bit under the weather and it took everything he had to drag himself out of bed and go to work.
