It's been two days. My life seemed to turn upside down since the day Delucia entered my life. No wonder I had food dreams that night because for the entire day, I was working like a dog. I didn't get time to sleep, neither did I eat. Now I understand, I’m really a victim of somebody's curse.
"I am telling you, somebody cursed me."
Entering the office while talking to Anna on the cellphone, she dismisses me with a giggle. "Shut up, Rubel. It's just you are working too much. Or should I say he is making you work, which you never wanted?"
"He never misses a chance to insult me."
Well, there was no point crying over the same thing again and again but for the last two days, I’ve been cursing my life. Is it a crime to expect a normal loving life? A loving husband and a big family? Did I ask more from this life? Or It's not in my destiny to be happy?
"Babe, are you there?" Anna dragged me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, I am here."
"Rubel, cheer up. This is just a bad stroke of luck. It will pass."
Sure, but it seems like this bad stretch will stay for at least a few months.
"Sure, babe. I will see you soon."
"Hey, listen. Marcus called. He wanted to come to drop off his marriage invitation. He came to my house yesterday. Maybe he will come for you."
How did I forget the love of my life was getting married?
"I gotta go," quickly hung up the phone. sighed as I came out of the elevator.
Once again, Max and my eyes met. How long am I going to be angry at him? After all, he was trying to help me,
I smiled, and he replied with a wink, and came towards me.
"I am sorry for snapping at you that day."
He squeezed me in a tight hug. "I am sorry, but I was trying to help you."
We walked towards the coffee station. Keeping my bag on the counter, I rested on the barstool, Max making coffee for us.
"How's life?"
"Don't ask. It's like hell with that Delucia," I answered.
"Why? Is he that bad? I thought he was all right."
I glared at him, and he stopped his gibbering Delucia anthem song.
"You know what? Once this project finishes, I want to kick him in the water in that lake. No, I have a better idea. I want to roast him like a marshmallow in the fire."
I was making my imaginary dishes keeping Delucia as my recipe's main ingredient.
"Ru.. psstt."
“What? I was enjoying the thought of boiling him in the hot oil.”
"Ru. shut up."
I furrowed my brows studying his activity. Max’s eyes shot at me and then at the back over my shoulder.
Me.
Back.
Me.
Back.
Fuck…
"He is standing right behind me, isn't he?" I whispered, making a crumbled-ashamed face.
Max's brow arched as he pressed his lips with a nod.
Great, I slammed my head in my hand.
Delucia came to my side and I could smell his cologne. Gosh, he looked so handsome, but he was the most annoying man. Tattooed hand, blue denim jacket with T-shirt, beaded bracelet, and thumb ring.
I looked at him and definitely puppy eyes won't work this time. I blinked my eyes behind my glasses as he looked over to Max, asking for a cup of coffee.
"I want you to meet me at the board room in ten minutes."
He left with a blank face, giving me a slight side-eye.
"I think I should go," I sighed.
"Where? He said, ``After ten minutes."
"Not to him. I should write my resignation letter. I am sure he will complain about me. I’m sure I’m fired."
I jumped from the barstool, with a hanging face, and walked towards my cubicle. Not going very far, I bumped again to Aurora again. She yelled and walked towards the dressing room.
With the same annoyed, exhausted expression, I entered the board room to ask his forgiveness.
"Mr. Delucia."
"Get Miss Aurora ready. We will start the shoot in a few minutes," he instructed as he looked over some design composites.
"Umm... I told her, but she is not ready to wear the winter collection we selected."
Suddenly the door busted open and snooty Aurora entered again. In these last two days, I have seen them flirting with each other and I could see the look in her eyes when she stepped to him.
"Darius, I can't wear this. I mean, look at the material."
She threw that winter coat on my face.
Bitch.
Delucia stood and smiled at her. "Then don't wear it. Who is forcing my beautiful model?"
"She is." The bitch pointed at me.
Delucia held her hand and made her sit in the chair near him. "You know what, you look so beautiful when you are angry."
Uck. Here he goes.
Aurora blushed, making those funny faces she does when she thinks she looks cute.
"Seriously."
"But, you know what? We should reveal your beauty like this."
"Like what?"
"Like you wear lingerie, and this collection is a waste."
What did he say? He underestimated the power of the client.
She slapped his shoulder playfully with a giggle.
"But the point is, a man loves hide and seek games. And you know how to play with them."
He took the coat from my hand and extended it towards her.
She blushed. "You want me to wear this and play, hide and seek?"
He winked. "Smart girl."
"This is what every man wants. A beautiful girl wrapping in a fluffy coat hiding her beauty underneath. Let us imagine what's underneath those coats," he licked his lips and whispered in her ear.
Sucker. I thought Aurora would be my weapon to torture him. But here I could see, she’s such a dumb ass.
I shook my head in disgust. This man is the biggest flirt I have ever seen, but Aurora came like a storm and left the room as a calm breeze.
I was standing like an idiot, biting my lips, trying to understand his psychology.
He came to me, seeming as if he had won that battle.
"How did you do that?" I raised a brow.
"It's simple. Just give her what she wants."
Hmmm.
"It's applicable to every girl."
I crossed my hands over my chest. "Not on me."
"Take off your glasses."
I squeezed my eyes behind the glasses frames. “Never."
He smiled. "You’re different, Miss Rubel."
That hurts, like in a negative sense. I know I didn't have a model face or sexy figure.
"What do you mean by that?"
He rolled his eyes and started to fix his camera.
That hurts, like how it feels when a stranger insults you. .
"I know I am not beautiful like her. Neither, I have a sexy figure, but my friends like me."
Why am I justifying myself to him? Doesn't he remind me of the rejection of Marcus?
He looked towards me as my eyes turned glossy. Luckily my glasses always save me to hide my hurt.
"Did I say you are not beautiful? I said you’re different."
"Yeah, sure." I rolled my eyes.
Within those few seconds, all those old painful memories flooded back to me. I crumbled inside. I am different, the reason no boy loves me.
"I am going to check on your beautiful model," I taunted as I took a step away.
"Hey."
"What?"
I turned towards him. We looked at each other for a few seconds.
"Nothing..." a long pause. "Tell her we will start with Blue drape."
"Sure."
Nobody cares about what I feel. All they care about is that fucking blue drape.
"What if she doesn't agree?" I asked, then stopped to look at him.
"Yeah, yeah. I will tell her what she wants to hear."
Seriously?
"What if she doesn't agree?" I asked, then stopped to look at him."Yeah, yeah. I will tell her what she wants to hear."I understood that part. I could hear his suppressed giggles. He must have thought how stupid I was to justify my point without any base.A few minutes later Aurora was ready as the makeup artist caked her face with makeup and shiny solution to enhance her bikini line.Great, I accepted that she has a beautiful body, but this? Walking in front of the screen, I could see the drooling mouth of Delucia.He walked over and fixed Aurora's hair."Perfect," pecked a kiss on her cheek, which she gladly accepted.The shoot started and Max and I stood like two monkeys, observing their flirting."You need a man like him.""No, Max. He is not the man I would prefer. I need an honest man, not a man whore." With fingers inverted commas, I highlighted my reason."At least use him for some time to enhance your underdeveloped beauty," Max chuckled."Miss Rubel, please hold the fan ne
~Rubel~It's a funny Friday. My favorite day of the week. Not to mention after my strange encounter with Delucia, this week was a pathetic run of events for me. Marcus plus Delucia is the worst combination.It's midday, and I am sitting in the salon with Anna as we are enjoying the Thai massage we needed to relax."Ohhh, I needed this," I moaned."So what's the plan after this? Going home and crying for your one true love?" Anna teased."Shut up. My crying time is over. Why would I cry? I am going to spend my time with Liam and Max.”She chuckled, suggesting, "Seriously? I would be happy if you want to join me.""Nah, you go on your date. It's been a long time you didn't have sex because of me. Go enjoy this one. Tell him to work out your juices properly," I replied without thinking about the lady who was massaging my back. I looked back with a shameless face."I think you need it more than me," Anna replied."Oh! I want to, but at present, I don't have many options." I rolled my eyes
I gave a final look in the mirror and threw a final kiss to my reflection."Not today, babe. Let him rest today, for tomorrow, he will become your servant."A while later I reached Max’s place where Liam opened the door and hugged me."Hey, beautiful.""I missed you.""I missed you too.""Max told me about that idiot."Liam knew about Marcus? Not again, I came here to forget about him."I don't know what’s wrong with me. Maybe this universe doesn't want me." The pain came out before I realized what I had said."Come on, it's not like that. We want you. That idiot doesn't know he missed out on a beautiful girl."Aww, look at him. He tried to make me happy. I smiled as we entered the pool area. Startled, it was not what I expected. There were more people than I anticipated."I thought it's just a few friends.""I thought of inviting my friends, plus yours too.""Mine? I have only Max," I grumbled, rolling my eyes.He took me to a group where he introduced me to his colleagues."This is
~Rubel~The weekend flew by in a blink of an eye. I just don't understand why the weekends never felt lengthy.Well, I did some cleaning, laundry, shopping, and lots of gossip with my friend Anna. We talked about the juicy parts of her night, and so on.I opened my email before setting the alarm and Delucia called everyone at seven."Is he mad or what?" I rolled my eyes.Well, I would take my proper nap as neither his emails, nor his rules, matter to me. With a devilish smirk, I hopped into my cozy bed. It's a wonderful feeling, a cold night, and a warm blanket.***BEEP BEEP BEEP"Not again."My face stuffed inside my pillow while my hand tried to find my lost phone."Hello.""Ru, where are you? Didn't you get the email? Darius is waiting. We have to take some shots at sunrise."I wiped my drooling mouth with another hand with heavy eyes. I looked at the digits displayed on my watch. 7:10 AM."Ru...""Ummm... Max...""Rubel, wake up. Do you want to lose your job? What if he tells Mr.
He offered me a deal. Is this some kind of trap?"What?""I know how desperate you are to get married and fall in love… blah… blah… shit. I can help you with that. In return, I want you to keep your mouth shut."Wait, wait.I repeated the same words in slow motion. My mind stopped working when something happened in my favor."What?""Yes, I am a man. And I know how desperate you want true love in your life. I can teach you how to handle a man and how to act."He furrowed his brows waiting for a reply while I was still processing."And why should I listen to you?"He gently held my hand and made me sit on the chair. "I want to help you, and you can help me keep this project successful."Since when was this project so important to him? What game he is trying to play with me?"Why is this project important to you?""I have my own issues. All you need to know, if I lose this project, I may not be able to prove my worth."My worth… That made me emotional for a second."How can I trust you?
It was indeed the worst deal I made in my life; I cursed myself for creating and accepting the biggest stupid decision."Come on, four more minutes,""What?""Yes, four more minutes,"I never thought my body would feel so heavy in a plank position.ThudThat was the third time I fell on my mouth.(Any last wish, Rubel,Yes, I want to have intense sex before I die in this gym, today)"Rubel, get up." I wanted to burn his soul in hell.Not to mention, after leaving the office, yesterday he forced me to come to the gym,"Be ready; we will go to the gym in the morning as six," Darius said."I have never been to the gym, that place scares me. And I am not a fat person,"I twirled my body to prove my point. "It's not about losing weight; it's about building strength,"Max hummed in agreement with Darius,"Ok,"I knew I had to agree, but who cares, he didn't know my house, and no one in this world could wake me up early this morning.With a broad smile and an obedient student agreement, I co
Friday came, and it's been a torturous week; early rise and early sleep became my habit, not to mention I used to sleep like a log.And more than that, Darius gave me a strict diet to follow, no unhealthy food."We will go at five," Darius, with his killer smile, tilted his face over me."I am not going, Max and you... you guys don't treat me like a human," I replied."Hey, stop being the drama queen. We are going together, and there was one more reason for us to go together, you may find someone there. The place would be full of hot guys,"The lusty butterflies fluttered inside my belly. "Ok, I will think,"I knew he knew I would die to meet a handsome man. We reached the store, as usual, I walked towards the long T-shirt section, loose clothes."Not here," Darius snaked his hand on my waist and dragged me to the dress section. He gave me several options,"Wear this,""It's backless, this one is short, and it has..."He stuffed me with dresses in the changing room."Rubel, do it." I
"Seriously, Rubel,"When he turned, I saw the invitation card in his hand. I ran to grab it back, but nope he didn't give me it."Why did you want this man to hurt you?""He just left it," I replied with the lower peer,"What? you want to go to this party?"I bit my lips and plumped on the couch. "You know what? You should go," he added,Wait, what? Is he mad or what? "Stop it, this is not funny,"I grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, gave a twirl,"Stop Darius," I resisted,"No, we should go to make him feel what he lost,"I furrowed my brows,What was he saying?"Lost?""We will go as boyfriend and girlfriend." He winked and pulled me close again.Darius," I was trying to process the thing. "Do you trust me?""Do you want him to teach a lesson?"I nodded immediately, "Then we will attend this wedding, ok,"I didn't know what comes to me,I jumped and hugged him.And he did the same,"Thank you," I whispered, but tears were already there to gloss my eyes,"Anytime for you," he touc