"It's been a while, Gina. Did you see Van around?" Georgina nodded her head while still looking at nowhere.
She's with Jin Carson. They're inside the rooftop.
After her encounter with Giovanni, he bumped into him and told her that she had to talk about the plan, but until now, she's not saying a single word as if distracted by something.
"What happened while you're out of the country? You saw each other, right?" Jin asked. "He's weird when he comes back. He locked himself inside his room for at least three days."
"I'm weird too. Henrick's acting the same." She chuckled. "I'm in a serious dilemma. Am I bad?"
"Like you, I don't understand a thing. Since your fiance showed up, Van changed. He has those worried and defeated looks in his eyes. If I asked him, he wouldn't say a thing."
Georgina clenched her fist and stared down as the long silence engulfed them.
The mild, chilly breeze of wind brushing their body made her long, wavy hair sway along with it, those group of birds flying in the vast clear sky and those noises from the students on the ground seemed too peaceful to hear and see.
There's no one on the rooftop beside them, but the silence creeps her out. It's as if a storm will come later.
A long, deep sigh came out from her. "I'm going to marry Henrick next month."
"H-huh? Isn't it too early as you'd planned?"
"Yeah, we should do something because that evil witch already blackmailed my brother. She holds the highest shares in the company, and the shareholders' meeting will happen in two months. Even if many people are loyal to my father, there's no way they can go against someone powerful like her. She's good at forging documents, blackmailing people, and forcing them to turn to her sides." She said. "If she gets ahold of the company affairs, she'll erase all the traces of her embezzling inside the company. It's our defeat."
"What? I heard your father already passed his position to Warren."
"Warren's still a minor. There's someone who can take advantage of him, and almost half of the shareholders are undecided. They might turn to the evil witch sides."
"I-It's ridiculous."
"I thought the same thing, so we need to change the plan and..."
"You need to marry Henrick so he can get ahold of the company affairs. But your mother will gain half of his shares in the Jung family. It's a big problem. Henrick's the only son of the Jung Family."
"I know. Just giving the evil witch half of his shares won't help us. But there's no easy way to get what you want. We need to surrender something to get the other."
"I see, but aren't you surrendering everything you have for your revenge? Family, money, reputation, and freedom. What will you gain after all of this?"
Georgina flinched at his question. She didn't think about it. What will she gain from all of it, even though she wins? Family? She can't get her father back. Money? What will she do even if she takes the embezzled money? Reputation? It's ruin enough for people to believe the truth. Freedom? Even if she can get out of her mother's tight grip, it's too late to gain it. She'll always feel shackled by her past.
There's nothing to gain from it, nothing except one.
A smile escaped her lips upon thinking about it. "What will I gain? Forgiveness."
"H-huh?"
"I started and joined your plan for one thing. All I want is nothing but Van's forgiveness. If I gain it, it's worth it to surrender everything."
"Gina, if you tell the truth behind your disappearance two years ago to Van, he might forgive you without doing any of this. He only wants to know the truth."
"The truth might hurt him. I will never tell him something that might hurt his pride." She looked at Jin with a smile on her lips. "Here. Marga gave this to me earlier."
"What's this?"
"It's a list of my mother's private property that she gained through the embezzled money and the person involved. Henrick and I will focus on gaining as much evidence inside the company, and I want you and Van to check everything on that list." She said. "And while we're doing this plan, we should not contact each other unless it's important. The evil witch isn't a fool. She'll watch me and Van 24/7."
"I understand. We'll check this properly."
"Jin, you should stop stalking that witch."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember, Zairus?"
"Your cousin?"
"He's not my cousin rather my stepbrother. Anyway, he contacted Van's father and might blackmail him for accusing you and Van of criminal harassment for stalking her with bad intentions. If Marga's words aren't fake, the evil witch has a lot of pieces of evidence that can put both of you in jail. Don't say anything, Van. I'll take care of this matter."
"Gina, we're all accomplices in this plan so,"
"Take care of Van and his family. At least do it for me. Don't let anyone see that lists. I need to leave."
"Hmm... Good luck. I hope this plan will give us a fruitful outcome."
"Yeah, I'll do my best to see the end of everything. I'll go ahead."
After bidding her farewell to Jin, she came down carrying a box in both hands. She heads straight to where Henrick's car and puts the box on the back seat. Before Georgina could enter the car, she looked back at the school building, and a brief smile escaped her lips as plenty of memories came.
"Are you done?" Henrick asked as soon as she got inside and putting the seatbelt.
"Yeah,"
"Did you meet your ex?"
"Hmm..."
Henrick glanced at her as she turned away to look outside the window. "Are you sure to do this plan? Once we leave and meet your mother, we can't turn back."
"Van and I..." She said that made Henrick stare at her. "We're two complicated human beings. Even if there's a lingering feeling left, we used to deny them and hurt each other. A few months ago, we decided to put a period in our relationship, but amidst a single period, another two added that made it another ellipsis."
"What are you talking about?"
"Our story didn't end, yet continues with an ellipsis." She said. "We don't want it to end. It's funny..."
"Are you saying those words in front of me?"
"I know that we're complicated, but you coming in on the picture is more complicated to the point I don't want to think anymore."
"Tsk. You're not the only one thinking about it. It's weird for me to get mad whenever I see you with your damned ex. Let's stop talking about this weird stuff."
They didn't talk again on their way. It remains silent. Henrick couldn't stop glancing to her side, checking if she was asleep or doing something else. But she was staring outside with those troubled looks. Even though he didn't try to meddle with it, but instead focused his gaze on the road.
It took them half an hour to reach the fancy restaurant. As they walked inside, a waiter escorted them to a private room where her mother's waiting.
But as soon as they set foot inside, Georgina got taken aback upon seeing her uncle Rex sitting beside her mother. Georgina clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she glared at them with those raging eyes. It's only a month, not even a year since his father died, but they sure didn't respect him. They even go to see her with him without hesitation.
Amidst the thoughts running inside her mind, she got to her senses when Henrick wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Let's go."
"B-But..."
"I'm with you. It's fine." He smiled at her as they walked and sat right in front of them.
An awkward silence came inside the four corners of the VIP room, but Georgina couldn't take her eyes away from those two. She saw her uncle glance away when their gaze met, but it only made her furious and about to say something when Henrick wrapped his arms around her shoulder, slightly squeezing it. She turned to him, but his face remained calm as looking in front.
"It's been a while since we met, just the four of us. You look good together that it made me puke."
"What did you say?" Coleen said.
"Are you sure you want to act rude in front of me, mother-in-law? The money you want to take away from me isn't small. You can't get it by working as a CEO of a mid-size company like yours. Even if you added your salary with the man beside you, there's no way you can get it in one day. At least you need to work for another 30 years."
"Do you think you're a high-class elite of the business world? You can't even get it without your parents." Rex said furiously.
Henrick chuckled. "You have a point, but it's my luck. A privileged I had for being the son of an elite businessman. Well, at least I didn't deny it, but how about you, Mr. Serrano? I heard you're only a stepbrother of my father-in-law, and your company gains its reputation because of his help." He said, staring at him with a playful grin. "It's a pity he helped a scumbag like you."
"Y-you..." Rex hastily stands and grabs the collar of his shirt—pulling him up, but Henrick just sneers.
"What? Are you going to punch me, Mr. Serrano? You're not supposed to be here in this meeting. It's a family matter, and you're out of it. You're not part of my soon-to-be wife's family."
"Stop it, Rex. If you bruised his face, you wouldn't escape the rage of the Jung family. I'm not a fool to make an enemy of them." Coleen said. It made Rex let go of him and sit again.
"It's good that I'm not underestimating you, mother-in-law," Henrick uttered while fixing his clothes. "Well, let's talk about business since we finished greeting each other."