It's almost quarter to 8 o'clock in the evening when Georgina, Marga, and her mother reach their destination. There are many luxurious cars parks outside the modern mansion. People in elegant dresses and suits come and go as they please but it made her feel out of place. They continue to walk inside, show their invitation card to the person in-charge in front of the main door.
If the mansion looks elegant and beautiful outside, then it's more elegant, beautiful, and modernizes the interior design inside. It gives a royal place vibe with its white and gold theme. There's a big chandelier in the center that will catch anyone's attention. The grand staircase has a red carpet ready on it. It's wide and has many passages. If you wonder around alone, you might get lost. In the middle of walking, some people greet her mother but she doesn't dare to make eye contact with anyone.
A common elite family party.
"I'll greet someone. The two of you should behave yourself. Don't make a scene." Her mother warn them before walking somewhere, leaving them alone.
Marga glance towards her but she didn't even look rather walk somewhere. She's about to stop her but didn't dare to continue. There's no way she has a right to do anything. The guilt she feels is higher than trying to push her to the limit like her auntie wants. She's about to turn in the other direction but saw Georgina stop in the middle of walking. Her eyes fixated in front with shock as body freezes.
The person standing in front is no other than Giovanni Javier and Kiela Fuentes. A lot of thoughts and scenes came towards her mind. Before she knows it, she rushes towards Georgina's side to make sure nothing will happen.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here, Gina." Kiela said, looking at her from head to toe.
"Kiela, there are many people here, so please don't make a scene." Marga intervenes between the tensions.
"Sorry? I'm greeting her by not making a scene. It's up to her if she wants to make it a big deal."
"Y-you..."
"I'm not in the mood to see this woman. Let's go somewhere else." Giovanni speaks up before Georgina can talk.
He didn't give a single glance to her, rather intentionally bump into her shoulder and walk away like she never existed. A part of her feels so much pain, but she has no right to complain. Love is not the answer they need, but forgiveness and acceptance. Even those things are hard for them to give. She clenches both fists and continues to walk outside.
Before she notice it, she came to the mansion's garden. There are no people lurking around, but they can hear the noises inside. She continues to walk even though it's a little dark. In the middle of searching for a place to hide and rest, she heard a noise not too far from her direction. It's a bit of unpleasant noises coming from a woman. She almost jump in shock when a shadow of person came behind the bushes.
"Argh! I told you not to mess with my dress..." A voice of a woman came out from the same direction.
"Sorry, I got too excited."
Georgina steps back as the two shadows walk out of the bushes. It only takes a second when the three notice each other's presence. They look at each other with confusion, but as soon as Georgina gets the situation they're in, her face turns beet red. The woman has messy hair, dress not fixed properly and make-up are mess while the man has a loose necktie and unbutton polo.
A moment of silence remains between them. Not until she notices the face of the man in front. It's Henrick Jung.
"What the hell is this, Henrick? I thought no one's allowed here, then why is she here?" The woman asked in an annoyed tone.
"A-ah... W-well..."
"I got lost. It's not like I want to come here. You can continue what you are doing. I'll head back now."
"Go back for what? I lost interest. We're done here."
The woman left in a hurry, leave the two gone speechless. As she vanishes from their sight, Georgina looks at him with disbelief, stepping back little by little. Henrick scratches his head, gives an awkward smile.
"W-well, it's not what you think..." He said.
"I won't say anything, bye." She's about to walk away, but he grabs her wrist. "Let go. I promise not to say anything so..."
"I'm not used to wearing this formal suit. Fix it for me."
She's about to reject him but the things happened last night came back to her so in the end she fix without a word.
"What are you doing here? What's in your face?" He unconsciously touch her lips but she bite his finger while glaring straight into the eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? It's the same thing as you can see in your today's woman's face." She emphasizes the word 'today,' that made Henrick look away in embarrassment.
"Don't mistake it as my woman. It's a fling. A fling..."
Georgina shrug her head in doubt and finish fixing his suit. She steps backward while Henrick gets a clean handkerchief and hand it to her.
"What's about the handkerchief? Did I have something to my face?"
"Wipe it out. I don't like you wearing such a thick one. It doesn't suit you."
"Hey, I didn't come here to be like by you and it's not like I want to come here. The evil witch drags me for her own greed, if it isn't for him." She flinches after blurting out something she shouldn't say.
"Him?"
"A-ah... Let's go back inside. It seems like the party started."
It's an alibi, but the man didn't ask a question as they walk back inside.
Unlike before, the atmosphere changes as soon as they enter inside the mansion, all those people's eyes are in their direction. It's an awkward situation to deal. She doesn't know where to look or how to divert their gazes somewhere away.
In a middle of deep thoughts, a server came towards offering a red wine. Out of consciousness, she reaches out her hands to get one, but Henrick snatches it away. He told the server to go on and glare in her direction as if she did something terrible. If it isn't because of the deal, she'll get annoyed in an instant, but for today, she needs to maintain a poker face.
"What do you think you are doing? If you want to drink, just get one." Georgina said in a low restraint tone.
"No drinks. Do you know what you did yesterday?"
She raised her left eyebrow but still give a fake smile. "I'm just too drunk last night. Besides, it is impossible for me to get drunk in one glass. Why don't you go find someone you can mess with this time?"
He didn't get the chance to answer her when the lights turn off and a spotlight focus on the second floor where a man and woman standing together. Despite of their age, they look much younger in person. Her mother's secretary gives a brief background before about the parents of the man she's about to marry. It's a family of influential and powerful elite. They're well known in the business industry.
"Good evening to all of you, thank you for coming to this party despite of your busy days. Today, we're celebrating three occasions, which is my son's birthday, our company partnership with Serino and the engagement of my son to Coleen Alvarez's daughter." The woman said while smiling as the claps getting louder. "Son, why don't you come up here and greet the visitors?"
A moment of silence lingers inside. Georgina can't help but bite her lower lips in nervousness. The son of those two people is her fiancé. She might as well prepare herself. Even though she didn't expect Giovanni's appearance, just hearing the news about this will make him laugh out loud. He always tells her he's happy whenever she's not. It's enough assurance to hide everything and let him hate her for the rest of his life.
After a minute of silence, the woman called out to her son again, but some of them startled when a sound of broken glass echo inside. It's a broken glass of wine. Georgina looks towards Henrick in surprise when the glass of wine slip into his hand. His eyes widened. A surprise look turns into rage.
"Son? Engagement? Alvarez? What the hell? Are you making fun of me?" He mumble but she heard it loud and clear.
"Oh, there you are, son. I didn't know you already met your fiancée. We plan to let you meet at this moment, but..."
"Fiancée? Who? You?" Henrick looks at her with doubt and gives an awkward laugh. "T-tell me, it's not you, right?"
She looks away instead of answering him.
"Wow! This is the worst birthday I had in my entire life. It's ridiculous." He said. "Let me clear it to you, mom, dad and the rest of people who come here. I'm against this engagement. No. I didn't want to marry an annoying, childish and a pushover person like her. Sorry to disappoint you,"
Georgina's eyes are in shock because of what she heard. It's different from the man he met. Those words he blurted out are painful to hear as a woman. Besides, he didn't even try to listen or talk it out, rather announce it like he did.
"I'm not interested in you, so get lost."
A tear falls down from her eyes as he pushes her on the ground with full of menace aura. The people around gasps, and whispers on each other, but she didn't say a word and let them talk shits about her. She accidentally glance towards Giovanni's direction, but he's not even looking or giving some sympathy. There's no one here who'll side with her other than herself.
"H-hey, Henrick." Her mom called out.
"I'll not marry someone, do your business and I'll do mine. This party is over."