ROYCE
I prepared for Marica’s new salon grand opening as I was hoping Nelina would be there. It would be a chance for me to talk to Nelly calmly. A few days have passed, hopefully, Nelly thinks things over and is calmer when I see her.
It wasn't a very formal event so I wore black jeans paired with baby pink long sleeves folded on my elbow. I looked myself in the mirror twice, loving the new haircut I got a day before the event. It was a clean-cut as I had the urge to have a new look, especially since I wanted Nelly to have a good impression of me.
Ten in the morning I was at the address Marica gave me. People started to gather that I had to squeeze myself into the entrance. I roamed my sight around trying to find the only woman on my mind but I failed.
“Stop looking for her.”
I could never be wrong, the voice was familiar. I looked back to see her smiling. “Marie!! Congratulations,” I said, shaking her hand.
“Thank you. I have to remind you again, she’s not here. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
The disappointment on my face was probably visible.
“You know we need to talk but it will come later as I need to entertain my clients. Come with me, I’ll take you to the reception where Leo is waiting for you.”
Marica took me to the back of the main salon to join Leo and other guests for the opening. The salon was spacious, luxurious and they had extended services such as massage and spa, unlike the older branch which solely focused on Salon services. The place was named Hermosa Salon and Spa which is more likely to cater to rich clients.
“Royce, you’re here,” Leo tapped my shoulder as I got close to him. “I’ve been waiting for you to come.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
“I’ll leave you two here, I’ll be back,” Marica said before she left to attend to her guests.
“How was business going?” Leo asked as he handed me a drink.
“Business is fine, the growth is tremendous recently. My problem now is not business.”
“I know, Marica told me a little. You know this is a misunderstanding but buddy, you need to provide solid evidence that you didn’t have an ill-intention. That’s the only way to prove your innocence.”
“Of course, I’m in the process of doing just that. Most importantly looking for that bastard who wants to taint my name. This man won’t get away with this. I’ll make sure whoever did this will regret it for the rest of his life,” I said, gritting my teeth.
“I understand that you’re upset, but remember to work smart. You don’t know who is your enemy here. You’ve told me about an incident two years ago which is suspicious, there might be influential people behind this from the former company of Cruz’s family.”
“I thought so. Thanks for reminding me. Leo, I want to talk to Marica when she comes back. She is the only way to Nelina. I wanted to ask for her help”
“Sure. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
It was quite unusual having time together with only Leo instead of the 5 of us including Andi, Rico, and Santi. Nevertheless, we had a good time catching up after a hectic schedule running my companies while Leo learned how to be part of their empire.
“Hey, I’m sorry guys to keep you waiting.”
“We don’t mind. We Had a good time catching up. You know we’re both busy lately, right?” Leo said as he incline one arm on Marica’s shoulder.
They sure have something special after months of dating. I wasn’t sure at first but it seems Leo is into Marica, unlike his former girlfriends which he changed every other week or so.
“Marie, can I talk to you?”
“Of course, let’s go to my office.” Marica led us to her spacious office and offered us to sit on her elegant couch.
“Beautiful office you got.” Leo complimented.
“Thanks, this is my new nest while working on this branch.”
“Such a nice way to get motivated to work even harder.”
“Thank you, Royce. Now back to something you want to talk about.”
I rested my back on the couch as I heaved a sigh. “Marica, you already know what happened between me and Nelly so I’ll go to the point. Whether you believe it or not, I am innocent and I am here to ask for your help.”
“What kind of help?” Marie asked, crossing her legs.
“Please, I need to talk to Nelly. She needs to hear my side of the story.”
“You already did that but she didn't listen to you, Royce. What makes you think she will listen to you if you talk to her right now? Here’s what I suggest, gather evidence to prove your innocence before you face Nelly again.”
“Marica, it will take time. I miss her so much and I need to know if she’s okay.”
“Royce, I assure you Nelly is fine. If I consider all the evidence in my hands, I’m convinced that you are indeed one of the culprits. Not to mention the video that was sent to me the following day. I have it in my bag and never mention it to Nelly as I know she would overreact again.”
“What video?”
“It was from the incident. There was a video of you in the incident. The first one was just a photo of you, now it’s a video. Now, you have to prove what you did there has nothing to do with the accident.”
“I can’t wait to find out who is trying to frame me. I had someone dig into this matter.”
“Royce, you have to remember that Nelly’s previous trauma was making it hard for her to comprehend things. She has trust issues. The moment she sees evidence against you, she will believe it as it would relieve the past trauma with Dennis. Nelly believes she doesn’t deserve to be loved and that everyone will betray her. This is one of the reasons, you should not initiate a conversation with Nelly until you have solid evidence to clean your name.”
“I agree with Marica.” Leo seconded.
“Yeah, Marica has a point. This is something I overlooked. In my head, I only want to see and talk to Nelly as soon as possible.”
“Here’s a deal. You go find concrete evidence to prove your innocence then I’ll find a way to convince Nelly to talk to you. Again, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt because you are one of Andi’s good friends."
“Thank you, I appreciate all your help. I think that’s a good deal. I’m on it.”
"I'm not on your side, I'm only trying to hear both sides of the story to have a fair judgment. Nelly is my best friend and I will do anything for her goodness. I'm giving you a week to find out the truth.”
"I understand. I won't let you down."
“Good. Now, where do you want to start? Can you tell us what you did that night?”