Possibilities 1
The soft knock on the door made Elice lift her head. She turned to find Amber entering. With both hands apparently clasped together, the middle-aged woman seemed hesitant.
“Uh… it’s late. I think you should eat. You haven’t eaten all day, Elice.”
Eating was the last thing on Elice’s mind. She didn’t need it right now. What she needed was to be free of all these problems.
Elice shook her head and declined the offer. “I’m fine. And I’m not hungry.”
Amber sighed deeply at the refusal. Not taking it lightly, she decided to step forward. She entered and approached Elice, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in a disheveled state.
“You need to eat to get through a situation like this. Getting sick is not good for you right now.”
What Amber said was true. However, Elice noticed that her stomach did not feel hungry at all. It was as if her body was collectively shutting down because her mind was being driven almost insane by the circumstances.
Amber sat down next to Elice and tried to assess the situation and take a risk. Maybe she shouldn’t have, but her compassionate heart felt sorry for Elice.
“Mr. Garrett will sort this out. You don’t need to worry. Everything will be fine.”
Elice’s eyes closed for a moment when Garrett’s name was mentioned by Amber. To be honest, Elice hoped so, but for some reason her logic didn’t work.
“While all of this is happening because of his actions?” Elice asked sarcastically. She shook her head. “What else could be okay? Even more than that. Seriously. I never thought he would do that to me.”
Amber stroked Elice’s back, trying not to argue. She was sure that almost half of what Elice said today was just an outburst of anger. Under different circumstances, things might be different.
“Mr. Garrett had no idea that all this was going to happen. This…” Amber took a deep breath. “… is clearly beyond anyone’s expectations.”
The shake of Elice’s head again proved that Amber’s words had not calmed her. Amber gave up. She knew her limits. For Elice, who reluctantly admitted it, Amber knew there wasn’t much she could do.
“I just want Garrett to solve all these problems.”
Amber looked. With one hand still rubbing Elice’s back, she noticed that the woman kept rubbing her tired face. Through the faded makeup, Amber could see the pallor there.
“We should never have seen each other again. If he hadn’t come to my unit last night, maybe none of this would have happened.”
A pang of regret crept into Amber’s chest. Heavy, but the secretary felt uncomfortable when Garrett was often blamed for it.
“Forgive me,” Amber said later. “None of this is Mr. Garrett’s fault. And you might think I’m trying to defend him. But no.”
Elice lowered her hands from her face and looked at Amber with a slight tilt of her head.
“What do you mean?”
Amber decided to be honest. “I gave Mr. Garrett your phone number and address without his permission. I was looking into you, and not without reason.”
Elice’s face was immediately confused when she heard Amber’s confession, especially with what she explained next.Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
“I know Mr. Garrett must have explained the real problem. About him being pressured into marriage. That’s why I thought you were the one.”
“Me?”
“All this time, Mr. Garrett hasn’t been close to anyone. And when I saw the interaction between the two of you during the conference, I knew you were the woman he was looking for. So, I looked up your phone number and address, hoping he would meet you soon and propose to you.”
Elice’s eyes widened for a moment. Amber quickly corrected her statement.
“Or at least express his feelings. Uh… yeah! You know what I mean. At least I thought he would explain the strange situation that requires him to get married soon.”
Elice sighed. Her eyes shifted away from Amber, giving the middle-aged woman a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.
“He didn’t.”
Amber’s relief vanished instantly, replaced by an insatiable curiosity.
“Then what was he doing when he came to see you last night?”
Because when she had given Elice’s phone number and address to Garrett, Amber had thought that her boss would act immediately. Amber could clearly see that there was something between the two people. She couldn’t help but be sure. But what happened was the opposite?
“If he didn’t come to propose or even to explain his current situation… what did he do?”
Elice took a deep breath. Her back suddenly straightened as she turned back to Amber. Her face showed an unreadable expression.
“He asked about my well-being.”
*