Chapter 9 He Confuses Me Completely

• YENEFER
• I quickly recovered from my cold and finally arrived at my first day at the television station.
• At ten in the morning, I walked in and thought, why was I thinking about Franco being at work? Realizing that it was unprofessional, I pushed Franco out of my mind and focused on doing my job.
• Half an hour later, the shooting was finished. The director and staff were satisfied with my performance. They even said that I was a very promising presenter for their channel and that, as long as I worked hard, I would have a bright future.
• Then, they invited me to have lunch as a way to welcome me to the company. But I politely declined. It was only my first day at the television channel and I didn't want my colleagues to think that I was receiving special treatment.
• So, during lunchtime, I decided to eat alone at a nearby restaurant. A few minutes after I sat down, I saw Sophia enter the establishment. She had some bodyguards following her.
• And to my surprise and disgust, she took a seat in front of mine without asking me first.
• "Yenefer! What a coincidence to see you here!" she exclaimed.
• "Hello, Sophia. Are you here alone? Where is Franco?" I didn't want to exchange pleasantries with her, but I had no choice. I didn't want to be rude to her in public.
• "Oh, Fran wanted to accompany me, but I refused. He has too much work to do. I didn't want to bother him and tire him out," Sophia chirped as if she were the happiest woman in the world.
• I clenched my teeth and forced a smile. The last time I heard them talking on the phone, she was practically begging Franco to come and keep her company. Now she was telling me the opposite under the guise of concern. Clearly, this woman was only trying to make me think that Franco cared more about her than me.
• I could tell her that I could see through her blatant lies, but it seemed pointless to embarrass her. Franco had no idea that Sophia was manipulating him, and if I told him, he would simply accuse me of being jealous. So, I thought it was better to keep my silence.
• To be honest, I thought the only reason Franco believed in Sophia when she acted weak and fragile was because he felt something for her. On the other hand, I, who didn't care about her at all, thought that when she acted like a damsel in distress, she was only seeking attention, which I found repulsive.
• Immediately after Sophia finished her sentence, a waiter approached us and took note of our orders. I went ahead and said, "A medium filet mignon and a glass of orange juice, please. Thank you."
• "I'll have the same," Sophia ordered after me.
• "Alright. It's coming."
• Then, the waiter took our menus and walked away. Not wanting to engage in small talk with Sophia, I fixed my gaze outside and observed the bustling cityscape during lunchtime. However, Sophia didn't seem to know how to read a person's body language.
• "Franco is very considerate. He just wanted to leave the hospital for a while and go out for some fresh air, but he refused to let me go without his bodyguards to protect me. He also always tells me to call him as soon as I feel uncomfortable or when I need him.
• "How sweet "I was starting to get annoyed, but I decided to stay calm. I thought about what he said. The hospital was far from here, and he could have chosen a nearby restaurant. Instead, he decided to cross the city to eat at a restaurant near my workplace. This woman could have painted herself as a weakling, she was a schemer, and that was the worst.
• "Yenefer, can you divorce Franco as soon as possible? My health is getting worse and I'm afraid I won't be able to see the day Franco and I get married. He is the man of my dreams, and it is my last wish to marry him. You are a kind and considerate person, right? Please don't let me leave this earth with regret "Sophia approached my hand and squeezed it. She showed me a pleading expression that made my stomach turn.
• At that moment, I thought that for an actress, she had terribly ridiculous acting skills.
• "Grandpa keeps our marriage certificate. After I get it, I will officially divorce Franco "I gently withdrew my hand from her grip, careful not to make any sudden movements. I didn't want us to attract the wrong attention.
• - You didn't have to come all the way here to persuade me, Sophia. Franco and I have talked about it. He will soon be all yours.
• After that, I spent the entire lunch hour pushing my food around my plate. Sophia's guilt trip ruined my appetite and my mood.
• FRANCO
• Yenefer had been pressuring me to continue with the divorce lately, and that annoyed me. So I decided to spend some time with Spencer and David after work to refresh myself.
• They invited me to dinner tonight at a nearby restaurant and I accepted without hesitation. As soon as we sat down, my eyes were drawn to the television on the wall. It was showing the program hosted by Yenefer.
• "Franco, isn't that Yen? "David pointed at the television, looking excited.
• I knew Yenefer preferred to dress casually and comfortably. This was one of the rare times I had seen her in a formal suit. She looked even more impressive, and it was impossible for anyone to take their eyes off her.
• "Beautiful girls like Yen are popular among men. You don't know how lucky you are, Franco "David raised his glass and swirled the wine inside. He looked at Yenefer on the television and sighed.
• "Come on, David. Franco only has Sophia in his heart. Although Yen is as beautiful as a fairy, he really won't care "Spencer put his hand on David's shoulder and spoke with a sarcastic tone. He looked at me from time to time as if he were looking at a fool.
• They were always like this whenever Yenefer became the topic of our conversation. I was starting to get tired of it. But at the same time, when they looked at Yenefer with so much admiration and adoration, I couldn't help but feel betrayed, as if they were coveting something that was mine.
• Moreover, lately, every time someone mentioned Yenefer's name, my mind would crumble. It was a bit frustrating.
• "But seriously, Franco, don't you feel anything for Yen? "David really couldn't read social cues at all. How did my silence tell him that I wanted to talk about Yenefer?
• "Oh, let it go, David. When a rich old man hooks Yenefer, I'm sure Franco will be happy to tell you how he really feels about her "Spencer prevented David from insisting.
• When I heard the last comment about Yenefer being courted by a rich old man, I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.
• "What did you just say?
• "I said that Yen is amazing and that there must be plenty of men out there who would love to be with her. Does that bother you? Brother, you're going to divorce her soon. Whether she finds a new boyfriend or becomes the mistress of an old rich man, it won't have anything to do with you.
• "We grew up together. Even if we don't end up together, we're still family "I quickly realized that I had exaggerated, so I explained.
• I thought I had given a convincing excuse, but Spencer dismissed it the next second.
• "Family? When she was studying abroad for the past three years, you didn't even call her once. Is that how you treat your family?
• I was silenced by his words. He was right. In the three years that Yenefer was abroad, I never bothered to pick up the phone and call her or fly over to see her. I only saw her again when she came home after graduation. After that, the three of us remained silent. Spencer started playing on his phone. David feared that seeing Yenefer on TV would stress me out even more, so he grabbed the remote and changed the channel.
• But Spencer's comment about the possibility of Yenefer becoming the mistress of an old rich man lingered in my mind and rooted itself in my heart. I drank one sip after another to drown my dejection.
• "Hey! "After a long time, Spencer waved his phone in front of me, indicating that I should look at his chat history. I wasn't interested at all. I was about to look away, but I caught a glimpse of Yenefer's Facebook profile picture in the corner of my eye.
• I took Spencer's phone and was about to click on her updates. But when I thought about her French stalker, I hesitated. Girls liked to post pictures of themselves with their boyfriends. Yenefer wouldn't be an exception, would she?
• "What? Don't you want to see it? If you're not interested, give me back my phone
• Seeing that I was hesitating, Spencer reached out to take his phone. I leaned back in my seat to avoid his hand and then clicked directly on Yenefer's updates.
• I checked the photos in her posts one by one, but I didn't find any of the so-called French admirers. I only saw some pictures of her daily life.
• "When did you two start chatting? "I breathed a sigh of relief and handed the phone back to Spencer. Only then did I realize that they had been contacting each other privately.
• "It's none of your business, is it? Besides, you're not the only one who grew up with Yen. She's my friend too, and we can talk to each other.
• "You better not let me catch you making a move on her, or I won't let you off "he warned Spencer because he was a playboy who liked to mess around with women.
• I was afraid that he would pursue Yenefer and then hurt her like he did with all his previous girlfriends.
• "Wow! Wow! I'm so scared! "Spencer said mockingly and continued: Seriously, man,
• "What the hell is wrong with you? You handed over the divorce papers to your wife, but you still keep her under control. Obviously, you don't want to let her go. I think you're in love with her, my friend. Either you don't know it yet or you already know but don't want to admit it. As for Sophia, you're only with her out of pity."
• "How is that possible?" I asked Spencer. But as the words came out of my mouth, I realized that Spencer could be right. "Are you right about me? At this point, I didn't know."