Published: Nov. 18, 2019---Sept. 30, 2020

Jared, why can you not allow it?"

'You know the reason you don't have to ask."

"It is all about the arranged marriage again? Does she know about it too?" When he didn't answer, Charlize laugh and said. "No wonder even after your attention, she can still go with her friends on a blind date."

"What do you mean?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I thought you had all your spies following every move of your current woman. How come you don't know about it? Remember the men who were with her in the restaurant?"

He nodded as memories of that night played back to him. The night he saw her with a guy beside her, and he was so angry he almost snatched her. It was his pride that made him stopped.

"David, that's the name of the guy Kelly and I had talked to before. He said the first time they saw each other, she and her friends were in disguise."

"Don't change the subject." He told her that he doesn't want her to notice his jealousy if she continues.

He knows her; she will worsen the situation if the result is to her advantage. "Now, tell me who the father of your child is? This time whoever he is, he has to take responsibility."

Charlize runs to his side and holds his hand. "It can be you."

"We both know, it's impossible."

They were lovers for six months; he cannot deny it. But since his wedding, he became celibate until he consummated his marriage.

"Jared, it was a mistake. I was drunk and depressed at that time."

"Don't tell me he is a married man." When she didn't answer, he removed her hand from his, stands up, and then walked away from his table.

Charlize followed him and told him. "I will sign every paper you want. This time I will behave." When he didn't answer, she added, "Okay, even if you can't marry me, just the child."

"It's preposterous!" He shouted while facing her. "You know if I publicly say it's my child, I will not let it be a bastard. Maybe it was my mistake to help you before; it has spoiled you."

What he meant was what had happened five years ago. Charlize was still new in her career and had an affair with a married businessman whose wife happened to be an actress. It had become controversial at that time.

It was her father who approached him, asking for help. At first, he wanted to refuse, but because he was his father's best friend and later became his professor at Harvard, he agreed to pose as her lover. If he had not intervened, it had destroyed her before it even bloomed.

"Jared..."

"If you cannot tell me who the father is, better for you to leave now. Come back when you can say it." He told her while pointing the door for her to go out. Without looking if she did it or not, he walked back to his table.

Still angry with Charlize's audacity to even suggest such ridiculous plans to salvage her reputation, he dialed Mark's extension number to tell him to come to his office.

He took the folder in front of him, opens it, and starts reviewing the paper.

Once Mark came inside and handed him some papers. It was then he noticed Charlize, still sitting on the couch but this time busy with retouching her makeup.

He then remembered his wife. "Mark, tell Mrs. Steele to go to Blake's office to get something." He told his PA in a voice not loud enough to be heard by Charlize.

Katelyn was sorting the emails from the clients and those from the subsidiaries companies when Mark approached her.

"Miss Darcy, I need you to go to the R&D Department and ask Mr. Baker's secretary for the folder of the new product designs they are proposing," Mark told her, and then he returned to where he came from but a few steps away from her he turned around.

"Mr. Steele wanted to check it now." He said, emphasizing the last word after seeing her still sitting on her chair.

It's the first time Mark had talked to her in an authoritative voice. It made her suspicious something's going on. She stood up and walked towards him and saw his distress.

"Mrs. Steele, just do as I ask, or else I will be in trouble," Mark said in a tone just enough for her to hear once she faced him. To see the confident PA of Jared looking unsure added to her suspicion.

She looked at Michelle's vacant chair. Mark also asked her to run an errand and now her too. Granted, she is the wife of the CEO, but those top-secret documents only the researchers can see it and Jared and his PA, never been them, the assistants.

She smiled at Mark and asked him. "Will I give it to you once I had it or to Mr. Steele?"

"Hand it to me." After she heard him answer, she walks to the direction of the door, passing on the still preoccupied with the phone, Samantha.

She didn't go down to where Mark told her to go; curiosity got the best of her. Instead, her destination is where she knows Charlize will park her car in the VIP designated area.

About five minutes or so of waiting, one of the doors of the elevator opened. Katelyn went out of the glass door into the parking area, in a hurry, before someone else will come out. She went straight in the sidewall of the lobby to conceal herself while making sure whoever comes out will be within her vision.

Jared's PA accompanying Charlize, answered her bad feelings about them hiding something from her. What it is, she doesn't know.

Only Charlize has the answer, but the problem is Mark. He accompanied her up to the time the latter entered her car and left. All she can do is shrugged her shoulder and stare at the tail light of Charlize's car as well as Mark's back as he goes inside.

Still, she walked back inside the building with no answer, saddened by the lost opportunity to know the truth.

She went down to the R&D department. Blake, to her surprise, was in front of his secretary, talking. Upon seeing her, he gave her a roguish smile. It was then she remembered Tess and her condition. It temporarily made her forget the disappointment she encountered as her mind became preoccupied with Tess's predicament.

"Miss Darcy, what a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"Mr. Baker, I was told to get the folder from your secretary." She answered while grabbing the hand he offered for a handshake.

"Janice, call Mr. Steele's office and tell him Miss Darcy is here." He told the former while gesturing his hands for her to enter his office.

"Mr. Blake, I was not told to go inside your office."

"I insist on Miss Darcy."

"Anyway, this will be a good excuse for her if ever she will be asked what had taken her long to come back." She reasoned out to herself before walking to the door he opened.

"So, what is your purpose in letting me inside your office?" She turned and asked Blake after she heard the door close.

"I want to ask about your friend Tess."

"Does he know already of her being pregnant? Maybe not as he still looks so carefree." She figured out and almost laughed as she envisions his expression once Tess told him. "He will wish to be covered in rubber."

"What do you think, which brought a smile in your face, Tori?"

Caught off guard, she stammered at first, as her mind processed for an answer. Once she was able to collect her thoughts, she talked about the reason for her action. "Of course, she cannot tell him the truth," so instead, she spoke about the time when she found out about Tess's attraction to him. It was when they first spend their lunch break inside the mall.

He then asked another question, and the pattern continued, but they are all about Tess.

A knock on the door stopped Katelyn from answering Blake on his last question; besides, he stands up and opens the door. Jared towering figure dominates the door. His presence reminded her of the suspicion she had earlier.

"Honey, what did this guy told you?" He asked once inside while looking at his cousin, who shakes his head.

"Nothing, we only talked about his girlfriend. Is there something he should tell me?"

Jared walked to where she is, sat down beside her, and then pulled her closer to him, ignoring her question.

"How come you are here?" She asked. "Are you afraid I will get the folder and run away with it?" She asked again when he didn't answer her first question.

"Honey, I don't care about the folder. I was worried about your health."

"So why did you told Mark to let me came down here if you are concerned? Is it something to do with your visitor?"

Her question left Jared speechless. Even she was surprised by those words coming out of her mouth. She never asked him about Charlize after he had told her not to inquire about his personal life before.

"Well, as it came out already from her mouth, she will not retract it." She thought.

Jared holds her hands. "Honey, this is not the place for us to discuss this matter. We will talk about this once we are home. Okay?"

"What else can she say when he is asking her in a good way but wait once they are in the privacy of their place?"

Afterward, Jared and Blake talked about the former's new yacht, which she only found out. He never mentioned it before or invited her to one. She wanted to tell him, but their cheerful faces as they talked about its feature stopped her from interrupting them.

It was the knock on the door which stopped their conversation. Blake's secretary came inside and told him about a call from his mother, inviting them for dinner.

Once it was agreed upon their spending the evening at the Baker's mansion, they left Blake's office. To her surprise, the latter also went out with them.

They were in the elevator when she asked Jared about her errand as she saw Blake punch the number where the parking area is. Only to be told it had been taken care of, including her things. Mark already put it inside the car.

Jared's answer made her imaginative mind reflect and conclude, "The task was just a hoax for her to leave the office."

She almost confronted Jared there, and then as she realized his deliberate lies, his words earlier about explaining everything stopped her. They said, "Patience is a virtue," and waits she will, but he better has good reason."

When they arrived in their apartment building, Blake also followed them inside the elevator. Upon reaching the floor, instead of the latter going with them as she thought, he went in the opposite direction. She stopped and gawked on his departed back.

"He is the owner of one of the units here. He started using it a week ago because of the new product." She heard Jared explain while putting his hands on her waist and pulling her in a gentle way towards their unit.

A soon as they are inside, Jared went straight to their bathroom. Too obvious, he was avoiding the confrontation.

"Patience is a virtue." She reminded herself.

Upon seeing their bed, tiredness seduced her to walk in its direction. She checked the time first and saw she still has at least thirty minutes to rest before it is four; she positions herself in comfort in their bed.

The first thing that came into her mind as she awakened is the time. To see it was past seven in the evening made her jump from the bed. Dizziness attacked her as soon as she stands up. She put her one hand on her head, the other on the edge of the bed before sitting down. It was then she heard the terrace door slide and hurrying footsteps come to her.

"Hon, are you okay?" Jared asked while she felt his hands on her waist as he kneeled in front of her. She looked at him to ask about their dinner, but his perfume's aroma triggered her nauseous feeling.

"Jared, your perfume is making me dizzy."

"Okay, I will remove whatever I put on but let me helped you first." He told her while he stands up and helps her lean on the headboard with two pillows on her back. After he made sure she is comfortable, he went to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, he went out in a different shirt. It was then Katelyn apologized for falling asleep.

He just answered her, "your health is more important than anything else" as he walked towards her. When he's near her this time, she smelled no perfume remnants, only his natural, pleasant vanilla smell.

"Are you okay now?" He asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her and tucked the hair which comes out from her bun. After she nods for an answer, he smiled and got up.

"Where are you going?" She asked once he walked a step away from her.

He turned around and answered. "I am going to ask Theresa to bring your dinner."

"Who is she?"

"The one who will take care of you as Mrs. Smith cannot be here most of the time."

"I am only sick these days; I don't need a nanny to be at my beck and call."

"I didn't say you need one, but she will be of great help, especially when I am away." He then turned his back and walked out of the room.

After a while, Theresa brought her food, and she ate it under the latter's watchful eyes. Once done with her meal and the housekeeper had left, Hypnos seduces her again. Before she can succumb to it, she got up intending to go to the bathroom.

The ringing of her phone made her reach out for it on the bedside table.

Nicole's voice at the other end, crying and telling her she needs a friend to talk, made her worried. She then asked her friend's current location so she can go there.

Jared was surprised to see Katelyn inside his office, dressed for going out. His questioning eyes made her explained her need to go out to where Nicole is.

Her haunted looks made him see how worried she is with her friend to the extent she forgot her delicate condition.

He stands up from his chair, and she immediately told him to continue what he is doing, making him conclude she doesn't want him to go with her. "Of course, he will not let his wife go to a bar alone. Maybe in her dreams, he will, but not in reality."

He continued his stride towards the cabinet, took his coat, and wore it. He then walked back towards Katelyn.

"Jared, I can go with the driver alone."

"Why will you not go out with me? Are you going on a date with another man with your friend as an excuse?" He saw his wife's gawking expression with his question.

"Okay, you can come, so you will see it is only Nicole. Remember, once we come back, you have to tell me what had happened earlier." She told him while turning her back on him.

This time he followed her with a brooding face.

The owner of the bar and Mark were at the door waiting for them when they entered the place.

Earlier, Jared had asked her before they left for the name of the bar they were going to. He then called Mark and told him to get a private room for Nicole.

She left Jared talking to them while she followed the waitress. They entered a purple room, and she immediately saw her friend in the middle of a couch, holding a glass of wine. Upon seeing her, Nicole put her glass on the table and stands up to meet her halfway. They hugged each other before sitting down.

It was then she inquires on the reason for her friend's problem. Nicole was starting to tell her, but Tess came rushing in.

After they settled in their chair, they asked Nicole what had happened. She told them, in between sobs, about her visiting Michael in his apartment.

Her unexpected appearance enabled her to catch him with another woman who looked like a Playboy magazine's model.

She and Tess almost laughed at how she told them that she got hurt because of her rival's physical attributes than Michael cheating.

Tess instead told Nicole how she looks, "as if she just steps down from a catwalk," which the latter contradicted as her height cannot pass on the five feet and nine inches requirement to grace the runway.

Tess then hugged the now wailing Nicole while looking in her direction.

"Okay, you can be a lingerie model." Tess added while patting Nicole's back, which made the latter, stopped from crying."

"I am glad I met the two of you," Nicole told them after a minute or two while patting her face with a tissue. "I am touched by the concern but no need to patronize me."

"We are not." She and Tess answered in unison.

"Okay, I accept I am beautiful," Nicole told them and then smiled.

"So, this means you are okay now?" She asked.

"Kind of, but I still need to be drunk even just for tonight, beside its Mark who will pick up the tab."

It was then Tess told them he saw Jared outside, which made her be confused. Because of it, Nicole asked her for a reason. She then asked both of them to promise not to tell it as it's a top-secret as of now.

Nicole gasp after Tess told them of the rumor her sister told her, Charlize is pregnant.

The intense emotion Katelyn felt upon hearing it weakened her like a body removed of its skeleton. " So, this was all they were trying to hide from me." She murmured.

END OF PART 32

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