Chapter 21: Chapter 21

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“CLARA, Clara! Will you look at this article?”

Clara was trying to have a quiet breakfast in the kitchen when Aunt Carlota came rushing, still wearing her bathrobe.

She looked pumped up like she had won the lottery or something. She handed Clara her tablet and showed her a page of an online news site.

Clara’s eyes widened when she saw photos of her and Josef on the header. The first photo was of Josef cupping her face, and the other was of Josef laughing.

Adrenaline Magazine’s latest cover boy, Josef del Mar is spotted dating, the title said.

Clara checked the date, and the article was written last night. She could not bear to read the whole article. There was no other person who could take these photos except for the suspicious man they saw yesterday. The one who casually walked out when he got caught.

“Clara, what’s that face? You should be happy that it got on the news!” Aunt Carlota said.

“W-we were not yet dating, Auntie. He just stopped by for some coffee. That’s all.”

“Clara, dear, it does not matter!” Aunt Carlota waved her hand. “This is still publicity, and we want this kind of news.” She stroked Clara’s face and smiled sweetly. “I’m so proud of you. I’m sure Josef is going to call you about it. You should invite him to one of our branches. He’ll like it.”

Clara fell silent. What would Fuego think if he reads the article?

Does it still matter, Clara? It was over between the two of you, remember?

“Go put on some makeup I bought you, okay? You can’t be seen looking pale. You should always be camera-ready.”

“I’m not a celebrity, Auntie, ” Clara replied weakly and handed the tablet back.

“It does not matter. See you around, dear!”

Clara could only exchange glances with Rosa, who was listening quietly at the corner the whole time.

“What happened to the other guy?” she asked.

She shook her head with a sad smile.

“We have sort of like broken up. But I bet he did not have a hard time dealing with it.” Clara stood up as she cleared her throat. “I got to go shower. See you later, Rosa.”

“Sure, Clara.”

CLARA stood in front of her full-length mirror near the window when she saw a car parked outside the gate. A tall, bulky man leaned on the side of the car, looking like he was waiting for someone.

Out of curiosity, she moved to the window closer, hoping she’d recognized him. The guard at the gate did not seem to mind his presence. Clara saw them exchanged words before she saw Aunt Carlota walking out of the gate.

That was weird, Clara thought. Her aunt was supposed to leave in her own car. Then she saw her approached the man.

Her eyes widened when the man suddenly grabbed Aunt Carlota’s waist and kissed her. Clara blinked and found her aunt kissing him back as she grabbed the lapel of his shirt.

She was in disbelief. Was her aunt dating the guy who looked years younger?

After the kiss, the man opened the passenger seat, and her aunt got inside. Then, the car left.

CARLOTA retrieved her compact mirror from her purse and checked her lips. She was not surprised when her lipstick was smudged a little. Baron kissed her whenever he felt like it. She fished out a napkin and wiped the side of her mouth.

“You look like you’re in a great mood,” Baron remarked as he gave her a side glance.

“Things are going as planned. I did not know bringing Clara and Josef together would be a piece of cake. I hired someone to write a humor about them dating. I think people would buy it,” she said with a smile.

The corner of Baron’s mouth curled into a crooked smile.

“And you are not happy about it,” Carlota said, displeased.

“Why should I? Poor Clara.”

“Whatever.” Carlota rolled her eyeballs.

CLARA got a call from Josef as soon as she arrived at her office. She was already expecting it.

“Hi, Clara.”

“Josef. Is this about the article spreading online?” she said.

“So, you read it, too.” Josef sounded a little anxious.

“I can’t be the last one to know about it. I’m sorry. I did not know such things would happen. I know it would deeply affect your personal life.”

“Why are you apologizing? It would affect you, too. I should be the one saying sorry here. People looked at me as if I’m a celebrity or something.”

“Well, that can’t be helped.”

“I could ask for the site to take the article down. But I don’t think that would help since I kind of promoted your coffee shop in my social media account. I’m so sorry, Clara.”

Clara could only imagine Josef’s sheepish smile.

“Y-you did? That’s… that’s so nice of you. You did not have to.”

“You’re not mad?” Josef asked in surprise.

“Obviously, none of us wanted that malicious article online. I could only hope that people would get over it sooner.”

“Of course, you’re right. You would not mind hanging out with me again, would you?”

“I would not,” Clara said quietly.

But that was a lie. Because the only man she wanted to be around with was Fuego.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Thanks for taking the time to call me, Josef. I know you are a busy person, too. See you soon.”

“Definitely. Good-bye, Clara.”

“Bye, Josef.”

After the call, Clara searched for Josef’s social media account and found it at once. When she clicked his profile, the first thing that welcomed her was the familiar façade of Aroma del Cielo. He even tagged its location.

Starting your day with a cup of coffee is never a bad idea, his caption said.

She was overwhelmed to see that it got a hundred thousands of likes!

Clara stared at the photo for a moment. Josef was indeed a nice guy, and she could only feel sorry about him that her aunt was trying to set them up. He did not deserve this.

Clara decided to get a cup of coffee. When she opened the door, she was shocked to see a long line of customers at the counter waiting to get served!