Chapter 74: Chapter 74

I don't know how I managed to walk into Agustine's condo. I am astounded the moment he opened the door. Flower petals were scattered on the floor, there was also a candlelit table at the center of his home, I even saw two men on the corner. From their appearance I could tell that one was a waiter and the other was a chef.

I looked at Agustine. He was also just looking at me with a small smile on his lips as I walked along.

This is beyond my expectation.

He pulled me a chair when we reached the table. I sat down coldly and silently watched him walk around to the seat opposite me. Once again, he smiled at me. A warm smile.

On cue, the waiter went to our place and gracefully distributed the appetizer—Baked Crab and Artichoke Dip. At the same time, mellow music was playing around us. I bit my bottom lip while looking at Agustine and looked away because I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"So, do you like your new work?" he broke the silence when we started eating.

I tried to clear my throat before responding t him. "It’s fine with me. Peaceful so far," I answered.

Honestly, I didn't expect it to be conflict-free after Agustine and I went out for lunch that day. I am expecting them to throw glares or disgusted looks, but the opposite happened.

They look... thrilled.

I don't know if I'm seeing it correctly every time I catch them looking at Agustine and me or if I'm just imagining it. The only thing I'm sure of is that, unlike in Vista Querencia, they didn't look at me as a flirty girl even though I was with a guy.

Maybe because they are not aware of who I really am.

Maybe it's not yet known in the company that Daddy has an illegitimate child. I wonder, will I still get their respect once they find out the truth?

Agustine and I continued our casual talk. Like what's my favorite and the like. I don't know why we are talking about things like this but I just answer to his questions to ease my nervousness.

The waiter served the salad, then the main course next. I noticed that the topic between the two of us is getting a little deeper.

"You don't really have any female friends in Vista Querencia? Why is that?"

I simply shrugged. "My situation in our family is not a secret from you, is it?" I said. "We may be in the 21st century, but people are still not open when it comes to us—illegitimates." I smiled and stared at him. "Even you, right? You hated me for that."

He looked guilty and took his sight away.

Well, I really tried hard to gain more friends, especially girls. But nah, they just really don't like me. " I shrugged it off. "There are also those who approach me, but I know their intentions. They don't really want to be friends with me; they are just after my male companions. "

Agustine nodded and drank water from his glass. He stared at it for a moment as he lowered it away from his mouth.

"I hated you not because you're an illegitimate child," he murmured, enough for me to hear it.

I stopped eating and stared at him. He met my glance, then he slowly licked his lower lip

"I hated you because you lured me. I was mad at you because I thought you made me your boy toy," he stated. "Yes, I'm a jerk. I made a background check after what happened between us, and it hurt my ego big time when I found out that you're with different men. I mean, I am a famous businessman. I have name, dignity, and such. But I just got played with a..." he stopped from talking and sighed.

He looked at me like he was afraid that I would take what he was saying wrong. Funny because, like what he thought, I should be offended by now. But I am not. I understood him. It's his point of view from the past. I admired his honesty somehow.

"Don't get me wrong. That time, I didn't know what you really are. I chose to believe the data from my investigator," he added.

I couldn't help but chuckle. It was as if he could breathe a sigh of relief while staring at my face. He was astounded by what he saw.

"Hmm. I understand. But I am still thinking... "I cut my statement and poked the food on my plate. "Why do you want to be my friend?" I continued and stared at him. "It's not mandatory in business that we get to be friends, right?"

He shook his head and leaned against his seat. Just like earlier he glanced at his glass.

One thing I found out about Agustine, when he has things he cannot say properly or he was ashamed to say, he directs his gaze to others.

"Do you perhaps... pity me?" I asked.

He quickly looked up at me. His jaw was tense and his eyes were sharp as if he didn't like what he heard.

"Hindi kita kinakaawaan.” he said emphatically in Tagalog.

I snorted and looked away from his glares.

"It's the opposite," he added which made me look at him again.

I frowned at him.

He let out a sighed and stared at his plate. "I admired you..." he murmured. "I like how tough you are, how feisty despite everything," he added. "I want to be your friend because you're a great person," he ended.

I couldn't stop my lips from opening slightly. What he said was like music to my ears. My chest almost collapsed because of my heart's pounding. My stomach seems to turn over and over again every time what he said echoes in my mind.

He cleared his throat and bravely stayed his eyes on me. "That was before," he uttered. "I want to be your friend before, but right now I want it deeper."

If earlier, my lips was slightly opened, now my jaw dropped when I heard it. I'm not stupid enough not to understand what he's talking about. It was only during our dinner that I knew it was not normal to just be friends. I blinked several times while staring at his serious face.

"D-don’t you think it’s too fast for that?" I was not in my mind when I said those words, it's too late to take it back now.

His side lip rose. "Should we take it slow?" he asked.

My cheeks are burning and I looked away.

Remind me, why are we here on this topic again?

We're just talking about female friends earlier! Oh my god.

Agustine's little laugh caught my attention. He looked at me with amazement. I feel like my face is going to explode from blushing.

Why is he looking at me like that?

"We'll take it slow then," he said softly.

I didn't say a word and just picked up the wine glass from the side of my plate. I did not hesitate from drinking it in one shot.

Why am I not refusing?

His chuckle echoed again. It was as if he's happy seeing me nervous.

"Bhryll!" I hissed and glared at him.

He pouted and tried to stop the corner of his lips from smiling. In the end, he did nothing but raise his hands to concede defeat.

"My sweetie is pissed." He whistled.