Sharmaine's eyes widened upon hearing what the woman—whose voice was quite familiar—had just said.
"W-Wait, C-Carrie? As in Carrie Lim?" she whispered to herself in utter disbelief. The parking lot was still quiet until this 'Carrie' explained herself to another woman; even the intense atmosphere that covered the area that was felt by the three women.
Sharmaine kept the case closer to her chest as she felt her heart beating. She leaned closer at the surface of a rectangular pillar to keep spying on the two women. Eventually, Sharmaine heard a car door close and an engine start; it was a great bummer for her not to get more information that she desperately wanted.
With a disappointed look, she gazed through the parked car in front of her. The driver was already there, so she placed the case inside as she went in and patiently waited for Denzel. She spoke to her thoughts by herself—what was that woman's business in the office? Why was she here all of a sudden?
Drowned in her thoughts, she shook her head and noticed a man whose stance was familiar. He stood far out of sight, but somehow, she saw him as her eyes widened when she realized who it was. It was Ivan. A sudden flash of blurry concepts became clear into her mind—that day, that week, that night. She did not know what to do, but in the end, she decided to leave the car.
"Sir, I'll just deal some important business. If Denzel comes around, please tell him that I need to settle some things with a certain someone." She got off the car without even waiting for the driver's response, assuming that he'll just do what he was told to do. The moment became clearer; she never knew what went inside that head of his, but it sure was not good.
"What do you need?"
Ivan chuckled. "I suppose that we have deal?"
Sharmaine crunched her head and sighed in disappointment and confusion. She did not know what he meant, and it also did not help that her head was still flooded with thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"You chose to be mine in exchange for your precious information." At that moment, Sharmaine's brain sunk rock bottom. She remembered it all—the endless intimacies, the thrusts, the kisses, the warm embraces, and her consent. She wanted to deny everything, bur Ivan cut her off. He exactly knew that this would happen.
He gave her a sharp glare. "You gave yourself to me. You have no other choice."
"W-What do you mean?" His eyes screamed something Sharmaine did not know. Ivan held up a slim cylinder-thing with a button on top. It somehow looked like one of those voice recorder devices. She cringed and her body shivered when he pressed the button. The moans, the calls, the thrusts—everything—she heard it all in an instant.
She looked at him with eyes filled with menace. "Why are you letting me hear this?"
He smiled. "I am just letting you know what our contract is like."
"Like h*ll it's gonna happen."
"We'll see in two weeks' time."
She returned him his sharp glare. "B*stard!"
Ivan chuckled and grabbed her slim waist. With a quick and smooth transition, he pinned her to the wall and planted a kiss on her lips—the very same kiss he gave her before that tragedy.
"This is what I meant."