"Galen! It's bad, Gal. This is awful."
Galen, who was reading a file, raised his head and gazed angrily at the unwanted guest, who had entered without permission, and muttered incoherently. It was Rendi, his closest friend, who walked in with a tight expression and appeared unconcerned that Galen was speaking with two top managers.
"Have you heard from Leah?" asked Rendi, who didn't care about the surroundings. He stepped quickly up to Galen's desk.
Galen's eyebrows immediately furrowed. He closed the file folder with mixed feelings. Leah's name was being mentioned; it was not timely, nor was the situation right. Plus, there were other people there who certainly didn't know anything.
"I will review this report once more, Mr. Erik and Mr. Bobi. I will then coordinate with the field crew after that. I will notify you both personally of the outcomes."
"Yes, Mr. Galen. Then we'll be excused to return to our room," Mr. Erik excused himself with a polite nod from Galen.
Galen waited for his two subordinates and a personal assistant to leave his room. As soon as the door closed, Galen immediately slammed the file folder on the table and gave Rendi an annoyed look.
"You asshole! Look at the situation if you want to talk!" Galen snapped harshly.
With a loud snort, Rendi then sat down in front of Galen.
"Read this." Rendi threw the bright red invitation with gold ink in front of Galen. With a loud snort, Rendi then sat down in front of Galen.
"Whose wedding invitation is this? L and J?" asked Galen.
The invitation that was thrown in front of Galen had not yet been opened. He didn't read it all; he was just impressed by the invitation's layout. Galen secretly planned to create his wedding invitation at the same place.
"Uh, wait a minute. Did you not get the wedding invitation? At least from the man's side, they already sent the invitation to you. His company is affiliated with your company," asked Rendi in surprise.
"Who's getting married anyway?" Galen started to open the envelope.
"Eits! Wait a second!"
Rendi maneuvered his body swiftly towards Galen and attempted to steal the invitation from Galen's grasp. Unfortunately, Rendi was still slow, so Galen kept his hands away from Rendi.
"What do you want?" asked Galen coldly.
"Uh, I mean, you drink first," said Rendi with a grimace on his face.
"No need."
Rendi took a deep breath and sat down, his countenance concerned. Galen kept a keen eye on Rendi's movements. Rendi took a deep breath and sat down, his countenance concerned. Galen kept a keen eye on Rendi's movements. Slowly, he read the initials of the name printed firmly on the cover of the invitation. The initials 'L' began to bother Galen. He could already think of a name.
Galen opened the invitation's cover in a classy manner. A sheet of eye-catching gold invitation cards was removed. And the name that Galen had been thinking of was put on the invitation card. Galen's expression immediately became serious. As he read the name, his eyes widened. Galen recognized not only the groom but also the bride, which was bad news for Galen.
"Are you okay?" asked Rendi carefully.
Brak! The pounding on the desk startled Rendi. Galen hit his desk with a strong fist. Galen was not only surprised, but also enraged.
"How could he betray me like this? Even just two nights ago, we made love. And now he's getting married? This isn't right!"
Once again, Galen pounded the table with his fists clenched tightly. His eyes were wide, staring at Rendi with angry emotion.
"We even talked about getting married," Galen growled.
"Oh, yeah? And what was her answer?" asked Rendi.
"She said she wasn't ready. She wants me to succeed first, then get married."
"That's the kind of response she gives you all the time. I'm not surprised," said Rendi with a faint smile.
"What's wrong with her? Being my lover for three years and marrying someone else?" Galen gave Rendi an angry look, and Rendi could only grimace.
"I was just wondering, what's wrong with you? Why don't you tell her who you really are? You've been together for three years. Isn't that enough of a test?" asked Rendi.
Galen stood up from his chair after taking a breath. The man with the black silk shirt moved up to the big glass window and cast a dreamy look out. He didn't respond to Rendi's query right away since his head and heart were caught up in their own frenzy. He had his reasons for continuing to play pretend with Leah for so long.
"I told her the truth about who I am, but she didn't believe me," Galen said.
"Huh? Are you serious? She doesn't believe you're a billionaire."
"She even laughed and told me to keep dreaming."
"That's crazy! How can anyone still not believe who you really are?"
"Maybe it's because I played the role of manager for too long."
Galen bowed his head. The slightly bent angle of his spine indicated both exhaustion and disappointment.
"However, you gave her the car she desired. You also bought her a diamond ring. Is she not suspicious of your position?"
"I told her that I got an inheritance from a relative, and I also took out a loan from the company."
"You should have gone to her house and shown her who you really are," Rendi complained.
Galen did not respond to Rendi's words. He closed his eyes. He could hear Leah's laugh, which was a little strident. It wasn't her laughing that disturbed Galen, but the mocking smile on Leah's face with her lips tilted upward.
Galen's hands tightened into powerful fists. He turned and gave Rendi a fierce glare.
"It's no surprise, because she's almost never grumpy, never demanding, let alone asking for something lately. She even refused my date several times. It appears that she betrayed me. Come with me; I'll go to her house and show her who I really am."
Galen quickly walked up to the coat hook and pulled on his dark blue suit.
"Isn't that too late? They're getting married in two days."
"There's still time for her to cancel the wedding," Galen said confidently.
"My question is, what are you canceling it for?"
Galen was astounded by Rendi's query. Instantly, his mind went blank. His anger made Galen decide to act impulsively, without thinking. He only thought of venting his anger at Leah. Canceling Leah's wedding was another thing, and Galen didn't really know why.
"I can't accept this. I'm a highly loyal person. I didn't betray her in any way. She was also my future; I was certain of it. I've even told Papa and my extended family that I'm serious about her. All I needed was some momentum to bring her home.
I'm really not going to accept it at this point. She had been betraying me for what seemed like a very long time. She made a joke out of me. I felt so ashamed. Considered a fool. And I want to get back her."
Rendi nodded his head as he listened to his friend's wish. He understood how hurt Galen was, who was deeply in love with Leah.
"If you come now, you'll only find Leah canceling her wedding and begging to return to your arms. Would you accept a woman like that? A traitor will continue to be a traitor."
"Of course not," Galen replied firmly. "There's no way I'm falling into the crocodile's nest a second time."
"But I'm a thousand percent sure that she'll intrude on your life like a fly. And that will be frustrating for you."
"What should I do then?"
"Leah has a younger sister," Rendi said with a mysterious smile.
"So?"
"Don't you want to use it to hurt Leah slowly?"
Galen took a few moments to settle into his office chair. He didn't let his eyes leave Rendi, who was still feigning a smile. It was clear that Rendi had a strategy in place to assist Galen. As a friend, Rendi did not accept that Galen was being played by a woman.
"You mean by hurting slowly?" asked Galen carefully.
"From what I know, Leah is jealous and a little possessive of you. That's what makes you so loyal, because you want to protect her heart."
"Okay. So?"
"How much hurt and heartache do you think Leah would receive if you proposed to her sister instead, while showing the real you? Not just hurt; I'm sure Leah would have a lifetime of regret."
Galen's eyes began to sparkle strangely after hearing Rendi's words. The man with the thick eyebrows started to smile heartily.
"Make me meet her today," Galen pleaded, and this time Rendi kicked Galen's desk with zeal.
***