"Do you think she could easily be fooled?" Daniel frowned, scepticism was so clear in his voice. He had heard Leo's plan, but doubts clouded his mind.
Leo, unfazed, shrugged. "As you said before, her mother asked her to bring her boyfriend to meet her, right? Use that to your advantage." He raised his eyebrows, confident in his own idea.
Daniel leaned forward, still uncertain. "So... I pretend to be concerned, ask what's going on, and then suggest a plan to help her?"
Leo snapped his fingers, a smug grin forming. "Exactly! And that's when you convince her that the best way to handle the situation is to... register both of your marriages!"
Tilting his neck, Daniel still looked uncertain. "I need to make sure I don't run into her mother or Bella before we register the marriage. If they see me, the whole plan could fall apart," he muttered, rubbing his neck as he pondered the details. "But how do I avoid them?"
Leo sighed, reclining back on the sofa and closing his eyes. "Seriously, man? Use that smart brain of yours. Do I need to think of everything for you?" he teased, clearly enjoying watching Daniel squirm.
"Ah... I'm really not sure about this. Even if I manage to get married before she finds out the truth, it's still going to be a disaster afterward." Daniel sighed loudly, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. "But compared to losing her without even trying…"
Leo opened one eye, smirking. "Or maybe you can go to her and say something touchy. 'Anna… I'm sorry, I never knew it was you, the one I'm supposed to marry—my first love.' Blah, blah, blah…" He chuckled, clearly enjoying teasing Daniel, who was now glaring at him, clearly desperate for real help instead of jokes.
"She never knew she was my first love…" Daniel leaned back on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. His voice softened, almost as if he was talking more to himself than to Leo. "I never had the guts to tell her back then… and now, I'm stuck in this mess."
Jolting up suddenly, Leo's eyes widened. "Oh yes, I just remembered! Anastasia's best friend—the one she accompanied to send a love letter to you." He grinned, "I still feel bad for her friend. Instead of her, you ended up falling for Anastasia."
"Like you said, she had that halo of light around her, even back then," Daniel chuckled, reminiscing about the past.
"But bro, thinking back, you are not even worthy to be in her memories." Leo laughed. "She couldn't even remember you. If I remember correctly, she accompanied that girl a lot of the time, wasn't she?"
"Are you sure you're my best friend and not my enemy?" Daniel asked, his voice laced with mock suspicion.
Leo grinned, leaning back on the sofa. "Hey, I'm just here to remind you of reality. If you want to win her over, you better come up with a solid plan and not mess it up again."
Daniel sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know. I'm just… trying to figure out how to handle this without making things worse."
Leo chuckled. "Well, don't let me stop you. Just remember, if you screw this up, you're on your own. I've got my own life to ruin."
=====
Anastasia arrived at the office about an hour later. Talking to her mother had taken up some of her time. When she got there, she immediately went to Daniel's room to explain, but he was not in. When she asked Diya, she told her that Daniel had left not long after their call ended.
She typed a message but deleted it, staring at the phone screen, unsure of the best way to explain things to her boss, Daniel.
"What happened?" Diya sneakily asked from behind, noticing the worry on her friend's face.
"Something happened, and it's kind of big…" Anastasia replied, her eyes still fixed on the phone.
"And how big is it?" Diya asked, pulling her chair closer, her interest clearly piqued.
Anastasia hummed thoughtfully. "Well, if calling your boss 'honey' out of the blue counts as big, then yeah... it's that big. I only did it to cover up a lie I told this morning," she half-whispered, her voice filled with regret.
"Whoa, now you owe me the story," Diya said, crossing her arms and leaning in. "I feel like I missed a lot." Her eyes gleamed with curiosity, clearly not letting Anastasia off the hook without getting the full details.
"So yesterday, I slept at the hotel—"
"Hotel!" Diya jolted up, her voice sharp with surprise, making Anastasia quickly cover her mouth.
"Shhh… It's not what you're thinking," Anastasia whispered urgently. "That rude 'Ethan' didn't even show up. He sent his friend instead, and I ended up feeling humiliated." Her eyes clouded with embarrassment as she recalled the incident. She swore silently that she would never, ever marry that rude man, no matter what happened.
Diya couldn't hide her shock as Anastasia recounted the entire story. "Wait, like he actually poured water on you?!" she shouted, jumping to her feet.
The anger she felt on Anastasia's behalf made her practically explode. She couldn't imagine being in Anastasia's shoes, humiliated like that in front of so many people. "You should've marched right up to that man and given him a slap, Anna. He deserved more than just that, but… ugh!" Diya's frustration softened into concern as she pulled Anastasia closer and wrapped her in a comforting hug.
"I'm okay now. Don't worry. I just wish all of this was just a dream," Anastasia said with a small smile. Though the situation with Ethan wasn't entirely resolved, at least the looming threat of marriage was no longer on her mind. Now, her focus shifted to something more pressing—how to help Flynn's company survive this crisis.
"How can I help you?" Diya asked, holding onto Anastasia's hand.
Quickly shaking her head, Anastasia refused. "You're already helping me by listening to all my stories, Diya. Thank you so much."
"Oh, anyway..." Diya's words suddenly trailed off as her eyes widened, focusing on something—or someone—approaching from behind Anastasia. "Mr. Daniel..."
"What is it with him?" Anastasia asked, still unaware of Daniel's presence.
"I mean, Mr. Daniel..." Diya smiled awkwardly, trying to find the right words. "He's behind you," she finally managed, gritting her teeth and gesturing subtly with her eyes.