“Nothing is going to come up. I need to go grocery shopping. My parents would nag me to death if they see how empty my refrigerator is,” Celsie said thoughtfully when she opened her refrigerator and there was nothing much in it apart from snacks.
“If you give me a list of what you need, I could get them for you and have it delivered to your doorstep,” Benne offered, wanting to at least do something for her.
“There is no way you can leave the house right now until things have been resolved,” Benne reminded her when she looked at him as though she was going to turn down his offer. They both knew that if the people who worked in the same company with her had reacted that way to what they had read on the internet, then strangers would likely react in a worse manner if they saw her.
“I guess you’re right,” Celsie said with a sigh.
“Good. So I will have someone deliver it to you. Be alright, okay?” Benne said as he moved close to her and embraced her.
“I will. And thanks for today. I appreciate you standing up for me the way you did today, but let’s try not to meet until all of this is resolved,” Celsie told him with a small smile that didn’t hide the sadness in her eyes as she broke the hug and pulled away from him.
Even if he wasn’t saying it, she knew that he was under a lot of pressure because of her, and his action at the lobby of the company earlier on was only going to complicate things even more for him.
“Celsie…”
“I’m not asking us to break up or anything. We are in this relationship together, and I’m not selfish enough to want you to stand by me when I know it’s going to end up causing problems for you too. Just until everything is resolved, let’s not meet. Let’s just focus on clearing this,” Celsie pleaded.
“If Anita is behind this as we suspect, don’t you think you are doing exactly what she wants you to do?” Benne asked with a slight frown as he watched her.
“Then what else can I do?” Celsie asked wearily.
“Lean on me, and don’t push me away. Or are you doing this because Sonia broke up with Bryan?” Benne asked, making Celsie’s brows pull together in a frown.
“Sonia broke up with Bryan?” Celsie asked in confusion.
“Yes. I didn’t want to mention it. She broke up with him after she heard about all this. If you’re worried about my reputation, don’t worry. I can handle whatever comes,” Benne promised as he took both her hands in his.
“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. I’ll hear from Sonia when she gets here. Let’s continue this conversation over the phone when you get home,” Celsie said, as she gently prodded him towards the door.
Benne stuck out his lower lip, giving her a sad face when they got to the door and Celsie smiled at him, “You don’t have to feel bad. Besides, do you want my family to meet you for the first time with your disguise costume on?” Celsie asked with a touch of humor, and Benne narrowed his eyes.
“Are you ashamed of my beards?” He asked rubbing his fake beards in a way that made her laugh softly.
“If only they were real. You can always meet them later. I just need to first talk to them and calm them,” Celsie assured him.
“Fine. I’ll call you when I get home. Don’t forget to text me your grocery list,” Benne said as he kissed her lightly on the lips before opening the door and walking away.
He took in a deep breath once he stepped outside, and let it out slowly. He could tell that she was forcing all the smiles and laughter just so that he wouldn’t worry about her.
Once he got into his car, the substitute driver turned to look at him, “Where am I taking you to?”
“Take me back to the company,” Benne said distractedly as he took out his phone to give Harry a call.
***********
Celsie hurried to the door when she heard the sound of the doorbell, and once she opened the door she was surprised to see Alicia standing there with Jasmine instead of Sonia who she was expecting.
Sonia had called her less than five minutes earlier to ask for directions since she seemed to have missed her way.
“Hi!” both ladies greeted in unison.
“Hi!” Celsie greeted as she looked from one to the other, wondering what they were doing at her door since she was sure they had likely seen the news on the internet.
“Can we come in?” Jasmine asked politely, and Celsie looked behind them, wondering why Sonia was yet to arrive, before stepping aside for them to get in.
“We saw the stuff about you all over social media. We would have come earlier but we noticed that you were with someone,” Alicia announced as they walked in, and Jasmine sent Alicia a sharp look before clearing her throat.
“Uhm, we noticed that the only friend you seem to have is Benne, and since we didn’t see him around we thought to come to check on you and spend some time with you,” Jasmine explained.
“Oh, thank you!” Celsie said, at a loss for what to say as she hadn’t been expecting this.
“You didn’t do it, right?” Alicia asked before Jasmine could stop her, “You didn’t kill that boy, right?” Alicia asked, looking at Celsie as though she was hoping everything she had read was false.
Celsie looked at Alicia, but couldn’t find it in her to offer them any explanation. Although she thought they deserved an explanation seeing how they had come to her instead of just believing what they had read like everyone else.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” Jasmine assured her quietly.
Celsie sighed, “I’m sorry I can’t explain to you right now. I appreciate your coming over, but I’m kind of expecting my family right now and…” Celsie let the rest of her words trail off hoping they would pick the hint.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.