At 10 pm in Marina District, Downtown San Diego, Charlie and Angelica along with Roger and Kate had arrived at the international Airport. they immediately walked towards the airport terrace.
"Looks like I'll have to hire a taxi to take me to Core-Columbia," said Kate as she looked out at the sprawling night view.
"Don't worry, I'll take you," Roger replied with a warm smile, the light of the airport lights shining in his eyes.
"But ..."
"I think that would be better," said Angelica firmly before Kate could speak. She approached Kate, holding her arm warmly, her eyes looking at her friend's slightly tired face. "I promise, when I have free time, I will come to visit you," she continued sincerely.
Kate nodded, her lips curved into a faint smile. "We should find opportunities to have fun together."
"Whenever you want to meet, you can do that," said Charlie kindly.
Angelica looked at Charlie, who always had patience and understanding in his eyes as if she was special.
Kate smiled faintly, her eyes looking at Angelica who looked a little sensitive towards Charlie. She then grabbed her friend's arm, leading her towards the edge of the road, leaving Charlie and Roger to immediately follow them.
"I think he likes you," Kate whispered.
"Or maybe he just wants to make me satisfy his lust after I feel indebted for his help!" whispered Angelica in an annoyed tone.
"It doesn't matter if that's the case, besides he's handsome. And if you manage to make him fall in love, you'll be his queen," Kate said softly, her eyes looking at Charlie. "Your life will change for the better," she added, glancing at Angelica.
"Kate, let Roger take you," Charlie asked as he opened the car door, his eyes then turned to Angelica. "Angelica, you are with me," he continued.
"I am ready ..." Roger opened the car door for Kate. "Come on, I also want to know where you live."
Kate looked at Roger with a sharp gaze, then Angelica hugged him tightly. They hugged each other, a little groan of sadness could be heard because they had to be separated.
"See you," said Angelica as she let go of the hug.
Kate entered the car whose door was opened by Roger, while Angelica stepped into the car whose door was opened by Charlie, and the driver immediately took her suitcase which was still on the airport terrace.
___
Angelica was silent, looking at the view from the car window, but what was on her mind was the atmosphere in Hawaii. She didn't expect that tonight she would be in San Diego, even with Charlie as a stranger to her. It was beyond her expectations, and there was also a feeling of longing and worry for her mother considering that Darren was so resentful of her family.
'Hopefully, he doesn't come again to bother them,' she thought worriedly.
"Are you alright?" Asked Charlie who was sitting next to Angelica.
"Yeah," whispered Angelica, bending her face. "I'm just worried about my mom," she continued.
"She'll be fine, I've paid people to make sure that Darren or your uncle won't hurt her."
Angelica turned to Charlie who was still helping her.
"Sorry," Charlie whispered, realizing Angelica's cold gaze at him. "I don't mean to upset you but don't refuse my help again... this is for your mother," he continued.
Angelica exhaled roughly, turned her head away, and didn't want to comment anymore.
"Okay, this is the last one," said Charlie, looking back at the front.
The situation returned to silence until several minutes passed, and finally, they arrived at a minimalist, monochrome-style mansion with white and orange lighting. Angelica immediately got out of the car, followed by Charlie while the driver took her suitcase from the trunk.
Angelica was stunned, seeing that the mansion in front of her was not very spacious, unlike what she had imagined. The atmosphere is very quiet, like it was uninhabited, but that assumption was wrong because a middle-aged woman came from the main door.
"Mr. Charlie," said the woman.
"Renee, this is Angelica, my friend," replied Charlie, glancing at Angelica and then at the woman named Renee.
Renee smiled at Angelica. "I'm Renee, the maid here."
Angelica smiled. "Nice to meet you..."
"I will help Andreas," said Renee, then walked over to the driver who was taking out suitcases and bags from the trunk.
Charlie glanced at Angelica. "Come in."
"This is strange," Angelica whispered as she followed Charlie. "Why do you say I'm your friend?" she asked.
"Is it wrong?"
"No ..." Angelica frowned. "It's not wrong, but it's strange, even this mansion might not have as many bedrooms as he said before," she grumbled while looking at the atmosphere of the room which looked simple but elegant with exotic furniture.
Charlie stopped in the living room, then turned to look at Angelica who was looking up at the top floor. He smiled because the girl looked sexy but also cute with her innocent expressions.
"I think you're a liar," said Angelica, turning to look at Charlie.
"Why do you say that?"Charlie asked casually. "I've given you a lot of money, I've kissed you and then I never want you to be a maid here, so I'll say you're my friend... wouldn't what happened between us make us more worthy of being seen as friends, right..master and maid?"
Angelica rolled her eyes. "You must have said that to avoid your lies. But this time you can't... You said this mansion has dozens of rooms, but where?"
"Um..." Charlie put a smile on his lips, approaching Angelica.
Angelica immediately moved away. "I need answers, why did you lie?"
"Because I like seeing you amazed," Charlie whispered.
Angelica frowned, not understanding Charlie's statement.
Charlie looked into Angelica's eyes intensely, slowly approached and touched her chin, caressed her lips, and then took a deep breath as if inhaling her scent.
Angelica was silent, Charlie's gaze seemed to make her suddenly nervous, even her whole body seemed to freeze, and her heart was pounding.
"These lips," whispered Charlie, immediately lowered his head and kissed Angelica's lips.
Angelica was shocked, she was about to refuse but Charlie quickly pushed her until her body was leaning against the wall, then grabbed both of her hands and placed them above her head.
"Emh..."
Charlie was going crazy, kissed Angelica more and more aggressively, his breathing became ragged and he occasionally bit her lower lip. Angelica, who was confused, slowly returned the kiss until Charlie stopped and closed his eyes with their foreheads pressed together.
Angelica fell silent tremblingly, looking at Charlie who seemed to be in shock.
"Sorry..." Charlie whispered, then immediately went upstairs without wanting to know Angelica's response.
Angelica was silent, her gaze was blank and her mind was still wandering with what happened a few seconds ago. She stroked her lips, which were still slightly damp, even as if she could still feel Charlie's lips there.
'Why did he leave? Why did he kiss me? And why did he suddenly end it? Do my lips smell bad?' she wondered to herself.
"Angelica..."
Angelica gasped and glanced at Renee who approached her with a friendly smile.
"Uh, hey..." she greeted her nervously, suddenly wondering if she knew what happened between her and Charlie just now. "Did you see it?"
Renee chuckled covering her mouth.
Angelica frowned. "So you saw it?"
"Ah, don't think about it," said Renee then walked down the hall. "I'll show you your room. Mr. Charlie contacted me to prepare the room last night," she continued while dragging the suitcase.
Angelica followed Renee, feeling strange about Charlie because he had asked her to prepare her room since last night, which meant he already had the intention to take her to live with him.
'Wow, what the hell? Am I being cheated? Could it be that he means giving a lot of money to my family because he wants to buy me, making me feel indebted to him so that I feel reluctant to reject him like rejecting a kiss from him?' she wondered to herself, feeling disappointed and fooled by Charlie's attitude.
---
In the room, precisely in the monochrome white clothing room, Charlie was silent with a cold gaze directed at the mirror that reflected himself. His hands clenched into fists as if he was holding back anger until he suddenly swung his hand at the glass with his eyes glaring.
"I hate you!"
prackk...
The glass immediately shattered, creating sharp shards that immediately sliced through Charlie's hand. Blood flowed, staining the glass, and hands, and even dripping on the floor.
"Fuck you bitch!" Charlie groaned with his jaw clenched, his breathing was labored and his eyes were red, showing a flash of anger. What happened to him? Why was he so angry when he had just kissed Angelica?