Bitter & Sweet

19. Shame on You

Continued from last chapter...

Still Phana's POV

"Pha?" Yo asked me, tapping my shoulder. I was laying my head on his lap and I may have fallen asleep. "Do you want me to answer the door?"

"The front desk usually calls when I have a visitor, are you sure the bell rang?" I asked, too comfortable to get up.

"No one called, but I definitely heard the bell," Yo answered just as the bell rang again. "Maybe one of your neighbors needs a cup of sugar."

"If they do, they came to the wrong apartment, frankly I was surprised you found anything to make for breakfast," I said, laughing as I stood to check.

"That's why we just had eggs, your cupboards are practically empty, how do you feed yourself?" Yo was asking, laughing too as he followed me, but our laughter was cut short when I opened the door to find Pring standing outside.

"Pha, darling," Pring stepped into the room, ignoring the fact that she hadn't been invited and glancing at Yo disdainfully. "I've brought some muffins and coffee. I know how much you hate to cook."

I cringed inwardly at the inference that she knew me best, especially in front of Yo, but there was nothing I could do but reassure him.

"You shouldn't have bothered," I said, with a tight voice. "Yo already made me breakfast. Did we have a meeting scheduled this morning?"

I'd always considered Pring to be more of an inconvenience than a problem, but that changed when I heard what she'd been saying to my Yo. We'd known each other on and off since we were both children and I'd always thought of her like a little princess who, if she was kept happy, would do her job and charm investors and business partners and be sweet and likable. Now I realized that she had taken the Princess vibe too far. She can't have everything she wants in this world. More specifically, she can't have me. I had no idea she could be so cunning that she would use rumors and innuendo to hurt the man I loved and make him think I didn't love him. So even if it made her angry and ruined our friendship, I had to make the lines between us clear for the future.

"But, darling, I made these muffins just for you. You have to try them!" she exclaimed, moving into the kitchen to grab plates like she owned the place. It annoyed me, because I didn't like a lot of people making themselves comfortable in my home. This was the one place I had that was all mine, even my parents didn't often come here, so having someone just barge in and interrupt my time with Yo was really frustrating.

When she walked into the kitchen, ignoring Yo — which was another thing that annoyed me — she let out a little sigh of pretended disgust and continued, "Oh my, someone's made a mess. Really, darling, you need someone to take better care of you. This kitchen is a disaster!"

Since the only things that were unwashed were our breakfast dishes and Yo hadn't done them simply because I'd insisted he spend the time with me, I had to stop her there, "I have someone who takes care of me. If you and I had a meeting scheduled, we should go back to the office. This is my home and I enjoy my privacy. When I'm here, I want to relax with my fiancé."

"Relax with your ... ," Pring looked hurt, eyes brimming with tears and I felt bad that I hadn't realized she had other expectations for our partnership before now.

"Do you want me to call a friend to pick you up?" I asked, hoping to get her home before she started crying. I knew from past experience how much trouble she could cause when she didn't get her way.

"A friend? I just moved here!" she started looking angry. "You are almost the only person I know here!"

"Let me change clothes and I'll drive you back home," I said, needing to placate her quickly. She nodded so I ran to the other room. I was just wearing a t-shirt and some shorts, so all I needed was to change to jeans. Then I'd get her out of here and come back to my Yo.

Thinking of my baby made me nervous, maybe I shouldn't have left him alone with her. Hopping on one foot while pulling my pants on the other, I tried to get back to them as soon as possible. I stopped just around the corner, buttoning my pants when Pring's voice floated to me.

"Don't imagine that you've won, you little cretin," she said, so low that it was difficult to hear but with real malice in her voice. "He'll make any promises he needs to in front of you, but when he takes me home, I'll be the one in his heart and in his arms."

I was so angry that I was actually frozen, not sure I could avoid hitting her if I came out at this moment, but to my surprise, Yo spoke, "Your lies won't work this time. Pha told me he loves me and wants to marry me. This time I'm going to trust in his love for me."

I couldn't stop my face from smiling or the little dance of joy I did when he said those words. My Yo believed in me.

"He might think he loves you," Pring's voice came again, "but in time, he'll realize that I'm what's best for him. After all, I'm his equal and his partner. We'll see each other every day. We'll be together during those late nights and business dinners and parties. Don't get too comfortable, sooner or later, you'll be out on your ass, just like all his other flings. I'm the one he comes back to every time. The only constant in his life."

"Shame on you, Pring, you know that isn't true," I said shortly, walking back into the room. Even if Yo had handled her beautifully, I couldn't let those accusations stand. "All we've ever had is friendship and even that has been long distance. I've never been in love with you and I've never given you a reason to expect anything more. Yo is my fiancé. He is the only person I want to be with forever. If you're going to try to hurt him or hope to make him doubt my faithfulness, then our friendship and our business partnership are over."

"What are you saying? You can't actually want to be with this boy more than you want to be with me? More than you want our partnership?" She sounded incredulous, which almost made me laugh. Why did she always think she was more valuable than everyone else? "Why are you even with him? I'm better for you! I can make you happy."

"No one could be better for me than Yo, because he's the one who makes me happy," I answered sternly. "Please don't try to make this a competition. He's already won and that won't change. There is nothing more important to me than my relationship with Yo. Not other friends, not my business, and certainly not you."

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Pring asked angrily. "Are all the years we've known each other and our partnership so unimportant?"

"Yes," I answered simply. Her eyes grew wide and then she jumped toward Yo, trying to slap him. Luckily I was already close enough to stop her and she ended up hitting my shoulder before I grabbed her arm.

"You little prick!" She screamed over my shoulder at Yo. "How dare you touch me, Pha! We are over! Just wait until I tell my father! Let me go right now! I'll never forgive you for this!"

Keeping my body between her and Yo, I carefully released her. "If you try to attack Yo again, I will have security take you into custody and press charges for assault. Happily our partnership hasn't yet been formalized, so it won't be difficult to end it entirely. I'll call you a taxi. Please wait in the lobby."

I led her to the door while she cried, discreetly pressing the button for security, and left her out in the hall. Let her be upset, it was better than having her in my home upsetting my Yo. When security answered my summons, I told them to call a taxi for her, gave them her name and home address, and put her on the no admittance list.