Ares Simon's POV:
I wanted her out of my office and my life. The mere sight of her brought back memories I buried deep within, memories I wanted to forget. There's no way I am surrounding myself with people related to my past, especially those connected to Aubrey Anderson, because I don't trust anyone around her.
Who knows what this woman is planning or what relation she still has with her?
Seeing her after more than ten years stirred mixed feelings in me. She played a big role in shaping who I am today without even knowing. Just a mere sight of her annoys me, and her pure amber eyes make me want to distance her from this building and send her far away, where I won't have to see her innocent face.
I know it wasn't entirely her fault for everything that happened, but she did play a part, and I can't forget that.
I won't be deceived by her angelic face this time, no matter what! One of the many things I learned in the past years is that looks can be deceiving. An angelic face could be a devil inside...
When she hastily walked past me and moved towards the door to leave, I made up my mind.
"You may go home, you're fired, Elysia Lawson!" I said decisively. Her steps halted, and I noticed her back visibly stiffen, hearing my words.
Without turning around, she nodded and opened the door. I noticed a figure standing right outside my office.
"Oh, Hi! Elysia, are you okay?" I heard Maron's voice, showing genuine concern. She didn't reply and just nodded her head, brushing past him. Maron gave me a pointed glare before going after her. I almost rolled my eyes at his reaction. He always favored her back then, and even now. Well, he is an idiot.
Ignoring them, I picked up the files from the floor and placed them on the small table. I walked towards my desk and sat on the chair, massaging my temples. I knew I didn't do anything wrong but I still felt uncomfortable for an unknown reason.
I noticed a pile of files placed on my desk surface with a typed note on each pile.
"Signature needed!"
"October's monthly activity reports!"
"For review and signature! Recommendations and arguments on the last page."
Brushing my slight uneasiness away, I opened one pile and studied the files. The level of efficiency and effectiveness in her work quite surprised me. Despite everything, I had to admit she was good at what she did.
No one other than Adira had this kind of professionalism without my instructions. It was like she had mastered my behavioral patterns and the type of work I preferred, and to think of, she did it all without even meeting me at work was enough evidence to prove that she was capable of excelling in her job.
For a moment, I felt bad to lose such a competent assistant, but I quickly brushed that thought away.
Suddenly, my office door burst open. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you fire her? Do you know how much effort it took for me to convince her to not leave the job?" Maron's pissed off voice echoed in my closed office room.
Arching an eyebrow, I asked sternly, "why did you stop her? Wait a minute! Was it you who hired her?"
"Yes, it was me! Tell me the reason you fired her, huh? I didn't expect the great businessman Ares Simon Knight to be a stuck-up man who can't let go of his past. Don't tell me she affects you, even now?" He taunted.
I scowled at him, "Are you out of your mind, Lopez? Think for a moment before you open your dumb mouth," I spoke angrily, finding Maron's suggestion impossible to consider. Never in a million years.
Maron stared at me weirdly for a while before he spoke, "So, it's true..." He smirked, raising an eyebrow. His pissed-off aura vanished into thin air and replaced with an amusement visible in his eyes.
"What do you mean? What's true?" I asked, confused. Maron shook his head without answering, his smirk deepening.
I seriously hated it when he did that—first, pass such remarks, and then refuse to say anything...
"Remind me who the heck told me to take you jerk as my best friend." I stated, annoyed by his actions.
Maron laughed heartily and pointed his index finger at me. Ah, yes! I was the one.
"You know what, get out of my office. Why are you even here? It's Sunday!" I said, already tired, and thanks to my new assistant and this jerk, I was even more pissed off now.
Ignoring my dismissal of his presence in my office, Maron leisurely took a seat in front of me and answered. "I came here for you, of course, I missed you!"
A sudden urge to vomit arose within me as Maron's cringy words got through my head. Expecting my reaction, Maron burst into another laugh, making me scowl at him. I picked up a stapler from my desk, intending to throw it at his laughing ass.
"Okay, okay! I will stop," Maron raised his hands in surrender and turned serious after a while, not before suffocating himself with his maniac laugh.
"Bro, I hired her because she is really good at her job, and you know, she has become an amazing designer now. I saw her designs, and believe me when I say they're magnificent." I opened my mouth to speak, but Maron raised his hand, nodding his head, "I know, I know. You would say that I should have hired her in the design department, but I think she is needed here for now. Hiring an executive assistant isn't easy, especially when they know a lot of the company's confidential information. You know it's hard to find people we can trust, and I know you don't trust her, but I do, and I believe she would be perfect for this role," Maron explained.
I furrowed my eyebrows, knowing that he was right, but what's the point of all this when I didn't trust my executive assistant?
"Before you say anything, just know that I won't leave until you keep her here," Maron spoke before I could say anything, stubbornly making himself comfortable.
Seriously?!
"Fine! Just leave, I won't fire her," I replied, tired of arguing further. However, my decision not to fire her didn't mean she wouldn't resign on her own accord.
"That's my friend. You just saved me and yourself from a long argument," Maron beamed and stood up. "I just came to meet you before I return to Singapore for a few days. My dad is causing trouble again," he explained.
"Is it serious?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Maron and his father had been in conflict for a few years, as he didn't want to inherit the family business, but his father had other plans.
"I don't know the details yet. Maybe it's just one of his tactics to bring me back. I will call you later," he shrugged before heading to the door to leave.
He stopped midway, turned around, and glanced back at me. "One thing, buddy! Drop the idea of whatever you're planning to do with Elysia because trust me, if you do something now that might hurt her somehow, you will regret it the most in the future. You don't know anything about her, so don't judge her just because she was your ex's best friend. She did nothing wrong to you, and whatever happened back then wasn't her fault. In fact, she was the most innocent among all of us," he stated before leaving without waiting for a response.
Sitting there motionless, I stared at the closed office door. Why was Maron so protective of her? And why would I regret anything later?
I shook my head and sighed. I hope he won't be eating his words later. Maron was naive; he didn't understand how vile or manipulative people could be.
It was only a matter of time until he opened his eyes and saw the true faces of people hidden behind their innocent looks, and I would need to reveal Elysia's true face to him to save him from hurting later.
"I will reveal your true face to Maron, Elysia Lawson," I declared decisively as my voice echoed in the empty office.
************
Determined to expose Elysia's true nature to Maron, I planned to set a trap to reveal her real intentions behind approaching us.
There must be a reason she came back after more than ten years of disappearance, and it could not be as simple as it seems.
Yet, three days passed by, and I still didn't see her. But I knew she was coming to office because everyday my desk was set and all the documents, typed notes, was arranged according to my preference. Ronald would pass me her instructions when needed, like things that needed negotiation with the client or arguments based on comparisons with market prices, etc.
My work didn't stop a bit. All the things were done on time and all tasks were completed beforehand. What's her problem? It was like she had ghosted me or should I say, she had ghosted herself, determined not to show herself before me. Heck! She didn't even give me a reason to call her for scolding.
I even peeked out secretly to catch her working but her desk was as clean as ever. Of course, I never asked Ronald or anyone about her but it still pissed me off. She needed to be here so I could implement my plan but I couldn't do anything when she was even reluctant to face me.
Hah! Maybe she is guilty after all. She doesn't want to face me because she has ulterior motives for returning after so long and taking a job in my company. Yeah, that must be it.
RING!! RING!! RING!!
My ringing phone interrupted my thoughts. It was almost 9:00 P.M., and everyone had already gone home. I picked up the phone and saw "Unknown Number" on the screen.
Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked up the call but remained silent, waiting for the person to speak.
"Ares!" A familiar voice rang through the earpiece, making my nostrils flare.
"Ares!" She repeated when I didn't reply.
Without answering, I hung up the phone. After a moment, it started ringing again, this time non-stop.
"What's your problem?" I gritted my teeth as I picked up the call.
"Ares, please listen to me. I still love you. I'm sorry, I know it's my fault, but please listen to me–" she pleaded and tried to speak, but I interrupted her.
"Listen to me, Aubrey. I don't want to hear anything. You and I ended years ago, so if you think, even for a second, that I would forgive you for cheating on me and give you another chance, then it's your imagination," I replied coldly. I was tired of her constant calls and attempts to get back into my life. When I blocked the number, she would use another one to pester me.
"I know it's my fault, and I'm regretting it too because it's only you that I love. You know the reason because of that Elysia–" she started crying. I gritted my teeth when she tried to reason her actions with a petty excuse.
"Shut up! Do you even have a little bit of shame? You didn't cheat on me once or twice, but multiple times, and you still have the audacity to blame others just because they had a f*****g influence on you? Did she force you to cheat on me? Or did she force you to go to bed with different men? Tell me, Aubrey? Did she?" I asked coldly. Her desperate actions, her words, her tears or her pleading, did not affect me one bit. What a little bit of affect she had on me because of guilt, vanished the day she deceived me.
"Ares, please–" she said while sobbing.
"Don't Ares me! If you have, even a little bit of self-respect, don't ever call me back and beg, because it disgusts me," I stated grimly and hung up.
I dropped the phone on the table with a thud. I scoffed, recalling her words during the call.
Just as the people say, 'she isn't crying because she cheated, but she's crying because she got caught.'
She was one of the reasons I proposed the fake engagement to Adira, besides teaching Aiden a lesson. A few months ago, I coincidentally met Aubrey again at a business party, and ever since then, she has been pestering me wherever I go and bombarding me with phone calls.
I hoped that by pretending to be in a relationship with Adira, Aubrey would finally get the message and leave me alone. But the woman had no shame at all. She didn't stop; rather, it didn't bother her that I was someone else's fiancé, which was disgusting.
Her constant attempts to win me back were nothing but irritating, and I was losing my patience with each passing day.
I clenched my jaw, remembering how stupid I was. This was the woman I did everything for. I f*****g did everything to make her happy, even forced my heart to love her, even when I...
**************
Hey, My beautiful and lovely readers! I would like to hear your thoughts about the story so far.
In resisting hearts, you read one side of Ares and in this story, you would get to know him as a whole, and a completely new side of him. Interested?!
I would also like to know your thoughts about Elysia and your feelings about her character?