Chapter 63 - Helena's Confession

After making sure Cathy walked over to the roasting area and wouldn't disappear from his sight [author: as if she would ascend to heaven], Vincent shifted his attention to everyone who accused him of being a hooker.

"This is a misunderstanding. I don't know them, like at all. They just happened to ask me something. That's all. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Vincent. Stop breaking girls' hearts. When the time comes when you find a girl you love, you will have a hard time getting her trust."

Vincent sighed, "I told you, I'm not like that. After all, why don't you believe me?"

"Your looks showed that you couldn't be trusted."

"..." Vincent was at a loss for words. "What's wrong with my looks?"

Mr. Dan laughed at Vincent's desperate voice. "Young man, there's nothing wrong with your face. Too handsome is your problem." his statement was soon followed by nodding in agreement from the female staff.

"That's right. A handsome face is hard to commit to, and it will be easy to make dozens of women fall in love at the same time you can break women's hearts easily."

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

"A woman's heart breaker." all of them answered in unison, making Vincent run out of words.

On the other hand, Cathy seemed to ignore the heated chatter behind her. She seemed more interested in learning how to grill from the hotel's best chef, even though she heard attentively every word uttered.

When mister Dan said that being too handsome was a problem, unknowingly Cathy glanced back to look at the man's face.

The man's face was slightly oval with a nose that looked like a fine artist's sculpture. The man's two eyes looked cold but could also look gentle. His ink-black hair was neatly combed towards the back, showing his eyebrows' shape, which perfectly complements his good looks.

The man's perfectly shaped jaw and cheekbones made him appear cold when angry at the same time, warm when he was in a good mood. She didn't know the man's real hair color, but in her eyes, the man's hair was black like an ink she used to play in her father's study room.

For some reason, with his black hair, that man did look extraordinarily handsome. Well, she thought like 'Woah, this man is the most devilish handsome I ever met,' when she first met him on the bus.

Perhaps because she was used to meeting someone's handsome faces, she wasn't overly blown away to the point she had to hold her breath.

But what fascinated her the most was...

She remembered the night of their hotel opening celebration... the way that man's smile at her made her...

"Miss Catherine, are you all right?"

Cathy turned her gaze towards the cook with a slightly panicked look. "I am fine," Cathy tried to keep her nervousness at bay.

"Your face is red. Are you sure you are all right?"

Cathy just realized her face feel hot!

Is this heat that causes her face to turn red? Does she have a fever? Cathy wondered to herself and didn't know the answer. All she knew was that her heart couldn't stay still and continued beating rapidly.

What's wrong with her?

After waiting for almost an hour that felt an eternity, the grilled meat was ready to be served, and the conversation about Cathy's love story and Vincent's flirting attitude was long forgotten.

They talked about something funny or what happened during the work at Star Risen and others. They all laugh, joke, and enjoyed the chef's cook with happy hearts.

Time flew so fast to the point they did not realize that the sun had almost disappeared and the garden was slowly turning dark. They felt like they were at home and wished to be together longer.

Alas, some had to go back to work tomorrow morning while Vincent and the West sisters would return to the town.

So they decided to stop and tidy up all the food utensils on the table. Cathy and Vincent also helped while chattering cheerfully with others. Cathy's three sisters didn't feel tired to help them clean up the dirty dishes.

After finishing tidying up, Helena gently tugged on Cathy's arm to talk privately. Helena chose the place of a swimming pool area. Since no one swims at night, the atmosphere was silent and peaceful with a gentle breeze and the sound of chanting crickets.

There were several lights around them, so they did not have to be afraid of hitting something while walking.

"Is there something wrong, Helena?" asked Cathy after they were alone.

"It's nothing important, actually. It's just that I have something to ask."

"Okay."

"Are you... are you a close friend with Vincent?"

"??" this question made Cathy feel confused. "Not really. We only met twice before working together here. I don't really know him. Is that guy bothering you?"

"No, he did not. It's just that..."

Cathy noticed the shy expression shown by Helena. She had never felt what it was like to be in love, but at least she knew what someone would look like when admiring something, in this case... someone.

She could see that this twenty-seven-year-old girl was admiring Vincent.

"Could you be interested in Vincent?"

Hearing this, Helena laughed nervously. "No... that..." then sighed. "Yes. I'm a little interested in him. I mean, he's a remarkable man."

"Why do you think so?" for the first time, Cathy was interested in what a woman might think of a man like Vincent.

"Do you remember when you were all busy in the kitchen preparing dishes? I went out for a while to check the hall decorations. When I walked through the main lobby, the situation wasn't much better than in the kitchen. Many of the guests complained and got emotional. They even had time to insinuate that we had bad service."

"Really? I've never heard of this incident. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you. But at that time, Vincent came and gathered them all in the inner lobby. Miraculously, Vincent managed to soothe them down with his story. I don't understand what he was saying. What I know, the guests were not angry anymore. In fact, they did not want to go up to their room but prefer to get closer and get to know Vincent."

Cathy was silent for a few moments. She had no idea what that man had done to help the hectic situation. Without realizing it, Cathy smiled and thought better of the man.

~~~~~ SPIN OFF: FELICIA ~~~~~

Felicia pov

I'm trying to focus on my work in my parent's company. I felt so annoyed at my parents as they wouldn't let me go to Pina Island to attend my sweetheart's hotel's opening ceremony.

I want to go, and I want to meet Benben, but my father dumped his work on me, and I only had two days to finish all of this paper. Alas, I'm a good girl, so I wouldn't argue with my father's orders.

I decided to back, focusing my head on my laptop, and yet every minute I sighed and wondered about the state of the Island. It must be nice to have a holiday for a couple of days. I want to take a break too.

Then, I heard a notification sound indicating I got some new mail.

I open it with lazy motion and frown when I see my best friend's name appears on the screen. What did Vincent send me the email for? If there was something he wanted to say, couldn't he send it directly via chat or call?

I clicked on Vincent's name and read the subject of the email.

Gift for you. It was the subject of the attachment file.

I clicked on the file while taking my glass to drink some water. I'm still sipping my drink when a photo appeared on my screen. That is when I choked and nearly spat my drink out of my mouth.

I instantly put the glass on the table while patting my chest hard to lessened my coughing.

After calming down, I clicked on the next button to see the second picture and then the next and the next. My face is now beaming, and I have new energy to finish my work.

How could I not excited? Vincent sent me all of Benben's photos!

When Benjamin gives a speech on stage or smiles while shaking hands with guests, whatever it is, Benjamin looks handsome and charming in each of these photos.

I hit the next button until the last one, which made me sad and wants to see more. I took my smartphone to contact the sender, so I can demand to send me more of these.

"The kindest and sweetest Vincent, can you send me a few more photos?"

I can imagine my best friend's body shuddered at the spoiled voice I had. Serve him right! He should send all of the pictures at once instead gave me part of it.

"Did you just wake up? Or are you drunk? Or maybe there's a problem with your brain?"

"Uhm... who is this?"

"There must be more, right? Send me all of them." I ignore his mischievousness that pretends not to know me.

"You think I gave you for free?"

"Duh, it's a gift. Didn't you say so?"

"Of course. But you wanted more, and it's not for free this time."

"You cheapskate. Then what do you want?"

"Maybe I'll need your help later. When that time comes, I want you to help me."

"Alright, alright. Deal. Now send me!" I couldn't be patient and don't care what kind of help he wants from me. All I care about is to see a lot of my man's face.

"I've sent you another photo."

I squealed with excitement voice and hang up on my best friend. I don't care if he will complain about me later.

Looking at these photos of my dream man made my whole day!