Chapter 56 - I DON'T NEED WOMEN

Cayenne went to work the next morning and almost everyone asked her how she was doing. Mona was worried for her knowing that she had been working so much for her family. Manager Kim knew about what happened but she didn't say anything. Celine checked on her and after making sure that she was alright, work continued as usual.

Stefan also formed a habit, which was to check on her every lunch break and every time she's about to come home. He needed to make sure that she's doing fine and needed constant update for safety purposes.

Cayenne wasn't bothered with it. In fact, she was happy knowing that someone was constantly thinking of her safety.

After work, Cayenne informed him that she would be going to the hospital already.

"Stay safe always. Make sure to call me on your way home." Stefan sent her a message, pausing his work for a while. "Also, will you be eating dinner with your family?"

Cayenne was currently waiting for the taxi driver outside the hotel when she received the message from him. "I think I'll eat with them. Will you be alright?"

"I will just eat dinner at the hotel." Stefan replied.

"Okay. See you later."

Stefan looked at his phone and smiled faintly. This time, he appointed some work to pass the time while waiting for her to come home. There's no one who will be waiting for him in their house so, he wasn't excited to come home at all. Chris was sitting on his own cubicle, waiting for his to come out but he wasn't coming out of his office for a long time.

"Isn't he going home right now? Cayenne will be waiting for a while again." Chris mumbled while looking at the time on the lower right corner of his computer. In the past weeks, he observed that his boss had been very considerate towards Cayenne and he would always come home early to make sure that he'd be able to cook dinner for the two of them. 'What's makes it different today?' Chris asked. 'He even scheduled an appointment with a client at six in the evening.'

Chris glanced towards Stefan's office room. Since he didn't say anything, he just continued to do his job without disturbing him.

Cayenne, on the other hand, arrived at the hospital. The driver was paid by Stefan with the maximum amount he would earn within ten hours in a day and multiplied it by thirty days. Therefore, he wasn't the least bit bothered when it comes to being called by Cayenne and to wait for her. He even profited so much from this opportunity that was given to him.

She bought food for her mother and when she got inside her room, she found her sitting on her bed while looking at the scenery outside her window. She looked really lonely.

"Ma?" Cayenne called for her attention while softly knocking the door.

"Yen! You're here. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't able to visit you last weekend so, I'm here to see you."

"Is that the only reason?"

Cayenne placed the food on the table and pulled the chair close to her mother's bed and sat on it. "I'm here to talk to you about something."

"Did Kyle and Luiz tell you something?"

"Hn. They said that you wanted to come home."

Her mother took a deep breath and sighed. "I know that we have talked about this but, Yen, can't I really-"

"I agree." Cayenne interrupted her mother. She didn't want to hear the reasons anymore because it will only upset her. She knew that she was doing things wrong and that she was being selfish but, she didn't really have any other idea to save her mother. "Ma, I'm taking you home this weekend. I have so many things to tell you as well. At the same time, we needed to clean the house and your room. There are so many things we needed to do so, I can only take you home this weekend."

"Really?!" Her mother's eyes lit up from so much happiness. She can finally spend time with them until her time stopped. For her, that's the most important thing.

Cayenne nodded her head and smiled. "Wait for me to come and pick you up on Saturday morning. I'll talk to your doctor as well."

"Thank you, Yen. Thank you so much for understanding me and for doing your best to save me. You have done enough."

"You are my one and only mother, the best person and mother in the whole world. It's not a question for me to help you."

The mother-daughter pair talked about different things and they also ate the food that Cayenne brought. She didn't share the news about her and Stefan yet. She was still thinking of way to break that information to her. She knew her mother likes Arthur but it was impossible for her to like him. Besides, she already stopped liking him a long time ago. She had no space for him in her heart.

She didn't spend so much time with her mother since she needed to talk to her doctor. After singing her mother to sleep, she went out with her things to find the doctor.

Inside the Clover hotel restaurant, Stefan had been checking his phone for the sixth time. He was having a dinner meeting with a client but he was a little bit distracted because of Cayenne. Since he was distracted, Chris took the initiative to speak in behalf of his boss. Sometimes, Stefan would say a thing or two. Most of the time, he will just stare into space before checking his phone again.

"Mr. Dumrique, if you ever agreed to my proposal, I promise you that you will not lose a single cent in your investment. I will do my best to make this business prosperous." Mr. Likai informed him. "This restaurant will become one of the best restaurants in City C."

Stefan looked at the man before turning towards Chris. Before coming over, he already looked at the proposal and knew that it was a good project. He was just using this meeting to stall for time.

"In your proposal, you mentioned about women…" Chris looked at him when he heard his boss talking about it. He was a little surprise because he thought that he was taking Cayenne seriously. At the same time, his boss didn't say anything about him and Cayenne. They weren't dating or having any secret relationship. They were just acting according to their roles which was the employer and employee. It was just sad to think that Cayenne was such a nice girl but she ended up dealing with a man like his boss. Although, nothing was happening between them, it was still a risky situation specially if people knew about their set up. She would certainly lose her face and reputation.

Mr. Likai laughed as he nodded his head. "Don't worry about that. I will make sure to fulfill that proposal."

"No, I don't need that."

Both Mr. Likai and Chris were dumbstruck. Even Mr. Likai's secretary raised her eyebrow when she heard him say those words. In the business circle, it was no longer a secret for everyone that Stefan Dumrique was a rich playboy. Which was why, they were a little surprise with his words.

Chris was equally surprised because he couldn't really understand what his boss was thinking. After the shock came his genuine and happy smile for him. He was one hundred percent sure that this was because of Cayenne Ardolf.

"Are you finally settling down?" Mr. Likai questioned him. "It's good to know that you finally found someone that you really care about. Your girlfriend is really a lucky charm to change you in a very short time."

"She's not my girlfriend yet." Stefan corrected him. "I'm still working on our relationship."

"I wish you luck, then." Mr. Likai took his wine glass and proposed a toast. "This is a toast to our cooperation and to wish you a successful relationship."

"Cheers." Stefan raised his glass as well and took a small sip of the wine. He likes drinking wine but he had been trying to drink moderately ever since he started sleeping with Cayenne. As much as possible, he wanted to be sober when he's around her

'Buzz. Buzz. Buzz'

His phone was vibrating on the table and when he looked into it, he found Cayenne's message that she was coming home already.

"Let's sign the contract papers now. It's getting late." Stefan didn't even wait for the other party's response and he started to sign the contract papers that Chris handed to him. He was very quick and so was Mr. Likai. "I'll have to leave early now. Just take your time with your dinner. See you around."

"See you around Mr. Dumrique."

The two of them shook their hands and bid farewell. Stefan walked with a quick pace and arrived at his car in less than three minutes. Chris drove out and started the trip back home.

When they arrived at his house, Cayenne just got out of the taxi and was thanking the driver with a light bow.

"Ayen!" Stefan called for her attention as he got out of the car. "Welcome home." He embraced her warmly while greeting her happily, as if hugging was just natural to do it with her. Well, hugging her wasn't new. He hugged her several times already.