A birthday party

She's wearing her sexy black dress, above the knee in height and slightly fitted to her slender body. The dress was open on her back side, so it's kind of sexy and seductive as well. She didn't like to put anything on her face, so she only put light make-up. She gets out of her room. She wears her favorite red lipstick.

It's Mr. Antonio's birthday. She didn't want to attend, but she couldn't be opposed to what he wanted. It's his 66th birthday, and of course, he was a very close friend. She could not refuse because he was like a father to her. She was also very grateful to him.

"Hi, can you please open your gate?" It's Marco. He even put too much effort into his voice just to make it sexy and sweet to Amanda's ears.

She laughed on the other phone line; they were going together to the party. It's a good thing he's here because without him, she wouldn't have a company.

A man in a dark blue tuxedo appeared before her. He looks handsome wearing it, plus his body spray is so soothing on her nose. She came a little closer to the man, then sniffed him.

"Look who's not ready for the party," she said, laughing.

She remembered that he had told her to be unprepared for Mr. Antonio's birthday party.

"Scented, isn't it? You look fantastic Amanda, gorgeous as always." He stared at her as he spoke.

She felt a little estranged from that scene with Marco. Even though they were often together back then in Korea, he didn’t give her any compliments. The more often he insults her, the more often he criticizes the bad things about her.

"Thank you, you too. I never thought you would look more human with your outfit today." She didn't want to give a malice to praise him, so she decided to pass it on with humor.

He held her by her waist, which surprised her greatly. She couldn't look at him directly, as if all her nerves in her body didn't want to work.

"See? We're really perfect," he said as he watched their reflection in the side mirror of the car.

"What is it, Marco? What are you talking about? You know, let's go before the party is over." She glared at him.

She noticed he smiled even more because of what she said. Marco likes to joke, so he doesn't get too annoyed with her. He was already accustomed to antics.

"How do you feel about what I said?" Marco asked.

"Nothing. What should I think?" She replied.

She returned the question to him because she didn't know how to answer it.

She was embarrassed to say what the words running through her mind were.

They made a quick trip. Just a few hours later, they were in the mansion of Mr. Antonio. Amanda's mouth twitched a little at the size of her friend's house.

Marco took her hand and placed it on his arm, then walked into the mansion. She looked at him with wide eyes, wondering.

"I'm just giving you a favor. Look at them. This is how a man takes care of his lady," he said, pointing at the couples at the party using his mouth.

Marco is right. Maybe he was just doing it to show the people at this party that he was a gentleman. He's trying to save his ego.

The party was held in the garden. There were also people inside the house. Some are busy talking. Most of them were acquaintances of Mr. Antonio in business. The garden is so large that maybe it could accommodate a theme park.

"Marco, dear! Good and you've arrived." A woman welcomed them.

She was a little bit older but still looked very sophisticated. She was beautiful, wearing a silver dress that was knee length. She approached Marco and then kissed his cheek.

"Tito invited me here. You know, I can't refuse him." Marco said.

"So, it's her?" A woman asked while looking at her.

Amanda is confused about who they are talking about.

"She's a friend, Tita. I met here in Korea," Marco replied.

"Amanda Tennison." She introduces herself when she knows that she is on the topic of them.

"Rachelle Anderson. Thank you for coming, sweety," she replied.

"I'm going to tell Antonio that you two are already here. The food is there," she said, and pointed out where the caterers were.

Amanda was left to think. Mr. Antonio did not mention to her that Rachelle was the name of his wife. She felt a little embarrassed. Rachelle looked kind. That was her first impression of the woman. Some people were there to greet Marco; others were shaking hands. Mr. Antonio's friends seem to know him very well. He was like a member of this family.

The waiter came with a glass of wine on his tray. Amanda picked one. She wasn’t used to drinking expensive drinks, but since she was at the party, she had to try it.

"What do you want to eat, Amanda?" Marco asked her.

So much food was served, she did not know what to eat. She's a little hungry. She misses other Korean foods. She was very happy to see that there were a few Korean foods. Samgyeopsal, Japchae, Tteok-bokki, Bulgogi, and, of course, Kimchi will not be missed. Mr. Antonio has as few guests as possible who are still from Korea, and maybe he also likes Korean foods. He has also stayed in Korea for a long time.

"I really love Bulgogi. I miss eating it," she exclaimed.

Excitement was evident on her face.

She got the food she wanted. It was not new to her that Marco was serving her. She had been used to him doing that to her since she gave birth to Harold. He does everything a man should do for his wife. Marco was carefully taking care of her, and he never let her down.

"Eat according to the size of your stomach," he reminded her.

She looked at him badly.

"I'm hungry, Marco. I just prepared my stomach to be empty before going here." She even rolled her eyes.

"Amanda, you're finally here." A man exclaimed.

They both turned to the voice coming from behind them.

Amanda even got up from her seat to greet Mr. Antonio. As usual, he was still cheerful and lively.

Amanda came over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Happy birthday, Mr. Antonio. I'm so glad to see you again. It's been a long time," she said happily."

I've been busy in Korea, so it's been a long time before I got back here. How are you?" He replied.

"I'm doing well," she said as Marco returned to their table.

"Thank you for coming, Marco, and thank you for bringing Amanda here. I prepared her favorite Korean food. So, she can enjoy the party." He said, smiling.

She couldn't explain how she felt. She was very important to Mr. Antonio because he even prepared her favorite foods. She had no idea why she was so close to him.

"Thank you, Tito. I'm happy to be with you on your special day." Marco said.

Amanda just listens to the conversation between the two. They're talking about Marco's new business. She even heard that he offered help in case Marco needed it. While the two were talking, Amanda's cellphone suddenly rang.

Gwen was the caller, so she told the two to leave the table to answer the call.

"Gwen, how are you? What's the matter?" She immediately asked her friend.

"Is it bad to call my best friend?" Gwen replied, giggling.

There seemed to be something strange in her voice. She feels something bad has happened to her. She can't help but worry about Gwen. Especially now that she's all alone in Korea.

"Hey! What's wrong, Gwen? Is there a problem?" She asked directly.

"Amanda, I heard my dad had an accident," she said.

She could hear Gwen's slight sob.

"Can you please help me? They need money now to get out of the hospital." She asked while continuing to sob.

"Give me the address of the hospital and I'll visit them. Wait, where did you hear the news from?" She asked, wondering.

She didn't answer her question. She could only hear her unstoppable sob.

Gwen didn't even mention to her that she had contact with her relatives here in the Philippines. All she knew was that she didn't want to show any of her friends. She has dead long time ago for her family because that’s what Mr. Aragon's staff said to them when they kidnapped her.

"I will send you the money before you can visit them. And please don't mention my name to them," said, asking a favor.

"And please don't ever tell them the truth," she continues.

She wanted to disobey what she wanted to happen. Her whole family needed to know that she was still alive. But she can't lie to Gwen, she can't betray her. They have been together a lot, and this is not a joke. She would not do anything that would ruin their friendship. After she promised her friend, she went back to Marco's table.

When she was suddenly hit by a woman.

"What the hell are you?" She scolded her when wine accidentally filled her dress.

She brought the wine she was drinking when she answered Gwen's call.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it. You suddenly appeared so you hit me," she said as she recovered from the shock.

"So, are you telling me that it's my fault that it happened?" A woman said.

This will be the answer to what she said.

She looks rich; her sexiness is obvious in her red dress. Maybe this is one of Mr. Antonio's investors.

She was stunned for a moment because this woman seemed familiar to her. Then she just remembered that it was Harry's fiance. She saw her in one interview with Harry.

"For your information, you're in a hurry to walk. I'm just standing here when you suddenly come and touch my wine glass." She said in an irritated voice.

Fortunately, there weren't too many people in their area. She's not the type of woman who likes to cause scandal, but she's also not a woman who just tramples on others.

"Do you want to get rid of this party? I can call the security to get you out of here." She started to threaten her.

"Is this your party?" Amanda sarcastically asks.

This woman challenges her. She will not back down no matter which court they go to.

She did not answer her question.

Later, two men approached her. They talked to her and said she had to leave the party, according to Mr. Anderson.

"I'm invited to this party. If you will excuse me," then she said that continued to leave.

But the two men still followed her as if she was going to do something bad at any moment.

"Leave her alone. I invited her, she was my guest!" Mr. Antonio spoke furiously.

The two men quickly followed.

"Who told you to harass my visitor?" He asked sarcastically.

"Miss Dina, Sir. We apologize for this." The two men both bowed and then left.

"Are you okay, Amanda? This woman is ridiculous." He commented.

He looked disgusted.

It's okay, Mr. Antonio. You don't have to worry about these." She smiled.

He said that they had to return to the table where Marco was at the same time.

He even asked why it took so long. Both of them lied, trying to hide the real happenings.

Marco just went to the parking area to pick up his car. Harry's hands were clasped around most of his daddy's party. He saw how Marco would take care of Amanda and even saw how happy they were, and he thought he shouldn't be hurt like this anymore. Since he no longer has any rights, Amanda is with someone else. She still looks amazing and sexier on her own. It was as if his heart would explode with intense jealousy. Especially when Marco holds her at her waist and on her hands. He had already marked her as his woman, but still, someone stole her from him.

"I didn't know Dad invited you." He said in a cold voice. Earlier, he wanted to talk about it. He was waiting for this opportunity, and now he was alone, so he could confront him about what he had done to move Amanda away from him.

"Harry, don't you know that your dad and I were best friends too?" Marco said.

He laughed at what he had just heard from him.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just want to congratulate you on having a great, perfect family." He said, smiling.

"Thank you. I wish you all the best, Harry. By the way, congratulations, you're already engaged." He commented.

He laughed a little because of what he said. He could not believe that so many people were still believing the fake news.

"So, how was it?" He noticed the confusion on Marco's face.

"You ignored my invitation last time. I waited for you to come to our meeting place." He said.

He was surprised at what he said, as if he knew nothing.

"I didn't receive any calls from you." Marco replied.

Their conversation lasted longer. It seems that the former spark of their friendship has disappeared. Everything has changed forever.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were hiding Amanda in Korea?" Harry's confronted him.

Marco's eyes widened at his question. Maybe he's just pretending so as to be considered innocent.

"Why do I have to hide Amanda from you?" He replied by asking questions too.

"Because you like her. Marco, I only loved once, but you took her away from me." He said this while cleaning his teeth.

"Because you hurt her, Harry. You gave her fake hope. You broke her heart." Marco said that emphatically.

He couldn't hold back anymore. It was the right time for him to tell his friend how he was feeling. He needs to know that he is hurt by the abduction of the woman he loves.

"I didn't hurt her. I just told her to wait for me. But after years, I saw her again with another man in her life," he said in a sad tone of voice.

He wanted to cry, but he could not because of his ego. He didn't want Marco to see him as a weakling. He will fight Amanda even though he knows he will lose. He would do everything to get it back to him.

"You lied to her and you're already engaged. Do you think Amanda will be yours again?" He claimed he was attempting to offend him.

In the tone of his speech, it seemed that he would not allow what he wanted to happen. It shows him that he will not give up Amanda.

"I will make her mine again, Marco. Because she's only mine." He said directly.

He even brought his face close to him while saying that. Then quickly leave.

Marco's world has changed. It was as if they had become strangers to each other again. He is not the only one to blame for why they ended up like this. He tried to communicate with his best friend, but he ignored him. He rejected his calls until he couldn't contact him.

"Why are you taking so long? Earth started to swallow me here," she said, obviously irritated.

"I just talked to an old friend. I'm sorry."

He opened the door for Amanda.

"What if Harry already knows about Harold?" He asked.

He saw the slight sourness on her face. She did not answer her question.

A few more minutes passed.

"Just pretend to be Harold's father." She replied without a doubt.