Requisite

Giving him a long passionate kiss, I bid Adrian goodbye. I can see his ears going red as he turns his back towards me and fades out of my sight. I'm lucky to have found someone like him, to be honest. God, I'm so lucky that I managed to land him. Land is a wrong term. I just...uh...pushed him into marrying me. That's right. That's what happened. He didn't even try to fight back that night. He knew if he did so, I would have painted the walls red.

'I' won't hesitate to divorce you.'

His verse echoes in my mind, making my face twitch with annoyance. It's been etched into my mind, his words from that morning. I have to take care not to step over his boundaries now that we've set up warnings against each other, though.

*sigh*

Closing the door, I stretch and head to the kitchen, only to see a plate with eggs and bacon coupled with a steaming mug of coffee. A folded note hidden underneath the plate however, catches my attention. My curiosity is now piqued. I hold my breath and open the note carefully with curiosity brewing in my mind, but all of that goes away as soon as I come across a supportful message handwritten by him. Feeling my mouth involuntarily curl into a smile, I start to eat, as I giggle to myself like a little girl while re-reading his cute note over and over again. It's moments like these that make me appreciate him even more and how he's still standing by my side, even after everything I've done.

-

Embracing the positive reinforcement by Adrian, I drive to my workplace in a joyful mood. Greeting the receptionist and checking in with a badge, I exhale a deep sigh of relief as I step into the elevator. Right as the doors are about to close, a finger is jammed in, making me yelp out of surprise. The elevator lags before the doors open up, revealing Ellen Coriana. Dark circles and a weary look are etched upon her face, quite a contrast to mine. She huffs ( presumably by dashing to not miss the lift), before straightening her posture and entering. Her unwavering elegance despite being visibly stressed out is on display as gravity starts to push down on us.

"I apologize. I just have a bad case of Monday blues, today.", Ellen coos while nuzzling her head with her hand.

Ellen and I have been on good terms. She'd seen potential in me when I was an intern, and I've also heard rumors that she went as far as to even put in a good word for me after my time was done. Ellie was just an Associate back then, but she rose steadily year after year. I was surprised when she personally welcomed me only to find out she was a Partner! Over a grateful lunch, she explained how she took over when the firm's survival was at stake. I was in awe just admiring her leadership throughout the conversation.

"Been there, done that.", I comfort her while giggling internally.

Taking a look at her side profile, her jet black hair kept in a cute ponytail complements her tanned skin tone quite nicely. Her blush makeup on her sides shows, despite it blending in perfectly, along with her thin lips that are forming a slight frown.

"Bad night, Ellie?"

She nods while gazing down at the metal doors with her eyelids flickering up and down.

"Ss..sort of. Yeah.", she mutters.

Her words are slurry. Guess she had too much to drink last night.

*ding*

My concentration over her is interrupted by the elevator being opened up to the floor, before I'm hit with the sounds of people talking, with serious faces. Many of my coworkers are in corporate attires, a few of them walking around with documents clutching onto their chests. I take lead and walk forward before Ellie joins me as we stroll through the floor, with the entire office putting on a fake smile before greeting Ellen and me. Those joyful faces turn serious as we pass them and they resume working.

The firm has put me on a pedestal seeing how I've been on a successful streak. I wouldn't mind the nice treatment, but I know it's coming from a fake demeanor, rather than it being completely genuine and from their hearts. Some of my peers are jealous, judging from the rumors I've heard going around, while the handful of interns who join us every year waddle to me, wanting to work under me. Sometimes I see myself in them. Young and intelligent. Settling on the desk in my office, I twirl my comfy metal chair playfully as I catch a glimpse of the sun-bathed city before I circle back to a monitor and a decent amount of papers piled up on my desk.

Time to work.

-

A knock on my door snaps me out of my trance as I look up to find Gina and her henchmen at the door.

"Lunch! Come on!!~", Gina yelled with an annoying tone.

Tilting my hand to look at the watch, I notice that it's indeed time to eat. Not with Gina though. I just can't with her obvious two-face. I groan internally while thinking of an excuse.

"Just finishing a draft. You guys go ahead, I'll join you soon."

"Okay! The place down the street, okay? I've been told they have the best tacos there!", Gina replies with a squeaky voice, almost making my ears bleed.

I nod and resume 'working', while the sounds of footsteps go away. Heaving a deep sigh, I finally get up and clean up my desk, then leave my office. As I make my way through the workspace, I spot Ellen through the glass panels. She's sitting with her head nestled into her folded arms on the table, hiding her face. Coming to a standstill, I tiptoe and make my way to her office.

Her office is almost as big as two of my offices conjoined together, with one end having a window and her desk. The opposite side of the room is decorated with a couch and a neat-looking bookshelf. Perks of being a Partner, huh? Swallowing hard and gathering enough courage, I finally call out to her.

"Ellen? Wanna grab lunch?"

God, I might just seem like a clone of Gina at this point. Did I not learn anything from her annoyingly poking into everyone's private space?

Ellen shuffles before she brings her head up and looks around. Her hand reaches for a glass of water on the desk, drinking it all in one sip. She has an embarrassed look on her face as she turns around and fixes her hair gazing down at the city. Her eyes get a glance at the clock before she breaks the silence.

"Lunch. Right. Join me, I know a nice spot."

-

I stare at her with a shocked face as she goes back to sipping on her blueberry juice. She fumbles with a spoonful of pasta before she nibbles on it.

"S..So he just up and left? And then broke up over text?!", I almost scare her with a loud tone.

"Yeah. Can you believe that?"

She points her straw towards me.

"6 months. All gone! Just because I just lightly brushed on the topic of marriage."

My eyes soften as I start to sympathize with her. I can sense she wants to bawl her eyes out judging how her chin periodically quivers but it goes away. This sad sight of her tugs at my heart. It hurts me to see her beaten down like this since I see her as a sisterly figure in my life.

"That is indeed crazy. Good thing you at least got rid of him this early, if he was just in it for fun."

Ellen goes back to slurping on her drink grumpily before I can see a light bulb flicker on through her eyes. She snaps her head towards me.

"H-Hey, Adrian is still in college, right?!", she whispers.

My eyebrow perks up in suspicion. She's the only person I've told in this firm about him being way younger than me. A 5-year gap would make people think I'm a predator. Ellen is someone I can trust with my heart so I had let her know about him.

Nodding to confirm, she resumes with a sad tone.

"P-Please, I know this is a bit too desperate but...", she trails off before looking to the side with shame.

"Could he introduce me to some of his friends? I-I've had a bad string of experiences with men now..."

I stare at her for what seems an eternity.

My serious demeanor starts to cave in before a loud laugh escapes my mouth, reverberating through the room. I find myself involuntarily slamming down on the table repeatedly for comedic relief, all while being on the verge of tears. Ellie really did catch me off guard by saying something like that.

"H-Hey! I know you got your hubby at a freaking uni, so what if I also find someone that I like on the off chance? Hmph!"

I quiet down and drink some iced tea to calm down my nerves. My sides haven't hurt this bad as I grip onto them under the table. At least not since I quit doing fighting training. I put down the glass and gaze at her with a shine in my eyes.

"Don't worry. I know just the right person for you"

Would they even be a good match? He's quite a loudmouth and a delinquent, but is understanding when the needs arises. But isn't he completely the opposite of Ellie's stone-cold serious personality?

Oh well, it's like they say.

Two opposites attract each other.