"Have you considered this outcome?" I asked Natalie, discussing the financial matters.

"Ma'am, we need to have a good team to cover up for the losses." She suggested, and I nodded.

"After taking over those companies and the shimmers, we fell short on dependable employees. We will need some computable employees to work for the upcoming concert." She said, and I thought about it.

"Make sure the advertising about us being the only sponsor for the concert spreads everywhere. This will be an add-on to our other projects." I said.

"The directors of Anderson and co are hell-bent on having a meeting with you, ma'am. What should I do?" Aria butted in and I sighed.

"Call them and make it for today's lunch," I said.

"Ma'am, we have been in constant downfall with an increase in investment but lack of return." Mr. Mathew, finance manager, said.

"I know. We will have to do something about it." I said and massaged my temples.

"Mr. Mathew, I don't think it will be a problem. Please check with the small-town branches. They recently made a wonderful improvement in sales, as I've known." Anthony said as he walked into the cabin.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. I also heard that they've been doing excellent on their part. I just focused on our branch in New York for reporting." Mathew said.

"It's alright, and don't fret if our income falls by a few numbers. I'm sure my investments will not affect our business." I said. I made most of my investments through my funds and that was Shimmers and Anderson and co. D'Luka industries were the only subsidiary under SAMS for now.

"D'Luka industries have been buckling up. And I'm sure Shimmers and Andersons and co will also help you out soon." Anthony said, and Aria agreed to it.

"Next year we will cover up our losses for this year," Aria said as she flipped through the pages.

"Uh-huh. I have to meet someone. Shall we call it a day?" I asked if they had anything else to discuss, to which they said they were done. I thanked them and walked out of my cabin, Anthony tailing behind me.

"What is it, Anthony?" I asked as we walked past our employees through the corridor, who scurried away as they saw me coming.

"Vikrant and Brian want to meet you." He said, and I nodded because I was heading towards my office only.

"I know. I received their message." He was still silent.

"Tell me what's bothering you?" I inquired.

"I'm so worried about you. You've been keeping things from me and since Zearo came into our life, it's a complete mess. I don't know if I'm the right guy to protect you when I know nothing about what exactly is going on in your life." He confessed, and I halted. My strides stopped as I heard my best friend getting distant from me. I felt the pain he was going through and realized what I was doing.

"You are my favorite person. You know that. Whatever I do, I do it for you guys. If I keep something secret, then it's definitely because I want you guys to stay safe." I said, looking at him. He has been my pillar, my best friend. A shoulder to cry on. How could I let my dark secret hurt him?

"I will resign from my post." He answered, and I looked at him, shocked.

"What did you say?" I asked, unsure about what I had heard.

"If I have to protect you, I will do it on my terms the same way my father did. I don't want to regret later that I didn't try my best." He said, and I saw the hesitation in his eyes. I dragged his hand with me towards my parking lot and asked him to get inside the car.

"You will not resign. Promise me to never judge for the decision I took in the past. I don't want you to get hurt. Just....just be with me like you always did." I said, holding onto my emotions that were going haywire when I heard he was going to resign. I didn't want him to get into the mess, but I knew he wouldn't agree to stay in the dark. It was becoming impossible for me to keep things from him, too.

"What did you do, Liara?" He asked, and I just buckled up my seat belt and drove him towards my office near shimmers.

***********************

"He has been sitting in the same position for two hours, Liara, I'm worried now," Brian said as I, Vikrant, and he watched Anthony looking at a space from the time he heard why I married Zearo to why we were being attacked to what I promised Zearo in return.

"I didn't want him to be involved in these things," I said dejectedly.

"He has the right to know." Vikrant clicked his tongue, and I shook my head. I was waiting for his reaction, but that guy wasn't even moving an inch.

"Shall I pinch him?" Vikrant suggested.

"Considering his bulk body, will he even feel the pain?" Brian asked, and I laughed.

"I don't understand one thing, though," Brian asked.

"What is it?" I asked as I sipped my black coffee, not taking my eyes off of Anthony.

"Why did you not ask the Chief to consider your Chez Case the one where you evacuated the villagers and built your factory because the builder was selling it at a cheaper rate for you? Some villagers filed a case against you and the hearing is around the corner." Brian asked.

I clicked my tongue and tapped my legs and said, "That's the genuine thing that I hurt the villagers. I will pay them for their losses. I can't be charged more than that. It's a business deal, and I had to be the face, so it's alright." I said as I knew what could be the outcome.

"He is saying why to waste such an enormous opportunity for someone who isn't important to you," Vikrant said.

"To catch the bigger fish," I said and smiled. I knew what I was doing and how much money I was investing in whom. I was in a battle that I didn't start, but I didn't mind winning.

"Zearo," I heard them say, and I hummed absentmindedly, sipping my coffee.

"Zearo is here." The coffee got into my throat when I heard Vikrant whisper, and I coughed involuntarily. I walked as fast as I could when I saw Zearo making his way inside my cabin, where Anthony was still unfazed. I didn't know how he would react and didn't want to worsen things.

"Come with me!" I whisper yelled at Zearo and walked out of my cabin towards my secret room. My room was full of play toys I used to play with when I was a kid. I showed five fingers on my way out to Vikrant and Brian and hoped they would take care of Anthony for now.

"What are you doing?" Zearo asked to which I had to shut his mouth with my hand as I pushed him inside the room. I made sure no one heard him and locked it from the inside.

"Shush." I gestured, keeping a finger on my lips. He looked at me, confused, but said nothing. My heart was thudding on my ribcage as I knew the storm in the adjacent room was ready to blow up on me.

"What's the matter?!" He whispered, and I shook my head when I noticed how close I was to him. Making some distance between us both, I breathed, frustrated about how the game was played in my life.

"Nothing, just getting you out of Anthony's way," I said, shrugging. Well, it was more for me. I didn't want to face him, but it wouldn't hurt to blame him.

"Why is that?" He asked as I walked towards the bed and he followed suit.

"He didn't know why all these things happened in my life and thought he wasn't that important to me anymore. So," I started, but he concluded, "you told him everything." I hummed.

"He wanted to resign. I couldn't afford to lose him." I confessed my true feelings. Anthony was that person without whom I cannot even breathe.

"So you kept him in danger?" He said. I knew what I did, but I couldn't find any way to keep him with me.

"I don't know how he will react to all that happened behind his back, so let's not get on his nerves for now. He becomes terrible when he gets angry." I said, remembering how uncontrollable his anger gets.

"Why should I be worried about it? I don't fear him." He said. These males in my life and their ego has always been a tremendous headache for me.

"Our lives are now mixed to where we cannot let any closed ones fall apart. If I respect your relations, I want you to do the same." I snapped at him. His audacity to say that about Anthony.

"I wanted to talk about that only. That's the reason I asked Dima about your whereabouts and she confirmed it with Aria." He said. How shameless one could be. My blood boiled, reminiscing about the picture that I accidentally saw on his phone. How can he be so? Ugh, I don't even know how to curse such an inhuman person.

"Aria, when is the meeting with the Andersons starting?" I asked Aria, not bothering to hear even a single word from him.

"Alright, I will be there in a few minutes," I said and hung up on her. The meeting was going to begin in an hour, but I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Let me first finish what I wanted to say." He said, but I shook my head.

"That can wait. I have an important meeting to attend. My company has been taking the blow of my decisions and I have to make it right as soon as possible." I sighed and then looked at him. He had an extremely angry look that didn't bother me. I pinched the bridge of my nose and then gestured to the distance between us both, "this can wait."

"Liara.." He began

"Look, it's already been eight months. Just four more months and you are completely free to go. I have to complete my part of the promise and you are doing well to keep me on the tab and reminding me we have signed a contract." This was something I didn't want to say to him. I wasn't even sure where this came from. I could have pressed the rewind button if I had the power to.

"Can we never have a healthy conversation for once?" He asked as I was walking out of the room. I tried hard to look away as his face had me weak on my legs and he looked so tired. But that doesn't mean I could let him walk over me anytime anywhere.

"Having a healthy conversation needs a healthy relationship which we don't." Closing the door, I walked away from him. I wanted to scream at him, shout at him and grab his collar and ask why he couldn't wait for four months and started a family with Julie. But I couldn't.

"Liara!" I heard a voice that I was expecting. I locked the door and then walked toward Anthony with a smile on my face.

"You said you'd never judge my decisions." I started and saw Vikrant and Brian shaking their heads.

"Who am I too, by the way?" He snapped, and it hurt me.

"Anthony, I explained everything. Now nothing is hidden." I said, genuinely concerned.

"I believe you." He said, and I took a sigh of relief.

"I believe you, and that's why you betrayed me." Ugh, I didn't know this was his sentence.

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye and said the words carefully so that he wouldn't miss any. "The decision was taken. I don't regret it. Even though I regret some parts, we cannot change them. I've been doing business my way and you've been my pillar. Now that I'm an open book, I would like you to accept who I really am, considering nothing else." I breathed. I needed him by my side.

"I need you, and that's what matters to me. You know I have been playing games all my life. This is going to end soon. I have gambled too. I want you to be my support and not my weakness." I saw his face softening and knew where I was hitting.

"If you back down, I will break down. Choose where you stand." I said and turned away from him towards the main door.

"I will wait in the parking lot. I hope you think this through and get on this ride with me." And walked out of the building after texting Brian to open the playroom door after Anthony walked out with me.

Playing with fire burns you down slowly, but I wanted to achieve something big out of it. Pure gold to be exact. I didn't know whether the path I took was taking me towards it or away from it.

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