Keenan opened his desk drawer, searching for a file he had left behind that he needed to bring to the office. But he accidentally stumbled upon a thick white envelope among the documents.
"What's this?" he muttered as he opened the envelope.
Keenan was shocked to find a pregnancy test with two red lines and a doctor's report in Catherine Chandra's name.
Keenan froze, reading the contents and recalling Catherine's words from their last meeting.
"What are you looking at?"
Keenan turned, unable to hide the envelope in time, as Arsila had already snatched it.
"You kept it?" Arsila asked curtly.
"I just found it; I don't know how long it's been there," Keenan replied.
"Do you regret leaving Catherine?"
Keenan shook his head. He touched Arsila's cheek and kissed her gently on her thin lips. "You're my life, Arsila. I never regret leaving anyone for you. You've helped me a lot, you're my breath and soul."
Arsila blushed; just a few words from Keenan were enough to calm her down.
"I'm afraid you'll regret it because you know I'm infertile," Arsila said with a forced tone of sadness.
The man shook his head. "I don't need anyone else, because just being with you makes me happy."
Arsila's phone rang, diverting her attention. "Hang on a moment."
Arsila smiled when she saw her assistant calling this afternoon. "Hello, what's the news? Did they accept our offer?"
"Madam, this is good news for our company. The sponsor for the charity event in Paris has agreed to collaborate with us, which means our brand can expand to that city."
Arsila jumped with joy, her heart over the moon.
"Have they already found a suitable model to represent our product?" asked Arsila eagerly.
"They have, but this time it's a new model."
"No problem, as long as they're professional and can create an extraordinary impact for our brand," Arsila said.
"Alright, Madam, but could you check the portfolio of the model before our meeting tomorrow?"
"Send it to me; I'll check it now." Arsila hung up the phone, and a minute later, an email arrived on her phone.
However, that happy smile quickly turned to shock when she read the email containing the portfolio of the model who would represent her product in Paris.
Catherine Chandra. The name displayed in the email portfolio instantly changed Arsila's mood.
How could it not? The woman she thought was dead and who had vanished without a trace suddenly reappeared and disrupted Arsila's thoughts.
"So, are you poor now?" Arsila muttered, smiling slyly as she read Catherine's resume.
"For a year, you did nothing, but now you've come back as a model. I thought you were dead, or maybe crippled and hiding."
"Hm ... alright, I know you need money now. I'm willing to meet with you; let's see what happens in Paris." Arsila stood up and asked her secretary to print out the portfolio.
"Madam Arsila...." Samuel called out, then handed Arsila a phone. "Mrs. Hart is calling, asking for some money because she's with her friends at the Louvre."
Arsila sighed and took the phone from Samuel's hand. She then transferred 20,000 Euros to her mother-in-law.
"That old crone only knows money, money, and more money, while the father-in-law only cares about sex and affairs," Arsila whispered.
She felt slightly disgusted with this family. Without her love and obsession with Keenan, she might have chosen to step away from this marriage.
"Madam, your father just called and said that Keenan requested additional funding because the project in New York is being expedited by a month."
Arsila nodded. "Do what they ask, give them what they need, and keep an eye on the stock prices. I don't want to lose money just because this family enjoys looting my family's wealth."
Samuel nodded in understanding, then excused himself. Arsila took her phone and noticed a call from someone she'd been waiting for.
"Hello, Svarga...."
***
Standing at 185 centimeters, the man, wearing a dark blue shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, waved at Arsila.
"Hey, beautiful soul," greeted Svarga as he hugged the straight-haired, brown-haired woman.
"Have you been waiting for me long?" Arsila asked cheerfully.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I haven't enjoyed the view at the Louvre in a while," Svarga replied.
His name was Svarga Kenneth Oweis, the owner of the largest and most famous modeling agency, producing models ready to become trendsetters nationwide.
"So, has my secretary contacted you? I was quite surprised when you wanted to use my company's services for your skincare brand," said Svarga.
"I've accepted it, and I was also surprised that you would accept my collaboration offer. I thought my brand was too new, and you wouldn't look at my proposal," Arsila replied politely.
"C'mon, you're Arsila Gistara. Everyone knows you and your family as brilliant business people in this city. You're young and beautiful; compared to all my models, you could actually carry the brand without anyone's help."
"That's nonsense." Arsila playfully slapped the man's arm. "I feel like I'm no longer as pretty after getting married."
"Ah, you're still the prettiest, especially since Keenan Hart is your husband."
Arsila smiled proudly. "By the way, I was a bit surprised when I found out who the model was that's taking my brand to Paris."
"You mean Catherine?" Svarga repeated.
"You know her?" Arsila asked curiously.
"I don't know all the models in my company; there are too many. I just know that Catherine is a model recruited without a trainee period like the other models," Svarga said. "But I heard she's a former supermodel who used to walk the runways in New York a few years ago."
Arsila was slightly taken aback but didn't show it. "Wow, that means I'll be getting a lot of benefits later."
Svarga nodded. "But I've also heard that she's a divorcee...."
Arsila didn't comment.
"I don't know much, and I don't want to know much," said Svarga, his expression indifferent to everything.
"You're right," Arsila spoke. "I've heard rumors that she divorced her husband because she was caught cheating."
"Really?"
Arsila nodded. "I don't really care about her; it's just business gossip because she was once married to a businessman."
Svarga nodded. "Well, she's probably down on her luck and needs money now."
"That could be true. A cheating wife usually ends up poor after a divorce. You should be careful; you've got a snake in your company."
"Why's that?" Svarga asked, surprised.
"She could damage your company's reputation," Arsila replied confidently.