Earlier on, Clarissa had gone up to the control room, and asked the person in charge if they could do her a little favor. She had lied that she and her fiancé were having issues and would want to resolve them.
She pleaded with them to focus the kiss camera on her seat, so she could make a little gesture to apologize to him.
The person in the control room was happy to help fighting couples make-up. He had gladly accepted to lend a helping hand.
''Don't worry ma'am. I know just what to do. I hope you and your fiancé can mend your relationship.''
Clarissa smiled and thanked him.
Back at the arena, Hank was so shocked and at the same time upset. He tried peeling off Clarissa's hands from his neck, but she was glued to him like a Koala.
He finally succeeded in pushing her away. His eyes were full of rage and guilt. He spoke with an angry tone. ''Clarissa! What the hell have you done?''
Clarissa, who was jubilating within, gave a pouting face and asked, ''But Hank, it was just a kiss cam, and nothing serious. Why are you so angry? That was just a prank kiss. It doesn't mean anything, does it?''
Hank turned and looked at Chelsy, who sat quiet and looked emotionless. Chelsy tried as much as possible not to show her disappointment. As calm as her face was, inside was a whole series of tornadoes and hurricanes bubbling within her.
Chelsy felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach.
Hank tried to hold Chelsy's hand as he spoke. Unexpectedly, she pulled her hand away and gave him a painful smile. She was trying so hard to hold in her tears. She needed to leave that place immediately, or else, she might make a fool of herself in front of everyone.
She turned to Lana who was sitting next to Daniel and said softly, ''Lana, thank you so much for inviting me. I have a sudden headache and would like to go home.''
As she spoke, she grabbed her bag and stood up to leave. Hank held her hand and said, ''Chelsy, let me take you home. Please can we talk about this?''
Chelsy shook her head and replied, ''No Hank. That wouldn't be necessary. You can't leave your friends. I can take myself home. Goodbye.''
She slowly pulled her hand away from Hank's and walked out of the stadium.
Hank sat there feeling as if there was a knot in his heart. He stood up and quickly chased after Chelsy.
Daniel, whose face was covered with rage, looked at Clarissa with eyes spitting rage. ''Clarissa, you shouldn't have done that. I know you have always been up to no good. Just pray nothing happens between Hank and Chelsy. Just pray she doesn't distance herself from him, because if she does, even your brother won't be able to save you from Hank's wrath.''
As he finished speaking, he held Lana's hand and said, ''Babe, I am sorry, but I will have to go check on Hank. I will come see you later.'' He spoke and stepped out of the arena.
Meanwhile, as Chelsy left the stadium, the tears she had been holding started falling down from her cheeks like a river. She took out her phone and called a taxi. As she was waiting for the taxi, Hank ran towards her and held her by the hand. ''Chelsy, it isn't what you think, okay? I didn't know she was going to do that. I was taken by surprise too.''
As he saw Chelsy's face filled with tears, he felt his heart had been pierced with a double-edged sword.
Chelsy cleaned her tears and spoke in between sobs. ''Hank, please just leave me alone. Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now. I just need some space.''
As she spoke, her taxi had arrived, and she got in and zoomed off.
Hank was about to chase the car, when Daniel held him back. ''H, please just let her be for now. I think she needs some space to think things through. She is upset right now and won't hear anything you have to say. Just give her some space, okay?''
Hank felt heartbroken to see his ladylove like this. He clenched his hands into a fist and cussed Clarissa under his breath. ''Damn you Clarissa.''
Back in the taxi, Chelsy could not help but cry profusely. It felt as if history was repeating itself all over again. Was she really doomed when it came to love?
Just when she thought she had finally found ''THE ONE,'' it all came crashing down like a rack of breakable plates crashing on the floor.
Chelsy continued crying and was lost in thought. She didn't even realize that the taxi had arrived at her apartment.
The driver cleared his throat and said, ''Excuse me ma'am, we are here.''
Chelsy jolted from her thoughts and said in a voice that depicted pain and sadness. ''Oh. I am sorry sir. Thank you.''
She took out twenty pounds from her purse and handed it to the driver.
Before she could step out, the driver calmly told her, ''Ma'am, I noticed that all through our trip here, you have been crying. Whatever it is that is making you cry, remember that tomorrow is another day, which comes with renewed hope. Have a blessed evening.''
Chelsy just nodded and said, ''Thank you.'' She turned and went into her apartment.
Chelsy had switched off her phone. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to bury herself in her pain, and try to figure out her true feelings.
Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. She knew it must be Hank. He was the last person she wanted to see or talk to.
She ignored the knock and didn't answer.
The person at the door kept knocking. Chelsy could not stand the noise and walked over to the door.
To her surprise, it wasn't Hank. Rather, it was Daniel. She stuttered and said, ''Mister Rivers?'' As she spoke, she stretched her neck and looked to see if someone else was standing behind him.
Daniel smiled and walked in without being invited. He spoke with his normal jovial voice and said, ''if it is Hank, you are looking to see, don't worry, he isn't here. I am here to talk to you Chelsy.''
He raised his head and saw how swollen her eyes were, and asked, ''Chelsy. Have you been crying?''
Chelsy was so embarrassed. She cleared her throat and replied, ''No sir. It's just that, soap got into my eyes when I was taking a shower this evening.''
Before she could continue, Daniel cut her short. ''Chelsy. Are we still doing this? I have told you so many times already. Stop with the Sir and mister thing. When we are at the office, you can call me that. But when we are out, please, just call me Daniel, okay?''
Chelsy just nodded and said, ''Okay, Daniel.''
Daniel had a small smile at the corner of his mouth. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said calmly. ''Chelsy, I know that what happened today at the arena should have you vexed. But trust me, Clarissa doesn't mean anything to Hank. Hank only sees her as a friend's younger sister and nothing more. I know she could be so annoying at times. But trust me, you are the one Hank wants and loves. He feels so bad right now, knowing you don't want to see nor talk to him.''
As Daniel spoke, Chelsy's eyes welled up with tears. She spoke with a shaky voice. ''Daniel, you know what? Clarissa is right. Hank and I don't belong in the same social class. Hank and I are from two different worlds. Being close to him comes with a lot of pressure.''
When Daniel heard this, he raised his eyebrows and asked with a stern expression. ''Chelsy, did Clarissa bully you? Did she ask you to stay away from Hank? I can't believe that little devil said that.''
When Chelsy realized that she had said too much, she counteracted Daniel. ''No, no Daniel. She didn't say anything. Please don't tell Hank any of these, okay?''
Daniel clenched his teeth. How could that little demon say all that to Chelsy? He thought to himself.
He took a deep breath and said, ''please Chelsy. Don't give up on Hank. He needs you. Anyway, it's been a long day. You need to rest. Please think about what I said.''
Chelsy just nodded. Daniel bid her goodbye and left.
Meanwhile, downstairs at Chelsy's apartment, Hank was waiting inside the car. When he saw Daniel coming, he couldn't wait to ask him what they had talked about.
Daniel got into the car and sat down. Hank, with a worried look on his face, asked impatiently. ''How is she? What did she say?''
Daniel, who looked disturbed as well, said softly, ''H, it doesn't look good. It shows she has been crying. Clarissa really got into her head. I think her emotions and feelings are wavering. You do have a lot of work to do in order to win her trust back. I think you should give her some space and time to process all of this.''
When Hank heard what Daniel had said, he felt as if there was a knot in his heart. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He spoke in a low voice that depicted pain. ''Asher, please take me home.''
A few days had passed, and Chelsy went back to the office. Things were not the same anymore. Chelsy bottled up all her pain inside, and poured out all her frustration and anguish into her work.
''Hey Chelsy. Are you okay? For the last few days, you have been working non-stop. You hardly go for lunch, and you don't even talk as much as you used to. Is everything okay with you?'' Erica asked with so much concern in her voice.
Chelsy raised her head and looked at Erica. ''Yes, Erica. I am fine. It's just that I need to finish all this work before the end of today. You know the summit is in less than two months and the head of department is on our necks.''
Erica nodded and said, ''girl, you are right. I think I should carry my butt and go do some work. Anyway, it's the weekend and the team will be going out for some shots tonight. You are coming with us. No debating on that.''
She turned and went to her desk.
As Chelsy turned back to her computer, her phone chimed, and it was a Watsapp message from Hank. She opened the message, and it read, ''Hello Chelsy. Hope you are doing okay. It's been almost a week and I haven't seen nor heard from you. Please, can we meet tomorrow? I know there is a strain on our relationship right now. But please, let's meet and talk about it. I have missed you so much.''
When Chelsy read the message, her heart leaped with joy. Yes she was angry at the situation they were facing, but she had missed him too.
She took a deep breath and replied to his message. ''Hi Hank. Where and at what time?'' Her message was straight and had no emotion in it.''
Hank quickly replied. ''Gus coffee shop. Ten am.''
Chelsy texted back. ''Okay. See you at ten tomorrow.''
When Hank saw this, he felt a gush of wind blow over him. He let out a sigh of relief.
As he sat down still staring at his phone, there was a knock on his door. ''Come in.'' He spoke without looking up.
''Hank.'' A gentle soft voice called out to him.
When he raised his head to see who it was, he scowled at the person in front of him and asked with an angry tone. ''Clarissa. What are you doing in my office?''
Clarissa moved closer and sat down in front of him. She was indeed an actress, because she was good at turning situations to her own benefit. She put on a sad expression and spoke with a voice which sounded like she was about to cry. ''Hank, I came to apologize for what I did last weekend. I understand that my actions have put quite a strain on your friendship with Miss Powers. I didn't mean to kiss you. It was just a prank with the kiss cam, and I thought everyone would just laugh and get over it. I am truly sorry. If it makes you happy, I can go over to Chelsy right now and beg her to forgive me. I will tell her it was not your fault. I will take full responsibility.''
As she spoke, tears started streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. Hank couldn't stand her crying like this in his office. ''He walked across the table and spoke gently this time around. ''It is okay Clarissa. You don't have to do that. I will be the one to fix things between Chelsy and myself. Don't get involved.''
When Hank said this, Clarissa stood up and wrapped her hands around Hanks' waist, and buried her face in his chest. ''Thank you, Hank. I couldn't stand watching you hate me.''
Hank was taken aback. He gently removed her hands from his waist and stepped aside. ''It is okay Clarissa. You can now go back to your office.''
Clarissa nodded, turned and left Hank's office.
She stood behind the door and muttered to herself with an evil smile plastered on her face. ''Hank, you will soon be mine, and mine alone.''
Back at Rivers Holdings, the day had come to an end. Chelsy and her colleagues left for a night out.
They went to a bar downtown and had a lot of booze and some music. Chelsy knew her alcohol tolerance was so low, and decided to go with a mocktail.
The rest of the team was already drunk, except for Chelsy. It was Chelsy's place to send them back home in a taxi.
As they stood up and were drunkenly walking to the door, they met Daniel and another friend of his.
Cleopatra was the one who spoke up first. She drunkenly said, ''oouuuu. Isn't this the most handsome CEO in all of London? How come you never spare a glance at me? I have liked you for three years now, but you seem not to even know that I exist. You know what, I will just have to spare you this time around because you are so cute.''
She gave a silly cackle with a snort as she laughed.
Chelsy couldn't help but apologize to Daniel.
''I am sorry, Mister Rivers. Don't listen to what she is saying. She is drunk, and I need to send all of them home.''
Daniel couldn't help but smile. ''I didn't know your whole team was so dramatic.''
Chelsy chuckled and said, ''We have to go now. Have a nice evening.''
They walked outside and Chelsy succeeded in putting Erica and Cleopatra in a taxi.
Ruben was left. She had already called another taxi, and it was on the way. Just as the taxi arrived, Chelsy held Ruben up and tried putting him inside. His hands were all wrapped around Chelsy's shoulders as he spoke, ''let's go back and drink some more guys. I don't want to go back home to my mom who keeps nagging me to get married.''
Chelsy felt as if she was going to pass out if she continued holding him up.
''Now, get inside Ruben. She pushed him inside the taxi and it zoomed off. ''Ouuff. I am never going out with them again. I feel like passing out.''
Unfortunately for Chelsy, Hank was returning from a business meeting, and saw Chelsy wrapped in Ruben's hands.
His face turned dark and cold as ice. The surrounding temperature must have dropped to a negative. His gaze was focused on Ruben, and he clenched his fist so tight that it cracked his phone's screen. He didn't realize his hand was bleeding from the cut coming from the shattered glass.
''How dare you!'' He mumbled with a cold voice. ''Asher, take me to Oasis.''
Asher just nodded and said, ''Yes boss.''
Oasis was a clubhouse where Hank, Daniel and Jeremy would go to when they wanted to drink and let out some steam.
Hank was a shareholder of Oasis, and thus, had a suite there.
He couldn't get the image of Chelsy and that man hugging her on the street. He ordered a whole bottle of vodka and abusively drank it.
Hank was so wasted that he didn't realize Clarissa had walked into his suite.
Earlier on, Clarissa and some of her friends had gone to Oasis to have some fun. She saw Hank walking into the club, and took the private elevator. She knew he was definitely going to his private suite.
Her brother had once told her that whenever Hank went there, he was probably stressed or angry over something, and would drink to stupor.
Clarissa smiled and thought to herself. Speak of luck. The universe is definitely working in my favor.
''Well girls, something has come up, and I need to leave. See you girls next time.''
She stood up and walked to the private elevator. Before she could walk in, a guard stopped her and said, ''Excuse me ma'am. But you are not allowed to go in.''
Clarissa cussed inside. ''Jeez. Where is this crazy guard coming from?'' She knew she could not bypass the security. So she decided to put on her acting cape.
''Listen to me. Mister Fitzwilliam is waiting for me. And if I should tell him that you stopped his woman from going inside, you know what would happen to you.''
The guard knew that being on Hank's bad side was not something he could afford. He gently nodded and opened the elevator.
Clarissa walked in with a triumphant smile on her face. ''Hank, tonight, you will be mine.'' She said to herself. As the elevator got to Hank's suite, Clarissa walked in and saw Hank lying on the couch all wasted. She smiled and walked towards him.
She bent down and ran her finger through his now disheveled hair.
Hank slowly opened his eyes. The woman he saw before him was Chelsy.
He slowly called out. ''My fairy. You came. I have missed you so much.''
He pulled Clarissa's head toward him, and kissed her softly and passionately. The alcohol had taken total control over him.
It was the next day, and Chelsy went to Gus coffee shop. She had waited for Hank for over two hours, but he never showed up. She dialed his number so many times, but he didn't pick up her call. Later on, his number was switched off.
Chelsy could not believe that Hank had stood her up. She was so angry that she stood up and went home.