Chapter Three

“I thought you wouldn't come despite me saying that I won't take "no" for an answer .”Richard helped Judi take a seat .

"I already told you, right ? I don't like feeling indebted to anyone, not even my own father ! "Judi spiked the conversation .

"I love this wine but it's not as loving as finishing an unfinished subject .

So I'd go straight to the point and continue with what I started earlier .

My mum would usually say that ; a conversation that never ends should never be started .

Alright , we're done here with the quotes !

Hey ! Why are you looking at me that way ?"Judi asked, sipping some more wine .

“Hmph ! I can stare at you for an entire day however ,I love how tactical and mind-speaking you are .

You are a few of those ladies who can go against the world for your happiness .

It's a pleasure dining with you ,Judi Hopps !

Cheers !”Richard raised a toast .

"When I used to be a kid ,there were only two principles my dad raised me with ;

The first was being a fearless lady and the second was taking up the company one day onto my shoulders since I was his only heiress!

When I was young ,I could never play or hang around with my friends because each time I tried to ,a heap of books were mounted before me .

It always had to be me calculating all the Mathematics and reading all the historian books .

There were only papers surrounding me all the time ; papers and numbers and numbers and papers !

I was taught to calculate my every move like I was the ancient balm of Aristotle .

I used to ask him why he treated me like that and he'd say ,first ;

You need to be a fearless lady and the second ,take up the company onto your shoulders .

My mum couldn't go against him either because after all ,she loved him so much to disobey his rules .

I always wanted to study sculpting but he said that was for comedies .

Nothing serious would come out of it ; you need to study business management and cosmetology in order to be the creative director of Hopps Cosmetics !

He'd always play this track in my ears until one day ,I was fed up .

I left home because I was tired ! I was even tired of forcefully dating Martin Co just to get a company alliance .

I cancelled the wedding ,got my traveller's bag and headed right to France .

From France to Netherlands and from Netherlands to Beverly Glen .

Here I am enjoying what I have now ,this is who I am ,Richard Yap !

And at the club the last time ,he made sure to get his hands on my bank accounts so my credit cards couldn't get through .

However , I've always got a second plan .

I sold some of my sculptures at the best auction bids and earned some dollars .

Cheers ! "Judi lifted up her glass for a toast .

"Are you going to say something or you'd continue to stare at me like that ,Richie ?!

In case you don't know ,I don't like talking alone when we are a pair !

If you don't say something ,I swear to God , I'd leave now !

This is not a starry night !"Judi gritted her teeth .

“You are so unpredictable and I love ladies like that !

If you'd ask me to tell you something about me ,then I'd say that this is who I am .

I've always done what I wanted and taking over this company was also something I wanted to do .

Isn't it surprising ? Our lives turned out to be rather opposite in reality. ”Richard explained .

"Yeah !

Cheers to that !"Judi made the move .

"Although I know you are lying , continue , Richard , because at the end of it all ,I will win this game !''Judi thought and still raised her glass for a toast.

"Cheers!"She added with a smile .

“Care for a dance ?”Richard offered her a hand and she warmly accepted his request .

The atmosphere became calm as they both moved each step romantically on the dance floor to the soothing sounds of the music .

“So tell me ,why didn't you marry Martin Co ? ”Richard chipped in curiously .

"It's simple ,I didn't love him but of course ,he did !

You know ? Martin and I have been friends since childhood and I guess that gave our families the assumptions that we were meant for each other .

Honestly ,I don't like one-sided love ."Judi explained while her head rested on Richard's shoulders .

“So you hate one sided love ,huh ?”Richard whispered into her ears .

"Yeah , I do ! One sided love is bitch ! I say this because I always feel it in my guts and I know that one way or the other ,someone will get hurt from that .

The time Martin and I had was so short-lived almost like a kiss from the wind ;like all those of euphoria .

I feel as if we could have lived together till eternity just as friends rather than being something more .

It hurts to know that it ended so sadly ; our story !

Hmm! But what can I do ? I will let this one go too, like how I've let everything go since the day I left home ."Judi smirked once she fell into Richard's embrace .

"Only if you knew that Judi Hopps was just another fantasy , Richard Yap .

If my parents were not brutally murdered in cold-blood then , I'd have chosen to be an actress .

But look at how fate turned out ,here I am deploying all my acting skills ."Judi thought once again putting on a smirk across her elegant and bewitching face .

“You seem like you can be trusted, Judi but I feel as if there's more to you that I need to know than believe what I see now !

I can't just allow anyone in my life ; not just anyone because the light you see isn't real !

Even Richard Yap has a lot more to keep hidden than his good name ! ”Richard also thought , pulling Judi into his tight embrace .

Once they both broke free from each other's embrace ,their lips met in a passionate deep kiss .