Chapter 17: Dilemma

(Catherine's POV)

I saw the lights turned on in our apartment when I arrived. 'Monique didn't go to the agency today? It's quite early'

As soon as I opened the door, I heard laughter echoing in the living room. I slowly closed the door and headed to where she was. There, I saw her watching a comedy film with a bowl of popcorn in her hands. "You didn't go to work today?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Nope, I resigned."

My brows furrowed when I heard her. I instantly sat near her and asked, "What do you mean you resigned? You left the agency?"

She turned off the TV and put down her popcorn. "*Sigh* Yeah, I asked my manager to sign a termination contract earlier this morning. I think it's already signed by now."

"Why? Your contract isn't over yet and there are liquidated damages to pay. Why did you leave the agency anyway? Are you changing careers?"

"It's not that I'm changing careers. You know how much I love modeling, but I don't think I can stay in the agency anymore. A lot of things have happened and I don't think I can endure it any further."

"Why, what happened? Is it about your manager?"

I held her hands, waiting for her reply. "Yes. Remember that incident I told you about before, the fashion week and Antoine's Show? I've been investigating her ever since the time you told me about your suspicions. And earlier this morning, I finally got the results. And you know what's worse, she wanted me to endorse an underwear brand with me being naked in the photos!"

Anger shot straight up when I heard it. "What?! Naked! Is she insane?! Please tell me you didn't sign that contract!"

"Of course not! I'm not stupid, you know. No matter how much I wanted to succeed in this career, I would never compromise my dignity!"

I nodded in relief at hearing it. But, I'm still mad about it. Her manager really crossed the line this time. "So, what happened next?"

She laid back on the couch and closed her eyes for a moment. "Well, I threw her the investigation reports I got, including the termination contract I had prepared. After that, I left the office. I'm just waiting for her call now about the contract."

"You mentioned the result of the report. What really is happening to your manager? Why did she do that?"

She showed me her phone where a picture of Clarisse was shown. Confusion flashed in my eyes. "What do you mean by this?"

"Scroll the next photo." So, I scrolled next and saw the photo of her manager when she was younger. My eyes widened when a ridiculous idea hit me.

I looked at Monique and saw her smiling triumphantly. "They look the same, right? Well, Clarisse is Ms. Chua's child when she was young. According to the report here, Ms. Chua worked in a bar when she was around 18 years old. She got pregnant while working there, so you know what her line of work is, based on that. An opportunity was given to her. That's why she's currently working as a manager, but for her reputation to be maintained, she hid her child and gave her a completely different name."

"So, what is it with you? It's normal for a mother to help her child succeed but why was she targeting you?" 'That doesn't make any sense at all. There's no need for Ms. Chua to suppress Monique just to make her child shine.'

"I also got confused about that so I asked Jasmine to have a background check on Clarisse and that's where I got the answer. When she was 15, she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, which makes her have hallucinations and whatnots. She started modeling when the doctor finally confirmed that she was getting better, but recently, she's having recent attacks."

"That doesn't make sense at all. Why you, of all people?"

"She's having illusions that she was me. Her mental illness is causing her to think that she was me. That's why all my projects were given to her by my manager so that she will not have any attacks."

"What?! That's the stupidest thing I know! But why did she have hallucinations? As far as I know, you will have those hallucinations if you have certain or special encounters with that person."

"I'm not sure what's really going on. I only encountered her once. During the annual ball of the agency, I lend her my dress because hers got ruined. After that, we didn't see each other again."

I contemplated her situation. A person with schizophrenia develops hallucinations and is highly suspicious of things around them. Wait, suspicions. "Monique, what happened to her before you helped her with the dress?"

She looked at me confused but answered nevertheless, "I'm not sure but I heard from other people that she was an outcast in the agency. She doesn't like to talk to other people. That's why they are quite scared of her. Why?"

"That's it! Because of her illness, she's highly suspicious of all the things around her. Even a small act of kindness can cause a negative impact on her. I think because of what you did to her, causing a strange impact on her mentality that made her delusional. Since you're the very first person who showed her kindness, this caused her to idolize you. But in a negative way, because it leads her to think that she was you."

Her eyes widened and her mouth gasped in shock. But since I'm not a psychologist, my diagnosis might not be accurate. Those were just my intuitions. "I'm not a psychologist myself, so I'm not sure if that was correct. But based on what you have told me, that's the most possible explanation."

(Alexander's POV)

"How was being the shareholder in Angel's Collection going? Did Ms. Yang find it strange? I heard she's their brand ambassador", I asked when Michael entered the office.

"Of course not. Well, she found it confusing at first when we saw each other on the anniversary, but after that, nothing changed. I'm also not that stupid to do anything. By the way, what's your plan for Angel's Collection?"

"The President of Angel's Collection owns specific land in City A. I was planning to buy that from him but that old man didn't budge one bit. So, I'm using a different tactic to get it."

"Woah. So you mean, you're planning to infiltrate inside? Why don't you just use force to get it?"

"You think I didn't do that? Why do you think I asked you to be their shareholder and not me, myself?"

"Why?" His eyes showed complete confusion.

"Michael, think. What would you do if someone forced you to do something you don't want?"

After a couple of seconds of thinking, he finally got the answer. While nodding his head, he said, "So, President Locsin doesn't want to have a meeting with you because you used force to get him signed. Since Mr. Locsin didn't know I was your friend, he accepted me as their new shareholder. This gives you the advantage of infiltrating inside and finding his weakness so that he will sign the agreement."

He profusely lamented, as if he had just answered a very hard riddle. "Enough with that, I didn't call you because of that. That agreement can wait anyway. When are you planning to get Ms. Yang signed up for the company?"

"Xander, I'm confused about one thing. Why do we need to sign Ms.Yang? It's not that I'm against it, I'm actually really happy about it. But, why? I don't get it," Michael asked, as we sat in my office in the Lu Corporation.

"She's Catherine's friend. Besides, she's a talent and it's a waste to let it pass. It's also her who helped Catherine for the past three years, so I'm just returning the favor. We can give her the best treatment and best opportunities if she's signed with us. It's a win-win situation."

He smirked and leaned back lazily. "So, it's really her, huh? Ms. Catherine is really your little Ms. Saviour."

I threw the report on the table and he immediately read the contents written. "Catherine Su was a medical surgeon in City A before she moved here. She had a younger sister who died and was accused of murdering her. Her parents didn't pursue the case, so she was only sanctioned with losing her medical license."

Michael looked at me and placed the file on the desk. "Her past is one heck of a ride. I can't believe she experienced this. So, is it true then? The murder case? I don't think she can do that to her sister. She doesn't look like someone who could kill a person."

"According to the report, all evidence points to her as a suspect. There's a high possibility that she would be sentenced to jail if her parents pursued the case. She became the public's enemy when the news broke out. Luckily, Ms. Yang helped her. So, she was able to continue a new life here in Capital City."

"Life must have been hard on her. So do you believe it? Like the evidence pointed out in the report?"

Closing my eyes, her gentle voice flashed in my mind. "No, it was so unlike her to do that."

Secretary Lin entered and served the tea at the desk. He then left right after. Michael took his cup and slowly took a sip. "Now, what's your plan? You finally found her after three years."

"No matter what happens in the past, I won't change my mind. I have already set my eyes on her, so she will only be mine. It took me three years to find her, so I won't waste any more time."

"Okay. As your best friend, I'll do my best to sign Ms. Yang within this month. I heard she had already left her current agency, so it's not that hard to get her signed." He stood up and left the office.

I looked at her picture on my phone. It's the picture the detective took when she was doing her class. I saved it as my phone's wallpaper.

'I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you experienced such a hard time. I swear, I'll do my best to make you happy and will make them pay for all the things they have done to you. This is only the start.'