Contents Of The Booklet Envelope

Amber got goosebumps and almost screamed in fear, but a hand covered her lips to keep her from screaming.

"Shush, it's me Livia," Livia said, putting Amber at ease and removing her hands from Amber's lips.

Amber glared at her and inquires, "What took you so long?"

"Shut up and do your job; I've been planning this for years, and you know what I'll do if it fails. Come back here when you're finished; I'll be waiting " Livia said.

She took Amber's hands into hers, and placed a key in Amber's palm.

Amber purses her lips and looks at the key and then the box. She turned around and ambles into Santiago's study, unlocks the door, and sneaks in, gradually closing the door behind her.

She opened the box and took out the contents: a booklet envelope with the words 'to Mrs. Lola Rodriguez' boldly written on it.

"What the hell is this?" Amber questioned herself, 'Why do I feel like I'm doing something...wrong?' She thought.

"It's none of my business; I just want my money and then I'm leaving this mansion and city," She muttered to herself as she placed the file on the table. She covered the box, turned and rushed out of the office .

The booklet envelope fell to the ground as she closed and locked the door.

Amber returned to Livia's room and discovered Livia waiting for her.

Livia stretched out her hands and Amber placed the key and the box in Livia's hands.

"Are you finished?" Livia asked. Amber answered in hushed tone, "yes."

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, you can go," Livia said with a satisfied smile. Amber nodded and went back to her room.

Livia returned to Santiago's room after placing the box back in her room.

***

The Following Day... At Dawn.

One of the maids in charge of cleaning Santiago's study walked into the room and began her morning cleaning routine.

"I need to get this done quickly," she grumbled to herself.

A paper fell to the ground while she was arranging the dishevelled table of files, she quickly walked to the front of the desk and bent down to pick it up. Her gaze was drawn to a red booklet envelope on the ground beside the desk leg as she prepared to stand. She picked it up and turned it to the front,

"Oh! it's a letter for madam," She said, pocketing the booklet envelope in the apron slung around her waist.

After a few minutes...

She was finally finished when Santiago came in; she left the desk and bowed, saying, "Good morning, Sir."

"Are you done?" He asked, nodding.

"Yes sir."

She nods and walks away.

'Now to give madam her letter,' she reasoned as she walked towards Lola's room. She was about to knock, but Lola opened the door, looking fully prepared for work.

She exits her room and looks at the maid, who bowed and greeted, "Good morning, madam."

Lola nodded and turned to walk away when the maid blocked her path, "I apologize for blocking, madam."

Lola looked at her and asked, "What is it?"

" I found your letter while cleaning Sir's study," She said as she pulled out the envelope and handed it to Lola.

Lola took it and raised an eyebrow as she stared at it, saying, "That's odd, I'm not expecting any letter."

The maid bowed and scurried off.

'I'll look at it when I get to work,' she thought as she puts it into her bag and walked to the dining room for breakfast.

***

She sat on one of the seats and watched the maid serve her food. Santiago arrived a few seconds later and took the seat opposite Lola. Livia arrived after and sat beside Santiago, saying, "Good morning Santi," with a radiant smile on her face.

Santiago smiled and replied, "Good morning Livia," before turning to look at Lola and saying, "Good morning Mrs Lola."

Lola just nodded and concentrated on her food. Santiago and Livia were also served and began to eat.

Lola shifted her gaze from her food to Livia and Santiago as they ate in silence. For the first time, they were silent.

'What is wrong today? No flirting,' Lola thought, but as she was about to turn away, her gaze was drawn to a bruise-like mark on Santiago's neck.

Santiago raised his head, and his and Lola's gazes met. Lola averted her gaze and looked at Livia, who also had bruises on her neck.

Livia noticed Lola was staring at her and asked, "Mrs Lola, what's the matter?"

Lola ignored her and returned her gaze to Santiago, glaring daggers at him. She quickly rose to her feet and stated calmly, "At least have some dignity, Santiago."

Santiago chuckled as if understanding what she meant. He rose to his feet, and approached her, asking, "What are you talking about?"

Lola cast another glance at the hickey, and Santiago finally understood what she meant.

He grimaced and groaned while covering his face with his hands. He then smirked and removed his hands from his face, saying, "what ? This is not your concern, just as what you do behind my back is not mine."

Lola nodded, her eyes pale, and said, "I really don't have anything to say to you Santiago, do whatever you want," and then she walked out.

Livia smiled brightly as she watched Lola walk out of the mansion.

Santiago raged and clenched his fist as he watched her walk away, thinking to himself, 'what the hell is that woman made of? Does she even feel bad in this situation? She clearly caught me, but she's not even mad.'

***

When Lola exited the mansion,

Laura chased after Lola, saying, "madam, madam, you forgot your lunch."

"I don't need it," Lola said coldly as she opened her car door.

"Madam, please don't starve yourself because of what happened," Laura said again as she handed her the lunchbox.

Lola cut her off with a slight scoff and said,

"Do you think I care about what just happened, haven't I told you before Laura stop worrying about me, I don't need the lunch because I have a tight schedule today."

Laura nodded and walked away slowly, while Lola got into her car and drove away.

'Madam is difficult to understand; does she want her marriage to fail?...' Laura wondered.

"Maybe I should stop worrying about madam," She said, looking at the lunchbox in her hand. 'But I can't just let her go without her lunch,' Laura thought with a furrowed brow as she pondered how to get the lunchbox to Lola.

"I'll ask Sir Henry to send it to her," she muttered as she walked away.

***

Lola sat at her desk and opened the booklet envelope, removing the paper inside. She opened the paper and her eyes widened as she did so.

She placed the papers on her desk, and read, 'Livia and Santiago's marriage certificate.'

It was written on the certificate that Livia and Santiago married on the same day as Lola and Santiago.

"But who sent this to me? And how did it end up in Santiago's study? Was it someone in the mansion?" mumbled Lola.

"Madam, Someone's here to see you," Marco said as he knocked on her office door.

She reinserted the certificate into the booklet envelope, then into her bag.

"Come in," she ordered.

Marco is walking ahead, with Luis close behind.

"What exactly is it, Mr Fernandez? I..." Lola's words were cut short when she laid eyes on Luis. He was dressed simply in a black shirt and black trousers, with dark sunglasses on. He smiled brightly at her, removed his glasses, and waved.

Lola furrowed her brows and wondered, 'Why is he here?'

"Madam Mr Borbón is here to see you," Marco announced.

"Thank you, Mr Fernandez," Luis said as he extended his hand to shake Marco's. Marco was taken aback and hesitant, but he eventually shook Luis' hand and bowed.

"You may leave, I would like to speak with your boss privately," Luis said to Marco. Marco looked at Lola and his eyes met her cold gaze, sending shivers down his spine.

"He's not going anywhere, Mr Borbón; it's you who's supposed to leave," she said.

Marco looked at both and wondered, 'What do I do? Should I listen to Madam or Mr Borbón? Madam is my boss, whereas Mr Borbón is not. If I want to keep my job, I should listen to Madam.'

"Are you thinking she'll fire you if you don't listen?" Luis asked, holding Marco's shoulder.

Marco looked at him with wide eyes, wondering, 'Did he read my mind?'

"Don't worry, if she fires you, I assure you that I will hire you as my secretary; the position is vacant anyway, so it's always open," Luis said.

'Actually I'm planning on replacing my current secretary. '

Lola's eyebrows twitched as she asked, "Are you trying to bribe my employee?"

"No way, I'm just saying, you know, just in case," Luis replied, raising an eyebrow.

"You can go now, Mr Fernandez; she wouldn't fire you, and if she does, you know the position of my secretary is open," Luis said with a smirk.

"Mr Fernandez, stay, and this is an order," Lola said.

'I'm in deep trouble, I don't know what to choose,' Marco said, blinking several times as he looked at the two.

Luis turned to Lola and said, "Why are you behaving this way toward your secretary? He is not an object; he is a human being with choices."

Marco looked at Luis, moved by what Luis had just said, 'yes madam, she doesn't treat me like a human being, she doesn't even care about my feelings'.

Luis put his hand on Marco's shoulder and asked,

"So, Mr Fernandez, what do you want to do?"

When Marco was about to respond, Lola shook her head and said, "Fine You may leave us Marco," turning her gaze away from both men.

'Did madam simply change her mind?...' Marco was thinking when he noticed Luis smiling at Lola. Marco chuckled inwardly and turned to walk away.

Lola's brows knitted as Luis began to laugh at her.

"Stop laughing and get right to the point. What brings you here?" She said this while staring at him.

He paused and looked at her for a moment before settling into one of the sofas, crossing his legs and saying, "When is your lunch break?, I'd like to have lunch date with you."