Still avoiding Duke

Thea arrived at her apartment and immediately threw herself on the bed.

Thea couldn't forget Thea's face that she had just seen. Duke was the perfect man. There was no flaw in him.

Thea's ignorant attitude suddenly disappeared. Thea felt inferior when compared to Duke's status level.

"Aaahhh... I shouldn't have thought about it. Stop it, Thea!" muttered Thea to herself.

Then Thea's cell phone rang. And she immediately picked it up because it was from Mr. Edward.

"Hello," Thea answered.

"Are you sick, Thea?" asked Edward.

"Just a little dizzy, sir," said Thea.

"I hope you can make it to the dinner tonight for the continuation of this event, you are an important part of the core committee, Thea, make an effort to come," said Edward.

"Yes, Sir," replied Thea who could not refuse Mr. Edward's order.

"Yes, I hope the charity event tonight also goes as smoothly as this event," Edward said.

"Yes, sir," Thea replied and closed her phone.

Thea had to remain professional. She didn't want this to interfere with her work.

Thea prepared herself to come to the dinner. Thea wore a black dress while still wearing a formal black blazer according to the dress code for the committee.

This time Thea wears her 10 cm high heels. Thea prepared to leave and waited for Alice's pickup.

An hour later, Alice arrived.

"You don't have a headache anymore, Thea?" asked Alice who was focused on driving.

"Hmm, I'm refreshed," replied Thea smiling.

"You're so beautiful, Thea. I hope we get a conglomerate match tonight," laughed Alice.

Thea only responded with a smile.

"Do you still not want to get married, Thea?" Alice asked.

"Hmm... I'm happy with my life the way it is," Thea replied.

"I can't be like you, I need the touch and hugs of a man, Thea. I want to be loved and to love. Aaahh... it's really beautiful and I'm aggressively looking for a new lover right now," Alice laughed softly.

Thea just shook her head and smiled.

Yes, there was no denying it, Thea also missed Duke's touch. She even felt almost crazy because of it.

Thea and Alice had arrived at the venue. This dinner was held at a rather luxurious resort.

So the guests were staying at the resort.

"Alice, can I ask you a favor?" Thea said before getting out of the car.

"Hmm, what is it, Thea? Of course I'll help you," Alice replied.

"Look, can you please not call my name during the dinner?" asked Thea.

Maya looked at her in surprise.

"Okay, no problem," Alice replied and she didn't ask why.

That was Thea's reason why she liked being friends with Alice. Alice was never too inquisitive about other people's business including hers.

Thea and Alice then entered the ballroom area which had been transformed into a luxurious dinner venue.

Thea and Alice were on duty together tonight. They were just supervising and would eat after the event was over.

But Thea had eaten before leaving earlier so that she could focus on her work.

Thea saw Duke's figure from afar. Duke had just entered the ballroom alone. He looked dashing and handsome in his luxurious suit.



Thea bit her lip and felt her chest skip a beat just from looking at him alone.

Thea exhaled her breath to stay relaxed. Thea deliberately stayed away from Duke's position to keep her sanity.

"Thea, I need your help, come with me," Ara said.

Then Thea followed Ara's steps behind her.

*

*

"Duke," said Diana, who had arrived first, greeted her son.

Duke kissed Diana on the forehead.

"Hmm, is mommy going straight home tomorrow?" asked Duke who then sat next to Diana.

"Yes, Mommy is going straight to New York. Daddy's family is there with other relatives," Diana replied.

"Duke, you take care of Daddy's business here, you don't mind right?" asked Dean.

"No, Dad, no problem," Duke replied casually.

Duke did take care of almost all of his father's companies because he was the only child.

Despite only inheriting his father's company, Duke was a competent man in this field. His business brain was brilliant, passed down from his father. And he utilized all the privileges he got from his father.

The dinner went well. But Thea kept her distance from Duke. She didn't want to reveal herself to him even though he wouldn't recognize her.

"I'm going to the toilet first," Diana told Duke.

"I'll keep you company, Mom," Duke said.

"No, Son, I can do it alone. It's a ladies' restroom after all," Diana replied.

"No, you can't go alone, Mom. Wait." Duke spotted a female committee member not far from where they were sitting.

"Miss," Duke called Alice.

Alice happily approached Duke.

"Yes, sir. How can I help you?" asked Alice kindly with her best smile.

"My mom needs to go to the toilet, can you accompany her?" asked Duke.

"Of course. Come, Madam," Alice said kindly to Diana.

"Thank you, Miss. I've inconvenienced you," Diana said smiling.

Alice escorted Diana to the restroom which was quite a distance from where she was sitting.

"Go ahead, ma'am. I'll wait outside," Alice said.

"Okay," Diana replied and entered the restroom.

Thea looked around for Alice, as Mr. Edward and Rob had been looking for her.

"Alice, where have you been? Mr. Edward is looking for you. Hurry up, I think this is very important," Thea said with a serious face.

"But I'm accompanying a guest to the restroom first, Thea. Or you can take my place because he'll be out in a minute. He's an important guest," Alice said quietly.

"Alright, hurry up and meet Mr. Edward or Rob," Thea said.

"Okay, thank you, Thea," Alice replied.

Soon after, Diana came out and didn't see Alice. But she did see Thea. And Thea knew that Diana was the guest Alice had dropped off earlier.

But Thea didn't know that Diana was the Duke's mother.

"Sorry, my friend has an important task, so I'm replacing her to accompany you," Thea said.

"I see, thank you, sorry to trouble you," Diana said with a friendly smile.

"By the way, can you help me fix my shirt at the back? It looks like a thread has been pulled and it's a little uncomfortable," Diana said.

"Of course, ma'am," Thea replied politely.

Then they both went back inside the restroom and Thea tried to help Diana with the problem.

"What's your name, darling?" Diana asked, breaking the ice.

"I'm Thea, Nyonga," Thea replied politely.

"Do you work at the university?" Diana asked again.

"Yes, I'm a lecturer," Thea replied.

"Wow... You must be very smart, you're still young but already a lecturer," Diana said in amazement.

"Thank you, ma'am. It's all thanks to scholarships from people like you. I'm glad that I can finally say thank you to you," Thea replied.

"Your parents must be very proud," Diana said.

"I'm an orphan, but please don't pity me because I'm very happy with my life now and it's all thanks to your scholarship," Thea replied smiling.

"I'm so happy to hear that. May you always be happy, dear. You are a beautiful woman," Diana said.

"It's done, ma'am," Thea said when she had finished with the problem on Diana's dress.

"Thank you," Diana replied.

Then they exited the restroom and headed back to Diana's seat.