After having dinner, they went to the living room. Mildred, Tom, and Mrs. Yang were playing Monopoly.
"Anna, why don't you join us?" Mildred asked. "Do you know how to play this game?"
"I played once, but that was a long time ago, so I can't remember the rules," Anna said.
"Come and join us. Maybe you will remember."
"No, I… ugh!" Anna refused. "I'm going to observe first," she added.
"Alright then," she replied and continued playing Monopoly.
Janeth came from the dining room. A maid followed, holding a tray with a ceramic kettle and a cup.
"Have a drink," Janeth invited her.
"No, thanks," Anna refused.
"You sure? It's good for your body," the maid said as she served her.
Anna drank a little and put it aside. She didn't like the bitter taste. She wanted to throw up, but she swallowed it and smiled at Janeth.
She enjoyed watching them play Monopoly.
Anna stared at Tom. He seemed nice and sweet to Mildred. He offered her a cup of tea, but Mildred refused to drink.
Tom caught her gaze. Anna looked away and suddenly took another sip of her tea. She forgot that it was hot. She wanted to throw up, but she was ashamed, so she had no choice but to endure the heat and swallowed it anyway. Her face turned red, her eyes filled with tears, and her ears became red.
Janeth saw her reaction.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Anna nodded and bit her lip, wanting to shout and stick her tongue out, but she couldn't.
"I'm fine," she answered. "I didn't realize the tea was hot," she said.
Janeth wanted to laugh but held herself back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said.
"Beng," she called the maid. "Please give her a glass of water," she requested.
Beng went to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a glass of water.
"Thank you," Anna said with a smile. She drank the water to relieve the pain.
CHAIRMAN YANG'S POV
"She came… I thought she wasn't coming!" Marvin said.
"That's what I thought," Chairman Yang replied.
"So she made her choice," Marvin said.
"No, not yet. I know her," Chairman Yang said. "And I'm still looking forward to her answer. She's not easy—she's stubborn sometimes. She came because she had no choice."
"Pa, is there another way to fix that contract?" he asked.
Chairman Yang looked serious.
"Have you seen his reaction? He doesn't like her. If we pursue this contract, either your grandson or the company will lose. He came today, so don't lose that beam of light for both of you," he said desperately. "For God's sake, Papa, it's time to reconcile with him. Don't miss that chance."
Chairman Yang sighed.
"So are you going to tell him about the contract?" he asked.
"No, not yet."
"So when?"
"There's a time for that. Sooner or later, I will do it as soon as possible," he said. "And I'll stick to my plan, whatever happens."
"You might lose him forever."
"But this is the only way to save the company. First, he needs to marry Anna."
"That's not going to happen," Marvin said.
Both of them fell silent. After a few minutes, Chairman Yang and Marvin went to the living room.
"Anna, I think it's late. Do you have a class tomorrow?" he asked.
"No, Mr.—"
Chairman Yang cleared his throat.
"No, Lolo, but I still have something to do," she said.
"Okay. I will ask David to send you home."
"Anna, why don't you come with us? Tom and I are going home too," Mildred offered.
"Yes, dear. Why don't you send her?" Mrs. Yang said to Tom.
"Alright, no problem," Tom awkwardly answered. "If it's okay with Chairman Yang," he added.
"Of course it is," Marvin replied.
Tom looked at his father, but Chairman Yang didn't respond.
"Alright, let's go!" Tom invited them.
Anna said goodbye. Mildred hugged and kissed them, except Chairman Yang, who walked away.
Tom and Mildred sent Anna home.
"Ohhh, you live here?" Mildred said, shocked when they parked at the driveway.
Anna nodded. "Yes."
"Great," she said. "It's very convenient—walking distance to the mall and everything. Only rich people can afford a house like this in this area," Mildred continued.
Anna was speechless.
"Have a good night, Anna," Mildred added.
"Goodbye and thank you," Anna said.
Tom waved and drove off.
The guard greeted her and opened the gate. Anna walked inside the house. Everyone was asleep in their rooms. She checked each room, then went to hers. She turned on the light, went to the bathroom, washed up, and changed into pajamas.
She checked her phone. Her sister had missed calls and messages. She turned on her mobile data and searched again about Tom online. She stalked him on Instagram—he had thousands of followers and mostly posted about Mildred.
Anna felt something strange about Tom.
"It's impossible for him to like me," she said to herself. "Our marriage cannot happen, no matter what," she added. "Poor Anna… choose someone else, but not him."
She continued stalking him and saw all the love and sweetness between him and Mildred. "Their family seems open to her. Why does that silly old man want me to marry his grandson?" she muttered while scrolling.
She kept scrolling carefully so she wouldn't accidentally like anything. But she accidentally double-tapped a half-naked photo of him.
Anna suddenly sat up in panic. Then she tapped again and blocked him.
She sighed and threw her phone on the bed.
"Oh my goodness, what am I doing?" she murmured. "Hopefully he didn't notice that."
TOM'S POV
After sending Anna home, Tom parked his car and went to the elevator. His phone beeped.
Instagram notified him that someone liked his photo, but when he opened it, he couldn't see who it was. He turned off his phone and went to his room.
Mildred removed her clothes when Tom opened the door.
"Oh, sorry," he said.
Mildred smiled. "Wanna join me?" she invited while walking toward the bathtub.
Tom giggled and went to the kitchen to get water. He brought a bottle of wine and two glasses back to the bathroom. He placed them beside the bathtub, poured wine into a glass, and gave it to her. He kissed her forehead.
"Damn, lady, you're beautiful," he said, sitting beside the tub.
"You're pretty hot," she replied.
Tom laughed and kissed her nose and cheeks.
"I didn't hear about her."
"Who?" he stopped.
"Anna."