The Devil's Good Girl
Chapter 196: Better than expected... or not?

Chapter 196: Better than expected... or not?

As the night continued, everyone had enough drinks. Many of them still watched their alcohol intake as they still have work tomorrow. But Elise was so happy she ended up drinking more than she should have.

"Fil... Marcus... I’m so happy..." Elise slurred as her head started spinning, unaware that she was already being carried out of the establishment by Marcus.

Walking with them were Fil and Kenzo, Fil chuckling as Elise kept calling her name.

"Goodness. This girl." Kenzo shook his head, clicking his tongue continuously. "Fil, expect her coming in late tomorrow."

"I’ll prepare her hangover soup once she comes," Fil humored, stopping in front of Marcus’s car.

Marcus carried Elise to the back seat while Fil watched. Just looking at him, he seemed to care, as he had been taking care of Elise. After all, when Elise finally passed out inside, she almost hit her head on the table. Thanks to Marcus’s fast reflexes, he caught her forehead in time and put her down gently.

After Marcus made sure Elise was comfortable in the backseat, he closed the door and faced the two.

"Well." Kenzo cleared his throat, assessing Marcus from head to toe. "Take her home safely."

"You don’t have to tell me." Marcus smiled, nodding. "She’ll be safe."

Kenzo studied Marcus before he rocked his head. "Good, then." He then turned to Fil.

"Let’s go? I’ll drive you home."

"Sure." Fil offered him a smile before the two of them cast Marcus a look. "Take care on your way home."

Marcus just nodded, leaning his back against the side of the car. Watching the two of them walk together, he crossed his arms underneath his chest.

"Filomena," he called, his tone cold and intimidating unlike earlier during the dinner.

Hearing his change of tone, Fil and Kenzo instantly knew their hope had gone down the drain. Both of them hoped Marcus was being sincere and serious to Elise. They convinced themselves to believe what they saw. Thinking like that was easier because they knew if they thought otherwise, Elise was in for a big heartache.

Fil took a deep breath and looked back at Marcus.

"Don’t we have something to discuss?" Marcus tilted his head to the side, his bright smile being replaced with coldness. "Perhaps, closure?"

Kenzo frowned. "Marcus, is this what this is all about? Are you just using Elise to get to Fil?"

"Elise is cute and I hate to hurt her." Marcus shook his head. "It’s just that since she came clean about the two of us, I don’t want to make things awkward. After all, Fil and I went out. I don’t want our momentary flame to ruin what I have now."

Kenzo balled his hands into a tight fist. Who would buy that bullshit?

"So?" Marcus raised his brows to Fil. "Do you really want me to take her back to her place... all alone?"

"Fil." Kenzo looked at Fil’s side profile. Although the latter kept her composure, Kenzo knew this wasn’t just about having closure. However, Fil nodded after a few seconds.

"I’ll go with them, Ken," Fil said with a smile. "Take care on your way home."

"Fil."

"It’s okay." Fil nodded at him reassuringly. "Marcus and I will just talk. He won’t hurt me."

"That’s not what I’m saying."

Fil held his arm and squeezed it. "It’s okay. I got it."

With that being said, she released his arm and sauntered toward Marcus. She simply cast Marcus a look before hitching inside the front passenger seat. Marcus, on the other hand, smirked in satisfaction. He cast Kenzo a look before peeling his back from the car, strutting his way to the driver’s seat.

Watching the car speed away, Kenzo balled his hands into a tight fist. His jaw tightened, a little helpless at this point.

*

*

*

Silence filled the inbound breeze of the car as neither Fil nor Marcus spoke. They were supposed to discuss matters between them, but they weren’t. For a moment, all they could do was listen to Elise’s short murmurings of their names.

Fil slowly looked at the window, sighing. ’I should’ve known he was quiet for a reason. He didn’t have to ask Anne about me because he got Elise.’ — she should’ve seen that coming.

After all, Fil asked Marianne not to talk about her and Marianne honored it. However, she didn’t tell Kenzo or anyone in the office the same thing. She didn’t even have the time to bid them a proper farewell. But then again, she didn’t expect Marcus to approach Elise. It slipped her mind that she took Elise to that party and introduced her to Vincent’s circle of friends.

"I missed you."

Fil flinched when Marcus’s soft yet low voice slashed through the silence. She slowly turned her head to the driver’s seat, only to see him focus on the road.

"You left without saying a word," he added somberly. "I was hurt."

"Marcus."

"I thought we had a connection, Fil," he continued, his jaw tightening. "And I kept thinking — wondering, what did I do wrong? Where did I make a mistake? And why did you leave me hanging?"

Fil pursed her lips into a thin line, catching the pain in the corner of his eyes. "I’m sorry, Marcus."

"What we had... it was all wrong," she said. "Vincent is your friend, and we just broke up. I didn’t want to use you to forget another."

Another sigh escaped her nostrils, lips closed. Although there was some truth in what she said, it wasn’t what it sounded. Even so, it would be better if she could end this matter between them peacefully. It might be a farfetched dream, but she still had to try. After all, she didn’t want to scheme anymore and planned to move on with her life. She didn’t want to get dragged into an exhausting battle of manipulation again.

"I did what I did for myself, Marcus," she expressed quietly but sincerely. "And I would do it again because that is the right thing to do."

"Is that so?" Marcus cast her a sidelong glance. "If that is the reason, then I’m happy for you."

Her brows rose, a little surprised at his response. "You understood?"

"I told you," he said, setting his eyes on the road again. "I just want to talk to you."

"Oh." — what a surprise.

Fil studied his side profile quietly, lips pressed together. Marcus kept his focus on the road. The light on the highway would once in a while shine on his face. It was hard to tell what he was thinking right now, but he seemed calm enough to put her heart at ease.

’Maybe, he did like Elise,’ she thought, smiling subtly. ’I do hope he meant that. I’ve never seen Elise that happy, after all.’

If Marcus moved on and simply wanted closure, then that would be great. Fil wanted to believe her fleeting affair with Marcus was something he would eventually forget. With that thought in mind, Fil smiled in relief as they drove to Elise’s place.

"Marcus, can we drop by the supermarket?" she asked with a smile. "I want to prepare her some hangover soup, so she can ease her hangover when she woke up."

Marcus glanced at her and nodded with a subtle smile. "Sure."

Fil smiled back at him. Earlier, she was scared of what Marcus was up to for seeing Elise. But now, somehow, she was a little at ease. She didn’t expect this ride to be calm; she expected worse, but it played out better than expected.

She deeply hoped Marcus liked Elise. If that was the case, she wouldn’t get in between them. If he was true to Elise and made Elise happy, then Fil would turn a blind eye to Marcus’s past.

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