7. A demand.

"How about it, Amanda? Would you allow me to buy your car?" Jeff was still curious and kept pressing Amanda, and he came back to her after his work was done.

Amanda was silent as she looked down, exhaling as she glanced at the car beside her. It was still a handy vehicle, but Amanda's family's economic hardship was getting increasingly urgent, so giving up something when she had earned it with her sweat—would be pretty tricky.

"How?" Jeff asked again.

Amanda looked at him. "I'll think about it some more, Jeff. Maybe tomorrow I'll give you a decision. Now I have to go home."

"Alright, I'm waiting for your answer."

The woman nodded, and she quickly disappeared behind the car door. She had time to wave before driving the car from the office basement.

***

Oriaga had just arrived home after visiting one of the 'Gregorious' boutiques in the corner of the city to check on the progress of the launch of several new dresses since last month. He always wanted to be the first to see the progress of his business.

As the man walked through the main door and took off his gray suit, a servant stood by the entrance to greet Oriaga's suit.

"Where's my grandmother?" the man asked, loosening his tie before handing it to the servant.

"Madame Gloria is in the back garden, sir."

"Well, please make some honey tea and take it to my room."

"Yes, sir."

Oriaga made his way to the backyard of his mansion, and he managed to find Grandma Gloria as the older woman was busy pruning the useless little branches that could harm the growth of other plants with a servant.

Oriaga had no intention of meeting the woman but stood at the window watching her.

Although Gloria Thompson was not Oriaga's biological grandmother, her affection was hard to doubt, as the woman aged alongside Oriaga, who grew up and became a hard worker on her way to the pinnacle of success.

Having had enough of watching his grandmother, Oriaga stepped into his room and took off all the buttons of his shirt, and he was shirtless just as a servant knocked on his door.

"Come in by walking backward; don't look back," the man said as he folded his arms across his chest, standing at the side of the bed.

Like his request, the maid walked in backward, holding a tray with a glass of warm honey tea.

"Just put it on the table, then leave immediately."

"Yes, sir." Without any difficulty, the servant could do so. Anyone working in this house was used to following Oriaga's strange orders, including walking backward as before, because Oriaga did not want any human to see his body when unclothed.

Honey tea was a comforting drink when his mind and body felt tired, and he had been consuming the warm beverage since he lived in the orphanage and continued into adulthood.

"My grandson is home?"

Oriaga almost spit out his drink when he heard Grandma Gloria's voice.

"She showed up like the wind."

Without knocking, Grandma Gloria found Oriaga standing by the table with a cup of tea.

"Are you getting ready to take a bath?" she asked.

"Yes, after finishing my honey tea."

"You're avoiding me on purpose, huh?" The woman walked over and squinted.

"Wh-what does that mean? I've never avoided Grandmother."

"Really? When you returned from Paris, I hadn't even seen the tip of your hair, but you left again as if taking care of the whole world."

"Because I do have a lot of work, Grandmother. When I came home, you were in the den with the door locked inside, and I didn't want to disturb you."

"That's it?"

Oriaga nodded. "What do you want? Now that we've met." He took another sip of his honey tea.

"Joana must have read my message. Did you do that?"

"Message?" Oriaga thought for a moment. "I didn't buy anything for you. Am I right?"

"No, you didn't. Not that message, but the one I sent at night."

Oriaga shook his head.

"What does that mean?"

"I can't follow your wishes yet. If Grandmother has other orders, I can do so."

"Then, when?"

The man shrugged his shoulders with an expression of indifference, and he regarded the request for a life partner as something unimportant.

"Do you want to just live with me like this?"

"I can grant it. That's very easy."

"Oriaga. What if I died tomorrow? What would you think?"

"The situation becomes very dramatic. If I find out, I'll tell you right away, Grandmother. Don't talk about anything about death, and I don't want to lose anyone again."

"A mature man having a life partner is nothing disgusting, Oriaga. So, hurry up, and I want to take her to read the old books in this house."

"Doesn't Grandma know that love can bring scandals, and I don't want to have scandals with anyone. Then, every camera will come to me, they do interviews and spread everything good or bad, it's annoying."

"There wouldn't be a scandal if you started the relationship with good feelings, Oriaga. Anyone has the right to keep their relationship private anyway, and it's not that hard."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll try. Let's end the discussion about life partners. We can talk about my work today. I—"

"I'm not interested in hearing about it. Go take a shower and put on your clothes." Grandma Gloria didn't hesitate to cut off her granddaughter's words and left the room without closing the door.

Oriaga could only gulp and grumble in response to his grandmother's attitude, and the woman had the right to ignore Oriaga at any time.

He stared at the large picture frame on the wall adjacent to the door, a photo of Oriaga cutting the ribbon at the inauguration of the first 'Gregorious' boutique a few years ago.

"If I had a partner, surely people would be more eager to discuss or find out about my romantic life than the business that made my name. It isn't enjoyable, and I'm not willing to be the second choice. They should put me first."

Not having a partner does not mean that Oriaga is unattractive to the opposite sex; he realizes that some women try to get close to him but never go any further because he is very good at ignoring people, so they will feel ignored enough and move away without being forced.

"Besides, it would be difficult to identify their true feelings, whether they really like me using their feelings or are simply attracted by my money and popularity." Oriaga grinned. "There are too many charlatans and manipulative people in the world, and I don't want to ruin a great thing made possible by my sweat and effort." He remembered the paparazzi who managed to get a picture of him last night.

"One can do everything possible to get attention even if irregularities run behind them."

Oriaga found it strange that the paparazzi were there since the security system at the hotel was either one of the best in Paris or someone had planned it from the beginning; everything was easy to do without flaws and succeed.

Oriaga realized a time bomb was being set up, and he just needed to wait for someone to upload it.

***