The CEO's Painted Skin

Ella didn't move. She still wants to linger inside his office and watch him work. "Can I watch you working for at least fifteen minutes, please?" she begged using her most charming smile that can melt a heart of stone.

He released a deep sigh. "Okay, fine. Fifteen minutes only," said John.

John resumed his work while Ella was watching him closely, so totally infatuated with John.

Fifteen minutes later...

"You're fifteen minutes is up, Ella. Please, leave my office now," said John.

"Okay. Thank you for your time, John, and thank you for being patient with me. I will go now," she rose to her feet and about to walk towards the door...but she paused midway and looked at John.

"Can I invite you for a dinner?" asked Ella boldly.

"No. I don't think we should see each other again," said John.

Ella pouted her lips and pushed the door opened. "Bye John!" she said while blowing a kiss to him in a playful manner before she closes the door behind her.

John was left alone inside his office, shaking his head.

As he was studying and observing Ella's face earlier, the more he realized that she was the female version of himself. When he becomes infatuated and obsess with Catherine during the earlier times of their relationship, he also does many kinds of traps and stalking for Catherine. He forced himself on her many times. Ella was doing the same to him as well. If there's one person who can truly understand why Ella was behaving this way, it's him.

The best thing about his obsession with Catherine, she fell in love with him in the process. While he can't see himself falling in love with Ella in the near future, that is the main difference in their situation. He was just hoping that Ella will stop pestering him with her presence and find other men to waste her time with. In short, he was wishing Ella would meet the man that will truly appreciate her true self, he's just not the right man for her.

He only belongs to Catherine.

The door to his office opened, Romeo entered, his face filled with worry.

"Bro, I saw Ella exiting your room. So I hurried here to your room to know what happened. Did she does something to you again?" asked Romeo.

John laughed at the degree of concern and worry he saw on his buddy's face.

"Huh? What she's going to do that can put me in danger? She's not that dangerous though, she is just an obsessive person, consumed totally by her infatuation and desire to see me...," explained John.

Romeo's face was puzzled. "Are you not afraid that she will seduce you again? You didn't hate her for what had happened on that night in the swimming pool area?"

John sighed. "I no longer hate her. In fact, I understand her truly. All is fair when it comes to love and war. She just saw an opportunity and she just fights for what she wants, unfortunately, she wants me but I am already taken. All the things she did I also applied it to Catherine. You see Ella and I had the same mindset when it comes to our obsession and infatuation to the people we like very much. Some people would just keep silent and never do a thing to fight for their love and goals in life, but Ella and me, were both fighters, we will go the extra mile to obtain the things and people we love," explained John further.

"Huh? You mean to say...you are slowly falling in love with Ella? What will happen to Catherine then...?" asked Romeo, still deeply puzzled by the weird explanation John gives him.

"No. You're wrong. I love Catherine so much. While Ella is a deranged and obsessive admirer of mine. I have to get outside the box to truly understand Ella and myself even more. The farther I hide away and avoid her the more she will pursue me because she already has an obsessive attachment to me. She is the type of person that already used to getting all she wanted in life with no difficulties. The fact that she finally met a person that she can't control, it makes her more challenged and fired up. Before she can do real damage to herself and others, I will just stop running away and faced her head on, my terms, my way. Maybe this way, I can come up with a solution to stop her and help her in my little way," replied John.

"Bro, you don't hate her at all? Really---?" asked Romeo, still refusing to understand his friend.

"I used to, but I realized that she was just become too addicted to her obsession to get my attention in any possible ways and means that is why she had done that ultimate seduction to lure me into her side, and she almost succeeded. If I keep hating her, that would put all the blame on her. That would be easy, cleaning my hands and put all the blame to Ella. Let's put it this way, if it were a competition between Ella and me that night, and we were given rules, she will seduce me with all her weapons available to her disposal and I have to hold on to my sanity as long as I can so that I won't be tempted, yet, I still touched her even if I know it's wrong. That means game over! when the challenged ended, I lose and she won that night. I simply can't keep hating her and not feel responsible for my action as well. She did what she thinks is best that night and I simply lose to her advances because of my weakness, that what happens. If I didn't touch her and just walk away, the damaged won't be this worse, " John gives his long explanation to his buddy.

Romeo keeps shaking his head. "Bro, if you are planning to play a psychologist role to Ella, we'd better find a real psychologist to help her personally. Just avoid dealing with her obsession directly..."

"I understand what you are trying to say, Romeo. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," answered John.

"By the way, I already informed the guards not to let that woman enter this building ever again. This way, we can stop her obsession as early as possible," said Romeo.

"Okay, that's a good initiative, bro! Let's just hope she won't come back here anymore," but John had this feeling inside him that it's not the last time he will see Ella again.