The CEO's Painted Skin

Damn! That hurts!

She took a deep breath and calmed her suffering nerves and ego.

"John and Ella were perfect for each other, right Ramon? They are both wealthy, they should belong to each other, am I right?" as she was saying those words, her heart was already bleeding.

Ramon sneaks a glance at the younger woman's face, she looks like she was going to cry, dammit! It's all his fault, he should not reveal too much about that woman. But he was just revealing Ella's name and status in life, those were just basic information. He never knew that it's already damaging Catherine's self-confidence.

"Cath, you only have to understand one thing, John has no relationship and no affection towards that woman. The only woman he ever loves is you. That Ella woman appears in his life once, but they never go out together on a date. What happened between them is just a flash in the pan, a one-time occurrence only and nothing follows after, period!" Ramon knows within himself that he was lying. If Catherine will discover that John was undergoing a three-round challenge inside a hotel's suite alone with that woman, he was sure she will go ballistic again! He retreated himself into silence mode.

Catherine sighed. "It's okay Ramon, you don't have to worry about my feelings. I'm going to marry John soon, and that is all that matters, isn't it?"

Ramon took a deep breath. "Yes. The wedding is the most important thing and nothing else matters," he responded feeling relieved. Whewww! He uttered to himself.

A heavy silence descended inside the car.

Catherine's mind was going haywire, her emotion was all over the place. After hearing some of the information regarding the identity of that woman, she was feeling afraid and insecure. She had seen that woman herself, she was beyond beautiful! That woman's wealth, her education and her status in society were beyond refuting. She can't help but compare herself to her. And she had to stop because the shameful and pathetic list about her life was piling up. In many aspects, she fails in comparison to Ella. And now she realized the reason why John was not able to stop himself from sinking his mouth into that woman's breast, Ella is damn irresistible! Could it be possible that John was only going to marry her because he got her pregnant? No, she doesn't want to entertain those negative thoughts, it will only become so painful and unbearable if she was just a charity case in his eyes.

She released a deep sigh and massages her tummy with her trembling hands trying to gather some strength from her son inside her tummy.

She was going to meet John soon. She must not let him see that she was hurting inside. She must appear happy beside him, she must continue the charade as long as she could. She will think of the wedding, think of her son's coming into this world. She must not dwell on stressful thoughts! The doctor's words, Agnes, Minerva, and Ramon's advice are invading her mind creating a positive chain reaction in her consciousnesses.

'Focus on the positive side!'

'Focus on the positive side!'

'Focus on the positive side!'

'Focus on the positive side!'

'Focus on the positive side!'

She played that mantra in her mind over and over again until it's the only thoughts she can think of as of the moment. She smiled and feeling confident again. She will go through all this with high spirits, coating her mind with positive thoughts instead of negativity. She will make sure to erase negative thoughts in her mind. She promised to herself that she will remain calm and in control of her volatile emotion if she will confront John regarding Ella, later.

Tonight, she wants to know everything...how John and that woman meet, how did that woman arrive on John's doorsteps and ended naked in his swimming pool. No matter how painful the truth is she will try hard to accept everything. Being John's wife there should be no more secret between them. Being his wife she must be able to face the ugly side of the man she was going to marry. One painful cheating must be the end of everything. She can't afford anymore cheating from him, if he does it again that would kill her inside.

For once she got to get the bottom of it and then forget everything afterward. Maybe after she will know what happened on that night she can finally achieve peace within herself.

For her son, she must remain strong! Come what may!

...

A few moments later...

The vehicle finally arrived into the parking lot of the Infinity Jade Tower building.

Ramon texted his Boss informing him that they already arrived. As they waited inside the car, Ramon glanced at the younger woman's face. He was worried because earlier she was looking miserable and was about to cry, he was afraid that this day will be put to ruin. John has been looking forward to this day and prepared everything!

But he was surprised and stunned because Catherine's face looks pleasant and she was smiling now as if she was excited to see John again. This is a big contrast to her gloomy expression earlier.

Catherine was aware of Ramon's stunned reaction. She grinned.

"What's wrong, Ramon? Why you look like you saw a ghost?" the smile never fades away from her eyes and face. He must be wondering why she was able to change her somber look into something sunny and cheerful in just a matter of minutes. Nowadays, she has no difficulty pretending, if she put her 100% effort into something even if it's very hard, she can transform herself into anything.

Ramon shook his head. "Nothing," he murmured to himself. It's good that Catherine was able to pull herself quickly and transform herself into a cheerful woman, instead of looking sad and pathetic. John might wonder why his girlfriend was exhibiting a gloomy look on this special day for no reason. He regretted talking about Ella with Catherine earlier, but too bad, it already happened, there's nothing he can do about it. He was just hoping that Catherine won't pester John about Ella, it might cause a world war 2 between them.