Tables Have Turned

   Adrian released a long breath and took Carmen into a warm hug. 

  He was happy neither her or his father were hurt. He even realized that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have gotten out of the room and saved both his father and him. In these situations, people don't think straight. 

  "Thank you"he whispered in her ear as they broke the hug. 

  Carmen felt confused as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She didn't know it was because of her helping him and he decided to keep it hidden. 

  "Why are you thanking me?" she giggled nervously while fidgeting with her butterfly necklace. 

  Adrian noticed that and quickly knew she was nervous. He smirked then said "For coming here instantly and caring about us."

  Carmen shook her head negatively with her signature smile "There's no problem." She said it with so much causality that it made Adrian frown. "Anyways, I'm going to see your father"said Carmen before walking away. 

  Adrian was sure there was something bothering her but he didn't know what it could be. A moment later, he remembered his talk with her. He had insulted her before. 

  'Are you thinking that you will be Mrs. Romano? I thought you just wanted money for your brother but now you're dreaming for more.'

  He had called her a gold digger who is planning to marry his brother for his wealth and fame. Where did he even bring that idea from?

  Carmen made her way to Charles, feeling worried for him when she saw him shivering. She rushed over and sat by his side on one of the chairs scattered around. 

  "Mr. Romano, are you okay?" Asked Carmen. Ronald was there standing by his side with anxiety lacing his eyes. 

  As soon as Charles heard her voice, he spun his face towards her so quickly, she could've sworn that it would snap. She cringed at the idea. 

  "You! You're the fault of this. If you didn't come and dare insult me in my office, I would've left it a long time ago and not stayed there, fuming with anger. It's your fault that now I have a burnt arm!" Screamed Charles. People scattered around and started staring at them. 

  Adrian was looking with amusement as he felt both angry at his father and excited to see Carmen's reaction. When this man felt these emotions, it only meant one thing. He was having fun. Just like when people watch an action movie and wait for the next scene. 

  All the crowd was staring at the big business man shouting at a random lady. 

  Suddenly, it was like hell broke loose. Carmen couldn't take any more of Charles' insults and accusing so she cut him off with her own yelling. 

  "Charles stop! You are an educated old man with wealth and fame, at least have some dignity. Shouting at a woman you barely know in front of cameras and a giant crowd isn't something a mature man would do. First, I didn't insult you in your office, you insulted your own self. You even dared to slap me! Second, it's not my fault, don't put the blame on me! Since the few days I got to know you, you've been belittling me and I'm sick of it! I'm sure everyone behind the big screen is seeing you as a kind old man but what they don't know is that you're greedy, selfish and unkind. I'm sure you'd fire me if you want to. But sadly, the choice is for your son" Carmen glanced at him with an ironic smile. 

  She stepped forward and had to raise her head up to stare at him. 

  "I'm sure your son Adrian wouldn't fire me after what happened today, would he?"

  She turned her head around to Adrian, who was around 10 feet away. 

  She had a challenging look in her eyes, daring him to fire her. Deep down, she was debating whether he'd do it or be against his father. He should be mad at him after how he had shouted at him. 

  Adrian stared back at her, making her more nervous. She was staring to think that he would side with his father. 

  'Absolutely he would, I just insulted his father in front of so many people and TVs were sharing the scene in TV.'

  Adrian smiled at Carmen, shocking everyone including her. "Isn't it so hard to pick between your father and your girlfriend?"he asked, faking a helpless look and staring at the cameras innocently. 

  Carmen felt the breath being knocked out of her chest. Everyone had their jaws open, except Ronald, who was feeling jealousy eating him up. 

  He hated the idea of people thinking Carmen is his brother's girlfriend. If he can only show them how he had called her a gold digger a few hours ago. 

  People were shouting. Some girls were glaring at Carmen, some were happy for them and found them cute together and some were just shocked. 

  Reporters were asking one question after the other excitedly. Adrian stared back at Carmen, not noticing the few tears that were building up in her eyes. 

  'What! Adrian Romano has a girlfriend?' 'How long have you been together?' 'You're such a cute couple! Why'd you keep your relationship a secret from us!' 'When did you meet?' 'What's her name?'

  There were people who were even asking about the wedding date. Well, half of them said they'll surely break up a few weeks later. 

  Carmen stepped forward and looked at the cameras with a smile on her face. A fake one. 

  "I'm Carmen Anderson. We met a month ago and we've been together for two weeks now. Adrian has been wanting to inform you from the first day but I've told him that I want our relationship to be stronger so we could reveal the truth"she said with a classy chuckle. 

  Smiles on some people's faces faded and their faces turned from happy to pity. They looked at Carmen as she was a brave yet innocent lady. Super naive to think that her boyfriend wants to inform the world about their relationship because he loves her, not knowing he wanted to do that for the spotlight. He wanted to gain fans more than his brother. 

  Adrian's smirk turned to a straight line and his eyes were filled with rage. He glared at Carmen as she made her way to him and caught his hand lovingly. 

  The tables have turned! Who could've thought that Carmen would do such thing? 

  Ronald fought the urge to wink at her and whistle. Him and his father knew what plan she was using. But his father was definitely mad. He hated that this woman was ruining his family's reputation. 

  On the other hand, people seemed to forget about the fight that just occurred between the businessman and his son's girlfriend. They just wanted to get as much information as possible about the couple, especially her. 

  The loud whispers and chatters were shut down by a question of a female reporter. 

  "Mr. Romano, are you dating Miss Carmen because you truly love her or for the spotlight you and your brother have been seeming to fight over. I mean one month is such a short time for someone to be deeply in love, isn't it?"she didn't look mean, she just wanted to hear his answer. 

  Immediately, he smiled and leant over for the microphone in her hand. 

  "It didn't take me days or weeks for me to love Carmen. It was love at first sight. We bonded so quickly in this short time, it was strange yet such a cool time. I've never believed in soulmates but now I think I'm having some doubts"he winked at the camera, leaving people in awe at his sweet words. He looked in her eyes. She gulped down and stared back nervously. His words were too strong for her to handle. 

  'Relax woman! It's just an act, it's not real. Relax' she tried to calm herself by repeating this sentence in her head over and over. 

  He was such a sweet talker. He made everyone believe him in one minute. A lot of men and women were envying them for having such a romantic bond. 

  Both Charles and Romano were fuming in anger. Charles blamed his son's stupidity and was sure that Carmen was deceiving him with some gold digger's deceiving ways. While Ronald was seeing through Adrian's evil side. It wasn't only him though, there was another person having suspicions over Adrian. It was Karen, the reporter. 

  Karen sighed and looked around. She found Ronald glaring at his own brother. She gasped and quickly stepped away, as an attempt to hide from him. 

  She was praying he didn't see her. Ronald Romano was her frickin high school crush.