Under the Spotlight : The Obsession

"Boss, aren't you picking fruit with Mia and Victor?"

Enzo, who was originally watching his cousin from the window of his office, turned his head when Lily entered his office with a cup and teapot on a tray that she was holding with both hands. Seeing Lily, Enzo casually shook his head to answer the woman's question before he finally sat down on his soft and comfortable office chair with a long sigh.

"I can't accompany them, Lily. I don't want to be a nuisance on their first date," Enzo informed her. Enzo smoothly lifted the glass of tea that Lily had just finished serving. The man seriously enjoyed the distinctive aroma of tea that came from the type of tea that Lily had just made.

Enzo slowly drank the tea, a small smile appearing on his lips as he was once again satisfied with the taste of the tea that was grown on one of the farms that he owned.

After taking one sip, Enzo returned his cup and let out a long sigh as he remembered Mia again. His back leaned back casually on the bench as his eyes stared at Lily.

"Besides, I have to learn to let go of my time with Mia from now on. She's not mine anymore. Ah, from the start, I shouldn't have considered Mia as mine, right? In the end, each of us had to separate to go our ways. I have to be ready to be alone if I love someone who can never love me back."

Enzo returned to drinking his tea quietly as Lily put on a sad face for Enzo. The atmosphere around them was silent for a while before Lily suddenly dared herself to speak again in a low voice.

"You won't be alone forever. I'm sure there's someone who secretly loves you."

Enzo smiled sincerely, hearing Lily's words. "Really?" he asked while looking at Lily. Lily was embarrassed to receive that kind of gaze from Enzo. But she still tried to nod while her eyes tried to look at Enzo as confidently as she could.

"Of course, Boss. I mean, aren't you always in the top three most admired men in business or fashion magazines? No woman doesn't like you. And among them, there must be a woman who truly loves you, Boss."

This time Enzo chuckled, causing Lily's cheeks to turn even redder with embarrassment and awkwardness.

"B, boss..."

"Sit down with me, Lily. It's been a long time since we talked together, right? Each of us is busy with our work. I miss hearing your stories about many things."

Lily was a little nervous when Enzo started reminiscing about their past. When she first started working for Enzo's family, she was still very young, so Enzo preferred to treat her like a little sister and pamper her together with Mia. In his spare time, when Enzo didn't need to supervise Mia, he would accompany Lily to relax while listening to Lily's daily life.

But all that was in the past. Lily was now aware of her position and duties. Lily felt she would never be able to do that again in the future.

But faced with Enzo's gentle eyes... Lily had no choice but to sit facing Enzo, who was filling the new teacup on her table.

"So..."

Enzo put away the teacup he had served in front of Lily. His lips showed a mischievous smile before his hand rose to support his chin.

"Do you have any idea who could love me sincerely, Lily?"

Enzo's magnetic voice seemed to tickle Lily's ears. Enzo, with his relaxed style, was Lily's weakness. Lily raised the glass that Enzo offered her to ease the nervousness that was starting to grow in her heart.

Lily knew that her previous words only confirmed that she had liked Enzo long before this. Her mouth suddenly couldn't be stopped when she saw Enzo no longer had confidence. Lily unconsciously expressed what she felt earlier. And the woman began to regret it when she saw that Enzo clearly understood the meaning of Lily's previous words.

Seeing Lily's nervous expression, Enzo secretly smiled. Since long ago, Enzo had always thought that Lily lovely woman. She was smart but sometimes could be silly like her cousin, Mia. They have lived together since they were young. So throughout his life, Enzo could only think of Lily as a younger sibling that he had to protect.

However, when Enzo finally felt how difficult it was for him to hold himself back when he loved someone who didn't love him back, Enzo finally knew that he had been unfair to the woman in front of him.

Enzo knew that Lily had always secretly liked him since they started growing up. But even though he was aware of that fact, Enzo always acted as if he never knew and slowly distanced himself from the woman. Enzo cruelly placed Lily, who was already busy with her IT duties, as Mia's manager. The job made their relationship even more distant. However, on several occasions, Lily still always had a way of approaching Enzo just to look at him with a look of admiration.

It was when Mia was with Victor that Enzo's relationship with Lily finally improved. Enzo began to let Lily see his weak side again. They started to be together more often. And now, Lily has even replaced her sister Rose to help Enzo when he is in the main house while Rose remains in the city to manage Enzo's apartment building.

Slowly but surely, Enzo no longer considers Lily's love as a bad thing. Enzo doesn't know whether his comfortable feelings now are just an escape from his love for Mia or not. But one thing he was sure of, he smiled sincerely when he was with Lily.

His happiness appeared because he saw Lily as the woman herself. It was not his relationship with Mia that made Enzo close to Lily again, but the woman's efforts that repaired their previously broken relationship.

"You look uncomfortable facing me like this, Lily. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like this when we haven't relaxed like this for a long time. I have to go out soon to check the goods in our warehouse, right? I'll go now. You better get ready too, because we're going out together."

"Boss, I..."

Lily's words were lost as Enzo stroked her hair gently. The man smiled, then slowly got up before his feet stepped out of his study.

"Thank you, Lily. For staying by my side until now."

When Enzo had completely exited his study, Lily's smile finally disappeared. The woman's face began to change into frustration as Lily already guessed the end of their relationship.

Lily wondered if Enzo could still say the same sentence if she did something unforgivable in the future.

***

"Victor! Look, I got the biggest fruit!"

Victor smiled thinly as Mia proudly showed the biggest red apple she could pick with her hands. The girl's white cheeks blushed slightly, and Mia looked very happy as she ran to approach her lover. Victor generously stroked Mia's head as the girl looked at him with a gaze waiting for Victor's praise. His soft smile turned into a mischievous smile as his head lowered to bite one of the apple pieces that Mia was holding with both hands.

"Mn, it tastes good."

Mia did not have time to give any reaction when Victor smoothly took one bite and praised after he ate the fruit. When Mia finally realized Victor's actions, her eyebrows knitted together. Victor thought the girl would be angry because of his actions, but Mia's reaction was far from what she expected.

Mia touched Victor's cheek with one of her hands when she switched to holding the apple with only one of her hands. The girl had difficulty reaching his face because of Victor's height. Mia had to lean forward slightly and stand on tiptoe to touch Victor's cheek so that the distance between them shortened until Mia's face looked very close to Victor's face.

"Why did you eat it right away? Enzo said it's not good to eat fruit that we just picked from the garden. This fruit should be washed first. Are you okay?"

Victor's smile grew when, instead of getting angry, Mia turned to worry about him. Mia's eyes looked so beautiful when the girl stared at his face. Victor couldn't hold it in anymore. His face moved to get closer to Mia's face as his lips stole a quick kiss on the girl's forehead.

"I'm sorry. Your fruit looked so delicious that I couldn't help myself from tasting it right away."

Seeing that Mia didn't seem satisfied with what he said, Victor immediately changed his method to persuade Mia, who still looked a little worried about him.

"I'm fine, Mia. The gardeners have told me they don't use harmful materials to grow the fruits here. But if you're still worried about me, I won't do it anymore."

The wrinkles on Mia's eyebrows slowly disappeared as Victor tried hard to persuade her. Mia nodded slowly before her eyes fell on the big, red apple in her hand.

Victor did not have time to say anything when Mia took a bite of the fresh apple before washing it first. Mia's cheeks puffed up a little as she chewed the fruit. After swallowing, Mia looked back at Victor with a sweet smile on her cute face.

"Doing it once in a while is okay, right? I want to eat it too because this apple has been bitten by you," the girl said innocently. Victor's heart immediately beat erratically as Mia looked like she was trying to tease him. The man pinched Mia's nose lightly until Victor finally released it when Mia started to groan in pain.

"Don't say that sentence to anyone else, okay? You can only say it to me, or I'll punish you for being naughty."

Mia looked confused when Victor suddenly forbade her from saying that to anyone else. She didn't understand where her mistake was. But since Victor had asked her to, Mia obediently nodded as she gave Victor a big smile.

"Okay!" she cheerfully said.