An Inevitable Fate?

It was a buffet system. Ther were all kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. There were different sweets and special dishes that represented other countries. Also, all kinds of soft and hot drinks were placed.

A mini-bar was opened that contained special wines that were worth more than one's yearly salary.

People enjoyed the arrangement to their heart's content.

Since Rachel didn't want to make it obvious by being together with Darren, they both went their separate ways.

Darren wasn't concerned about Rachel's request, after all, at the end of the day, their relationship would become official. Even, Aaron's unannounced appearance didn't bother him. He went along with other business partners for dinner.

Rachel met a few people who expressed their appreciation for the banquet.

"Hello, Rachel." One of the women greeted Rachel.

"Hello, Ms. Camille, how are you?" Rache was delighted when she saw a familiar face.

"I am good, dear. You look great, by the way."She was the wife of one of the employees. She used to work for the company before she got married.

"Thanks. And, this?" A shy girl stood next to Camille.

"She is my daughter, Sage."

"Hello, I am Sage." The girl waved her hand, shyly.

"I am Rachel. She is beautiful." Rachel smiled at the girl who looked like a college student.

Sage was indeed a beautiful girl with green eyes and curly hair. She was tall and her tender skin was as white as milk.

"I had spoken to her about you and she got very interested. She has been wanting to meet you for a long time. When she got to know about today's event, she practically dragged me with her father. But now, look at her, being all shy. Haha!"

"Mom! Please," Sage pulled her mom. God, how could her mom tell all that in front of her idol? She was embarrassed.

"Haha, that's nice." Rachel liked the girl.

"Okay, dear, I won't take your time anymore. You can go on, I should find her father."

Sage's face suddenly fell. She pouted with dissatisfaction. She wanted to be with her idol a little longer. Sigh!

Rachel saw her expression and understood immediately.

"Do you want to grab food with me?"

Sage's eyes light up when she heard it. She nodded repeatedly.

"Haha, let's go if Ms. Camille approves." Rachel teased her.

Sage immediately let go of her mom's and went to stand next to Rachel.

Both the women laughed while the girl blushed with embarrassment.

Rachel took Sage with her to have dinner. All the while, it was Rachel who asked questions. Sage would reply with yes or no and sometimes with a bashful smile.

Just as they reached the counter, she heard a few women speaking among themselves.

"What do you think would be the announcement?" One of the women asked the other.

"I don't know about the other but I can tell the personal announcement will be related to Ms. Rachel."

"What? How do you know?"

"Didn't you hear before that she has got engaged recently? Of course, it has to be about her. She came with Mr. Darren, so it should be him."

"Really? Oh my god, I didn't know, at all."

"Yeah, you know what? Her name was Rachel Smith before she got married to our boss's son. Then she became Rachel Stein. Now she's marrying, she will be called Mrs. Darren. Who knows, what her name will become in the future. Haha!!"

All the women laughed loudly when they heard this. They continued to speak like that while being oblivious to their surrounding.

Rachel's eyes were burning with tears by now. She didn't want to cry over this but she couldn't help it. What they said was indeed true, wasn't it? Huh, how she wanted to disappear from the place.

She controlled her tears when she realized that she was not alone. She turned towards the girl next to her. Thankfully, Sage was looking somewhere else and had not heard it.

"Sage, can you start your dinner? I will be back within minutes. Okay?" She tried very hard to smile.

"Sure." Sage wasn't aware of any of these.

Rachel left to go to the restroom. Just as she was about to enter, someone grabbed her from behind. Her mouth was clamped with the hand.

Her eyes went wide when she saw that it was Aaron.

She forcefully ripped his hand off of her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?" Her eyes were brimming with tears. She couldn't control herself.

"What happened?" Aaron frowned in confusion.

"None of your business." She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her hand and shoved her back to the wall.

"Answer my question!" He shouted. Now he was burning with fury as he saw her cry.

His sudden anger scared her which only made her cry even more.

He softened a little and asked again. But no matter what, she didn't open her mouth. He sighed and hugged her gently. He patted her back to stop her from crying.

Rachel who was lost in her own thoughts and sobs didn't notice that she was in his embrace.