Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Seeing him again
At Eve’s words, a memory Alana had buried surfaced but then she quickly shook her head.
"I don’t have feeling for him anymore."
How long had it been? It’d be crazy to still think of that thing who was married now.
Besides, she had a new life now, she was busy with her job and loved her alone time.
She just hadn’t had the desire to be romantically involved with any man.
Alana even felt quite content with the prospect of remaining single for life, never marrying.
Eve chuckled. "Well, that’s the case, I suggest putting yourself at there more. Trust me, when it’s totally worth it to have a boyfriend. A good man, that is. My boyfriend has quite a few single mates about. I’ll introduce you to one of them another day."
Alana shook her head again. "No, I’ll think about it some more."
She felt it’d be pretty awkward to get set up on a date.
Did she even know how to hold conversation?
********
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the same restaurant.
Seated by the staircase railing were two men of striking appearance and impeccable bone structure.
Gary Madrigal, legs crossed, observed the man opposite who’d consumed a fair amount of red wine. His eyebrow arched slightly. "Stephan, you seem rather down. Did your mother force you into another blind date? Or was a woman sent to your room to seduce you?"
Stephan grimaced, his slender fingers gripping the wine glass before taking a sip as if nothing was amiss. His thin lips twitched.
"No, I’m just bored."
Gary scoffed. "Ahh, do you mean hanging out with me is boring?"
"Yeah."
Gary was speechless.
He didn’t even try to sugarcoat it.
"But you easily accepted my offer today. I thought that meant you liked hanging out with me."
"I just wanted a drinking partner, I guess."
Not only was today boring, the past few days as well.
His mother had arranged quite a few matchmaking meetings for him, urging him to find a partner, marry, have children, and carry on the family line.
Fed up with her nagging, he’d gone through the motions, meeting a few, but none had caught his fancy.
Worse still, he found himself still thinking about the girl from that night.
The girl who had turned him into a wild beast.
The events of that night clung to him like a nightmare, refusing to let go and leaving him restless.
Her breath, her sweetness, felt like a dangerous poison, forbidden yet addictive.
He couldn’t tear himself away.
Before he knew it, over a week had passed. She must be better by now, surely?
Between them, there was still that agreement. Yet, despite the passage of time, he hadn’t reached out to her, and astonishingly, she hadn’t contacted him either.
Was she truly not interested in him at all?
He was the Stephan Hudson!
Well, she didn’t seem to know that either.
Such an unusual woman.
Stephan furrowed his brow, his gaze shifting abruptly to catch sight of a familiar figure downstairs.
His gaze froze instantly.
It was her?
Gary watched his reaction with curiosity.
"What are you looking at? So intently?"
Following his line of sight, he spotted two young ladies dining in the corner of the restaurant below. Whatever they were discussing made them laugh one moment and frown the next.
Gary asked, "They’re so pretty. Which one caught your eye? The one in the white dress? Speak now so I’d know which to take home tonight."
The girl in white was the most beautiful, pretty and innocent, with fair skin and a pure aura. The kind you’d remember at a glance.
Stephan withdrew his gaze indifferently, casting a glance at Gary. "You’re a pig."
Gary choked on his wine. "A...a pig? What’s wrong in appreciating a woman’s beauty by having her under me tonight?"
"Is that how one appreciates beauty now?"
"Dude, if you don’t want any one of them, I’ll go after anyone I want. I might even have them both."
Stephan’s brow furrowed slightly as he took another sip of his drink.
He looked back downstairs only to find that familiar figure had vanished.
*******
Alana had only finished half her meal before excusing herself to the restroom.
As she walked out and headed down the hallway, she was accidentally jostled by a drunken man.
The drunkard’s eyes lit up at the sight of her pure, captivating beauty.
Consumed by alcohol, he immediately asked, "Hey, pretty lady, what’s your name?"
Alana dreaded encountering such drunks, not only reeking of alcohol, but prone to losing control.
She quickly took two steps back. "No, sorry, I don’t talk to strangers and I’m here with my boyfriend."
She might as well use that "boyfriend" excuse now.
"My apologies, my apologies."
The drunkard still had enough sense to utter an apology before darting into the men’s restroom.
Alana breathed a sigh of relief and started walking back.
A tall, slender, dark figure approached, instantly freezing her in her tracks.
That chiselled, profoundly handsome face, as if carved by a knife, remained etched in her memory even after over a week.
The man walked at a measured pace, his gaze cool and unwavering.
Just as she tensed, expecting him to approach her, he walked right past her.
Alana blinked, still frozen in place.
Had he... already forgotten her?
It was possible.
After all, they’d only met twice.
Stephan returned to his seat, a hint of irritation flickering in his eyes. His mind was consumed by Alana’s words from moments ago: she was here with her boyfriend.
She had a boyfriend now?
Just a week ago, she’d been unengaged and single. Now, barely a week later, she had a boyfriend?
No wonder she didn’t want to take responsibility for him.
She didn’t even bother to call him!
Hmm.
She was clearly keeping her distance from him so she could focus on her boyfriend.
Gary noticed Stephan’s unsettled mood.
"What’s wrong now, dude? It’s like your temper goes from bad to worse within minutes."
Stephan shot Gary cold stare. "You’re asking for a beating, you know that?"
Gary scoffed. "I’m just trying to understand you, man."
Stephan snorted lightly, his gaze drifting involuntarily back downstairs.
The girl in the white dress had returned to her seat, sitting demurely and looking particularly delicate.
He furrowed his brow.
Why and how did she suddenly get a boyfriend?
Was he really here?
He looked around.
There was no particular man around her.
Alana returned to her seat, took a few token bites, then set down her chopsticks.
"Eve, have you finished eating?Once we’ve eaten our fill, let’s leave."
The thought of that man being in the same restaurant made her feel she couldn’t stay much longer.
Even if he had forgotten her, she certainly hadn’t.
Seeing him brought back memories of what had happened that night, making her feel awkward and uncomfortable.
Also, she wouldn’t want him on her case again or pester her about taking responsibility for him.
Eve replied, "I’m nearly done."
"Lana, why did you eat so little tonight? There’s still half the rice left in your bowl."
Alana couldn’t bring herself to say it outright. "Perhaps I’ve been snacking too much at work."
Eve chuckled, "Sneaking snacks at work? Not afraid of getting caught by the boss?"
Alana replied, "As long as I don’t eat in front of him."
Several colleagues beside her snacked while slacking off at work, and none had been caught by the boss.
Eve ate off the last mouthful of rice before picking up her bag and rising.
Alana proactively pulled out her phone. "This time, it’s on me."
Eve had no objection.
The two friends had developed an unspoken agreement: when they met for meals, they took turns paying.
Alana approached the counter and asked the waitress, "Table 5, please."
"That’ll be 105 dollars in total."
Alana was about to pay.
Suddenly, a black card was presented.
"Card payment."
A deep, magnetic voice invaded her ears. She froze, then turned her head back.
Stephan’s devastatingly handsome face was right before her eyes.
When had he come to stand beside her?
Just as Alana was lost in thought.
The waiter, assuming Stephan was with Alana, took the card he offered and swiped it efficiently.
After swiping the card, the attendant shot Alana an envious glance. "Miss, your boyfriend is so handsome."
Alana snapped back to her senses and quickly retorted, "He’s not my boyfriend! I... I don’t know him!"
After speaking, she felt a pang of guilt and avoided meeting the man’s gaze.
He’d forgotten her anyway, so claiming they were strangers shouldn’t be a problem, right?!
The waitress frowned staring at both of them in confusion.
Stephan’s brow furrowed slightly as he shot Alana a cold glance. Claiming she didn’t know him now?!
She was quite adept at telling blatant lies.
He snorted coldly, turning to the waiter. "I’ll settle my own bill. Table 18 on the second floor." The waiter looked flustered.
"Oh dear, I’ve charged the wrong card. I’m sorry, sir. I thought you two were together, so I charged this young lady’s bill to your card..."
Stephan shot Alana a glance. "Transfer the money to me and send the receipt on WhatsApp."
Alana eyed him.
She never wanted him to pay for her in the first place.
He was acting as petty as always.
Seeing the matter resolved privately, the waiter proceeded to settle the bill for Table 18.
She then returned the card to Stephan, politely stating, "Sir, your total comes to three thousand five hundred and eight dollars. Here’s your card, please take it."
Stephan took his card, slipped it into his trouser pocket, and turned to leave.
Seeing him about to leave, Alana couldn’t help but call out, "Wait, I...I don’t have your account details, neither do I have you on WhatsApp."
He spun, glaring at her. "You don’t have me on WhatsApp? I gave my number the other time. Don’t tell me you unsaved it?"
The waitress was even more perplexed.
Did these two know each other or not?!
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