As Sara sat down, she stiffened the moment her gaze met with Harry's who was seated only a couple of tables away from her.
Not knowing what to do, she smiled at him, but Harry ignored her by turning away from her and returning his gaze to Jade who was speaking to him.
"Do you want to go over to their table to say hello?" Jade asked and Harry nodded.
"I have no reason to do that. I have no direct business with her anymore," Harry said, and Jade raised a brow.
"What happened?" Jade asked and Harry shrugged.
"I'm just fed up with her antics. I have better things to do with my time than to indulge her foolishness," Harry said and Jade narrowed her eyes.
"Did she do or say something to trigger this?" She asked and Harry sighed as he told her about the conversation he had with Sara on Saturday.
From where she sat, Sara frowned, not knowing how to feel or react to such dismissal from her own son. If anyone was to dismiss the other, it was supposed to be her ignoring him not the other way around. Nobody ignored Sara Walker.
And why did his behavior upset her? It wasn't like she wanted a real relationship with him anyway. Perhaps it was her pride which was hurt.
"Wasn't that your best friend's son? Aren't you going to say hello to him?" Crystal asked with a curious smile when she saw that Sara seemed disturbed about running into Harry in this manner.
"No. I don't think I should. It will only make the rumors about us worse, and neither of us wants that. Besides, he should be decent enough to come over to say hello to me if it was important to him," Sara said as picked up the menu and scanned it.
"I wonder who the lady with him is. I hope she is not his girlfriend. I was hoping you would introduce us. He looks really handsome," Crystal said and watched as Sara blanched at the thought of both her kids hooking up.
Crystal laughed softly, "Why do you look so pale? I was only kidding. I wouldn't dare suggest you hook me up with someone who has been accused of being your son," Crystal joked, and Sara forced a laugh.
"You got me there. For a moment I was startled by your request because I couldn't bear the thought of disappointing you," Sara lied without so much as blinking.
Crystal smiled but said nothing as the waiter came to take their orders.
After the waiter left, Sara faced Crystal again, "So, tell me. Do you have any important person in your life? I mean someone who would miss you if they didn't see or hear from you for a couple of days? Like a boyfriend?" she asked, wanting to know if Crystal's future disappearance might raise an issue for her so she would know how to go about it.
Crystal smiled, "Why would they not hear from me for a couple of days? It's not like we are going to a place without an internet connection, are we?" she asked as she watched Sara with amused eyes.
Sara smiled, "Of course not. I'm only asking to know the important people in your life," Sara assured her as the waiter returned with their drinks
"Because of my experience at the orphanage, I'm not very fond of people, and I like to come and go as I please without having to bother about who is missing me or not. So, there are no boyfriends or very close friends. No one would try to find me if they never hear from me again for life," Crystal assured Sara, knowing that was what she wanted to hear.
She intended to make everything as easy as possible for Sara so she could draw her into her own trap. She didn't understand why or how the woman could think that she could outsmart her.
Sara tried not to let her joy at Crystal's words show on her face as she took a sip from her wineglass.
This was perfect. It was going all too perfectly! She could get rid of the girl without any problem and it would never be traced back to her.
"I'm curious about something," Crystal said, and Sara arched a perfectly carved brow.
"What do you want to know?" She asked, and Crystal shrugged.
"My father. What about him? And how did I end up in an orphanage?" Crystal asked, and Sara's face fell.
"He died a long time ago. He was so heartbroken when we lost you," Sara said sadly, and Crystal frowned.
"How did you lose me?" Crystal asked curiously.
"Your nanny stole you from us and we never saw you again. I thought you were dead this whole time," Sara said, and the ridge between Crystal's brows deepened.
"So how did you know I'm alive?" She asked, wondering how Sara came up with such unreasonable lies.
"I received a letter some time ago telling me about it. The letter said your dad had an affair with the nanny and dumped her. So, out of spite she took our little girl and sold her off. The letter told me where to look," Sara lied without blinking.
"But it wasn't stated anywhere on the internet that you've ever been married or had a child," Crystal said and Sara nodded.
"That's because I've never opened up about this part of my life. It really hurt me and I buried it all deep within me until that letter came and I realized it was time to find my you," Sara said and Crystal smiled.
"I'm glad the letter came. And I'm glad you came to find me. Thanks for not giving up on me despite my shitty attitude," Crystal said, and Sara waved it off dismissively.
"Let's forget about the past and focus on the future. Our future together," Sara said as she raised her glass in a toast and Crystal clinked it with hers.
A couple of feet away from them, Jade looked at Harry with concern, "We can leave if you feel uncomfortable being in the same space with her," Jade assured him.
"If anyone should be uncomfortable here, she should be the one. I have no reason to feel uncomfortable. Besides, our dinner will be served soon," Harry said just as the waiter brought their meal.
Jade glanced behind her at Sara and Crystal, "I guess things are going well between the both of them," Jade said, after the waiter had left and they both picked up their cutleries to eat.
"Too well if you ask me. Let's hope the girl doesn't get greedy and mess things up," Harry said thoughtfully as he ate.
He had received a message from Barry earlier letting him know that Sara transfered a huge sum of money to Crystal's account. He wondered what the money was meant for and why Crystal was yet to mention it to him.
"Why did you say that? Did she do something to make you suspicious?" Jade asked with interest and Harry explained the details of his conversation with Barry to her.
"I guess it's a good thing she doesn't know that her phone is being monitored then. Let's wait and see if she informs you about it. If she tries to play smart by revealing everything to Sara for money we can just cut her off," Jade said after some time.
"I don't think she is going to expose us," Harry said confidently.
"Why not?"
"She is smart enough to know that she stands to gain more by pretending to be the daughter. I think what she plans to do is take as much money from Sara as she can. I don't mind her doing that. I will just prefer that she keeps me informed on all that she is up to. That is the only way I can trust her," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Alright. Let's focus on us now. I didn't come out to talk about that," Jade said and Harry nodded.
"I wanted to discuss something important with you," he said, and she sat up when she noticed he was suddenly looking very serious.
"Go on," She urged him when he said nothing for some time.
"Let's talk about something you did at the club on Saturday," Harry said and she frowned.
"I already apologized for making the video. And I did promise to be more careful next time. Why are you bringing that up again?" Jade asked with displeasure.
"We didn't talk about you sharing so many details of our relationship with everyone else. How would you like me to talk to Tom about what happened between us in my bedroom?" Harry asked and she winced.
"I didn't exactly give them all the details of what happened…"
"So, you did tell them part of what happened then? I didn't want to believe you did. But the more I thought about what Lucy said about you thinking I was a monk, the more inclined I was to believe that you discussed that," Harry said, and Jade looked away from him guiltily avoiding his gaze.
"Jade," he called softly so that she would look at him.
"It is normal for girls to talk about these things. Besides, I wasn't the only one who talked about stuff like that. Candace and Aurora did too," Jade said with a frown as she looked at him.
"I don't know about their men, but I don't like being the subject of such discussions. I feel somethings are meant to stay between us. I don't like the idea of Candace or Lucy or Sonia or even Aurora knowing such intimate details about me. That knowledge is reserved for you alone," Harry said and Jade sighed.
"Alright. Fine. Whatever happens in your bedroom stays in your bedroom going forward," Jade promised.
"Do you think I'm being too rigid?" Harry asked and Jade shook her head.
"No, you're not. Even though I hate to admit it, I know you are right. I don't think I'd feel comfortable knowing you discuss stuff like that with Tom and the other guys," Jade said and Harry nodded.
"I would never do that to you," Harry assured her as he took her hand and raised it to his lips.
"Being my girlfriend must be tedious, right?" He asked, and Jade smiled involuntarily.
"It is. But I can't complain because you've never demanded for anything unreasonable," Jade said and Harry kissed her palm.
"If or when I do, do not hesitate to decline. And you should also let me know whatever makes you uncomfortable," Harry said and Jade nodded.
After dinner, they rose to leave, and Sara's feelings was hurt when Harry walked past her table without acknowledging her.
Without thinking she called out to him.
"Harry?" Sara called with a forced smile, and both Harry and Jade turned to look at her.
"Yes, ma'am?" Harry asked politely as he looked at her with a blank expression.
Sara rose, "Are you leaving already? I didn't want to interrupt your date with your friend hence I didn't stop by your table," Sara said as she looked at Jade and then she silently cussed herself for stopping them when she recognized Jade.
"Hello! I'm Jade Hank. I believe we have met before," Jade said, referring to their meeting outside her former office in Varis when she had left her cheque book in her boss' office.
"Have we?" Sara asked, wanting to act like she didn't remember.
"Yes. You met with Mr Amos who was trying to help you find your missing daughter. I suppose you've met her now?" Jade said as she glanced at Crystal who was still seated enjoying her meal.
Sara's gaze moved from Jade to Harry quickly and she shook her head, "No. I don't know what Mr Amos told you, but that was a misunderstanding. And this isn't my daughter. She is just a young friend of mine," Sara rushed to assure them.
"Oh! I see. My bad then. I'm sorry," Jade said with an apologetic smile.
"Let's leave," Harry said as he led Jade away without saying another word to Sara.
Sara frowned as she watched them leave and then she looked around to make sure no one had noticed what happened before she sat down.
She had almost ruined everything. She should have left the moment she saw Harry in the restaurant. What had she been thinking stopping him?
Now that Jade had made that statement she had no doubt that Harry would want to look into Crystal to confirm if she was truly his sister.
All the lies she had told Harry about Lucy threatening her was useless now.
How could she have forgotten about Jade Hank?
This was all because of the stupid mistake Amos had made by involving Jade Hank in searching for her missing daughter.
"Are you alright?" Crystal asked, and Sara flashed her a smile.
"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. The rumors must have upset him a lot more than I thought. I think we should leave the country as soon as possible," Sara said and Crystal nodded.
"Let's do that."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l