A Few Minutes Ago•••
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"Don't flatter me". Veronica averted her gaze from his then Fabian cupped her cheek to meet her eyes with a serious expression.
"There's no woman in there as pretty as you, Ver". He helped shift some loose strands of her hair behind her ear before leaning down to whisper. "And no one would blame you for wearing this since we're eating in a private room".
Her eyes widened. It seemed she didn't have any other excuse to leave if Fabian had planned that far.
"Watch out!", Fabian pulled her by the arm when a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She almost tripped over so he wrapped an arm around her waist to support her as her face hit his chest. "Are you okay?", he frowned raising his face to look towards the dark Lamborghini. 'Does everyone now drive one of these or is it just a mere coincidence?'.
Veronica pulled back, "Sorry about that".
Fabian looked down at his suit to check if makeup had stained his clothing. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be wearing any makeup. Ashley was wearing layers of makeup and he'd left early the next morning before she could wake up.
'Ver is just naturally pretty, and her skin is so soft and smooth'. He stared at her a little too long before she asked if they could go in.
"Sure", he entwined their arms before leading the way.
***
After passing the handful of people in the main restaurant, they took the stairs up to a line of twelve rooms.
"Are you nervous?", Fabian teased, feeling her grip on his arm tighten. "It feels like walking down the aisle, doesn't it?".
"Ohh, shut up", she rolled her eyes and he chuckled before reaching the room with the number eight hanging on top of it.
After they got in, Fabian locked the door behind him and Veronica turned to him with an arched brow. "I hope I'm safe".
"Who knows, you might burst from all the food I ordered". He gestured toward the table for two lined with serving trays all covered up, but the aroma made her tummy growl.
'This place looks expensive', she scanned the room, noticing the chandelier hanging above their heads and the curtain which was covering the large window. There was also a long sofa at one edge of the room which made her gulp. 'Is that for s-sex?!'. She covered her face in embarrassment as Fabian helped her into a seat. 'But I'm not ready yet', she watched him move around to uncover all the food one at a time. 'Should I tell him before we start eating? Is that why he locked the door?'.
"Ver?', he tilted his head looking concerned after she hadn't said anything for several minutes. Does she not like the look of the food? No, she loved sweet or fried things. He often bought her favourite foods and some extra ones he liked her to try. "Is there a problem?".
She blinked twice before managing a smile. "No, I was just wondering how I could finish all this", she raised her spoon not sure where to even start.
They hadn't been eating for up to ten minutes when Fabian received a call from downstairs through the room's phone that his car was being towed.
He excused himself quickly saying something about his car being towed. She offered to come along but he refused, saying he could handle it alone.
It hadn't been up to thirty seconds when the door came open again and Veronica turned with a wine glass at her lips. "Fa...". She stopped mid-sentence on sighting Jason standing at the doorway. He had a serious expression on his face, which made Veronica uneasy. "You...", why did she have a feeling that he had a hand in Fabian's car being towed away?
He ignored her to move close enough and Veronica defensively got to her feet. His gaze was fixed on hers and his fingers twitched as if itching to touch her but he didn't dare.
Veronica laughed ironically, "You're stalking me now, aren't you?"
"Ohh?". His voice sounded calm even while he kept his hands firmly in the pocket of his suit trousers. He was trying to read her expression and watched the worry in her eyes turn to irritation. He didn't like it. Not one bit. "Am I?"
She glared daggers at him, feeling her stomach churn under his stare.
To her, it was still a mystery how he could make her feel so uncomfortable, weak, and helpless with a simple glare.
Her fingers slowly moved to grab the nearest cutlery on the dining table which was a fork, but she paused midway realizing there was no need for violence. If he dared to publicly hurt or threaten her, people would gather.
She slowly withdrew her arm and Jason arched a perplexed brow. "Weren't you going to stab me?".
'Calm down, Veronica', she told herself feeling her heart race probably from getting so anxious by every little word or move he made. Now she was an adult, she'd get jailed for real if she stabbed this man in the head.
Her gaze lingered at his chest where she'd cut a while back, although the injury was covered by his suit.
Jason pulled back before dropping a letter on the table. "You could use this to pay off the first debt you owe me. I'll pick you up tomorrow night". He left after those words before she could open the envelope and Veronica hesitated before picking it up.
It was an invite to a masked party hosted by some elites. 'He didn't come off as the type to be interested in parties', her eyes narrowed at the letter before she heard loud footsteps approaching and hid the letter in her purse.
"Hhh hhh", Fabian huffed, crouching down to catch his breath. There was sweat trickling down his face and he seemed terribly out of breath.
Luckily, there was air conditioning in the room.
"Are you alright?". Veronica approached him worriedly but Fabian raised a hand to make her stay back.
"I'm fine...really. Turns out it was just a misunderstanding".
'Misunderstanding my foot', she rolled her eyes.
Fabian raised his face suddenly serious before going out to peek if anyone was standing near their door. He locked the door before disclosing something to Veronica, "This might sound crazy, but I think one guy has been following me", he tried to laugh it off.
'You don't say...'.