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Stepping into the coffee shop, she wondered if his men would go as far as to enter the shop and observe her even here.
'The next thing you know, my bathroom breaks are being timed.'
Haven internally shrugged. If he turned out to be a pervert, she would be the least surprised among everyone else. Compared to everything else he's done, that'd just be the cherry on top if her theory proved true.
"Ave!"
Not knowing how or when, she felt a body jump on her and thanks to the wall behind her she managed to stable herself and not fall. The last thing she needed right now was a head injury and a short-term coma.
Vivian stepped back, an apologetic yet happy look on her small face as she examined her from top to bottom and exhaled in relief.
"You have no idea how much I missed you! Everyone did, especially Kevin." she winked and Haven blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Was her brain malfunctioning or did she hear it wrong?
Another male to bear with!? Weren't the ones she had to deal with already enough?
Judging from the previous girl's memories, she wasn't too much of a social person. More like an introvert who rarely conversed with anyone unless it was of the utmost importance to speak. Vivian could be identified as a friend but even the previous owner of this body had zero interest in this Kevin-named guy.
Phew!
"Thanks for covering up for my shifts all these days," she spoke, trying to gather as much gratitude as possible into her voice as she could. Picking up her work apron, she wore it on and folded her auburn locks into a messy bun at the back of her head.
"No problem! That's what friends are for right? I'm just glad that you're okay after you fainted that day."
Nodding absent-mindedly, they both traveled to the counter where Haven wasted no time in scanning the place for the guy who had the tag 'Kevin.' Best to identify the target and examine him before taking another step.
The guy's face broke out into a wide smile as he stepped toward her and said, "Glad to see you back on the job. It wasn't the same without you here, to be honest."
Haven chuckled. "Why? Am I oxygen or something?"
Kevin's eyes widened slightly and Haven internally smacked herself for not acting the way she should've. Words in control, she reminded herself and then laughed out as if nothing could be funnier than what she'd just uttered.
"Just kidding."
Leaving the shell-shocked man behind, she approached the order-taking counter, looking over the monitor and straightening the menus which were placed haphazardly on the clean surface.
The bell above the entrance rang once and Haven instantly recited the words she had practiced on her way to the store.
"Welcome to Blend and Brew. What can I get for you—"
"..."
Her mouth fell open slowly as her mind wasted no time in uttering a glass-shattering scream that nobody but her ears could hear and suffer through. Chocolate brown met ashen grey and as if her heart had gotten lodged into her throat, she opened and closed her mouth unable to utter a single monosyllable to the guy in front of her.
"A double shot of expresso if it's available." his deep, penetrating eyes shimmered with a captivating radiance that mirrored the splendor of distant stars scattered across an ominous, cloud-laden night sky.
They held the promise of wonders yet unknown, but also the potential for chaos and destruction. Gazing into those eyes was like navigating the uncharted cosmos, where beauty and peril coexisted in perfect harmony, forever leaving an indelible imprint on the soul.
Sending his minions after her was one thing. Coming to meet her had left her shaken down to her very boots.
"Coming right up," she spoke carefully and transferred the order to Vivian who was staring at Zei wide-eyed with her jaw halfway down in utter shock.
He was wearing nothing on his face. Nothing. No mask, nothing hiding his eyes which seemed fixed on her no matter what she did to distract his attention away to something else he could gaze at with that intensity.
The coffee got ready, somehow. Impressed that Vivian neither spilled it down over herself nor knocked it into the customer's face, Haven slid it toward the man in front of her and named the price he had to pay up.
"I need to talk to you. Mind giving me a few minutes of your time—"
"No."
He raised his brows, a small smile taking over his face at her fearless defiance. Did she still not know who he was?
[She's hella beautiful—]
What the hell?! She's 'okay' looking, beautiful is an exaggeration, he commented to the voice that continuously kept on bugging him as soon as he had stepped into the shop and glanced his eyes at her.
[I want her.]
In your dreams, Zei was fed up and silenced it, unable to stop its words from spiraling around his head and making a complete mess of his thoughts.
"If it's because of your Boss, I can talk to him and convince him to give you a break for a few minutes. Okay?" he questioned, his hands forming into fists on having to convince someone to have to do his bidding. Who does she think she is?
[She's divine...]
Shut up you knucklehead, I beg you to shut up, Zei swore internally wondering if slamming his head against the nearest wall would look psychopathic or not.
Probably would.
"Are you talking to yourself?' Haven asked and had to bite her bottom lip hard when he looked up, his doe eyes as wide as saucers.
Due to an inexplicable reason, he himself couldn't understand, his eyes were inexplicably drawn to her lower lip, which appeared to be transforming into a captivating, porcelain-like hardness as she persisted in applying delicate pressure on it. His hand itched to take her face in his hands and trace those breathtakingly gorgeous lips of hers—
He was doomed, he realized with a slight yell of help in his head.
For life.
He hated her.
.
.
Just for better understanding, the square brackets [] will be used for the voice which will be better explained in the upcoming chapters ^^ Happy reading!