The 2% stake in Coleman Co. sure was tempting, but it's not like I'd starve without it. Rather, I could get out of the upcoming mess earlier and chase a better life. "No way" Damon's response threw me for a loop. "Have you ever considered that my presence might hinder you from finding true love?" I couldn't help but remind Damon He'd been pursuing Ariel for half a month now. Surely he'd have noticed the change in the situation, right? He had never gone to such lengths for a woman before. Damon hung his head, his thoughts a mystery. He replied faintly. "No." Stubborn as a mule, that one. Damon's a smart cookie, so why's he so dense when it comes to romance? I heaved a big sigh, not wanting to say anything more, and headed upstairs for some rest. The next day, I got a text from Joshua, "Eliana, Ariel and I are back together. Thanks for your advice, I owe you a meal!" I thought for a while, but didn't reply. I could already see the storm clouds gathering over Damon. After freshening up, I headed downstairs for breakfast. Damon was already there, slumped on the couch with a bad mood. "Cherry, what's for breakfast?" I asked, walking past him towards the dining room. "We have Bolognese pasta, and some eggs. If you'd like, you can add an egg to the pasta. It adds to the flavor," Cherry replied, loading up a plate of pasta for me and setting out some sliced fruit. I dug in, and before long. Damon joined me across the table.
Cherry served him the same breakfast as mine. Just as we were eating, Damon's phone rang. He glanced at it, and his face darkened. He only managed a couple bites of his pasta before getting up and storming off. "Remember to come by my dad's place at nine tomorrow," I called after him. Damon didn't respond, disappearing into the spacious living room. That message was probably from Ariel, something that had put him in a bad mood, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted so strongly. I glanced at Cherry, who was cleaning up the kitchen. Had Ariel told her about being pursued by a married man? A married man who'd just stormed off. "Cherry, I'm heading out, won't be back for lunch," I told Cherry, and scurried out the door. I'd booked a full body checkup. I'd only ever checked my breasts before, which wasn't comprehensive enough. Keeping healthy was important, I had to take it seriously! I spent most of the day at the hospital, pretty much finishing all the tests. Before leaving, I decided to drop by Jones's office. "Dr. Jones!!" I greeted Jones with a warm smile. He was eating lunch at his desk, and seemed less than delighted to see me. "Are you here alone?" I asked, craning my neck to peek at his lunch. "So simple and healthy. That looks good. I've always felt you were different from Damon and his crowd. They're all trust fund babies, but you're a gentleman who doesn't care for fame or fortune!" Jones gave me a cool look, "What are you up to? Are you trying to use me to get under Damon's skin?" So he'd seen through me last time. I was feeling a bit drained. I silently pulled out my phone, "Take a look at this." I pulled up Joshua's Facebook. His cover photo was him and Ariel, hand in hand under the clear blue sky, grinning from ear to ear. "Do you know this girl?" I asked, watching Jones closely for his reaction. Jones looked for a few seconds, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but it wasn't love at first sight. "I don't know her, but I know her boyfriend, Joshua," Jones's attention was on Joshua. I was taken aback. Even a photo can't fully capture someone's charm. Jones's affection for Ariel in my past life was no less than Damon's. Even a photo should've triggered something, right?
Had he fallen for Ariel only after getting to know her better? If I'd known this will happen, I would've asked a bit more questions back then, so I wouldn't be so confused now. "Yes, I composed myself, continuing somewhat helplessly, "Did Damon ever mention to you that she's the college girl he's been chasing?" "I know there's a girl, but not the specifics," Jones looked at me intently, "How do you know?" Even if I'd heard something that day, I wouldn't know this much. I explained, "They broke up yesterday. I tried to mediate between them. Her name's Ariel, a second year student at the city College, studying music. She has no idea about my relationship with Damon." Jones looked like he had more questions, but other people were coming back, so he had to let it go. I also knew it was time to go. I got up, "Let's have dinner tonight. I can fill you in on a lot of things." "Okay, you pick the time and place," Jones agreed. As I was leaving, I heard one of his colleagues teasing him, "Is our Dr. Jones finally going to start dating? Got a date tonight?" I didn't catch Jones's reply. I decided on Blissful Brews, the same place Luna had taken us last time. The coffee aroma was intoxicating, a great place for a heart-to-heart. That night, Jones showed up as promised. I hadn't even gone home, just took a nap in a private room. I was still dozing off when he arrived. "Wake up Jones gave my face a light tap. I stretched and flashed Jones an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I was a bit tired."
Jones cracked a small smile and took a seat at the table.
Once the waiter had served us our coffee and left, I began my story.
I told Jones everything from meeting Ariel at the café, running into Joshua, to becoming friends with them, then sighed, "What a coincidence. I didn't expect Damon to fall for her."
"So let me get this straight, you understand the relationship between Damon, Ariel, and Joshua, but they are clueless about who you really are?" Jones summarized.
"That's right, I agreed.
"Why not just spill the beans?" Jones asked, looking straight at me.
"Don't you know Damon well?" I shot back, "What's the point of telling him? Do you think he would ditch Ariel for me? Hell no. Even if I tried with all my might to oppose, to stop him, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. He never had feelings for me, I can't even be considered an ex, how can I compete with the woman he likes?"
As I spoke, I felt more and more worked up, that feeling of desperation and resentment from my past life started to creep back up.
There was a hint of surprise in Jones's eyes, after all, I never got this riled up with all the previous rumors about Damon. But, he had no idea what the future had in store.