Few Weeks Later
Marcus's POV
It was noon and the restaurant was almost empty. The smell of freshly baked bread mingled with the steam of sizzling steaks, but it was all a mockery to me. A Mockery of the life I once had with Amanda.
Today marks the sixth day I'll be waiting for her here. Hoping that one day she might eventually show up. But she never did, she never even called.
I sat hunched over a black cup of coffee, my face hidden under a hood as I stirred the poor liquid to its death. My gaze was fixated on the front entrance, I could barely admit that she would push the door and walk in.
My knuckles turned white as I gripped tightly on the mug. I have never felt this way over a woman before. She didn't even give me a genuine reason before breaking up with me and marrying that asshole billionaire.
Oh, how I wish I could get my hands on him right now.
She wouldn't come and I know it. But I just couldn't help but allow the small seed of hope to grow within me. The restaurant was the only thing I have left of her—the last place I had genuinely seen her happy, laughing with other waitresses, and arguing with customers who I secretly had to later go and beat up.
I don't need people telling me that I'm cold and mean, she tells me that everyday and I love her for it.
I sighed, slurping down the rest of the Lukewarm coffee and signaling to the waitress for another.
Lauren, one of the waitresses who was closest to Amanda, came to me.
"Did she pick your calls today?" I asked, looking up in hope that her answer would be different today.
Lauren shook her head and I felt disappointed even when I already knew the answer.
"Did you try calling her?" She asked, filling up my cup.
"She wasn't picking my calls before she did the wedding, what makes you think she would now?" I rolled my eyes, lifting the cup to my lips and blowing some air into it.
She shrugged, "who knows? You might be the one she's expecting to call her." She said before retreating to attend to other customers.
I pondered on her words for a moment. Another spark of hope was lit. I quickly reached for my phone in my hoodie pocket, dialed her number and casually placed the ringer on my ear.
My spark of hope died as soon as I was sent straight to voicemail. Just as I was about to dial again, the bell on the door jingled, my gaze snapped upwards and adrenaline started firing through my veins.
A man in a blue suit walked in, rubbing his palms together to keep himself warm from the chilly November air.
My eyes narrowed; I fucking recognize this asshole. He is one of Nicholas' men—a lower level employee who handles routines, errands, security details and other sorts of things I don't care to fucking know.
I have seen him enough times at some high-society event I had attended with Amanda, back when things between us were a bit perfect. I don't have one quarter of that asshole billionaire's wealth, but I owned my own small tech company, so I was fairly rich enough to attend such an event.
The man didn't seem to notice me, sitting instead at one of the back tables, ordering a quick lunch. My pulse quickened as I watched him. This was my chance, my chance to find out what happened to Amanda since that cursed wedding.
I have heard rumors from people that were close to that asshole. That bastard had locked her away like a secret, unseen since the ceremony.
I needed to know if she was okay. If she was suffering. If she needed me.
I waited, my gaze burning a hole into the back of the man's head as he ate his meal with leisure disinterest, flipping through his disgusting phone. I tapped my feet impatiently, a plan forming in my head.
I signaled for Lauren to come over, trying to avoid any noise so the man won't look back and notice me.
"How can I help?" Lauren asked.
"Can you get me a well seasoned steak, please? And I'll need a knife as well." I said, forcing a smile and keeping my voice as low as possible.
"Allllright! Coming right up." She quipped, jotting my order down into a piece of paper before leaving.
After waiting for a few minutes, my order came. The aroma of the delicious looking steak almost distracted me from my primary mission. I shake my head to refocus myself.
"Here's the knife, be careful though it's really sharp." Lauren adviced with a polite smile.
"Oh thanks! Just exactly what I need." I forced another smile and Lauren left.
It wouldn't hurt to take one slice of this beauty, would it? Just as I attempted to slice through the steamy steak, the man stood, dropped his bill under his plate and walked out to the restaurant parking lot.
"Fuck!" I muttered to myself. I guess I won't be tasting the steak.
I scanned around to see if anyone was watching as I slowly hid the knife inside my hoodie pocket. With predatory smoothness, I slid out of the booth, dropped a few dollar bills on the table, not bothering to count.
My heart pounded in my chest, the thudding beat of anticipation almost deafening as I walked outside the restaurant.
The man strolled with an easy, unhurried gait, happily unaware of the danger trailing behind him. I was careful to keep my distance as i watch him click his car key and his car responded with a beep in a distance.
Suddenly, the man stopped. I was scared that he had noticed me stalking him, quickly hiding behind a nearby car before he had the chance to turn around.
I peep again to see if he was coming but the fool was just busy scrolling through his phone, replying absentmindedly to a text he received.
"This fucking asshole!" I cursed under my breath.
I let myself lean on the back of the car where i was hiding. Waiting patiently for him to move and when he did move, i followed him towards his car.
He was so engrossed in his phone that he didn't notice my movements behind him at all, even when I mistakenly hit my elbow against someone's side mirror.
Finally, he entered his car and i also entered from the passenger door behind him. The man didn't even have a chance to react, before I quickly slide the knife out of my pocket and held it against his throat.
"Oh my God!" The man panicked.
"Don't move." I growled, making my voice sound as lethal as possible.
The man's eyes went wide with terror, his phone dropping into the car as he raised his hands in surrender.
"Wh—what the hell, man—" he stuttered, but I pushed the blade deeper until his breath hitched.
"Shut the fuck up!" I hissed, my lips only inches away from his ear. "I don't care who you are or what you do for that bastard. I just want to know one thing." I paused, my eyes narrowing dangerously as I met his gaze through the rear view mirror.
"How is Amanda?"