Chapter 75
GRACE
I hurry out of work and don’t look back.
I can feel Gus’s heavy gaze on my back. And his disappointment is like a nket that continues to cling
to me.
I cross the parking lot and stop, seeing a familiar figure standing not far away, as if he had intentionally
been waiting for me.
"Jay," I call out in surprise and ran toward him. "Why are you here?"
"I got off work early today, so I came to pick you up," he says, reaching for my hand.
He threads our fingers together.
It’s like a current spreads from our joined hands.
Does he feel it too?
"Did you reject him properly?" Jay asks nonchntly.
From the corner of my eye, I see Gus walking to his car.
He likely overheard.
"Yes, I''ve made it clear I do not want him and that there is no future for us," I say. My words might be
hurtful to Gus, but a temporary pain is better than a longer one.
Part of me hurts a bit too. Not in a romantic sense. More just a sense of loss for the life I thought I’d
have, and what it turned out to be. “But I don’t think he will suffer long or waste too much time on me.
He can find a better woman.”
”So, you were holding onto Gus while getting it on with another man!" Farah''s voice suddenly sounds
out.
I rub my temple feeling a headacheing on. The world seemed never tock people like Farah
Steele. I would say something snarky to that effect, and that maybe Farrah should spend some time in
jail—it was filled with nasty people just like her. But I don’t bother engaging.
Jay all but growls at the woman behind them.
I grab his arm.
I seriously doubt he’d lose control of his wolf. But he’s furious just now on ount of me.
“Don’t Jay. She isn’t worth it.”
“I’m not worth it?” Farah gasps. “You’re the low-life convict and you want to look down on me!?”
Jay calms immediately. He smiles down at me. ”So this is the one who spread the rumors about you,”
he says quietly as if Farrah had just confirmed what he’d suspected.
Farah ps her hands on her hips. ”So what if I was? I did this for everyone''s sake. We all have the
right to know if the people around us havemitted a crime. If she is afraid that others will find out
about it, then she shouldn''t have done it in the first ce!"
Jason lets out a softugh. "It''s good that you admit to it."
After that, he no longer paid attention to Farah. He turns to me. "Sister, let''s go. I don''t want to bother
with this woman anymore."
“Okay.”
I sling my arm through Jay’s and we walk away.
When we hit the main road, I tug him left when he turns right toward our apartment.
"I got my paycheck today,” I say. “Let''s go shopping and have a good meal. We haven''t had a good
meal out since we met."
"Then let''s go and have a good meal," Jason says. "But I''ll treat you. After all, I''ve been earning money
too, and you''ve been taking care of me all this while. I want to take you out. I should’ve suggested it.”
“O-okay.”
But from the way Jay said it…his tone makes it sound like it’s a ‘date’.
We walk to a restaurant I used to go to.
In the past, me and myw firm colleagues would oftene here to have a meal after work. At that
time, eating here was like having a work meal.
But now, it had be a luxurious event that could only be enjoyed every once in a while.
I try not to dwell on that too much.
Just like I try not to draw on what it felt like when Ava took over. When we’d run through the woods and
track game through the snow.
There was a creek behind my grandfather’s house and the water in that creek tasted so fresh. Ava
wouldp it up and drink until my belly was full.
It was fresh and carried remnants of the mountain snow.
Gosh, I’d taken many things for granted in my ‘prior’ life. If I was smart, I would appreciate every little
thing. Life was too fickle for anything less.
"That''s good. I’m d that we’re eating at a ce you’re familiar with. You can do the ordering then."
Jason cleanly interrupts my thoughts.
I order all the cheaper dishes, with the most expensive one being a shrimp dish.
Although it isn''t a lot of money, it’s already the most expensive meal I’ve had in years.
When the food arrives, we dig in.
Only as I’m starting on the pasta dish, Jay goes right for the shrimp. I smile, hoping he’ll eat them all
and enjoy every bit.
Only… he doesn’t take a bite.
He peels each prawn and then sets them on my dish.
Then he scoops some pasta on my te and begins eating.
I stare at my dish in a daze.
”What''s wrong? Why aren''t you eating?" he asks
"I''m just thinking about how you’re very good at taking care of people. Anyone who gets the chance to
date you in the future will be very lucky." I fork a bite of shrimp and hold it up to him as if to punctuate
my statement.
Jay’s gesture reminds me of the old movies my grandfather would watch. Ones filled with chivalry and
romantic gestures. The kind of small and thoughtful acts that came from someone who cared about
their partner.
Looking back, Sean had never peeled a shrimp for me. He’d never filled my dish with the choicest
pieces of food—and at a pack event, this was a form of etiquette. I had served him, sure. But the act
was not reciprocated.
Come to think of it… He only pulled my chair out for me if we were at a corporate event and other
people were expecting it.
In fact, in hindsight, when we were dating in the past, it was obvious that although Sean said that he
loved me, those feelings probably weren’t very deep.
Of course, they weren’t deep, I chide myself.
That was why he had been able to distance himself from me so quickly after the ident!
“Eat before it gets cold,” Jay says.
His words drag me back to the present.
Where I’m sitting in a wonderful restaurant, across from a most handsome man, and he’s trying his
hardest to please me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Everything is different with Jay.
He smiles appreciatively.
When we finish eating, Jay gets up to pay the bill. I push my chair back to join him. My gaze passes
through the restaurant''s window and I suddenly see a few familiar figures walking toward the
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restaurant.
I turn around subconsciously as if she didn’t want the people to see her.
Then, the people really walk into the restaurant. I sneak a glimpse. They are being led by a waiter in
my direction.
Jason watches as he returns to the table. My eyes dart about nervously.
"What''s the matter?” he asks instantly.