24

"Uhm, hi?" Jane said as she put her hand on the back of the chair. She studied the caramel skin-toned lady sitting on the same table she was instructed to come at and there was nothing but confusion on her mind. "I am most probably at the wrong table. Excuse me," she said politely, looking towards the exit.

"No, wait," Stailene said, rushing up and took hold of her wrist. "Jane, right?" She confirmed as they both sat down at the table.

"Yeah, how did you say you knew my name?" Jane asked, puzzled. First through the phone call and now here again?

"I'm Stailene Stamford. I'm a Private Investigator."

"Okay?"

"I believe you know this guy?" Stailene asked, getting right to the point as she showed Jane pictures of Nate, some of which were taken when he was with Nadia and some taken when he was with her. Others were just casual, random pictures of him around the city doing normal stuff.

"Yes. What's going on? And why am I here?" She asked, the demand to be told clear in her voice as she paged through the photos and narrowed her eyes when she noticed the ones she was in. She almost scoffed when she saw him with Nadia in a few of them on different occasions too.

"Well, see, I was hired to investigate your ex fiancé and well, I found out some troubling things for a father of what, several months old?"

"Keep my daughter out of your mouth and out of this, okay?" Jane said, becoming defensive at the mention of her baby.

"I'm not the enemy here," Stailene said, raising her hand to call for the waiter and ordering a tequila for her and sparkling water for Jane. She didn't take her to be the drinking type.

"Who hired you?"

"I'm afraid that remains anonymous."

"But it's me we're discussing-"

"And Nate-"

"So who hired you?"

"Somebody that cares and deems it necessary. And having observed Nathaniel, I can now see why," Stailene said just as the waiter delivered their drinks and walked away.

"I'm calling Nate," Jane said with a shrug as she took her phone out.

"I already did."

"But he went to Cuba for some work related stuff," Jane said as she recalled the conversation they had a couple nights ago. Why he told her even before she cared to ask when the entire time he did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted bewildered her but she didn't ponder much on it and just accepted things the way they were. "Why would he come to your call as if he knows you?"

"Because he does," Stailene said easily with a shrug. "Let's say we got a little comfortable," she said, grimacing at the time she encountered him at the bar because her brother said she should investigate him. If it wasn't because of his insistence, she'd never have anything to do with the likes of him.

"Of course it remained professional from my end but you know how he is," she pointed out when she thought back to just the previous night when they met up again and he had his hands all over her and after a couple of drinks he kept saying they should go back to his place to continue their night like last time.

As though last time happened, she scoffed.

Jane was about to tell the woman to kindly fuck off and leave things the way they were, but her eyes immediately caught sight of Nate as he walked into the restaurant confidently and seemed to be walking towards where they were. Only he couldn't see her because she wasn't in his line of vision.

"Speak of the devil."

"And he shall appear," Stailene finished as she took a gulp of the strong drink to brace herself of her unenjoyable meeting with him for the third time.

"Nathan," Stailene stood up with a fake smile when he came closer to the table and she kissed his cheek, swiftly turning him so that his back was to Jane, "I'm glad you could make it in such short notice."

"Anything for you," he replied seductively, still unaware that Jane was sitting right there.

"You weren't too busy, were you?" Stailene fake pouted to add fuel to the fire that she could feel raging from Jane.

It's all for you, brother, she reminded herself as she flirted with Nate.

"Nah, I can never be too busy for my favourite person," he failed to whisper as he nuzzled his nose in her throat. Stailene and Jane made eye contact and Stailene immediately took notice of the unshed tears in Jane's eyes.

"There's somebody I need you to meet," Stailene said, slowly slipping away from his hold and turning him around to face her. The wave of realisation and shock took half a second to hit him and once it did, Stailene wished she could have taken a picture of his face.

"Jane?" He said, rubbing his eyes and gulping really hard. "I, uh, I can explain this," he said, gesturing to Stailene who jerked her neck back when referred to as this.

Jane just shook her head, standing up slowly and holding onto the table as she kept a sob silent. Anybody could see that she was shaking and if that wasn't enough, the light clutter of cutlery on the table she was using to hold herself up could be faintly heard.

"Why?" She asked, her tone broken and bruised once again. Damn, history had a way of repeating itself, she mused, finding herself pathetic to be in this situation again. Something is wrong with me.

"Baby, just listen to me," he said, using his soft voice to try and coax her. He went over to her and lifted her chin up, not even knowing what to say next. She moved his hand away and waited for an excuse she already had memorised. He tried touching her again and she moved back.

"Please don't touch me," she said as she dropped her phone in her bag to get ready to leave. Why should she listen to something she already recited in her head?

But he wouldn't have that. He took her bag from her and threw it on the chair, holding her by the wrist as she attempted to walk past him. She tugged and tried to pull away from him and when he wasn't letting go, she grew furious. "LET GO OF ME!"

Her yelling ausing the entire restaurant to come to an abrupt silence and stare at their table. They saw a distressed woman held aggressively by a man who wouldn't take no for an answer and a younger woman who was dialling on her phone not too far away.

"You gotta get in here right now," Stailene told her brother frantically, next dialling the department that works with her. "Send backup to Roués restaurant, immediately."

Nate thankfully let go of Jane's wrist and kept a few feet away from her, trying to come up with a way to convince her to stay. But even he knew there was no point of return now. He could read it in her demeanour very clearly.

Jane was hurt and confused, rubbing her temple and putting her pacing to a stop as she came to stand in front of him. Without even thinking it through, she raised her hand and backhanded him, right across the face. A loud sound was heard from the impact of the blow and even Nate was taken by surprise, but that caused even more rage to overtake him.

He launched at Jane who was prepared to stand her ground and face him head-on when she felt a hand snake around her waist and pull her roughly and yet gently towards a muscular chest.

She felt heat radiate off of this person and a shock of electricity coursed through her joints. Her heart picked up pace when she heard the voice she was too familiar with by now.

"Go ahead and lay a fucking finger on her. I dare you."