Chapter 7 #3
“One of our servers can arrange a table for your date. You may choose dishes from the menu today, and for future visits, please make a reservation in advance.”
“Date?” Elias immediately frowned. “What date? I’m not on a date.”
His brows knitted together in irritation as he stepped slightly closer to the counter.
Then his eyes narrowed at her.
“What exactly is going on here?” he questioned. “This restaurant… is it your family’s restaurant?”
“I don’t answer personal questions, Mr. Creed.”
Her tone remained distant and professional.
“You are a customer here. If you wish to dine, one of our servers will escort you to a table.”
Elias’s jaw tightened instantly. The indifference in her eyes irritated him far more than he wanted to admit.
She was looking at him as if he were nothing more than another customer. As if it didn’t matter whether he came there with Bianca or a thousand other women.
As if she genuinely did not care about him anymore.
And somehow, that cold indifference burned worse than anger.
“Why are you even arguing with someone like her?” Bianca suddenly interrupted with a scoff.
She crossed her arms and leaned closer to Elias possessively before glaring at Amara with obvious disdain.
“She’s probably just working here,” Bianca said dismissively. “It’s not like she understands how important your time is.”
Her lips curled mockingly.
“You handle billion-dollar businesses every day, and she’s acting important just because she works at a restaurant. Honestly, she’s probably bored of serving tables and pretending she knows something.”
The second those words left Bianca’s mouth, Shane’s expression changed completely.
The polite professionalism vanished from his face.
“Miss,” he snapped sharply, “you cannot speak to Miss Hawk like that.”
Bianca looked startled.
His tone was filled with warning now.
“If you do not know who Ms. Hawk is, then you have no right to disrespect her,” Shane continued angrily. “We do not tolerate this kind of behavior at our restaurant."
Bianca immediately opened her mouth to argue back, but before she could speak—
“Security?”
Shane’s voice rang out loudly across the restaurant.
Elias instinctively waited for Amara to interrupt Shane. But not for Bianca.
In the past, whenever someone addressed her as “Miss Hawk,” she would always correct them immediately.
“It’s Mrs. Creed now.”
Right after their marriage, she had insisted on it constantly, to the point where Elias had become completely used to hearing it from her.
But this time—
She said nothing.
Not a single word.
The realization hit Elias unexpectedly hard.
An ugly feeling twisted violently inside his chest.
Hot. Restless. Uncomfortable.
It felt like something was slowly burning him from the inside.
His jaw tightened before he sharply looked at Shane.
“Call her Mrs. Creed.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Amara’s gaze shifted toward him.
“Have you forgotten? I’m not Mrs. Creed anymore.”
Her expression remained controlled, but distant.
Elias frowned deeply at her response.
“It was you who always insisted on being called Mrs. Creed,” he said arrogantly. “What happened now? You suddenly changed your mind?”
“Yes,” Amara answered immediately.
Her voice didn’t waver even slightly.
“I did.”
She held his gaze directly.
“I don’t want it anymore.”
Elias visibly flinched.
The softness that had briefly appeared in his expression disappeared instantly, replaced with anger and something darker underneath.
He wasn’t used to hearing her reject his name.
Wasn’t used to hearing her call herself Miss Hawk so naturally.
Just then, two security guards entered the restaurant. They grabbed Bianca by both arms.
Bianca let out a shocked cry as they started dragging her toward the exit.
“W-What are you doing?!” she shouted while struggling violently. “Why are you taking me out?! If anyone should be thrown out, it should be her!”
She twisted around angrily to glare at Shane.
“Why are you protecting her so much?” Bianca demanded furiously. “What exactly is going on between the two of you?”
Her voice grew louder and shriller.
“What? Does your boss know you’re acting like a loyal dog for another woman instead of his business?!”
Several customers nearby had already started staring openly.
Bianca then pointed accusingly at Amara.
“You’re a married woman! How shameless can you be?”
Her voice became louder and more hysterical as the guards continued pulling her away.
Then she turned back toward Shane again.
“What exactly is her role here?” Bianca demanded angrily. “Why are you giving her so much importance that you’re throwing paying customers out because of her?”
Bianca struggled harder against the guards.
“If people find out how this restaurant treats its customers for your mistress, do you really think anyone will still be willing to step foot in this shithole?!”
“How can you even call her that?” Shane snapped immediately, stepping protectively in front of Amara. “She is the owner of this restaurant. So yes, we have every right to throw you out if you disrespect her.”
“She’s the owner?” Bianca cried out, disbelief flashing across her face. She pointed at Amara accusingly, her voice rising. “She’s obviously taking advantage of her position. Aren’t you going to stop her? She’s just trying to take revenge on me because I’m standing next to Elias.”
Elias let out a long, frustrated breath, dragging a hand down his face before planting both hands on his waist. His sharp gaze shifted toward Amara.
“And why don’t I know about you being the owner of a restaurant?”
“Mr. Creed, please leave. I think we are done here.”
Amara didn’t even spare him another glance after saying that. She turned around calmly and started walking back toward the counter, clearly dismissing him.
The movement instantly triggered the security guards.
They grabbed Bianca by the arms and started dragging her toward the exit.
“Let go of me!” Bianca shrieked, struggling against them.
“Wait.”
Elias suddenly stepped forward and grabbed one of the guards by the arm, stopping him. Then he turned toward Amara.
“I need to talk to you. Come back here.”
Amara halted mid-step. After a brief pause, she turned around and walked back toward him in her heels. She stopped right in front of him and raised a brow.
“Yes?”
Elias inhaled deeply before glancing at the guards and then back at her.
“Make them leave. We need to talk.”
Amara’s gaze shifted toward Bianca for a brief second, sharp and warning.
Bianca immediately stiffened.
The message was obvious. If she said one more wrong thing, she would really be thrown out.
Grinding her teeth silently, Bianca yanked her arms free from the guards and stepped back beside Elias with an annoyed huff, folding her arms tightly across her chest.
Amara’s eyes returned to Elias questioningly.
“As I said before, I need you to prepare a meal plan for Bianca. She needs food with ingredients that help improve her blood levels. She’s anemic, so she needs proper meals regularly.”
Elias paused briefly before adding,
“I want your restaurant to prepare and deliver the food to her whenever needed, of course within the restaurant’s operating hours.”
“It’s not possible.” Amara answered. “I already told you that. I don’t know what language you speak, but in my language, ‘not possible’ means not possible.”
Elias exhaled heavily through his nose before taking a step closer to her. His voice lowered.
“Do me a favor, alright?” he said quietly. “This is important to me. Just make one exception. I’ll pay you whatever amount you ask for.”
Amara stared at him silently.
Her eyes briefly shifted toward Bianca before returning to Elias again.
The irony almost made her laugh.
Elias had always been arrogant—a man who never lowered his head for anyone or anything. Yet for Bianca, he was even willing to put aside his pride and ask someone else for a favor.
Fine then.
If he wanted that favor so badly, she would make sure he paid a proper price for it.
Amara straightened before speaking loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
“You heard him, Shane. Mr. Creed said he is willing to pay whatever amount we demand.”
Elias narrowed his eyes immediately, sensing danger.
She rested both hands on the counter casually before continuing, “Then Mr. Creed will sponsor the complete renovation of the second floor of our restaurant.”
Bianca’s eyes widened.
Amara pointed upward casually as she continued, “Everything will be replaced. The tables, chairs, walls, lighting, utensils, soaps, tiles, flooring, even the air-conditioning units. Every single expense will be paid by Mr. Creed. In exchange, we will fulfill his special request.”
Elias stared at her in disbelief.
“You want to renovate an entire floor?” he asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”
Amara shrugged lightly before tossing the tablet in her hand onto the counter.
“Mr. Creed, you asked for a special favor in exchange for any amount of money, so naturally, you have to do something special for us too.” She tilted her head slightly.
“Nothing in this world is free.” Her gaze locked onto his. “You understand business, don’t you?”
Elias stared at her for several long seconds before letting out a dry laugh.
“You know you’re taking advantage of me.”
Amara immediately turned fully toward him.
“It’s Miss Hawk,” she corrected sharply. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Mrs. Creed anymore?”
Her voice cracked through the air like a whip.
“Do not call me that ever again!”
Elias went still for a moment.
The anger in her voice caught him off guard.
She had never sounded so offended by the title before.
His jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.
Amara folded her arms again.
“Do you want the deal or not?”
“Deal.”
Elias answered with a sharp breath, his jaw tight as he stared at her.
“Send the papers to my office. I’ll sign them.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Amara’s face brightened instantly.
A satisfied smile spread across her lips as she straightened from the counter and clasped her hands lightly together
“It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Creed,” she said smoothly, her lips curving with satisfaction. “How generous of you.”
Elias narrowed his eyes at the obvious sarcasm hidden behind her smile, but before he could respond, a phone suddenly started ringing loudly on the counter beside her.
Amara glanced toward the screen.
Jasper
Elias noticed it instantly. His expression darkened almost at once.
Amara, however, acted completely indifferent to his reaction.
Amara, however, looked completely indifferent to the tension radiating from him. She casually leaned forward over the counter, picked up the phone, and pressed it to her ear.
“Yeah?” she asked lightly as she answered the call.
Without sparing Elias another glance, she turned around and started walking toward the restaurant exit.
Elias watched her leave. And with every step she took away from him, the irritation in his chest grew heavier. His eyes followed her figure until she reached the door.
“Where are you going?” Elias called out sharply.
The moment the words left his mouth, Amara—who had almost reached the exit—suddenly stopped.
She turned around to look at him over her shoulder.
“How is it any of your business?”
With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked out of the restaurant without waiting for his response.
A deep frown formed on Elias’s face. He suddenly turned back toward the entrance and raised his voice.
“Where the hell are you going with him?!”
Silence.