Chapter 8 #2
He turned to Jasper and said lazily, “I just told you how she gets. Even during her period, she insists on eating hot and spicy food.”
Elias leaned back deeper into his chair, one arm resting across the backrest while his fingers tapped lightly against the wood. His eyes stayed fixed on Amara the entire time.
“And then,” he continued in a low voice, “when she starts feeling too hot and uncomfortable, she throws a tantrum because it hurts her stomach and body. After that, she blames you for everything.”
The corner of his lips lifted faintly.
“Do you really think you’ll be able to tolerate her when she’s like that?”
Amara finally lowered her phone onto the table. She lifted her eyes toward Elias, a stretched, fake smile appearing on her lips.
“Your eyesight is really impressive.”
Her voice dripped with mockery.
“Even after crawling around on the floor a few days ago looking for your glasses, you still managed to find our table so easily.”
She tilted her head, her smile sweet but every word was laced with sarcasm.
“Honestly, it’s impressive. Your eyesight must’ve magically improved since that day you were on your hands and knees in front of me.”
Jasper almost choked, quickly looking away as he tried—and failed—to hide his laugh.
Elias’s lips pressed into a thin line as he leaned back lazily against his chair, one arm resting over the armrest. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of amusement on his face.
Jasper glanced around the restaurant, briefly scanning the many empty tables before looking back at Elias with visible annoyance.
“Mr. Creed,” he said, forcing out a smile, “there are plenty of empty tables around the restaurant. Couldn’t you find another one? Did you really have to squeeze yourself into our tiny table?”
Elias didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze remained on Amara as if Jasper hadn’t spoken at all.
“Don’t you always like sitting beside me?” he asked softly. “Every time we go out, you insist on pulling your chair closer to mine.”
He reached over and gripped the back of her chair.
“Come here,” he said, voice low. “Sit closer. We can have lunch properly together.”
“No, thank you.”
Amara rejected him immediately.
She didn’t even hesitate as she looked at him coldly.
“I’m perfectly fine where I am.”
Elias acted as if he hadn’t even heard her refusal.
“There’s an air conditioner right above your seat,” he continued calmly. “You always get cold easily whenever the air is too strong.”
His gaze swept over her quietly.
“Your health is already weak,” he said quietly. “Come sit with me over there—at that table near the window. The AC isn’t as strong there.”
He started pulling his chair back slightly as if already preparing to move her.
“Let’s go find you a better seat.”
Before he could continue, Amara interrupted him sharply.
“Mr. Creed.” She tilted her head and looked at him with disbelief. “I do not want to sit next to you. I’m completely fine where I am.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“And why are you suddenly so worried about my well-being?” A soft laugh escaped her lips, but there was no warmth in it. “My brain is having trouble processing this sudden concern.”
Elias completely ignored the sarcasm in her voice.
Instead, he turned toward the waiters moving around the restaurant. One of them quickly approached their table.
“She’ll have the herb-roasted salmon, the warm vegetable soup, and the truffle mashed potatoes. Add the garlic butter asparagus too.” His eyes flicked briefly toward Amara. “And bring her warm water.”
Amara and Jasper exchanged a quick glance.
Jasper immediately leaned closer toward her, lowering his voice into a near whisper. “How does he know all your favorite dishes?”
Amara simply shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know.”
But the slight stiffness in her shoulders betrayed her discomfort.
Before Jasper could say anything else, Felix suddenly walked over from the corner of the restaurant.
Stopping beside Elias, he bent down slightly and lowered his voice.
“Mr. Creed, Mr. Walter is here for the meeting.”
Elias’s eyes were stuck on Amara. With a careless wave of his hand, he replied dismissively, “Go tell him the issue will be resolved by the end of today. I’ll personally handle it this evening.”
Felix blinked in confusion. “Mr. Creed… you’re not going over to meet him?”
Only then did Elias lift his eyes toward him.
The coldness in his gaze instantly made Felix stiffen.
“I understand, Mr. Creed,” Felix answered immediately.
Not daring to say another word, he quickly stepped back before hurrying away from the table.
The moment Felix disappeared from sight, Elias shifted his attention back to Amara.
The waiter arrived carrying the dishes. The food was carefully placed onto the table one after another, steam rising from the freshly prepared food.
Amara didn’t say a single word.
Ignoring Elias completely, she picked up her plate calmly and started serving herself food with an indifferent expression, acting as though he didn’t even exist at the table.
He looked at her again, his brows slowly furrowing.
“What were you doing at your family restaurant earlier?” he asked.
He stared at her closely, his sharp eyes carefully studying every expression she made as if trying to figure her out. His gaze lingered on her for so long it almost felt intrusive, but Amara didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
“I take care of my parents' businesses. Their hotels and restaurants.”
Elias frowned immediately.
“You manage Hawk Industries?” he repeated, staring at her in disbelief. “Since when?”
“Since I graduated from college,” Amara replied without even pausing her meal. “I’ve always managed everything for them.”
She picked up her glass calmly and took a sip of water before continuing.
Elias stared at her silently. It was obvious he was trying to process what she had just said.
Before he could respond, the sharp ringing of Jasper’s phone suddenly echoed through the atmosphere.
Jasper glanced down at the screen, and grabbed the phone. “Excuse me.”
Pushing his chair back, he stood up and walked toward a quieter corner of the restaurant to answer the call.
The moment Jasper left, Elias’s attention shifted back to Amara.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this when we got married?” he asked. His eyes stayed locked on her face. “How the hell was I married to you for an entire year and had no idea you were managing your parents’ business?”
Amara slowly placed her cutlery down onto the plate with a soft clink.
She took a small breath before finally looking at him directly.
“Because you were never interested enough to find out.”
Elias stared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Amara let out a faint laugh of disbelief.
“There was nothing to reveal.”
She leaned back slightly in her chair, her eyes cold and steady on him.
“You didn’t even want to talk to me during our marriage, Elias.” Her lips curled faintly with sarcasm. “So what exactly did you expect me to tell you? We barely even spoke.”
Elias’s jaw tightened hard.
Taking a slow breath, he lowered the soup bowl in his hand onto the table with a soft clink.
He clearly didn’t like her answer.
Still, after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “What’s the deal with him?”
He gestured toward the now-empty chair Jasper had been sitting in only moments ago.
“How do you know him?”
“Work,” Amara answered simply.
The vague response only seemed to frustrate him more.
His fingers slowly tightened around the spoon in his hand until his knuckles almost turned pale.
“And what exactly is your relationship with him? What does he mean to you?”
Amara pressed her lips together, trying to hide the smile threatening to appear. She didn’t let it show on her face.
She could already see where his mind was going, and for some reason, watching him struggle with it amused her.
Tilting her head slightly, she gave him a careless shrug.
“What do you think it is?”
The moment she said that, countless images flashed through Elias’s mind against his will.
Jasper leaning close to her.
The way they smiled at each other.
The comfortable atmosphere between them.
Every single scene replayed inside his head, and to his growing frustration, his mind kept arriving at conclusions he absolutely did not want to accept.
His face darkened slightly.
Looking back at her, he said stiffly, “I want you to tell me.”
Amara simply leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms loosely.
Amara simply looked at him without the slightest bit of concern.
“I don’t know.”
She shrugged again lightly.
“You can make your own judgment.”
The answer only made the tension in Elias’s face tighten further.
Amara calmly grabbed the napkin from the table and wiped her fingers before placing it down beside her plate. Then she finally stood up.
Elias’s eyes immediately followed her movement.
Standing in front of him, Amara looked down at him calmly and said in a dismissive tone,
“I really don’t care what you think, Elias.”
Without waiting for his response, she turned and started walking away from the table.
Her heels clicked softly against the restaurant floor as she headed toward the exit.
On the way out, she casually spoke to one of the staff members nearby.
“I’ll settle the bill for the table,” she said lightly. “Let Mr. Creed order whatever he wants.”
Elias’s face darkened instantly.
The displeasure in his eyes became even heavier as he watched her walk farther and farther away without once looking back at him.
“Amara!”
His voice rang loudly through the restaurant.
Several people turned to look.
But Amara didn’t stop.
She ignored him completely and walked straight out of the restaurant.
***
It was already midnight when Amara’s phone suddenly rang on the bedside table beside her bed.