Chapter 46 #2
Roman was already seated at the bar, and I stumbled over to his side, picking up a random glass. “He’s engaged to her. This night—it’s their engagement party!”
The images in my mind darkened with every minute. Jade was trapped with the man who abused her. He stole her, locked her up…and put a fucking ring on her finger.
“Shit, man. That’s fucking rough.” Roman shook his head, having nothing else to say about the fucking disaster I found myself in.
The dinner rush started, and I stayed quiet behind the bar, busying myself with anything and everything. Waiting. Waiting for only one specific person.
“Do you want to take a break?” Roman whispered across the bar as the restaurant noise buzzed all around us. “Jesús and his crew are seated, and Xavier’s table is almost all here. Maybe just take a five-minute—”
“No. I can’t miss her.”
Orders were pouring in, and I mixed drinks, dumping double the alcohol into all kinds of glasses.
As much as it pained me to admit it, I was incredibly out of shape and still very hurt.
I may have abandoned the cane, but I could barely stand.
The bottles weighed a fucking ton, and my legs were on fire simply from standing for a solid thirty minutes.
I was ready to collapse.
Right before I did, though, Roman grabbed a bottle of vodka out of my hands and poured two shots, pushing one toward me.
“Davai.” He jutted out his chin and…
Fuck it.
I shot my head back, letting the cool liquid coat my tongue. The effect was immediate. Not only did I not have any alcohol and been on heavy meds for the past three months, I was also extra lean.
But I was thankful for the vodka when my eyes found none other than Knox, arriving to loud greetings from his table. That motherfucker glowed.
He was heavier than before, and he was dressed better. Did he get dressed in the same room as Jade? Did he share a fucking closet with my girl?!
“Eto on.” I motioned behind Roman, and he twisted back slowly, getting a good look at him. “He’s the one with the eyepatch. What the fuck happened to his eye?” Whatever it was, I hoped it made him cry like a little bitch.
The waiter dropped off drinks for him—one after another—while he chatted with his friends, loudly laughing and joking.
Time slithered on. Their table was full and I checked my watch—an hour since Knox arrived and Jade was nowhere to be seen. My heart hammered against my ribcage just at the thought of seeing her, but she was a ghost.
“Maybe I fucked up,” I murmured to Roman over the loud chatter of the bar. “It’s been an hour and she—”
And there she was.
My Jade.
It was just her. Everything else fell away. She floated, in slow motion, existing outside of time and space.
My love.
She strolled through the restaurant, her walk slow, her head held high, her heels threatening to scratch the floors. Her dress: just like the one I first saw her in. Her body: slim and emaciated. Her eyes…lifeless.
Glued to the bar floor, I observed the massive bodyguard follow right behind her, my blood thrumming in my temples just from the sight.
“Is that her?” Roman asked, and I nodded, having lost the ability to do anything else. Jade stopped in front of a chair and glanced back at the hulk behind her, motioning with her chin. He obeyed instantly, pulling out the chair for her.
My girl.
"Mon ange! Tu es arrivée!" Xavier exclaimed loud enough for me to hear, and the world plunged into dark colors again.
He approached, but her expression stayed repulsed and uninterested, so he leaned in and wrapped his filthy fingers around her wrist. Imperceptible, unless you knew what you were looking for—he squeezed it, just as she tried to rip it out of his claws.
She faked a smile and he seemed satisfied, letting her go and taking a seat beside her.
Motherfucker Xavier would enjoy a slow death; I could see it.
Unable to rip my eyes away from her, I fumbled with glasses and bottles in front of me. Jade’s beauty was otherworldly. She was ethereal and…broken. There was just emptiness in her eyes, like she was a shell.
She sat there like a statue, motionless, staring straight ahead and not engaging with anyone. The bodyguard disappeared, leaving her with all those people, but so devastatingly alone.
I gulped, knowing that it was time. Butterflies filled my stomach as I grabbed a menu and headed for her table, barely able to move my feet. With jello legs, I stopped right beside her and cleared my throat.
“Can I get you a drink, Miss?”
She didn’t move, still living in her own world, so I bent down toward her, instantly recognizing her scent. Jasmine, her sweet skin, and light.
"What are you drinking tonight, Preziosa?"
Her shoulders jumped and she turned to me—slowly, afraid of what she would see.
But she recognized me immediately, her eyes blazing with shock.
I placed the menu right in front of our faces and whispered with all the strength I possessed after seeing the pain in her eyes.
"Tell him to go to the bathroom and freshen up for a picture. Come four minutes after him."
As quickly as I leaned in, I was already up.
"An old fashioned for the bride," I said loudly. "Can I get you another?" I asked the closest person sitting next to Jade, trembling from those three seconds in front of her.
"Get me another too!" someone else piped up.
I didn’t linger. Hurrying as much as I physically could, I walked away from the table and dropped the empty glasses off the bar before following Roman to the men’s room.
Roman towered over the sink and washed his hands while I took my spot at the urinal, turned toward the wall and waiting for Knox.
I was shaking. She recognized me, even though I looked like a shell of the man I once was.
A mere second later, Xavier walked in and joined Roman in front of the mirror, oblivious to his immediate future.
"It's your engagement party?" Roman spoke with a big smile on his face.
"Yeah!" Xavier exclaimed. "Getting married next month!" he gushed.
Fucking piece of shit, cock sucker, motherfucking asshole! Next month! He was planning to marry her next month! My Jade! My woman!
"That's fast!" Roman really got into character. "I guess when you lock in that special one, you don't want to wait, huh?"
"Oh, absolutely! Bad attitude, but a great fuck."
Xavier burst out into a loud laugh and so did Roman, adding his last words, "The badder the bitch, the sweeter the pussy, right?"
“My man!” Xavier clasped Roman on the shoulder. “You get it—" but Roman had enough of the conversation. I turned right in time to see Roman smash Xavier’s head into the mirror and then let him drop to the floor.
"What a fucking cunt." Roman provided his opinion of Xavier, standing over him.
Working quickly, I helped Roman haul Xavier over his shoulder and then held the restroom door open, watching as he headed for the back door.
But right when they left my sight—
There she was.
Her green eyes stared at me, afraid to believe I wasn’t a ghost. “A-Alex?” she whispered, trembling head to toe, such fear and confusion written all over her beautiful face.
Without missing a beat, I tugged on her cold and bony hand and pulled her into a storage room.
We were here now.
Together. Finally.
And I shook like a leaf too.
“Malyshka…”
I didn’t know what to say.
Didn’t know how to process it. How to explain how sorry I was.
“A-Alex?” Jade asked again, roaming her eyes all over me, unsure if I was a hallucination.
“It’s me, baby,” I whispered, assuring her and also…myself.
Jade tried to catch her breath as her fingers grazed my beard and she took in the sight of me—the sight of my scars—holding herself back from breaking down into violent sobs.
This was so much harder than I had anticipated, and my own tears spilled over.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry it took me so long to come back.
” I swiped a hot tear off her cheek and at this, she fell into my chest and clasped her arms around me, pulling me in with force I didn’t know she was capable of.
“Alex!” Jade cried, her thin and starved body feeling smaller than ever in my arms. Had she not been eating? "I'm so sorry! I should've—I should've come back for you! Escaped and come back!"
"Are you crazy?! What are you talking about, baby?!" I leaned down to kiss those puffy cherry lips. "I'm so sorry I broke my promise, Jade! I'm so sorry!" I choked out, desperately trying to assuage the guilt she felt while she sobbed. "I love you! I love you so much!"
I smothered her in kisses. Both urgent and slow, my lips touched every part of her beautiful face, her salty tears mending the scars on my lips.
My hands on her soft skin, I landed hungry kisses on her delicious lips, her beautiful chin, her pink cheeks, her long neck. As if feasting after starvation.
"You're so—you're so hurt!" Jade looked over me in a frenzy, not knowing which scar to pause her gaze on. "I-I love you so fucking much!"
With her arms around my neck, I lifted up my precious girl and headed toward the exit. The manager ran past us toward the dining room blazing up in a wild fist fight—courtesy of Jesús—but this time…there was no force on earth strong enough to rip us apart.