Chapter 26

Clara's POV

I looked aside, thinking I would melt into the background. I guess I looked like I was in tears.

Derek said, "Are you okay?" and it appeared to focus more of his attention on me as a result.

They were both gazing at me, I noticed. I attempted a deep-spoken "I'm fine, it's just hormones." in response.

I let my hair fall onto my face in loose strands.

Perhaps it would be best if I hurried to the bathroom and waited for Cecilia to go. Even better, I would go home and tell Derek that I'm ill.

Derek said, "What would you like to eat?"

"Anything can be ordered," I said.

My final preoccupation was food.

Derek hesitated momentarily, presumably attempting to discover why I wasn't feeling well.

He kept placing our meal orders. Nodding to what he said, Cecilia jotted down the order on her little notepad.

Something said, "I'll get it from here," breaking the silence.

Another waiter, a male, was moving in.

The man whispered to Cecilia, "Thanks for covering for me."

Reid was the name on his nametag.

Cecilia smiled and nodded before heading out.

It was a fortunate escape. She wouldn't be our waiter for the evening, at least.

I still needed to exercise caution, but at least I could finally begin acting like a regular person.

I removed the napkin, feeling that everything was apparent at this point.

Derek seemed indifferent to my small antics, or he chose to overlook them.

Not long after, Reid brought our beverages and set down two glasses of cranberry juice for Derek and me.

Derek broke the stillness by clearing his throat. "So, why did you decide to save me tonight?" He inquired. He stared at me, his eyes observing everything I did.

What response was I expected to give him?

I shrugged. "I'm not sure," was my response. "I just thought to myself, what would be the easiest way to get a free dinner out of someone, and there you were," I said facetiously.

"After I made my offer already?" he inquired.

"You are lucky I was there. You looked like you had nothing to say. You were practically begging me to save you. You should be thankful; I'm just doing you a favour." I grumbled.

"Good," was his response. "I thought I got a sense of jealousy from you, Ms Owens." He laughed.

I was surprised by his statements. "Me?" I said, shocked. "I would have liked to see the two of you together. That way, you can talk about nothing but shoes all day." I laughed.

He chuckled. "That would be great. I have a classic collection if you want to see one of these days." He was joking.

"That is some real talk to Madison right there. If you are lucky, the waiter will bring a mirror for dessert so you can both stare at your faces." I laughed.

I'm fatally gorgeous, that's all. Do you believe I should be the first person guests see when they wake up if my face is plastered on every wall in the hotel? He made a joke.

"It would be fantastic. It would undoubtedly contribute to this nation's rising mortality rate. Everyone would have a heart attack when they woke up. How traumatic it must be for everyone to see your face every day," I went on.

He was much easier to chat with than anticipated, and we laughed.

When the waiter came back with our meal, I was taken aback to see that three other gentlemen had followed him and had started laying out the various foods on the table: salads, spaghetti, ramen, kebab, paella, and more that I couldn't even begin to name because most of them seemed so foreign to me.

"What made you order so much food?"I inquired.

"Well, I wasn't entirely sure what you wanted to eat, so I thought I'd order a little of everything." He said.

"Well, if I eat all of this, there is hardly any room left for a baby," I said.

He began to eat our dinner while we both served ourselves.

Would you mind briefly introducing yourself to me?"He enquired.

"What information do you seek? I questioned, brushing the flyaways off my face in a way that almost seemed playful. Great, now he'll think I'm flirting with him.

"Do you have any relatives on your mom's side?" he said, clearing his mouth."He enquired.

"No, none of them are in contact with us. I said, "It's always just my mom, sister, and myself. Why are you talking about this at all?"

He said, "Nothing, no reason at all."

But I do have a question for you. Have you ever thought of escaping your house?"I inquired.

I had this fantasy of Derek growing up with Layla. Considering how she is, I'm sure he believed it.

After considering it, he remarked, "That's a tough one. How about every time my mother makes me wash the dishes?" To prevent me from skipping class, she wanted me to understand what it was like to be impoverished," he said.

"You felt like leaving your house to avoid having to wash the dishes?"I chuckled.

"And we had a dishwasher too." He went on. "Those were terrible dark times, having to stack every one of those plates in the dishwasher."

I was the one giggling this time.

"My grandmother once attempted to teach me how to fry an egg, if you think that was awful. It had a terrible ending. When it didn't work, I informed her it was child labour, and I would sue her for all the mental and bodily pain it would inflict me." He went on.

"Sounds like you got away with many things as a child," I said.

"No, I was attacked by my granny with a pan. He remarked, "No amount of money could ever make up for the therapy I needed after that day. She said I couldn't file a lawsuit if I were dead."

My stomach ached from all the lying at this point.

"My mother would tell me there wouldn't be any food for me for a week if I ever did it at home. "I couldn't possibly say no to her," I answered.

"I thought about that," he said. "It was either I was going to starve to death or die of food poisoning. I chose instead to die with honour and starve myself to death. If a kid dies because his parents don't feed him for a week, that's a headline. But if I died because I couldn't make an egg, that would be stupid. I'm pretty sure my mom would have had someone write on my tombstone. He died for being stupid." He went on.

He told me other anecdotes about his early years, including how he had nearly sold all of his grandmother's jewellery.