Chapter Twenty-six

Wilting white roses. I almost became one of them. I didn’t want to lose it. Innocence is what I have had since the day I was born. It was given to me. I must protect it. I mustn’t allow anything to taint it. I didn’t want to become a wilting white rose.

I picked up my jaw, which fell to the floor as I awkwardly waved at Francine. Behind her stood Patton, which only made things more uncomfortable. The two of them were wearing coats, which meant they had just arrived. No, this isn’t happening. This is all a dream, right? None of this is actually happening…

“Rachel, you all right?”

I snapped out of my thoughts and regarded the redhead standing in front of me. Her concerned face didn’t match Patton’s. Instead, his eyes were focused somewhere. On someone else. Following his stare, my eyes landed on Chad.

What is going on in that mind of his?

“Rachel?”

Hurry! Just say something!

“Um, do you guys want to e-eat with us?” I questioned. The smile I gave was sheepish and my body was probably showing it. Why do I feel as if I’ve been caught doing something wrong? It’s not like eating lunch with Chad Montgomery is a crime.

Francine nodded and faced the usher, who stood behind them, waiting for their decision. “Is it all right if we eat with them?”

The usher merely smiled and agreed, before giving orders to a waiter nearby to fetch extra chairs.

Patton helped Francine remove her coat and held hers while Patton took his off. It didn’t take long before we all sat across from each other. The waiter handed the newcomers their menus and waited for them to order. I continued to smile despite my feelings inside. Can’t believe this is happening! How many times have I wished for the floor to swallow me up? Why do these things always happen to me?

“Rachel, what do you think is delicious?”

Hearing Francine’s question, I looked up from my plate and scratched my arm. “Um, you should try their udon, or perhaps their sushi,” I suggested with a smile, not knowing what else to do or say.

The redhead hummed to herself as she reviewed the menu. Beside her sat Patton, who remained silent the whole time. He merely pointed at the menu for the waiter to scribble down his order.

Out of the corner of my eye, Chad was busy stirring his bowl of ramen. Could it be that he doesn’t want to make conversation?

“All right! Waiter, I’ll have the same stuff she ordered.” Francine grinned and shut the menu.

“Very good, Ma’am. Your meals will be served in less than five minutes.” With that said, the waiter ran off with Patton and Francine’s orders.

Releasing a small sigh, Francine suddenly leaned forward and stared at Chad with those gleaming green eyes. It only meant one thing…

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Chad Montgomery. Right?”

Glancing up from his plate, Chad stared at Francine before flashing her a charming smile. “Yes. And you are?”

Francine’s grin was creepy, and the way she regarded Chad was like seeing him through a microscope, as if doing this would intimidate him. If she only knew that Chad wouldn’t be intimidated with that alone. Even I don’t know what would intimidate him to the point where he submits.

“I’m Francine Winstel, Rachel’s best friend.” Folding her arms together, she pointed to the silent Patton, who continued to stare at Chad. “This is Patton Parkinson. He’s our friend.”

Chad nodded at Patton, who merely returned the greeting with a nod, too.

Letting out a small sigh, Francine gave us two thumbs up. “Well, now that we introduced ourselves, may I ask something?”

I felt my body go rigid, knowing well what her next words would be. I looked down and stared at the buttons of my white blouse, not knowing where to look.

“Sure,” Chad agreed unknowingly. I mentally palmed my face at his stupidity.

Hearing his approval, Francine giggled and leaned even more forward until she was almost hovering above the table. I hope the waiter or the staff don’t see her doing this, or we might be asked to leave for scaring the customers with her odd smile.

Don’t say it, Fran, please don’t!

“Chad Montgomery, do you like our Rachel?”

My breath hitched and I slowly turned my head to see Chad’s face not holding any expression. Taking his silence, Francine continued.

“Are you dating her? Based on the news and articles I’ve read, you seem to have taken a liking to her. Or, you both are really just business partners.”

Do you really have to ask that? Like, seriously?

I laughed aloud and waved my hands at her. “Nope. Come on, Fran, you know that we’re only business partners.” What else could we be?

Chad let out a small sigh and crossed his arms together. “As much as I want to tell you that I’m dating her, I can assure you we’re not.” His eyes moved from the redhead to me. He smirked. “Yet.”

Francine let out a gasp and turned to me for confirmation. “Huh? Were you planning on saying yes to being his girlfriend?”

Just as I was about to shake my head and correct her misunderstanding, Chad directed his hand at me. “She was a bit shy when I asked her, but she wasn’t hesitant. In fact, she was about to answer me before you guys came in.”

“Hey, Chad—”

I got cut off by Patton, who gently slapped the table. Even if the sound was just soft, the items on top of the table jiggled. All of our eyes were on him as Patton silently looked at Chad with sharp eyes. The hand he placed on the table was now a clenched fist.

“You,” Patton mumbled in a low voice. It was spine-chilling. “What have you done to even deserve her?”

His words silenced us and made the atmosphere turn cold. Patton, what are you doing? The aura he was giving off was just…different.

When Chad didn’t answer, Patton scoffed. “Seriously? You think you can date Rachel Maxwell? If you want, you have to do better than to impress her with your looks. If you believe that you can, you’re just wasting your time.” Even his spine was stiff and his eyes were like lasers trying to melt Chad’s face.

The blond man simply sat quietly in his seat, eyes just on Patton. Even in his quiet state, something felt peculiar in the air. Is he talking back to Patton in his head? Probably even mocking my friend… The thought alone of him making fun of old Patton just made me dislike him. He better not be making fun of Patton.

Francine smiled. “If I were you, Mr. Montgomery, I’d give my best. I’ve known Rachel for a very long time. You’re in for a huge challenge if you plan to date her.”

Patton laughed, his shoulders shaking and eyes shut. I stared at him in surprise. The redheaded woman merely shook her head at the soldier.

“What’s so funny, Parkinson?”

He pretended to wipe tears at the corners of his eyes and leaned back on his chair. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that, if he can date Rachel… We don’t even know if she likes him.”

“Oh, yes. Thanks for telling me.” Turning to me, Francine gave a questioning stare. “What about you, Rach? Do you have feelings for him?”

Do I? I shifted my gaze from my friends to Chad. Unlike the two who were waiting for my reply, Chad remained as he was a few seconds ago – silent and uncaring of the world around him. I rubbed my hands against my thighs, feeling the smooth cloth of my black pencil skirt. What’s this? Where did all his boasting go?

A smirk suddenly spread across his face, making my eyes widen slightly. “I can assure you, Rachel wants to date me.” His words stunned Francine and Patton. They weren’t expecting him to say anything, assuming he was embarrassed by his rash words a while ago. “You can tell by the way she looks at me. Her eyes are filled with love!”

The audacity… I giggled and slapped his arm, hard. I’ll kill this man. He only made them misunderstood the situation.

“Are those jokes even necessary, huh, Montgomery?”

Chad’s lips turned into a firm line and his face contorted to a frown.

Paying him no attention, I turned to my friends and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. He just loves to joke around.” Too much. “I can assure you guys, I’m not dating anyone right now. I’m busy managing my business and training to take over our company soon,” I explained. “I have no time for love.”

Liar.

“See?” Francine grinned widely at Chad. “I told you it won’t be easy. She’s a very busy woman. Are you up for it?”

Before Chad could even utter a word, the waiter arrived with another tray. “Here are your meals,” he announced as he set the plates in front of Francine and Patton. Attention easily swayed by the food, Francine quickly took her chopsticks and bowed slightly.

“Let’s eat!”

She took one sushi and began gobbling it. “Delicious!” Francine gushed in-between chews, and went back to eating. Patton stared at her in concern.

“Hey, Francine. Slow down. You might choke on your own food,” he warned, reaching for the cup of tea he ordered in case Francine started to gag. That’s when I noticed it was still steaming.

“Um, Patton. I don’t think you should—”

When she did, Patton hurriedly gave her the cup of tea for her to drink. Her shoulders shook and she banged a fist on her chest.

“Here! Drink it.”

In a fit of coughs, Francine took the cup and quickly gulped it down. That’s when she let out a small shriek. It alarmed the soldier within Patton.

“W-what’s the matter?” he inquired. Patton’s hand was still rubbing her back in circles. When Francine’s eyes met with his, she pointed to the cup in anger.

“You didn’t tell me it was that hot!” She gestured to her tongue, which hung out of her mouth. “Now look at my tongue! It’s burnt!”

It was clearly a funny sight, but I tried not to laugh at my best friend’s predicament. It would only make her feel worse than she was already feeling.

“Wait for a moment, I’ll get a cold glass of water for you.” I signaled for the waiter and saw him running towards me.

“What is the matter, Ma’am? I thought I heard someone scream,” he stated in concern. “Is it the food?”

I shook my head to rid his worrying thoughts. “No, the food’s all right. My friend just burnt her tongue. Can we ask for a glass of cold water?”

Relieved that it wasn’t very serious, the waiter nodded and hurriedly went to fetch a glass of water. Facing the fuming Francine and the apologizing Patton, I shook my head at them. Seriously, these two are hopeless. How can they keep arguing with each other?

Look who’s talking.

My eyes widened at Chad’s words as they rang in my head. I sharply turned to face him, wondering if I heard them right, only to see him busy eating. Did he say those words? Or was it only my imagination? Shaking my thoughts away, I diverted my attention back to my bickering best friend ganging up on Patton.

Yup, nothing has changed between them except their age.

“Parkinson, once we’re finished here, I’m going to kill you,” Francine swore at the trembling man. Obviously, she has the upper hand. If you were to ask Patton what his fear was, you wouldn’t believe that a brave man such as him could be afraid of Francine Winstel.

But, then again, he has always loved her and will act like a lost puppy just to make her smile. Meanwhile, Francine enjoys Patton’s company, but isn’t vocal about it. Sometimes, I wonder whether she even has feelings for him or is just playing around.

“I’m sorry, Fran. I didn’t mean to.” Patton scratched his head while looking very lost. How can a man like him, who puts on a face of stone every time, manage to put on an adorable look?

Catching sight of the waiter carrying the glass of water, I managed to release a breath in relief. “The water is here now, Fran. You can stop crying.”

The waiter approached me with a smile. “I apologize if it took so long. Here’s the water you asked for.”

I nodded and gestured to Francine. Just as he was about to head over to her, he tripped and spilled the water all over me. My jaw dropped in shock as water slid down my chest to my tummy. Droplets covered my face and arms. But what horrified me was how it made my blouse transparent.

Francine immediately stood up and went over to me. “Rach, here.” Handing me a table napkin, she helped to dab the water away from my arms and face. I slowly stood up, covering my chest.

“Oh! Are you all right, Ma’am?” the waiter questioned in alarm, before taking a table napkin. “Here.”

I took it and covered my translucent chest, not wanting people to see my already visible undergarment. “Um, where’s the bathroom?” I asked, cheeks red with humiliation. The whole restaurant was watching. It didn’t take long for the manager to come and question what was wrong.

I took action and reassured him that everything was fine. Last thing I wanted was to draw attention and cause the media to come here. They were like sharks, swimming rapidly after smelling blood. I don’t want to be all over the news once again.

“Everything’s fine. I just want to know where the bathroom is.”

The manager gestured to where the sign saying restroom was. “It’s in there, Ma’am. If there’s anything we can do, please tell us.”

I nodded and hurried off with Francine behind me. Reaching the restroom, I stood in front of the female cubicle. Francine’s face was full of worry.

“You all right? Do you want me to buy a new one?”

I shook my head. “Nah, it’s all right. I’ll just let this dry.” Francine stared at me for a few moments, probably debating something in her mind before nodding. “All right. I’ll wait for you outside. Just call me if you need me.”

Entering the cubicle, I locked the door behind me and sighed tiredly. Looking down at my wet blouse, I dabbed the napkins against the area while thinking of another way of drying it. Eyeing the hand dryer in the corner, I wondered if it would work.

Unbuttoning my blouse, I placed the wet area directly under the hand dryer. Its noise filled the cubicle. I tapped on it to see if it was drying and smiled when I realized it was. It didn’t take ten minutes for it to dry fully.

Finally.

I mentally praised the hand dryer for existing and put on my blouse. As I buttoned it up, I turned the lock on the door and prepared to go out, when it pushed open. Oh, stupid of me not to think that there are others wanting to use the restroom. Expecting to see a woman, I stood agape as I found myself pushed back against the wall by none other than Chad Montgomery.

“W-what are you—?”

He closed and locked the door behind him before facing me. My eyes widened at him as I began calculating the scenarios running through my head. What is he doing here? What’s he going to do?

“Rachel,” he mumbled softly. So softly that I almost didn’t hear it. When he advanced, I moved to the side in fear.

“Chad, what are you doing here? Why are you in the women’s restroom?” Then, a sudden thought came up in my mind. No, it can’t be. Impossible.

“Chad, are you lost? Didn’t you happen to read the sign outside?”

He didn’t answer, which only creeped me out. The blank look in his eyes just made me feel like I was about to witness something I didn’t want to see. It looked scary.

“Chad, why are you here?” Not wanting to waste time, I irritably exhaled and started for the door. A small gasp escaped my lips when he grabbed my hand and pinned me to the wall. I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance, trying to break his grip on my wrists.

“What are you doing? Let me go,” I hissed. “Let me go, Montgomery.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“I said, let me go.”

Instead of doing what I ordered him to do, Chad only leaned forward with a dangerous look in his eyes, not giving any heed to my words.

I glared and snarled at his face. “Let me go or I’ll scream,” I threatened.

This made him chuckle, pushing my hair, that had fallen over my face, away. His thumb and index finger held my chin until he cupped my cheek. Those blue eyes of his stared directly at mine.

“Do it,” he whispered hotly. His breath was against my cheek. “Do it, Maxwell. People will think we’re doing something inappropriate here.” When I made no move to scream, Chad heaved a sigh. “You shouldn’t carry out a threat when you can’t even do it. All talk, no bite.”

I let out a strangled gasp when he lowered his head, feeling his lips against my neck. Then, his wet tongue and hot breath. Everything felt so strange, and yet…familiar.

It’s disgusting.

I pushed him away, only for him to tighten his grip, not letting me escape. Tears were now rolling down my cheeks as I sobbed. The images of when Nathan had tried to force me came into mind, infiltrating me once again. Poisoning me. Tainting me.

It was so revolting. Repulsive. Sickening.

“Let go of me!” I cried out, and tried to push him away. He barely moved an inch. Without a second thought, I slapped his face hard. Chad landed on the floor, holding his cheek with a huge scowl on his face.

“What the fuck?!”

But it disappeared when he looked up at me. I was clinging on to my clothes, my hair all over my face, sticking to my cheek where my tears were. The same state I was in before.

“Don’t touch me.”