Chapter 14: Uneasy Feeling

Ram's POV.

I can't help but stare at her; she's the only thing that matters to me at this very minute.

I could hear her every breath, feel the heat emanating from her body, and smell her all-too-familiar scent. I couldn't describe how I felt at that very moment when our bodies were so close together.

I couldn't help but be drawn to her. I had assumed that after we moved in together, my desire would gradually lessen, but instead, it only grew stronger.

"Can you stop looking at me like that?" I was woken from my trance when I heard her, and the embarrassment was evidently etched on her beautiful face.

"You look so beautiful tonight," I murmured.

After hearing my compliment, she seemed even more awkward, and she tried to avoid making eye contact with me.

"That's just because of the makeup and the clothes," she said.

"With or without makeup, you're still the most beautiful woman that I have ever met," I said, finally making her smile, and because of that smile, I felt the whole room light up.

I can't believe how genuine Atilla is; even simple praise could give her joy.

She's so innocent and pure that I feel the need to protect her no matter what.

I couldn't imagine the hardship she had to go through that forced her to sell her body, and with that in mind, I made a silent promise that I would not let her experience any hardships in life.

No words passed between us after that, as I no longer saw the need for words as we continued dancing, letting our bodies do all the talking.

The song "Wonderful Tonight" is currently playing in the background, which perfectly sets the mood between us.

I wasn't lying when I told her that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met in my life.

I didn't want to end this moment, but we'd been dancing for so long now, and Atilla finally got tired of dancing as she requested to have a break.

"Can we rest?" I heard Atilla ask. and that's when I noticed that the song finally ended.

I guided her to the table assigned to me, and unfortunately, the table next to it was where Jeffrey and Janine were seated.

Jeffrey couldn't hide the envy on his face as he kept on looking at Atilla as if wanting her for himself, while Janine kept her head low, avoiding anyone's gaze.

I honestly didn't care what those two were thinking and doing, because all that mattered to me was the woman next to me.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your date?" I heard Jeffrey ask when we were finally seated.

I can't believe how shameless Jeffrey could be, acting all friendly with me when, in fact, we both hated each other to the core, but I had to endure it since I didn't want to appear pitiful.

"Atilla, this is Jeffrey with her fiancee Janine; guys, this is Atilla, my special friend," I said, making sure to emphasize the words "special friend," and when Janine heard that she couldn't stop herself from looking in my direction.

I was perplexed when Jeffrey suddenly took Atilla's hand and kissed the back of her hand.

She immediately pulled her hand from Jeffrey's hold and decided not to make a big deal out of it.

"Nice meeting you, Atilla; you just don't know how lucky Ram is to have you as his date tonight," he said shamelessly as if Janine, who happened to be his fiancee, wasn't here.

"Excuse me, I needed to use the restroom," Janine remarked, standing up and walking to the toilet without waiting for a response.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Janine for having a douchebag of a boyfriend.

Atilla abruptly remarked, "Excuse me, I need to get myself a drink," and despite my offer to bring her a drink myself, she declined and kept leaving, leaving me with this buffoon.

The bastard shamelessly followed Atilla until she reached the table to get herself a drink.

"Wow, Ram! Where did you meet that girl?" He inquired, his voice full of excitement, and I couldn't believe the way he acted, as if he wasn't engaged at all.

"Are you fucking serious?!?" I mumbled, and I noticed his astonished expression as if perplexed by my abrupt outburst.

Yes, I am mad, first because he was trying to hit on my girl, and second because of Janine.

Janine and I split up because of him, and Janine does not deserve this kind of treatment, especially from a jerk like Jeffrey.

"If you want, you can take Janine back, and in return, I will take your date instead," he said.

It took all of my self-control not to smack him in the face, even though he deserved it, but I needed to keep my cool around Xavier and his wife.

"Just shut up, Jeffrey," I snarled fiercely, and he seemed to detect my pent-up rage, which is why his smile vanished.

I can take any insult he throws at me, but I can't stand it when he insults Atilla.

"Just relax, man! I'm just curious where you met her," he stated.

I didn't know how to respond to his query; I couldn't tell him that I met Atilla on a busy bridge and that Atilla was a prostitute.

"I met her at..."

I am at a loss for words, which is why I was relieved when I heard someone speak from behind me, and I maintained steady breathing when I saw Miranda's face smiling at me.

"Hi! Mind if I join you?" She asked, smiling widely when she noticed the uneasy expression on Jeffrey's face.

"Not at all! Please take a seat. Why didn't you tell me that you're planning to attend this event?" I asked.

"Oh, Ram! I had no idea I needed your permission before attending this event. Who are you, my father?" She asked sarcastically, but I could see the amusement in her eyes.

We had completely forgotten about Jeffrey, so when he pretended to cough, we were surprised to see him.

"Hello, Jeffrey. I didn't realize you were there. How are you doing?" Miranda inquired sweetly, but based on her expression, I could tell she was teasing him, given how she had previously whipped his ass.

"I'm fine... uhm, Janine is here; I think we should leave," he remarked, and he moved and dragged Janine out of this place without waiting for her to return to their table.

I followed them until I could no longer see them, and that's when I moved my gaze back to Miranda.

When I looked at Miranda, who appeared innocent, I couldn't help but shake my head, yet we both knew what influence she had on Jeffrey.

Jeffrey was rarely scared of me, but when it came to Miranda, he couldn't help but be terrified.

"Anyway, are you here with somebody, or are you here by yourself?" She inquired, and I remembered that Atilla had not yet returned.

"I'm with... here she is," I said when I saw Atilla walking back to our table.

I noticed the excitement on Miranda's face when she heard what I said; she was probably thinking that she was going to meet the woman I was supposed to love, which wasn't right.

Yeah, I did admit that I like her, but that's all there is to it.

"Sorry, I got lost and had to find my way back here," she explained while trying to catch her breath.

I observed her glancing at Miranda, but due to her position, she could only see the side of Miranda's face.

"I'm glad you're back; I'd like you to meet my best friend, Miranda, and Miranda, this is Atilla," I said.

I could see the pleasure on Miranda's face when she actually faced Atilla, but for some strange reason, I heard her gasp.

I thought I was imagining things, but when I saw Atilla's stunned expression, I couldn't help but wonder if they knew each other.

"Do you know each other?" I asked, feeling confused since Miranda has been in the US for a long time, so there shouldn't be any way for her to know Atilla, right?

"Don't be ridiculous, Ram; this is our first meeting, right, Atilla?" Miranda replied, but for some reason, I detected a challenging tone in her voice.

Call me paranoid or anything, but I felt something off between them, but I decided to disregard that thought because I believed I was simply overthinking.

I could not help but notice the uneasiness on Atilla's face when she confronted Miranda, but I assumed she was intimidated by Miranda's strong personality.

I eventually disregarded my earlier observation when I observed that everyone had become more relaxed with one another. However, I couldn't help but note that Atilla stayed silent and only Miranda and I continued to speak; she will only speak if we ask her.

"So, Atilla, where is your family?" Miranda asked.

"My family is in the province; I am living here alone," she replied.

She still kept her head down; maybe she was really intimidated by Miranda, and I can't blame her.

"I see... interesting," Miranda said, and fortunately, she didn't ask her anything else and returned her attention to me.

It was past eleven when we decided to leave. I offered to drive Miranda home, but she refused, saying that she would be staying here for a few more minutes, but knowing Miranda, I bet she meant hours.

We decided to look for Xavier and Yesha, and when we found them, we went up to them.

"Xavier, Yesha, I'm really sorry, but we need to be going now, and thank you for inviting us; we really had a great time," I said.

"Glad to hear that, and thank you for coming; it was a pleasure meeting you, Atilla," Xavier replied.

We then returned to my car and drove back to my condo.

"Are you ok? You've been really quiet since we left," I asked as I took her hand from her lap.

"Yes, I'm fine; I was just a little overwhelmed by the crowd earlier," she answered.

"If you're thinking about Miranda, you don't have to be intimidated by her; she's really kind once you get to know her," I said, smiling.

"How long have you known each other?" She asked.

I responded, "We've been friends since college, and everyone who saw us was surprised to hear that we're just close friends. Since then, we've been together, but I had to return to the Philippines, so we haven't seen each other in a while."

"Ok," she said timidly.

"Why did you ask?"

"No...nothing, I was just curious," she said, and then after that, she remained silent.

A few minutes passed, but I still hadn't heard from her. When the traffic light turned red, I was able to glance at Atilla and see that she had fallen asleep.

I decided not to wake her up and continued driving until we reached our destination.

I picked her up carefully from the passenger seat of my car and carried her to our room. I wanted to take Atilla tonight, but I didn't have the heart to disturb her, knowing that she must be exhausted from the day's events.

I whispered, "Good night, sleeping beauty," as I finally put her to bed.

She didn't wake up, even after I changed her clothes into something more comfortable for her, and after changing my clothes as well, I finally laid down next to her, snuggling her closer to my body.

I fell asleep right away, contentedly lying beside Atilla, despite the fact that we had only slept and had done nothing else.

We have all the time in the world, and Atilla deserves rest.