Chapter 42: .•16.1•.

No! Why was he still here? Why couldn't he just leave already, leave her alone?

"You were right, man. Turns out that my feelings for her weren't one-sided after all," She heard him casually say as she quietly approached them. She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at the sound of that.

Liar.

"Told you," Dan replied, followed by a mild chuckle.

She forced on a smile as she stepped right next to Dan, her attention however trained on Nicholas.

"What are you still doing here, baby?" She asked between grinning teeth, that last word however bringing a sour taste on her tongue. That's right. Two can play this game, she silently told him with a slight raise of her brows. She did hate pretending like that, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to resort to it if the situation requested of it.

"Weren't you supposed to get back to work today?" She innocently added, silently hoping that he would take the hint and leave her alone.

But the sight of that devious little smirk that made its appearance onto his flawless features was telling otherwise. That he definitely had other plans in mind.

"I am my own boss, remember sweetheart?" He swiftly replied, purposely putting an emphasis on that term of endearment. Giving her a pointed look.

She thickly swallowed.

"Oh, right,"

"Growing tired of me already, sweetie?" He playfully said with an amused chuckle, making her force out another smile as her friend laughed from right next to her.

"Our sweet little Diana. Always so forgetful," she heard Dan say with a slight pat on her shoulder, her gaze lowering as she softly sighed. Quickly tapping out of that childish and nonsensical little argument. She evidently had no idea what his problem was but she definitely wasn't going to try to push him some more to find out. Not when her best friend was standing so close to them. So vulnerable and oblivious. She might've somewhat resigned to the fact that she was this fairytale monster's plaything now, his little bloodbag but that didn't mean that she was going to deliberately put her friend's life in jeopardy for the sake of winning a stupid argument. She was obviously way smarter than that. And wiser.

So she turned and went to serve some newly-arrived clients, set on trying to ignore Nicholas' presence for the rest of his unwelcomed stay here, at the cafe. She had work to do after all. A job to keep.

She waited tables and washed dishes, performing one task after the other. Purposely keeping herself occupied. He didn't leave. He'd even seated himself at a nearby table for two, entertaining himself with a newspaper and a cup of coffee as she and Dan busied themselves around. Carrying trays and serving clients as the morning went by.

She emptied another table, carrying the dirty dishes to the sink. Dan was already there as the cafe was starting to gradually empty. Nursing himself to yet another cup of frappuccino. She placed the dishes into the sink and started to wash them, noticing Dan moving closer to her side.

"Girl, he's so into you," the male quietly said to her upon noticing the way that Nicholas kept throwing glances her way.

Diana almost snorted at the sound of that. Yeah, he's more like into 0 negative, actually. She sadly smiled at her own stupid little inner joke.

"I am so friggin' jealous," Dan commented, making her softly sigh. If only he knew that there was nothing to be jealous about. And that she actually wished that she'd never met him.

She cursed that day to the moon and back. That blasted day when they saw that announcement in the newspaper.

"And you still haven't spilled all the juicy deets," he playfully whispered to her, gently nudging her with the side of his hip.

Her eyes immediately widened a little at the sound of that.

"Is he any good in bed?"

"Has he popped that precious little cherry yet?"

"Dan!" She hissed with a scolding tone, feeling her cheeks heating up so furiously as the memory of Nicholas' mouth on her body from last night came back to her full-force. Making her reminisce those moments. Those sensations.

No. She had to stop thinking about that. She couldn't be. That was a one-time thing and she will definitely not be allowing him to do any more to her in the future. He'd taken his fill. That was it.

"What? It's about damn time for you to get into it, don't you think?" Her friend suggested with an amused and playful little chuckle, making her scoff internally.

No. Definitely not with that psychopath currently watching her like a total creep from his table as they spoke, waiting for her to finish her shift so that he could drag her right back to his lair. Hell would have to freeze over before she gave herself to him willingly.

He may be handsome enough to make everybody around her lose their heads and swoon over him but not her. She was the one who knew the truth about him after all. About how rotten his heart actually was.