Chapter 18 Long Time No See
Her eyes widened for an instant before anger dawned upon her. Her day had been going perfectly well until the universe threw such a bad luck at her.
Chris’ eyes widened. “Cara…” he muttered.
She frowned. “Will your insurance cover the damages? It is quite much.” She ignored any attempt at a friendly conversation or even exchanging pleasantries.
There was nothing pleasant about the situation.
“What? Oh, yes, yes they will.” He responded with a half smile. “Where are you– where are you going?”
“And why should that be your concern?” Her thin brow arched.
“Cara, we haven't seen each other in a while, it's been almost year–”
“--and I hoped it would be longer.” She interrupted him with a stern look on her face.
He sighed. “It's been almost a year since we went back to finalize our divorce after the waiting period. You can't even be like, ‘long time no see’?”
She scoffed a laugh and planted her hands on her hips. “And why do you think I would say that? Hello? We are like strangers to each other now.”
“Why should we be?”
“How's Jessica?” She arched her brow at him.
“She's fine. She's at home with our baby.” He said with a sigh.
Cara had seen the news of their flamboyant wedding. Bigger than the one she ever got. She had also seen the update about their son. The child Jessica had bore to him.
Whenever a post about them popped up on her screen, it hurt her. But not as much as it did before.
“Are you married to your rich boyfriend now?” He arched his brow at her. “Any kids yet?” He purposely poured salt all over her fresh wound. “I thought as much.” He added after she fell silent.
Cara smiled. “I'm sorry if it pains you that I have decided to focus on my career for a few years and not start a family like you. You know what? I'll fix my car myself. I don't need your filthy money or your filthy insurance.”
“Don't be such a baby.” He said with a chuckle. “I crashed into you, I'll be the one to fix it.”
“You know what?” Her lips curved into a smile. “You're right! You are completely right. You crashed into me so it is only ethical that you fix this.” She reached inside her purse and threw her card at him. “Let me know when it's done.”
Chris poked the side of his cheek in anger and chuckled wryly as he stood with his hands in his pocket.
“What?” Cara asked him. “Your pride is too heavy for you to bend over?”
He bent and picked the card. He raised it to the air and smiled. “I'll call you.”
She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Hailing a taxi, she went back to work to attend a meeting. Romeo was her head investor so he was present.
After the meeting, he hurried to her and followed her into her office. “What happened to you? Can't you see you're bleeding?”
She touched her forehead and winced. “Oh, I had totally forgotten about that.”
“How is that even possible?” He asked as he rummaged through the first aid cabinet for what to use.
She stared at his broad shoulders and firm back in his black and grey striped suit. He looked good in anything. His backside was too good for her not to stare.
For the past few months, she had found herself falling into his charms even deeper and deeper as time passed by but she could never be with him. He was just a friend and he would remain that way.
He took out everything he needed and sat her down.
“I can do it.” She said as she made to collect everything but he refused.
“This will sting a little.” Was all he said before cleaning the blood with a cotton swab dipped in ethyl alcohol.
“Ow!” She winced from the sharp sting.
He continued cleaning the wound gently with his eyes fixed on the cut. “How did this happen to you?” His voice was soft and calm.
She felt his breath against her face and her stomach twisted into complicated knots. Heat pulsated through her entire body at how close he was to her.
His hand brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and she felt a tingle inside of her. Her throat tightened and she swallowed hard. She looked at his face and her eyes locked with his green ones as he looked at her.
“You're not answering my question.” He said softly, staring at her now.
She cleared her throat and looked away from him. “Oh right! Sorry,” she apologized with a slight chuckle. “I uh… I was just thinking about…”
“About what?” His thick brow arched slightly as he asked.
She looked into his mesmerizing eyes once again and found the magic in them pinning her down. As much as she wanted to look away, their gaze still held.
She couldn't help but to wonder why it seemed like she was the only one their closeness was affecting. She was already seemingly losing her mind from the scent of his cologne that filled up her nose.
It was sweet and manly both at the same time. The strong scent driving her crazy.
A distance had to be maintained between them right? Yet she found herself drawing closer to him.