Chapter 27 ALL OR NOTHING
Jake's POV:
"Jake!"
I jolted back in shock out of my thoughts and blinked rapidly at Clara. My chest tightened, a pulse of something sharp running through me.
I didn’t miss the way she flinched too - subtle, fleeting, but there.
I exhaled slowly, releasing a dark, throaty chuckle as a thought ran through my head.
A thought I knew I had to push down. Most especially now, when I already knew what I might have to do if I couldn’t have her.
I swiped a hand down my face, shaking off the darkness. Then I breathed out and asked, voice calm but steady, “Sorry, what were you saying?”
Her gaze flickered, a hesitation that made my pulse quicken. She looked like she wanted to say something, then withheld it.
Her fingers curled slightly around the edge of the table. Finally, she let out a small, almost fragile smile.
“It’s nothing, Jake,” she whispered. “I just wanted to say… Thank you. For tonight. For everything you planned. It means a lot.”
A slow smile pulled at my lips.
Oh, Clara… you have no idea how far I’d go for you. The rules I’d bend. The lines I’d cross.
I held her gaze, letting the weight of it sink in.
And this time, I didn’t hold back the words that had been sitting on the tip of my tongue since the moment she stepped through that door.
“For someone like you, Clara… I don’t mind crossing lines most people would avoid. Sometimes… sometimes you just have to.”
Her eyes widened slightly, just for a second, and I caught the fleeting, frightened flicker that always sent a rush of satisfaction straight through me.
The kind of look that told her I wasn’t just saying words - I meant every syllable.
I leaned back, arms crossed, fingers tapping my chin as she lifted her fork.
But my mind raced, circling that mark I’d seen on her skin.
Faint, wrong… a fated mark that shouldn’t exist.
The kind I’d seen on my mate years ago.
It had been why things ended back then. She was fated, tied to someone else, and no matter what we’d felt, it wasn’t meant to be.
Not that what we had ever really counted as “ours.” We’d loved in fragments, in fleeting moments, but I hadn’t felt that deep connection.
I hadn’t seen a future with her. And so, I let her go. Not because of the mark itself - but because my heart hadn’t belonged.
I didn’t love her the way I could, the way I do.
But this… this was different.
Now, sitting here, looking at Clara Bennett - the woman who had wormed her way into every corner of my mind, who had a hold on me I hadn’t thought possible - I felt it.
Every fiber of me pulsed with something raw and undeniable. This wasn’t a passing infatuation. This wasn’t curiosity or convenience.
This was love -pure, relentless, all-consuming.
And yet… that mark.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it: how it got there, how deep it ran, what it meant for her - for us.
Still, one truth burned through everything: I wanted her. All of her.
Every secret, every risk - I’d go to the ends of the earth for her. Cross lines most wouldn’t dare. Fate, marks, past mistakes… none of it mattered.
Clara Bennett wasn’t just anyone. She was mine, the one I wanted, needed, the one I’d fight for - no matter the cost.
Just then, Clara lifted her gaze and looked at me.
“Umm… aren’t you eating, Jake?” she asked softly, her voice carrying that subtle mix of curiosity and concern that always managed to get under my skin.
I smiled, slow and deliberate, letting my eyes linger on her for just a beat longer than necessary. “I’m done, love,” I murmured.
Her gaze flickered down at my plate, and of course… there was still food on it. Half-eaten risotto, a few crumbs left behind, but I didn’t care.
My appetite had disappeared long ago. All I wanted now was to get her home safely, to watch her safe behind her door, and then… figure out a way to dig deeper into that damn mark.
And now it felt like the universe itself was working against me. Just when I thought I could finally have her, just when I was thrilled knowing she’d ended things with that fool who clearly didn’t deserve her, there it was.
And to make things worse… I couldn’t shake the suspicion that certain Professor Asher might have some interest in her.
I didn’t have proof yet, not concrete proof, but the possibility alone sent a spike of tension through me.
The soft clink of her fork hitting the plate snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. I looked up, and our eyes met for a brief second.
“You… done?” I asked, my voice calm, but my mind still buzzing from everything I’d been thinking about.
“Yes,” she murmured softly.
I stood up, pushed my chair back, and rounded the table. I extended my hand toward her. “Shall we leave now?”
Her gaze lingered on mine for a moment, and then she placed her hand in mine. We stepped out of the restaurant together, the night air cool against our skin.
As soon as I opened the door for her, she pulled her hand out of mine. I turned to find her fiddling with her dress, eyes deliberately averted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly, taking a step closer.
She hesitated, then finally looked up at me, her voice careful. “We need to talk, Jake.”
I squinted slightly, reading her body language like a book. Right then, I already knew what she was going to say.
“It’s okay, Clara,” I said softly, keeping my tone even, measured.
“I know you don’t have feelings for me… yet. I know you want us to take this slow, and that’s what I intend to do. No rush, okay?”
She nodded slightly, then let out a small sigh. “Umm… but I do not love you, Jake. I… I know I never will. You’re a nice guy, and I’m sorry I agreed to go on this date without telling you, my reasons.”
“But… after everything that just happened tonight, I realized you deserve someone better. And I don’t think I’m that person for you. I don’t want to lead you on in any way, and that’s why I’m being honest with you. I just hope you can understand, and… we can still keep being friends after this.”
I felt the weight of her words settle for a moment, a pause hanging between us. My hands instinctively went to my waist, head dropping slightly as I processed everything.
Seconds passed. I didn’t even realize when the first chuckle escaped me. It was soft at first… then it grew. The sound of it filled the night. I couldn’t stop myself.
Soon enough, I was laughing - hard, clapping my hands against my thighs, laughing so much that tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.
The confused, almost hurt look on her face made it somehow even funnier.
I finally stopped abruptly, pinching the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to inhale deeply and regain control.
I looked up at her, locking eyes this time.
And there was no trace of playfulness left. Just a steady, dark intensity.