Chapter 12

"Aiden if your reason for bringing me here and emptying everybody in the restaurant is to ask me to come back, you have not only wasted your money but also your time."

"We will get to that. I like to keep my privacy out of people's business hence the emptying out. Now, what would you like to order? Their seafood does wonders to everybody's taste bud. You might want to try it out."

"Aiden, I am not hungry," she said.

"Then she'll have just your shrimps and prawn vegetable sauce and I'll have my usual."

"You will not order me around. If I say I'm not hungry, then I mean I am not. I am not your puppet and in case you weren't told, I resigned. "

"Which is why I want to know why you did. I mean you grew up there. Why would you just wake up one morning and move? You have so many memories there."

"Most of which I want to badly wipe off. I am not happy anymore. It's one fight or another. Besides, I need a change of environment. With exams coming up, I need to be fully prepared and avoid distractions."

The waiter drops their food quietly on the table and walks out. Maybe trying out the dish won't be a bad idea at all. She picked up her fork, took the first bite and instantly fell in love with it.

"This is good I must confess," she said.

"I told you so. Rach, please come back. We can always sort this out. I promise I'll stay out of your way but please just come back."

What part of not coming back didn't he understand? She was tired of explaining so she dropped her fork removed her napkin and carried her bag.

"Please don't go. Can you at least finish your food," he said as he gently held her hand.

While they were eating, he was thinking about other means to get her to stay but he couldn't come up with any.

"Rachel, would you at least tell me where you are staying?"

"With a friend. Plus I don't want you showing up in my school especially with your convoy."

"With a friend? I need a detailed description.

"

"When you say detailed, are you referring to the gender?"

"That's part of it. I just want to make sure you're safe."

"Thanks, brother. I am safe. Do have a pleasant day."

"Wait, one more thing. There is no way I'm letting you take the bus to school so I am sending your car. This I insist. That's if you don't want today's episode to repeat itself."

"Are you threatening me? You do know it's your reputation at stake here. I have nothing to lose."

"Well okay. See you at your school tomorrow."

"Okay fine. I'll send you the address to drop the car."

"Very well then, let me drop you off."

As they got to the front of Grace's apartment, she peeped out of the window to make sure the coast was clear of any press members and quickly hurried to the door.

"Wait, you dropped your phone," he said as he rushed out to give her.

She collected it as fast as possible and ran back inside. She was never one to crave for attention. She didn't even like being the centre of attraction. She was so glad she moved out of Aiden's house. Back when he had just inherited the family business, his face was plastered in every newspaper and magazine. Each one of them with a new update on his current girlfriend or his newest ride. They all had something to say about him. When he married Sabrina, not too many women were happy about the news. All the fame vanished like smoke in the air after the fire accident. He hardly ever went out. He ran his company from home and detached himself from other elite he mingled with.

Now that he was back to his company, many business organisations looking for partnerships has brought back his fame to the limelight. She knew that tomorrow was going to be a tough one seeing that students had been videoing the whole scene that happened in school. The one thing that baffled her was that he had this I don't care ambience. What if that's the first news plastered on the front covers of newspapers? All she had ever wanted was to graduate university as the best medical students without any unnecessary drama. But no Aiden had to come and ruin the later with his fame.

A scream caused her to jump out of bed. She had been sleeping like a baby when suddenly she heard someone who probably was Grace scream. It was just seven in the morning so what in the world was so exciting that Grace was trying to bring down the house on them. Just as she was about to find out the cause of the excitement, her room door opened with great force. Grace was a petite lady but her strength was like that of a bear.

"Billionaire boy has found love again. Now look who is in the picture with Aiden James at my doorstep in a very compromising position. You, my friend, would be the talk of the town in weeks or probably months if another girl doesn't make it to his arms or bed in the coming days." Grace said.

"No. No. No. This can't be happening. I don't want this please tell me I'm dreaming. Whoever took this picture must have wanted to dish out juicy information. He was only giving me my phone which I forgot. He took this picture from an angle that made it seem like we were leaning in for a kiss! How am I supposed to study in peace or live my normal life? Aiden what have you done?"

"Babe it's just fame. He didn't push you to the front of a lion." Grace said.

"That is a perfect description of what he did. Seeing that school starts in an hour, I am going to look for an outfit that can keep me from being noticed."

She settled with a black stylish face cap, a big blue hoodie and black jeans. She had a blouse underneath her hoodie so she could take off the hoodie and cap when she reaches her class. She was about to step out of the house when she saw some press members outside her door. This was the beginning of something she hoped she'll survive. Thank God for back doors. Whoever taught about the idea deserves the best if things in life. She sneaked through the back and had to find her way to school alone because Grace decided that this was the perfect time for her to skip school today. She suddenly collided with their hot neighbour. A name Grace chose to introduce him as. If Grace ever broke up with her boyfriend, she would come running to him.

"Avoiding the press?" he questioned.

"Ok, the whole worlds knows already? Can the floor just open up and swallow me she said."

"Your face is plastered on the most read newspaper what else do you think. I can be your night in shining armour and drop you off with my power bike. That way no one gets to see you because of the helmet. I know you know me as 'the hot neighbour' but my name is Kelvin but my friends call me Kelv. So you can call me Kelv." he said.

"Thanks for the offer. You are my saving grace," she said.

She saw a flashlight when she took off her cap to put on her helmet. She was praying so badly that it wasn't what she was thinking but before she realised what was going on, there was another one. She jumped on the bike like her life depended on it and hurried Kelvin to move. Another juicy story for tomorrow. This time around, it's probably going to be 'Billionaire's Mystery Girl Caught with another man' She didn't know if she was going to survive before the end of today. She didn't like attention.