Chapter 13. Meeting Raphael at The Restaurant
At 7 p.m., Jacintha led Mira and Jack to the restaurant where the buffet was held, then chose a seat by the window on the upper floor of the restaurant, so they could enjoy both the meal and the night view of the street outside.
This restaurant was very famous in the city, operating on a membership basis, only accepting a limited number of guests each day. The buffet tickets Raphael had given to Jacintha were a special meal reserved exclusively for VIP customers, and if someone wanted to book this special meal, they had to reserve the ticket half a month in advance.
Seeing that Mira and Jack both liked yogurt, Jacintha went to get an extra plate. When she returned to her seat, she looked up and unexpectedly saw two familiar figures walk into the restaurant.
To her surprise, it was Raphael and Sharon!
Jacintha was slightly startled, and her heart suddenly began to beat a little faster, her gaze inevitably lingered on Raphael.
Raphael was just like always, dressed in a neat black shirt, but his face seemed much gentler than usual, even unusually warm.
He tilted his head and said something to Sharon, his thin lips curled into a slight smile. His face had a profound yet delicate look, like a painting with strong and bold strokes.
From Jacintha's position, the angle of Raphael's face was so stunning that it almost took her breath away. Even though she was very familiar with his captivating features, she couldn’t help but feel moved every time she saw him.
However, at this moment, the feeling of being moved came with a tinge of bitterness, because Raphael had never treated her like that. His warm smile was perhaps only meant for Sharon. With his strong instincts as an Alpha, Raphael immediately sensed that someone was watching him. He suddenly turned and looked toward Jacintha.
Raphael's unexpected gaze startled Jacintha. She quickly lowered her head and continued to eat, but at that moment, she couldn’t taste the food at all.
"Mommy, I want to drink blueberry juice," Jack said.
Jacintha regained her composure and replied, "I'll go get it for you."
"No need, I can do it myself. You eat the shrimp," Jack said as he peeled the shrimp and placed it on Jacintha’s plate. Then, he hopped off the chair and eagerly wanted to go get his drink.
Seeing that there weren’t many people in the dining area and wanting to encourage Jack’s independence, Jacintha agreed, "Alright, but be careful and don’t bump into anyone."
"Yes!" Jack nodded, then grabbed his cup and walked over to the drink station.
In fact, Jack didn’t actually want the blueberry juice; he just wanted to play with the drink machine and make ice cream himself. However, due to his short height, he couldn’t reach the ice cream machine even after trying to stand on tiptoe. In the end, he had to stand beside the machine and ask a server to help him get the blueberry juice and ice cream.
The server had originally intended to bring the drink and ice cream back to Jack’s seat, but he refused. Instead, he held the cup with one hand and the ice cream with the other, carefully walking back to Jacintha.
Jack’s adorable image caught the attention of the service staff in the dining area, who couldn’t help but watch him. Some of them even wanted to pick him up and kiss his cheeks.
As Jack was walking with both hands holding the items, a tall man approached him. Jack, focused on his hands, didn’t notice the man ahead of him and ended up bumping into him.
“Bam!” Jack slammed into the man’s sturdy thigh and fell to the ground, spilling the ice cream and blueberry juice all over the place.
Jack looked up, saw that the man’s clothes were covered in ice cream, and quickly apologized, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you."
As an Alpha, he was notoriously strict about cleanliness – especially when the sickly sweet scent of this cream invaded his wolf’s sharp senses, making him even more irritated. At this moment, seeing his clothes covered in cream, his face immediately darkened.
“Children are so annoying!” He didn’t even glance at Jack, his voice full of displeasure, then coldly ordered the waiter to bring him a napkin.
It was the first time Jack had been called annoying, and the tone used against him made him angry. He stood up, pointed at the man, and shouted, "You’re the one who’s annoying!"
Raphael, who was wiping his suit with a napkin, paused for a moment upon hearing this. He looked at Jack coldly and suddenly felt that the boy looked somewhat familiar. Especially those blue eyes, which made him feel as though he had met him somewhere before, but couldn’t recall where.
However, Raphael didn’t think much of it. He smirked slightly and said, “Did your parents teach you to speak to others like that? You don’t seem to have any manners at all!”
Jack was still young, so he didn’t fully understand the implication of Raphael’s words. But he could sense that the man in front of him held no goodwill toward him, even mentioning his parents in a disrespectful tone.
Jack’s face turned bright red with anger, especially when he was in close proximity to the large man. He felt as if something else was forming within him, something that made his anger uncontrollable.
Jack felt the blood boil in his veins. A sharp, burning sensation spread from his chest to his neck, his fangs elongated, but he immediately bit his lip to hide it. His palms tingled, fine, snow-white hairs sprouted and fell away as though they had never existed.
Jack nearly shouted in Raphael’s face, “You are not allowed to speak badly about my mommy!”
At that moment, Jacintha heard the commotion in the drink area and went over to check. Before she could ask what had happened, Raphael spoke first. He frowned, clearly displeased, and said, “Why are you here? Did you ask Lucas about my itinerary?”
"You misunderstood, I'm not asking about your schedule." Facing Raphael, Jacintha always felt a little tense, instinctively avoiding his sharp gaze.
Raphael, thinking she was scared due to guilt, coldly laughed and said, "Then why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re a member of this restaurant?"