Chapter 43: Their business dinner (part 2)

Justine's POV

I was surprised when Lawrence said those words to his ex-fiancé. I look at him. I got nervous. He’s trying to tell Jaxon that Gianna is happier when she’s with him. That hurt me.

"What are you trying to say, huh?!" Jaxon roars, smacking the table while glaring at my husband.

The waiter was even scared because of Jaxon’s reaction. I grabbed the menu, and he left right away. "If you can't control your tone, Jaxon, then you must leave. We can speak with Ms. Gianna all by ourselves. Don’t ruin the appetite of the other customers," I simply muttered.

He glared at me. He's about to make the situation worse, but I held his wrist and embedded my fingernails in his skin. I glared back. His tone and that attitude of his won’t work on me anymore.

I had established my own strong and brave personality. I shove his hand off the table. "Shut the hell up. If you can’t be civil with us, then be a professional, Jaxon. We're talking about business, you asshole," I assert.

He smirked mockingly. "You're being too proud, Justine. Can’t you see it? The way your husband looks at my woman?" Jaxon says.

I look at my husband, then at Gianna. I closed the menu and met Jaxon’s eyes. “Why? Are you afraid that my husband’s question to Gianna was true, hmm?” I talked back.

He turned pale. I look at Gianna, who’s been silent. I feel like she justifies my husband’s claim. I laugh and look at them. They'll fall out anytime soon. I don’t care if mine will fall soon either.

“My… my… my… you choose the cousin, thinking that he’s better than the first one. I thought you were clever, Gianna? You always tell me that, right? I wonder if your claim is true?”

Gianna’s eyes are now glaring at me. I can tell how much she hates me. “Tss. You and Lawrence really complement each other. Do you really think he will love you? You’re nothing but a rebound. Someone who catches my trash,” Gianna says. I held my chin and snapped my finger afterwards. She really thinks I’ll feel sad or whatever. She didn’t know the real me. I laugh.

“A trash? Who? The one that sits next to you? Oh please. He even wanted to rape me when I'm still that 200lb girl. Have you forgotten that? Tell who among us had trash in her hands, hmm?” I stated. Jaxon was mad because of what I said.

I stood up and grabbed one of the roses in the vase and used it as a weapon. Jaxon turns pale when the stem is embedded on the table between her middle and index fingers. I did that on purpose.

I can feel my blood flowing down the stem. There are still thorns on the stem, which means it’s not a plastic rose. My brow furrows.

“Are we going to have dinner or what? Ah, I would have no appetite if the two of you were here. Just transfer the money, and if you don't, Gianna, you know what will happen next,” I threatened, looking into Gianna and Jaxon’s eyes.

Jaxon grabs Gianna’s hand. “Let’s go. Don’t worry. We will send that fucking money right away,” Jaxon says.

They leave us at our table. I let go of the rose and took my seat. I heaved a long sigh and didn’t care, even if my hand was bleeding. My jaw clenched, and the emotions I’ve been keeping finally showed. I’ve been busy for the past few years working in our business as well as doing missions with my alter ego as a secret agent.

I was in New York at the time when my cousin and I accidentally heard that the FBI was making a recruit. I was staying in that country for my master’s degree, and we grabbed that chance after my cousin convinced me to join their training.

I groan when my hand is sprayed with alcohol. I faced my husband and saw his worried reaction. I look at my hand, and it's bleeding. I have five or six cuts because of the thorns. “There is no need to prove them anything. I am just messing them up. I know my cousin well. Jaxon might love Gianna, but his insecurity towards me will be a burden to their relationship.”

He raised his hand, and a waiter holding a bag of first aid came. They noticed what happened. They also bought a towel and a bowl of water. They cleaned the table as well.

“Don’t worry. We will pay for the damage and even the inconvenience we cause to this restaurant. We’ll continue to eat as well. Thank you for this,” I whispered. They just nod and smile.

They leave us, and my husband starts to wash my hands. He wipes it off and checks if there’s a thorn in every cut that I have. Lawrence is dashing my eyes again. It’s getting harder to ignore him. He grabs the iodine and starts cleaning my cut.

“Why did you do that, huh? Did I tell you to hurt yourself? I think I didn’t, right? Then why did you do that?” he calmly stated it, but I can sense his madness.

He was mad yet chose not to follow his cousin and punch his face, as I need him here because I’m hurt. “Thank you. It hurts, but I’m glad that this time someone was cleaning my wound for me,” I mumbled.

He was taken aback. I simply smiled. “I always do it myself because I have to hide them from my grandmother. I don’t want her to march to school and bring our men to beat you all up. Actually, I can be a good actress because I’ve been trying my best to act like my day is great,” I whispered.

I know Lawrence understands what I mean by that. He stops putting the iodine solution in my hand. Our eyes meet. I smiled. I think I just said something that I shouldn’t bring up in this situation.

"I'm really sorry… I still brought you problems, didn't I? I am not even doing my part in this marriage," he says.

I suddenly feel bad because it brings up a different story. I was about to grab his hand, but I groaned in pain. Damn! I can feel the real pain now! "Let's talk after we eat our dinner," he says.

He continues cleaning my hand and applies some ointment. He placed gauze and put it in my palm; they wrapped it with a bandage. My forehead wrinkled when I saw how he tied it.

"What's wrong?" Lawrence asks.

I shook my head and simply smiled. I shake my head and smile. "Nothing. I just remember something interesting," I stated.

This ribbon and the way he tied the bandage. It reminds me of a distant memory. After he cleaned up the mess, the waiters cleaned the table, and one of them took our order.

As soon as the food is served, we eat. I notice that my husband is restless and seems to be tired. I guess that commotion made him realize the situation we had.

"Hon, I notice that you and Grandma were already closed. Did she ask for a favor from you? I mean, a weird one, maybe?" I ask.

I noticed their closeness, and I used that to open up a simple conversation with him. He smiled and looked at me in the eyes.

"Well, grandma wants us to have babies soon, and I promised that we're already working on it. She gave me a certain book. I've been reading that. Hon, your grandpa and grandma seem to have the best age of their marriage," he says.

I'm glad that he finally speaks and that her face lightens a bit. My life has changed in a whole new way, but I'm enjoying it. I'm glad I chose to tell him the truth and use it in my favor.

I opened the champagne and started drinking as I hid the truth from him. I thought our dinner would be smooth sailing, but Nathan came.