Chapter 18
AS Janine and Paulo entered the restaurant, her heart skipped when she spotted Ken and the new girl sitting at a table. Their eyes locked briefly, and Janine felt a mix of emotions surge within her. She wanted to run. But she forced herself to remain composed, not wanting to let Ken see how much he still affected her.
“Paulo, I have to go. I forgot that I have a client booked today,” Janine told Paulo as calmly as she could to not look nervous. “I’m really sorry—”
“Oh, come on, Janine, why are you always in a hurry whenever I’m around?” Ken interrupted. He remained seated, calmed, and relaxed as if nothing awkward had happened between them. “You know what? I’m beginning to believe that you really can’t control your feelings for me—”
“Ken, Janine is my guest. Please, don’t make her uncomfortable,” Paulo said in a surprisingly serious tone. But when he turned to her, he was already smiling. “Janine, let’s have a seat.”
Janine hesitated. But Ken’s teasing comment about her refusal to dine with them momentarily rattled Janine, but she quickly gathered herself. She couldn’t let him see the extent of her pain. She accepted Paulo’s offer and sat at the table to save face.
“Where’s mom?” Paulo then asked.
“She went to the powder room,” the young woman beside Ken answered. Her big doe eyes were focused on her. “I’m Charisse. So you’re Janine that Paulo mentioned to us a hundred times.”
Janine looked at the woman and forced a smile. “I guess so…?” She turned to Paulo, giving him a confirming look. “Was it me? The Janine that you’re telling them?”
Paulo’s cheeks turned red as he glared at the woman before turning to her with an angelic face. “Yes, Janine. I just mentioned to them how great of an artist you are—”
“And how much he likes you,” the woman cut off and giggled. “Paulo really likes you, Janine.”
Ken cleared his throat but didn’t say anything. He’s just looking at her and at Paulo. Janine felt uneasy with her seat. She was facing Ken, so it was hard for them to not land their eyes on each other. She sighed and reminded herself that this would pass soon in no time, and she just had to compose herself.
But with Ken, time seemed to be moving slower than usual, and she hated it.
After a few more minutes, a woman in her late fifties approached their table and sat beside Ken. The woman suddenly halted in her seat when their eyes met. Janine immediately smiled at the woman even though she wasn’t sure who she was.
“Mom, this is Janine,” Paulo introduced her to the woman. “Janine, she is our mom. Her name is Leticia.”
Janine stood and offered her hand to the old lady. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am…”
The woman’s confused expression suddenly brightened. She accepted her hand. “Montreal,” she said. “You can call me Mrs. Montreal. You must be confused about which surname I am using.”
Janine was embarrassed. But the old lady followed her statement with a hearty laugh. They both returned to their seat, but the old lady kept glancing at her with a slightly knotted forehead. It was as if she had seen her somewhere and couldn’t remember when or where.
Janine looked at Ken, but the man seemed unbothered. Janine tried to remember if she had met his mom when she was in Paris. But she was sure that Ken did not introduce her to his relatives, only to his employees and some business partners.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ken asked, brows furrowed while looking at her across the table. “I did not do anything.”
Janine rolled her eyes upwards. “You’re literally sitting in front of me. As much as I wanted to not look at you, it’s unavoidable.”
The young lady beside Ken laughed. Janine turned to her, and she smiled at her lazily with her sleepy brown eyes. This girl is damn beautiful. No wonder Ken liked her, but too bad for her because Ken was a walking red flag.
“Hey, don’t stare at me,” Ken told her again with a smirk. “You can’t pull your eyes away from me, huh?”
“Ken, we’re here to have a happy lunch,” Ken’s mom told him with a nudge on his arm. “Stop it, okay?”
Janine shook her head and heaved a sigh. Ken was still a stubborn man-child. Yes, he was. And she couldn’t understand why she married him five years ago.
“Janine, would you like to switch places with me?” Charisse offered with a smile.
Janine shook her head immediately. “I’m fine,” she said and looked at Paulo. The man was also looking at her. He was smiling, but there was a hint of concern in his expression. “I could handle it.”
Ken chuckled. “Of course—”
“Ken.” Mrs. Montreal glared at his firstborn child. “Let’s order now. Paulo, call the waiter for the menu book.”
Throughout the meal, Janine engaged in light conversation, trying to appear unaffected by Ken’s presence. She laughed when Paulo shared a funny experience in his modeling career. Still, inside, she was irritated with each stolen glance she stole at Ken and the new woman.
As they finished their meal, Janine’s heart felt heavy. She realized that pretending to be unaffected was far more challenging than anticipated. She excused herself from the table, intending to leave, but before she could make her escape, Paulo spoke up.
“Janine, can we talk? There’s something I need to say,” Paulo said as he stood.
“Sure, what do you want to say?” Janine asked. “Is it about my contract?”
Paulo nodded. “Yes, partly,” he answered. “But there’s a more important thing than that I can’t wait to tell you.”
Janine knotted her forehead. She automatically glanced at Ken, who was already staring at her. And surprisingly, their mother was also watching them. Charisse, on the other hand, was just preoccupied with her phone, seemingly unbothered with whatever Paulo was saying.
“Okay.” Janine smiled awkwardly. “Should we go outside?”