Chapter 75 The Proposal
Without any more words, I hung up and hurriedly dialed M’s number, my hands shaking.
The phone beeped countless times but there was no reply.
“Pick up, please,” I mumbled under my breath, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel.
I called again.
No answer.
“Damn!” I exclaimed, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.
The call from the police officer came again, but this time I didn’t pick up.
I tossed my phone to the passenger’s seat, started the engine, and pulled out into the street with a violent rev.
My mind wasn’t at rest till I got home.
“What if they’re already set out to arrest me?” I thought.
I kept looking at my rear mirror to see if I wasn’t being followed.
My mind was a bit at rest only when I pulled into Alex’s driveway.
I got out of the car and stormed into the house, not remembering to even carry my groceries.
“Please, pick this time,” I mumbled under my breath as I dialed M’s contact.
The phone rang countless times again.
Still no reply.
Angrily, I threw my phone onto the bed and sank onto it, burying my face in my palm.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I whispered to myself.
My phone beeped again, and I hurriedly reached for it thinking it was the person I had been trying to call, but no… it was still the police officer.
I stared at my phone, thinking if I should pick up and at least hear him out first.
“What if they get triggered because I’m not picking up their calls?”
“What if they track me down?”
Different questions ran through my head.
After a long while of countless rings, I finally picked up.
“Hello,” the man’s voice came again.
He paused, waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t.
Then he continued.
“Mr. Jude is currently under police protection and he said you are the only one he could trust. We would like to ask if you can please be present at the police station today so that we can explain some things to you.”
“Only one he could trust?” I repeated, amused.
“Yes. He gave us your contact,” he replied.
“Okay… when… when should I come?” I asked, my voice slightly cracking.
“Tomorrow is fine,” the officer said.
“Okay. Thank you,” I added and dropped the call.
Just as if a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest, I let out a slow and long breath.
“But why is Jude doing this?” I asked myself.
I guess I would have to find out.
JOAN COLE’S POV
I stared at my phone for a full minute before I typed the message, my thumb hovering over the send button as if it were going to burn me.
“Hey Dave… I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. About the man at the police station. If you are going back to check on him again, I would like to come with you.”
I quickly hit send before I would change my mind, then tossed the phone face-down on the couch.
“You okay?” Lena glanced up from her phone.
“You look like you just confessed to a crime.”
“I just told Dave I want to go with him to the police station,” I muttered, rubbing my temple.
“What!” She raised her eyebrows so high that they almost touched her hairline.
“Why will you go back to the police station? Are you a criminal?” she added, rolling her eyes.
“Come on… he’s checking on the man that ran into us that day,” I said defensively.
“It’s not like I’m visiting a crime scene or going to get detained.”
“A police station is a police station… I don’t care,” she said and went back to her phone.
“If you say so,” I whispered.
Dave’s reply came minutes later.
“Tomorrow evening. I will pick you up at five.”
The next day, by evening, I was ready by 4:45. I wore jeans, a light sweater, and my hair in a loose bun.
Dave pulled up right on time in his usual quiet, dark SUV, and he smiled when I slid into the passenger seat.
“Hey beautiful,” he muttered.
“Shall we?”
“Sure,” I replied.
After a few minutes’ drive, we arrived at the police station. Dave turned into the entrance just as another car was pulling out.
I caught a flash of the driver’s face. I saw a familiar figure, a sharp jawline, and dark hair pulled back.
“Cassandra?” I mumbled under my breath.
“What is she doing here?”
I twisted in my seat, turning my neck to see if I would be able to catch the side mirror or the rear window for one more look.
But I didn’t see anything.
All I could see was the taillight disappearing into the street.
“Are you okay?” Dave asked, looking at me.
“Oh yeah,” I forced my shoulder down.
“I just… thought I saw someone I knew. Probably not.”
He studied my face for a second and nodded.
“Okay.”
He parked carefully and we stepped out of the car.
“Good day, sir,” the officer at the desk greeted Dave as we entered.
“Good day… well done,” Save replied while I slightly bowed my head.
“What about the man?” he asked.
“Oh… he’s gone. His trusted acquaintance drove him out a few minutes ago,” the officer said.
“Oh, that’s great,” Dave muttered.
We stepped back outside and walked side by side to his car.
“He should be safe… that’s all I needed to know,” he said quietly.
“I’m glad,” I nodded, trying to match his relief.
I was glancing through some of my drafts when my phone beeped.
It was a message from Dave.
I smiled as I clicked open.
“Dinner tonight? Please don’t say no. I have something very important to tell you.”
I stared at the message for almost a minute, my heart doing the half-skip it had started doing whenever his name popped up on my screen.
“Should I be nervous?” I typed back.
“NOOOOOO… it’s a harmless dinner,” his reply came almost immediately.
What could that ‘something important' be?
I asked myself several times but I couldn’t get any reply to my questions.
I texted Lena to tell her about the impromptu date and she started preparing for what I would wear as if she were the one going on the date.
She was always that dramatic.
By evening, I was done with work. I arranged my desk, packed my loads, headed for my car, and drove straight home.
Soon, I was standing in front of my closet, staring at the clothes indecisively.
Lena barged in without knocking, carrying two dresses like an offering.
“Black or emerald? Pick one,” she said, looking at me without blinking.
I pointed at the emerald which was one-shouldered, dotted through the waist, and flowing into a soft skirt.
“That should do,” I said.
“I should be a designer… don’t you think,” she chuckled.
“You are not fit,” I smirked playfully.
“But you are a lifesaver,” I added.
“At least I have a title,” she laughed.
“Better be fast, so that I can do your makeup before he arrives.”
I had just finished my makeup and Dave arrived just in time.
He was dressed in a charcoal blazer and a white shirt open at the collar with the sleeves rolled to his forearm.
When he saw me walk out the door, his mouth dropped open.
“You are stunning,” he said as I walked closer to him.
“You clean up nicely too,” I blushed, tucking an invisible hair behind my ear.
He opened the passenger door and waited for me to settle in before moving over to the driver’s seat.
Then he started the car.
He didn’t tell me where we were going. He just drove.
We ended up at a rooftop restaurant that I didn’t even know existed.
It wasn’t so loud, yet it was beautiful.
We were ushered to our table which was in a private corner.
The table was lit with candles, and a single red rose lay across my own napkin.
“You planned all this?”I said, my cheeks flushing as my hand trailed the petals.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Like is an understatement, Dave,” I muttered.
“I’m glad… I’ve been planning this for weeks,” he admitted, his voice low.
My heart skipped a beat at that statement.
Dinner arrived in courses.
Then we ate, talked, and laughed, until his expression changed from playful to serious.
“Joan,” he called.
I looked up, my pulse already ringing loudly in my ears.
He reached across the table and took my hands.
What could be going on?
I thought in my mind, but I was still trusting the process.
Then the question came.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
What should I do now?
“Should I just stand up and run away?”