Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Chapter Forty - Nine

Ava's POV

To say that Jasper agreed to just accept would be an underestimation. He saw my vomiting as the most dangerous disease. In his eyes, the morning sickness, when a woman was pregnant, was so concerning that she certainly needed to get a checkup. And that too, immediately.

It took a lot to convince Jasper that I did not need to see a doctor. He kept telling me that it would not take long and that I needed to see a doctor, but after a lot of convincing and assurance that I would not die if I did not see a doctor, he finally agreed and we decided to go get lunch.

During our journey back to the restaurant, he keeps telling me, or "Suggesting me" that we could grab lunch later. I put a full stop to that by telling him.

"Don't repeat it otherwise I would not even go for lunch." I said and he insistently complied with my request of shutting up and whining about going to see a doctor.

The car came to a stop near the restaurant that Jasper had taken me, on the first day of my office. When I did not have money to pay for the meal. I still cringe inside whenever I think about that moment. How he had known that I did not have money and therefore had offered to take me for lunch. Right in this restaurant.

That memory was bitter - sweet. I did not know how I should feel about that. Since it brought back my pitiful condition and Jasper's kindness. Or Charitableness.

His words still stinged.

When he said that if he could give me all these things then he could take it back.

Well. Not exactly, but I knew that was what he said.

I shook my head, getting rid of that memory. I did not want to be reminded of that at this moment. Otherwise, I will start from a place where my grudges lie.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jasper asked me from my side. Bringing me out of my memory zone.

I glanced at him and gave him a tight smile. My mind reminded me of all those things he said in that room.

"I am fine. Let's go inside." I told him, realising that my whole mood had turned sour.

Jasper seemed to notice it too but he managed to give me a smile in return and gestured for me to start walking. Both of us entered the restaurant side by side and I suddenly remembered the last time. Realising how expensive things really were here.

Damn it.

There was one relief though. I had brought my ATM card so I would not need to pay in cash, or else I needed to pay in cash. That too, I did not have enough. Especially considering how expensive, the most cheap meal was here.

A waiter came our way as soon as he saw Jasper and me, most certainly because he knew Jasper and not me, and led us to an empty table. Handing us menus and asking for any warm up drink before we would like to order anything.

I would have liked to order some tea to refresh but having the budget in mind I did not.

Jasper seemed to have noticed it because he gave me an odd glance before telling the waiter to bring my favorite cup of tea. I tried to deny him but the waiter was already on his way.

"You did not need to do that, okay? If I wanted it then I would have ordered one for myself." I informed him.

Hearing my words, he straightened in his seat and leaned forward a little before speaking.

"If, ever, we both go to a restaurant like this, then it will always be my treat." He stated.

My eyes furrowed at his words, his words not sitting well with me.

"Listen, I know ..." I began arguing with him when he interrupted me in the middle.

"But I know that you will try to deny this to me. Therefore, this will be my only treat. Okay?" He told me, calmly. That shut me off.

If it was a one time treat, then for sure. I closed my mouth that was open to argue with him and nodded silently.

"Consider it as a treat from my side and an apology, for the way I behaved." He recommended it.

Even though I was not sure that I would forgive him or not, or even had entertained the idea, it was still a peaceful gesture. I knew that if I told him that I did not want him to treat me then he would not listen. So, skipping the argument part and reaching the end part, where I would contemplate and agree with him to pay for my dinner, seemed best.

It was losing game anyway.

"Okay. But only this time okay?" I said.

He gave me a grin and nodded. For the first time in a long time, I saw a glimpse of the guy who I first met. Smiling, professional, and a nice guy. How come things changed so suddenly and yet so smoothly? How come we were here to talk about the things that might not have happened or at least, could be avoided in the first place.

"So. about my behavior and Charlotte ..." He began but I did not want to talk about that anymore. What had passed had passed. There was no point in pondering over the fact.

"Let's just stop. You know now where you did wrong and what could be improvised. Now, let's just move on. I see no point in going over the same topic over and over again." I told him before taking a deep breath and continuing.

He had stopped talking and was listening to me rant.

"Next time, just try your best to not repeat those mistakes that you made in the past and please remember one thing. Once the words are spoken you can't take them back." I completed my lecture. All the things I wanted to spit at him. All of it in a small summary.

The instant I was done saying whatever I wanted to say, I noticed Jasper's silence. He had not uttered a single word since the moment I began speaking. He was just staring at me with a weird and unfamiliar look on his face, making me rethink every word that I just said.

Did I say too much? Did I cross any boundary?

"You surprised me." Jasper whispered, taking me off surprise.

My head shot up and my eyes flew up to meet his. He glanced at me, scratching his stubble.

"W - What?" I stuttered, without ever wanting to speak out loud willingly.

"You surprise me, Ava White." Jasper confessed and I felt my heart missing a beat, my insides filling with warmth. I licked my dry lips before tucking a hair behind my ear. Out of nowhere, feeling subconscious.

"I don't - I don't think, I quite follow you." I said and Jasper straightened in his seat, turning my side, facing me completely.

"Everything about you. From your willingness to forgive me to braving through the toughest phase of your life alone." He whispered as if lost in his thoughts. I almost choked on nothing. Especially when his words, when his words sounded so sincere.

My mouth fell open and I felt a very weird foreign sensation. One that was unfamiliar and yet joyful.

"From the moment I met you, I thought that you would quit. The first time I saw you hanging from the railing, I had thought that you would go for it again but you did not. Instead, you hang on from a little thread. For your unborn child. You hang on." He said.

Suddenly, I felt out of breath. It was then when I realised that I was holding my breath and was not breathing at all. I gulped in a long breath, filling my lungs with much needed air.

"And then everything that happened after that. You stood strong. On your feet, facing everything that came your way. You stood your ground and handled, carried yourself throughout it all. With grace and pride. And I admire that." He said, looking straight into my eyes.

We locked our gaze and kept staring at each other. Going somewhere deep and quiet.

Frozen at the moment.

Between that moment, I heard a throat clear loudly. Breaking, whatever trance we both were in.

I almost jumped in my seat at the sound of it. Suddenly feeling embarrassed like hell. Damn it. He caught us in a moment.

Our waiter had returned with our drinks and was looking at us expectantly.

"Can I have your order now?" He asked us, lightly.

Feeling my face growing hot, I nodded eagerly and picked my menu. I ordered the first thing that I saw on the menu. Jasper ordered whatever he wanted to eat without ever glancing at his menu. Obviously, he had it memorised.

The waiter bowed his head and left us sitting alone. And then things got a little awkward.

Both looking everywhere but at each other. I looked far away trying to avoid his eyes.

His words had warmed my insides but at the same time, they had embarrassed me. However, there was one emotion that was strong among them all.

Joy.

"How are you feeling now?" Jasper questioned. Clearly trying to change the topic and remove our current awkwardness. Even though I knew what he was doing, I went along with it. This heaviness needed to lighten up.

"I am feeling way much better. I told you that it was just morning sickness. We did not want to see a doctor." I told him.

"Right. Now that you reminded me. You do need to see a doctor." I stared at Jasper unbelievingly. That was when I saw a smile wrinkling at the end of his lips and realised that he was kidding.

Realising that he had just, sort of cracked a joke, I broke into a grin. And so did he.

And soon, both of us were chuckling. Yeah, he knew how to make a heavy environment light.

"So, how come you started this business and came in this field?" I asked him casually.

Picking my cup, I took a long sip of the tea and let out a sigh at the taste of it. Closing my eyes, I raised my head towards the sun. Feeling the sunlight on my face. How could anyone ever resist this?

"You liked your tea?" Jasper asked me, noticing my sigh at first sip. I straightened in my seat and leaned my head forward.

"Yeah, it is good. By the way, you did not tell me how you got into this business?" I asked him, ignoring my burning cheeks. He had noticed me sighing. Geez. What else was left?

Jasper took a sip from his tea before shrugging.

"I was not born in a rich home. I needed money and fast. So, I studied on scholarship and on the side loaned some money. I began investing in the stock market." He said, taking a sip he continued.

"I lost a lot of money at first. Was almost at the edge of being in debt but then something hit and I became good at the game of investing. Paid all of my debt and also opened a small company on the side. And from there on ... well you could say it turned out to be way better than even I had imagined." He explained.

"You downplay everything. I have researched how you got where you are. It was way tougher than that." I commented.

Jasper leaned on his hand that was resting on armrest, scratching his stubble. A smirk formed on his lips.

I became self conscious. Did I say something wrong? Were all the things said about him in the news were fake?

I know that he was born in an average, poor house. He worked day and night, faced struggles and went through so much to get where he was. He had failed, faced rejection over and over again and yet still got to where he was.

And that too, honestly. Well, at least, that was what the internet showed me.

"What? Why are you smiling?" I asked him when his smirk stayed on his lips and he stared at me like he knew something that I did not.

"You researched about me?" He questioned me, a teasing smile on his lips.

My eyes widened when I realised that I had just confessed about googling him. I bit my lip.

Damn it, he noticed that? Why did he notice that?

He was still grinning at me with his face still on his hand. Certainly expecting an answer or at least some sort of a reaction.

Although, I was saved by our waiter as he interrupted us with our prepared meal.

Those were the last words spoken between us. After that we ate our meal in silence. Later on, when we finished our meal, Jasper paid for our food as promised. And with that done. We left that restaurant.

Still, not saying a single word to each other.

But this time the silence was light, not heavy. Like last time.