Chapter 16: Chapter 16

“Myra, I have no other meaning but to congratulate you,” Jake extended his palm to her slowly.

She trembled and looked at Sierra, then back at Jake, reluctantly taking his hand. Two months was just too long to be unreasonably angry with Jake. She knew deeply that one couldn't force relationships. He had Yuna, and she had Hart. Faking a smile, she shook his hand.

“Thank you.”

If she was genuinely happy with Hart, then why was her heart beating so hard whenever Jake was near or looked at her? Jake, as cool as he was, seemed to have seen through her falseness. Even His presence didn't bother Sierra, who was busy checking the text on her phone. So deeply in love that she didn’t give a damn about her surroundings.

She stared at his finger. Even now, when he was with Yuna, it was bare. Was she supposed to be relieved about that? She shook off her relief and grabbed her messenger bag, signaling to Sierra that it was time to go. The next class wasn’t until four in the afternoon, which she assumed to be cancelled since her professor wasn’t in town.

Myra exited the lecture hall in a panic, sensing Jake following behind her heels. Sierra glanced at her left and right momentarily, her eyes glued to her phone screen. Myra knew she had just read a juicy bit of gossip, but was waiting for the right time to reveal what she had gathered.

They walked through the corridors with their heels clacking on the solid floor tiles, as usual. One of the best things about their university was the students’ freedom of dressing. Sierra was the fashion freak, while Myra loved comfortable designer clothes. Many eyes were on them, but it wasn’t because they were beauties. Jake was obviously still following them.

Out of the blue, someone had parked a handsome-looking navy sports car at the drop-off area with an even more charming gentleman leaning against the vehicle.

“Myra, it looks like your darling is here to pick you up,” Sierra uttered excitedly. Without even having to check the time, Myra knew it was lunchtime. Perhaps it was a good thing that Hart was here for lunch. She had a lot on her mind, and Hart could probably give her the answers. She needed to know what happened yesterday, and it was constantly bugging her mind.

But how should she say it? ‘Hart, were you with me last night?’ Wouldn’t it even sound ludicrous to ask him when she was drunk and had woken up feeling the effects after a wild night of sex? As much as she wished the man was Hart, it could have been a complete stranger. And if it really was, she didn’t know how to face the music. She would have felt disgusted with herself. Yet, her mind was entirely blank about what had happened.

“Myra, where would you like to head for lunch?”

For the last two months, they had been meeting each other on and off, mostly to satisfy each other. But every date they had, he would astonish her with lavish gifts and expensive dinners at posh restaurants. Myra missed the time they were at the Bali street market having hawker food. True enough, he made this change for her, but she could tell how he wasn’t used to it.

She could hear chattering from the crowd. As she had expected, most of the university students would be judgmental about their relationship. Though Hart was handsome, they had a distinct age gap. If not that she was wealthy, people would have assumed she was with him for money. With his fit body and handsome appearance, plus how he appeared ‘rich’ with his designer clothes and sports car, it was easy for one to make a mistake.

“Wait up, Myra.”

The crowd hustled with trepidation. With how they shipped Myra and Jake as a dream couple, they didn’t enjoy Hart and Yuna as the choices for their super couple. Ever since he elevated himself to CEO status, Jake had become the idol in male and female eyes alike. He adopted a clean, sleek look, which one would call paramount.

“You are…” Hart turned around as he faced the man. Both men seemed to glare at each other with jealousy stemming from each other’s eyes. Sierra smirked as she watched them staring daggers at each other.

“Jake Yu.” Jake was cool as he extended his hand, which wasn’t very welcomed. As handsome as Jake was, he didn’t own the mature and charming air that Hart very much owned. Jake was dominant and looked like he never needed to work a day in his life. His CEO outfit was very up to standard. Hart was more of a casual dresser. Neither did he sport a trendy haircut like Jake.

“Hatta Baderan.”

Hart ignored his offer for a handshake and just introduced himself casually. Jake had a superb memory and remembered this man exactly from the photograph Myra was staring at so intensely during the lecture. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his bones. She had loved him. Why this man, why a foreigner? How could she have switched targets so quickly?

“Myra is my girlfriend,” Hart pronounced with an arrogant look on his face. “What is your business with her?”

Myra’s lips pursed awkwardly as she realised how both men were about to get into a fight over her. “Hey, guys, cool it. We’re on university grounds after all.”

“So, uh, where were you going to go with Myra? She is fond of expensive, yet exotic foods.”

She sighed silently. Jake knew her too well. Though she savoured the food back at Bali, she could not withstand eating such dishes long-term.

“I can afford whatever food she likes,” Hart stated the fact confidently. “My love for her will exceed it all.”

Jake laughed mockingly. “I’ll be watching, boyfriend. How long have you been dating Myra, if I may ask?”

“Over two months.”

“And how long have you known her?”

“Two months and a few weeks.”

Jake laughed again, then strode over calmly to Myra and grasped her shoulders, not possessively, but enough for her to feel his jealousy. “Myra and I are childhood playmates.”

Her eyes widened in confusion. What was Jake up to? Was he attempting to contend with Hart?

“Ah, childhood playmates.” Hart rolled his eyes. “Where were you when she was out in the rain, all drenched and having nowhere to go?”

“Hart…” Myra gestured, signalling with her eyes for him to drop the matter.

“But now I have something to discuss with her,” Jake said. “If you wish to have lunch with her, let’s have it this way. We’ll go to The Best Damn Thing. My treat.”

Myra’s eyes almost fell from their sockets. The venue he had just mentioned was the most pricey seafood restaurant in the entire city. There was no way she could even afford it, even with the huge allowance her father had given her, let alone Hart. The place charged diamonds for the freshest and tastiest seafood she had ever eaten.

“Fine, I accept your offer,” Hart said, without losing his cool. Perhaps he wanted to know more about this man who he had professed to her. He would help her forget. In Bali, he had asked her so many times who he was, but to no avail. Now this man was standing before him, and he learned they were childhood friends.

“We’ll take my car,” Jake stated nonchalantly, before walking towards the parking lot. Hart immediately followed, with Myra in tow. She didn’t know what to expect out of the two men’s battle with each other. But if she didn’t follow them, what if one of them got hurt?

Her cell phone buzzed, and she unlocked it hastily to read the full text from Jake. “Later, I need to bring you to a place. It’s connected to your father’s disappearance.”

Her father? Why did it sound so familiar, like someone had told her about it before? Myra racked her brains, but she still couldn’t remember if someone had informed her about her father’s disappearance. She had thought it merely to be the quarrel with Sierra’s mother leading to her father going on a trip to ease his stress and to make up for some space from Sierra’s mother. But, if it was more than that, she concerned herself that her father wouldn’t ever come back.

“Myra, why are you so quiet?” Hart whispered as they sat in the back passenger seat of Jake’s expensive limo. Jake even had a chauffeur to drive him. The duo eyed each other as the limo zoomed right through the tunnel, avoiding the busy streets filled with traffic.

Myra didn’t think there was anything worth talking about now that Hart had given in to Jake’s kind offer. Whatever he needed to know, he could find out by himself later. What she had to do was to go with Jake to that place he knew to be connected to her father’s disappearance.

As she stared towards Jake, she could have sworn she saw a tinge of desire in his eyes.