Chapter 17: Chapter 17

The Best Damn Thing Cafe, Downtown

A slim server in an adorable uniform leant over to take their orders. Nervously, Myra chewed on her lower lip.

“I’ll have the seared foie gras with caramelised figs.”

She averted Hart’s gaze, fixing her eyes on the menu. Knowing Hart, he would go for something more affordable, but even a pizza or a sundae in this posh cafe would cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. When she and her friends were having hotel-standard dishes at Bali, the cheap prices delighted them extremely.

Jake ordered pasta with salmon caviar, grinning at Hart who merely mumbled, “baked fish rice”. He was indeed a fish out of water. Myra pretended to indulge herself in her newly downloaded bakery game app. She didn’t want a part in their war over her. Her only wish was for everything to be over, so she could find out what she needed from Jake.

Their fathers had been so close with one another, almost like brothers. She knew that if Jake knew something had happened to her father while he was overseas; it was nothing surprising. Thus, it was no surprise she had developed such a deep crush on Jake while growing up. The situation before her made her think of one instance where she referred to Jake as her tree.

-Flashback-

They were standing alone in the park, reliving their childhood memories of Jake pulling Myra in a wagon around the area. As children, they would sometimes bicycle together. This was before Jake started dating all those girls, Myra recalled. As she lost herself in thought, she felt something wet touch her cheek. Though the sky was clear that afternoon, she assumed it had rained. Jake was also looking into the distance.

“Jake, you will always be my tree,” she laughed childishly, poking him in the chest. He let her poke him. She sensed something was on his mind from the seriousness of his tone that followed.

“Myra, I am leaving to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business in Shanghai,” he said solemnly. As usual, his face was stoic, and he had carefully hidden any feelings he had for her.

She tugged on his arm. “Jake, when will you be returning?”

“I don’t know, Myra. Will you write?”

-end of flashback-

She hadn’t written, after all. This was after she heard Jake mention to his father months later that she was only a sister to him. Her entire world seemed to crumble. She didn’t do well in her studies, and for the sake of her getting a better education, Alfred found her a good college in a city hours away. She lost contact with Jake after that.

After she finished her college studies, Alfred and Myra returned to V City. There, he met Sierra’s mother, a single mother with an only child, and after meeting a few times, Alfred pursued her. The girls clicked instantly and became the best of friends. Other than Sierra’s mother, Alfred was in touch with Marc Yu, Jake’s father.

Myra understood. Maybe there was something Alfred had confided in Marc and not his daughters. Her phone then beeped sharply, distracting her from her thoughts.

It was a computer-generated message from the university confirming their cancellation of her lecture for the afternoon. She heaved a sigh of relief, as lightly as possible to avoid Hart from knowing what was on her mind. She didn’t have to go back to uni, but she didn’t want him to know that she would be with Jake this afternoon.

“I’ll head to the washroom for a bit.”

She pulled herself up on her feet, then entered the ladies. As she washed up and cleaned off her light makeup, she thought for a while.

Her heart was still beating for Jake, even when Hart was present. Did she still harbour feelings for Jake, after all this while? When he had ‘dumped’ her for that Korean celebrity? It hurt. She thought Hart was the one after this time, to heal her emotionally and physically, but could she see a future with Hart other than satisfying her needs and bringing excitement in her life?

But even if she didn’t love Hart, Jake already had Yuna. She was pregnant, as Sierra had told her. This would not change for a very long time. She even lived with Jake, didn’t she? Just thinking made her eyes dampen with tears. She couldn’t bring herself to hate him any longer, could she?

She took a deep breath and counted. Then she washed her face again and again with the cold water from the tap.

Myra, you can do this. Be strong. Show Jake what you’re made of; you’re no ordinary girl, Myra. You’re a smart heiress. And you will graduate in less than two years. Next year, you will do your internship at a reputable organisation.

She paused. Out of nowhere, she seemed to have remembered something.

“I’ve heard that something unfortunate happened to him during his trip to Sydney.” Jake’s voice reverberated in her mind. These words were very familiar, like she had heard them before.

But why couldn’t she recall? She did not know that he had gone to Sydney at all. Sierra’s mother said he went to Thailand. How did this all happen? Was there something she didn’t know, but Jake did?

As she was standing in silence, she was aware of the sound of someone pushing open the toilet door. Two long legs strode into the bathroom.

“Myra, are you okay? It’s been twenty minutes since you went to the bathroom. Your boyfriend had to go-”

The deep voice halted abruptly. Jake held the crying lass firmly on her shoulders.

“Myra, if you need someone to cry, I’m here for you. I’m sorry for being who I was in the past-”

She cried again, not knowing what was happening to her, or why she was emotional, but at her most vulnerable point, she just wanted him to continue holding her. She was apologetic to Hart, yet she didn’t know what to do. Jake led her slowly away from where she was standing before the mirror and leaned her against the cool wall. With his free hand, he locked the toilet door to avoid anyone else intruding.

“What happened, Myra? You were alright earlier. You can tell me.”

She sobbed again. “I don’t know when you told me, my father…”

“You can’t remember what happened last night,” he remarked, moving his hands casually to hold her by the waist. She nodded.

“I just remembered. You said something happened to him while he was in Sydney. I don’t know how I could have forgotten this. When I was washing my face, it suddenly came to my mind.”

“It was my father. He flew to Sydney to meet your father, but it was too late.”

“Sierra’s mom told me he went to Thailand. I don’t know what’s even happening.”

“Myra, there’s more to it. I need to take you somewhere so that we can talk further. I hope you will be strong enough to take all this. Two months ago, I was a jerk. I can admit this. Until you left, I realised what I was missing. Trust me, I will make things right.”

She was speechless, her mind whirring with everything that he had just told her. He seized the opportunity to hold her tighter against him, hearing her rapid breathing. Her heart was beating so hard that he knew he had this magical effect on her.

Last night, they had been so drunk they had lost complete control of themselves. But here she was, all sober and aware of the situation, without the touch of alcohol. He pressed his lips against her, probing with his tongue into her mouth.

Their eyes locked with an intense gaze. Why was she reacting so hard to his touch? She was so tired of everything that she wanted an escape. Even if it was just a moment.

She felt his hardness against her, and she remained quiet, letting him take her with his kisses. His fingers slid under her dress, pulling it up high and finding his way to fondle her mounds. She made no move to resist, giving in to his kisses.

She tasted so good. Her mouth felt so warm, and her globes were reacting to his torment. Myra sizzled with need as he touched her more. She felt connected, different from what she normally had with Hart. Closing her eyes, she wished for this moment to never end.

Was she cheating? Even if she had got together with Hart just to forget Jake, these two months proved that even being away from Jake had not cured her pain. It had merely distracted her for a moment. Hart was good in bed, but if she hadn’t reminded him of Milla, would he have liked her the same way?

It was getting steamy. Jake’s hands were all over her, making her ache and crave him in a way that she fathomed couldn’t satiate her easily. She tightened her legs, fearing that he would realise she was already wet from his playing.

Then he pulled away.

“Myra, you know you still want me. But I won’t let it happen just like this. With time, I’ll prove to you I will make things right. Now, we have got to go.”