Jason's POV
"What are you doing here?" She smiled without replying and then sat down, crossing her legs.
"I was in town, so I thought I'd pop by and see you."
I clenched my jaw, a common habit I tend to do when I feel annoyed, but Aria's unexpected arrival today was making me feel more than that. We had broken up ten months ago, and we had no business together anymore. Plus, I think I had removed her contact details from my phone a long time ago, yet I still can't figure out the real reason she's here.
That's just how she isâalways unpredictable. She eyed the watch sitting in front of me and quickly grabbed it before I had the chance to take it and keep it safely under my desk. She stared at the watch with interest, like a cat slowly observing the mouse before devouring it.
"Nice watch. Was it a gift?" I cleared my throat before forcing myself to answer her question.
"Yes."
"Was it from the girl that was here a while ago? I ran into her outside."
She pulled the black case toward her and slowly placed the watch inside as if it was about to break.
"Why are you really here, Aria?" She smirked and leaned back in her chair.
"Is she your new girlfriend? I saw the news about you two in some gossip magazine. Quite an interesting story, I must say."
She quickly avoided my question, which made me feel a little irritated, and I looked at her with a serious face.
"I don't see any reason why you're concerned about something that's none of your business."
Her smile faded, and she gave me a hard look.
"I know, but after I found out who she really is, I know the real game you're playing here, Jason. I know you, and I can guarantee that what you're doing to her is exactly what you did to me."
I chuckled and leaned closer to the table. "And what exactly am I doing?"
"Don't play dumb, Jason. I know you're just using her. Like, seriously, what is it with you and your revenge plans? Do you always have a thing for destroying people who are more powerful than you?"
"That depends. But my relationship with Shay is different, and that is something I don't feel like expressing to you, so please leave. I have work to do."
She smiled at me and slowly shook her head.
"She'll find out, Jason. And trust me, it'll get ugly the more you try to hide the truth from her."
I glared at her and nodded toward the door.
"You can leave now, Aria. I am not going to ask you again."
The corner of her mouth quirked up, and then she finally looked away, stood up, and put her sunglasses back on.
"It was nice to see you again, Jason."
I watched her leave the room until she was finally out of sight, then I released an exasperated sigh. I slammed my fist down on the table and clenched my jaw tightly. Just when I thought I had everything under control, she decided to show up and ruin everything.
Fuck!
I just hope she never approaches Shay, or else she'll screw things up for me before I even have the chance to make things right again.
Shay's POV
Mom went overboard with lunch again. It was like we were having a mini party or somethingâthere was so much food on the table that I couldn't even choose which one to start eating first. There's salmon, steak, vegetable salad, pasta, chicken breast with baked potatoes on the side, pumpkin soup, and a huge bowl of coleslaw.
At first, we started eating in silence, but when Mom started looking at me with a small frown on her face, I knew straight away that my mood and appetite would be ruined by whatever she was going to say.
"What's his name?" she asked me with a hard tone.
"Who?"
"The guy you're seeing."
Shelby and Shanelle immediately looked at me at the same time.
"Jason." Shanelle started to giggle out loud, then looked at Mom.
"He was her boss before she quit that job. Can you believe it, Mom? Her own boss, eew."
I rolled my eyes and drank my juice quietly.
"Mixing business with pleasure? A strong flaw that cannot be exposed at a workplace. He's not fit to be a businessman," Shelby added, glancing at me before getting back to her food.
"You already know how this looks on our family. We don't need people paying us extra attention because of this kind of news, which is why I agree with your father. You need to end this relationship now."
I immediately looked straight at her, and I couldn't stop myself from gripping my fork tightly.
"I'm not doing that, Mom." She scoffed in disbelief and glanced at Dad, who was only concentrating on eating rather than contributing to this stupid conversation.
"Did you hear what she just said? She won't do it. Can you believe this girl?" she shrieked angrily.
"The news about your job at C&E Holdings and the scandal about your relationship had already affected our company's image more than you think. How? Because you're dating a man that is our main business rival. Don't you get it? Our number of clients had dropped, and many of our investors are pulling out because they think we're being friendly with Cartwright because we allow you to go out with him," Shelby said.
"I am not breaking up with Jason no matter what you say. This is my personal life and my relationship, and you will not tell me what to do. I should've moved out by now, but no, here I am! And the only reason why is because I agreed to do what Dad says, and that's the only time I will let you take control of my life. As for my relationship with Jason, there's a line here that I'm warning you about. So don't piss me off more than you already have by crossing it."
Mom threw her napkin on top of the table and laughed in a sarcastic way while staring directly at Dad.
"Are you seriously not gonna say anything about this?" she suddenly pressed Dad.
He looked straight at me while chewing, then pointed the silver knife in his hand at me.
"Let her do what she wants. I've already warned her about Cartwright, and soon she'll realize that I was right all along."
Mom threw her hands up in surrender, and I looked down at my plate and released a low sigh of annoyance. I stood up from the table, placed my napkin to the side of my plate, and excused myself from the room. I couldn't take the pressure anymore, nor could I handle being in the same room with them.
Every time they said something to me or told me what to do, the pressure of their words just drained the living energy out of me. I really wished my brother was here. He would be the only one to take my side and always support me.
I wished I could turn back time and go back to the day that he left for Hawaii. I wish I could have done something to make him stay and spend his vacation here in San Francisco instead. That way, he wouldn't have left and taken that yacht, and that accident would never have happened. But the harsh truth is that it's not possible, and he's never coming back.
The only thing I can do now is just wish he was here by my side right now.