Page 21 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

As dinner begins, Silvia drones on vapidly about things that I don’t care about. She could be a neurosurgeon and I still wouldn’t be interested in her because her name isn’t Patience James.

In the middle of dinner, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and I consider ignoring it. However, I’m getting this real sour feeling in my stomach for some reason, and I believe in following my gut. Pushing back my chair, I take a deep breath because I’m about to enrage my father.

“Excuse me, I have to take this,” I murmur, standing.

“Honestly, Nathaniel, you can’t wait for dinner to end?” my father scoffs.

Ignoring him, I walk around the corner to take the call. Answering quickly, I sigh in relief when I see I just made it.

“Hello, this is Nate. May I ask who's calling?” I ask, and I’m greeted with a snort.

“That’s a real fancy way to ask who the fuck this is,” a woman mutters. “My name is Shina and I was Patience’s boss at Fantasies. I have some information for you, but I’ll only be able to give it to you in person. Can you come by the club?”

I hesitate, glancing over my shoulder. My father is attempting to mollify Silvia’s father, and I know I’m about to blow that up. Oh well, this is one of the first real leads I’ve received. It could be bullshit, but my gut is telling me to go.

“Sorry, yeah. I’m on my way now. Do I just ask for you when I arrive?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she grunts. “I’ll be in my office or on the floor. It’s a busy night.”

“I’ll let you go then. Thank you for the call,” I say politely as I hang up. I’m sure she’s having a field day with my pretty boy manners, but I don’t know how else to be.

Pretending isn’t something that I do well.

Time to pay the piper. Stepping into the dining room, I force myself to look apologetic. My father is sure to hate this.

“My apologies,” I sigh. “It looks like I'll need to cut our dinner short. I had a really important call, and I need to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” my father growls, looking menacing. “You’re going to sit down and get to know your future wife.”

Silvia preens happily, but understands that I do not feel the same way, nor do I consent.

“This is fucking bullshit,” I roar as Cal stands and tries to calm me down, but I'm so over this.

“Sit down, Nathaniel,” my dad shouts, but I don't listen. My girlfriend is missing and he thinks that I'm still going to put up with this arranged marriage façade.

Leaving the dining room, I grab my shoes and carry them out to the garage. The door slams behind me and a beep from the closest BMW proves my brother decided to come with me.

“You should stay,” I grumble, and Cal laughs before moving behind me and smacking my shoulder.

“Dad can kiss my fucking ass. I know he has something to do with Patience’s disappearance.”

I groan then open the passenger door and climb in.

“I know I keep trying to be Switzerland, but that ship has long sailed. I’m getting the same vibes you are.” I sigh as I push the start button in the car. “Dad wouldn’t have fought that hard to get me to stay if he wasn’t hiding something.”

Gunning the car, I peel out of the driveway, intent on getting to Shina’s place of business. I hope she has news for us and that it’ll bring us one step closer to bringing Patience home. I know that Cal is losing his mind about Rooke too, but I need to put out one fire at a time.

The club is busy when we arrive, so I find a parking spot as quickly as possible and trudge to the entrance. The weather is mimicking my mood right now; it’s rainy and windy. There’s a bouncer posted at the door when we arrive and I force myself to smile. He's a pretty cool dude, and we've chatted a few times when I snuck in here to talk to my rabbit. I may be miserable, but I don’t have to act like an asshole.

I’m supposed to be the nice twin, after all.

“I’m here to see Shina, please. She’s expecting us,” I explain.

“Yeah, okay,” he murmurs. “She mentioned that actually. Shina is waiting at the bar. It’s a madhouse tonight.”

“Thanks, man,” I tell him, walking past with Cal to the bar. The club is filled with people drinking, talking, and moving into the private rooms available. It makes me remember secretly watching Pay work here and my heart hurts.

A woman with purple hair is working behind the bar alongside other bartenders, but I can tell she’s the boss because there’s a very dominant vibe about her. I can’t imagine her taking orders from someone else.

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