Page 77 of Nocturne

Because a moment later, his eyes wander, and they land right on me.

And despite myself, I shudder at the malicious grin that erupts on his face as he struts towards me.

Twenty

Ara

In the next few minutes, chaos unfolds. The small, intimate table where Sean and I sat is joined by a larger group, chairs scraping against the floor as Burke takes the seat right beside mine. Despite my slight protest, both my plate and Sean’s are cleared at his command.

“Fancy seeing you here, trash,” Pearl sneers, settling into the chair opposite me.

I summon courage I don’t truly feel and take a leisurely sip of my wine, refusing to let them see how much they rattle me. I’m not that scared college girl anymore.

At least, I pretend not to be.

“Beauty and brains—I'm earning mine, unlike you living off daddy’s fund." I quip back with a smile.

I refuse to acknowledge Burke, even as he shifts his chair closer.

Pearl’s cheeks flush with indignation, and she shoots a glance at Burke—her fiancé. I remember the flashy engagement announcement Ivy showed me, the one splashed across the entertainment section.

Burke remains silent, as usual. It takes a real man to defend his woman, and he isn’t one. Pearl’s steely blue eyes lock onto mine, and a nasty expression settles on her otherwise beautiful face. What good is beauty when your insides are rotten?

“Misplaced confidence doesn’t change the fact that you look like an ugly fat cow,” she retorts.

“My confidence has nothing to do with the validation of the men I let into my bed.”

She glares at Burke, who smirks, his gaze flicking to me from the corner of his eye.

“Are you going to allow her to talk to me this way?” Pearl’s voice climbs to an embarrassing octave.

Burke shrugs, his friends too engrossed in the menu to care. “Don’t dish out what you can’t take.”

With nonchalance I don’t truly possess, I take another sip of my wine, savouring the brief reprieve. I watch Pearl huff before storming away. I want nothing more than to follow her, but wouldn’t that mean he won?

After all these years, am I still scared of him?

“Seems like you’ve grown claws,” Burke says, his tone slurring slightly. He’s not drunk, but enough to make his words waver, a dangerous combination for someone who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Who are you here with, baby?”

How I loathe that word. It churns my stomach.

“It doesn’t concern you,” I reply coolly, signalling for the waiter.

I ask for the check, eager to escape.

Burke’s friends turn to look at me after they place their orders, their eyes lingering too long on my cleavage. I can sense the monster lurking just beneath the surface of my ex. I can leavewithout showing him my weakness. I could call Sean, and we could salvage the night elsewhere.

But then Burke’s hand grips the leg of my chair, holding me in place.

“Your sass is a turn-on, but not directed at me. Don’t forget who you’re talking to.”

“Of course, I do know who you are. A spineless coward who cannot defend his woman,”

I’d love to retort, but I bite my tongue instead. My shoulders tense, the unmistakable tone of a chauvinistic swine sending alarm bells ringing. Unfortunately, this swine also has the power to upend my carefully curated life.

“I’m here on a date,” I say, forcing myself to sound casual.

---