Serenade of Scars (Unedited)

Chapter 16

I was starting my small business in my house, but I had not stopped working at the restaurant. Jesse spread the news so fast that I had people waiting for my baked goodies. That was truly a good move that Jesse had done for me. Maybe three times in a week, I would bake some cookies or cupcakes and take them to work. "Why don't you bake enough cookies, cupcakes, and cakes so that you'll be selling here?" Asked Jesse.

"I can sell here?" I asked.

He nodded. "Why not? We can put them on the menu."

My eyes grew bigger at what he had just said. "Shut up! Really?"

"Yes," he smiled.

"But Ms Jane---"

"Leave her to me," he assured me.

I looked at him for a while unable to know how to thank him. "No strings attached, right?" I responded.

Jesse shot me an eyebrow and instantly, I knew the answer. I grabbed my tray and smiled at him as I returned to work. Olivia was so great at her job! The interaction with customers was amazing and she always wore a smile on her face, it was priceless. As I was noting down an order, Jamal walked in. I stood in amazement as he spotted me and sent me a smile. Even Olivia didn't miss a second of what had just happened. She went to attend to him while I went to the kitchen. Jesse was preparing the food with the chef and they knew that something about me was off. "Are you okay?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah," I answered, as I wanted to stop my heart from beating so fast.

"Your breathing is different," observed Jesse, as he dried his hands and walked over to me. 

"What happened to you?"

Just then, Olivia walked in. "Order for table 5, 3, and 1. Chloe, table one," she told me in codes.

I swallowed hard, as I gave Jesse the order for table 2 and left. At the back of my head, I knew that Jesse's wouldn't leave me until he knew what made my heart beat that fast. Jamal's smile grew wider as I approached his table. Part of me knew that Jesse was looking at us and honestly, I didn't want him to be hurt. "So you work here," he smiled at me.

I didn't want to answer, so I just smiled at him as I took out my pen to take down his order. From the bottom of my heart, I didn't want Jesse to think that there was anything between us. Not that there was but...I don't know. "Have you decided on what you want to eat?" I asked.

"Surprise me," he answered.

I smiled at him as I left his table and went to the kitchen. Jesse was cutting the peppers when I walked in. He didn't bother to look at me, as I was talking to the chef. "The orders for table 1 and 5 are ready," Jesse told me but didn't bother to face me.

I grabbed the trays and left. Olivia made eye contact with me, as she took down the orders of the customers. I served the customers and went to the dressing rooms. Jamal's eyes were point blankly on me and I hated it. Why now? The door opened to Olivia. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," I answered, confused.

"You still like him?" She asked.

I sighed as I just looked at her. The was a knock at the door. "Chloe, you're needed at table one," said Jesse.

I opened the door and he was standing at the side. We were both quiet and I just walked away before he could catch anything. Jamal was eating from the dish that I ordered for him and looked very much satisfied. "I'm glad you know my taste in food," he smiled up to me. "Sit."

"What?"

"Sit down. I want to talk to you," he explained.

"I'm at work, Jamal," I told him.

He looked up at me. "I'll pay double, if that would make you happy," he replied.

Reluctantly, I sat anyways, just so he tells me what he wanted. Across the table, his smile reached me. "Give me your hand," he said.

"No."

He frowned at me. "Why not? Did I do anything wrong?"

I looked around and noticed that most of the customers had left the restaurant and the ones that were left, were finishing up. Trying to tell myself that Jamal was not being serious, I looked back at him and saw his hand reached out to me. The implications of giving my hand to him would make Jesse think otherwise. Before I knew it, Jamal shifted with his chair closer to me. My eyes almost left my body as my heart betrayed me and started beating rapidly. "Relax, why are you acting as if I'm going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry, this is just unexpected."

He then took my hand and entwined it with his. At that moment, my heart dropped. Why now? I closed my eyes, as I looked away from him. His hand rested on my face, as he turned me to face him. "I never once stopped thinking about you," he told me.

He kissed my hand, as he kept his eyes on me. "Your father is doing well and is being taken care of. What's stopping us from being with each other?"

He leaned it to kiss me but I stood up and saw Jesse staring at us. I freaked out and ran out of the restaurant. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I got home and locked the door. Ran to my room and cried my heart out. A while later, Olivia came home since she now stayed with me and had a spare key. I refused to come out from my room.

Around 10 PM, I decided to go down because I was hungry. As I was coming down the stairs, Olivia and Jesse sat on the sofa in the living room and looked up at me. First of all, what was Jesse doing at my house and how long had he been here? I froze at the stairs as they all stood up. How was I going to explain myself? Jesse had seen everything but didn't know anything. He was understanding but looking at him hurt me, because I knew I hurt him even if it wasn't visible. I turned to go back to my room when Olivia stopped me. "Please, don't go," she said.

She walked over to me and hugged me. "It's okay. Jesse wants to talk to you, I told him everything. Go talk to him," she whispered in my ear.

I looked at Jesse, who was quietly standing looking on. Olivia went up the stairs and left us alone. I walked up to where Jesse was and for a moment, we both just looked at each other. Before I could utter a word, Jesse pulled me into a bear hug. Instantly, I felt weak. Why was he being so compassionate? He was supposed to be hurt; he wasn't even supposed to be here. "Jesse----"

"Please, don't say anything. Just...hug me," he responded, as his head rested on my head.

I cried silent tears as he sat me down but never let go of me. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

My eyes flew open. What was he sorry for? "For what?" I replied.

"For not making you mine sooner. This experience made me realise that that my 'I'm not ready,' is someone else's 'I knew it from the moment we started talking,' you get me?"

I nodded, as I wondered where the conversation was going. "I want us to be official."

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