Scorned Innocence (Scorned Trilogy #1) ✔

Twenty Five

I was quiet during the ride home. I was fuming in my seat but refrained from doing so.

What transpired in the restaurant awhile ago was unexpected and ruined the mood.

Andoon lang naman ang 'kababata' kuno ni Jacob who happened to be the owner of the restaurant we were at.

Denise Olivarez.

Tunog sosyal. Tunog maganda. Tunog mayaman.

Siyang-siya.

What pained me even more is after introducing me to her, it seemed as if Jacob has forgotten about me completely. He appeared to forgot about my existence.

I ate silently while they continued to talk and laugh as if I was not there. The girl even caressed his arm as they talked!

I was so frustrated that I excused myself to the restroom in the middle of dinner and Jacob just nodded at me not caring how was I or how I have felt being with them.

I washed my face and took deep breaths before I wiped it dry. I re-applied my makeup and then pasted a fake smile on my face.

When I returned to our table, I was glad that Denise left him. Finally.

"Do you want some more?" Jacob asked his face grinning. He was referring to a plateful of potato fries at the center of our table.

We were having our favorite dinner today. Risotto with potato fries and milkshake.

I thought about the possible occasion why he dragged me here because as far as I know, we eat these only when one of us is celebrating something.

We were doing this ever since we graduated when he began to court me, during our birthdays, when we both got hired in our respective companies and when we became official.

Being an ordinary day, I don't see any reason why we are here.

Is it because of Denise?

I shook away the thoughts and tried to smile at him. He just nodded and continued eating.

I twirled the noodles using my fork before I brought them to my mouth. I bit on it to cut the noodles before I chewed and swallowed it.

I raised my eyes to meet his and asked, "why are we here? May okasyon ba?"

Jacob smiled even wider and I felt myself get weirded out by him.

Seriously? Ngingitian nya lang ako?

"I just want to taste risotto once again." He said and shrugged. "Eat up then I'll take you home."

I sighed and remembered how he dismissed my question.

We entered his car and I sat at the passenger seat. I stared out the window, not saying a word.

As he maneuvered the car, I didn't realize that he hadn't said a word at me. He just opened the radio and turned up the music.

I decided to doze of for a moment and woke up in front of our house. He did not even bother to wake me up.

I sighed and pushed the door open without saying another word to him. He did the same thing and I swear, I could strangle him right there.

"Hey." He began which halted me from going out.

"You left this." He said and I blinked when I realized what he meant. He was referring to a portrait located at the backseat.

It was a portrait of us when he took me to Baguio about two months ago. I was admiring the view of Burnham Park with my side profile visible to him. It never occurred to me that he shot me a picture, painted it and have it framed.

"W-wow. Thanks." I said in surprise. I straightened my outfit before I stood my ground.

We were outside the house and I didn't realized he also stepped out. I was too engrossed with his ability.

Siya na ang talented!

"Turn the frame around at the strike of midnight. Then tell me your answer tomorrow." He said and kissed me quickly on my lips. He, then, kissed my forehead and said straight into my eyes, "I love you very much, Amara. I will respect your decision."

"Huh?" My forehead creased in confusion hoping to hear his next words but he got inside his car immediately. He flashed me one last smile before he sped off.

I wonder what he meant by that.