My Million Dollar Boyfriend

Chapter 46

"RAYMOND?!"

Claude was startled when they yelled together and looked puzzled between them with the oven dish in his hands. "Yeah? That's his name?" he said as Adrian and Florence stared at each other with big eyes.

"Maybe he's talking about someone else," Florence said after a few seconds of silence.

Adrian lowered his phone from his ear and slowly nodded. "Yes, it could be...," he trailed off and turned back to Claude. "Do you remember what he looks like? Does he have dark red hair?"

Claude nodded. "Yeah with that white boy teenager haircut," he added and knitted his eyebrows when he saw Adrian dialing a number. "Why? What's wrong?"

Florence forced a smile but couldn't hide the bitterness in his eyes. "Nothing special, Adrian is just overreacting," he said with an awkward chuckle.

"What do you mean nothing special?! That man is-" Adrian got interrupted when he heard a husky voice coming from his phone. "Give me a minute," he said and put his ear back against his ear. "James, it's me."

Claude watched Adrian walk to the hall while arguing with someone and looked at Florence who was biting his nails. "What's your history with that Raymond guy? Did something happen between you two?" Claude asked.

He glanced back at Adrian who went back to them with a murderous glare. "I'll tell you another time," Florence smiled as Adrian slammed his phone on the table. "Who were you talking to?"

Adrian clicked his tongue. "An annoying and stubborn man who never listens to me," he sighed, rapidly tapping his finger on the table. "I'll definitely try to arrange a bodyguard for you after hearing this. I'll keep you updated," Adrian said and grabbed his phone.

"Wait, aren't you staying for dinner?" Florence shouted as Adrian put his coat on and walked to the door. Florence didn't get a response and they heard the front door shut. "I guess he isn't."

"And he didn't tell you anything after that?" Raoul asked over the phone.

"Nope," Claude sighed. He escaped their silent apartment to work on his assignments in a cafe nearby. Not only did Florence avoid his questions, but he also started acting more distant since Claude mentioned Raymond. "Every time I asked him, he comes up with a lame excuse and fucks off to do something else."

"Just give him some time, man," Raoul said, interrupting the rant Claude wanted to start. "It sounds like he's kinda in shock that you know someone he doesn't seem comfortable with."

Claude put his head on the table with a defeated sigh. "I guess," he muttered and turned his head to look at his coffee. "It's not like I want to force it out of him." He frowned when he saw a pair of jeans stop behind his coffee. He looked up and saw a familiar face watching him curiously. "Raoul, I'll call you back."

"Why? What happened-" Claude ended the call and had a confused smile on his face. "Goodmorning, Raymond. What brings you here?"

"Just like you," Raymond chuckled, gesturing at his coffee and bag. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Of course not!" Claude grinned and closed his work in progress he didn't even touch from a few days ago. "I know we saw each other yesterday, but how are you? How has work been?"

"Oh, it's been nothing unusual," he replied while pouring a few sugar packets into his coffee. "How have you been?"

Claude let out a deep sigh as his gaze went to the table. "Well, some shit happened yesterday with Flory which left me a little annoyed," he confessed.

Raymond slightly cocked his head with a curious look in his eyes. "Did you two have an argument?" he asked and Claude shook his head. "Did you mention me to him?"

He hummed. Raymond had a knowing look on his face as the corners of his mouth twitched. "I only asked him what he was to you but he told me that he'll tell me another time," Claude explained.

Raymond chuckled and carefully sipped his coffee to avoid burning his tongue. "It seems like he's still mad from back then," he smiled, looking down at his cup. He put it down and crossed his fingers. "I'll be blunt about it. I'm his ex," he said.

"Florence has... an ex?" Claude whispered to himself with an utterly perplexed look on his face. He never thought Florence would have an ex with how overprotective his family is, especially Adrian. Raymond showed him an old picture of them in high school to back up his statement. "For real?"

"Yes," he answered, still smiling at Claude's baffled face. "I know it sounds unreal but we were together through my last year of high school. He was still a sophomore back then."

Claude lifted his head, still wondering how Adrian let them be together. "Why did you two break up?" he asked.

Raymond had a sad smile when Claude mentioned their breakup. "I got the chance to study abroad at my dream school and I broke it off with him after a heated argument." His smile disappeared as he recalled the dumb reason why it began. "I've been meaning to apologize to him ever since, but haven't gotten the chance to do so." He let out a sigh. "I'd just like to be friends again, just friends."

"I'm sorry that happened," Claude muttered, not knowing how he was supposed to react to that.

"I hope that we'll someday be able to talk it all though and fix our friendship," Raymond said with a small smile and stood up. "I'll get going. I forgot that I left something important at home. Till next time."

"See you later," Claude said and watched him walk out of the cafe. He tried to continue to work on his assignment but he couldn't make any progress after what Raymond told him. He wondered why Florence didn't want to tell him that Raymond was his ex. He didn't think that having one is weird, since he had his own fair share of exes. But to try and avoid the question, that's what bugged Claude. Maybe there's some secret that Raymond didn't tell him to protect Florence.

"Or maybe he doesn't trust me," Claude thought, which made him feel annoyed. "Why am I upset about that? It's not like he's my boyfriend. He can throw me away any time he wants so it makes sense that he doesn't tell me every detail about his life."

Claude slammed his laptop shut and dialed Soraya. After a few rings, she picked up. "Are you at home?" he asked as he packed his stuff.

"Yeah, I'm the only one here right now. Why?" she asked as Claude started packing his things faster.

"I'm on my way."

A/N it seems I'm late again... well better late than never. I did finish the chapter on time but my proofreader had some important things she had to finish for school. Sorry but school comes first cause we need stable jobs in a few years. And I was too absorbed with drawing her OC so yeah... We'll see how it'll play out next week. I need to sleep and don't kill mice

-Rey