Saving Reina

•Chapter 2•

----Aiden's P.O.V----

It had been about three weeks since I walked into Drey's cafe and met that angel and her beautiful face had been clouding my thoughts since then. I wanted to go back and see her a countless number of times but between meetings and business trips, I didn't have the time.

So, being one of the rare Saturdays when I'm completely free, I decided to go see her. I felt a jolt of excitement rush up my body as I entered my Audi and made my way to the cafe.

It took less than fifteen minutes to arrive and quickly jumped out. Stepping into the cafe, I saw Reina standing behind the counter picking on her fingers with a bored look on her face but a smile immediately made its way to her face when she noticed me. I walked to her, my charming smile in place . "Hey, stranger," I said and her smile increased.

"H-hi."

I took a seat and stared at her purposefully. "Been a while, right?"

"Yeah, I thought you were never going to come back," She admitted, shyly.

"Why would you think that, beautiful?"

She shrugs, "That's what everyone was saying. Apparently, you're too high standards for this place," she says and I chuckle.

"Wait, you really don't know who I am?" I asked, slightly shocked. The last time I was there, I thought she was just being professional.

"I didn't but then Livi told me all about you," She smiled.

"Who's Livi?"

"My friend. We work here together. I handle the counter and she takes the tables," She explained, pointing behind me. I turned around and saw a girl that looked about the same age with Reina in an apron attending to a family with a bright smile. Her bobbed brown hair framed her face making her look really beautiful but still not as beautiful as Reina. She was skinny but not in a bad way like the way Reina was.

"So, she told you all about me?" I turned back to Reina.

"Well, all that she knows about you from the internet, yeah." She chuckled, making me smile widely.

"Is your hair naturally golden?" I couldn't help but ask. She smiled and nodded her head.

"Goldilocks," I muttered.

"What?"

"I'm gonna start calling you Goldilocks," I gave her a playful smile.

She laughed, showing off her dimples and asked, "Goldilocks? As in, the cartoon?" I nodded, still smiling.

"Well, that's not very original," she stated and we both burst out laughing. For a few seconds, we just stayed still, lost in each other's eyes. I wanted to ask about the bruise on her cheek but was cut short by someone clearing their throat loudly.

I moved my head to see a buff blonde guy standing a few feet from Reina behind the counter with his arms crossed in front of him and an angry look on his face.

"Can I help you?" I asked, not liking the way he was looking at Reina.

"No, can I help you?" He replied, walking closer to Reina and she stilled. She looked worried, even kind of scared.

"Yeah, I'd like four slices of the cheesecake and two slices of the buttered chocolate cake to go. Along with a cup of plain black coffee."

He chuckled under his breath and said with pride, "I don't work here, I'm the owner." Okay, so?

"It's cute that you think you can intimidate me," I said and he scowled at me. He apparently didn't recognize me.

I turned my eyes to Reina who was biting her lip and staring straight at me. The fear in her eyes was clear as day and it was beyond unsettling.

"The office, now!" He boomed, making Reina jump in fear. Some people turned their attention over to us as she immediately ran into the room with a 'No Unauthorized Entry' label on the door without saying a word or taking another look at me.

My brows furrowed in confusion at the scene. This guy obviously had a lot of power over her but I didn't understand it. Even if he was her boss, that didn't give him the right to shout at her like that, right?

The guy gave me one last death glare before he stormed through the same door. I sat there in silence, fighting the urge to walk in after them. My mind was going overdrive trying to understand the situation. I didn't notice that Livi was standing in front of me until she spoke.

"What would you like to get?" She asked, a frown now masking her former bright demeanor.She seemed really upset. I opened my mouth to ask her what the problem was but closed it back when remembered that I didn't know her and it was probably none of my business but something told me that it had to do with Reina.

"Four slices of the cheesecake and two of the chocolate cake to go with one cup of plain black coffee, please. Thanks."

Nodding her head, she opened the pantry and took out the cakes. She wrapped them in foils then put them in a leather bag. Then she poured some coffee into a plastic cup and handed everything to me. "That'll be thirty-six dollars, sir."

I took out a fifty dollar note from my wallet and handed it to her, telling her to keep the change.

"Thank you so much, sir."

"It's Aiden," I corrected, my eyes drifting towards that door again, wondering why she's taking so long.

"Waiting for her to come out of there is of no use. She's probably gonna be in there for another hour," Livi said with a sour look.

"Oh. I'm sorry, is something wrong?" I asked, really not liking how bitter she looks.

"It doesn't matter anyway," she tried -and failed- to hide her frown, "Thanks for coming to Drey's cafe. We hope to see you again." She said and walked away to attend to a group of girls that just walked in.

I stared at her for a while then stood up to leave when the office door opened and Reina ran out into the kitchen, crying. My brows furrowed once more  as Livi excused herself from the people she was attending to and fast walked to the kitchen, probably to take care of her friend.

I didn't get a good look at Reina because she ran way too fast but I saw something that looked like blood running down her face with the tears. I heard people whispering but I couldn't make anything out. They were all probably wondering the same thing I was.

What the actual hell?

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