The Dinner Night 1

It was a cool evening, and Victoria had told her mom about the dinner she'd had with her boss. She told her mom that her boss would be picking her up, so she was getting dressed and ready for their outing.

Victoria was excited and nervous at the same time. She was excited because she was going out with Rowan, her boss, who she'd had started to have a crush on. But she was also nervous, because she didn't know what to expect.

Victoria was wearing a maroon knee-length dress that accentuated her curves. The dress had a plunging neckline and a straight hemline. Her wavy brown hair was flowing freely, and she wore her favorite necklace.

She applied a light layer of makeup and grabbed her black purse. She slipped into her black heels and headed out the door. Her heart was racing as she thought about the night ahead.

As Victoria left the house, she could feel the nerves building up in her stomach. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "It's just dinner," she told herself. "It's not a big deal."

A black sedan pulled up to the curb, and Victoria got in without hesitation. She sat in the back seat, her heart pounding in her chest. When she turned to look at Rowan, she was surprised by how handsome he looked. She hadn't expected him to look so good.

For a moment, she couldn't help but compare him to Sebastian. But she quickly shook off the thought. Sebastian was in the past, and Rowan was right here in front of her. She forced herself to focus on the present moment.

"You look gorgeous," Rowan complimented Victoria as they got into the car. Victoria couldn't help but blush.

She struggled to find the right words to respond. "You look good, too," she finally said. Rowan smiled, and they drove in silence to the restaurant.

When they arrived, Rowan led the way to the hostess stand and told the hostess that he had a reservation. "Right this way," the hostess said, leading them to a table.

Victoria couldn't help but notice that only two other couples occupied the elegant restaurant, and they were alone at their table.

It had been a long time since she'd been to such a fancy restaurant. She thought back to the last time she'd been to a place this expensive. She'd been with Sebastian, and they'd requested that the restaurant be cleared of other guests.

The memory brought a smile to her lips, but she quickly pushed it away. She wasn't here to reminisce about Sebastian. She was here with Rowan.

"Have you been to this restaurant before?" Rowan asked her.

"No," Victoria said. "This is my first time. What about you?"

"I've been here a few times," Rowan said. "The food is excellent."

Victoria felt a hand on hers, and she looked up to see Rowan smiling at her. She couldn't quite read the meaning behind his smile, so she just let it be.

He pulled her to their table and they sat down. "What would you like to order?" he asked her.

"Anything you choose," Victoria said, her voice sounding more nervous than she'd intended.

"I told you to just call me Rowan," he said.

Victoria blushed and said, "Sorry, Rowan. I'll keep that in mind." She felt like she was fumbling over her words, but Rowan seemed to take it in stride.

He leaned back in his chair and said, "It's okay, really. No need to be nervous. But, really, you can choose anything, even if it's just champagne or dessert," Rowan said, laughing.

"No, seriously," Victoria said, laughing along with him. "I trust your taste, so whatever you recommend is fine with me."

They kept laughing, completely carefree. But someone wasn't as carefree as they seemed.

From a distance, Sebastian watched the two of them laughing together. His face was dark with jealousy and rage. He couldn't bear to see Victoria happy with someone else. 'She doesn't deserve happiness, after all I am not,' he thought.

Sebastian drove to the restaurant determined to get food for his daughter, no matter what it took. As he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed that it was completely empty, save for two cars. He frowned, wondering what was going on.

Then he spotted the manager coming out of the restaurant. He quickly got out of his car and walked up to him. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"We're closed for a private event," the manager said.

"But I need to get something for my daughter," Sebastian said, getting annoyed.

"I understand that, but I can't help you," the manager said apologetically. "I'm really sorry."

Sebastian was furious. 'Do you know who I am?!' He wanted to bash at the man but Sebastian just decided to let it all slide as he didn't want to keep watching the two laughing people.

Sebastian got into his car, muttering to himself, "A bunch of stupid people laughing like stupid teenagers." He groaned in frustration.

He was determined to find another restaurant for his daughter. He said aloud to his car's voice assistant, "Drive on. Let's take a drive to the next restaurant my daughter loves. We won't get food from this one."

The car's AI said, "Of course, would you like me to recommend some restaurants?"

"No. I said the next restaurant Sage Quinn loves," Sebastian growled.

….

It was very late by the time they had finished dinner. The sky had turned dark and the streets were nearly empty. Victoria suggested they take a stroll after their meal.

She was enjoying their conversation, and didn't realize that they had walked quite far from the restaurant and the car. They walked while talking, enjoying the night air. Rowan had begun to tell her a story about little Him.

Victoria couldn't help but laugh at Rowan's story. "You called your friend your master?" she asked between giggles. "I'm sorry, but that's just too funny!"

Rowan laughed as well, saying, "Yes, I did! It was kind of our inside joke. He was like a master of all trades, you know? And I was his apprentice."

Victoria's eyes lit up. "Oh, so you were like a Jedi and your friend was Obi-Wan Kenobi?" she asked.

"Something like that," Rowan replied, laughing as well.

They continued their stroll, talking and laughing about silly childhood memories. Victoria felt like she could tell Rowan anything but, maybe not about her life with Sebastian. She wasn't ready to share that sad part of her life with anyone just yet.

As they were walking, they came to a small park with a gazebo and a few benches. "Shall we sit for a while?" Rowan asked, pointing to the benches.

"Sure," Victoria said. They sat down and looked out over the park. It was a beautiful night, and the moon was shining brightly overhead. "You know, I could sit like this all night," Victoria said softly.

At that moment, Rowan was about to take a step forward, an advance toward Victoria. In this tender moment, he yearned to express his feelings openly. He wished to confide in Victoria about his emotions, perhaps taking their relationship to the next level.

But an interruption occurred, and not just any interruption—a group of thugs emerged, disrupting the sacred moment. Rowan felt aggravated by their intrusion, dampening what should have been a special occasion.

"Give us all you've got!" the thugs demanded, brandishing their weapons.

Money wasn't an issue for Rowan, but he felt exasperated that they had ruined the moment. Glancing at Victoria, he saw her already kneeling, rifling through her purse to give them everything she had. His first instinct was to protect her.

He stood up and said, "You're not taking anything from us. Go find someone else to harass."

One of the robbers stepped forward and said, "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?"

Refusing to let the robbers take Victoria's belongings, Rowan intervened, attempting to seize her purse, which she was ready to surrender.

As he made a move, one of the robbers advanced and struck Rowan, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Victoria, in distress, began to cry.

Grimacing in pain, Rowan felt the ache in his waistline, yet he refused to yield to the attackers, especially when it concerned Victoria's safety.

Despite his efforts to rise, four of the robbers converged on him, unleashing a brutal assault. While one thug restrained Victoria, preventing her from intervening, she continued to sob uncontrollably, pleading, "Stop! Please, stop! Don't hurt him!"

The relentless beating persisted as the attackers remained indifferent to Victoria's cries and pleas.

Sebastian watched from the corner, he saw the thugs beating up Rowan while Victoria pleaded for them to release him. But what Sebastian didn't realize was that he had been following them since they left the restaurant.

He had felt restless when he saw Victoria with someone and had decided to follow them. Now, he was elated. He felt some satisfaction at seeing Rowan beaten up. 'Such a wasted night. Their lovey-dovey night is ruined,' he thought, a smirk playing on his lips.

While shrugging herself and struggling to release herself from the thug's firm hold, her head darted towards a corner of her left and her eyes met Sebastian's, she felt a jolt of electricity run through her body.

She had not expected to see him here, and she was not sure what to do.

The thugs were still beating Rowan, and she was terrified for him. But at the same time, she could not help but feel drawn to Sebastian's gaze. She tried to break eye contact, but she could not seem to look away.

Sebastian was also frozen in place, unable to look away from Victoria. The moment seemed to last forever, until finally, Sebastian blinked and looked away.

Victoria's thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of what was happening.

'Why was Sebastian just sitting there in his car, watching these thugs?', 'Why couldn't he see that we are in danger?', 'Or is he just choosing not to help us?' Victoria thought as she felt a wave of anger wash over her.

'How could he be so selfish?' she cussed in her heart, hot tears streaming down her eyes.

Sebastian rolled up his car window and wiped his brow with his hand. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and hot under Victoria's gaze. What was she doing to him? He wondered.

He knew he should help her and Rowan, but he couldn't bring himself to. 'They got me angry in the first place,' he pouted.