CHAPTER 20: Jack's Reviere

Jack's POV 

I was about to step out of the elevator when I saw her rushing toward her car.

A small smile appeared on my face. I knew exactly what that meant, she was trying to avoid me. For reasons I still couldn't understand.

I let her drive away without stopping her or showing my face. I wanted her to think I wasn't around anymore, that I had already gone home.

Luckily, she believed it, because today I didn't come in my usual black-tinted SUV, but in a red Benz instead.

That worked perfectly for my plan. As soon as her car drove off, I stepped out of the elevator and got into my car, and the driver pulled away, following her.

Normally, I would take the usual short route home, but today I asked my driver to follow the longer road, the one she usually takes.

I don't know why, but I wanted to watch her car as it moved, like I was watching her beautiful face, the face that kept living in my thoughts again and again.

I told the driver to follow her closely but carefully, making sure she wouldn't notice and suspect anything. Even if she did, it wouldn't matter much, she wouldn't know it was me anyway, since I wasn't using my usual car.

But then, her car suddenly stopped a little way ahead. I told my driver to pull over too, so I could watch from a distance. That's when I saw her driver get out and open the bonnet.

Then it dawned on me her car was faulty, which was just unsettling, but then a smile tugged at my heart.

It was another opportunity to try to win her heart over.

I watched closely and soon I ordered my driver to drive and just park in front of her car while I waited before stepping down.

When I turned, and her gaze met mine, I noticed the slight unrest that crept into those stunning looks. It pierced deep into my heart, but then, I swallowed it up.

I wouldn't watch her remain in a spot like this even though it was a little safer than that of yesterday. Even though I still felt she needed my protection.

For some reason, I never knew why they were always after her; like the previous day, somehow I was going to find out.

It wasn't a hard thing for me to do. Just a tip of my fingers and everything I need is at my beck.

I walked over to her, forced a smile on my face.

"Why are you out here at this hour? I thought you'd be home by now," I asked, pretending I didn't know what might be waiting for her.

She looked away, rubbing her hands together. I knew what that meant, she was feeling uneasy.

I've been around women my whole life, women who would do anything to get my attention. So I could tell her heart was pulling in two directions.

"Why do you always show up each time?" she asked, still not meeting my eyes.

I chuckled. "Because it's my job to protect you and make sure my pumpkin stays safe and comfortable," I answered, brushing off her question.

She hesitated for a while, I could feel the silent battle in her heart.

"You always have your ways with words, don't you?" she asked, fixing those eyes that never seemed to leave my heart towards me. Staring just as SHE would do.

My heart stirred; somehow I wanted to hold her close, to cup her around myself in an unimaginable way, that my heart had long desired.

But I shrugged the feelings away.

"I can see your car is a little faulty. You know these things happen. Can my pumpkin give me the honour of taking her home today?" I offered, holding out my hand and slightly bowing.

I knew she wouldn't resist. I could feel it and I could hear her heartbeat racing in my heart.

She lifted her gaze, taking them away in hesitation. "Please," I demanded again.

This time she stared at me and then, winced, turning to pick her purse from her car and slowed a little before walking up with me.

She stopped to give her driver instructions, then walked beside me to my car. I opened the door for her, and she slid into the seat. I closed the door behind her.

My heart was racing. Yes, I thought to myself, as I tried to stay calm, walking around to the other side and getting in next to her.

I kept my distance, careful not to make her feel uncomfortable or suspicious, so she wouldn't change her mind. My thoughts were spinning, trying to guess what was going through her mind.

The car started moving, and as I put on my seatbelt, I felt the excitement bubble in my chest. I was finally making progress. She had always seemed hard to reach, but I could tell I was starting to win her over. I was more than certain this time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her struggling with the seatbelt. I noticed the unease. It was a newer model, a little different, so I didn't blame her.

But part of me thought: a woman from such a rich background shouldn't find something like this hard, not if she'd been wealthy all her life.

I shook off the thought and leaned over to help her with the belt.

As I reached over, our hands accidentally touched. I felt that familiar spark shot through me again.

I hadn't felt that in years. My heart leaped as old memories flooded back — ten years ago, back in high school.

I quickly took my arms away; I noticed the unease in her eyes as she stared at me for some time.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Only then did reality dawn on me. I realized my arms had been stuck to the belt holder for a while.

"I'm sorry, just a little roller in my heart," I replied, helping her with the belt and gently sliding back to my seat.

The air became suffocating, as I glanced at her once more. My heart tugging at me, my mind betraying me once again.

That feeling still lingering in my heart, my entire body reeling from it. It sent that familiar chill down my spine.

Such I hadn't felt since ten years ago after that heck of a friend snatched HER away from me.

I heard he later married HER and a year after she died.

Those sad taunting memories kept flooding into my heart again and again, stirring that old rage and dread hovering in my heart.

If only SHE had stuck to me, then maybe she wouldn't have died the way she did. If only SHE had given me her heart instead, maybe we would be living happily now.

"Is there a problem?" Catherine's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

And I turned to meet those gazes again, the same that had stolen my heart the day I met her on that plane.

Something about that gaze reminded me so much about HER. The same that had taunted my heart over and over again.

I swallowed hard, allowing myself to settle with reality.

"Not at all. Just pleased to have you accept my offer," I replied, smiling at her.

She winced. "Oh, that? Thank your stars. Maybe you wouldn't be this lucky next time," she said. I knew it was only a joke. Her actions and the way her eyes rolled betrayed her words.

"Are you really sure that is true?" I asked, knowing I got her at the right spot I wanted her to be.

She rolled her gaze, then I noticed her lips slightly moving defeatedly.

"You sure know how to get to a woman's heart, maybe I would say," she tugged her hands over her jaw, then blinked repeatedly in deep thoughts, searching for the right words to match her description.

"Maybe I would say, you studied women's affairs as a profession," she said, and a loud laugh rumbled through my lips.

"Yes, I'm right. Can you see it?" she teased.

"Then what happens to my profession as a doctor, the world-renowned one at that?" I asked amidst the surge of excitement pulling in my heart.

"Let's say, that was a sideline profession, but mainly, you did study women's affairs in high institutions," she added, a little smile formed on her lips. I could sense she was suppressing all those laughter, bottling them in her heart.

"Oh, yes... I know... but what if you are right?" I asked, pressing the right button again, and she laughed.

My heart stopped instantly.

That laughter, her smiles, her words, her eyes — everything looked like Emma, my high school crush, the same I have never let go all my life, the same that had taunted my heart over and over again, driving me insane, ready for vengeance against that son of a bitch who called himself my friend ten years ago.

He snatched her away from me…