CHAPTER 8 PROBLEM

Hearing Keysha's words, Darren became intrigued. The woman had a point. Besides, Darren had always been curious about his family.

"Alright then. When will I meet him?" Darren asked.

"The night after tomorrow," Keysha replied. "So that means you're definitely in, right? Because I'm going to confirm it to him right away."

"Yeah." Darren nodded.

"If anything happens, just call me. That night I'll be on standby for you," Keysha said as she finished her soda.

"Aaarrrg.." Suddenly, the sound of Keysha's burp echoed.

Darren chuckled at the sound. "You're so shameless!" he sneered.

"I'm always shameless in front of you," Keysha replied while standing up. "Alright, I'm leaving," she said, then walked out of Darren's apartment unit.

After Keysha left, Darren went to the bathroom to clean himself. Afterward, he lay down on the bed to rest. It didn't take long for Darren to fall asleep.

When the clock showed half past nine at night, Darren's phone started ringing. It rang continuously. Eventually, it woke Darren up.

He checked his phone. Kenzo's name was displayed on the screen. The man calling him was one of the newcomers in the Hired Lover business.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Darren answered Kenzo's call.

"Why the hell are you calling so many times?" Darren snapped.

"Help me, Darren! Please! I think I messed up. I don't know what to do. I'm at Insta Club right now," Kenzo said on the other end of the line.

"What happened? What's going on?" Darren asked.

But Kenzo didn't answer. He ended the call just like that.

When Darren tried calling back, Kenzo didn't pick up.

"This damn kid is making me worry," Darren muttered as he jumped out of bed. He quickly got ready to head out and follow Kenzo to the nightclub.

While walking toward the parking lot, Darren tried calling Keysha. He told her what happened with Kenzo.

"You go ahead. I'll catch up soon," Keysha said on the phone.

With his sport bike, Darren sped through the streets. He weaved between cars swiftly like a professional racer.

Not long after, Darren arrived at Insta Club. He entered the place right away. Luckily, he had connections with the bouncers there, so he had no trouble getting in.

The dazzling and loud atmosphere of the nightclub welcomed him at once. Darren looked around in every direction.

But instead of finding Kenzo, Darren found something even more shocking. He saw Maya dancing on the dance floor.

Darren blinked and shook his head. He was afraid he was seeing things. But after looking closely, the girl he saw was indeed Maya—his own girlfriend.

Without thinking twice, Darren approached Maya. Even though she was dancing, she was only with her female friends.

What surprised Darren wasn't Maya's presence at the club, but how she looked. Maya was wearing expensive items—from her dress, her watch, to her shoes. She didn't look like the Maya he usually knew.

Darren grabbed Maya's hand. His action made Maya stop dancing. The girl immediately turned to look at Darren.

"How dare you—" Maya was about to scold the man who dared to touch her. But she went silent when she saw it was Darren.

"Da-Darren?" Maya stammered.

"We need to talk!" Darren said sharply as he dragged Maya away from the crowd. He took her out to the balcony. Once there, he let go of her hand harshly.

"Darren, I can explain!" Maya said.

"Explain!" Darren growled in anger. He felt betrayed, even though in reality, he was also hiding things from Maya.

Darren looked at Maya from head to toe. It was clear that the girl was wearing clothes and accessories that were anything but cheap. But Maya looked stunning in that dress and light makeup on her face. Darren was briefly mesmerized, though it didn't last long.

"I actually have parents, and I'm not poor like I once said..." Maya confessed. Her eyes began to water.

"Then why did you ask me for money?!" Darren snapped.

"I had a reason for that. I was forced to do it because the allowance my parents give me is so small," Maya replied.

"How small could it be that you had to ask me for money?!"

"A hundred thousand a day! They said I have to get used to living with just enough. With that amount, they want me to save and learn how to manage money. But these days, how can a hundred thousand a day be enough, right?" Maya explained at length.

"That's more than enough. You don't know that I used to go to school without even a cent in my pocket," Darren said. "I can't believe you're like this. Seems like the only reason you dated me was for money. If that's the case, we should break up!" he exclaimed as he started to walk away from Maya.

Maya quickly stopped him.

"At first it was like that, Ren! But over time I truly fell in love with you. Please forgive me.." she pleaded.

"And you should know, I tried so hard to keep myself away from other guys besides you. I turned down so many just for you. Because I only want to be with you, I only want to be touched by you," Maya spoke sincerely. The tears that had been pooling in her eyes now slowly began to fall.

Darren let out a rough sigh. He couldn't stand seeing Maya cry. "Alright, stop crying.." he said as he wiped the tears from her face.

"If you don't want to see me cry, don't go. Don't break up with me," Maya replied. "If you want, I'll pay back every cent I've taken from you," she continued. She hugged Darren tightly so he couldn't leave.

"You're hugging me too tight," Darren said. He tried to pull away, but Maya only tightened her hold. She looked up and showed him a pleading expression.

"Forgive me first," Maya begged.

Darren smiled and looked away briefly. He finally gave in. Maya's beautiful face always made him lose.

"Can't believe someone's forcing their way into being forgiven," Darren commented.

"So that means we're not breaking up, right." Maya tugged on Darren's collar, then kissed his lips.

Darren returned Maya's kiss. The two started kissing gently. But slowly, it became more intense.

Unable to hold himself back, Darren began caressing Maya's curves. It was the first time he had done that, since usually he held back for fear Maya wouldn't like it.

Since there was no resistance, Darren grabbed Maya's breast with one hand. Meanwhile, his other hand was gripping the girl's butt.

"Mmph.." Maya moaned softly. She also clutched Darren's shirt tightly.

At the same time, Maya's phone started ringing. But the girl ignored it, too swept away by the intimate moment she was having with Darren.

The phone kept ringing nonstop. Darren was the first to break the kiss. He also suddenly remembered his real reason for coming to the club. He had to find Kenzo!

"You should probably answer your phone. It might be important," Darren said as he gently pushed Maya a step away from him.

"But–"

"I'll be back in a bit!" Darren cut her off, then ran off, leaving Maya behind.