Chapter 157 - 156

A week had passed since Adelyn has confessed to Nicholas. She had been so busy because the lead actress was going abroad to shoot another movie, so they needed to shoot all the scenes she was in before she left.

And because of the sudden time crunch and her good fortune in getting a part in the big-budget movie, the lead actress decided to treat everybody to a meal at a very posh hotel. Adelyn went because she has never been to the hotel before, and of course, because of the free meal. She searched for the lipstick in her clutch when it jumped out and rolled away from her, bumping into somebody's foot. "Hey, don't step…" she yelled and saved it before it became mush.

When she lifted her head, it was Nicholas, her face bloomed as she stood up excitedly. "Nicholas, it's you!"

His expression looked stoic, but upon closer inspection, his pupils dilated when he saw her, depicting a change in his emotions. 

"I'm here for a lunch meeting," he replied impassively.

"Oh yeah, me too! They're in one of the private rooms right now," she answered.

For a few brief moments, there was an awkward silence that descended upon them. Nicholas felt uncomfortable because of her confession, so without really thinking, he asked, "Do you want to join me?"

Adelyn was over the moon. "Really? Are you inviting me to have lunch with you? Let me call somebody to let them know I'm not coming." 

He regretted his decision the minute she agreed. It was the right thing to say, he thought, not expecting her to agree with him. And because he was meeting his business associates he thought it better for them to have lunch separately. Entertaining Adelyn and talking business at the same time would not work for him.

"Don't you think it's fate that we keep on meeting unexpectedly like this?" Adelyn asked.

"No," he said with a curt reply.

"Well, you can't deny that out of the millions of people out there, it's uncanny that we keep on bumping into each other," she justified.

"What rubbish. Just eat your food," Nicholas said.

He was nitpicking every move she made, use the serving spoon, move your water glass aside, use your fork.

"Are you here to watch me eat?" she asked as she picked up one of the rolls by hand, "So... did you miss me?

"No," he denied.

"You didn't even think of me once?" she teased.

"No," even though she crossed his mind once or twice, "I have a busy schedule, and I am too tired to think about anything else."

He narrowed his eyes at her, 'Why is she expecting me to miss her when she was the one who declared she'd fallen for me?"

"You've been working hard lately, have you not?" he raised his eyebrow and mocked her. He's known her for over a month and had gotten used to her lax attitude, texting him whenever she had nothing to do, but the past week, she hardly sent him a message.

"Yeah, I have. We had a last-minute schedule change because the lead actress needs to be available for another film," she replied.

When they finished eating, she looked at their bill and gave it to him, "You need to pay for this."

Nicholas was obviously going to pay without her saying, but since she insisted, he wanted to tease her.

"I was thinking, maybe we should split it," Nicholas said seriously.

"No way, I'm just a small actress, if that lead actress was not sponsoring the meal, do you think I would be here?" Adelyn asked.

He shook his head, "Can't you at least watch your tongue?" dumbfounded by her frankness. It surprised him that she didn't even try to be charming for him to foot the bill.

"It's too much work to be charming all the time. My life is not splashed on the front page of any magazine, so I do not need to watch what I say," Adelyn replied.

He did not understand her logic, so he just paid the bill.

They were standing in the lobby, "Nicholas…," she trailed.

"I cannot give you a lift. I'm heading towards the opposite direction," he said even before she could force him to drive her home again.

"Oh, I don't expect you to do that. I was going to ask if you were free this weekend," she looked up at him, "There's a new movie coming out, and I wanted to see it."

"I have a meeting this weekend, and I have no interest to sit somewhere for 2 hours doing nothing," he replied, rejecting her invitation.

"Oh okay, no problem, but if you change your mind, just call me," she said

Nicholas knew 100% that he was never going to agree with her suggestion, so he didn't reply.

-=-

His parents were getting desperate for their son to have a relationship of his own. After they found their daughter, Aurora, they turned their concentration on him. It was time for him to be happy and find someone to love, but he was too busy taking care of the family business. 

So they took it in their hands and arranged blind dates for him. This weekend they had tricked him into meeting one of them. He thought she was quite pretty and smart, being one of the top executives at the company she worked at. It had been very interesting when they started talking. Maybe this woman was someone he could share his life with, he thought. But after a while, he became bored when all she talked about were her accomplishments, her projects, and her business. He felt like she had no substance, bringing to attention his idea for his ideal type of woman. She had to be mature, smart, and they should have at least something in common, not necessarily business. Because as he discovered that can be too boring too fast.

He wanted someone who had a career but did not let her career rule her life. It would be nice to go home to a wife who would welcome him at the end of the day, relaxed in each other's company, doing anything else but discuss work.

So when his phone rang, he thanked the heavens for sending the person calling him right now. It was Adelyn, and she had impeccable timing. "I'm on my way," he said loud enough for his date to realize that he was not staying. And because he said yes to her movie invitation, Nicholas just felt it right that he should honor that commitment.