Chapter 157 - You

"Sis, you are my salvation."

Devon glanced up at Dion and chuckled, shaking her head before focusing on the book again. At first, she felt a little distracted by his intent gaze, but she soon forgot about him.

Bella and Mike seemed they had run around the entire mall as they hadn't returned yet. Or it could be that Bella already drove to the cemetery to bury him. In any case, Devon didn't mind the brief peace.

"Ahh, sis, I'll make a call." Dion knocked his knuckles against the table. She didn't look back at him, but she nodded. That was enough for Dion to leave her alone for a while.

While Dion walked away, he fished his phone out.. His focus was half on his path and half on his phone, scrolling through his contacts. It was not that he had to make an important call. He just had something in mind and wanted to ask his brother, Julian.

"Ah!"

Out of his reflexes, Dion held the person's biceps he had bumped into because he wasn't looking. His quick reaction avoided her fall, but even if he didn't hold her, the woman also grabbed his shirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I..." he trailed off as soon as she raised her gaze, seeing that beautiful golden curls flowed back paired with clear blue eyes.

'This...' his brows furrowed, trying to recall where he had seen her. It didn't take him long to remember her. 

The De Luca Princess!

As if she was some kind of germs, Dion suddenly let her biceps go and stepped back. This made her frown, with eyes glinting sharply at him.

"It's you?" Gabriella raised a brow, raising her chin up. "Again?"

He scrunched his nose up. "Sorry, if it's me again," was all he said before sidestepping to walk away. 

"Oh, no." She shook her head, turning to face him. "I nearly died, you know?"

"Ha?" His expression distorted at the exaggeration of her claim. He looked at her in dismay, gazing at her from head to toe. 

"You nearly, what?" he asked, afraid his ear was playing tricks on him.

"I nearly died, and you acted as if nothing happened." Her clarification proved he wasn't hearing things. Gabriella was picking on him on purpose, trying to get back to his poor treatment the first time they met.

"Hah! Miss, I already said sorry. What do you want me to do? Bring you to the hospital?" 

'He is really a jerk.' Gabriella clicked her tongue, glaring daggers at him.

"Third Young Master Qin, a sincere apology is enough."

"What? I am sincere when I said I'm sorry." This time, his tone also sounded annoyed, thinking she was simply trying to get her revenge. "Do you want me to kneel because I bumped into you?"

"Hah. You..." Instead of speaking with words since he couldn't understand her, Gabriella thought of showing why she felt so offended. She suddenly grabbed his biceps, making his eyes dilate at her. After staring into his eyes for a second, she let him go and sported a disgusted look on her face.

"Is that how you apologize?" she asked after reenacting what just happened. "You look at me as if I'm some kind of germ and not human."

Dion's expression died down while staring at her. Since they didn't have a good start, and even when the Qin and the De Luca reconciled, Dion still didn't like them. He could still get wind of how the De Luca challenged Lewis' authority at every turn.

"Alright," he exhaled deeply, tilting his head down reluctantly. "I'm sorry for accidentally bumping into you."

'Happy now?' he thought sarcastically.

One could tell he was simply doing this, so it would end and the two of them would go on separate ways. Gabriella's frown turned grimmer, but she bit her tongue for prolonging this.

"You're just like your brother. You say sorry without a shred of sincerity." She huffed and rolled her eyes, turning around to leave. She initially planned to go to the cafe she frequents and meet her brother, but she forgot about it after her encounter with Dion. 

All she could think of right now was how aggravating the Qin's were. Gabriella stomped her way to go shopping to cool her head down. What she forgot to do was inform Quentin about it.

Dion gazed at her back, shaking his head in dismay. He couldn't believe that girl.

"Gosh... she's crazy. I don't like her," he mumbled before proceeding to go on where he was going. 

*****

Meanwhile, Devon didn't notice the time as she was immersed in jotting down important notes. She didn't know how long since those three left, but she liked the tranquility of the cafe. Hence, she didn't mind.

Not long after, the sound of a chime from the entrance reached her ear. She didn't mind it, though, as she continued to study. AT this rate, she would be finished and would only ask the three of them to review her. 

'It's not like I hoped that they will actually help,' she thought, pausing at what she was doing to stretch her back. 'To be frank, I expect that I will end up not studying with them around.'

Devon chuckled as she took a deep breath and exhaled it calmly. Out of habit, she turned her head to the now occupied table near her. There was only one person occupying the table, leaning his back on the chair, arms crossed. He wasn't looking in her direction, so she could only see the back of his head.

'I guess I wasn't alone in being alone.' A subtle smile appeared on her lips as she peeled her eyes away from him. 

Just as she did, the man she briefly gazed upon turned his head in her direction. Coincidentally, Devon was now searching for the other books on the other seat, so she had her back facing the foreign man. 

'What a hard worker,' Quentin thought, smiling weakly as it reminded him of the good days in the past.

He didn't stare for too long as he set his eyes on the transparent wall. The lady studying in the cafe with piles of books and notes reminded him of his university days.

He used to cram like that in the past with his ex-lover. Quentin never took school seriously, as he was already smart and rich; his future was already bright. However, the woman he had loved so hard he ended up hurting her was a hard worker. She may not look like it, but Devon had taken her studies seriously.

'I've been here for months, but I've never seen her,' He thought, wondering how vast this world could stretch. 'Why is it that people bump into people they dislike, but don't accidentally bump into the people they yearned?'

It was just a random thought that suddenly hovered in his head while waiting for his sister. He thought it would be nice to bump into Devon so they could talk. But he was losing hope about that.

"Where is she?" he mumbled after some time, checking his wristwatch. Quentin had wasted thirty minutes waiting for his sister. If not for the fact that he was distracted thinking about his wonderful memories with his ex, he would've left.

He fished his phone out, dialing Gabriella's phone number, and placed the phone in front of his ear. It rang for a long time, only to be picked up when he was about to end it. 

"Where are you?" he asked coldly, a bit annoyed at his sister.

"Oh, my gosh! Oh, no! I forgot!" Gabriella panicked, almost tossing away the dress she was holding. "I'm so, so sorry! I ended up shopping to destress!"

A shallow breath slipped past his lips, already used at his sister's antics. "Just come here."

"Yes, yes! I will! I'll be quick!" she reassured and ended the line.

Quentin shook his head, gazing at his phone. He wondered what made his sister so upset that he forgot about him.

"She's been easily upset lately," he mumbled, putting down his phone. 

Just then, his right brow arched, as he could sense someone staring at him. He turned his head to check who was gazing at him, catching the lady who was studying not far away from him.

As soon as he locked eyes with her, time ticked slower than usual. His eyes dilated while she gazed back at him with the same surprised look. 

"Dev," he whispered as a surge of emotions swelled up in his chest.

He was just thinking about her moments ago. Questioning the irony of the world. And now there she was. The woman he had yearned for years.

Devon swallowed down a mouthful of saliva. When she recovered from her initial shock, she immediately looked away.

'No, I need to get a grip! He is not Quentin. He just looks like him, but Quentin is Julian in this world!' she told herself repeatedly, thinking about her encounter with Julian. 'Yes! that's right!'

Just when she was about to calm down, she froze when she sensed Quentin's presence standing beside her table.

"Dev," he called and her breath hitched. 

She slowly raised her head and soon met his eyes. "You."