Chapter 4
Writer's pov
"Baby, wait!" Thanatos called.
He wanted to run after Jasmine immediately she ran out, but Clark stopped him.
"What are you doing? Make way" he said.
Clark shook his head in disapproval.
"Thana, calm down. I believe she wouldn't want to see you now, she needs some alone time" Clark said.
Thanatos didn't speak, his gaze simply remained at the direction she just ran off to.
Everyone is just staring at him in shock, they're all wondering what just happened.. like why was he calling Jasmine baby? Why did Jasmine slapped him and ran off?
All these questions.. Adele already seem to have gotten the answer... but she's still a little shocked.
She didn't expect Jasmine and her idol...
She didn't even dream of it once, that's why she's shocked.
"Who's her friend here?" Thanatos asked.
Elvis cleared his throat, smiled and stepped forward.
"Mr O'Briens, I'm sorry for Jasmine's behavior. Trust me, she doesn't behave like this on normal days, I don't know what happened to her today..."
Thanatos removed his attention from him and sucked in some air.
Yeah, I happened to her today he thought, blaming himself for Jasmine's action today.
"She doesn't behave like this on normal days? Then why did she behaved like this today?" Mr Mike questioned Elvis.
Thanatos signaled Mr Mike not to blame his workers, since he's the reason she behaved that way.
Adele seemed to have gotten over her shock, she rushed towards the locker room.
"Jas, beat you pretty hard, look at your lips bleeding" Clark said as he studied Thanatos face.
Thanatos slapped Clark's hand away and turned back to Mr Mike.
"Let's go to your office and talk"
"Yes, Mr O'Briens, this way please" Mr Mike said and led the way to his office.
He signaled Elvis to dismiss the workers gathering, since they're (Thanatos, Clark and Mr Mike) is already heading to his office.
"Get back to work everyone, chop, chop" Thanatos heard Elvis dismissing the workers.
He reached for his phone and sent Peter a text, ordering him to find out where Jasmine lives.
"Mr O'Briens, Mr Evans, please come in" Mr Mike said.
He pushed his office door opened and invited them inside.
Thanatos and Clark walked in, Mr Mike led them to the sitting area in the office.. he showed them to sofas and they sat down.
"Mr O'Briens, I'm really sorry for what happened today, our employees don't usually..."
Thanatos stopped him with a raised of his hand.
"What's her job here?" Thanatos asked.
"She's a waitress, but don't worry I've fired her and you won't get to see her aga..."
"She's not fired" Thanatos cut him off.
Mr Mike seemed to be in a bit of confusion, he doesn't seem to understand what Thanatos meant.
"She can't be fired, she's my woman and this restaurant is a gift to her"
"What?" Mr Mike exclaimed.
"She'll soon be the CEO here, so name your price.. how much?" Thanatos asked.
Mr Mike did a brief thinking, he thought about it carefully and smiled.
"$15,000,000" he said.
Clark frowned and banged on the table, he pointed a finger at Mr Mike.
"You're taking advantage of the situation!" He gritted out.
"Am I?" Mr Mike asked.
Thanatos smirked.
This is thrice the actual amount he wanted to buy the restaurant, but he doesn't care..
He's ready to pay any amount, as long as he gets to see Jasmine.. he's ready to take any chances that will bring him closer to her.
"This is daylight robbery" Clark said.
Mr Mike simply folded his arms on his chest and leaned back on the sofa.
"Mr Evans, I'm not holding a gun" Mr Mike said.
"You're...."
"Fine, $15,000,000 it is" Thanatos said. "Let's sign the necessary documents"
Jasmine's pov
I have ran a very good distance from Mike's kitchen, I saw a bench near a water fountain and sat down.
All the tears I've been fighting to hold back.. all the pains I've buried deep down surface and I broke down.
Why did he had to come back now?
I have finally moved on from him.. from all the pains and sorrows he caused me.
I lost so much because of him, I went through so much because of him.. I almost lost my life because of him..
Why did he come back when I don't need him anymore?
"Jas?" Adele called me.
She sat next to me and pulled me into a hug, she must have followed me when I ran off.
"Are you ok?" She asked even though she can clearly see I'm not fine.
I shook my head and continued crying, she let me cry to my heart content on her shoulder.. rubbing my back comfortingly.
"Thanks, Adele" I said and pulled away from the hug.
She nodded, my eyes landed on her uniform that's been stained by my tears.
"Sorry, I've stained your shirt"
She looked at it and laughed lightly.
"Don't worry about it, it'll soon dry up" she said.
I wiped my tears and we both sat in silence, just watching people walking by.
"Ok.. I don't wanna pressure you or something, but I guess you can tell me why you slapped my idol and ran off"
There's no need keeping her in the dark anymore, I should tell her.. after all, Thanatos is already here.
I sucked in some air and sighed.
"He's.. he's Davis's father"
"What?! Davis's father?!" She shouted loudly.
A few people walking by turned their heads towards us, with a frown on their faces.
"Quite yelling, people will think we're abnormal" I scolded her.
She looked at the people, they're already walking away..she rolled her eyes.
"I mean, I guessed it when you slapped him but I was trying to convince myself that it's not true"
Hmph! I wish it's not true too.
"Wow. My idol is actually my best friend's lover?!"
My head snapped to face her at once, I glared at her for saying that.
"He's not my lover"
She frowned. "But you both have a son together"
"Yeah, that was because I fell into his honey trap"
She arched an eyebrow at me, twisting her mouth doubtfully.
"Like you're trying to say, deep down in your heart there's no love for him?"
I kept quiet. I hate him.. I hate him so much and I always dreamed of every ways to kill him.
But now that he's in front of me, I couldn't deal with him as I had always wanted to..
I hate him and that's one thing I'm very sure of.
"You wanna tell me your heart didn't skip even for a second, when you saw him just now?"
"Yes. My heart did skip but that's to remind me of my hatred towards him... that's a reminder to let me know what he put me through" I said.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda regret not cutting his balls and feed them to vultures like I always do in my dream.
"Well, I'll believe whatever you say. But I'm a little bit sad that my idol is taken.. and by my best friend"
"He's not taken, you can have him if you want"
"Nah, I'm good"
There's another brief moment of silence, I'm just staring blankly at the empty space in front of me.
"Now that you've been fired... "
"I wasn't fired, I quit" I corrected her.
"Right, you quit. What are you gonna do now?"
She paused.
"You know it wasn't easy for us to get this job, where are you gonna get a new job?" She asked.
"I don't know... " I trailed off.
I kinda acted rashly by quitting my job, but it's not my fault.
I wanted to leave quietly, so as to avoid creating a scene.. but Mr Mike and Elvis had to forcefully make me greet that bast*rd.
"... I guess I should head home and start searching for another job"
"Good idea" she said.
I got up and stretch my limbs, Adele also got up and handed me my bag.
"Take care on the way home"
I nodded and look out for any oncoming taxi, but unfortunately there's none in sight.. maybe I'll have to walk halfway before boarding a taxi.
"Alright, I should get going"
"Hmm" she hummed.
I turned to leave but I suddenly remembered something, I turned back to face her.
"One more thing, don't, I mean, DON'T tell that barbarian where I live!"
She laughed at my description of him and nodded anyway, she made a zipper sign on her mouth.
"Your secret is my secret" she said.
"Thanks" I thanked her and left from there.
I sighed.
Searching for jobs online is very hard for highschool drop outs like me, all the job vacancies online are only for those graduated students.
Like.. personal assistant, manager, accountant..
Maybe I should just walk around a while, I might be lucky to get another job today.
Writer's pov
"Thank you, Mr O'Briens, Mike's kitchen is now yours" Mr Mike said.
"I told you, it's not mine" Thanatos said.
Mr Mike nodded. "Right, it belongs to Jasmine"
Thanatos got up and shook hands with Mr Mike.
"It's nice doing business with you" Mr Mike said.
Thanatos simply nod in reply, then he head out, Clark glared at Mr Mike briefly before rushing after Thanatos.
Thanatos slide into the backseat, Clark followed and Peter quickly rushed to the driver's seat and started the car.
"Mr O'Briens, I have her address now, she lives at old Levi's street" Peter reported.
Thanatos nodded, he felt his phone vibrates in his pocket and he reached for it.. he saw threads of messages from his mother.
"Does she live alone?" He asked.
He deleted the messages and shoved his phone back in his pocket.
"Yes, sir"
"Let's go to her place"
"Yes, sir" Peter said and stepped on the gas.
Clark turned his phone to Thanatos, showing him the messages his (Thanatos) mother just sent him.
"I have told you to ignore her messages, if you show me something like this again.. I'll fire you and you'll have to go inherit your father's company"
Clark quickly put his phone away and shudder at the thought of taking over his father's company.
"Nah, I'm good being your employee" he said.
Thanatos smirked and nodded, he knows exactly how to install fear in his friend.
Clark looked out the window and turned back to Thanatos with a frown.
"This is not the way to your penthouse, where are we going?"
"To Jasmine's place"
"Jasmine's place?! To do what?!"
Thanatos winced at his loud voice and glared at him.
"Stop glaring at me, she hates you now and doesn't wanna see you.. going to her place will only make things worse.. we should think of how to win her heart again and make her listen to your explanation! What you're going to do now will just worsen everything!"
"Quit screaming" Thanatos scolded him. "I'm just going to check out the place"
"Oh.. ok, then" Clark said in a calmer voice.
Thanatos phone began to ring, he reached for it and saw it's his dad.. he declined the call and switched off his phone.
"Now you've bought that restaurant, how are you gonna give it to her?" Clark asked.
"I'm not gonna give it to her yet, I'll be the boss for now and let her work as my employee.. I'll give it to her after she forgives me"
"Why not give it to her now?"
"She won't accept it now, giving it to her now will only anger her more"
"But... "
"Shh" Thanatos hushed him and leaned back on the seat, closing his eyes.
Jasmine's pov
Today's a bad, Thanatos just made it a bad hair day for me.
I lost my job and I've been job hunting fruitlessly, there isn't any vacancies in any of the restaurants I checked today.
"D*mn you, Thanatos!" I cursed.
I'm really tired and hungry.. what I need right now, is food and a long rest. Just at that moment, I heard a car honking.
I turned to it and realized it's Arthur's car, a smile spread on my face and I rushed towards it.
"Arthur!" I called, I grabbed the handle and opened it.
I slide into the passenger seat, before I could fasten my seatbelt, tiny arms wrapped me from behind.
"Momma!" My sweet baby called in a very happy voice.
"Baby, come to momma" I said.
Arthur helper him come to me, he sat on my laps and showered my face with his kisses.. I can feel he's very happy and I smiled at that.
Even though I'm going through a lot, one smile from my son just makes all my worries disappear.
"Why is baby Davis so happy?" I asked.
"Uncle took me to the park!" He exclaimed.
I turned to Arthur with a grateful smile, he returned it with a wink and blew me a kiss.. I caught it and stamped it on Davis cheek.
Arthur pout at that action, but doesn't say anything. I'm clearly drawing a line between us and he knows that.
"What were you doing here? And why didn't you tell me you're getting off work early today?" Arthur asked.
I sighed.
"It's that bast...."
Arthur stopped me from completing my words, his eyes flicked to Davis who's playing with a button on my shirt.
"Baby, don't pull off the button ok?"
"Yeah" he replied fully concentrated on the button.
I turned my attention back to Arthur.
"It's Thanatos.. he's here in Las Vegas"
Arthur frowned deeply and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.. his eyes darkened in hatred.
He had always hated Thanatos right from the start, he's never supported our relationship.. I sometimes wonder why he loved Davis so much, yet he hates Davis's father.
"You saw him?"
I nodded.
"Where?"
"He came to my work place, that's why I got off early.. or you can say I quit"
He clenched his jaw and glared at the road.
"I know he'll be monitoring my movements, so you'll be the one taking Davis to school and bringing him back.. I don't want him to know about Davis"
"Yeah, exactly my thought" he said.
I smiled. "You're the only one that understand me so well, I'm lucky to have you in my life"
He grinned and leaned a little bit closer, he held my hand.
"So.. would you consider giving me a chance?"
I laughed and slapped his hand away.
"No!"
"Awwwn" he pouted.
Davis turned to him and grabbed his lips, then burst into laughter and released his lips.
"Momma, uncle's crying" he told me.
"Yeah, uncle is a big cry baby" I joined in his laugh.
Arthur glared at us playfully and burst into pretentious cry, he opened his mouth very wide and pretended to wail.
"Mr cry baby, hit the road!" I said, smacking his head softly.
"You're both ganging up on me" he said and started the car.
Davis leaned towards him and wiped off Arthur's imaginary tears, then kissed Arthur's eyes.. he's imitating me there.
That's what I normally do to him (Davis) when he's crying.
"Baby, don't cry, momma is here" he said.
Arthur and I burst into uncontrollable laughter, Davis just look between us in confusion.
"Arthur, momma is here for you" I said to Arthur, referring to Davis as his momma.
He started the car and we hit the road.
Thanatos pov
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Clark asked Peter.
Peter parked the car in a safe distance, we won't get noticed here.
"Yes, Mr Evans" Peter replied.
I opened the door and stepped out of the car, my eyes scanned the place and I felt guilt hit me.
This is all my fault, I reduced her to this level.. she wouldn't be living in a place like this if I hadn't left.
"According to my research, this is one of the most dangerous place in Las Vegas.. but it has the cheapest apartments" Peter reported to me.
My hand moved to my cheek where she landed that punch, now I know why she could punch so hard.
Living in a place like this, one has to be strong to survive.
"What's your plan now? Are you gonna take her away from here?" Clark asked me.
That's my plan when I first saw this place, but I think my Jasmine would agree.. she's too mad at me to even breath the same air with me.
"Thana, are you taking her away from here?"
"No"
"No? Why?"
I was about to give him a reply, but I choked on my words when I saw a car stopped in front of her apartment.
The door opened and Jasmine stepped out, she's carrying a child.. which I believe to be our son.
Smile took over my face at the sight, I have a son and I didn't even know about it..
The smile on my face was quickly replaced with a deep scowl.. a man came out of the car and carried my son from her.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and made to kiss her forehead, but she moved away and they burst into laughter.
I balled my fist beside me and felt anger pumping through my veins.. and I have a very uncomfortable feeling in my chest.
It's making me barely breathing and moving me to go there and punch him.. Clark held me back and shook his head in disapproval.
I turned back to them and saw them entering her apartment together.. the feeling in my chest worsened..
It feel as though a thread is tied in my heart and someone is dragging it tighter.. it feels as if my heart is about to share in two.
"Peter.. Peter, who's that motherf**ker?!" I growled lowly.
Before Peter could speak, Clark did.
"That's Arthur Smith, her childhood friend"
"Childhood friend?"
"Yes, they've been friends since diapers and their families are very close"
"How did you know?"
"He was our classmate in college.. you asked me to find out about him then"
I narrowed my eyes and my mind flashed back, I suddenly recall him.. he's always been against my relationship with Jasmine.
Could it be he was in love with her then? Are they dating now?
The thought of them dating infuriated me more, I turned to Peter and grabbed his collar...almost choking him.
"Peter, you said Jasmine lives alone.. what is this I'm seeing now?"
"He.. he usually comes to visit"Peter stuttered out.
I let go of his collar and kicked my car angrily.. I'm so pissed off right.
What if they're dating?! F**k! No! I can't give that cock any chances!
"Is there any vacant apartment around here?" I asked.
"Yes, sir, the nextdoor apartment is vacant.. but I saw a lady checking it out this morning" Peter said.
"Quick, contact the landlord and buy the whole block!"
"What?!" Clark asked. "You wanna buy the whole building?!"
I ignored him as I'm glaring at Jasmine's door, wondering what that cock must be doing inside now.
Why is he taking so long to come out?!
My whole body is shaking and I don't seem to understand why.
"And that vacant apartment, call some movers.. I'm moving in tonight!"
Clark is just staring at me with raised eyebrows, which I ignored again.
"But sir, what about your penthouse, are you gonna leave your home and come..."
"My home is here" I cut him off.
"Huh?!" They both exclaimed.
"My wife and son is my home, wherever they are that's where my home is" I said.
I glared at the door once more and grinded my teeth against each other.
"Quick, Peter, do what I asked you!" I growled and angrily slide into the car.
I'm not gonna give that a**hole any chance to take Jasmine away from me.
She's mine right from the start.. and mine she shall remain!