Chapter Four: Can't Stop Thinking About Her

We all heard a saying about something that if we can't get someone out of our heads, maybe, just maybe, that someone must really belong there in the first place. 

Dionysus stopped his car in front of an old warehouse. He instantly saw Sebastian waiting outside for him. He turned his engine off before stepping out. "Where are they?" Dionysus asked Sebastian right away. 

"They are all inside." Sebastian said as he placed a revolver into Dionysus' hands and showed him the way towards the abandoned warehouse's entrance. 

"You brought my favorite. I see."

"Of course. For your pleasure, my lord."

"Jerk. Don't call me that. It gives me the cringe."

"Well. You can't blame me. It suits you." Sebastian replied with a small laugh.

Seconds later, they both reached the opened large gate and Dionysus saw the three bulky men, all blindfolded, tied up and kneeling on the cemented floor right in the middle of the slightly darkened warehouse. Dionysus' heavy footsteps alerted the three bulky men.

"Seems like this isn't your lucky day, fellas. You infuriated the big boss." Sebastian murmured on one of the bulky men before walking away and standing behind Dionysus. Dionysus looked at all of his suited men all lined up and hiding on the dark corners of the warehouse, all armed with rifles, ready to shoot the three bulky men any time he would signal them to.

But, he still loves to play with the three bulky men a bit. For that, he sauntered towards their direction and took his time removing all of their blindfolds one by one. "Remember me?"

The three bulky men tried shouting curses towards Dionysus but obviously couldn't do it properly when their faces were all beaten up so badly by Dionysus' men and while all their mouths were covered by thick cloths as well. So, all they managed to do was to grunt again and again. "Silence!" Dionysus shouted and fired his gun towards the direction of the warehouse's ceiling. That actually made the three bulky men stop what they were doing.

"The three of you should have known that there will always be a consequence to the bad deeds you do to other people. Especially not to me when I am having the worst day of my life right now. And, the worst night as well. I might just add that. And, I would really love to give a heartwarming speech probably to enlighten your dark souls but I don't really have the time for that, and because I really wanted to lay down on my bed right now. Besides, I am going to kill all of you later on. So, what for, right?"

Right after that, the three bulky men grunted against the cloth placed inside their mouths again. "I said, be silent!" Dionysus fired his gun again. But this time, he fired it near one of the bulky men's ears, making the man whimper in pain when the bullet grazed a small part of his ear. The man also fell on the cemented floor, crying so hard because of what Dionysus just did to him. "Now. Who groped the weird woman again? The one you were chasing from the Dacre Club?"

No one answered Dionysus, that's why he decided to remove one of the cloth covering one of the bulky man's mouth. "You. Answer me. Now!" The man sobbed hard like he wasn't a man with lots of muscles all over his body before shifting his gaze towards the man that fell on the floor, the one that Dionysus had shot near the ears. "Ohh, so it's you. You have the audacity to do that to a woman who can't obviously fight you back, huh?" 

The man grunted, and he looked like he was trying to tell Dionysus about something. But, Dionysus shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Too late for your explanation, buddy. Repent in hell, instead. And, just so you know, just to make all of you regret messing up with me more, I would like to introduce myself. I am Dionysus Zephyr Chevalier, the. ."

"The secret mafia lord?" The man without the mouth covering tried murmuring, his face was like he just had seen Satan himself, being personified in front of him. Sebastian laughed at the corner.

"Good guess, fella. Good guess." The man looked in Sebastian's direction because of that. But, when he looked back in front of him, Dionysus was already pointing his gun towards the man's bruised forehead. 

"Addio, amico mio." Dionysus whispered in his Italian accent before firing his third shot. When the two other bulky men saw that, they still stupidly tried to get up and run away from him but it was too late. Dionysus mercilessly shot them right at the back of their heads, bull's-eye. He didn't even bat an eye. 

And, as if he wasn't content with that, Dionysus signaled his men and all of them fired their rifles towards the dead bodies of the three bulky men all at the same time, not showing any mercy at all. The firing noises weren't that loud because their rifles have silencers adhered to them. After those relentless killings, Dionysus walked outside the warehouse like no killings had happened. After that, Sebastian and all of his men had poured gasoline all over the place and it took nearly ten lazy minutes for them to finish that. 

"Burn it up, boss. Do the magic trick." Sebastian said before he gave Dionysus his own lighter. Dionysus took it, lighted it up and in a swift motion, threw the lighted lighter towards the warehouse's entrance. Sebastian's sinister laugh filled the air like how the menacing fire devoured the whole warehouse in just a blink of an eye. 

~~~~

The next morning, Dionysus woke up with a very bad headache. He had been up all night thinking all about the things Zoey had told him. That's why when he joined his grandfather for breakfast, his face clearly showed the signs that he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

"How was the hotel, kiddo?" Dionysus choked at his coffee the moment he heard that from the old Chevalier. Mr. Hermes Chevalier laughed immediately and didn't even bother helping to fill Dionysus' glass with water.

"What hotel, grandpa?" 

"The hotel where you brought your date last night." 

"Goodness gracious." Dionysus massaged his temples to ease the ache in his head that had worsened because of his grandfather's outrageous questions first thing in the morning. 

"So, you didn't have sex last night?"

"Can we not talk about sex first thing in the morning? I mean, can we? I'm begging here."

"But, why? Didn't you meet with the woman named 'millieleven' last night?"

"I did meet her. But, that's it. We hated each other and just decided not to meet ever again. End of story." The old Chevalier looked quite taken aback, and somehow disappointed as well. Dionysus sighed and tapped his shoulders.

"Come on, old man. Dating apps are ridiculous. You can't expect me to meet up with some random girl and we will be an item the very next day. That's pure absurdity."

"How would I know that you're not lying to me? Perhaps, you didn't really meet her." Dionysus wanted to bang his head on the table again and again after hearing that.

"You know I don't lie. I rarely do that. And, why would I lie about that? You should have warned me and told me to get a freaking selfie with her so that you won't doubt me like that. But, I'll tell you. That would just make me look like I am actually liking her, which I clearly do not."

"Is she that terrible? What does she look like, then? Tell me." Right there and then, Dionysus almost told her grandfather that the girl he met last night was the same girl he told him about before that ruined his fine morning yesterday. He sighed and decided not to, in the end because he can even bet his whole life that their paths won't cross ever again.

"She looked okay, grandpa. We just didn't. . clicked?" 

"Very well, then. I guess I have no choice but to execute my plan B, kiddo." Afterwards, Dionysus' grandfather showed him a clear folder and tossed it beside his plate. "That's a compilation of. ."

"A compilation of what exactly?"

Mr. Hermes Chevalier sighed. "Do you always have to interrupt me when I'm trying to explain something, kiddo? Goddamn. You're such a rebellious child."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." In the blink of an eye, flashes of Zoey's image and voice saying the same line to Dionysus last night came rushing back to the infamous Chevalier. His grandfather had to kick his feet under the table just to get his attention once again.

"What? What is it?"

"I said that these are twenty files of single ladies, coming from different elite families, the ones from our social circle, of course." 

"And, what does it have to do with me, though?" Dionysus finished eating his fresh salad. "You know what, grandpa. Don't explain anymore because I don't give a fuck. I'll go first. I still have to work out and jog outside."

"You will be meeting them one by one. On a blind date. Today, kiddo." That stopped Dionysus from standing up before he looked at his grandfather with bewildered eyes.

"But, we had a deal last night. You clearly said that. ." But, Dionysus' grandfather continued talking, ignoring his rants. 

"And, after you finish all of those blind dates, you will have to choose one candidate to be your wife. And, you will get married by the end of the month."

"Tell me you're kidding. That's two weeks from now, right? Are you insane? Did your medications somehow distorted your brain cells, instead?" The old Chevalier resumed eating, completely ignoring his grandson again. "Grandpa? Hey. Grandpa. Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa! Grandpa!" 

"Mr. Chevalier, please. Refrain from shouting at your grandfather. It's not good for him and you know that." The head nurse who was assigned to oversee the old Chevalier's health condition whispered and pleaded that to Dionysus. That made Dionysus calm down a bit and just waited for his grandfather to talk again.

"If you don't do this for me today, I will move back to your parent's house. Is that what you want?" At long last, the old Chevalier spoke again after about more than five minutes of silence between him and Dionysus. 

"What? Of course not. Why would you do that to me in the first place? I thought you promised me that you won't leave me no matter what happens. So, are you backing down on your words now? Promises are really meant to be broken, huh?"

"Believe me, kiddo. I'm just doing this for you. How I love to finally see you with someone and be in love." 

"Be in love? That's bullshit." 

"Language." 

Dionysus threw his hands in the air. "Alright, I gave up again. Give me that." Dionysus picked up the folder, opened it and browsed through the files of different women. Most of them were undeniably pretty, rich, have a good educational background and had their careers at the peak of their successes. "They all seemed. . nice."

"Is that sarcasm?"

~~~~

First date:

"What's your name again? Sorry, I tend to forget things so often." A girl in her early twenties who was the first from the list of Dionysus' grandfather said in a small voice. 

"It's Dionysus." Dionysus told her, actually for the nth time since they arrived at that restaurant. 

"Ooh. And, how do you spell that?" Dionysus sighed. He can't take it anymore. He hated people, especially women being so absolutely dumb like that. 

"Don't you know anything about Greek gods and goddesses?"

"No. What's that?"

"You know what? Never mind." Dionysus sighed before he stood up and walked away from their table without looking back.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To the bathroom!" Dionysus shouted as he exited the restaurant. 

Second date:

"Also, I spent three hours in the salon just to achieve this gorgeous look in my hair. And, ohh. Three layers of moisturizer on my skin. Don't even start me with my eyelashes and my make up. This took four hours. And, putting this dress on? One hour. Just to be so perfect in your eyes. So, am I pretty?"

"No." Dionysus murmured in a very cold voice.

"What? Why?"

"While doing all of that, you forgot to brush your teeth. Your breath stinks."

"Ohh, my god. How dare you tell me that?" The woman was about to say something more but Dionysus stood up. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom!" Then, Dionysus exited that second restaurant and went straight for his car. 

Third date:

Dionysus felt the woman's feet in front of him trying to touch his knees under the table while he was busy slicing his steak. "Goodness gracious. Can you let me eat first? I'm starving."

"Come on. You'll be more full if you eat something else instead." The woman said breathily, even making a soft moan that made Dionysus' forehead creased.

"Why are you moaning like that? And, what do you mean? Is there something more delectable than my medium rare steak right now?" The woman bit her lower lip and winked at Dionysus.

"If we get a room someplace private, I'll tell you the answer to that." Dionysus blinked, still trying to process what the bloody hell the woman meant for that. Until, he finally deciphered it. Right there and then, he lost his appetite and even vomited the first half of his steak he had already eaten a while ago.

"Fuck. You're disgusting! Why would I eat your genitals, woman?" Four to six customers eating their lunches had turned their heads towards Dionysus' direction. Their faces showed that what Dionysus had said was rather scandalous to say in a place like that. 

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? Huh!" Dionysus stood up, removed the napkin in his neck and threw it on the table like a child throwing some tantrums. "I can't do this anymore! I'm going home!"

Fourth date:

Yet, Dionysus still found himself driving off to the fourth restaurant and meeting the fourth lady in his grandfather's god-damned list. Thank god for him, the fourth woman was all silent while they were both eating their late lunch.

The woman was even wearing an eyeglass that reminded Dionysus of someone, which in Dionysus' defense, he kept on blocking Zoey from resurfacing again and again in his mind. But, the more he does that, the more his mind wants to remind him of Zoey's heartfelt words last night. "Damn."

"Why? Is there something wrong? Did I do something to offend you?" The woman in front of Dionysus asked. All in all, the fourth woman turned pretty nice and normal for Dionysus compared to the first three he had met earlier on, which unequivocally traumatized the hell out of him. 

"No. I was just thinking of something. About work." After saying that, Dionysus opened his grandfather's phone and clicked the dating app's icon only to be a little disappointed that Zoey didn't bother to contact him anymore. Not that he wanted her to do that. Perhaps, it was just his ego talking.

"How many times do I have to tell you that this isn't what we had ordered!" Dionysus' attention was shifted to a table that was just a few miles away from them. There was a fuming mad middle aged man with his wife and a waitress lowering her head in front of them. The waitress' back was facing Dionysus' direction that's why Dionysus can't see who the hell it was.

"And, what exactly did you order again, sir?" Dionysus' eyes widened. The waitress' voice was very much familiar to him. "It was Shrimp and Veggie Pasta Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette, right? According to my pad." The waitress even showed the customer his exact order written on her pad paper. 

"Yes, but without the lemon-herb thing. Remove it. I don't like it." Dionysus stopped eating and leaned his body on his chair to watch the scene more properly. 

"Alright, sir. As you wish." The waitress said before picking up the customer's plate and putting it back on the tray. Fifteen minutes later, the waitress came back with the same exact order but this time, without the ingredient the middle aged man requested to be removed. "Here's your order, sir. Enjoy your meal."

"What the hell is this?" Dionysus smirked as soon as he heard the middle aged man shout like that again. His fourth date tried calling for his attention but he was too focused on what's going to happen next and when exactly will he get to confirm his suspicion that the waitress was none other than Zoey Veera Lavigne herself. The woman who had invaded his mind since yesterday and had never left there after that.

Dionysus saw the waitress taking a deep breath. "What is the problem again, sir?" 

"Why did you remove the lemon-herb? How can you call it Shrimp and Veggie Pasta Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette if you removed the lemon-herb?" The man's wife laughed after that. Because of that, Dionysus realized that those two customers were just playing around with the waitress.

"Sir, I think you hit your head while I was gone in the kitchen. Because you clearly ordered me to remove it."

"Are you talking back to me? I am a customer for Pete's sake!" The man stood up, startling everyone around them, including the other customers eating their late lunches.

"No, sir. I was just stating a fact. If you want to bully me because I look hideous in your eyes, better check your face as well in the mirror. You looked like a coconut shell attached to a human body." In the blink of an eye, Dionysus' manly laugh resonated at the whole restaurant, even to his utter surprise. He can't help it. 

The chaotic scenes were even halted because of that. And, everyone in the restaurant now turned their heads towards Dionysus' direction. Even the waitress. Zoey's eyes widened when she locked her almond, hazelnut eyes with Dionysus' blue ones. She palpably thought she would never see him again, at least not in that embarrassing situation.

Zoey's attention was only shifted back to the rude customer in front of her when she felt something hitting her chest and body before it dropped on the floor and was shattered into pieces. When she looked down at her uniform, the hot pasta and its sauce was all over her, burning her skin in the process. She closed her eyes for a moment to endure the pain of the burning sensations in silence. She absolutely doesn't want to give the man the satisfaction of seeing her whimper in pain. 

She looked around later on just to see that no one dared to help her. Some were looking at her with pity on their eyes but some of them were looking at her like she deserved to be treated like that in the first place, which made her lips quivered for an upcoming outburst of painful emotions.

"How dare you turn your head away from me when I'm still not done talking to you?" The man poked Zoey's forehead and all she could do was to take a step back. The man repeated it again until Zoey's butt crashed into a table.

"Stop it!" Zoey shouted so loud that made the man raise his hand high up in the air, looking like he was about to slap Zoey right there and then. As a reflex, Zoey closed her eyes and waited for the hit but she gradually heard something cracking instead and a loud thud afterwards.