Chapter 5

Emily knew his usual meal, because she had been the employee in charge of serving him whenever he came around.

A silent smile curved on her lips as she bowed and left the table.

“A plate of Cobb salad and banana split”, Emily said to the employees who stood at the counter to dish out the various meals.

Inwardly, she felt extremely excited that she had the privilege to know what his favorite meal was.

Giggling silently, she collected the tray of the meal and headed back to Richard, who was clearly lost in thoughts.

His attention was glued to a particular direction, which Emily trailed with her eyes.

Opposite where Richard was, two beautiful couples sat together, with their hands entwined and their faces carrying extreme excitement and love.

It was lovely!

Emily gulped down hard as she took slow and unsteady steps towards Richard, who couldn't get his gaze off the couple.

Emily was 20, but still naive and unclear about matters of love and relationship. She only caught a glimpse of couples whenever they came into the restaurant and that only made her wish she would find love too.

They were happy, and she wanted to be happy as well, but she wasn't lucky to find a man.

Countless times, men of different status, age, and physical appearance have made their interest and intentions known to Emily.

However, she always ran off and ensured she did well in avoiding them all.

But then, she felt entirely different about Richard and for the first time in her life, she felt uneasy whenever he was around.

She took in a deep breath as she struggled to keep her legs steady on the ground. The distance from where she was to where he sat suddenly became longer, and all she wished for were to disappear before chaos erupts.

“Oh my God!” She yelped as the tray on her hands flew off, it's contents spilling over and finally landing on the floor.

She landed on the ground with a loud thud that made everyone's attention glued to her.

The atmosphere seemed to remain silent for a moment, until two minutes later, when loud murmurs filled the air.

Emily felt utterly lost and blank about the next action to take. She felt embarrassed, and her heart suddenly dropped in regret.

She had been so engrossed with thoughts of Richard that she failed to take note of her steps.

The murmurs increased and that was when she heard loud footsteps approaching her.

She knew who it was, the manager!

Slowly, she lifted her head to meet the furious gaze of the manager. His eyes were red with rage and his fists clenched in anger.

She gulped down hard as she shivered inwardly. She tried to utter a word, but the more she tried, the more her throat became constricted.

“Are you okay sir?” She heard the voice of her female colleague, and that was when her eyes darted to Richard.

“Oh my God!” She yelped in terror at the sight that met her eyes.