Five

With a deep glare hanging on my eyebrows, I stormed toward them. I was very furious, and maybe confused. That was no good way to treat a person. Especially a woman. 

"You think you can go away with it?!" He grabbed her jaw again. Attempting to hit her for a second time, I held his wrist, stood in between them, and shot hard scowls at him. 

"How. Dare. You." My teeth were gritted. I tightened his wrist, breathing hard as we faced each other. 

He scoffed. "Who the heck are you? Her boyfriend?"

I shut my eyes and sighed. "Are you crazy? How can you hit her? Don't you have respect for a lady? This can get you to jail, you know?"

"Hey! Back off before I get you killed!" he threatened. 

I rolled my eyes. This dude had no idea of who he was speaking to. Still holding his hand, I turned to Rae, but she looked away immediately. She was obviously embarrassed. More furious, I turned back to him  

"What do you want?" I snapped his hand off mine. 

He raised his shoulders up, digging those hands into his pocket. "I don't have a business with you. But, anyway, she's owing me a hundred bucks. She was supposed to pay me tonight, but she ran away. Too bad for her, I caught her."

I felt the need to break his bones. He had seriously hit her for a hundred dollars? What kind of a stupid person was he?

I raked my fingers into my hair, sighing in disgust. "What a fool. A big one." Disgusted, and wanting him to leave as soon as possible, I grabbed my wallet from the pocket of my jacket, and violently threw a couple of hundred dollars at him. 

He gaped in shock. "W-Wow. How can you—"

"I don't care about what you wanna use the money for." I took a step closer to him. Probably because he was lost in staring at the money, I was able to grip his arm. "But, never try to hit a woman again. If that happens, with the connection I have, I promise to get you jailed for months. In that case, you'll never try to do it again."

He laughed. "Whatever."

I turned to Rae once again. She still looked down, so I just held her wrist. Doing that, she raised her eyes to me, which was when I saw how soaked they were in tears. She must be so emotional. Without a second thought, I pulled her out of the restaurant, pulling her toward my car. To my surprise, Pablo and Drake weren't even standing behind the door of the restaurant. I was seriously thinking of firing those guys. They just didn't know how to do their job properly. It was their fault that that crazy thing had come into the restaurant. 

I let her sit in the passenger seat, then jogged to the driver's seat. Buckling my seat belt, I turned to her. "Hey, buckle yours as well. It's for your safety."

Surprisingly, she ignored me. Her eyes looked down at her hands which were on her lap, as she breathed out slowly. "Where are you taking me to?" She turned to me. "Paying my debt doesn't mean I'd spend the night with you."

I wrinkled my face at her. Her words made me so confused for some reason. "Pardon? The night? Wait, are you nuts?"

She scorned, smiling weakly. "Isn't that something you rich men like? Huh?"

What kind of creature was this woman?

"I-I don't wanna spend the night with you." I scoffed, leaning my hand on the steering wheel in front of me. I simpered as well. "Take a look at yourself first. You aren't even my type."

"You should've let him keep on hitting me." She swallowed. Once again, tears dunked her eyes. "Why did you help me out, huh? What were you trying to prove?"

"I was—" I wanted to defend myself, but she cut me off. 

"Even if you wanted to help me out, why did you give him some extra money?!" She barked. She sniffled, tears trickling down her cheek. She looked hurt. Very hurt. She rubbed her palm against her cheek, then looked away. "Did you have fun insulting me by throwing some money at him? Now, he'd go to the streets and tell everyone that Rae has got some big guy who's now taking care of her bills and debt. You might not know how much it hurts, but..." She turned to the window, and kept sobbing. "Forget it. Just take me home. Please."

I was speechless. It had been years since I had apologized to anyone besides Tanya and my family. I really felt like doing it right now, but I wasn't sure of what to say or do. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" I was forced to ask. 

She turned to me. "Take me home. It's all I want. I'm dealing with a heartbreak, and now, this had to happen. I'm upset. Get me out of here."

I nodded. Woah, this woman had so much attitude. Aside from Tanya, no one, absolutely no one, had spoken to me this way, or controlled me this way. Wait, where was my ego and attitude? 

I started the car, and soon, we were on the road. The drive was silent. I didn't know where I was heading to, but all I knew was that it was important to take the main road to leave this vicinity. 

I glimpsed at her, and noticing that she had stopped crying, I cleared my throat, and started, "Um, I didn't know it'd make you upset. I guess I'll never help you pay a debt or bill again. You should just forget about it, you know?"

She sniggered. "Don't say that. To be sincere with you, I was having doubts about getting married to you. But now, I'll do it, no matter what."

That caused a sudden rage to sprint through my head. Enraged, I steered into the next street, and parked the car on the road side. I wasn't able to think properly. 

I turned to her. "What's your problem?"

She huffed. "My problem? Your family made this proposal in the first place."

"I said—"

"The name of my ex boyfriend is Dale. Dale Marion," she started. Though I hated to hear her speak, I just couldn't say anything to her. "Dale's never tried paying my debt. He's always broke. He just comes over to my house, and asks me to sleep with him, though I always reject him."

"Why are you telling me this? See, if—"

"My parents aren't very rich, and I don't even have a job. I can't even take care of them," she continued. A weak smile formed on her lips. "I've never been dependent on anyone, but this time around, I want a change."

"I don't get you."

She raised her index fingers, using it to caress the tip of my jaw. Her smile turned into a sinister one. "Dear future husband, I'll marry you to move on, to give you an heir, and… to make my family comfortable."

I didn't know why, but once again, I felt a bit hurt. Aside from my aunt and cousins, every other person in my life either wanted to be with me to get fame, or to get my money. I had always known that, but it hurt that someone had actually said it to my face. Yes, I had known that it was all she wanted, but did she not care about my feelings?

I swallowed, and looked away. "Show me the directions to your place. I'll drop you off."

"Thanks," she said, and turned to look at the view out the window. 

The drive to her place was silent, and really, I was hurt. 

***

It was really late already, but I just wasn't ready to go home. I sat in my car which was parked on the street after Rae's street. After dropping her off, I decided to stay alone and enjoy the serenity of the environment. Pablo and Drake had sent me a call, but I had told them to go to the mansion. I didn't want them to keep waiting for me. 

Leaning my head against the headrest, I sighed really hard. Just about to shut my eyes, my phone rang from the storage box beneath the armrest of my seat. I grabbed it, and seeing the caller, I frowned. I didn't think twice before dropping the phone back into the box. It was Tanya. Why in the world would she call me? After all she had done?

In a short while, the phone stopped ringing. About relaxing once again, it beeped. I rolled my eyes in disgust, and grabbed it grouchily. As expected, it was a text message from her. 

"Please, come over to my place right now. I need your help. I have no one with me. Please, come."

I squeezed the phone in my palm, throwing it back into the box. To be honest, that one message got me confused. It made me uneasy. Just like in the past, I felt a bit tense. What if she was really in trouble? What if she was planning to harm herself? What if she just needed someone to comfort her? 

Abruptly, my heart felt heavy. I tugged my hands to the steering wheel, and heaved. 

I made a swift decision. I was going to see her. 

Instantly, I realized that she was the only woman I could ever love. I still loved her very much. And, being frank, I didn't think I could move on. 

Not hesitating further, I started the car, heading to her place. 

***