Chapter 4

Noah was discharged in the morning, and I came to work afterward. So far, the day had actually been going well.

I picked up the next order and walked toward the table, only to stop after recognizing Damien sitting there with a woman.

My hand tightened around the tablet as anger climbed up my chest. I wanted to smash it against his head, but causing a scene would cost me my job, so I swallowed everything down and walked up to their table like nothing was wrong.

“Good afternoon,” I greeted stiffly. “What can I get for you both?”

The woman exchanged a look with Damien before both of them started laughing. I figured she was the fiancée.

“What would you recommend?” she asked finally, looking at me with fake politeness.

Before I could answer, Damien spoke.

“I wouldn’t trust her judgment if I were you. She’s a little too bush for fine dining.”

I swallowed it down and stood there while he ordered for both of them.

When I returned with the food a few minutes later, the woman frowned. “This isn’t what we ordered.”

Confused, I checked the receipt again.

Everything was correct. “I’m sorry, but this is the exact order placed.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

Her voice rose loud enough to draw attention across the restaurant.

“I didn’t say that—”

“Then why are you arguing with me?”

The noise quickly drew our manager over. “What seems to be the problem here?”

“She brought us the wrong order,” the woman complained. “And now she’s basically calling me a liar.”

“That’s not what happened,” I tried explaining. “The order is correct.”

“How surprising,” Damien muttered. “A low-life waitress with attitude problems.”

My manager turned toward me with disappointment already written across his face. “Nora. Apologize.”

Even with my heart beating hard inside my chest, I still forced the words out. “I’m sorry.”

The woman tilted her head mockingly. “That’s your apology? Say it properly.”

I looked helplessly toward my manager, silently begging him to step in.

Instead, he frowned. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

I looked at Damien, and the smug satisfaction on his face made my stomach turn.

The woman grabbed her glass of water and threw it straight at me. “Get out,” she snapped.

Cold water dripped down my face and uniform while I stood there staring at her in disbelief.

I turned toward my manager. “You’re seriously going to stand there and let her do this to me?”

The woman pushed her chair back aggressively. “How dare you raise your voice at me?”

Her hand lifted. My body tensed, already expecting the slap.

“Don’t.” The voice cut through the restaurant so sharply that everything around us seemed to still.

I turned toward the voice and saw Alan Reed standing a few feet away watching the scene, his expression unreadable.

Damien got to his feet. “Mr. Reed.”

Even my manager straightened nervously beside me.

Alan ignored all of them and looked directly at me. “What happened?”

The woman opened her mouth quickly.

“She brought the wrong—”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

Her lips snapped shut immediately.

My throat still felt tight with humiliation as I explained everything that happened, trying hard not to sound pathetic while water continued dripping from my clothes onto the floor.

When I finished, Alan’s eyes moved toward my manager. “This is how you run your restaurant?”

“Sir, I was already trying to handle the situation.”

Alan glanced at the soaked front of my uniform before looking back at him. “You were doing a terrible job.”

Alan looked back at me. “Do you want to get even?”

My eyes slowly moved toward Damien.

The smugness from earlier was gone now. “Yes,” I answered.

“Go ahead.”

I didn’t wait for him to ask twice my fingers grabbed Damien’s glass of water first and poured it straight over his head.

The woman gasped loudly.

Before either of them could react, I grabbed the wine beside him too. Red liquid splashed across his expensive shirt.

Damien stared at me in complete disbelief, water and wine dripping down his face while my manager looked seconds away from collapsing.

Alan was the only person whose expression didn’t change.

He looked toward my manager again.

“Something like this should never happen again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Then Alan turned to me. “Go get your things.”

I hesitated, suddenly remembering I still worked there.

My manager forced out a tight smile. “You can take the rest of the day off.”

By the time I got into Alan’s car, the adrenaline had already worn off. The humiliation from earlier came crashing back twice as hard.

Resting my head against the window, I tried holding the tears in and failed miserably. The crying started quietly before completely falling apart.

I hated the fact that Damien could still reduce me to this so easily. Hated that after everything he did, a part of me was still hurting over him. Alan didn’t interrupt while I cried.

By the time I finally wiped my face, embarrassment had already started creeping in. “I’m sorry. That was my ex back there,” I muttered.

“It’s fine.”

The way Damien stood up in respect the moment Alan appeared made me wish I could be him for just one week and have that kind of power.

“What would you do?”

I turned toward Alan in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“If you were me for one week,” he said calmly, “what would you do?”

My eyes widened when I realized I had actually said that out loud. “Ignore me.”

Alan didn’t say anything again after that.

When the car finally stopped in front of my house, I turned toward him. “Thank you for today.”

He gave a small nod, and I reached for the door handle.

“Marry me.”

My hand froze. Slowly, I turned back toward him, sure I heard wrong.

“My family wants me married. I’m looking for an arrangement.” He held my gaze. “You need power. I can give you that.”

I just kept staring at him.

“As my wife, nobody humiliates you the way they did today again. Financially, you’ll be taken care of too. In return, you attend events with me when necessary. That’s all.”

“Why me?”

“Because Noah is one of the few people I trust. And I wouldn’t mind helping you ruin your ex’s life a little.”

“This is insane.”

“Probably.”

I shook my head, still trying to process everything.

“Your private life is yours. When the arrangement stops working, we divorce.”

He pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to me. “Think about it first. If you’re interested, call me. If not, I’ll find somebody else.”