~ Jane’s POV
I turned around quickly, my back facing the two people I’d expected at the very least to come across. I was about to walk back into the kitchen when Amy grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks. “Gen, can you take them? I have to leave…it’s urgent.” Amy pocketed her phone, pleading with me with her eyes, and I hesitantly nodded, wondering what to do. My mind was spiralling with so many thoughts. They were elite ones, why would they dine at a restaurant that’s clearly not up to their standard, not that it’s a basic one, though.
“Thank you, Gen, I owe you one.” Amy sprinted toward the staff room, and I fidgeted with my fingers.
Then, it hit me. I quickly surfed through the drawers and pulled out a mask, wearing it, thankful for COVID’s history that I didn’t have to explain it. Taking a deep breath and adjusting my bags over my eyes, I went to the table, the pen trembling in my hand.
“Good evening, sir, madam. What can I get for you today?”
“The menu—” Mr. Knight stopped when his gaze fell on me as if he was scanning me. I swallowed, praying to God he wouldn’t recognize me, but who was I kidding? The guy had been the Don of the mafia since he was 12, of course, he’d recogn—
“Good evening, sweetie,” the old lady spoke up, cutting my train of thought, and I turned my attention to her, refusing to meet eyes with the man who might expose my identity. “I’m a regular here, honey. Can we just get the usual?” The lady smiled, and I wondered if I should tell her I was new. I simply nodded and walked back to the counter, still feeling the man’s eyes on me. Shrugging the heavy weight on my back and shoulders, I rushed to the manager and explained the situation to him.
Luckily, he knew the lady and had told me their usual. I was so going to church this weekend. Thankfully, Mr. Knight, even if he recognized me, decided to stay silent and didn’t say or utter a single thing.
After they were done, I was about to walk toward them with the bill when the manager stopped me, slightly grabbing my arm. “Don’t. That lady there funds this place, we don’t charge her a single cent.”
Nodding, I stayed back, my eyes sharp on them while I kept my head down to keep from being noticed. I was about to sigh in relief when I saw them getting up to leave, but stopped when I saw the lady walking toward me with Mr. Knight trailing behind her, his hands in his pockets.
Taking a deep breath, I faced her so I wouldn’t look suspicious. “Was everything to your tastes, ma’am?” The usual tagline slipped through my tongue while the lady nodded with a smile so warm on her face, I wished I had that in my life. But I was careful not to ignore the death stare I was getting from the Don behind her.
“Everything was great, sweetheart. I’m pleased you were waiting on our table tonight.” She said, suddenly grabbing my hand and tapping on it, thanking me.
Stunned, I shook my head, trying to keep my nerves at bay when the actual Don was creeping me out. “It was my pleasure, ma’am. I’m glad you had a nice time.”
With that, she left, but the one thing I noticed was enough to send a cold shiver up my spine. After turning around, Mr. Knight tilted his head slightly and glanced at me before leaving. I knew I was in trouble now.
Excusing myself, I rushed to the restroom and took my phone out, typing a message to Lily, explaining my entire situation to her and asking her to keep an eye on my family to see if they make a move so I can run from here.
~ The Next Day
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I read Lily’s message on my phone.
Lily: All Clear. No one from the Knight family made contact with yours. Rest now xoxo
With a smile so huge on my face, I made my way back to the restaurant and continued my shift, plus the nagging from Amy.
“Come onnn, tell me did he talk about something, huuhh?? Who was he here with? What did he talk about? Come on, don’t keep me miserable~” Amy continued to whine in the background while I prepared the restaurant for opening.
“I told you, I don’t know anything, and no, he didn’t talk to me.” I chuckled, and she finally let the topic go, making me sigh in relief.
I was carrying out my tasks when my phone rang in my pocket, and I took it out, smiling when I saw it was Lily.
Lily: Need to talk. Call me soon.
Frowning, I called her right that second only to find her phone turned off. That was weird. Lily was the kind of person to put her phone on DND, but she never turned her phone off. Something was wrong, and my stomach was doing multiple backflips at this time.
What if my family found out everything? What if Blake Knight told them? Or worse, what if he was going to handle my situation by himself? No, he’s ruthless, I’ve heard that…it can’t be true.
I was about to call Lily again when her name appeared on the screen, indicating an incoming call.
“Lily! What’s happened? Is everything alright? Are you okay?”
“Yes, everything’s fine. I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“It’s okay. What happened?”
“I think Blake Knight knows who you are”
The ground shook underneath my feet. What? He knew? No…no, this can’t be. If he knows, he’ll take a second to inform my family. That can’t be it. “Lily…are you sure?”
“A hundred percent. He knows, but there’s good news as well.”
For some reason, that didn’t make me feel as good as I hoped it would. “What?”
“I have a hunch he won’t tell anyone. I mean, the last time, he only interfered because your family was on his property, that’s all.”
She was right. He made it clear at the gathering that we were standing on his property, and he didn’t like a scene being created, and that, too, a scene of a woman getting beaten up. But what’d he care about? He was famous for his ways with…women.
“Still, Lily, it’s a dagger dangling over my head.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. Until then, just keep your head low.”
I hung up after that, already feeling the opposite of what I was feeling a few minutes ago. Breakfast threatened to reappear, but I shook my head, trying to clear my head. With a deep sigh, I walked back into the restaurant and continued with the rest of my tasks.
~ At Night
“Hey, Gen, do you wanna come to a club party with me?” Amy asked, sitting on the bench of the staff room, swinging her short legs. I cast her a glance and shook my head, refusing the offer, knowing damn well how much I had to keep hidden for the sake of my freedom.
“Come on, it’ll be just one time. I promise it’ll be fun.”
Although I had never been to a club before. Maybe this will be a new kind of experience now. Hesitating for a while, I nodded my head with a pit the size of a mushroom in my stomach. “But I’ll leave whenever I want, okay?”
Amy nodded, already giggling like a child. She sent me the location of the club, and I went back to my apartment to change before I took a cab. When I reached the club, I already felt out of place as I continued to push down the above-knee-length dress I was wearing. Amy had seen this dress before when she visited my apartment and insisted I wear it for the so-called party. It was a sleeveless V-neck dress with the length I was already dreading wearing.
I moved around the gush of crowd, trying to find Amy and her purple hair, but it was too dark, and everyone was pushing against every other person. I finally found the purple-haired person at the bar and was about to walk over when I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me toward a solid body. I looked up and found a man with the features of a creep and dark circles under his eyes. He was clearly not stable.
I winced when I felt him tighten his grip on my arm and tried to push him off me. He was smirking at me, and within a second, he had dragged me through a dark exit and into an alleyway so empty no one would hear even if I screamed bloody Mary.
“Look, I’ll give you money, just let me go, okay?” I asked him, and when he moved closer, all the memories of my family thrust deep inside me. Instincts finally kicked in, and I kneed him in the groin, making a run for the door and pushing my way through the crowd. My hand was wrapped around my arm where he had grabbed me, knowing it’d form a bruise soon.
I was already at the entrance when I stumbled into another god-forsaken solid body. “I swear to god—” My breath hitched when my eyes met the same forest-green colored pupils staring at me. I took a step back, refusing to come eye-to-eye with the same man I was supposed to stay hidden from.
“Mr. Knight…”
