Alex didn't wait for the clock to strike six before he stepped out of his office and headed to the restaurant his sister had booked for his date with Vanessa.
He needed to be in control, so he arrived early to survey the place. Alex wasn't the least bit surprised when he arrived at 5:47 p.m. to see Vanessa seated gracefully across their table.
Vanessa saw him approaching, and a smile graced her face. She was glad Claire had given her the opportunity to choose a restaurant.
The restaurant was a carefully chosen stage, elegant but not ostentatious, the kind of place Vanessa believed would not only impress Alex but would be suitable for the plan she had in mind.
She had been planning and anticipating this evening for weeks, rehearsing every detail, every anecdote, every carefully calculated pause so she could show him that she wasn't soone he could just look down on.
"Hello, Vanessa," Alex greeted when he got to the table, and she smiled at him.
"You look handso as ever," she said and Alex gave her a nod.
Seeing this, Vanessa wanted nothing but to snap at him and ask why he didn't complint her back, but she knew she couldn't do that.
It would spoil her plan, and she didn't want that. Instead, she cleared her throat. "You arrived early," she said, and Alex shrugged.
"So did you," he said simply, and Vanessa plastered a smile on her face.
"Well, I just needed to clear my head. After our last encounter, I wasn't sure what I was going to expect," she said, hoping he would at least apologize. However, Alex just picked up the nu and started going through it.
"Aren't you ordering?" Alex asked when he noticed she didn't pick up the nu.
"I'll eat whatever you order," she said with a smile, but Alex's gaze was already fixed back on the nu.
After he had settled on sothing, Alex placed the order. As they waited, a waiter ca and dropped two bottles of water for them.
Across the table, Alex sat silent, his posture relaxed but distant. He sipped his water with a detachnt that Vanessa found maddening.
"So, what's your favorite place in Paris?" Vanessa asked, her voice bright and eager. She needed to keep him busy until she had the chance to do what she had planned for the night.
"I don't have any favorite place there," Alex said simply, and Vanessa smiled.
"Well, I do. It's a cafe, actually—the one by the Seine with the little lavender macarons. Have you, by any chance, been there?" she asked, but Alex just shook his head.
"I don't think I have."
Her smile widened as she leaned forward, letting her hand rest lightly on the table. "Maybe we can go there together soday. Paris has this... magic, doesn't it?"
"It's a beautiful city," Alex replied, his tone polite but flat.
Vanessa didn't let his lack of enthusiasm deter her. She laughed, a soft, lodic sound, and gestured with her hand as though painting a picture. "When I went, I spent an entire day just wandering the streets. Not even looking for anything specific, just... letting the city guide , you know? It was transformative. You must have felt that, too. Didn't you?"
Alex looked at her then, his eyes narrowing slightly as though trying to decipher her. "Sothing like that," he said.
She bead. "Exactly! It's like every corner holds a story. That's what I love about traveling—you don't just see things, you feel them." Her words spilled out faster now, her enthusiasm growing as she leaned into her performance.
Alex set his glass down and glanced around the restaurant. His eyes briefly t hers before flicking away back to the couple at the next table, the flicker of streetlights outside, anywhere but the woman sitting across from him.
Vanessa noticed but pressed on, undeterred. "But enough about Paris," she said, her tone shifting as if she were letting him in on a secret. "Let's talk about you. You're such a closed book, Alex. I feel like I'm always the one talking!"
He raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.
"Co on," she urged, her voice lilting playfully. "Tell sothing about you. Sothing no one else knows. A hidden talent, a childhood dream, a secret weakness?"
Alex's lips quirked slightly, the closest thing to a smile she'd seen all night. "I'm married."
Vanessa laughed, but it was a little too loud, a little too forced. She took a sip of her wine, composing herself. "You're impossible, you know that? But I like a challenge. Keeps things interesting," she said, thinking he was probably joking.
Alex looked at her, and a smile curved his lips as the thought of Emma clouded his mind. He wished he could tell her here and now that he wasn't joking and that Emma was his wife, but he couldn't.
He had to talk to Emma first since he also needed to let her know Jake had hired soone to watch her.
They both turned their attention when their orders ca. After the waiter left, they began to eat.
As they ate, all Alex could think about was his last date with Emma and how everything had flowed naturally, unlike the forced energy he was feeling from Vanessa.
He wished he could call Emma or that she could call him at least to know how he was doing and if he was coming ho yet. Ho, he thought, and a slight smile escaped his lips.
Ho was where Emma was, and he couldn't wait to return ho to her. Why was he feeling this way towards her?
Perhaps it was because he had grown accustod to having her around and caring for her that when he was away from her, all he could think about was her.
That had to be it. He mused and sighed, dropping his cutlery. He couldn't even eat anymore. He no longer had the appetite. The woman across from him wasn't Emma and he hated the sight of Vanessa.
He was tired of pretending and needed to leave. He had to go to his wife. Alex thought, and just as he picked up his phone from the table, it started ringing.
A frown creased his brows when he glanced at the screen to see that it was Jake calling. Why was he calling?
"Excuse ," Alex said, standing up.
Imdiately he left, Vanessa's smile froze, her eyes narrowing slightly as she discreetly looked around to see if anyone was looking at her.
Left alone at the table, she quickly took out a substance from her purse and slipped it into Alex's wine and water, her lips pressing into a thin line before curving back into a carefully constructed smile.
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