(Ralph's POV)
A sigh tore out from my lips as Bella went on with her blabbering, causing me to roll my eyes continuously. She'd insisted that we come to my new hotel for a hangout. Even though I was in no mood to party, I had to heed her request if I wanted any peace.
My mother, Roselle has made it a habit to invite girls of all sizes, shapes every weekend. Even though I have asked her on countless occasions to quit playing match-making for me as I was no child, she wouldn't hear. So in the end, I settled for Bella. Even though I had no feelings whatsoever for her, she was the most tolerable girl among all that my mother brought in. So to prevent my mother from inviting even more girls into the house, I faked being in love with her. And so far, it has been working just fine.
As I was about to doze off completely from boredom, my lazy eyes caught sight of two women walking into my bar. While one acted carefree and like she belonged, the other acted like she was being forced in as she walked in rather sluggishly. Just as I was about to avert my gaze from them, a switch clicked as I caught sight of her face. My heart began to bang erratically in my chest. Were my eyes playing a trick on me? There was no way I could mistake that face anywhere.
Amelia. My childhood best friend. My first crush.
A series of emotions gushed through me as I sprang to my feet, watching as they headed for the bar section. When last did I saw her? Three…four years ago and there she was, body and flesh. But somehow, instead of feeling excited, I felt a painful pang in my chest as the brown haired lady leaned toward her and whispered something to her, causing her to bow her head lightly. She proceeded to gulp down the alcohol that was placed before her in one go and my brows jammed together in confusion. Amelia doesn't drink.
"What's wrong, Ralph?" Lucien, my best friend and right-hand man asked as he stared in the direction I had been looking at. He must not have seen anything as his gaze returned to me, his brows raised in question.
Looking around and seeing the way I had drawn attention to myself as Bella, Tracy, and Lucien stared at me expectantly, I slumped back on my chair as I tried to keep a blank face and not look in Amelia's direction.
"It's nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew," I said as I sipped from my glass of wine.
"Okay, man," Lucien said as he wrapped an arm around Tracy's neck, causing me to roll my eyes at him. Looks like he'd just asked for asking's sake.
But I was unable to rest as Amelia's face took over my mind. A frown creased my features as I wondered what that look on her face was about. Four years ago when she decided to elope from the house with her boyfriend, she shattered my heart into pieces. She'd insisted that that was the life for her and even when I called her out and told her how I disliked the boy, she shut me off and even ended our relationship. I had tried everything in my power to mend our broken bond but the next thing I heard was that she stole a lot of money and ran away from home.
Ever since then, I had searched everywhere for her, both my family and hers, turning the whole city upside down but to know avail. She was nowhere to be found. As I watched her, I couldn't help but wonder what had gone amiss. She didn't look happy.
"Ralph, are you sure nothing's bothering you," Bella asked as she fixed her eyes on mine. I ignored her as I sprang to my feet, and my legs propelled me in Amelia's direction.
A gasp escaped her friend's lips at the sight of me but I didn't flinch as I was used to such reactions. But when Amelia turned to me and graced me with those amber eyes which had invaded my sleep for years…my breath hitched. I noticed her puffy eyes and slightly pale face and it infuriated me. Same thing with her clothes. It wasn't too revealing but the way her fair thighs were exposed to the world didn't seat well with me.
"Who…what do you want…Me. Angel," she slurred. But then, she averted her gaze….just like that.
Doesn't she recognize me," I wondered as my heart ached a little. Concluding that it was maybe because of the alcohol, I forced myself down on the seat as she broke into a chuckle.
"I'm no angel…Just Ryan," I corrected as I gazed intently on her, watching to see if she'd recognize me but her expression remained the same.
She continued to gulp shots upon shots of alcohol that at one point, I asked the bartender to quit giving her the drink. But then, she began a tantrum.
People started to turn in our direction but nobody said a word when they saw it was me. To avoid drawing even more attention, I wrapped my hands around her hands and pulled her up. She resisted but it only made me tighten my grip on her.
"Let me go you freak."
Amusement engulfed me but I quickly masked my face as I continued to walk ahead. I was a bit happy that she was still cautious to resist and didn't follow as she thought me to be a stranger.
As I headed for my private hotel suite, I spotted the brown haired lady giving a guy a lap dance and my face quickly squeezed in anger. Was this the type of friends she kept now? Was this the kind of life she picked over the princess treatment she received at home.
The brown haired girl raised her head and on sighting us, winked at Amelia but I doubted she saw it as she continued to rain abuses at me. After restraining for a while, she finally relaxed and followed me. It must have dawned on her that her struggles were meaningless and I had no intention of letting her go. But her glares remained.