For a few moments, Lydia could only stare at him.
Jaden's words lingered in the air like smoke—"I can't stop thinking about you."
The waiter arrived just in time to save her from responding, placing two glasses of red wine and a plate of oysters between them. Jaden didn't touch his glass immediately; instead, his gaze never left her face.
> "You look nervous," he said, his tone smooth and low.
> "I'm not nervous," Lydia lied, reaching for her glass.
He tilted his head slightly. "Then why won't you look me in the eye?"
She did then — bold, defiant — meeting those cold grey eyes that saw too much.
> "Because people like you are dangerous," she said quietly.
A small smirk played on his lips. "And yet you're still here."
Lydia didn't answer. The silence between them felt charged — like the calm before thunder. The sound of soft jazz filled the air, but it couldn't drown the tension that was building between them.
Finally, she asked,
> "So, tell me, Jaden. What do you actually want from me?"
He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, his voice calm but precise.
> "I want honesty. And I want you to stop pretending you don't feel this… whatever it is between us."
Her heart skipped. "This? You mean your ego?"
He chuckled quietly. "You hide behind sarcasm, Lydia. It's cute."
She was about to respond when suddenly, Jaden's phone buzzed. His jaw tightened as he looked at the screen — his expression darkening in a way she hadn't seen before.
> "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.
He didn't answer right away. He just stared at the message, his hand curling slightly into a fist before he set the phone down, screen face-down.
> "Business," he said finally, voice clipped. "Nothing you should worry about."
But Lydia could tell — it wasn't just business. There was something personal, something that made even a man like Jaden lose his calm for a second.
> "You can tell me, you know," she said gently. "I'm not just here to be impressed."
He looked at her again, his eyes softening for the first time that night.
> "That's what scares me," he admitted.
"You see through things I'd rather keep buried."
For a moment, the walls around him cracked — and she saw it: a flash of vulnerability beneath the billionaire mask.
Then he looked away.
> "Dinner's over," he said quietly. "I'll have my driver take you home."
And just like that, he stood up and walked out, leaving Lydia sitting there — her mind
spinning, her heart confused, and a thousand questions burning inside her.