Mildred left shortly after staying for a while. Apparently an important client had arrived and requested for a personal service, she couldn't refuse.
Rena stared at her phone statically, she was nervous.
Even as she clicked on the call pad, her finger had hesitated, hovering for a while before dropping.
She had decided to invite Herman for a meetup to discuss about her uterus.
It was a topic absolutely ought to be discussed.
But yet she felt an apparent agitation.
For sometime now anything related to her past had grown up to be a thorn in her heart.
She wanted to keep all details obscure and pretend all is well but sometimes reality pretty much does serve as a cruel reminder.
She pursed her lips as the call connected, followed by the familiar manly voice.
"Rena, what is it?" His tone was a little lively.
Rena paused for a second before speaking.
"Herman do you have a free time today?"
"Time." He seemed to be in thoughts. "No. Do you have anything to speak of?"
She bit her lips meekly as she responded. "Yes, so tell me, when would you be less busy?"
"The day after tomorrow, is that okay?"
"It's alright."
It was long enough even to get herself mentally prepared.
Herman noticed her urgency and felt a little uncomfortable. "Is it something important? You can say it on the phone."
"No. I would share it when we meet."
"...okay."
The call was disconnected, leaving Rena to release the heavy breath she had been holding.
She couldn't help but wonder what would be of Herman's reaction to her confession.
At least, even if he was to kick her to the curb, she hoped it wouldn't be done too harshly.
•••
Rena arrived at the restaurant at midday. Unlike the school, the restaurant had no off days so even at weekends she had to work.
She finished her job for the day and left to the changing room to get rid of her uniform but when she departed the room, she met the usual face, causing her to frown.
Although it was expected, it still made her feel quite annoyed.
"Archie, aren't you tired of this?" She spat out, her anger visible.
But the man didn't seem to care. He even smiled brightly at her.
"Tired? How can I be tired?" He took a step forward. "If you had accepted me, would I be wasting my own time pursuing you?"
"You are insane." She made to leave but he held her wrist, preventing her from going away.
Rena was a little repulsed.
She struggled to escape his hold but he held even tighter, his eyes fixed on her ring.
He sneered, a disdainful look flooding his visage.
"You got proposed to? Doesn't matter. I don't need to be in a relationship with you, if you agree to sleep with me once, no twice, then it's settled. I would stop pestering you."
"..."
Rena was appalled by his words.
Such arrogance and shamelessness gave an unpleasant twist to her stomach.
He made it all sound as if he was doing a good deed, a favor she should thank him for.
She gritted her teeth as she spoke. "Get your hands off me!"
But he didn't listen.
His eyes took in her charming face and as if bewitched, he dove his hand onto her shirt, aiming to touch her chest.
Rena was shocked.
She didn't expect him to have the audacity.
She quickly lowered her head and sank her teeth into his flesh, causing him to grunt in pain.
"Fuck! You bitch!" He hissed out as he took a few steps back, glancing at his arm which bore deep bloody teeth marks.
Rena glared at him, spitting out the blood and his sweat off her mouth.
She was completely enraged. His earlier actions were nothing short of sickening. She even urged to give him more than a bite.
"You've gone too far Archie, how dare you?" She snarled.
Archie wasn't calm either.
He scowled, obviously vexed.
He truly despised this woman but her beauty was quite eye-catching and irresistible, if not he would choked her to death for all the struggles she had put him through.
"I would get you someday, you damned bitch, just wait!" His tone was fierce but he left, leaving her all alone.
Rena felt a rush of adrenaline, quivering subtly.
God knows, she had been startled when she saw his hand unexpectedly approaching.
If she hadn't reacted in time, he would have...
That bastard!
The thought was almost rekindling her dissipating apoplexy.
But she collected herself and headed towards the Manager's office.
Archie was unreasonable and quite bold, he might turn even more reckless the next time they meet.
Facing such colleague in the same working environment was overly discomforting, she didn't want to experience such assault again.
But when she reached the office, she discovered the manager wasn't inside.
"He isn't around?" She asked one of the workers passing by just to be sure.
The worker, nicknamed Aunt Martha shook her head.
She was one of the few who held no hard feelings towards her. She was also kind and naturally friendly to talk to. Given her age and personality, the title 'aunt' was added to her name and since then everyone in the restaurant commonly addresses her as such.
"No. He left two hours ago."
"Oh."
"What do you need him for? Did any customer trouble you?" She asked with concern.
It was common for servers to specially seek out the manager when a customer is being difficult.
She feared Rena might be facing such a situation.
Rena appreciated her concern. She smiled. "It's just for a small issue."
"Okay." Aunt Martha was convinced.
Rena left the restaurant, still feeling a bit upset, however to her surprise, she was stopped by a figure who abruptly blocked her path.
It was Julia.
She felt her bad mood turn even worse.
She had never had any close contact with this woman but from her constant hostile glances, she could tell she didn't like her at all.
She didn't want to deal with her trouble. She made to move to another direction but she again rudely obstructed her way.
"What's the meaning of this?" She felt a pounce of irritation, her tone was inimical.
Julia was furious also. She gnashed her teeth as she retorted.
"You shameless slut! How dare you throw yourself at Archie, you bitch!"
Her face was distorted as she spoke. It was clear she was in immense rage and was on a thin thread from being violent.
Rena was faintly stunned for a second, then sneered the next.
Good grief.
She couldn't believe she was halted for such nonsense. It was obvious, Julia was one of the women crushing on Archie.
Good riddance, how much trouble would that jackass bring to her?
She snapped. "Throwing myself? Why would I need to throw myself at such a sick pervert?"
"You—"
"If you care so much for him, tell him to be sensible and stop flocking to me or else he would regret it!"
Julia's expression turned even darker. To her ears, it sounded like Rena was flaunting Archie's severe interest in her to her face.
Julia was livid.
She had liked Archie for months, to the point she even rented a place next to his.
Although they had had sex a few times, he had never shown serious interest in her.
Seeing him being continually attentive to Rena had pained her badly for a while.
She bore the sting, well until today when she saw they both being intimate.
Rena had bitten him but he still stubbornly wanted her.
How could she bear that? How could she bear it?
Once she had mistakenly made him unhappy and he didn't talk to her again for weeks but Rena hurt him this bad and he still yearned for her.
Her heart ached. She felt aggrieved.
Yes, Rena might be more beautiful but she was just a poor server, how could she compare to her, an executive chef?
She felt her blood boiling. She was unwilling, she was unwilling to accept this!
In her intense fury, she raised her hand and without a pause, hurled to slap to her face.