Chapter 19 – Provoked
“The food here is great, I loved it when I tried it. I hope you’ll love it too!” Mason said as he opened the restaurant door.
Rose was absent–minded and felt down after the exchange with Ethan. She wanted to cancel the lunch appointment but decided not to let him dictate her emotions. Especially since she was pregnant and stress was the last thing she wanted. She wondered why he kept her constantly on her toes and made her feel like she was on a rollercoaster of emotions.
“Rose?” Mason’s voice was full of concern.
Rose snapped back to reality and looked at Mason apologetically, “I’m such bad company. I’m sorry Mason, I’m just worried about the exhibition!” She lied to cover up.
Mason looked at her for a few seconds. He knew she was lying but didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, so he played along. All he wanted was for Rose to forget about the jerk who was constantly hurting her and be happy for a change.
“I’m sure you’ll do great. I’ll be there to offer my best support! You’ve always been a pusher, Rose.” smiled as they stepped in.
Rose smiled, feeling better, “You bet I will! You better buy a good plece, Mr. Chen!”
Mason
Soon, they had ordered three different meals so Rose could taste them and decide the best. Rose thought Mason was a great friend and easy to have a conversation with so she easily relaxed and pushed all the worries to the back of her mind. Since university, the only friend she had was Natalie and since her law firm had more clients, she was busier than usual so Rose was happy she had another person she could be herself with without worrying about making mistakes.
Because that’s how she always felt around Ethan. She loved him so much that she was scared he’d hate her if she did what she wanted. As a way of pleasing him, she concealed all that she liked and adapted to Ethan’s preferences instead.
But no matter how much she tried, he was still seemingly distant and they never met eye to eye, until recently
“Anyway, enough about me!” Rose said, “What’s new in your life? Are you married? Kids? Or you’re the type to be buried in work?” Rose teased and Mason laughed.
“Not married yet. But soon.” He said simply.
“Oh really? Do I know the lucky girl?” Rose asked.
“Yes,” Mason responded. “You know her very well.”
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise, she wasn’t the type to mingle with so many people so she wondered. who Mason would be talking about. After giving it much thought, she came up empty,
“No one is coming to mind really? Is it Natalie?”
Mason chuckled, “No, don’t stress yourself too much. introduce her to you soon!”
“I’ll be waiting! Make sure you buy the wedding rings from me, Mason! I’ll hold you accountable if you don’t!” Rose joked.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 19 – Proveked
“I’ll definitely do so his eyes twinkled as he smiled, shutting down slightly.
As they were enjoying their meal, Rose heard the women who sat behind them. From the sound of their voices, she knew the women very well. They were her old high schoolmates who used to mock her for being poor. She stiffened a little, hoping they wouldn’t ruin her day.
“Isn’t that Mason Chen? Oh my, he’s gotten so handsome!”
“And looks wealthy too!” Another added.
“But who is that woman he’s with?”
Have you forgotten that loser, that’s Rose, she’s well known for throwing herself at rich men! Rumor has it she was recently spotted following Ethan Sinclair around then suddenly, she opened her own business.!”
“So shameless, she’s probably trying to sleep with them! After her parents‘ business went bankrupt, she’s become a level one low–class whore!” They all laughed
Mason looked at Rose, “Should I have them kicked out?”
“No, I don’t want to attract attention. Don’t mind them!” Rose said as she continued to eat. No longer bothered by their harsh words.
At the same time, Zoe walked in with Ethan. She was clinging to him like she was attached to his hip. She lied to him that she was supposed to have a meeting with her manager for her upcoming shoot and went crying to Ethan that she was being taken advantage of, she begged him to save her, so he agreed to accompany her to the meeting.
Her eyes landed on Rose and Mason who hadn’t seen them, “Isn’t that Rose? Oh wow! She sure is close with Mason now! They’re always on dates these days.”
Ethan’s jaw ticked but he didn’t stop, “Let’s just finish the meeting quickly! I don’t have a lot of time, I hope your manager is here.”
Zoe’s eyes widened but she recovered quickly, “Oh yes! I’ll call him.”
However, the girls didn’t notice that Ethan had walked in and they continued to slander Rose,
“I heard Ethan had her kicked out of the company a couple of months back!” One continued.
“She worked for him?”
“More like tried!” Another added and they clicked glasses before falling into fits of laughter.
Rose felt her heart boiling and she had enough. It was like the women didn’t know how to mind their business and being pushed over was something she didn’t tolerate! She grabbed her plate of pasta and walked over to where they sat and spilled it on top of the one who was talking the most.
“WHAT THE HELL!” She screamed as she stood.
Rose glared at her, not backing down. “It seems you have nothing important to do, how about you do your laundry?”
“This cheeky bitch! Who the hell do you think you are?” Another stood.
Rose grabbed a glass of water and splashed it on her face. “You need a reality check! I hope the water will
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Chapter 19–Provoked
bring you back to your senses!”
+25 BONUS
The girl was boiling and held Rose back by her arms as the other girl tried to smack Rose on the face
when suddenly a strong hand held her wrist and pushed her back slightly making her stumble backward.
When their eyes landed on who stopped her, their faces paled.
