An Ace Of Hearts (Book #1) (Completed)

Chapter 41: Temptations

AHVI TAKEDA

Jace's reaction to Eman's revelation was unnerving. It wasn't at all what I had expected it to be. He didn't look like a man who had just found out that his girlfriend was potentially cheating on him and faking her pregnancy. Nor did I understand why Kiara would go to such lengths to get with Jace if she had planned on cheating on him.

I chewed on my bottom lip as Jace and Eman went through the pictures she had pulled up on Kiara's friend's profiles. I had already seen them, analyzed them so I sat back with my fingers tapping against the polished white surface of the table we sat at.

There weren't many people in the cafe. It was usually quite busy but today it was quiet. If there wasn't a crowd here every day, I would actually consider coming to get some work done. The atmosphere was perfect for working and I could use some inspiration. Being cooped up in my bedroom with my tablet and stylus got boring.

As my eyes scanned the place, the voices of my friends a buzz in the background now, my eyes landed upon the barista who was working at the front. She looked up and shot me a smile when our gazes met. I returned it with an awkward one of my own before looking away quickly. Well, that was embarrassing. The barista just caught me staring at her. I mean I wasn't staring exactly but she must have thought that I was.

"But there is no other way to go about this." Jace was saying as I turned my attention back to my friends. My phone pinged, announcing the arrival of a text message and I pulled it out of my pocket, only paying it a fraction of my attention. The rest had been taken up by this drama.

"You can't just storm up to her and demand answers, Jace. You don't have concrete proof yet that she is cheating on you with this man." Eman argued as I unlocked my phone.

I glanced down and found another message from the unknown number I had received this morning. This time, it said:

Unknown:

You are quite beautiful for a gangster. I was expecting a woman more...ragged. But you are a beauty through and through.

I felt the color draining from my face. I whirled around to look around me as if this person, this...unknown would be sitting on one of the tables, waving at me. But of course, I didn't find anyone when I looked around, just the few other patrons who occupied the other tables.

There was an old couple sitting a few tables down, talking to each other, smiling, and being quite cozy in public which made me look away before I would pull a face that would get me in trouble if they caught me. Then there was a woman sitting in the far corner of the cafe, her gaze fixed on the laptop screen in front of her. Could she be unknown? I swallowed, peeling my gaze away from her and taking in the only other patron in the cafe.

It was a boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen, poring over a few books laid out in front of him. It couldn't be him. As far as I could see, there were no devices on his table. But what if he had a phone hidden under the table? I knew for a fact that teenagers could be as dangerous as a grown-up adult. I had been there myself.

"Vi!" An arm landed on my arm and I almost jumped out of my skin. My heart thundered as I gasped lightly and pulled away from it as if the touch burned me. It was only when I looked at Eman's wide-eyed expression that I realized I had nothing to be scared of. It was just my best friend. "Are you okay? You look a little pale." She observed, a concerned frown settling between her brows.

I swallowed before nodding my head, forcing a smile on my lips. "I am fine. I was just a little distracted and you scared me." I waved off her concern even though my heart ran a mile a minute in my chest. I peeked a glance at Jace who was also staring at me. And I knew unlike Eman, he wouldn't let go of the reaction I just had. It was too elaborate to be just me getting startled by someone accidentally touching me. I could see it in his face that he knew it, too.