Chapter Thirty One

Chapter 31

"I said, what the hell is he doing here, Vanessa?" Jemima questioned through gritted teeth as soon as her gaze landed on Jay and Dimitri seated in a corner of the restaurant.

"Busted!" Lilith said in a sing-song voice that caused Vanessa to roll her eyes.

"You both need to grow up and stop acting like children," Vanessa muttered, as they approached the table where Jay and Dimitri were waiting for them.

"You two are evil!" Jay stated with pursed lips as he got up to address them. His gaze finally landed on Jemima and he was amazed by the sight that was in front of him.

"You look beautiful," Jay complimented which made Jemima squirm on the inside. She tried to hide the blush that had crept up her face by looking at her feet.
A passerby whistled as he took in Jemima's appearance.

"You're hot!" A distant passer-by gushed, causing Jay to snarl at him.

"If you don't want to be six feet below the ground then move along!" Jay snapped, frightening the individual and causing the rest of the people to turn their heads towards their table.

His sudden outburst, caused Jemima to furrow her brows in confusion as she could not comprehend why he was acting in such a manner.

"We will excuse you guys now," Dimitri declared, ushering Vanessa and Lilith to another table.

"Do not leave me here, Vanessa!" Jemima protested through gritted teeth which only caused Vanessa to chuckle softly and wink at her.

"You'll be fine," Vanessa muttered before exiting the table. Jemima sat down, obviously disappointed by the turnout of the events.

"You can save your breath and not bother talking to me," Jemima ordered, using the menu to cover her face as she stared at it, wondering what to eat.

"Believe me, I'd rather chew on a thousand gingers if it gets me away from you," Jay grunted as the waiter approached them.

"Can I take your order now?" The waiter asked softly, holding a pen and a pad as he got ready to jot down their orders.

"Rotisserie chicken with some mashed potatoes," Jemima called out her order, placing the menu back on the table.

“I’ll have the pasta Bolognese,” Jay ordered.

“Coming right up,” the waiter replied with a smile spread across his face.

“I can’t believe I let Vanessa fool me!” Jemima lamented, pouring herself a glass of wine and chugging it in one go.

“If you feel like a fool, I feel like an even bigger fool trust me!” Jay retorted with a scoff, taking a sip of his wine.
Jemima smiled wryly and placed her hand on the table as silence enveloped them.
The chatter of people in the background served as a symphony against the tension that engulfed them.

Jemima glanced over at Vanessa’s table and a sense of loneliness and longing engulfed her as she saw her friend having the best time with Dimitri and Lilith.

Jemima’s throat suddenly became parched and she immediately chugged down another glass of wine to dispel the dryness she felt in her throat.

“Are you okay?” Jay asked, concern evident on the edges of his brows as he stared at Jemima, noticing her discomfort.

“Yes, just praying they put ginger in your order so you can choke and die!” Jemima retorted dryly and fixed Jay a pointed glance.

“You’re stuck with me for life, darling!” Jay mused as his smirk widened into a full grin. Jemima was enthralled by his smile because it was the first time she had seen him smile fully. Jay’s smile was somehow infectious because she soon found herself smiling.

“Here you go!” The waiter called out, interrupting the little conversation that ensued between Jay and Jemima as he served them their order and exited the table.
Without hesitation, Jemima delved into her food, cutting a piece of chicken. As soon as the food hit her tastebuds, she closed her eyes and savored the taste.

“This is delicious,” Jemima complimented, her words genuine as she continued to stuff the food in her mouth.

“Look Jem, I think we should talk,” Jay suggested, stuffing his mouth with his food.

“What have we been doing since we got here, sleeping?” Jemima queried sarcastically, taking a sip of her wine and fixing a pointed glance at Jay.

“We should talk about Mission London and what happened there,” Jay elucidated, causing Jemima to drop her cutlery which clanked against her plate as she stared at Jay.

“There is nothing to talk about, Jay,” Jemima deadpanned, taking another sip of her wine. Feet shuffling in the background became more distinct as Jay shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“The kiss with that girl,” Jay tried again, wanting to move past this and make peace with Jemima. It was evident that the love he had for Jemima never waned and he was going to do everything it took to get her to warm up to him again.

“You did it, it happened, it’s fine!” Jemima said, really determined to not delve into that topic. She was not emotionally ready for confrontations.

“Only because I thought it was you!” Jay exclaimed, grabbing Jemima’s wine away from her grasp as she tried to reach for it.

“How would you even think it was me?” Jemima asked, this was a revelation to her.

“Because she smelt like you, she had your scent, Jem and it was dark!” Jay confessed, momentarily shocking Jemima in the process.

“A man also came to my room that night and he smelt like you. We only spooned each other but I couldn’t sleep so I turned on the lights, only for me to realize that it wasn’t you. I was scared and I came to meet you then I saw what I saw,” Jemima revealed, causing Jay to widen his eyes in shock. Their food was forgotten as the revelation left them surprised and confused.

“Why didn’t you confront me, Jem? You left London and never tried to get in contact with me, do you know how that affected me?” Jay whispered, dropping the glass of wine and reaching out to hold her hand.

“So you can spin the web of lies or tell me I was hallucinating or worse blame me for my rape?” Jemima retorted in anger, withdrawing her hand from his grasp and staring at him incredulously.

“That was never going to happen!” Jay muttered softly, glancing at her with pleading eyes.

A momentary silence fell upon them, each of them engulfed by their thought and wishing they had done things differently.

In the nearby distance, Vanessa and Dimitri were watching the drama unfold.

“Do you think they will finally get along?” Lilith’s question pierced through the air, snapping their attention towards her.

“Whatever happens after today, we will know,” Vanessa replied, casting a final glance at Jemima and Dimitri.

Jemima continued eating her food and stretched out her hand to grab her glass of wine but Jay took it out of her grasp.

“Give me my drink, Jay!” Jemima demanded through gritted teeth as she firmly slammed her hand on the table, causing heads to turn around to face them. Jemima noticed the gazes staring at her and visibly relaxed before reaching for a napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth.

“Not until you listen to what I have to say!” Jay stated defiantly, imploring for her attention on him.

Jemima placed her hand on her chin in contemplation, “Don’t you think it’s not just a coincidence that different people came to our rooms that night, just before a mission the next day?”

“To think we almost screwed up the mission,” Jay added, realization settling in as their minds drifted off to Mission London.

“What if it was a setup to throw us off balance?” Jemima queried as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

“Who would want to throw us off course?” Jay questioned, a mystery hanging above them as he raked his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

“Can I have my drink now?” Jemima asked, not wanting to delve further into the conversation.

“Jem…”

“This conversation is over!” Jemima whispered vehemently and tried to reach for her drink again but Jay took it further away from her, causing him to spill the wine on his shirt.

“Shit!” Jay cursed, picking up a napkin to wipe off the spill but it fell.
Jemima scraped her chair backward to help him pick up the napkin from the ground at the same time he also bent down to pick up the napkin.

Just then, a bullet wheezed past them, hitting a random person who was sitting right behind Jay.
The man fell to the ground, blood spewing from his head, before falling to the ground with a thud.

The restaurant broke down in a commotion, people screaming and running helter-skelter.

“Get down!” Jay barked out an order referring to Dimitri, Vanessa, and Lilith. Dimitri upturned the table and used it as a shield to protect Vanessa and Lilith. Vanessa wrapped Lilith in her embrace, shielding her from the commotion of the world.

“What the fuck was that?” Jemima screeched, staring at the bloodied man behind Jay as people continued to run to find shelter.

She and Jay remained scrunched up beneath the table, their breathing loud as they watched people in the restaurant struggle to find protection from the invisible danger.

“What the hell is going on Jay?” Dimitri yelled over the commotion, staring at Jay from the corner he was in but Jay kept mute, not having the right answer.
Jemima retrieved her gun from the thong she was putting on, eliciting a smirk of approval from Jay.


“Let’s go!”
Betrayed by my own
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