Chapter 30 - Fear

Later that evening, Wren Austin happily made her way to the pub. Her mood was much better compared to when she first left her apartment. Another thing which made her happy was the fact that Reik had reached out and informed her that she wouldn’t be handling any clients for the next weeks.
Why? She didn’t ask. But she took that as a sign from the heavens giving her a break from one of the things which stressed her.
Wren Austin pushed the double doors of the pub open and made her way to the counter with a big smile plastered on her face.
“Well, hello there! Mine sharing the good news?” Gwendolyn Jefferson questioned, immediately placing a bottle of beer before her friend.
“There’s none. I just feel elated and somewhat free” she replied, peeling off the plastic on the beer.
“Well that’s a first” Gwendolyn remarked, earning a smile from Wren.
Both girls fell into a line of conversation which quickly diverted to the event of yesterday where Wren had interrupted an intimate between her friend and Topaz.
As expected, the dark-haired dismissed it and diverted the conversation to Wren and her upcoming date.
“I’m not sure what to wear. I don’t think I have the appropriate outfit” the blonde uttered.
“Well, do you at least have an idea as to where he’s taking you?” Gwendolyn questioned.
“He did mention something along the lines of ‘walk down memory lane so I’m guessing we will be going to the spot where we had our first date” Wren Austin analysed and a smile crept to her face.
The spot in question was a little on the outskirts of Craigsburg. It is almost like Teq’s pub, with a more romantic and soothing ambience to it.
Wren Austin remembered the day she first stepped foot there. She was immediately stunned by its beauty and its simple yet eloquent decoration. She remembered how welcoming the waitresses were and how nervous Giovanni was. He admitted to being so nervous that he had to excuse himself to the restroom to take a shit.
Another smile appeared on Wren’s face as she recalled how the young man had gotten on his knees like he was about to pop up the wedding question, leaving everyone in the room stunned. Then he gracefully asked her to be his girlfriend. She didn’t think twice about her response.
I think it’s safe to say that her answer would still be yes if it was a wedding proposal.
That was one of the happy memory of Wren’s teenage years.
“So casual, yet classy?” Gwendolyn questioned.
“Yes”
“I think I have something you could borrow” Gwen murmured.
“Yeah? You are a lifesaver. Thank you so much” Wren was about to lean in for a hug when Gwen’s hands stopped her halfway.
“On one condition” she warned.
Wren sighed and sat back dejectedly. “I should have seen that coming” she murmured mostly to herself.
“I’ll help you get ready,” said the dark-haired.
The blonde had every intention of asking Gwen to help her. Her presence would help reduce the nerves that were quickly building in whenever she thought or spoke about the date.
“Yeah sure,” said Wren nonchalantly.
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Wren Austin woke Saturday morning to the sound of her phone. With a frown on her face, she picked it up and butterflies automatically churned in her stomach at the sound of his voice.
Giovanni O’Connell had called to check in on her so they could agree on what to do. After a while of deliberation, Giovanni finally gave in to Wren’s request and agreed that they meet up at the venue. The reason the blonde gave was that she didn’t want the gossip from people to spoil her day.
After that, they conversed for a while before a knock on Wren’s door forced her to bid farewell to Giovanni.
Gwendolyn Jefferson practically hopped into Wren’s apartment with a gigantic smile on her face, a bag of bagels in one hand and two cups of coffee in the other hand.
“It’s time for the princess make-over” she exclaimed, making Wren Austin roll her eyes.
She was going for a date, not walking down the aisle. Her friend didn’t have to be dramatic about it.
Somehow, the outfits Gwendolyn came over with didn’t seem to do the trick because the blonde seem to find fault with them. In the end, both girls decided it was best to head over to a clothing store where they had variety.
Wren Austin didn’t know which outfit to choose. First, she had limited choices which she found fault in, and now, she had so many choices to choose from and she had no idea where to begin. After going through every choice of clothing, Gwen and Wren had succeeded to narrow their choice down to two outfits; a red podka dotted free dress and a next-to-body spaghetti strip dress.
"Do you mind sorting this out for me? I need to use the restroom" Wren gave her friend a questioning look.
"Yeah, sure"
"Great thank you. Here's my card. I'll be with you shortly" the blonde handed over her card to Gwen and disappeared the next minute.
The blonde felt shivers of relief shoot through her spine as she eased herself. She had a terrible habit of holding it in until it was on the verge of coming out, and only then will she seek the bathroom.
Now, Wren Austin stood at the sink and rinse her hands, while simultaneously looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Suddenly, the door to the bathroom was abruptly pushed ajar and the blonde wondered who was crazy enough to do something childish.
When her gaze landed on Luke, she let out an exhausted sigh before rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"What the hell, Luke?" Wren spat.
"This is the ladies' bathroom, you shouldn't be here in the first place," Wren said as she pulled out some paper from the toilet paper stand and dried her hands.
When Wren Austin didn't get a reply, she looked in Luke's direction but gasped when she noticed Luke hovering over her.
"Back off, you boneheaded asshole" Wren pushed him, but Luke caught her hand and abruptly slammed her back on the wall.
"What is it I hear? That you slept with Giovanni?" Luke spat and Wren rolled her eyes.
In all honesty, she was aware that the rumours will spread and she had prepared for that.
What she didn't prepare for is Luke cornering her in the lady's restroom.
"Get your filthy hands off me. It's none of your business whose dick I suck" she clapped back, trying but failing to get out of Luke's hold.
"It is my business, Wren. Who you sleep with is my business because you're mine" Luke's nasty breath made Wren nauseous.
"Let go off me" she fired.
"No. You belong to me and only me alone. Get that into your head. If I can't have you, no one will" the tone in Luke's voice shook Wren to the core.
It wasn’t the first time he had laid threats like this, but this time, Wren feared he may put them to action.
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