Must Date The Chef

|| 27.

Everything I need is laid out on the counter, I take a deep breath, put a pot of water on the cooker and start chopping carrots but with less grace and speed as Paul. He's the professional, not me. A noise from one of the room catches my attention, my ears perk and my hands still on the board. Paul said the other rooms are empty but he has plans for them, none of which includes the noise emanating from it. I resume cutting, ignoring the sound of things being moved around until I can't take it any longer.

Curiosity gets the best of me, I turn off the cooker and tiptoe to the front of the room. The door is slightly ajar and my eyes dart between it and Paul's room wondering if it's a good idea to go in without him. I don't let myself think too much about it before pushing the door open and the sight of the lady backing me knocks out my breath.

"Udo." Only one person calls him by that name but I refuse to believe the fair figure with only a towel wrapped around her chest is her. "I have told you to always knock before entering. I was dressing up," she spins to face me, "what if I was nak-"

The rest of her words die on her lips as our eyes clash, my hand tightens on the knob, I stagger backwards and scream, "Babe." My eyes refuse to leave hers, my body goes rigid. I can't move. When she starts towards me, I scream, "Stay away. Paul."

Paul rushes out of his room, the first thing he does is scan my body for any sign of injury and peck my forehead. His action causes me to relax slightly but it doesn't stop the thoughts running wild in my head. What is she doing here? Is she stalking him? Us? I will myself to talk but I remain tongue-tied, my eyes dart towards the room, hoping for Paul to follow the movement and he does. But his reaction is the opposite of everything I expect and it breaks my heart.

"You didn't tell me you were coming over," he directs at Chi who comes into view but in a proper outfit. I scoff, she even has clothes here too, did he also buy them for her? Is that one of his tactics? "Next time, call me."

At his utterance, I cannot stop my eyes from rounding to saucers, he is talking about a next time like her presence here is normal. Is that all he has to say? A mild warning? He is acting as if I am not here. Both of them. Even this Chi who claims to be my best friend, gave me her blessings to date him.

"Maybe if you had bothered to check your phone you would have seen my missed calls," she responds in the same heated tone and with a hint of annoyance. "See, I was locked out and I came here to change, I'll be leaving in no time. Ignore me, thank you."

Wow. My brain finally sends a signal to my feet, I take a step away from the bantering couple. What was I thinking by coming in between them? I am the outsider here and it was stupid of me to think they can be best friends without any strings attached. Holding my head in my palms, I scoff, he lied to me. He lied to my face, he said the rooms were empty. Empty. And here she is.

Paul tries to stop me from leaving, I raise a hand to keep the distance between us. "This is not her first time coming here." My heart begins to thump, I am afraid to hear the answer to my question. "Right?"

Chi is the one who volunteers an answer, "Right." Her tone irritates me further when she adds, "I have my own room. This one."

Another bombshell. I look to Paul but he doesn't bother to deny it. My voice grows cold when I say, "I was not talking to you."

She looks taken aback by my words, I scoff, she should be glad I am being on my best behaviour. I will not fight with her over a man who can't even say a word in his defence and I am done trying to excuse him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have answered that."

"Yeah," I say with a nod. "Maybe that's why you got locked out of your house because you don't know how to mind your fucking business." Paul tries to stop me when I subconsciously take a step towards her and I slap his hands away from me. His filthy self can have her now, I am done with him but I am not done with her. Not yet. I have one last question to ask, "Is your boyfriend even real? Or is he a made-up story so you two can fuck each other without me getting suspicious?" My brows raise. "Is that it?"