She watches as Drake stops and talks to the hostess, a flirtatious smile and a little wink has her blushing before she points in Cleo's direction. Drake takes her hand and kisses it before he thanks her and walks toward Cleo. He has not changed at all. He is older, sure, but he still has that clean boy look with a shaven face, perfect hair, and a crisp expensive-looking suit. Cleo finds her nose scrunching in disapproval of his clean features. She has never thought of herself as a beard woman but has become strangely attached to Austin's beard. Although, she does not think Drake could pull off a beard. Not like Austin can. The man's beard is a fucking mess but she has found herself wanting to reach out and grab it with both hands, it's espresso brown but has hints of red in it when he stands in the sun. Cleo! Stop! She shakes her head and stands as Drake gets closer to her table - she needs to stop thinking of Austin for five fucking seconds, although she bets Austin would wear that suit of Drakes better.
Damit.
She needs to put thoughts of Austin aside for just one evening. However, just one last thing, Drake has aged and although he has remained handsome it does not compare to how well Austin has aged. They are only ten years older now but Austin won that round. OK, that's the last thought she will have about Austin. She needs to focus on her conversation with Drake.
"Cleo," Drake breathes out when he gets to their table, "it's so good to see you again," he says with a wide smile. That's strange. Cleo always remembers getting butterflies in her stomach when it came to Drake. But, her body does not react in any way, if anything she takes a step back from him. "Hello, Drake. Thank you for meeting with me," she says. "Of course, I had to see you as soon as you woke up. I have missed you terribly," he says stepping closer and drawing her into a hug. Cleo's eyes water from how much calone he has on and when he dips his head to kiss her she turns her head quickly. He gets her cheek and she would be lying if she said his lack of personal boundaries does not irritate her.
"Well..." she says pushing away from him and taking her seat again. "Well, beautiful creature. May I join you?" he says with a slick grin as he pulls out the chair opposite her, she has to actively force herself not to roll her eyes. He makes a show of taking off his suit jacket, draping it over the back of his chair before he smooths out his white suit shirt and flexes the muscles in his arms as he rolls up his sleeves. Drake is a showman, always has been. It used to excite her immature brain. "I must say, Cleo, I never thought I would ever see you again...I am so pleased you have come to your senses," Drake says. That's an odd statement. Come to her senses? "You mean...now that I have woken up from my coma?" she asks. "Uh...yeah. Of course, your coma," he says. She feels a little uncomfortable, but she does not know why, she just does.
"Drake...thank you for meeting here. I appreciate it," she says because she is not sure what to say. "It's all good, baby. I was expecting you to want to find me once you woke up," he says picking up the menu. "Please don't call me baby," she says a little too sternly. That irritated her. Drake's brows rise and he puts up his hands in defeat. The waitress arrives and Drake orders them a bottle of red wine. She hates red wine. Cleo's eyes wander across the words on the menu and she sees they have a chocolate mud pie. She knows Austin would love that. How does she know that? "You ready to order?" the waitress asks. "Yes, I want the steak. Rare. Very rare," Drake says then smiles at Cleo as if he expects her to swoon at that. It's weird.
"And you, miss?"
"Oh...may I have the pasta please and would you mind bringing me a chocolate mud pie in a takeaway container?"
"Sure," the waitress says smiling as she gathers the menus. Cleo is more excited to see Austin's face when she gives it to him than to talk to Drake. He is going to love it. Why does she know that?
"You look good Cleo. I am happy to see you made a full recovery. You had me worried there for a second," Drake says leaning forward and smiling at her.
"It's been a bit of a journey but I am getting there."
"Working at getting your life back?"
"Yeah, something like that...that's where you can help me."
"Of course. I am happy to help in any way I can. I would do anything for you, you know that."
"So, again, thank you for meeting with me Drake. I have some questions..." Cleo says trailing off when the waitress comes back with the bottle of red wine. They sit quietly as she uncorks it and then pours a sip into Drake's glass. Then Cleo covers her mouth and has to stop herself from laughing while he sniffs it and then sloshes it around in his mouth with a very serious face. All she can think about is Austin, and even though he was just messing around at lunch - he still looked better while wine-tasting than Drake. Drake looks like a bit of a tool with his serious face and raised brows. "Is this an Italian wine?" he asks the waitress who gives him a weird look. He should know, he ordered it. "Yes sir," she says politely. "It's good. Fill both glasses please," he says then winks at Cleo as if he is treating her. Once the waitress is gone Drake takes a sip of his wine and gestures for Cleo to start talking again.
"I have some questions...I would like you to clarify some things for me please," she asks. Drake sighs heavily and places his wine glass down. "Cleo...honestly..." he says with a big sigh as if he is getting ready for a standoff with her. She is not surprised, if he cheated then Cleo would have laid into him and they would have hashed out the argument until they were both blue in the face. But, she can't have him talking about things she can't remember so she needs to lay her cards on the table first so they are on the same page.
"Hold on. We are going to be speaking in circles and I won't know what you are talking about. I need you to explain certain situations before we discuss them. You see, I have memory loss from my accident and there are these blank spaces in my brain."
"Memory loss?" Drake asks, sitting forward again, he looks a little too interested in that little piece of information. "Well, yes. I have about a year and a half of memory loss. I have lost the last six months of our relationship," she explains. "You don't remember how or why we broke up?" Drake asks a sly-looking smile spreading on his lips that makes Cleo slightly uncomfortable. But, she shakes her head. "But...you remember me?" he asks, his face curious.
"Well, yes but-"
"But you don't remember Austin."
"Well...no, but-"
"I am not surprised, to be honest," he says leaning back in his chair and looking way too triumphant for a man of his caliber. "You are not?" she asks now curious at his take on this whole situation. "Of course not. What you and I had was amazing. We were crazy about each other. Remember that weekend on my friend's yacht?" he asks, his eyes scanning her body slowly. Cleo bites her bottom lip and smiles. She remembers that. It had been a wild weekend. Drake had been over the top with romantic gestures and had her falling down a rabbit hole with him. Say what you want about the man but he was charming.
"What happened between us, Drake?" she asks. Drake looks sad suddenly, biting his bottom lip and letting his chin wobble slightly. It catches Cleo off guard - she had not expected him to be so emotional over her question. Sharon would not lie to her about him cheating but perhaps it had been a moment of weakness for him and he has carried around eminence guilt for it all these years. Perhaps they were talking and trying to work through it - although now that she has a handle on what her relationship was like with Austin, she doubts it. She does not think she would have been perusing Drake in any way with Austin around.
"You know...I have a lot of guilt when it comes to your accident," Drake says suddenly, sitting forward again and sniffing, he wipes his eyes too but she can't see any wetness from any tears. "You do?" Cleo asks, confused. Why would he have guilt around that? "Well, yes. You were on your way to see me," Drake says reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. What? That does not sound right. She frowns at him and pulls her hand away gently. Something is off and that feeling in her chest is hammering against her ribs double time. "I don't think I would do that...that would have hurt Austin," she says. Austin is not possessive and has always let her make her own decisions but she can't see he would be OK with her meeting up with her ex for a friendly chat - she wouldn't have been OK with Austin doing that.
Drake sighs heavily and leans back in his chair. "He didn't know. We met up behind his back...it was the wrong way to go about it but I knew I needed to save you from him, I could not let you go even after what you did...I still loved you very much."
"After what I did?"
"Cleo...you cheated on me with Austin. It broke my heart. But, I also understood why after I saw the two of you together. He manipulated you. It was like you were brainwashed and when you showed signs of standing up for yourself he forced you to marry him. But, I could not give up on you. Even with a broken heart, I tried to get you back. Tried to save you from that monster."
Cleo stares at him, her mind filling with a million thoughts and her chest burning. Had Sharon lied to her? Why would she lie? Her mother and now Drake are so insistent that Austin has manipulated Cleo. Had he manipulated Sharon as well? Had he been manipulating her entire family all these years? This just did not add up given what Austin had done for her all while she slept. Why would he look after her with nothing to gain? If he was so terrible he would have forgotten about her somewhere in those ten years, but he had not so Drakes words do not make sense. Also, Austin had been nothing but kind and supportive of her since she opened her eyes, and to top it off he was the one that made her meeting with Drake now possible.
The waitress appears with their food and also places the takeaway container down next to her. "That makes the best midnight snack," she says with a grin. Cleo smiles back at her and thanks her for the food then looks at Drake who is cutting up his steak and shoveling it into his mouth. He eats like a child. "Were we happy in our last six months?" she asks. "We were very happy, Cleo...until Austin pushed his way in and then you became a different person," he says with his mouth full as he eats.
"I was unhappy with him?"
"Yes. Very. You were begging me to find a way of saving you from him, but you were afraid of him so we were trying to be very careful. We had a plan and were going to run away on the day of your accident. I still find it very suspicious that you had your accident on that day, at that time..."
"You...you suspect Austin is behind the accident?"
"Yes. Absolutely. Think about it Cleo - why do you think he has hovered around all these years? He was expecting you to die in that accident and when you did not he needed to stay close to be around when you woke up," Drake says. Cleo has lost her appetite and has not touched her pasta, she feels sick. That can't be true. Is that true? Cleo's head is starting to hurt and she feels like she is about ready to burst into tears. She feels so betrayed - by who, she does not know. "Where were you?" she whispers. Drake stops eating and looks at her with a confused face. "If we had this elaborate plan of running away and you were so worried about me when it came to Austin, where have you been these last ten years?" she asks, her voice barely a whisper.
Drake puts his fork down and looks at Cleo with a serious sullen face. "I tried, Cleo. I tried to get control over your medical care. I tried to get Austin away from you but that man is very clever and like I said, he can manipulate well. He had everyone convinced that I was the bad guy and so your family made sure I stayed away. So I did. But, I have been waiting all this time for you. And look, it's me that you remembered. It's me that you came to find. We love each other, Cleo," Drake says. Cleo can feel the tears on her cheeks. She does not want to believe what Drake is saying is true, but she has to admit that Austin has a way with words, so much so that she thinks he is not real at times. He does have complete control, people do as he suggests and never question him. Are her mother and Drake the only two whom he was not able to manipulate and that's why they hate him so much?
This is all very confusing and she does not know what to think. It's very painful too because she had developed very strong feelings for Austin. She trusts him so it's very hard to believe what Drake is saying. Also, that feeling she has in her chest, the one Austin told her to listen to is working over time. It's telling her that Drake is full of shit. She is so confused right now and has no idea what to do, she can feel panic start wrapping around her spine. Drake pushes away from the table and moves his chair close to her then takes her hands in his, she wants to pull away, but she just does not know how to, she feels numb.
"Cleo, I had no doubt you would come looking for me after you woke up and so I waited. It's our time now, we can finally be together and start our lives. Leave with me right now, I know you want to but you are just a little scared. But, you can trust me. You know I will always look after you, I will always keep you safe. Once you are paid out we can travel the world, just you and I. We will be happy. I love you so much," he says and leans forward as if he is going to kiss her. Cleo leans back and frowns. What is he talking about? Paid out? What payout?
"Drake...what do you mean? Paid out? Paid out what?"
Drake rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Of course, he would have hid that from you. You can't trust him, Cleo. Your prenup, it's fucking huge. If you divorce Austin you will get millions and that's not including the massive pay cheque you will get each month from him. He has hidden this from you so you think you can not live without him, but you can. We both can."
Cleo swallows thickly. Drake is a swindler. A man who was always in the middle of every new business venture in LA - the shady ones too, remember. He does not care about her. She does not think he ever did. He is here for a payout. He does not care that he could have screwed with her memories by spinning a fake narrative. She feels sick and angry with herself for thinking Sharon could have lied or that Austin had been anything other than kind and loving toward her. Austin has never had anything other than her best intentions at the forefront of his every decision - unlike Drake, the slimy snake. But, he is an idiot. From what Austin has told her they had nothing when they got married so there is no prenup and even if there was it would not be right that she lay any claim to it. It is not her money.
"I doubt that, Drake. When Austin and I got married we had nothing. I can't see how we would have signed a prenup."
"He drew up a prenup after he got rich. He got bad legal advice that made him legally obligated to give you a large payout. Over twenty million. But, his bad legal advice is our advantage. We could start a whole new life with that. Come on, let's get out of here while we have the chance...come with me...I love you so much."
Cleo's head is starting to hurt again. How could Austin be so reckless? For all he knows she could have refused to have anything to do with him once awake and divorced him. She could run off with Drake and he would have happily given her a fat cheque? Silly boy.
Silly boy...
Cleo does not think the prenup would be public knowledge. She has learned that Austin tends to keep his private life very private given how public his job is. Maybe close family members know about it like her dad or Shaz, but she doubts they would ever give Drake the time of day let alone speak to him about something like that. But, then something in her brain clicks and she knows how he knows. She doesn't get a memory back. But, she does not need one to know it's true. It makes her feel sick.
"Alright, Drake. You are right. We could be together and live a life of luxury. But, we can't leave together, Austin will be watching and he will hurt us both if he catches us. We-"
"Yeah...he punches hard, I will give him that," Drake cuts her off as he rubs his jaw, wincing at a memory. "You go out first and wait in the car for me. I will follow ten minutes later," she says flashing a broad smile at him. "OK, be careful my love, and don't take too long," he says standing up quickly and grabbing his jacket. "I can't wait to finally start life with you," he says gazing into her eyes like a love-sick puppy. He is pathetic, that's all that runs through her mind as he turns and walks out of the restaurant quickly.
Cleo sighs and checks her nails, they are coming in nicely. Soon she will be able to file them into those sharp claws she once had, she likes them like that - it helps avoid long pointless conversations like she just endured with Drake. She sighs again, taking a sip of her wine and checking her watch wondering how long it will take Austin to come out of his hiding place. If she knows him now as well as she thinks she does he would not have been able to stay in the room. He trusts her but is too worried that this might all be too much for her.
After another five minutes, he appears at the table and slides into Drake's old chair. She gives him a soft pointed look and he shrugs back at her with a sheepish face. Silly boy.
Silly boy...
"He tried to get me to run off with him," she says softly. Austin swallows thickly as if he is waiting for her to say goodbye. He really does not think he is good enough for her. It's such a ridiculous notion. Austin is way above her league - everyone knows it. She is fucking lucky she has him. "I chose you," she says smiling at him as a slow smile creeps onto his lips. She picks up the takeaway container and places it in front of Austin. "I got you a chocolate mud pie," she says, her smile soft. Austin grins and takes the takeaway container then stands and holds out his elbow for her which she takes a little too eagerly. "This is my favorite dessert," he says. "It is?" she asks. She knew that. How did she know that? "Yeah, I once too almost fell into a coma after eating about ten of them in one go," he says as they head back up to their suite. Cleo giggles at him and then giggles a little more when he can't hold back and opens the container, taking a bite before they get to the room. The silly boy.
Silly boy...
Why does that repeat in her head? It's always just been there but is now constant.
Austin orders food and they eat it in the lounge in the suite. She is much more comfortable. Drake made her feel uncomfortable and now she knows that the need she had for seeing him was not love it was just a connection to something she once knew. She wishes she had forgotten him altogether. "Austin, I am sorry I put us through that. I didn't mean to hurt you," she says when she gathers the courage to once again apologize to him. He shakes his head and gives her a lopsided smile. "Neither of us knows what the hell we are doing, baby. I find it best to follow my gut, it might be helpful for you too," he says. "I did follow my gut, I followed that feeling in my chest. He said you were manipulating me and he was only ever trying to help me. I can see now why everyone trusts you so much. I am going to trust you now more too. I promise."
"You do what you feel is right for you, the rest will fall into place."
"You punched Drake once, didn't you?"
"I did...broke his jaw..."
"Was it because he would not leave me alone after we got married?"
"No..." Austin says, looking down at his fidgeting hands. He is keeping something from her that he thinks will only hurt her. "Drake cheated on me with my mother didn't he?" she asks and confirms. She knows it's true. Austin looks up and nods his head, he looks very sad for her.
"Why did you punch him? We were broken up by the time you and I met."
"We saw him out in a club one night. He taunted you with it...I lost my shit."
"I bet. That's some fucked up shit right there. My mother has no boundaries when she sets out to teach me a lesson."
"She came onto me once too. After trying to get you to leave me and then seeing she was getting nowhere. Disgusting."
"They are still in cahoots."
"I don't think they talk. She just wanted you to break it off with him...why do you think they are in cahoots? Did Drake say they were?"
"Not in those words exactly. He knows about the ludicrous prenup you set up. He would only know that from my mother. What were you thinking, doing something so silly?"
"I just wanted to make sure you are looked after, baby."
"Austin, I can't take any of that money. If we do not work out and I do end up leaving I am not taking anything from you."
"You will. I will force you. Besides, it's not mine, it's ours. This is the life we built."
"You built it. I slept through it all. It will not be right to take it."
"That is not true. You were part of everything. You were by my side through it all and you had to put up with my whining in your ear."
"I am not going to sign it and I will not take anything. There is nothing you can do to make me."
"You don't need to sign it, your dad signed on your behalf. It's done."
"I. will. not. take. anything."
"Ok...well, why don't we just stay together, and then this whole prenup thing won't even be a topic we need to discuss."
Cleo starts laughing and then nods. "OK, fine. You have convinced me," she says with a wide grin - Austin's grin is just as wide. From now on she is going to work with Austin and trust what he is doing, and if she never gets her memory back she thinks she might just be OK with making new memories with him. “You are much better company," she says giggling when Austin smirks at her. "What? The clean pretty boy look doest do for you, baby?" he asks, his eyes glinting with mischief. "What the fuck was I thinking? Younger me is dying of embarrassment," she says with a groan. "You were 18 and reckless. But, your choice of men changed drastically after him," he says, that stupid grin still on his face. "Oh really?" she asks with a raised brow. "Dare I say you found your prince," he says standing and taking a bow. "More like I found my frog if you ask me," she says now laughing. Austin laughs too and it looks like he is about to jump on her, but he stops himself. She wishes he would, she really wishes he would.