Amber’s POV:
“What the fuck is a Lancashire Hotpot?”, I asked Ethan while scrunching my nose. Ethan smiled at my reaction before saying, “It’s a lamb stew.”
I looked at him with my eyes wide open before asking him, “How do you know that? Have you been here before? When did you come here? The most important question is with whom did you come here? And where was I when you were here?” Ethan laughed while throwing his head back and I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly at him, clearly embarrassed of my impatience.
“Jesus, Amber. I never came here. You remember my aunt Amelia from England? She used to make it for us whenever we visited her. It’s actually a British dish”, Ethan said while taking a sip of water from his glass. I shrugged at him while biting my lower lip and focused my attention back on the menu.
I stared at the menu for another few minutes before giving up on my ability to understand a single word written in it and dropped it on the table. “I give up, okay? I don’t understand any of the names in there. What the hell is a garbage plate? Is that even a real name?”, I said while throwing my hands up in the air.
Ethan took the menu from the table and in the next ten minutes he had already ordered the dinner for us. “Who are you and what have you done to my bestfriend Ethan? He was just as dumb as me and you Mr. , you figured that quantum physics kinda menu in a blink”, I said while folding my legs at the knee and trying to keep a serious look on my face.
Ethan leaned towards me while resting both his hands on the table and said, “Did you forget that I wanted to become a culinarian before I discovered that I am more passionate about designing?” I shook my head in remembrance and pointed a finger at him before saying, “Oh yes! Then lets forget that I ever said anything pointing towards you being remotely intelligent.”
He kicked my foot under the table and a yelp just slipped out from my mouth. The next one hour passed quickly while we busied ourselves in devouring all the delicious food that was served on our table, sipping the ‘cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush’ wine while I tested Ethan’s knowledge on some more weird dish names on the menu and laughing like idiots while looking at the people around us who looked and acted like robots trying to hold a conversation when all they really wanted to do was just go home, drink beer and watch a movie.
I knew that the wine was doing its magic because suddenly everything seemed just fine. Life can be good and Ethan never failed to remind me this.
Ethan made me realize one thing that day and it was that shit happens but you just need one person who helps you to see the good things past them. Life never stops for anybody and the best thing to do is like Ethan said, put on a happy face and let your smile handle the rest.
Ryan had still crossed my mind a million times in the entire day and I seriously had to hold back my tears when I saw a couple sitting on the table next to us, kissing. Ryan and I weren’t couples, infact I didn’t even know if he felt the same way for me but whatever it was, it felt like home.
We left the restaurant around 9:00 at night and a huge smile was plastered on my face. I stopped Ethan from walking any further and hugged him tightly.
“Thankyou, Ethan. Thankyou for never leaving me alone. I don’t know how I would have handled everything if you weren’t here with me. Thankyou for being the brother I never had. I had an amazing time today at the restaurant. Everything that you did for me today just made me feel like a spoilt princess. I love you so much”, I said while tears spilled down my cheeks. Ethan caressed my hair slowly before saying, “You mean the world to me, Amber. I would have spent everything that I had if it would make you smile. I will always be there for you no matter how many people come and leave. Stop crying now. You are ruining that pretty face.”
I smiled at his words and held his hand tightly. “Can we walk for a while before going back home? And is the limo still waiting for us?”, I asked Ethan while looking at him with a small smile on my face.
He squeezed my hand slowly before saying, “Whatever you want, babe. And yes, the limo is still waiting for us.” We walked hand in hand towards the road where the traffic was relatively null and the streets almost seemed empty, the only things highlighted were the big, beautiful and expensive penthouses of NY.
“I wouldn’t regret having a breakup daily if I get treated this way in return”, I said jokingly, my eyes still not leaving the plush neighbourhood. Ethan laughed loudly before saying, “You don’t need to go through a breakup to get treated this way. Get the right man and your whole life will be about sophisticated dinners, cuddle sessions at night and lets not forget the incredible sex afterwards.”
After walking for a few minutes, I slipped the heels from my feet and held them in my hand. Ethan looked and me and just shook his head in what seemed like amusement.
“What?”, I asked him, while pulling him towards the brick laden pavement that seemed like cotton underneath my feet. “You know what I like the most about you? It’s your simplicity which makes you so unique and attractive at the same time. And you don’t give a shit about what people think about you. I mean you are in SoHo, for god’s sake. People here wear designer dresses even when they take their dogs for a fucking walk and just look at you, getting comfortable with what you like and I can bet upon it, if these people see you doing your own thing, they will be jealous of not having enough courage to remove that ‘being cosmopolitan is the new comfortable’ mask even for a second and enjoy what they really like”, Ethan said, still smiling at me.
I blushed at his words and continued walking for another few minutes, none of us speaking anything but the silence was oddly comfortable. After walking for some more minutes, I spotted wooden benches just across the road.
I crossed the road in my bare legs while Ethan ran behind me and we both sat on one of the benches. “So, how are you feeling now?”, Ethan asked me while looking at me intently.
I took a deep breath in an attempt to find the right words to answer his question and said, “Better than I deserve. Just like you said, it will take time but I am ready to accept the fact and move on. I loved him but it isn’t necessary to get the same in return. And I need to accept it that he has a wife that he might not divorce now and also, he will soon have a baby. And you know Ethan, I still can’t forget his face when Khloe told him that she was pregnant. He looked so happy, so himself. And no matter how much it hurts me that we can’t be together but I am seriously happy for him. I really hope that things get better between him and Khloe and they can go back to being New York’s power couple.” Ethan shifted closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder while I laid my head on his shoulder.
He kissed me on the top of my head before saying, “I am so proud of the person you have become, Amber. It takes strength to see the person you love be with someone else, let alone wishing the best for them with someone or anyone who isn’t you. I am so sure that you will very soon find someone who will see their entire world in you. And he will love you as if there was no tomorrow.” I smiled at his words but my heart broke a little knowing that, that person could never be Ryan.
How should I tell Ethan that I have no desire to meet anyone else now? How should I tell him that it was Ryan that I wanted although I knew how stupid that sounded?
He was not mine to have in the first place. Just then my eyes focused on a man across the seat who was sleeping on one of the wooden benches.
“Do you often see tramps in a place like SoHo?”, I asked Ethan, my eyes still focused on the man whose face wasn’t visible because of the street light being angled in a different direction. Ethan followed my area of notice and said, “No. That must be some spoilt brat from this same area who got drunk enough and decided to nap here. Chuck him, it is normal for people here to be this careless.”
But I just couldn’t stop looking at that man. Something about him felt familiar and it wasn’t until, I saw the watch on his wrist then I knew exactly who it was.
It was Ryan. My heart stopped working for a split second, just at the mere thought of Ryan Parker sleeping on the bench like a homeless person.
I dropped my heels on the ground before running towards the other side of the street to confirm my suspicion. Ethan ran behind me and asked me to stop.
I ignored his plead, my eyes never leaving the wrist watch. It was definitely Ryan.
I kneeled on the road next to the bench and turned him around so that I could see his face. All the blood left my face when I saw that it was actually Ryan lying there, his eyes closed but his face was wet with what would be tears.
I looked at Ethan and he just stood there like a robot next to me, who had seen a ghost. I sat on the bench and rested Ryan’s head on my lap.
“It isn’t a spoilt brat, Ethan. It is Ryan fucking Parker”, I said to Ethan slowly.
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Hello guys! I am sorry for updating a day late. I was busy with some other work and so I couldn't update on time. So, did you expect this chapter to end on such a note? What do you think will happen next? Do let me know in the comments section about what you think. Also, we are very near to the end of this book. My next update will be on Wednesday. Do not forget to vote for my book and do share it with your friends and family. Bye♥️