Chapter 3: Roses

Shane shook his head. His attention was also drawn to the two beautiful women talking a few meters away. He could not take his eyes away from his ex. His feet tapped on the floor, restlessly waiting for Leila to leave her. 

“Lucky you. Don’t miss the opportunities given to you, bro.”

“Of course, you too, bro.”

Julius remained mum as he observed his friend’s back disappear in the distance. 

‘If only he did not cheat. Maybe he and Rui would be married by now.’

With a stoic look, he looked unapproachable. But still, there are people who recognized him as the heir of Crest Fashion Group. And… And as Leila’s ex. 

He smiled and politely talked to the people who asked him to send their regards to Leila. 

Of course, his presence means one thing. 

Leila and him are on good terms. 

After all, who would invite their ex-boyfriend to such an important event like this?

Unbeknownst to him, another watchful eye observed everything that went down. Her hands gripped her mobile phone in disgust. 

“Fucker,” she mumbled. 

“Woah there~ Your word is a little too explicit, Boss Phyllis.”

Taylor Lown joked as he stood behind Phyllis, who was monitoring the live CCTV footage on her phone. 

Phyllis, who was crouching outside the parking lot of the bar looked up and glared at Taylor, clearly not in the mood for laughs. 

Taylor raised both of his hands in resignation. “Oh, don’t glare at me like that! I’m here to ask you one thing, boss.”

“What is it?”

“Leila… Does she like flowers? What kind?”

Taylor’s sly smile creeped Phyllis out which made her blurt out, “Red roses. Go and be done with it.”

“Sweet! Good thing I prepared a variety of bouquets!”

Taylor went to his car to get one of the bouquets he prepared for Leila. Because he did not know what kind of flower she liked, he prepared a variety to choose from. It was a good thing that he saw one of her best friends so he could verify. 

Before going back in, he went to thank Phyllis. “Oh and also, you might want to get up and sit inside. Luna is with me. Do you want to come?”

Phyllis immediately got up and said, “No, thanks!”

She then bolted to her car without looking back. 

‘Weird… I thought she liked Luna?’

“She always misses the opportunity to see her idol…”

Taylor went back inside the bar with a beautiful bouquet of roses. There he saw Leila talking to the members of Luna, an idol group in his company, GEM Entertainment. Rain Lee, Ryder Park, Cassiel Chua, and Zacharias Lohr comfortably sat on the couch with their manager, Eli Lee, and Leila, the star of the night. 

He brazenly squeezed himself beside Cassiel so he could sit next to Leila. 

“Hey, Lei and I are talking!” Cassiel yelped as he was pushed against his will. 

Taylor ignored him as he flashed a sweet smile. “Congratulations, Leila.”

Leila smiled back. “Thank you, Taylor…”

Her eyes focused on the bouquet of roses which were bedazzled with small diamonds. Her eyes twinkled upon the sight of the shimmering stones on the crimson-red flowers that she had always loved. 

Taylor then passed the flowers to Leila and whispered, “The flowers perfectly match your luscious red lips, Lei.”

Leila felt the hotness of his breath on her skin. She could smell his musky and woody scent lingering this close. His beard made him look extra hot and mature. 

‘Mojave ghost really does fit his aura…’

“I like your scent, Taylor… What scent is it?” she whispered back. 

He leaned in closer to her. “I’m wearing a Byredo Mojave ghost…”

“What’s your favorite scent, Taylor? Maybe I could add it to my collection.”

Taylor’s soft chuckle tickled her ears. Despite the loud roaring music in the bar, his sultry laughter filled her mind. 

“That would be my fresh from the bath scent,” he joked. 

His mischievous lips curved. “Would you like to try?”

Leila giggled at his flirty words. 

‘Nice try, flirt!'

She tapped his nose with her forefinger. 

“Oh, I’d love to,” she flirted back. 

Her confidence and seductive smile took Taylor aback. Women always acted shy and coy with him. He liked playing with innocent and cute girls. He prefers innocent girls who would dilly dally and drag things over. It’s a bit tiring but he loves the thrill of making the girls submit and leave everything for him. 

He loves the thrill of the chase.

But Leila’s straightforward and flirtatious response took him aback. Just a minute ago, she was giggling shyly. However, her responses suggested something. He never expected that she would be whispering those words back. 

He felt a little itchy in his chest as he tried to compose himself. 

‘Why is she…’

“But it’s fine if you don’t want to, Taylor. I can try to smell it myself some other way.”

He froze. 

One minute she’s hot. 

The next minute she’s cold. 

She pushed herself to him and then pulled back in just a few seconds. 

‘Leila… You’re playing games with me.’

Taylor took a shot of whiskey on the rocks. “No takebacks, Leila. Why don’t we make it happen?”

Leila held the flowers before standing up. “Hit me up, and we’ll see how it goes, Mr. Lown.”

Leila’s curvaceous body made Taylor pause and take a shot. 

‘F*ck, she’s so sexy!’

“I’ll get going now.”

“Lei, text me, alright!” Cassiel shouted at Leila. 

Leila nodded while waving her hand. “Got it, babe!”

Zacharias also rose up and went to Leila’s side. “Where’s Rui?”

“With her husband,” Leila answered as a matter of fact. 

Clink.

Taylor placed the shot glass back on the table. “I suggest you do not look for Rui, Zach.” 

“Why? Where’s my nephew?” Zacharias asked. 

“Beatrice took him home, Zach.”

Leila answered before leaving the group. 

The night is still young and yet she never felt more tired. She walked out of the bar and went straight to her atelier. In just a few hours, the atelier was clean, as if nothing big happened in her place. 

Her mind was blurry as she lay on the couch inside her office. In her arms, she held the roses that Taylor had given earlier. It shone brightly in the dark and gloomy room.