Esme looked at Rowan, her brows pulled together in sheer confusion as he glanced up at her with a calm, unbothered expression.
Layla crossed her arms, looking between the two of them with a sharp sneer.
“What on earth is going on here?” Rowan offered a smooth, polite smile, pointing a hand toward the open seat.
“Miss Layla, please take a seat.” Esme snapped her head toward Rowan, her voice dropping into a tense whisper.
“What are you doing?” “Take a seat, Esme,” Rowan repeated softly, his tone relaxed yet firm.
“There is no way in hell I’m sitting in the same breathing space as her,” Esme fired back, her chest heaving with annoyance.
Layla rolled her eyes and scoffed loudly.
“Oh, shut up, Esme.” Rowan’s eyes flicked between the two women, his posture remaining perfectly still.
“The noise you two are making is starting to disturb every other person in this room.
I hope you are both aware of that.” Esme glanced around the high-end dining room, catching the subtle, judgy stares of a few wealthy patrons nearby.
Cheeks burning with frustration, she sat down quietly, immediately turning her face away from Layla with a hard frown.
Layla shifted her gaze back to Rowan, leaning slightly over the table as she studied his face.
“Wait…
you’re the man I saw at the bar three days ago.
Are you the one who actually invited me here?” Rowan nodded slowly.
“Yes, indeed.
I am.” Layla’s forehead creased into a heavy frown.
“Why?
What is this?
Are you her lawyer or something?” Esme let out a harsh scoff.
“Please, take a seat first,” Rowan instructed again, his eyes cool and steady.
Layla finally sat down directly across from them, letting out a sharp, mocking laugh as she stared right at Esme.
“What is this, Esme?
Are you seriously going to try and sue me for sleeping with your ex?
Aren’t you married now anyway?” Esme tightened her hands into hard fists beneath the table, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
“Why on earth am I still sitting here?
Why didn’t I just walk away?” Rowan tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
“I’m her husband.
Rowan Carven.
Nice to meet you.” Esme watched him closely out of the corner of her eye.
Layla’s face completely froze, her eyes widening in absolute shock as the words settled in.
“What?” Layla gasped, recoiling against her chair.
“There is no way.
You’re her husband?
Wait…” She stopped, her eyes going even wider as a sudden realization hit her.
“You’re Eli’s brother.” Esme’s breath hitched in her throat, her stomach dropping straight to her feet.
“Oh no.
You stupid, ignorant bitch.” Rowan turned his head to look at Esme, giving her a small, quiet smile.
Esme quickly looked away, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her composure.
Layla gasped loudly again, resting a hand over her chest before breaking into a bitter, incredulous laugh.
“No way.
Wow, Esme…
talk about a massive upgrade.” Esme turned back, glaring at her with cold eyes.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Layla chuckled, leaning her elbows on the table and looking directly at Rowan before turning back to Esme.
“What do I mean?
Look at him!
He’s easily ten times hotter than Eli, and obviously ridiculously rich.
So that’s why you wanted to marry him, huh?” Esme looked at her with pure disgust.
“You are a mad woman, Layla.
A mad woman.” She turned to Rowan, her patience completely exhausted.
“What is all this?
I don’t want to be here anymore.
I want to leave.” Esme started to stand up, but Rowan looked up at her calmly.
“Relax,” he instructed softly.
Layla pulled a piece of gum from her purse, popping it into her mouth and chewing casually as she watched the dynamic unfold.
Reluctantly, Esme sank back down into her chair.
Layla popped her gum and looked back at Rowan, tapping her acrylic nails against her purse.
“So why was I actually invited here then?
Because trust me, I don’t particularly want to be sitting here either.” Esme glared daggers at her, but Rowan remained completely unbothered.
“There was a picture you posted of me three days ago,” Rowan said, his voice dropping an octave, completely devoid of emotion.
“You took it and posted it online without my knowledge or my consent.” Layla looked away, rolling her shoulders nonchalantly.
“So?
What about it?” “I would like for you to delete it,” Rowan replied simply.
Layla burst out laughing, leaning back in her seat like he had just said the funniest joke in the world.
“You have got to be joking right now!
That photo I posted already got over four hundred thousand views.
People in my comments literally think we make such a cute couple.
There is no way in hell I’m deleting it.” Rowan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Esme cut in loudly, leaning across the table toward Layla.
“Oh yes, you fucking will!” Esme snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut through the quiet hum of the restaurant.
“You took a picture of someone without their consent or knowledge, and then you deliberately fed into the false claims that you two were in a relationship instead of denying it.
You will have to compensate my husband, who was the actual victim here!
We could easily take this entire thing straight to court, but…” Layla’s smug expression instantly vanished, her face turning pale and distressed as she listened to Esme’s threat.
“…if you don’t want any of that legal nightmare to happen,” Esme continued coldly, her eyes locked onto Layla’s, “since you practically live off sleeping with men for money, I strongly suggest you delete that photo this exact instant.” Layla frowned deeply, her lips pressing into a thin line.
She hesitated for a long, uncomfortable moment, her chest heaving as she glared back at Esme.
Finally, she aggressively reached into her purse, snatched her phone out, and unlocked the screen.
“Okay, fine!
God, drama much?” Layla muttered angrily, tapping her fingers aggressively against the glass screen.
After a few seconds, she flipped the phone around and thrust it in front of Esme’s face.
“There!
Deleted!
Are you happy now?” Esme offered a sweet, fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes, keeping her glare fixed on her.
Layla pulled her phone back, huffing loudly as she adjusted her shirt.
“It was literally just a harmless photo.
You really didn’t need to make such a massive deal out of it.” She looked around the restaurant, popping her gum loudly again as she slid her phone back into her bag.
“Anyway, if that’s seriously all of this, shall I leave now?
There are a lot of better fish in this sea anyway.” Rowan smiled at her, gesturing toward the exit.
“Yes.
Thank you for complying.” Layla stood up, smoothing down her tight dress.
She looked down at Rowan, her lips curving into a seductive, lingering smile.
“Well…
if she ever turns out to not be enough for you, just know I’m always available.
And I am so good in bed.” Before Rowan could even react, Esme stood up, stepped right around the table, and delivered a sharp, echoing slap straight across Layla’s face.
Layla gasped, staggering back a step as her hand flew to her burning face.
Esme jabbed a shaky, furious finger right at Layla’s nose.
“Keep your damn eyes away from my husband!” Without waiting another second, Esme reached out, grabbed Rowan by his wrist, and aggressively dragged him away from the table.
Rowan didn’t fight it.
A slow, triumphant smirk spread across his face as he let himself be pulled along behind her, watching the back of her head as she stormed toward the restaurant exit.
Esme’s head was pounding, her chest burning with an overwhelming mixture of pure rage and absolute confusion.
“Why am I acting like this?” she thought frantically, her grip tightening around Rowan’s hand as she pulled him out into the afternoon air.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Jael123 Ouuuu, this made my ssa jiggle.
Like girl…
absolute masterpiece.
If yours didn’t, still send it so the magic workss!!