Beyond The Echoes Of You

Chapter 10

Anthony was just dropping May off at work. "I'll be on time to pick you up, okay?"

May smiled. "Sure, thank you and have a good day at work." She replied.

Anthony was just leaving when a black car pulled up in front of the cafe and Mike stepped out of the car. A huge frown instantly appeared on Anthony's face, and he balled his fists in rage, the event of last night flashing through his mind, fueling his anger even more.

Mike only smirked when he saw the expression on Anthony's face, he didn't say anything to either of them, rather he simply walked into the cafe.

"I should take a break from work today." Anthony said.

"Anthony! You're doing too much. I thought we both agreed that we're going to ignore him. You're not taking any break from work so you better start going or you'll be late. I can take care of myself." May replied. "It's not like he's going to do anything to me." She added.

"How did he even know you work here?"

"It's just a coincidence. This is where he usually gets his coffee and now I happen to be working here, so it's just a coincidence." May clarified.

"I should—"

"Get going." May hurriedly interrupted, then she gave him a gentle push. "I'll see you later, have a good day." She waved him goodbye before going into the cafe.

As May walked into the cafe, her gaze met Mike's, who had been staring at her since her arrival. He flashed a charming smile, but she ignored him and headed to change into her uniform.

After returning, Susanne assigned May to take orders from waiting customers. May attended to each table efficiently, saving Mike for last. "Your order, Sir?" She asked, forcing a polite tone.

Mike ordered an iced americano and a slice of chocolate cake. May nodded and left to prepare his order. When she returned with his order, Mike complained, "I didn't order this."

May's brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, Sir. You ordered one iced americano and a slice of chocolate cake."

Mike pushed the plate away. "I don't eat chocolate cake. Take this away and bring me a red velvet cake instead."

May's eyes narrowed, sensing Mike's intention to annoy her. She calmly apologized and replaced the chocolate cake with a red velvet cake.

However, Mike wasn't satisfied. "I think I'll prefer a sponge cake to this." He said, his expression innocent.

May's frustration boiled over. "But you ordered the red velvet cake! Why change it again?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice down.

Mike shrugged. "I hate red velvet cake."

May's anger simmered. "That's no way to talk to a customer." Mike scolded, his smirk fueling May's irritation.

Through gritted teeth, May said, "You're wasting my time and the time of other customers waiting."

Mike shrugged again, and May reluctantly replaced the red velvet cake with a sponge cake. As she placed the new order on the table, she glared at Mike, daring him to make another request.

Mike held her gaze, then smiled. "Thank you."

May scoffed, relieved that the ordeal was over, and quickly left to attend to other customers.

Mike literally spent the whole day at the cafe as he not only enjoyed watching May work, but also annoying her.

As the last customer left, May approached him, her politeness wavering. "It's time to close. You should leave."

"Get changed, I'll take you home."

May scoffed. "Like that would ever happen. I already told you to stay away from me, doing all this won't get you anywhere. You literally spent the whole day here. Why would you do that? Don't you have better things to do?" She asked in annoyance.

"I'm on a break." Mike replied, getting up from his seat.

"What an awful way to spend your day off." May said with an eye roll. "You should leave because I'm closing the cafe soon, and I don't need you to take me home because my friend will be here soon." May said before walking away.

Mike knew Anthony wouldn't show up, thanks to the strings he had pulled. He had discovered where Anthony worked and, through his connections, arranged for Anthony to be kept late at the office. Luckily for him, he was friends with Anthony's boss, and that's the reason he was able to do what he did.

As May closed the cafe, Mike followed her out. She ignored him, pretending he wasn't there, and texted Anthony. When he didn't respond, she called him.

"Hey, I'm just calling to let you know that I've closed from work."

Anthony answered, apologetic. "I'm so sorry, May. I've got a ton of work to finish, and I won't be able to pick you up tonight."

May's disappointment was palpable.

"I'm really sorry, May. I didn't mean for things to go this way." Anthony apologized.

"It's fine, it's not your fault, just focus on work and I'll try to get home myself."

"You should take a taxi, just tell the driver your location and he'll drop you right in front of the apartment."

"Sure." May smiled wearily. "Good luck with work, and try to take a little break, don't overdo it." She said, her voice laced with concern.

"I will, get home safe, okay?"

"I will." May bids him goodnight before hanging up.

"Ready to head home?" Mike asked, but May ignored him, instead flagging down a taxi. Just as she was about to get in, Mike swiftly closed the door and instructed the driver to leave.

May's frustration boiled over. "What's wrong with you?! Why did you do that?"

Mike shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm trying to save you some money. Why take a taxi when I can give you a free ride?"

May's anger intensified. "I've already told you I don't want a ride from you! What's your problem? Are you stalking me? Is someone paying you to harass me?"

Mike's expression remained calm. "I'm not being paid to do anything. I just want to be friends with you. And until you agree, I'm not going anywhere."

"In your dreams, at first I thought you were someone who's sensible and nice, but now I know you're just a jerk!" She spat.

Another taxi happened to be passing by, and she flagged it down, but Mike did the same thing again. May ignored him, not wanting to give him the attention that he was seeking. She flagged down two more taxi's, but Mike repeatedly did the same thing over and over again.

May balled her fists in rage, bitting her bottom lip in frustration.

Meanwhile, Mike was enjoying the whole thing, he knew what he was doing was crazy, but he couldn't stop. He can't even leave her alone even if he wanted to, not when seeing her and being with her reminds him so much of his late girlfriend. May's presence was a bittersweet reminder of what he had lost, and he found himself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Despite the chaos he was causing in her life, Mike couldn't bring himself to leave her alone, not when being with her felt like a connection to his past.

Mike's grief was affecting his mind, causing him to act strangely and obsess over May. His fixation on her was taking over, and he was losing control.

May quickly flagged down another taxi, determined to escape Mike's meddling. As he attempted to intervene again, she forcefully pushed him aside and delivered a sharp slap to his face. "I've had enough of you ruining everything!" She spat, her eyes blazing with hatred.

Without another glance, May jumped into the taxi, and the driver sped away. Mike's cheek stung, but he couldn't muster any anger. Instead, he smiled wistfully as he touched his cheek. "She got away.'' He whispered to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Mike walked back to his car, got in, and drove off into the night.