AFTER I WAS LEFT ON THE ALTAR

CHAPTER 7: I ALREADY HATE HIM

(Alanni’s POV)

“You're going where? With who? For what??” I screamed into my phone, completely annoyed. Who does this man think he is? He feels he can walk in and order my best friend around, right?.

“Thalia baby..” I cooed.

“Absolutely not,” she replied from the other end.

Oh, come on.

“I didn't even say anything; hear me out first”, I said slowly.

“Okay, go ahead.”She replied.

“Take me with you, I'll show that-” Thalia's sharp voice cut me off

“Hell no”, I pouted as I heard her response.

“Nini, I have to go; the rice will burn.” And Thalia immediately hung up.

I was about to toss my phone in frustration, but then I quickly remembered the price and placed it back. I just got back from work in Germany, and this is what greeted me.

How fascinating.

I really wish Thalia would rely on me more. I really want to help, but she keeps insisting she'll build her dream from scratch, and it's really annoying to watch her struggle while I'm stuck here living a better life.

I feel like a failure as a best friend. I completely disgust myself. My stomach grumbled loudly, and I sighed as I had no interest whatsoever in entering that kitchen.

I hailed a cab to my favorite restaurant. As I reached the cozy Japanese restaurant, I felt myself relax completely.

The familiar scent of broth, grilled meat, and freshly cooked noodles greeted me the moment I stepped inside. Warm lights glowed softly against wooden walls while quiet conversations drifted through the air, creating the kind of comforting atmosphere that instantly relaxed my shoulders

I waved a waitress over, picked up the menu and ordered some ramen with extra eggs and Okonomiyaki. I was too hungry to care if I would be judged because of the quantity, but I could see them dare to say s**t to my face.

The waitress gave me a smile, which I returned because she looked so cute. About five minutes later, a bowl of ramen and Okonomiyaki was placed before me.

Out of habit of watching a lot of anime, I giggled to myself before bringing my hands together and saying “Itadakimasu”.

A man sat several tables away with black hair and unusually grey eyes. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he had been watching me. If anything, he looked perfectly comfortable being caught.

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly left my skull. For some reason, the man chuckled, which irked me.

I focused back on my food, enjoying every flavor coming from it. Though I knew I felt eyes on me, who gives a f**k anyway?

I finished my food minutes later, then I went to the counter to order a drink for the road.

“One Calpico, please”, was what I wanted to order, but it wasn't my voice that spoke.

I turned around and met the same grey eyes that were slowly starting to irk me.

“I would also like a Calpico, please.” The waiter looked between both of us, and I instantly knew what she was gonna say next.

“I'm so sorry, we only have one left” Just as I thought. I turned towards the man behind me and gave the sweetest smile.

“You would let the lady take it, wouldn't you? You are right behind me in the line, so I have the right to order first”. I spoke, maintaining the sweet smile on my lips.

“Absolutely not, I said the order first, and I'm a regular here”. My smile twitched

After all my efforts to smile at this stranger, he still ignored me. I decided to drop the act and just be myself.

I walked up to him until we were eye to eye and whispered, “If you don't give me the calpico I ordered the-”

“Then what?” He interrupted me

He. Just. Interrupted. me.

“Then I'm going to create a scene in this place, telling everyone that you hired someone to kidnap our baby” I smirked

“You're bluffing, there is no way yo-” He got cut off by my sobbing, which I'm sure drew a lot of attention because the place suddenly went silent. I bit back a smile that would dare ruin the show.

“How could you?” I said, looking at his confused face as he kept on saying to everyone around that he didn't know me.

“ What are you saying?” Mr Grey's eyes laughed nervously, looking at everyone watching.“I actually don't even know her”.

“After everything we have been through”, I said in between my sniffles.

“We have been through nothing!”Mr. Grey said, almost defeated.

Serves you right. When I was trying to be civilized with you and asking politely, you thought you could just wave me off huh? Let's turn it up a bit.

“Our baby, you told me to ab-” I was cut off by his hand that covered my mouth. “I understand, so you can take the calpico”

I smiled to myself and bit his hand off me, watching in satisfaction as he winced in pain. I decided to push my luck a bit further “So will you pay too?”

“Why would I-” he paused when he saw me inhale sharply. “Yes, of course I would buy the drink for a beautiful lady”, he said through gritted teeth.

He walked up to the counter and paid for the calpico, then handed it over to me, which I accepted with a smile on my face.

I walked out of the store, ignoring the glare he had on his face, so I decided to take a walk for a while.

I considered calling Thalia once more to test my luck, but I'm sure she would hang up this time mid-sentence.

I didn't want to go to my apartment yet, so I decided to just walk in the park not far from here. I entered the park and the cool air touched my skin.

Children laughed somewhere in the distance while couples occupied several benches beneath the trees. The entire place looked peaceful.

I had barely taken a few steps when a sharp yelp shattered the calm atmosphere.

My head snapped toward the sound.

A small brown dog stumbled onto the pavement, limping badly on one of its hind legs.

My heart immediately dropped. Just ahead of it, a motorcycle sped away without slowing down once.

"What the hell is wrong with people?" I muttered under my breath.

Without thinking twice, I tossed my half-finished Calpico into a nearby trash bin and hurried toward the dog. I crouched slowly, careful not to startle it.

"It's okay."

The trembling animal stared at me with frightened eyes before immediately limping backward.

I stopped.

The dog stopped.

I took another step.

The dog took another step.

Apparently, we were playing a game.

Wonderful.

"Listen," I said patiently, "I'm trying to help you."

The dog clearly disagreed

Why?

I tried again. And again. And again.

I even used my trump card that I only use on Luna, and he still didn't budge.

But it just for some reason didn't want me near it. I heard a chuckle behind me and turned to see those grey eyes once more.

“ You know you're not supposed to force it, right,” he spoke with a hint of mockery

“Did I ask for your opinion? And are you following me?” I replied sharply

“Not at all. Why the hell would I follow you?”

“Then why are you talking?” I said as I stood to face Mr grey eyes

“Oh, cause this is painful to watch”, He said flatly.

We both went silent as we watched the dog slowly limp right past me and towards Mr Grey Eyes' direction, and then rubbed his head on Mr Grey Eyes' leg. My mouth fell open in disbelief.

“I like this dog; it has good taste in humans” A smirk rested on his lips that made me want to smack it off.

I tried reaching out to touch it gently, but it hid even more behind Mr Grey Eyes. I felt my heart drop, but I just brushed it off.

“How unfortunate”, Grey eyes said at the verge of laughing.

“What's unfortunate is your face”, I snapped back.

For the first time all evening, he actually let out a laugh, which should have annoyed me, but the sound caught me completely off guard.

Not because it was particularly special, but because he looked like the type of person who rarely laughed.

Unfortunately, it suited him like hell. I would never say that.

“You know what, just take the stupid dog to the vet”

“I hate both of you; the dog isn't even special”, I said, annoyed, wanting to leave, but not before trying to pet it one last time.

I crouched down and reached my hand out slowly. It stared at it for the longest, and just when I was about to give up, the dog finally came closer to me and rubbed its fluffy head on my palm. I was this close to tears.

I looked up to Mr. Grey with a smile on my face just to see he was smiling at me too.

“Your face makes me wanna gag,” I said, making some gagging noises just to irritate him.

“Just go away”

“You don't have to tell me twice; I can't spend another second here before I spoil my reputation,” I replied sweetly.

I turned around and walked away, having a feeling that I'd meet him many more times after this.