Someone To Hold

Chapter 2

It was after lunch when Daniela Snow finally disappeared in the condo.

Andrea looked at her clock on the wall to see that it's already 2 pm. She couldn't write at this time of the day since she mostly writes stories in the Dream Writer platform in the morning with her fresh ideas on what plot she's planning to write.

She shoves her way towards her work table. With its simple set-up, a rectangular table and a single wooden chair patterned by a simple sunflower design at the back. In the table, from the left side of the table lies the accessories of her gadgets including the charger of her laptop and her phone which are properly arranged since that's where the wire outlet is positioned. Furthermore, from the right side of the table lies the complete set of pencil, pen and markers arranged by box and 2 piled notebooks. Lastly, the center of the table where her laptop lies in an adjustable stand was positioned.

After cleaning her chair, she sits and stretches her fingers before opening her laptop. When the laptop is ready to function, she checks her social media first before opening her Dream Writer account to check on her beloved stories.

Andrea checks on her message box if someone left a message to her. Unsurprisingly, she saw that she is the main topic to their own squad group chat named Squad of Lunatics.

The admin of their very own group chat is none other than Angel Harly Forrester. A young woman who acts as their mother in the group and one of the wealthiest chefs in Denvor City. She owns a five star restaurant since her skills in cooking are extraordinary and her food is beyond delicious making it the top 2 most luxurious and extravagant restaurant in the country.

Andrea sometimes wonders why she is surrounded with wealthy women while she's just a mere writer.

She is about to respond to the disastrous conversation in their group chat when she's suddenly met with a raging lion mother, Angel.

Angel: [ What the f**k happened to you, Andrea Nicole? Are you chasing your own death! ]

Kendys: [ Now, now. Don't be so harsh, Angel. Daniela said she's just over fatigue. ]

Angel: [ That's not what I'm worried about, you dumb b***h! I was worried that she would end up unconscious in the freakin' street. If something happened to her in that place? What can we do about it? ]

Jenevic: [ Come on girls, it's all in the past now. The important thing is that Andrea's alright and well. ]

Ladyheart: [ That's right! Besides, there's someone who saved her that day. Daniela said it's a guy. I wonder who might that be. ]

Lucille: [ Maybe he's handsome. Lucky Andrea. ]

Daniela: [ Or maybe he's ugly that's why he won't show his face. Unlucky Andrea uwuu..]

Andrea: [ Are you chasing your death too, Daniela? ]

Daniela: [ Oh come on, babe. Don't be so silly. Death won't come near me. I'm mesmerizing, he might fall in love. ]

Andrea: [ I think you're the one who needs to go to the hospital, b***h! Also, girls I'm fine now and I'll be careful from now on so I won't end up in a freaking street.]

Although I never really ended up in the street. The man just spouts lies so I have to deal with it. She thought.

Angel: [ You sure have to be VERY careful from now on. If you don't want to live anymore, just contact me and I'll hire a private sniper for you babe.]

Kendys: [ The f**k are you saying, Angel. You sounds like you're trying to kill Andrea early. ]

Jenevic: [ And what the heck!? You're a chef Angel yet you can hire someone for a kill? You're quite dangerous.]

Angel: [ Don't act innocent, Jenevic. Your family owns a private military group with skilled military men and you're saying I'm dangerous? Please.. Besides, money can buy anything now so why bother?]

Ladyheart: [ Enough. You all are going out of the main topic.]

Andrea didn't bother to continue meddling in the conversation of these fine young lass but each have their own hidden agendas. Well, she wouldn't care about it at least they are all good friends.

She closed her social media account and went to click the Dream Writer platform to see through her account.

She had 40 stories, all with millions of reads and votes. Her 20 stories won some awards and some of her very famous stories have been published. The sales are high. Her remaining stories are pending for publication and maybe another five of her stories will have their own books next month.

Due to her achievements in the field of literature, she became one of the famous writers in the country. Although she's not that rich just like her friends, she still has the guts to stand in their circle of friends.

Andrea has been busy in writing her 101st story entitled Linked Horizon. It is what she's been working on for this week. However she's been caught up with dealing with her own nightmares that she sometimes forgot to update.

After looking at the notifications and messages she got from her readers, she got overwhelmed with happiness. Well, there are still people who appreciate her existence. That's why she really loves her readers since they are the ones pushing her to move forward and grant them amazing stories.

....

Andrea woke up from a short nap and turned to look at the clock beside her. 7 pm.

She sits in her bed with her messy hair thinking what to have in dinner.

"Hmm, maybe I'll just go to Angel's restaurant. I'm not in the mood to cook right now. "

She got out from her dressing room wearing a black jumpsuit paired with a red sandal. Because a bold sandal can take any classic black outfit up a notch. It brightens her ankle boot that gives a simple yet elegant aura of a lady. She also hooked a red handbag to put her other accessories.

A light make up will do. It's a restaurant she's heading to, not some kind of a party. Haha.

She picked the car keys and stride to the elevator. It's not that chilly night so her outfit is fine.

As she walks towards the parking lot, a security guard greets her.

"Good evening, Miss." He said with a smile.

She smiled back and nodded gently. "Good evening as well, Mr. Edison."

She saw him nodding her back.

Finally, she reached the parking lot and looked for her beloved car. Nelliel.

In the corner of the parking lot, a beautiful car can be seen. A midnight black Mercedes-Benz 2018 model. Looking luxurious but the truth is it's a car gifted to her by the whole squad on her birthday.

Although she didn't want to accept such an expensive gift, the girls pretended that they heard nothing and didn't pay any attention to her.

"Hello, Nelliel. Looking like a bad boy huh. It's been a while since I used you. Now show me what you got."

She opened the door and sat comfortably in the driver's seat. She started the car and it roared. A grin flashed in her beautiful face.

After 20 minutes of driving, she reached the Forrester Restaurant. The restaurant is not that far from her condominium.

She parked her car in the parking lot and looked at the mirror for a bit before going in.

She didn't inform Angel so she probably doesn't know Andrea's in her restaurant. She sat at an empty table in the center and looked at the menu.

As she was looking at some dishes on the menu, she noticed in her peripheral vision that someone was sitting by her side.

Unlike Daniela Snow who is a stem-thin lady, Angel Forrester is a curvy babe. Noting she had a clean, heart-shaped face with soft green eyes, and not too tall. She was cute, a girl-next-door type of way. Her dark brown and long hair falls to her shoulders with a wavy effect. She's wearing a statement blazer paired with skinny jeans.

Oh-uh. She might be beautiful when she's calm but when she goes in rage, she's like an angry lioness.

A furrowed eyebrows is what Andrea noticed when she looked at Angel with her crossed arms and legs.

I screwed up. Real bad.

"And what is Miss Andrea doing in my restaurant?"

She's like a wild lioness staring at her prey. Andrea gulped before answering with a calm smile.

"I'm here to eat the most delicious meal for dinner prepared by the famous chef Angel Harly Forrester."

Andrea thought she's out of trouble when she said those words but as for her surprise, Angel still looked pissed.

"Don't mislead me, babe. So you don't wanna talk about what the f**k happened to you!? huh?" She's angrier now.

Guess Andrea must calm this lioness first before she can have her peaceful dinner.

"For a beautiful chef like you, you sure have a foul mouth huh. Besides, it's not that I don't want to talk about what happened to me. I just thought that it's in the past now and I'm fine. That's all that matters."

Maybe because Angel is tired of being angry when Andrea sees her calming herself down.

Andrea reached for Angel's hand on the table and squeezed it a bit.

"Don't worry, Angel. I won't repeat the same mistake ever again, okay?"

She swept my hand away lightly and looked at me with a disgusting expression.

"Get your hand off me. You're freaking me out."

She just laughed off what Angel said and after looking at Andrea laughing, Angel couldn't hold back her laughter too.

Looking at both girls laughing together at a table, many guests looked at the two young lass with amazement.

"Oh.. What beautiful young ladies. It's really good to be young." An old wealthy looking madam said at the other side of the table.

"That's Angel Harly Forrester, right? The owner of this restaurant. She's so beautiful. Also, the other one, I thought I've seen her somewhere." said the other woman at the same table with the old wealthy looking madam.

"She's Andrea Nicole Bennett. A famous writer in the country. I've read her stories and they are really good. Well, big time people bond together ey?"

Not minding what the other people say about them. The two young ladies chatted about their own businesses.

In the middle of the conversation, Andrea suddenly felt her stomach growling a bit. She must have forgotten why she's here in the first place. Angel noticed it and stood up.

"Wait here, I'll prepare your favorite dish." Angel said as she walked inside the kitchen.

Andrea just smiled at her friend's back and waited for her meal to arrive.

While waiting, she suddenly felt bored and browsed her cell phone. She played the 4 pics 1 word game on her phone.

She was about to guess the word when she heard a commotion. She held her head up and turned to her side. She saw a man wearing a suit and a not so beautiful lady arguing at each other at the entrance of the restaurant.

The man was looking outside of the restaurant so Andrea didn't have the chance to see the man's face but based on his features, he looks like a foreign man.

Arghh! Couples. Why can't they shut the hell up. Andrea thought to herself. Since they're just strangers, she continues what she is doing and solves the level of the game on her phone.

After a minute, she noticed that the argument of the couples was getting more intense so she couldn't hold herself back and turned her gaze to two figures.

To her surprise, the guy who is now facing her direction and walking with big strides towards her. The lady is following him. She felt a slight familiarity to the man.

The most surprising thing is...he sits next to her. Andrea is in a state of a shock, not knowing what's happening.

The lady following the man beside Andrea widened her eyes and stared at her angrily.

"Who is this, Xeno?" The lady said she's on the verge of disgust.

"She's my new girlfriend. I told you already, your best friend Ashley is not here anymore. I can't just keep on lingering around with a ghost. Stop pestering me anymore, we're not even close." The man said with a deep and husky voice.

Andrea's feeling of familiarity grows stronger and her gut is telling her that she has met this man long ago.

After analyzing the situation, Andrea came to understand. However, she's still shocked about why he came here.

"What are you--" The man stopped her with his index finger touching her lips. This simple gesture makes Andrea's heart beat faster.

"You already ordered our meal, darling? Thank you for waiting for me. I should not have arrived late."

Darling? What the f**k? A cringy call sign is what he came up with? What is with this man, he's freaking hilarious. She furrowed her beautiful eyebrows and she stared at the man beside her. He looked handsome with his suit coupled with his expensive look as he stared at her with a grin on his face.

"Damn, Xeno. You replaced Ashley with this b***h? Are you f*****g blind? Did your taste in ladies suddenly drop after you met Ashley?" The lady pointed at her.

Andrea suddenly felt insulted that she couldn't hold herself in meddling to the matters of both strangers.

"Put down your finger, lady. I hate it when someone points their finger at me. I might not hold myself and cut that finger of yours." Andrea said in a cool manner.

The lady smiled deviously like she wants to have a fight with Andrea.

"And who do you think you are? You're just one of Xeno's useless women. Look at yourself, you even cannot be compared to Ashley.``

Andrea is already at her limit. She looked at the lady coldly. The lady felt a slight chill that she wanted to shiver.

"Just like what my boyfriend said, whosoever Ashley of yours is already dead. And you said that I cannot be compared to Ashley? Of course I'm alive and hot while she's dead and cold. Now, do you understand the difference? Or do I have to explain further details?" Andrea said with an insulting manner.

"Oh and by the way, you're beating the bush here. Why don't you get out of her and shut that big mouth of yours that your lipstick didn't even match your ugly face. Me and my boyfriend wanted a peaceful dinner date and you're ruining it. Get out or I'll call the guards to shove you out of here. Choose."

After Andrea said those words, the people around them looked at her with admiration. After hearing some painful remarks from Andrea, the lady is on the verge of crying. Her eyes reddened and she didn't know what to reply to Andrea.

Feeling ashamed and insulted. The lady turned her head once again to Xeno.

"I'll get back to you and pester you even more. You just wait." After saying something to Xeno, the lady who felt lost walks towards the exit door and gets out crying.

Witnessing what happened, the guest cheered for Andrea with full of positive remarks.

Andrea didn't mind what the people said to her and directed her gaze to the man sitting beside her, who was also amazed about what happened.

She looked at him coldly and she saw him rubbing his arms like he's feeling chills.

"Ohh... It's kind of cold here, are their air-conditioning malfunctioned?"

Before the man said any further words. Andrea spoke at last, driven by her anger.

"Who the f**k are you and why are you here?.....Darling?" Andrea emphasizes the call sign that disgusted her.

The man laughed at what she said. Loudly. But still his voice is sexy.

Andrea hides her emotions well so she hides her amused expression and continues showing her pissed face.

After a minute of laughing, the man finally wiped his tears because of laughing with a gentle manner.

"Aheermm.. First of all, I want to thank you about earlier. I--"

"Save your thank you. Get out of my sight. You're still a stranger to me so I don't want to be with someone I don't--"

"Let me finish first." Xeno cuts her sentence. Left with no choice, Andrea silenced herself.

"I want to thank you earlier. I know you might be confused about everything. She's the best friend of my ex, Ashley who died 1 year ago. She kept pestering me that she's not dead since they didn't find her body. Of course, they might not find her body because of the intense fire that time, it must have been turned to ashes." Xeno explained the details but Andrea didn't care that much.

"So in short, you used me to get rid of her. Have you heard what she said? She's coming back to you." Andrea replied.

Xeno rubbed the back of his neck like he's in a very annoyed state.

"I know. That's why I have a proposal." He grinned deviously at Andrea and crossed her arm like some kind of a manipulator businessman trying to negotiate about business.

"I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend until she stops pestering me, anymore."

Is he crazy? Tell me he's crazy. No, he's more than crazy.

"The f**k does that shitty mouth of yours is spouting some nonsense words."

He laughed coldly at her reply.

"For a beautiful woman like you, you sure have a foul mouth. What an angel in disguise. Don't worry, you're just paying back what you owed me." He stared at her coldly. Now she's the one feeling chilly.

Andrea's heart beats fast as she already knows where she met this man.

"Do I know you for me to do anything you said? I don't remember meeting someone arrogant like you."

Andrea is afraid what might happen next so she doesn't let down her guard.

He slowly leaned to whisper to her ear. As he whispers to her side, she can feel the heat of her body rise up.

"Payback time, suicidal maniac."