Phone number.

The server came and slid three plates of spicy croakers on the table and Nick helped her with the servings. " Dig in."

Vanessa nodded as she looked down at the spicy crackers on her plate. She couldn't understand why the plates were filled to the brim with spicy croakers was there an overproduction of croakers or something? And what was with this exaggerated amount of chilli and oil? It wasn't that Vanessa was being picky, she just despised anything spicy —— when she was young her father would often scold her when he returned home and saw her eating pastries and cakes.

It was nothing bad and when compared to his habits of hooking up with mistresses left and right but he would often react like she has done something wrong. Sweets aren't for made men—— this was what he would often tell her and then drag her to the kitchen where he would force green chillies down her throat.

He would admonish her saying that she needed to be strong, firm and cruel to herself first before she could be cruel to others. That was what he said but Vanessa knew that her father low key liked torturing her, in his own sadistic way… though he never said it to her face, Vincent Blake was suspicious and like to doubt others at the smallest of slip up.

Just one time her mother shouted back at him, saying that she wished that she didn't love him —— and maybe the God wanted to make a joke out of her, two months later … Boom! She was pregnant with her.

And because Vincent was doubtful of her mother already, believing that she was cheating on him, he never once took Vanessa as his daughter despite her uncanny resemblance to him.

" Are you alright?" Nick's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Vanessa jerked her head up, and shook her head slightly. Though she didn't like spicy things, it wasn't like she would not be able to eat them —— it was just that it will taste like she was chewing wax.

After all, she has eaten so many chillies as a child that she couldn't taste spicy ting on her tongue anymore.

"I am alright," said Vanessa as she picked one piece of spicy croakers and bit into it, see —- she couldn't taste a thing. There was a slight tinge of something on her tongue but that was it. She couldn't taste anything else.

Nick could feel that she wasn't being exactly truthful to him but he didn't try to poke his nose in her business that much after all, they were still practically strangers and looking at her dress that looks like it costs at least a hundred and thousands of dollars, she might not be used to eating outside.

He shouldn't have brought her here, though he didn't know why but he wanted her to smile at him.

Romi who was sitting beside Nick didn't sense the bleak atmosphere around the two of them, instead, she raised her head and waved her phone in front of Vanessa. " Hey sister, why don't we add each other on the Kiki chat? I think I will like to become friends with you."

Then she turned to her brother and asked unhurriedly, " And what about you, will you like to add sister to your Kiki chat? I think you should, this way you would be able to learn a few things from her."

Vanessa whose mood was dampened by the extra chillies that she has to eat, immediately soared as she turned to look at Nick with her eyes shining.

' Ahhh! I am so sorry Romi, that I called you annoying earlier. You are not annoying at all, you are like my little angel!'

Originally, Nick wanted to refuse but then his gaze dropped to Vanessa's face which was lit up like a Christmas tree and he couldn't bring himself to say no to her. He swallowed, it wasn't that he was completely stupid, he was a man in his thirty's and he could sense things like who was interested in him and who wasn't—— and unlike those girls who were completely disinterested in him and were only marrying him because he was the best option they could get at their age…

Vanessa was truly interested in him but why?

He touched his face, as far as he knew there was nothing really enchanting about his average looking face and he wasn't exactly a Prince Charming either. If anything, she was like the literal version of a Princess Charming with an ethereal face, so how come she got interested in him?

Nick clenched his fists, he could of course refuse Romi's suggestion, after all, he knew nothing about Vanessa and she didn't know anything about him either, most probably she was just infatuated with him but ——as he peeped at her excited expression and those dark blue eyes that were shimmering with hope, he couldn't bring himself to say any words that would reject her.

In fact, there was a sort of dejected feeling in his heart when he thought about refusing her.

She was the first woman who was genuinely interested in him, she wasn't looking at him with disinterest and disbelief as if asking —— how can 'this' man reject me?

He licked his teeth and nodded as he fished out his phone. " Sure, if you don't mind, Miss Vanessa!"

" Of course, I don't!" Vanessa beamed as her face broke into a face splitting smile that stunned Nick. He didn't know that a woman can look this pretty when she smiled but that wasn't what made him shocked. Instead, it was her raw and genuine feelings that she wasn't scared of showing that made him stunned, she was actually this happy to get his number?

But why? She was like the rich miss who lived in a mansion and rode a Maybach, even her cheapest accessory was ten times more expensive than his salary.

However, as he watched her diligently copy his phone number into hers, Nick realised that he didn't care about it. It was enough for him to just watch her do that little happy dance every time she copied one number.

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