A Jar of Vinegar

Despite the fact that the guy who walked in was certainly a feast for the eyes, Lily's gaze was on him only for a moment.

She found more satisfaction watching the couple eat.

Thus, she went to one side and let her employees deal with the new customer while she busied herself at the other side of the counter, rearranging the display.

Lianne put her chin on the palm of her hand, smiling sweetly as she looked at Zero.

"You're really enjoying that cookie, aren't you?"

"It's perfect," he said, "The crunchiness of the cookie, the gooeyness of the chocolate."

"You're dunking it in the milk," Lianne pointed out, "How crunchy can it be?"

"That's the amazing part," Zero gushed, "And it's not too sweet either. It's just right."

He handed her the cookie that he had dunked in the milk, giving her the part that he had not bitten yet. Lianne took a bite, pursed her lips a bit as she chewed and agreed, "Yup, this is a good cookie."

"I know, right?" Zero replied with a smile.

He then reached out and using his thumb, he wiped an imaginary crumb from the corner of her lips, saying tenderly, "Such a messy eater."

He brought the thumb to his lips and sucked on it briefly, as if he put into his mouth what he had wiped off from her lips.

Lianne just smiled, continuing to observe him eat.

Kai, on the other hand, was just glaring at them.

Lily, in the meantime, had stars in her eyes as she watched them.

Such a sweet, sweet couple.

She patted her chest, taking deep breaths as she wondered why it was feeling a bit constricted. There was a slight pain and a small lump in her throat, so she wondered if she was coming down with the flu.

Lily made a mental note to make some warm lemon and honey drink later, and she sighed, as she continued to watch the couple.

It was bittersweet, somehow.

The guy was having the last cookie now, and she saw as the girl shook her head when he offered it to her. She leaned forward to say something to him and he nodded, continuing to eat.

As Lianne passed the counter, she barely gave Kai a glance as she headed to the ladies. Kai watched her past him, his jaw clenched tight as he stared at her back.

It had been excruciatingly painful to see how intimate his Angel was with another man. Sharing a cookie. Having him take that crumb into his mouth like he always did it.

It showed a level of intimacy that twisted his heart and make his head spin. As if that wasn't bad enough, she just ... walked by him ... like he was air?

Sure, she said that they would go their separate ways but she wouldn't even acknowledge him at all?

She was *that* serious in breaking it off all ties with him? Sure, they weren't a couple but at least, they had spent several hours on the plane on their way here.

Kai took a table near the ladies, in a spot that she would have to pass in order to get back to her table. He had his back to Zero while he faced the door of the ladies.

This was so that he would not miss her coming out. He made all sorts of plans in his head on how he would intercept her when she came out.

He ordered one hot latte and waited.

And waited.

He looked at his watch.

Was she doing a #2??

He glanced back to look at Zero,

Who was not there.

In fact, the table was cleared away, which meant that he had been gone for some time already.

Did he leave Lianne behind?

That was not possible.

Kai got up and headed to the counter, towards a girl that was sitting there. He figured the girl would know better as people would naturally be more observant of good-looking people.

"Excuse me," Kai began politely, "Do you know where the silver-haired guy that was sitting there went?"

"Oh? Him?" Lily replied, "He left some time ago to answer a call."

"I see," Kai replied, thinking hard.

It must have been an important call, and Kai was sure he wouldn't leave his Angel behind. But he was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

He glanced at the bathroom door.

Making a decision, he turned to the girl and said, "I'm sorry to bother you but could you check out something for me?"

"Check out what?"

"Well," Kai began a bit hesitatingly, looking worried, "The girl that went to the bathroom just now looked like a friend of mine. So I was waiting for her to come out but she hasn't yet. Could you please…?"

"Oh, you mean that guy's girlfriend? Sure," Lily replied.

Come to think of it, this customer was right.

The girl had been in the bathroom too long. She just never realised it as she had been too focused on observing the silver-haired guy.

Wait.

She glanced at the counter that had all of the take-aways that they had ordered (and had already paid for). The counter was empty.

"Mitch, where are the customer's orders?"

"Oh, those?" Mitch replied, after serving one customer, "He took them."

Lily looked at the Kai, and Kai looked at Lily.

He really did leave his girlfriend behind?!

Lily quickly headed to the bathroom.

To her surprise, it was empty.

It was a small cafe, so the bathroom wasn't big at all. It was actually two stalls in one bathroom, and one sink. She knocked on the cubicle doors and sure enough, it was unlocked and empty.

She went out, puzzled.

"She's not inside," Lily told the guy.

Kai, upon hearing this, cursed inwardly.

He ran out and sure enough, their car was gone.

He closed his eyes, took deep breaths and put his hands in his pockets.

After several minutes, he opened his eyes and started laughing.

Poking his tongue against his inner cheek, Kai entered the cafe again. After making sure that the ladies bathroom was empty, he entered and saw the open window. He went to it and looked out.

It led to an alleyway, where the trashcans were located. He then looked at the window sill, studying it. There was no way that the window wouldn't have been locked, as it would pose a security threat.

Plus, no store owner would not have placed an additional lock for anyone could have unlocked it, and allowed the people from outside to enter.

Sure enough, he saw something that looked like what could be a place for a padlock. Looking around, he saw an open padlock.

Kai pursed his lips.

Just like what his Angel had said, she was not what she seemed.

He knew it.

He knew his gut instinct wasn't wrong.

There was no way he would have fallen in love at first sight with an ordinary woman.

Kai smiled.

Looks like he had a lot of work to do to capture his Angel's heart and steal her away from that annoying silver-haired fly.

Before that, he has to find her first.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

"That was a nice place, wasn't it, Zero?" Lianne asked as Zero was driving her home.

"Yup," he agreed.

Zero was back to his one-word answers, unlike the talkative Zero at the cafe. Lianne wasn't bothered about that, but she was interested in the owner. She made a mental note to look her up for she had a feeling about the lady.

She glanced at Zero.

Maybe his spring has come?

Should she perhaps nudge him a bit in that direction? Maybe she should ask her mother about it. Her mother, Kyle that is, and not her stepmother Hannah. After all, Kyle would know Zero the best and if she wasn't mistaken, her mother had been responsible for getting the other Elite Five members with their current spouses.

Except for Kay, which was actually the result of her, Lianne, intervention.

Zero was very stubborn and would most likely be blind to anything that had to do with romance and love. He was almost as bad as Kyle was, actually. Luckily his wife, Sayuri, was able to finally get through that thick skull of his in the end.

Even though she had to almost die for him to realise it.

And now, they were the most perfect couple ever, and still deeply in love despite the many years of marriage between them. It could be seen in every gesture, word, and look.

If she was ever to find that sort of love, she'd take it ... but she knew that it was not possible. That sort of love was rare. Having a comfortable and safe love was also okay but not for her.

Lianne wouldn't settle for anything less.

She'd rather be single all her life than have the sort of marriage her mother had in her past life. She would only settle for the type that her mother had in this life. She knew that she had set the bar very high but that was just the way it was for her.

Everyone had different expectations and different needs.

Lianne looked at Zero again.

He really did enjoy that cookie.