Chapter 6 Confronting An Ex
They found a small table near the window. Amelia placed her bag on the chair beside her and sat down without looking at him.
Nathan took the seat across from her but didn’t stop watching her face.
She avoided his eyes deliberately.
A server approached with a polite smile. “Good morning. What can I get you?”
“Black coffee,” Amelia said quickly.
“Same,” Nathan added without looking away from her.
When the server left, silence settled between them.
Nathan leaned back slightly, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “Are you going to ignore me the whole time?”
Amelia kept her gaze on the window, watching people pass by outside.
“I’m asking a question,” he added lightly.
She adjusted her glasses, pretending deep interest in something across the street.
Nathan tapped his fingers slowly against the table. “You know, this silent treatment thing? It only works if I care.”
She turned to look at him finally. “Good.”
His lips curved slowly. “Actually, I do.”
Her eyes narrowed, searching for the joke.
“You’re dramatic,” he continued calmly. “And stubborn. And you pretend you don’t care about things when you clearly do.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I know enough.”
She crossed her arms, straightening in her chair. “This is a professional meeting.”
“It can be both.”
“It can’t.”
Nathan leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table. “I asked Dr. Grant not to change you.”
She stiffened. “Why?”
“Because I want you.”
Her breath caught for the smallest fraction of a second.
“For the assignment,” he added smoothly.
She exhaled sharply. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m being honest.”
“No, you’re arrogant.”
He smiled faintly. “I know you can help me.”
“That’s not your decision.”
“Yes, it is.”
She leaned forward too now, eyes flashing. “You think everything bends to you.”
He tilted his head slightly. “No. Just some things.”
“And I’m one of them?”
He held her gaze without flinching. “You could be.”
Before she could respond.
A familiar voice cut through the air behind her.
“Amelia?”
Her stomach dropped instantly. She knew that voice. Slowly, she turned.
Connor walked toward them, the same confident stride, the same casual smirk playing on his lips. A tall, perfectly styled girl clung to his arm.
Amelia stood automatically, her movements stiff as she adjusted her glasses.
“Connor,” she said evenly.
He glanced at the table, then at Nathan, then back at her. “Still coming here?”
She swallowed. “I like the coffee here.”
He laughed softly. “Sure.”
The girl beside him looked Amelia up and down with open judgment. “Who’s she?”
Connor didn’t hesitate. “The pest I told you about.”
The word hit harder than she expected. Amelia felt it land like a slap.
The girl’s lips curled. “Oh ,that one.”
Amelia forced her expression to remain neutral, even though her fingers tightened at her sides.
Connor stepped closer, his voice louder now, as if he wanted the entire café to hear.
“You haven’t gotten over me yet?”
She blinked slowly. “Excuse me?”
“You keep coming here,” he continued casually. “Or is this nostalgia?”
Nathan stood slowly behind her chair.
Connor’s gaze flicked to him briefly but returned to Amelia quickly.
“Or,” Connor added with a mocking smile, “are you bringing new guys here to make me jealous?”
The girl laughed softly. “That’s kind of sad.”
Amelia’s throat tightened painfully. She opened her mouth to speak, but for a moment no words came out.
The girl tilted her head, studying her with something close to amusement. “You still miss him, don’t you?”
Amelia stared at the café floor for a second. The tiles were patterned in faded geometric shapes, the kind no one really paid attention to except when they needed something to look at other than humiliation.
“Say something,” Connor pressed, his voice light but edged with cruelty.
Nathan’s hand tightened around the back of Amelia’s chair. She could feel the tension radiating off him even without looking.
Connor tilted his head, the familiar smirk settling comfortably on his face. “Didn’t I tell you she was obsessed?”
The girl hooked onto his arm nodded, lips pursed in smug agreement. “You did.”
Heat burned behind Amelia’s eyes, She blinked her eyes to control the liquid forming there.
Connor leaned closer, invading her space like he always used to. “You know, Amelia,” he said softly, as if offering advice, “you should try harder if you want my attention.”
The scrape of wood against the tile split the tension as Nathan’s chair moved back with a harsh screech.
Connor glanced up lazily until he registered the look on Nathan’s face.
Nathan stepped forward slowly, jaw tight, eyes steady and cold. “I don’t like,” he said, each word deliberate, “when people insult my girlfriend.”
Silence enveloped the table.
The girl’s smile faltered.
Connor blinked once. “Your what?”
Nathan’s hand slid to Amelia’s waist firmly.
“My girlfriend,” he repeated calmly.
Amelia froze. Her brain stalled.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs like it was trying to escape.
Connor let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Since when?”
Nathan didn’t even look at him. His gaze stayed forward. “Since always.”
The girl’s expression changed first. Uncertainty flickered across her face.
Connor’s eyes moved slowly over Amelia, then to Nathan’s hand on her waist. “Is that true?”
Amelia opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Nathan’s fingers tightened just slightly against her side.
Connor’s smirk returned, though it didn’t sit as comfortably this time. “Wow,” he said lightly. “That’s interesting.”
Nathan stepped closer, closing the distance between them. “You have a problem?”
Connor met his gaze, but there was tension in it now. “Not at all.”
Around them, the café had grown disturbingly quiet. People were watching the drama unfolding.
Connor shrugged. “Just didn’t think she’d move on that fast.”
Nathan’s voice dropped, colder now. “Move on from what?”
Connor’s eyes flicked to Amelia, calculating. “You didn’t tell him?”
Amelia’s stomach twisted sharply.
“Tell me what?” Nathan asked, still not taking his eyes off Connor.
Connor smiled slowly. The kind of smile that meant he was about to hurt someone just to prove he could.
“Ask her,” he said smoothly.
Every gaze in the café felt like it was pressing into Amelia’s skin.
Nathan’s hand remained steady at her waist.
Connor leaned back slightly, satisfied with the drama he’d set into motion. “Go on,” he added softly. “Tell him.”
Nathan finally looked down at her. “Amelia?”
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
Connor’s smile widened.
Amelia inhaled slowly. Then she forced her lips into a tight, controlled smile.
“I once dated a scumbag like you,” she said evenly, her voice calm despite the tremor in her fingers. “So what?”
Connor’s smirk faltered.
Amelia’s gaze slid to the girl beside him. “I guess you like used products, huh?”
The girl on his arm stiffened immediately. “Excuse me?”
“Careful,” Connor warned, jaw tightening.
But Amelia was done. She reached back without thinking and grabbed Nathan’s hand. “Come on.”
