CHAPTER 207: MASKS

Adam looks at Ellie, trying her best to hide her red face from him. Even though it is very evident and there is no point in hiding it, Adam finds her attempt amusing.

"Um... I need to get back to preparing for the service..." Ellie says.

"Sure, you do that. I will go and open the restaurant’s door," Adam says and leaves Ellie to her own thoughts.

As soon as Adam leaves the kitchen, Ellie’s knee almost buckles, but she holds onto the kitchen counter while pressing her lips tightly.

’I can’t believe I let myself go there.... I need to get over my recent obsession... I think I need to talk to my therapist...’ Ellie thinks and goes back to preparing for the day, hoping that working will distract her from her own desires while also ignoring the wetness between her legs.

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Adam enters the locker room and changes into his work uniform. Now that he is a partner, he no longer needs to work here. With the money that Ellie has access to, she can hire a full-time waiter who can work both morning shifts and the evening ones.

Adam’s only here to be in touch with Ellie and continue to grow their relationship. Once Ellie finds a replacement, his coming here will be a lot limited as he will dedicate his time to other things in his life.

Putting on his uniform, he comes to the front of the house and opens the restaurant for business.

Soon, the regulars start coming in. By now, the regulars are already very familiar with Adam. Most of them have a very positive opinion about him, and how could they not?

He is attentive, professional, kind, and charming. A guy like Adam will always be liked because people will never want to see what he’s really like behind that handsome, charismatic face of his, because everyone likes to live a dream.

And if to them, Adam is this handsome, charismatic guy who is also kind and good, someone who can do no wrong, then they will stick to their belief.

But there are also the other type, someone who looks at Adam and can’t feel anything but envy and jealousy, so they hope that Adam is not the man he seems to be.

Hence, most people like Adam, some feel jealous, but never do they voice their feelings because the dream will continue to be alive until they disrupt it.

Most regulars in the morning are women, from teenagers to middle-aged office workers.

These women come to get their coffee and start their day by talking to Adam, because Adam is the one good thing in their lives. The handsome young guy who will always smile at them and treat them nicely, no matter who you are or how you look.

Even if his smile is fake, and he is just doing it to do his job, it’s still enough for these women who really don’t have much going on in their lives to feel a little special.

Adam greets the customers with a smile on his face as they come in to get their coffee or morning breakfast and leave.

A few minutes later, Leila walks in and immediately breaks into a smile when she sees Adam already at work. She quickly heads to the changing room to change into her uniform before joining Adam and helping him with the customers.

Leila stays close to him and gets very touchy with him when people are not looking. Adam, of course, doesn’t mind it. He also takes every chance he gets to be intimate with her.

The last one to clock in is always Cassie. She walks in with her usual cheerful smile, a smile that’s faker than a crocodile’s tears, but Adam doesn’t care as her smile clearly puts people at ease.

Only a very observant person can see through her bullshit, and that’s very rare in a city like this, where people are so busy that they don’t even have time to learn the interests of their own friends, let alone a stranger.

A beautiful girl like Cassie, who knows how to always present herself in a cheerful, good light, will always get her way, as people can easily be manipulated. She tried the same with Adam, but the outcome was a lot different from what she expected.

She realized that Adam sees right through her innocent, sweet, cheerful act, but this has made Cassie obsessed over Adam even more, because unlike other people who have always put her on a pedestal, Adam’s the only one to call her out on her bullshit and put a mirror to her face. And when her twisted sense of living was revealed to her, her desire for Adam increased several fold.

Knowing the man she finds attractive actually sees through the bullshit persona she has all the time and actually stares down the actual twisted girl that she is, and doesn’t find her repulsive, has made Cassie develop deep feelings for Adam.

It’s not love, it’s obsession, an obsession to see the real Adam. Being the twisted woman that she is, Cassie is fully aware that the only people who won’t be disgusted by her real self are other twisted individuals.

Adam is one of those very individuals, and just like her, he has a mask on. A mask of a kind, handsome man, but unlike her, Adam’s mask is much more realistic. He doesn’t pretend to be something completely different; Adam is Adam, but Cassie knows there is an Adam no one knows about, a part of him that he keeps hidden behind his pseudo-real self.

Nobody will ever question or see through Adam’s mask because he embodies his mask. The mask is just one half of the real him. Cassie, on the other hand, wants to see the other half, the twisted half, the half that doesn’t judge Cassie for being the woman that she is.

Just the thought of meeting that half of Adam’s sends chills down Cassie’s spine.

She has been fantasizing about it all this time, and every fantasy she plays in her head makes her obsession grow stronger.

Cassie comes to the front of the restaurant, dressed in her uniform, but there is something different about her uniform, which Adam immediately notices.

Her skirt is a little higher than usual, and it seems like her shirt has been altered to move the buttons a little lower, so even though she is wearing her shirt with her top buttons unbuttoned like usual, her shirt is opening even deeper, revealing more of her cleavage than ever.

While Adam notices the subtle changes Cassie has made to her uniform, the others don’t because they are distracted by her supple breasts and thick thighs that are on display for the customers to leer at.

"Good morning~" she approaches Adam and Leila and greets both of them with her usual charming smile.

"Good morning," Adam replies with his usual tone. He doesn’t care how Cassie presents herself because in the end, it will be his decision and his alone that will decide if he wants to entertain Cassie and take her on a ride.

And it won’t be something Adam would be against because Adam can really take it up a notch with Cassie. He can break her beyond measure, push her to limits that he has never taken any woman to because he knows that this slutty freak will love it.

Adam would love to see how different Cassie will be once he is done with her. Will she change her behavior, or will her twisted nature amplify even further?

"Good morning..." Leila is to greet her, but there is something off about her way of greeting. Adam turns to look at Leila and sees a slight blush on Leila’s cheek. This is unusual because Leila has never acted coy before Cassie.

Adam turns to look at Cassie again, who still has that signature innocent cheerful smile, as if there is no thought going on behind that forehead of hers, but Adam knows that this is far from the truth.

Something definitely happened between Leila and Cassie.

’I need to keep an eye on these two,’ Adam thinks to himself, and continues serving the customers. Leila and Cassie join in as well, and the restaurant starts getting crowded.

Adam does his job with grace, with his fitness levels and his enhanced memories, serving work comes very easily, never messing up even once, and hence his tips are a lot more than his coworkers.

Female customers really love to talk to him and flirt with him, and Adam indulges them for a few minutes, and in return, they tip him massively, some of them even write their numbers down on a paper and hand it over to him, hoping that he calls.

But of course, Adam never will, unless that customer is really hot, someone in leagues similar to Julia.

As he continues to serve the customers, the chimes over the restaurant’s door ring again, and four people walk in.

Adam turns to look at them and recognizes them instantly. ’Aren’t they the band... What was it called? Ah, yes, Velvet Arcadia,’ Adam thinks in his head while his gaze immediately locks on with the lead vocalist’s.

Isla’s eyes widen as she meets Adam’s gaze. Her heart starts racing as she can’t believe her fate.

The guy she wanted to talk to last night is right in front of her, looking as striking as ever.

’Hey, isn’t he the same guy...’ Suzaan, who is standing next to Isla, whispers into her ear as she too recognizes Adam.

Isla’s heart starts beating even faster from Suzaan’s confirmation, while Adam starts making his way towards them.