The War God's Woman

54. The Heroic Star Immortal

Markus and Zahira were restocking the cakes. With meticulous care, Markus sliced each cake perfectly and Zahira studied his technique.

"You and Cesar seem close." Zahira observed.

"We've worked together a long time."

"Do you mind that he's in love with you?" Zahira had asked the question without thinking, just because it had popped into her head.

Markus froze and Zahira immediately felt apologetic. Why hadn't she stopped herself from saying that?! Markus wouldn't look her in the eye and Zahira felt terrible. Would he hate her now? Markus cleared his throat.

"No, I don't mind."

Zahira opened her mouth to apologise for being rude but Markus interrupted her. "We still have space for one more cake. Which one do you think we should put out, lemon or coffee?"

"Err coffee." Zahira mumbled.

There was a stir in the café as Orion made his entrance. But it was even more profound today. A group of girls rushed forward and asked him to take a picture with them. "Has something happened?" Zahira asked, noticing that all eyes were on Orion.

"Didn't you watch the news? That guy exposed all the corrupt police in the city. He produced a bunch of evidence on them. There was even a video of them trying to kill him."

"He's a hero." Swooned Ana, gazing at Orion with doe eyes.

Zahira blinked. She'd had no idea. She bit her lip anxiously. 'Even a video of them trying to kill him'... had Orion gotten hurt? She watched him, trying to see if he was limping in anyway. He wasn't. But she couldn't help thinking of the scars she'd seen covering his torso.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" One female asked him, the bravest of the group surrounding him.

Zahira couldn't help listening in.

"I have a woman I'm pursuing." Orion replied, disappointing them. Zahira's heart skipped a beat when he looked up and met her gaze just then. Was he talking about her? Orion headed over to Zahira and she flushed, anxious that she'd forgotten how to breathe. "Coffee cake, please."

His intense gaze made her tremble.

"S-sure." She stammered, serving him a large slice. 

Orion was joined at his table by a gaggle of adoring fans. Zahira watched him smile easily at the girls, charming them completely. "I have to go to the loo." She mumbled to Markus, excusing herself.

Safely away from prying eyes, Zahira worried about what to do. She needed to break off this dating thing with Orion. The gang was going to murder her if she kept it up and honestly, everything was just much too stressful for her. It wasn't like it was going to progress into a serious relationship anyway, she reasoned.

But she had a problem. If she texted Orion, he might just text back like last time and disagree with her. But she wasn't having much luck with speaking with him face to face either. Ergh! How was she failing at life this badly?!

                Orion waited for her shift to end again. Zahira hung her head unhappily, as they walked out of the café together. Orion didn't say anything as they walked down the road, sensing her bad mood.