Bab 23: Chapter 23: Fake
The next day, Jin brought Cleo to Misty Bar and Club near the jetty of City L. The sunset bar had a breathtaking view during sunset, so Jin wanted to see the sunset together with Cleo. Jin was friend with the owner of the bar, Wu Chen from the Wu family.
The Wu and the Tang are old-time rivals where the Wu was in real estate business and the Tang in properties. Wu Chen and Jin could be considered as a childhood friend even though they do not hang out very much.
Jin made a reservation beforehand to get the best spot for sunset viewing, so Cleo was delighted to be treated as VIP. Her mood became much better, and she started to act coquettish with Jin.
It was all sweet words and flattery until Cleo suddenly shrieked, alerting the other customers.
"Get off me you filthy animal" Cleo kicked the small furry animal away. The little furry animal, which turned out to be a small calico cat landed near the concrete and did not move for a while.
Jin stood up automatically and walked towards the cat. The cat moved, and when it heard footsteps, it limped hurriedly from the place.
"I don't know how could a place like this allow such filthy animal to roam around. Where's the manager? I want to talk to the manager?" Such command came out from Cleo, and when she looked around, all eyes were on her. That was when she realised that she blurted something unsightly.
Chloe has invested a lot in her image as 'Cleo', and she wanted to be known only as Cleo. She was so careful to display a demure and elegant lady. Chloe chose to show only her good side. Or more accurately, she made up a good side. She was pretending to be sweet and innocent to pursue Jin.
"I… I am too shocked just now. I didn't mean to do that" Cleo tried hard to salvage her demure image. She looked at Jin, who was rendered speechless by her action. "Baby, I don't mean to do that. I don't like cats, that's why I did what I did".
Jin nodded and sat in his seat, but his eyes roamed around to search for the cat. He hoped the cat is alright after such a hard kick.
Jin had some friends from university who were afraid of cats. Whenever they see a cat, they will run away or avoid the cat. They will never kick the cat or touch any part of the cat. They just run.
All the members of the Tang family love animals. Jin remembered his dad once said that people who dislike animals for no reason are not to be trusted. How could you trust someone who hates animals that are simply living its own life?
The memory rang in Jin's mind. For some reasons, the beautiful Cleo in front of him does not look really beautiful anymore.
The dinner with Cleo went just fine even after Cleo's antic of kicking such animal. It turned out to be that the cat was not a stray, but it belonged to head cook of the bar. Their boss's wife asked all the workers to adopt stray cats from the shelter if they could.
It just happened that the calico cat was a bit playful, and it went outside as it escaped its cage. The head cook came up to them and apologised personally towards Cleo for letting her experienced such scare.
Jin looked at the calico cat inside the cage and saw that its fur is clean, not filthy at all. Cleo acted generously and said it was nothing but Jin could the see the trace of disgust in her eyes.
How come I never realised this side of Cleo before? Jin sighed.
Jin told the head cook to bring the cat to the vet to check for injury, and the cook nodded before excusing himself. For compensation, the head cook prepared a few specialty dishes for Jin and Cleo to appease them.
"Not bad. At least they know what they did wrong. Since all these dishes are on the house, then I will forget the matter with the cat" Cleo spoke with spoiled tone.
Previously, if Cleo spoke childishly, Jin thought that she looked cute and will want to spoil her more. Now, after she kicked the cat cruelly, Jin could see a glimpsed of how her real personality would be.
He could be wrong about Cleo's personality, but he could be right too. What will change if Cleo turned to be different from what he expected her to be initially?
Jin decided not to dwell on the matter anymore as he had this uncomfortable feeling whenever he recalled the thing with the calico cat. The dinner was relatively short since Jin could not stand the sight of the pitiful cat inside the cage. He made an excuse saying he had work and that Cleo needed to rest early for her journey the next morning.
Cleo could sense the changes in Jin's mood, so she was very accommodating.
On their way to Wu Hotel, Cleo asked Jin if she could spend her last night in City L with Jin. She did not mention anything beyond that, but as an average guy, Jin knew what it means. He knew Cleo for only half a year, and they were together for almost a month now.
Jin always thought that Cleo was a reserved girl. To ask him this kind of question, it seemed as if she was not as reserved as he thought she was. Jin was confused by the whole thing. The drastic changes in Cleo and he was confused with his feeling about Cleo.
Jin did not know anymore whether he likes Cleo or the idea of Cleo.
The truth was, Cleo could sense that Jin was having a second thought about their relationship, and she wanted their relationship to progress to the next level quickly. Hence, the idea of spending the night came to her.
This would not be the first time she spent together with a man. She had spent the night with her new boyfriend after she broke up with Shen Jun Shan. So, spending a night with Jin was not a big deal with her.
"We are moving too fast" Jin glanced at Cleo. "We should take it easy"`
Cleo did not expect that Jin would decline her. After all, men could not resist the temptation of a beautiful woman. Little did she know that Jin did not find her that beautiful anymore.
Insisting to spend the night with a guy will make her seemed desperate, and Cleo did not want Jin to see that she was trying too hard. She kept silent, but in reality, she was furious that she did not get what she wants.
"Your flight is at 4 p.m, right? Would you like to have lunch with my sister and me tomorrow?" Jin was trying to change the topic.
When women are angry, they tend to speak of their real feeling. Cleo was no exception. Since the day Qiao An came out of nowhere, Cleo has been feeling uncomfortable. Cleo could not pinpoint why. Maybe because Qiao An is Shen Jun Shan's new lover or because Jin has been talking about his sister nonstop.
"Can't we just have lunch just the two of us?" Cleo was still able to mask her bubbling anger. "Having outsider to eat with us makes me uncomfortable".
Jin was quiet for a moment.
"Cleo, Xiao An is my sister. She is not an 'outsider'. I can tolerate anything you say, but you are not allowed to call my family an outsider".
According to Cleo's vain world, everyone must give in to her because she is beautiful. Having Jin, her current boyfriend sided with someone else that is not her, Cleo snapped.
"Heh! She's your stepsister. Why are you so angry for? She is not related to you by blood. If she is not outsider, then what is she?"
Cleo's inner-thinking and real self came out right before Jin. She was too angry; therefore, she spoke carelessly. With that, she let the cat out of the bad.
Nobody spoke after that. The journey back to Wu Hotel was as silent as the grave.
Jin stopped his car at the lobby of the Wu Hotel. He did not say anything. Cleo stared at him, hoping that he will talk, but he did not. So, Cleo unbuckled the seatbelt slowly and opened the door. She went out of the car and closed the door. She was doing everything slowly as to give time for Jin to talk to her.
"Cleo…" Jin suddenly spoke from inside the car.
Cleo's heart jumped in happiness.
"Someone will take you to the airport tomorrow. Rest well"
Jin drove away, leaving Cleo in the lobby. It's a good thing that he did not see the ugly expression on Cleo's face.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
HealingUnicorn
HealingUnicorn Happy reading. :)
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