THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 279: We Don’t Have The Same Problem

"Hey! It shouldn’t take you that long to come up with an answer," Steffan heard Lauren say as she waved her hand in front of him.

Steffan continued staring at Lauren’s eager face. "No hard feelings, but I don’t think I want to take that risk."

"What risk are you not taking?" Lauren asked, her eyes dimming a shade lower.

"The risk of having you fall in love with me."

"Who is talking about falling in love with you?" Lauren sneered. "I was only thinking about us helping each other out since we are apparently having the same problem."

She appeared to laugh it off but inwardly she felt like she was being stabbed by a sharp knife. Not only that, but the knife was further twisted into the wound in her heart by Steffan’s next statements.

"We don’t have the same problem."

"The truth is that I have someone I love but my mother has her own candidate which I care nothing about," Steffan declared, his eyes never leaving Lauren’s face who could no longer hide her shock.

Wide eyed, only one word escaped her hanging mouth- "Huh?"

"So you see, your plan might not apply to me."

"But you said earlier that it might..."

"I only felt it might be fun," Steffan interrupted, knowing what Lauren was about to say.

’If I suddenly agree and go with her plan hook, line and sinker, what would Kathleen, even Shawn whom I’m sure knows Lauren, think of the love I professed to have for Kathleen. Won’t they see me as a joke?’

’But why do I even care about what they think in the first place? They already regard me as a joke. If not they wouldn’t do the things they did to me.’

"But I can help you, in your own case, though," he said, earning himself a puzzled look from Lauren.

"I can see that you are a nice girl and wouldn’t take advantage of me, so if you need me to act with you for your mother to relax her vigilance over you..."

"Forget it," Lauren said cutting him off with a wave of the hand. "I don’t want the love of your life coming after me. Also I’m not one to give a false impression. I only made the suggestion spontaneously. But since you have a girlfriend already, the proposal is off."

Rising to her feet, she grabbed her coat from the arm of the chair.

"I think I’ve had enough for the night," she said while drowning the last drink in her glass.

"It’s been a wonderful time hanging out with you though. See you around," she said and walked away suddenly just as she had appeared.

Luckily she wasn’t dead drunk. She could still find her way home. As she stepped out of the club, she winced at the cold night air that hit her face cruelly just like the blow she had just been dealt inside.

The cold night air also served as a sobering reminder of her lonely life as she wrapped herself up in the coat in her hand.

The streetlights cast shadows as she walked on to where she could hail a cab while contemplating her impulsive proposal.

"What was I even thinking in the first place? That he had fallen in love with me just because of a few dances and a couple of drinks together?"

"But it was so wonderful and I thought we had a perfect connection. It would have been so great having him as a boyfriend."

"Wake up, Lauren, he belongs to someone else," she scolded herself, her breath visible in the chilly air.

She took a moment to collect herself, acknowledging that her frustration with her mother might have led her to such a misguided attempt at finding a solution

As she waited on the sidewalk for a cab, a sleek red Lamborghini pulled up beside her. From the tinted window, she couldn’t make out its occupant.

Just when she was about moving forward to where she could have an unobstructed view of the road to see any oncoming cab, the window rolled down and she frowned when she saw the man seated at the driver’s seat.

"Hop in, let me give you a ride home," Steffan offered.

After Lauren suddenly left the club, he couldn’t stay for long as it looked as if she took along with her all the fun.

He was surprised when he drove out of the parking lot and saw her standing by the pavement.

Knowing that it was too late to get a cab easily, he had driven up to her to give her a lift to wherever she was going. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Thanks, but no thanks. There will be no need for that. I’ll just get a cab to take me home," Lauren politely turned down the offer.

Steffan raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? At this time of the night, It will be difficult to get one."

"That’s my problem to solve," Lauren said and walked on.

Steffan’s forehead creased in a frown at the tone of her voice. "Are you angry with me?"

Lauren let out a dry laugh. "Why should I be angry at you? You did nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, thanks to you, I had so much fun tonight."

Steffan was not convinced. He knew he had been too blunt with her in the club which must have somehow hurt her, but he didn’t want her having any ideas about him when he knew he wouldn’t be able to give her the happiness she craves for.

"If truly you are not angry, let me drop you off then."

"You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine." Lauren said and averted her eyes so Steffan wouldn’t see the hurt in them.

"But I won’t be at ease with the feeling that you were possibly stranded here and your life possibly endangered," Steffan said.

"I’m sure I won’t be stranded. You can be on your way."