I Am Not A Fool

Chapter 5

Jay widened his eyes perfectly as he stroked his red cheeks, aching with throbbing pain. He looked at Anna with an incredulous look in his eyes. "Why did you slap me, Anna? Do you believe a word this man says?"

Anna stared intently at Jay. "I already knew that all along, you wanted my property, but I didn't think that you were planning to do such a terrible thing to me. And I, for one, don't like men who cheat on me!"

Jay was shocked. He shook his head. "That's not true, Anna. I mean it to you. We already have plans to get married. Don't you remember any of that?"

"Shut up!" Anna pointed her index finger in Jay's face. "I don't want to have a husband like you. You're a very bad candidate for me! I don't want to see you again!"

Jay tried to grab Anna's hand, begging her not to part. "Please, Anna. We can't split up!"

My wish wasn't significant. I just want a man who can understand and accept me for who I am regardless of my possessions, but that's very difficult...

Dakota could hear Anna's inner voice and the woman's request was straightforward. It's just that Anna chose the wrong partner.

Anna threw Jay's hands away, then pushed the man in front of her complex. "Let go! Stop pretending. You're a man who likes to cheat on his girlfriend! Lowlife!"

Anna left Jay's presence while pulling Dakota's hand to leave the man. Dakota watched Anna and saw that Anna was trying to hold back tears of disappointment.

Jay became angry. He was fed up with pretending again and showing his true colors. "Yeah, just go! I'm so tired of women like you too! All my time has been wasted dealing with your childish, innocent and naive behavior. Do you think you're attractive? Not at all!"

Dakota and the woman's footsteps stopped. Anna's hand, which was holding Dakota's, trembled, listening to Jay's words behind them. There was no need for Jay to shout like that. Anna already knew how flawed she was.

Jay chuckled, looking at Anna and Dakota, who stopped. He walked slowly towards them, intentionally wanting to taunt Anna. "The man you're with now is not much different from me. He'll only want your money too. No one will ever want you. You're just a nuisance with your embarrassing reckless behavior. If it weren't for your wealth and pretty face, you'd be nothing!"

Anna bit her lip. That's enough. I'm self-aware about all that. You don't need to remind me anymore.

Dakota, who heard Anna's inner voice, immediately removed Anna's hand from her wrist. She turned around, looking at Jay coldly. "Basically, you're trash."

Jay raised his hand, pointing at Dakota. He didn't accept what Dakota said. "Damn it! You're the trash, asshole!"

The look in Dakota's eyes is not luminous, seemingly drowning out anyone who looks directly into her beady eyes. "You should feel so lucky to be with a beautiful woman like this. You're a fool for throwing away a precious diamond that you'll never get with any woman."

Anna, who heard Dakota's words, was amazed to look at the man with sparkling eyes. Although only looking from the side, Dakota looks attractive and radiant, defending her in front of Jay.

Jay looked back at Dakota sharply with a grin. "Diamonds you say? I guess your standards are low. She's not much different from the rocks on the riverbank. It's worthless and just a foothold!"

Dakota raised his face with a sharp look in his eyes. "Scum like you will never be able to see diamonds properly. Your stupid brain is just like a shrimp. It's only used for useless things. Even trash can still be recycled to be useful, whereas you can't be changed at all because that's your true nature!"

Jay was wide-eyed. He was silent, depressed by all of Dakota's words, until he was speechless to reply to Dakota's terms. The man grunted in annoyance with both hands clenched tightly into fists, then simply walked away from Dakota and Anna's presence.

"He finally left, too." Anna felt relieved but also dizzy. Her body was suddenly unsteady, and she almost fell down.

Dakota immediately caught Anna and helped the woman to stand back up. "Are you okay?"

Anna nodded her head. "Yes, I'm fine."

Dakota led the woman to stroll, looking for a resting place. Finally, they sat at one of the tables in a nearby cafe. The woman's face looked deathly pale. Even Anna's hands were still shaking.

Anna bowed her head as she crumpled the hem of her dress under the table. "I'm very grateful to you for helping me earlier. If it wasn't for you, I don't know how it would have turned out. I feel uncomfortable for giving you a hard time."

Dakota responded casually. "No problem."

Anna smiled happily at that. She held her hand up, signaling one of the waiters to come to their table. While waiting for the waitress to arrive, Anna looked through the menu book.

The waitress approached them with a respectful gesture. "Good afternoon, how may I help you?"

Anna nodded in a friendly manner. "I would like to order this and this, two of each."

The waitress recorded Anna's food and drink order in her small book. "Okay, just a moment. I'll make your order right away."

Anna only responded to the waiter's words with a smile. The waitress bowed her head respectfully, excusing herself from their presence. Anna returned to face Dakota.

Anna extended her hand, introducing herself first. "We haven't been formally introduced yet. I'm Anna."

Dakota warmly welcomed Anna's hand, introducing herself as well. "Dakota."

Anna released their handshake. She leaned against the table. "I really didn't expect that he would plan something bad for me. As for his affair with another woman, I already knew about it. That was also the reason why I separated from him."

Dakota nodded his head while raising one hand up. "Yes, that was the right choice. He doesn't deserve to be with you. You're too precious."

Again, Dakota's words took Anna's breath away. Anna had never received a compliment from a man, including Jay, her ex-boyfriend. Jay had never once complimented her on her worth. He only praised her beauty, repeating it repeatedly as if there was nothing else interesting in Anna.

"Thank you," Anna replied with a happy smile.

Not long after, the waiter returned with a tray of food and drinks Anna had ordered. "Excuse me." The waitress then placed it gently onto the table. "Please enjoy."

Anna nodded, and the waitress left their presence. Anna brought one portion of the food and drink she ordered in front of Dakota. "I'll treat you. This is the least I can give you as a thank you."

Dakota acted cool despite being pleased to receive this treat because she had no money. They ate together while chatting casually about the incident earlier.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief as she sipped her drink. "It's a good thing I finally got away from him because of your help."

Dakota smiled slightly, then leaned her back on the back of the chair. "I've had a hard life too, but I'm sure it'll change for the better someday. I was just having a bad day, but meeting a beautiful woman like you made my day instantly turn great."

Anna blushed at Dakota's complimentary words. She lowered her head. "You're praising me too much like that."

Dakota shook her head while reaching for her drink. "No, you are beautiful."

Anna was mesmerized by Dakota, then woke up to her cell phone tinkling. Anna looked at the phone screen. There was a message for her. She skimmed through it. "I can't be here too long." Anna took something out of her bag and handed Dakota a paper. "This is my business card. You can call me anytime."

Dakota read Anna's business card. He just realized that the woman was the daughter of the owner of a big company in the city. "Why would you want to be with that squid man? A beautiful woman like you can get a better man than him."

Anna, who was tidying up her bag, was wide-eyed again, surprised to hear Dakota's praise. Once again, Anna blushed until she couldn't say anything.