Didn't stop bothering people

"Athaliah!" 

"What the heck, Elena! It's freaking midnight and I am trying to sleep here. Why would you dare to disturb my damn sleep?" Athaliah angrily growled in a sleepy tone at her best friend over the phone.

Athaliah always loved her sleep more than anything in the world. Though the priority changed after Ryan came into her life but it was still her second priority. She always hated it whenever anyone messed up with her sleep.

Moreover, today was a hectic day at the small office where she works at. Today they completed the very first big deal of the company and she being the desk worker she had to work a lot more than others. Though it's nothing new for her. She had worked ten folds more than this when she was handling her business. It's just she was out of practice now. So she was really tired but her best friend just decided to disturb her much needed precious sleep at 1 in the morning? 

Wait a minute... Slowly Athaliah started to come back to her senses completely and tried to analyse everything. It was 1 in the morning and it's been one month since Elena visited her but not even for once she couldn't call her. So, why now? At this time? Also, she called her by her full name, not by the nickname she gave her and did she sound worried?

Soon a deep frown appeared on her beautiful face. Athaliah was fully awake by now. She quickly sat up and looked beside her to see her precious son sleeping peacefully. After tucking him more carefully under the sheet she quietly came out of the room and stood in the balcony.

"What happened Elena? Why did you call me at this time even after knowing how late it is here? And you know it very well that I don't care a bit about anything apart from my son and he's peacefully sleeping beside me. So, for whatever reason you called, it better be worthy enough to ruin my sleep." She said in a serious tone without giving any time to Elena to explain her reason for calling.

"Will you shut up and listen to me for a second?" Elena snapped at her in frustration over the phone. 

She frowned. Suddenly many bad thoughts started to creep their way into her head which scared her to death. She took a look at her son peacefully sleeping and took deep breaths to calm her nerves down.

"What happened?" She asked but this time in a calmer and serious tone.

"It's about Aiden."

Her brother? What happened to him?

"What happened to him? Is he getting married?" She asked in sadness.

She had many dreams regarding his marriage. She wanted to do a lot of things and she had even planned his wedding events a long back. So, it will be saddening and depressing if she won't be able to enjoy her dearest brother's wedding.

"No!" Elena snapped over the phone.

"No? Uh, that's a relief." Athaliah sighed in relief.

"What?" Elena asked in confusion.

"Uh, nothing. You continue. What is it about Aiden? He is okay, right?" She asked in a worried tone.

She hit her forehead for her stupidity. Generally, people would ask that at first, if he was okay. But she asked about something stupid. 

Who does that?

Also, nothing is going to change even if he decides to get married so she shrugged the thoughts out of her mind.

But now that she realized her mistake, she started to panic. What will happen to her parents if something happens to Aiden. They will be dead even after being alive. Their souls already died when they heard about her death. 

"No. He is not okay!" Elena said in a depressed tone.

"Wh.. what happened to him?" 

"He has reached his breaking point, Liah. He can't take it anymore." Elena said in a tired tone.

Thank god, he is okay! Physically at least...

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happened?"

She heard Elena sigh before she started speaking.

"You already know that he still isn't out of the shock of your death. And the businesses were collapsing as your father also retired and he also isn't mentally strong enough after your death, I mean fake death to help Aiden. So, Aiden was stressing too much these few days about some problems with the companies. He was depressed and got drunk last night at a nightclub. Reporters inappropriately covered him." She said.

"Well, that's not something new or to worry about. Reporters always cover useless things and it's normal to get drunk when you are depressed." Athaliah said in a duh tone.

"Right. That's not something to worry about but what he announced today morning in a press conference is something to be worried about." Elena stated.

Athaliah frowned. An announcement just after getting drunk in depression. Nothing good can come out of it...

"What did he announce?" She asked with her regular frown.

"He announced to.. sell one of the businesses." Elena said with dead seriousness.

Suddenly it was silent everywhere. Athaliah couldn't hear anything else.

At that moment she heard her broken heart break some more. All the hard work, struggles, late-night presentations, first office, first deal, first check, first payment, first gifts she bought with the money for her close ones, all started to flash in front of her eyes. She even remembered her first rival. 

Some tears automatically made their way out.

AW Fashion World, she had named her small boutique by it. By the initials of her name. She was a hardcore fashion lover. She loved to design dresses or anything and everything. She studied hard on fashion designing and also learnt about how to run a business from her father. She never liked to work under someone. She always liked to be the boss, may it be her own or others. 

She sold her first designed dress that she designed for a competition held by her college. She started to sell designs or dresses made by her to start her own business since the time she joined college. She also did other additional part-time jobs like a waitress at a cafe or tutoring kids or doing small modelling. And she opened her boutiques even before she graduated from college with the dresses designed by her without informing her parents as she didn't want to use their name to succeed. 

Her father was already famous for his business success, her mother was no less. She was one of the top models in her time. She got her perfect body and look from her mother only.

Slowly but steadily she started to grow. Over one year she was all over New York. She was called the fashion queen. She faced a lot of hurdles but she knew how to handle them. She graduated one year earlier than others for her good results and hard work. She had built a fashion empire. She had several boutiques, she had opened a modelling company, she even launched a furniture collection of AW Fashion World. 

She was a sucker of success.

But now it was all over. She lost them all. She failed them all. And now she is going to lose them forever. 

She pressed her mouth to muffle the sound of her cries. She looked at her sleeping son and took deep breaths. She can not cry like this. She has to be strong. For her son, for herself. She has to let go of the emotional connection with her business and do it. 

She has to stop herself from going there and claim her business back.

"Liah? Are you there, babe?" Elena asked in a worried tone.

No matter how much Athaliah tried to muffle her cries, she knew her. She knew what AW Fashion World means to her best friend and how much the thought of selling it would hurt her. But that wasn't the problem.

"I have no problem with that. I have no problem if he sells it. After all, I am dead for the world and he is the real owner. He can do whatever he wishes to do with it." She heard Athaliah say in an emotionless tone over the phone.

"Yeah, right. But that's not the problem either." Elena muttered.

Athaliah sighed in frustration.

Now what?

"What else could be more problematic than this?" She gritted her teeth. 

"Aiden announced to sell your father's company, not yours. And..." Elena said carefully.

"And what?" Athaliah asked in a blank tone.

"And HE announced HIS interest in buying it.." Elena said in a worried tone because never for once in these two and half years they mentioned HIS name in their conversations.

"Who?" 

"Aaron Knight."

The line went silent.

"Aaron Knight, messing my life wasn't enough? Now you started to mess with my family?" She said to herself with hate toward him.

***

"I don't understand, Aaron!" Luke snapped at his best friend who was sitting on his office chair leisurely.

"What is it that you don't understand, Luke?" Aaron asked, raising his eyebrows while faking confusion.

"What are you trying to prove by it?" Luke asked in frustration.

"By what, Luke? Kindly elaborate your words and accusations." Aaron said carelessly.

Luke looked at his best friend with frustration. 

Aaron had always been good at playing with words. Also he has a lot of patience in him to manipulate the opposite person with his words. He is famous for his tactics in the business world. His calm and composed posture always manages to piss the opposite person and make them do something totally in his favour. And he always makes sure to use that opportunity.

"Why are you buying her company?" Luke asked without beating around the bush anymore.

Aaron immediately fisted his hand at her mention.

"First of all, it's not her company but her brother's. Secondly, it can profit me in a lot of ways. That's why I am buying this. I am doing pure business here." He simply stated that with a shrug of his shoulder.

"What happened to not having any kind of connection with her family or anything related to her?" Luke asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I have already told you my point and I am repeating myself. I am doing business here. Nothing more, nothing less. End of discussion." He stated to his friend in a cold tone.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Aaron." Saying that Luke left his office after giving him one last glance.

Yeah, that would help him sleep at night thinking that the company was not going to the wrong hand.

Aiden Williams, her older brother, the only heir of the Williams empire also the current owner of her business. Aaron always had his eyes on him. 

Aiden was stressed for the last few months. It is tough to handle two vast companies without any support. And he was reaching his breaking point. He had always known that Aiden would sell one of the companies at one point.

But Aaron never thought that he would choose his sister's company over his father's. He loved his sister a lot though they didn't have much age gap. But what Aiden didn't know is how evil of a woman his sister was.

But now that Aiden chose to sell that company, he had to do something to save it from getting destroyed completely. But he can not get involved directly to help them and so he thought to do this by using the business.

He had always admired the principles of Steven Williams, Aiden's father. That man is a down to earth person and a hard-working person who worked hard to reach the top in business. Aaron learnt a lot from him.

Though at one point in life, he was really angry at Williams for what the Williams's daughter did with him thinking they were involved. But as time went by he realized whatever happened with him was done by her and they were already suffering losing their princess. So, he didn't bother them. 

But now he had to do something to save the company from disaster even if that means invading their space again or making them hate him some more than they already do because Aiden Williams thinks he was the reason for Athaliah's death.

"Athaliah Williams, even after dying you didn't stop bothering people." He muttered to himself.