At the sound of that, Denver felt hurt. He spurned on his heels to face her. “I can’t go bankrupt just by buying you a few Aria. Are my gifts such a bother to you?”“No… sorry…. I didn’t mean it like that”“Okay”, he did a spiral turn and continued walking towards the car again. Ariadne slapped her palm on her forehead. She blamed herself for speaking to him in such a manner. All he did was buy her a few clothes. It feels as if she’s got a knack for being harsh to people who try to be good to her.She decided to not mention this again. With that thought, she walked towards the car, opened the door and ushered herself in.—— Few Minutes Later ——As she approached her dorm room, her heart heaved heavily following the multiple eyes trailing behind her. From the hallway, she could hear the chattering of her roommates and she hesitated before going in.Ariadne pushed the door open, playing a forced grin on her lips."Whoaa, Ari!" Vanessa shrieked at the top of her voice."Looks like some
‘Is this really a coincidence or was it planned?’Ariadne was shocked and in disbelief. ‘Did Denver actually give both Molly and I necklaces of the same design? What does he mean by this?’Denver stood there with a stern face. He coldly swept a glance at the woman standing before them and when his eyes shifted down to notice the necklace on her neck, his face twitched.‘Is he looking at me like that because he is thrilled to see me here? Or is that shock on his face? Wait… he seems to be looking somewhere else. My neck. The necklace. Is he angry because I’m wearing this necklace too? If Ariadne can wear it, why can’t I?’ Molly looked hurt and bit her lower lip. After a while, she recollected herself and marched forward till she was standing face to face with Ariadne, “Hi. Nice to meet you again. Didn’t expect to see you here”Before Ariadne could retract her gaze and figure out how to reply, Denver’s hand crawled into her palms, squeezing her gently in a reassuring manner.‘What? Is i
Snapping out of her oblivion, Ariadne stood there and already knew that someone was approaching her. She could easily guess that aside from Molly, none of the guests would be interested in her affairs hence the only person who could possibly be behind her is Molly.She casually glanced sideways through the corners of her lashes and was met with Molly’s soft gentle face which has smug written all over it.Molly walked up to Ariadne with a cold smirk and had already removed her disguise. “Why did you show up here with Denver? You’re working your ass up to get into his bed, ain’t you? Why are you so cheap? Little girls your age should be studying hard, at least that’s what I was doing at your age. Not running after and throwing myself shamelessly at a man.”Ariadne was stunned to hear this. But Molly still had more to say.“Did you really think your cheap self would ever be a match for him? If not, why are you clinging onto him? Look at how
The soft glow of the evening sun cast a warm hue on Ariadne's dorm room, filling the room with a gentle silence as she sat by the window, her thoughts scattered all over the place.The events of the dinner party replayed in her mind; the accusations, the misunderstandings, how swiftly he had left her behind without a second thought and the feeling of dejection she felt when Denver abandoned her at the dinner event to take care of Molly instead. It was clear that Denver had chosen to believe Molly's words over hers, and that realization had struck her hard.It’s been days after the dinner event and Ariadne’s communication with Denver has dwindled. Ariadne had intentionally let the conversations dwindle with her unexcited responses after she seemed to have been forcefully jolted back to reality and she felt the need to give him some distance to prevent falling headlong.With a determined exhale, Ariadne made a decision. She needed to give Denver his space. A
Denver's eyes widened in surprise as he entered the restaurant, his gaze falling on a scene he hadn't expected. There she was, Ariadne, seated at a table with her roommates, chatting and laughing as they enjoyed their dinner. His heart clenched at the sight, memories of their recent conversations flooding his mind.‘Why is she here? Didn’t she say that she was busy with schoolwork and can’t come out for dinner?’‘Or maybe she finished up earlier and decided to come out’Had she been lying to him? He had called her earlier, and she had declined his invitation, citing her schoolwork as the reason. And yet, here she was, seemingly carefree and engrossed in a meal with her friends. He felt a pang of confusion and hurt, wondering if she was intentionally avoiding him again.Denver hesitated near the entrance, his gaze fixed on Ariadne. He leaned against a wall at a distance, his mind wandering around with a mix of emotions glazing his face - confusion,
Ariadne's eyes widened in surprise, her grip on his hand tightening slightly. "What do you mean?” Her voice was fragile and shaky.Denver took a deep breath, raw hurt glittered in his deep blue eyes. "My father was involved in some illegal financial activities within the company. He manipulated reports and documents, bribing workers to make it seem like everything was legitimate. But it wasn't."Ariadne's brow furrowed in confusion. "But how does that relate to Molly's father?"Denver's eyes clung to hers, his gaze never wavering. "Molly's father was the company's financial officer. He was responsible for reviewing financial documents, including the ones my father manipulated. He had no idea what was going on, but when the plot failed, my father made him a scapegoat."Ariadne's eyes widened in shock, she surveyed him kindly to be sure he didn't break down. “So, you’re saying Molly's father went to prison for something he didn't do?"Denve
Ariadne hurried down the corridor of her department, a pile of textbooks in her arms. Her mind was preoccupied with the assignment she had to tackle in the library, so she barely registered the familiar voice calling her name until she heard it again, louder this time.“Ariadne…” She stopped in her tracks when she heard the voice calling out her name. Thinking that this voice was familiar, she turned around to see Arthur approaching her in a walk hop walk run manner, with a warm smile on his face. He was dressed in a casual button-down shirt and jeans, his usual friendly demeanor radiating from him.Hey,” she greeted, her lips curving into a smile despite her busy thoughts.“It’s really you. Thank God I found you, Ariadne…. I’ve been looking all over the department for you.” He said, panting heavily as he drew nearer and tried to hold her hand. “It’s been a long while, Arthur.” She said, flashing him a smile.Arthur strides beh
For some odd reasons, Denver felt his body stiffen at this sight before him and his heart knotted in his chest. He felt restless and irritable, irked by the public display of youthful exuberance before him but he remained there, hardening his gaze on them.He couldn’t explain neither the complicated emotions welling up within him nor the strange contrition he felt in the pit of his stomach.After a while, his vexation got a better part of him and he immediately kicked the car into live and drove away without so much as taking a backward glance again.Arthur smiled to himself at his meticulous planning. At the beginning, he was willing to wait, wait till whenever she would be willing to accept him. But lately, he found her spending more time with another man whom he learnt to be called Denver.From their features, Arthur could pick out that Denver was at least more than five years older than Ariadne and after his investigation, he discovered that D