***
Staring back at the couple who were standing on the balcony of an apartment, was the beautiful sky. The stars sparkled bluntly at them without shame and they never took their eyes off it too.
It was the beginning of the new day that had begun their one-year anniversary. They decided to spend it together, as a couple that they were.
Ashton and Thea,
In a few weeks, they were to be wedded as one, forever.
Ashton swept her hair over allowing cool air brush her exposed shoulders, then he placed a necklace on her. The diamond glittered in the night, twinkling along with the stars. He could feel her smiling from behind. He had in mind that she loved these kind of presents and that was what he always showered her with.
There came a time where she once refused to accept anything from him but he always made her accept them. No matter what she says. He liked her to feel special, to feel that there was no one else but her and he prayed she thought the same.
He finally turned her to face him, gently.
'You are the Moon and I am the sun, do you remember?' He explained to her and she chuckled.
'I remember,' He smiled at her too, spreading his hands over her shoulders to embrace her. After a while, she turned back so she could admire the night with him.
'I was upset that night,' she started. 'My mom was in the hospital, I was stressed out...and then we met in the hospital, right before the eclipse.' She smiled at her last words.
'Yes, we belong together baby,' he said. 'I don't want anything to ever go wrong.'
She turned to him. This time he released his hold on her. 'Nothing will go wrong, Ash.' Thea told him and he nodded.
'We'll have to promise each other that no matter what, whatever circumstances, we shall surmount them. Whatever irks us, we'll talk about it. Whatever seems sceptical, we can talk about it as well.' He said and she agreed.
'okay,'
She gave him an assuring smile before raising her necklace to interlock it with his as a promise, an incentive to always remember.
He smiled too, then turned her to the face of the sky once again. Together they were willing to spend the night and not just that night, but other nights as long as it took them.
----
(A year later)
Thea gathered all the courage she had left after yesterday. Yesterday was literally the worst day of working in this shitty restaurant. She found it hard to leave so suddenly because she fought so hard to get a job after her mother's breakdown. They used up almost all the cash they had for medical bills. Taking that her mother's illness went overdrive right after that incident.
That incident changed her life for good.
She sighed before entering the restaurant. All eyes turned to her immediately. She ignored them and walked further into the restaurant to begin the day.
Thea put on her apron and started off immediately, resisting every chance to glance at Cassandra, her co-worker, who wouldn't stop giving her a sly smile.
"Thea?" The manager called and the lady turned to stare at her manager. "Meet me in my office," he told her and she nodded.
When she walked passed Cassandra who was at the counter, she was sure she heard her say something like,
'That's right, you'll get what you deserve.'
"Sir?"
The middle-aged man who was already seated on his chair sighed.
"I'm sure you already know why I called you Thea, so let's not beat around the bush." He stated and she nervously stood properly.
"Thea, I refuse to allow such a scene as happened here yesterday to be played without having something to say about it."
"Sir, i-"
"Let me finish, young woman!" The man blurted out in anger. "Cassandra told me everything that happened yesterday."
Oh no! Not again!
"I expected better from you of all people, young lady. I've tried, but every time you let my patience with you go to waste. I don't think I have any more, so I need you to pack your things and never come back because you are fired!"
"What? What did Cassandra tell you? I'm telling you Mark-"
"It's Mr. Rowell to you now." He told her but she shook her head, buying the formality immediately.
"She started it all. Cassandra accused me of something I wouldn't think of doing and then lied to you." Thea said to him.
"Well, I don't care what really happened but she told me that she confronted you about dating her boyfriend and you started yelling at her, but you started the commotion first and that is all I know."
She almost scoffed loudly. For goodness sake, that girl is a liar and a cheap bitch. Andrew wasn't even dating her.
"I thought you were at least matured enough to take your cat fight somewhere else but you decided to have it here, in front of my restaurant! You see me and my little empire as nothing?" He snapped.
"No, no, not at all, Mr Rowell. You need to hear my side of the story. Cassandra is lying-"
"I heard enough to drive me mad already. Just leave Thea and don't come back." Mark said to her.
"I need this job Mr Rowell.....I beg of you. I haven't done anything wrong, please don't send me away." Thea pleaded.
"You should have thought about that before hitting an innocent lady right in front of my shop! I don't need to say this again. Leave my office, immediately!" Mark blurted out and the lady scurried out of the office in sobs.
She reached for her bag where she kept it before dashing out through the back door. What was she going to do now? Why her?
Thea combed her hair in frustration before calling a taxi and heading home.
~~
(London, 9:45am)
The young man buttoned up his sleeve to get ready for work as he was already late. He refused to take another look at the lady that laid on his bed. Every time he did, he remembered that they were nothing like he formally had.
"Ashton baby, you ready for work already? Why didn't you wake me up?" The lady softly said, but he ignored her and took his jacket by the hand, then walked out of the room.
Once again, she had managed to have her way with him just as she wanted. Her dream since when she was a kid was to be with Ashton and she saw herself achieving that the moment he asked her to be his fiance in front of everybody.
She was dumbstruck.
But after that sweet moment, he went back to being cold like before. But that didn't bother her. The moment she saw his argument with Thea, she knew it was her only chance to get what she wanted.
She sighed and got out of bed to take a shower.
The moment he saw her come down for breakfast, he stood to leave the dining room.
"Nice breakfast Maria, I'll take my leave now."
She saw him standing and immediately she called out to him.
"Em Ashton?" The man halted. She smiled and went down the flight of stairs.
"Would you like anything special for dinner, sweetheart?"
"No, I'll eat out." He said.
"Well, can we eat out together?" She inquired and he nodded.
"Sure, I'll pick you up by five." He said before walking away.
She smiled at herself and sat down to have her own breakfast. Maria's lips formed a thin line instead. However, she decided that it was best not to show any emotion concerning the couple.
She took Ashton like a son and she understood him very well. She also knew for a fact their relationship was on a thin line from the minute his mother forced him to propose to Claire in front of everybody.
Worst of all, she wondered how Thea was doing. The memory of their breakup seemed all too fresh in her head.
"Is there anything you need?" Claire shook her head instead, dismissing her with the wave of her hand.
~~
(Australia, 5:30pm)Thea walked into the house after the little scene she just had at work. Bolting the door from behind, she threw the keys on a table, in the middle of the sitting room and walked down to her room.She didn't think of coming home after what happened today. She wondered what her mother would think of her when she found out that the only job they relied on for survival was gone. "Thea? Is that you?" She hummed in reply, hugging her mom from behind."I'm home Mom," Thea said. "I hope you aren't stressing yourself out.""I am not, there's not much to do, but you're early," her mother stated. The silence was enough proof that all wasn't well.Jane turned to her gently, then palmed her face. "You've been crying," Jane stated once more, cleaning her tears with her fingers as her tender fingers could."I understand." The woman nodded her head in understanding, tears gathering shamelessly in her eyes. "Don't kill yourself over it Thea, you'll get another one."Thea shook her
(Australia, 11pm)Stirring, Thea held up the beautiful silver necklace that was her favorite. What she never chose to sell even though it was very expensive.The shape of the moon adorned with diamond stared back at her."You are the moon and I am the sun, do you remember?" Ash said. She was his moon. Was! She was pretty sure he hated her now. He was disgusted with her. She was sure that he wanted nothing to do with her now after that day. But everything was her fault.Everything happened so much like a nightmare. If she had accepted that the child was his, then he would know that she went as far as working at a club to raise money for her mother's drugs. But she didn't want to take the risk.Constantly, her mother reminded her that she didn't make the best decision that evening. She should have told Ashton the truth. But she was so concerned about what people thought about her. That she was only in a relationship with him because of his money.She did infact say to the family that t
"Good morning Mr Maxfield," She fumbled with her fingers nervously."Well, good morning to you, Miss Kennedy. How was your night?" He asked and she forced a smile."It was fine,""You sure don't look fine. Didn't sleep well?""I didn't sleep at all," he raised a brow at her. "But I'm sure you shouldn't bother yourself about it, I'm used to it.""Not at all. I am concerned about all of my employees because I am a kind man. So, tell me Miss Kennedy, what bothers you so much?" He asked."Well, my mom is very ill and I spent all night looking after her," Thea said."That's very nice of you, you must have been through a lot in one night. You sure you don't need some time before you begin?""No, no, no, I can take care of myself." He nodded in agreement."Hope you know your duties as a secretary, Thea, but if you need any help understanding what you must do, ask Fiona over there. She's been here for quite a while or you can come to me if you like." He told her and she chuckled nervously.De
---Freya dialed a number and placed the phone to her ears. Her fingers were tapping nervously against her purse. She had a thing with patience. She never liked to be kept waiting and he knew better than to keep her waiting.It was unconscious that her eyes found another who had been trying to get her attention for a while she had been there. He waved again before signaling for her to come outside. "About time," she muttered. She stood and walked away from her table and stepped out of the restaurant as he requested. Her eyes searched for the man that grabbed her attention a while ago. He no longer stood in his former position as if he didn't want to be seen. She found him leaning on the wall of the building close by. The young man smiled at her and she let out a sigh of relief.---"Sir, I've got the report from Mr Frederick," Samuel said as they walked hastily into the company."Good let me take a look," Ashton told him, and received the file from Samuel. Never pausing, he flipped
(3:45am)Andrew sat with his friends, wallowing in his own thoughts. He checked his watch for the nth time that night. He came here to have a little relaxation, but it seemed coming here made things far worse.He swallowed the remaining contents of his cup again."Hey Drew," Andrew raised his glass up slightly, signaling that he was listening."You seem distraught, something wrong?" Scott asked. The girl on his lap played with the Hem of his jacket."I'm fine," Andrew replied.Scott scoffed. "Of course you are.""That's what he always says," answered another, and they laughed. "Is damsel giving you issues?""I'm not sure that's the problem, Paxton, I think he's just stressed out," Mason said."Of course he's stressed, stressed and thinking too much. Work couldn't have caused this, right Drew?"Andrew just stood up, grabbing his jacket from the table, he slightly staggered, finding his way out of the door still.Mason sighed. "I'll go ensure he gets home." He told his friends, then wen
"Hey, wait up!" The girl kept on going, increasing her pace instead. "Hey Thea, stop ignoring me, okay?" "Thea!" He gripped her arm and she was quick to recoil from his touch. His grip was strong, strong enough to keep her from leaving."What do you want? I've told you countless times, I don't have feelings for you, Ash.""Really," he moved closer to her, matching her stare. "You don't have feelings for me?" He asked with a smug look.She scoffed. "Why would you think that in the first place? I'm not like the other girls that swoon over you so easily, Ash-ton. And might I remind you, I'll never make that mistake. Now let go of me!"Something snapped in him and she could feel his jaw tighten. He pulled her closer, very close, so that their noses were almost touching and she gulped nervously. "No," he simply said. "You say you feel nothing for me yet your heart wants to jump out of your chest anytime you see me," She furrowed her brows in confusion. How'd he know? Oh my goodness, Jen
(flashback)"Will Ashton not be playing the game?" A girl asked and her friend shook her head in reply. "I think I see him on the bench, Cecilia.""Coach Peter must be very angry with him to make him sit aside for the Finals." Cecilia said to her friend, Agnes. "But they are going to lose, it's 24-27 already and the time is almost over," Agnes said."Well, the coach will have the principal's reprimanding to worry about losing the game," another brown-headed girl intervenes. "Not only that, basketball is Ashton's passion, losing a game when he is teamed would kill him!" Cecilia said to them and Agnes sighed in defeat. "I can already tell the fate of our school if they do not let Ashton in any minute," Agnes said. They both groaned as their rival school rejoiced as another point was scored. "I think I'm going home, I can't watch this anymore!" Cecilia said. "Wait, Ceecy, I think they are letting him in." Cecilia looked at where Ashton was formally seated, only to see him being exc
"Miss Kennedy, in my office now!" Ashton ordered through the telephone and Thea practically ran to her boss's office. "Yes, Mr Ryder, you sent for me?" She said immediately. She stood before him. He raised his head from the paper he was holding in his hands. "What says the time, Miss Kennedy?" He asked. "I'm afraid I don't have a watch with me sir," she said. Relaxing back on his chair at her words, he said, "How is it possible that my own private secretary doesn't even have a watch to call her own." "Well, I had one before but it stopped working a long time ago and I didn't have the time to get it done," she told me. "Not that I care about your watch replacement, Miss Kennedy, but you always need to give me my coffee. I usually send Miss Weston, but she has a lot of work at hand. Besides, it's your responsibility, isn't it?" "Yes sir, I'll go get your coffee," she said without hesitation. Her eyes lingered on him longer than intended. He raised a brow at her in curiosity. I