“Don’t be silly. He is looking at me.” Vicky whispered back.Ok. Maybe my eyesight wasn’t working well, and I was squinting.“Hello there. Can you guide me to the administrative office?” I heard his voice and kept playing with my bag strap.“Just walk straight and turn left by the end of the hallway. By the way, I am Vicky.” I sensed Vicky standing up, I raised my eyes and found them shaking hands.His eyes were darting towards me every now and then,“Elara! It’s his first day,” Vicky rolled her eyes and said between clenched teeth.She wanted me to acknowledge his presence and give him a warm welcome.I got up quite clumsily and tried to smile. His face contours were perfect.Just perfect.“Elara!” Vicky then turned to him with amusement in her eyes, “I am sorry, she often zones out.” She told the guy with laughter in her voice.“Can you take me to the office? I am quite poor with the directions.” This time my heart did skip a beat.He was asking me this favor.ME!I turned to look a

(Elara’s pov: Still the flashback) “Can you please stop crying?” Noah asked me, wiping my tears. Dressed in a bridal white gown, I was waiting in the dressing room, for my father. “Vicky is still not talking to me. She is not believing me. Aiden and Edmund are no longer listening. What to do?” Till yesterday, Vicky kept convincing me to run away. She was ready to help me financially. “I will settle you somewhere good. I will give you so much money, Elara that you would never need to work in your life. I swear it will be a luxurious life. Just say no to this wedding, Elara.” Vicky wanted to hold my feet while crying when I took a step back. “Vicky. No!” “What will you get out of this? He will never love you. He will never think of you with respect.” With a swollen face, Vicky sobbed brokenly, “You might have difficulty falling pregnant. These industrialists are usually interested in reproducing an heir. Love is not for them. There is still time.” But no. I couldn’t do it to my f

There was silence in the car. Elara was still trying to grasp whatever he just told her.She could not see his face but could sense him being stiff beside her. None of them could utter anything. One was quiet not able to clarify himself. Other was in disbelief, not knowing what to say.After a few minutes, the car halted, and none of them attempted to move. An uneasy silence was hanging in the air.Their emotions were all over the place in the confines of the car. None of them dared to break the stillness inside.They were frozen in their seats.“Sir. Ma’am. We are home.” The chauffeur who was holding Elara’s door reminded them gently. Aiden came back to reality with a shock and then didn’t take time to get out of the car.Elara startled and jumped out, almost running behind him, “Aiden. Please stop.”But he didn’t wait and went inside the guest room closing the door behind him on her face.Elara knocked the door, but he didn’t budge. Placing a hand on her chest, Elara came back to he

(Flashback: Aiden pov) Moving to a new place is always challenging for kids especially if they are in their teens. I moved here along with my grandpa who had been living with me when I lost my parents. The neighborhood looked so gloomy and gray. It all was so boring until I saw her. It was the second day after our move. Peeking out of my window, I found her talking to a guy. Her wavy hair was flowing softly in the breeze and due to being a plus size, the most prominent thing on her body was her ass. And then she turned around laughingly, and I gasped in shock. Though it had started getting dark, all I could see was the most beautiful girl and a boy who was trying so hard to impress her. Her laughter had something that made me smile like a fool. But then… something strange happened. That guy held her face and started kissing her. I didn’t like it. All I wanted to do was punch down that guy and push him away. Leaving the curtain, I stepped away from the window. How dare he? I

(Aiden pov)When I got consciousness, I could feel nothing but darkness around me. There was no light, and I could hear someone sniffing his nose close by.“Wh…who is this? Where am I? Elara?”I tried to squeeze my eyes to look through the darkness, but it didn’t work. Why wasn’t I able to see anything?“Aiden!” A teary voice spoke near my ear, “At last you are awake, son. You are back?” I felt him kissing the back of my hand. “Grandpa” Are you… are you crying?”But he couldn’t answer that due to the sudden interruption of doctors and nurses.“Grandpa!” I panicked and raised my hand, “I am right here son. Everything will be fine. You just have a bandage around your eyes. You will be able to see once your eyelids start healing.”Grandpa knew what I must be thinking.The doctors checked me and started poking needles in my skin. I didn’t respond because there was someone else on my mind.“Grandpa. Is someone else is here?” I asked him, hoping, that he would tell me about Elara.“Yes, s