Arranged Hearts Novels & Stories

She was older than Adrian expected—forties, maybe—but carried herself with the precision of someone trained her entire life. Her voice, once filtered by the mask, emerged natural now. “In its current state,” she said gently, “the Heart is a chorus without a conductor. A thousand voices screaming at once.” Her gaze shifted to the glowing orb. “You think you connected people. But you only opened the wounds.” “Wounds are meant to heal,” Adrian said. “Only when tended properly,” she replied. She lifted the glowing disc. “With this interface, the Heart will be able to sort, align, and guide every signal. Every person. Every mind.”

Otherwise, I’ll come after you. —None of that, kiddo! I leave the two of them and go to my office. When I arrive, I see a box on top of the desk. When I open it, I get a scare: inside, there’s an animal’s heart, with a note: I’m very close! I close the box quickly and throw it in the trash, feeling a chill run down my spine.

The grand chamber that housed the Crimson Heart was a breathtaking sight. Pillars of polished obsidian rose to meet the vaulted ceiling, adorned with intricate carvings that seemed to writhe and shift in the dim light. In the center of the room, upon a pedestal of black stone, lay the Heart itself. It pulsed with an eerie light, radiating an energy that both mesmerized and terrified Aria. Evangeline, draped in her crimson gown, stood before the Heart, her hand outstretched towards it. A malevolent aura emanated from her, crackling with dark energy.

But it was the setup before her that made her heart stutter to a halt. It was a scene from a dream. A cream-colored blanket was surrounded by what seemed like a hundred glowing candles flickered in glass holders and lanterns, their golden light casting warmth across the sand. The flames swayed gently with the breeze, dancing shadows mingling with the silver wash of moonlight. The flickering golden light danced over plush white pillows arranged invitingly. At its center was a breathtaking bouquet of roses in blush pink and cream, their petals soft and perfect. The entire arrangement of candles and flowers curved into a soft, unmistakable heart shape.

I thought that I have emptied my heart of your love, I just realised that I'd just been pretending to have done that all this while. All Hearts !

He nodded at my question and replied," now that's where the colour which is the game changer will come in the game, this specific colour it doesn't matter whether is high or low in number, if it's thrown against other colours then you will win." I nodded understanding the game as we started. Akka was shuffling the cards and then gave out the first five cards, telling Tariq to choose the game changer colour. Tariq chose the spade, I checked my five cards to see I had none of that. I sighed thinking I had the scope of losing. The next five cards made me happy, they had the Ace spade and the king with number seven. Atleast with these three I had a little chance at winning.