Chapter 13: 8.𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫

My eyes open just a minute before my alarm rings . It's 5 am right now and my room is silent. I could hear the clock ticking as every second passed by. I just laid down until my alarm buzzed and in a few moments buddy jumped on my bed and kept his paw on my chest and pants

People would think he's trying to wake me up but that's the case here . He's just hungry, when I try to get up buddy jumps off the bed and exits from my room .

I draw the curtains open, the sun hasn't risen yet and it still looks gloomy out there , it has been raining constantly . I just can't stand this cold weather which comes as a package with the season.

When I enter the hall buddy is already waiting with his food bowl near the kitchen counter I smile at him while he waggles his tail, I take out the dog food from the cabinet and I fill his bowl and he stays still until I finish "go ahead" I pet his head

I freshen up and make myself some fruit smoothie after we both finished our food. I take out buddy for a morning run.

The sun is already up , and I am greeted by a few of my fellow neighbors who are also for a morning warmup or to take their dogs out . Near my apartment there's a dog park where there are many Golden retrievers like buddy . He's almost a year old but still has the same behavior as a puppy , Even he has made a few friends of his own around the area.

We run a few rounds around the park when my phone rings "what is it?" I ask

"Good Morning to you too" Ian snickered from the other side. I am astonished by the fact that this guy is awake this early but there's more possibility of him not sleeping last night. After his birthday celebration was done by his father, Ian was still not happy and he threw another party for his friends last night

"I heard some crazy information you might be interested in" he informed me .I stopped running due to the sudden action, Buddy got confused and tried to pull away. I gestured to him to rest and he sat at the spot near me "About what?" I asked

He remained silent and didn't reply, he loves to get on my nerves sometimes "Ian just spill it , I don't have time" My tone became rough

"Woah chill man, It's about Stella the fashion Student we met" my fingers tightened around the phone hearing him "what did you hear?" I asked again

"Stella Miller is the only daughter of Sebastian Miller! I mean he has two sons but she is the only daughter of the Miller's. Can you believe it? But I can't digest the fact that she is studying Fashion instead of law like her family. Is it for show or they-" he paused for a few seconds

"You knew it!" He yelled

I resumed walking, buddy ahead of me "Yeah I did" I responded and he gasped "why did you tell me?"

"Because it's not important"

I know he was in a state of disbelief because of me and thinking what to say next "How is it not important! She would definitely know about her father-" I cut him off in middle

"She doesn't. And she doesn't even need to know about it" I explained "I don't understand how you even get this information?" He questioned. I chuckled "you don't need to know that, and I need Stella's number"

"You know SO MUCH about her shouldn't you know her number too?" He mocked empathizing words "do you know Zuri is going on a blind date?"

"With whom?!" He yells right through my ear. Why did everyone's voice is becoming louder and louder day by day "Send me Stella's number and I will give you his biodata" I said and cut off the call

By the time we went back to my apartment, Ian had already forwarded me Stella's number. And as said I gave him the information about Zuri's blind date, she would not talk to me after this but I had to, sorry Zuri . I should have taken her number when she asked me at the mall .

After taking a nice shower and a good breakfast, I headed directly to work.

"Good Morning Liam" Iris greeted me. She works as a receptionist. I stood in front of her desk "Good morning" I wished her back

"Are you stressing about something?" She asks. I Shake my head in denial "no I am perfectly fine, why do you ask?" she smiles and says "You greet everyone in the morning but today you didn't so i assumed"

I actually didn't greet any of my colleagues this morning, it has become a daily habit of mine which I started when I was a newcomer

"Yeah, I think I have got something on my mind." I try to provide an excuse. It's not necessary but when someone's behavior changes people actually tend to notice. She passes me a cup of coffee "Hope this helps" I take it and thank her

I settle on my chair and save her number in my contact list. Taking a sip of coffee I type her a message

Morning, I need my jacket back.

A few minutes later she messages back

Freckles: who is this?

Liam Carter Williams

She types something but decides not to send it. I thought she might have my number but seems like Ian didn't give it .I wait for another few minutes but there's no response from her. "Who's message are you waiting for" a whisper makes me jump

Adam stands behind my chair holding a cup of coffee and an annoying smile on his face "A date?" He asks trying to look at my screen. I lock my phone and keep it aside "Doesn't concern you" I reply

He takes a chair from the other side and sits beside me "I have been observing you for the past 15 minutes and you have been constantly staring at your phone"

"I was checking my Emails" I make up an excuse and take a pile of files "Go back to your seat , I have work" I open one of the files which contains some of the designs which I have already reviewed but in order to send this guy away I need to pretend to review them

He narrows his gaze and stares at me without batting an eye and leaves when he couldn't get a response from me. I look around if he was sneaking up on me again but he is long gone. I check if there's any message from her but she has decided to ignore me, I leave her another text

Meet me at the café near your university by 2pm , remember to bring my jacket

Freckles: okay

A smile forms on my lips looking at the screen, at least she replied. I keep my phone back, Adam passes by my desk frowning at me, this guy doesn't take a break.

Time passes by quickly. After finishing my work I go to the café . It's a popular spot for the students, even I used to hang out around here, as lunch time has finished. There aren't many people present around. It was easy to spot Stella among others due to her golden hair

She sits outside of the café on the table placed near the glass window of the café. I am behind her so she hasn't noticed my presence and she is earlier than the time said.

I walk towards her, she is busy reading something on her phone. I sit opposite to her, she lifts her head up when the noise of my chair dragging hits her ears. She panics and closes her phone, it cannot be called a phone. It's a little larger than a normal phone but smaller than a tab. She puts it in her bag

"Hey" I greet her and she responds to me when I nod.

She picks a huge paper and places it on the table. The size is really big that it hides my entire view "here's your jacket and thank you for leading it to me the other day" she speaks

I pick the bag and keep it on the other chair beside mine. Her expression seems a little bit dull today. She didn't cover her freckles today. A little sun rays fell on her face, making her eyes and face glow. The name freckles suits her well

Yet her expression says she is tensed about something

"If that's all I will take my leave" she gets up and picks her bag. I also do the same in order to stop her "wait! Why don't I treat you to a coffee?" I ask

She looks at me confused, "why?"

"Because you came here in spite of your classes. I should return the favor right?" I don't think my words are making sense right now as each word leaves my mouth she just stares at me "You did me a favor and I just returned what's yours-"

"What about some donuts?" I say , she raises her eyebrow at me and scoffs. I shouldn't have mentioned donuts . I take a deep breath "I am sorry"

"What?"

"I am sorry for lying to you, that was a total asshole behavior and I shouldn't have done it. I wanted to apologize to you that's why I called you here , the jacket was just an excuse" I explain

Her face softens and she smiles "That's the thing I was looking for" she sits on back "apologize accepted!" I smile and sit. She doesn't hold a grudge

That's when I noticed her dress was the same navy coloured dress that mom designed. I examine it more to make sure if I am wrong but I can just identify that it's a design of NYX

"Is something wrong?" Stella asks

I thought of asking her about the dress but it might not be a good idea. "That dress suits you" the dress actually looks good on her and even fits her well. She opens her mouth to say something but doesn't and just nods, her head movement causes a few of her hair strands to fall on her face.

Is she the girl Lucas gave the dress too? Or is it a coincidence? But there's only a few dresses like this and this looks exactly as the one mom brought for Mia.

"What would you like to eat or drink?" I ask her. She looks at the glass window, the café is visible through it, she thinks for a while and says "Anything is fine"

"You sure?" She nods "Yes I just had lunch so any small drink is enough" I go inside to give my order. The café is more occupied inside than outside, and the queue is a bit long. I search for Stella, she is back to reading. Then she giggles not just a small smile but she actually giggles at the screen and stops noticing people around her and resumes her reading silently but I could still get the glimpse of her smiles. She loves reading

I check the queue, there's still some time. So I call Lucas, after a few rings he picks up "Hey what's up?"

"Are you in classes?" I asks

"No just finished. Is it something important?"

"Lucas, tell me honestly, who did you give that dress to?" My question makes him go silent. I call his name again. "I don't know. I told you it was a random girl" he replies

"Is she from your university?"

He signs "why does it matter?"

"Just answer the question. Is she from your university?" I question him. I really wish that the girl isn't Stella but his next words make me freeze "Yes she is" I curse under my breath, when he agreed

"Do you know her?"

"What are you trying to do Liam? Please don't tell me you are thinking of taking that dress back from her or something. If you are doing it , don't even think about-" I interrupt him before he could complete his sentence "I am doing anything like that okay? If you don't know her name could you at least describe her features?"

"She had black hair and she's Asian If I ain't wrong" he finishes. A feeling of relief gives me assurance that the girl was Asian and had black hair so it's clearly not Stella but how does she have that dress?

I look outside, she has stopped reading and resting her chin on her palm, with the support of her elbow on the table. She is just sitting there with no movement consumed by her thoughts. She suddenly moves and leans back in the chair rubbing her forehead is she not getting enough sleep?

"Liam, are you there?" My brother asks. There are only a couple of people in the queue "Yeah. I got it Thanks" I thanked him and hung up. It doesn't take a minute when he messages me again, I know he would do that

It was my turn to order, there were many varieties of drinks and snacks to select from. But what would she like "what would you like today?" the counter attendant asks

"Do you have something which could help headaches?" She was taken back with my question, she called one of the workers and said something to her and came back "We do have Chamomile tea, green tea and ginger tea, they act as natural remedies and have many health benefits, Would you like to order them?"

I have heard of these names a few times , even Lucas drinks green tea but I have never tasted it "which one would you suggest? I am not good with this" I ask

"I would suggest chamomile tea, it might taste a bit different but it surely is good for your health and helps you to fall asleep" she explains . I think it's better to go with this Chamomile tea as she said, I take out my card and forward it to her

"Two Chamomile tea and thanks for your help" she proceeds my order "sure , please wait for sometime" I step aside and stand near the waiting counter until they prepare the tea

While waiting I noticed a few people drinking green tea with pleasure. Does it actually taste that good? It doesn't take much time for them to prepare it , I place the tray on the table.

"What is this?" Stella asks after seeing the cups, she might have got confused because I said I would treat her to coffee not tea. "Chamomile tea, it's good for your health and better than coffee" at least I know that point

She nods and takes the cup "thanks" whispering and takes a sip, I wait for her reaction. She looks at me and smiles "I like it" and continues to drink it. Thank God she liked it , I hope it helps her.

I also take the cup, it does smell nice and calming. A honey coloured translucent tea served in clear cups, It looks like some high class drink for some reason. I take a sip and a weird taste of bitterness hits my taste buds making me cough but I try to suppress it. I keep the cup aside. It tastes really bad ,how she drank this

I hear a laugh, my glare makes her stop laughing she keeps her palm on her mouth but I could still hear her small giggles "sorry but your expression" and she bursts laughing

That makes me embarrassed, I press my lips together and watch her enjoying my misery. She finally stops, her tea cup is half empty whereas mine looks untouched and i never wanna touch it again "are you drinking it for the first time?" She asks and I nod in responses

"It might taste weird for the first time but if you continue to drink it you will get used to it" she explains and takes another sip of the tea watching her my taste buds brings back that bitter taste on my tongue "I don't think I will ever like it" I say and she shakes her head "Try once again"

"No , I am never touching it" I declare

I slid my cup towards me "Please try it once again" she pleaded and I had no choice but to drink it again. As I take another sip, she stares at me until I gulp it down. The taste makes me squint my eyes close and groan, I think I have tears in my eyes now "still don't like it?" She inquires and I Shake my head "I hate it"

"Then why did you buy it?"

"Because I wanted to try it and it was a huge mistake" I signed. She smiles and continues to drink her tea "well I like it, thanks for the treat" she gestures to her cup.

Her tab is kept on her left side of the table and flipped down "what were you reading?" I question her and she looks at her tab then back at me and replies "Another novel"

"You enjoy reading don't you?" She nods at my question "I do, it gives me happiness" I smile at her words.

I ended up just watching her finish her drink. Well today I learnt that all Healthy stuff is not always tasty.

•unedited chapter

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Author's Note

That Chamomile Tea incident happened with me once. Honestly saying I am not a fan of it

I wanted to say that the characters just met and they can't instantly fall in love ofcourse they are attracted to eachother but love at first sight is not possible. So you all gotta wait and see their relationship process

Hope you all liked the chapter, pls remember vote

-have a nice day