Chapter 35: Chapter Thirty-Four ✓

Chapter Thirty-Four:

Arran's POV:

"Seriously how much do you earn?" She exhaled, gaping at the hotel room.

"I don't exactly know my net value." I responded casually.

It was one hell of a flight. If I learned one thing from this experience it was to never travel with her. Ever! I had to thank the air stewardess for offering her sleeping pills. Unfortunately she woke up just seconds before the landing! Then all hell broke loose.

"Liar." Emberly muttered, rolling her eyes.

We both were walking through the penthouse suite, when suddenly she squealed in excitement and kicked off her shoes. She ran full speed and launched herself on the mattress. She groaned and stretched out. "This is heaven." She muffled.

"Don't get used to it. You'll be behind a small cubicle in few days time" I reminded her, amused by her antics.

"I swear your generosity touches me." She feigned a hurt look and placed a hand on her heart.

"You are welcome." I grinned back, removing my tie.

Her eyes lingered on my movement for a bit before she looked away hastily. I decided to let her keep this room.

"So why are we here? Are you going to tell me or did you want to pretend nothing happened...?" She arched her eyebrow and questioned me. This was enough to stop me from walking out.

Tension cranked up a tight notch and buzzed through the air. She waited patiently for my answer. Here we go again. I was hoping she wouldn't remember but then again she had a sharp memory. I sighed and thought about the words carefully.

"I..." How can I tell her what I can't face myself? I did my best to not remember her or the moments we spent together. I wanted to pretend nothing happened between us. Did Emberly have a right to ask me this? I should be snapping at her not preparing myself to answer her. Telling her meant she could look at my weakness. But a part of me wanted to tell her. I knew if I trusted her with my secret she would support me, not judge or pity me.

"Don't sweat it Arran, just tell me when you are ready." She surprised me by saying this. She closed her eyes and smiled.

The amount this girl surprises me is unbelievable.

"Thanks" I sighed, feebly.

"Don't mention it." She replied, tiredly.

I sat on the edge of the bed. Why was it still affecting me? Why couldn't I seem to forget her? Sure, she was special to me but I thought I could move on from her and my past. Forget all the memories; forget the betrayal but instead, I was back to square one. I thought she had left for good and now she was back!

Just peachy!

"So what are we going to do?" She retorted, clearing her throat. When I tilted my head, I found her watching me carefully.

"We are meeting my Nan in few hours." I replied, with fondness in my voice.

Nan! I wondered what she would say about Emberly. I had a feeling she might like her. Emberly might appear to be similar to my previous assistants on the surface but she was completely different. I couldn't wait to tell her about the things she did.

"Great." She squeaked. No doubt she was nervous to meet my Nan.

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

When we arrived at my Nan's villa, she let out a small gasp. Looking at my Nan's humongous villa, this reaction was normal. She knew how to splash money. She had moved here when grandpa passed away. She had always told me how she met him randomly in the roads of Athens.

Grandpa was an architect and he was really passionate about his work and was a very logical man. But when he met Claudia (my nan) for the first time, he fell in love instantly and got married within two-weeks time. When he passed away, she took the news badly. However, she followed grandpa's footstep and became passionate about her work. She worshiped law and anything related to it. She was my inspiration.

I informed her briefly of my stay over the phone before visiting her. If she was surprised to hear that, she didn't show it. Soon, my Nan came out and hugged me firmly.

"My baby. Look at you." She cooed and kissed both cheeks affectionately. I reddened when Emberly stifled a chortle.

"Nan." I scowled, glancing at Emberly's side to inform her of her presence.

"And who have we got here?" She turned her attention to Emberly and smiled playfully.

"Hi, I'm Emberly. Nice to meet you." She said politely.

"New girlfriend...?" She smirked and Emberly tilted her chin in shock to meet my gaze.

"No Nan, just a friend." I told her firmly.

"Heard that before as well." She squinted, cheekily.

"Nan." I warned her haughtily.

"Anyway, do you like my painting Emberly. It cost me a fortune." She looked at me meaningfully and I gave her a deadpan look.

Here we go again.

"Uhmm... it did?" She studied the picture warily and creased her brows in bewilderment.

"Yes, around 25 euros." She narrowed her eyes at Emberly and studied her. I, on other hand, glared at her. Will her obsession with this painting ever go?

"Oh... that's alright. It looks worth the money." She replied back awkwardly, still confused and I scoffed.

Yeah right!

"25 thousands euros." Nan corrected and Emberly's eyes widened.

"Seriously...? You got... ripped. No offence though. I mean shit I'm sorry." She babbled and bit her tongue. She flustered uncontrollably under Nan's gaze. Something told me Nan was pleased with her answer. She didn't frown like she did last time. She seemed... happy.

"None taken, Miska please take Emberly to the garden, we'll join her in a bit." She followed Miska hesitantly and I gave her an encouraging smile.

"Seriously? What's the deal with the painting?" I turned my attention to her when she was out of sight. She let out a full-blown laugh.

"Honestly speaking Arran, I bought it from a charity shop for 99 cents, but only a few can spot it." She beamed.

Unbelievable, all this time she gloated it cost her fortune when the truth was it wasn't even 1 Euro!

"Right, not weird at all." I muttered.

"Anyway why are you here?" She asked me, sorrowfully. I looked away immediately. I was hoping she wouldn't ask me.

"Can't I come to visit you?" I lied.

"You certainly can, but something tells me the reason for your sudden visit it that the bitch is back." She said bitterly and I grimaced.

"Nan." I gave her a skeptical look.

"Sorry, I meant Sophia. She is back right?" She rolled her eyes and repeated her question.

"Yeah." I took a deep breath and tried to smile. That only made it worse for her. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and I tried to assure her.

"Arran it's been what 4-5 years now? You need to move on." Her tone was gentle and concerned. She was checking if I was okay.

"It's easier said than done."

"You need to let it go. Honestly, she's not even that pretty." She placed a hand on my arm and squeezed it. I smiled a little.

That's the problem! I can't.

"I needed a break... Let's not talk about it please. Especially in front of Emberly." I notified her.

"You like her." Surprise filtered across her face. Then her face broke out in a sunny smile. "Oh my god, you like her."

"Come on Nan. Don't be silly."

"Don't hide it from me Arran. I'm a lawyer remember." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"I almost forgot." I added dryly, only to be blessed with a punch.

"She is pretty." She teased.

"Nan." I cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks redden.

"Ooh you definitely like her."

Flashback

"Why are you so bitter about your life?" I questioned her.

"Why not? Your life is perfect. Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be noticed. I wanted an easy life you know, no struggling, no fighting over who will use the bathroom first. No worrying about how much to spend or looking at the price tag and walk away. I wish I had your life." Sophia replied gloomily.

"You think my life is perfect? You don't know how it feels to grow up and constantly be compared to your elder brother all the time." I scoffed.

Why does everyone assume that just because you were born rich, you don't have to face any problems? They tend to forget that we come with feelings too.

"I guess we are both the same but in a different way." She placed her head on my chest and snuggled closer.

"I guess so. If you need something next time, ask me." I placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"Will do. Thanks Arran, you're a great guy."

I heard a knock. I shook off the memory and concentrated on the present.

"Come in." I rubbed my tense shoulder.

"Hey you need to come and see this." Emberly poked her head through the door, a knowing light gleaming in her eyes. She could barely contain her excitement. It still astonished me how easily I could read her. Was Nan right?

Don't be stupid, of course she isn't!

"I'm not in the mood. I want to be alone." I rubbed my eyes tiredly and replied dismissively.

When we were leaving, my Nan invited her to visit anytime she wanted. Her whole face screamed how much she enjoyed Emberly's company. I was glad they got along pretty well.

"Just for few minutes, please. Pretty please." She grasped my hand and pulled me up.

"Fine! It better be worth it!" I told her, getting up and she squealed happily.

She opened the door of the wide terrace. All I saw was a blanket on the ground along with some cushions.

"What am I suppose to do?" I eyed her skeptically.

"Jeez, someone is grumpy." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Lie down." She instructed me whilst she lowered down to the blanket. She scooted over and motioned for me to do the same. Hesitantly, I followed. I did what she told me to do and waited for something to happen.

"Now what." My tone was irritable.

With a tiny inward sigh, she answered. "Look up."

"Emberly don't be stup..."

I looked up at the inky blackness of the night sky and inhaled. The night was deep and pristine, filled with faint yellows, a few dull red, and the white perfect diamonds in thousands or maybe millions.

It was a cool, windy night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen. Briefly, a dark, wispy cloud eclipsed the crescent moon. For a few shadowy moments, it looked like there was a halo around the cloud.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" She murmured.

"Jesus, how did you manage to find this?" I questioned her in wonder. It was an incredible sight.

"I just did. You are so involved in the small circle of your everyday life that you often ignore these little things." Her voice was throaty.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" I tilted my head and asked her.

She thought hard about it before answering. She appeared hesitant and bit her lip. "Like how desperately Dan from financial department wants to get promotion that he only goes home after midnight. Or how Anne wears only blue because once you told her it suited her."

"I can't keep track of everyone!" I rolled over so my body was turned her side. If she was startled by the proximity, she didn't express it.

"You don't even notice when a person cares for you." She declared, smiling sadly.If ice cubes were available I would have sucked them down one by one. Her accusation made a strange heat rise to my skin. Her tone was mild. Her smile seemed easy and genuine but still it bothered me. Was I really oblivious to things happening around me?

"Like who?" I leaned closer to her, intrigued.

"Your family, your parents, your sister, your aunties & uncles...Belle... your friends even though you only have few." She paused to chuckle. She gazed at my eyes deeply. "Everyone at the office admires you even though you're an ass. Your house maids, heck even me...!" She answered fiercely.

"Even you?" My head shot up in surprise.

"Yeah... even me." She blinked in disbelief of her honesty. Her lip trembled as she bit out the words.

Ah, hell.

Why did she have to be so damn gorgeous? She snuck a glance at me.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"What you mean why?" She scrunched her nose. "This should be the other way around. You are caring, sweet, charming even though you can get on my nerves sometimes. And sometimes you annoy me so much that I think I hate you and you pull my..."

I never let her complete the sentence. I raised my upper body, bent my head and took her mouth with mine. The scent of chocolate and coconut swarmed my senses. Her lips fit perfectly to mine, supple and soft. I braced myself for her protest, but she gave a little moan, sinking her fingers into my hair.

In some dim corner of my mind, I knew what I was doing was way wrong. I was leading her on without any promises. But I knew if I didn't kiss her, she'd be the death of me. The taste of chocolate lingered on her tongue along with a honeyed sweetness. My head spun as I became drunk on her, diving in and out of that silky mouth for more. Before things got too heated, which I intended to do, I pulled away reluctantly. She shuddered and softened beneath me. I broke contact and gazed deep into her blue eyes.

"You're so special, you know that?" I rubbed my nose against hers. My voice was hoarse.

"Yup." She grinned back, panting slightly. Her face was flushed and lips were bruised.

"So you'll tell me now?" She questioned me nervously. I stared at her for a long time without blinking.

"I'm not good at expressing my feelings." I laid back and told her.

"No! Really?" She gasped dramatically and grinned. I smiled back. Every muscle in my body stiffened when I thought about the reason.

"Someone from my past has returned." I told her softly. Suddenly I felt like an invisible wall slammed between us.

"And you can't face them?"

"I'm not ready to accept the reality. That person... meant a lot to me. I can't seem to move on. Whenever I try, I feel like giving up already.  I am tired of struggling..." I gulped in some much needed air. Talking about her was physically draining. When I looked at Emberly, she was in deep thought. A small scowl plastered her face. She coughed lightly.

"Well..." She rolled her lips inward and pressed them together tightly. After a while she blew out a sigh. "I read it somewhere that in life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. You know what I mean? I guess Arran, it's okay to struggle. After all, life is all about learning and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive. So whatever you are struggling with, just remember it was a bad time in your life and it will end soon. I don't know much about it but I have faith in you. Just wait for the happy ending." She beamed proudly and I scoffed.

"In reality everything is fake, Emberly. Nobody cares about you until you die. Even then, they don't give a fuck. There are no happy endings." I kept my voice firm.

"In love there is." She added, determined.

"Love is most overused concept in life." A humorless laugh escaped from my lips.

"Why are you so against love?" Her temper flared. That remark earned her a chilling look.

"Have you ever been in love?" I questioned her.

"I..." She appeared nervous.

"It's a horrible feeling. It makes you so vulnerable." I closed my eyes remembering the quote she once recited to me by Neil Gaiman. I thought about all the times we spent together.

All the days we wasted getting to know each other.

All the years I spent with my eyes closed.

If she said it was raining cats and dogs, I believed her blindly.

"It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love."

When she read it to me, I laughed thinking this Neil guy had no clue how it felt to be in love. However, years later, this was the closest thing that portrayed how I felt. I was never good with emotions, especially describing them but this quote summarized what love did to me.

Normal people talked about all sort of romantic shit when they laid under stars and then you had us. A chill raced down my spine when I realized I opened up to her. I shared my feelings with her. I let my guard down and practically babbled about how I felt about Sophia. The questions whirled through my mind and made no sense. For some reason, I felt relieved sharing this with her. When I noticed she hadn't replied me back, I looked at her. She was looking straight ahead with a frown. I braced myself for disdain, shock or even sympathy. But she shocked me by saying something I wasn't expecting.

"Wow she was a bitch." Sheer rage swept over her face. I remained silent.

She was!

"How do you know it's a she?" I questioned her, teasing lightly. Her blue orbs gazed at my face and she smirked.

"I hope it's a she." She took a ragged breath and her body shuddered.

"It is a she." I informed her.

"And what is this 'she's' name?"

"Sophia..." I whispered her name out bitterly.

"You... loved her?" She looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Still do." I replied, honestly. I heard a sharp intake.

And I hated that! I hated that even after all this time she still remained in my mind, in my memories. Emberly blinked and shook her head. I wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe how fucked up I am!

"Walter Anderson once said bad things do happen to everyone; bad accidents, bad relationships... but how we respond to them defines our character and the quality of our life. I know it hurts like hell but you can choose to sit in perpetual sadness... immobilized by the gravity of your loss, or you can choose to rise from the pain, and treasure the most precious gift you have - life itself. You are an... amazing guy and any girl would be lucky to have you but you are being extremely unfair to yourself... "

"He said 'Arran Raymond is an amazing guy'?" I teased and she rolled her eyes.

"No, I said that but he did say "pain is a part of life, it is what makes us human, it shapes us and helps us just as laughter and love do, you don't have to forget her, but you cannot let it destroy you. Conquer the pain but don't let it conquer you.""

The beating of my heart increased as I stared at her in admiration. My hands trembled as I clasped her fingers and gave a light squeeze. She scooted closer and placed her head on my chest. A strange emotion bubbled up inside me. Tonight, something changed. Tonight I realized how lucky I was to have her. Maybe Nan was right all along.

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Mia (76ROSE) saved my life :D I seriously cant thanks her enough x she is the best :) x

This is my last update of 2013 :D (geddit geddit?) :P As I promised, here's the next update x (my inbox was buzzing from morning) so have fun reading and its in Arran's POV again :D

How was 2013 for you? Mine was good, thanks for asking :P It had many ups and way many downs. This year I lost my best friend over a silly fight but on a flip side I made lots of great friends (KD, Jojo, Mia, Aruna and many more). My crush went downhill when he started dating someone who was clearly not me *shocking* :P but hey there are plenty of fish in the sea, especially one who always sits in the back row and is always staring at me :P I talked to my dad for the first time, dealt with many family problems and uni problems. It was an emotional journey for me but its ending on a happy note.

Thank you so much for reading and leaving such an encouraging comments/messages. I truly cherish them all. I'm aiming for 3k votes this time *wink* *wink* Do let me know if you have enjoyed it or not. So vote, comment and follow <3 x

Wish you all a very happy and fun filled New Year, hope there is no end to the world, there is still lot to be seen.

Take care, Ameerah x