Chapter Forty
Emberly POV:
"Ber-Ber?" I heard a familiar voice from a distance.
No-Freaking-Way!!!!!
"Mason?" I turned around, in a shock and met his blue startling eyes.
Mason was your typical good-looking boy, with light blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was over six feet tall and his body has filled out nicely over the time. I was so shocked to see him that I didn't notice a petite woman next to him.
"Wendy."
Wendy was my cousin from my dad's side. Even though she was tiny she was stunning with long brown hair and green eyes. Greece did well to both of them. Both were tanned and glowing.
"It is you." Wendy squealed and pulled me in for a hug.
She stepped back and eyed me, no doubt comparing us both already. Mason tried to lean in for a hug too but her hand on his arm stopped him. It was creepy how her smile never faltered.
"You look different." He said, particularly eyeing my chest.
"So do you. How are you guys?" I chose to ignore him and questioned Wendy.
"I'm great. I've moved in with Wendy last month. You know that right?" Mason replied, placing a hand on my arm causing me to shudder inwardly.
"Yes I do, I'm happy for you guys. Although, I didn't see the reason for you to tag me in that post." I laughed awkwardly.
"Don't be silly, she's your cousin. Of course, I'm going to tag you in that post." Mase replied as he glanced down at Wendy who was busy frowning at me but smiled sweetly at him.
'And you're my ex.' I wanted to say it out aloud but I bit the inside of my cheeks.
Yeah, me and Mase had a history... a long one.
"So, Wendy, how are you?" I asked, avoiding her death glares.
What did I ever do to you?
"We are doing great. I'm actually here to buy myself a gift and Mase is paying so I am looking to buy myself something extravagant. Do you think I should go for Tiffany or Prada?" She questioned me, raking her long red nails on Mase's arm.
If she thinks this is going to make me jealous, she should try it harder. I don't know how Mason is now but he was a good riddance.
"I think you should go with..." I tried to help her but Mase interrupted me.
"Silly her. Forgive her for asking you these questions. Of course you wouldn't know about these brands. Even their names sound so expensive. One item covers your 3-month rent."
Yes, good riddance.
"I live in my own house so I don't have to pay rent and you'll be surprised to find out that I work at..." I spoke only to be cut off again by Mase.
"So what brings you here. I mean don't be offended but we both know you can't afford a place like this."
"Actually, I'm here with my..."
I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. I stiffened immediately but relaxed when I recognised his familiar aftershave. Arran clutched his arm tighter around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My eyes widened momentarily.
"Where have you been babe?"
Babe?
He softly nuzzled his lips in the crook of my neck, sending an electric shiver down my spine.
"I'm sorry, how rude of me, you are?" He asked Mason with such politeness that if he weren't holding me tightly, I would've stumbled forward in surprise.
"Mason, my friend." I answered, as I gestured between us.
"Mason. Emberly's ex." Mason squared his shoulders and said knowingly.
Okay then! I felt Arran stiffen but he relaxed when I squeezed my hand around his arm.
"Hi, I'm Wendy. Emberly's cousin." She glared at Mason.
"Who are you and how do you know Emberly?" Clearly Mason wasn't done. He eyed his arm around my waist. Arran, who by now had his chin on my shoulder, chuckled softly.
"Mason!" Wendy shrieked at him.
"This is Arran and Arran this is Mason, my old friend and his girlfriend, Wendy, who is also my cousin." I introduced again. I tried to step forward but his arm remained locked.
"It's very nice to meet you." Arran said sarcastically but they were too startled to notice.
"I know you from somewhere.... from a magazine." Wendy said, eyeing Arran suspiciously.
"Don't be silly honey, why would anyone so popular would hang out with Emberly." Mason said with a sickly sweet smile plastered on his face.
"Wow." He whispered in my ear.
"Actually, Arran Raymond is my..."
"Boyfriend." Arran finished my sentence.
"Boyfriend?" They both asked simultaneously, in disbelief.
"Boyfriend?" I whispered under my breath. "What are you up to? I tilted my head slightly and muttered under my breath. My breath hitched at our proximity. His eyes travelled down to my lips and he smirked. I looked ahead, blushing furiously.
"Shhh." He whispered in my ear.
"Wait, are you the Arran Raymond? The CEO of Raymond & Co?" Mason went from arrogant guy to awestruck guy in a millisecond. I tried not shaking my head in disbelief. This whole conversation was making me uncomfortable.
"That would be me." He replied with a mischief in his voice. I sighed and placed my head on his chest.
"It's an honour to meet you, Sir." Mason eyed him with awe. I tried my best at containing a smile that was threatening to break.
"How did you manage to bag a guy like him?" Wendy accused me.
What? Bag! Who says that anymore?
"That would be my fault, she won my heart." His said in overly cheery voice and his words sent a shiver down my body. To make it worse, he placed a small kiss on the side of my head. Their eyes widened so did mine.
Affectionate Arran is something I can never handle.
"Are you in touch with Aunt Becca?" She shot a question at me as if she didn't hear him.
I sighed softly to myself. There is really no stopping these two. Our Aunt was known for her so-called 'witchcraft'. I knew for the fact the magic ball she uses to predict future that she state was given to her by an 'elder witch' was from eBay. After all, I ordered it for her.
"No, I am not." I replied with a cringe.
"I am such a huge fan of yours Sir. Your recent work for the NGO is commendable. I am honoured." Mason was clearly not back from his spellbound state. "And you Emberly, my god you look stunning." He flashed a white smile at me. Arran grip tightened and I felt him taking a step back causing me to create a distance between us and them.
"Did she tell you about practicing on dolls? That shit actually works" Wendy squealed.
"No Wendy, I am not doing anything...Tell them, Arran. " I sighed, exasperatedly.
"Do you feel slight twitching at night? Like someone is trying to choke you?" She questioned Arran instead.
Oh my god. I wanted to die from humiliation. You have Arran's cousins who were composed and elegant and you get my cousin, going crazy over dolls and whatnot! Arran pressed his lips to my shoulder, silently trying to choke back laughter. I could feel his body slightly shaking.
"It was really nice meeting you guys but we have a lot to do." I replied hastily, preventing her from saying another word.
I awkwardly hugged Wendy who was still scowling at me. Mason tried to lean in for a hug but Arran held me back! Males and their egos! I bid adieu to both of them again. Arran shook hand with Mason who refused to let go of his hand and Wendy threw himself at him and invited him to their house.
We started walking again and he walked step by step beside me. Neither of us said anything. I couldn't imagine saying anything after that horrifying occurrence. When I finally dared to look up I saw Arran trying to hold back his laughter miserably.
"Go on. Let it all out." I sighed.
Arran's shoulders shook as he laughed. He placed his hands on his knees and he let it all out.
"Stop." I mumbled feeling embarrassed. He laughed again probably at the sheer look of horror on my face.
"Here I thought my family was crazy!" He managed to say it between his laughter.
"That was nothing." I pointed my finger at their direction. "Oh god, out of all the people in this world and I had to meet these two!" I cried out loudly whilst Arran laughed even harden. "Stop laughing at me." I frowned at him. He stopped immediately and I felt bad instantly. After all, it was rare for him to laugh even at my expenses.
"So this Mase guy..." He cleared his throat and he tried appearing aloof.
"He's my ex.... my first so called love." I faked smiled at him brightly. He ever so slowly arched his eyebrow.
"He seems..." I am pretty sure we both could come up with colourful words to describe him.
"Cocky?"
"If you say so." He bit his lips, trying not to laugh again. I pressed my smile.
"That's how he is. Full of confidence, not giving shit on what people thinks about him and an ass." I finished the sentence with a frown.
"Want to talk about it?" He asked me gently.
"There's not much to tell. We met, fell for each other, he asked for sex, I refused, he cheated, I moved on. The end." His eyes widened in disbelief and I chuckled softly at his expressions.
"Wow! He is something." He whistled lowly.
"Amazing isn't it? I mean it was only at the prom... not a big deal right? He left me stranded middle of nowhere and I had to walk an hour before I could find network on my phone. If that wasn't worse, he went after my cousin and it's not like there's a sister rule book! Nah, not at all." I exclaimed, feigning incredulity.
He halted midway and gave me 'are you serious?' look.
"Fuck... he ruined your prom?" He ran a hand through his tousled hair.
I tucked a loose hair behind my hair. "Honestly, I didn't mind." I lied.
I wanted to kill him!
"Then why are you upset? I know you're not the type to mourn over guys like him." I halted momentarily and thought about it.
"Honestly?"
"No, lie to me." He rolled his eyes.
"I just don't like when people look down at me. Even after meeting them after so many years he wanted to boast about how much better he is than I will ever be!"
He remained silent for a while as if he needed time to carefully think about his words. I carried on.
"I also don't understand why everyone is obsessed with status and money. When we were in that shop, the assistants kept glaring at me as if I was going to steal something yet they were fawning over you. I agree nowadays we need money as much as we need food and water but why do you have to bring others down?" I stopped and questioned him.
"Emberly." He turned so we were facing each other. He gazed at me intently. "Growing up at Raymond we had everything we ever wanted. You name it and you had it. However, we were constantly told money couldn't protect you from your demons. It cannot buy you peace of mind and it certainly cannot heal broken relationships. Trust me, I tried. What you have is special. I am yet to meet someone like you. You don't let people walk over you. You are kind to even those who doesn't deserve your kindness and the fact you care so much is something I always admire about you. Also the fact that you trust me more than I trust myself. " He faced me and even though his lips were quirked up in a small smile, his eyes held sadness.
I felt a dull stab in my heart.
"Arran..." I touched his cheek, feeling the tensed muscle of his jaw. I wanted to say something, anything to divert his attention.
"And next time if anyone bothers you, you will let me know and I will deal with them including those assistant back in that shop." He told me sternly as if the thought of someone troubling me troubled him.
My heart fumbled a beat on the later thought and my cheeks felt warmer than before. Before he could notice, I stared straight ahead and tried to appear normal.
"Like what? Scaring them away? Oh wait... what is wrong with that sentence?" I grinned mischievously at him from corner of my eyes. He smiled back at me, only this time it was real.
"Are you sure you are fine?" He looked at my eyes and questioned me and honestly I felt a lot better.
"Much better." I tried not to smile too widely.
We continued walking in peaceful silent. As we started down the street, he reached for my hand and laced our fingers together. My heart started beating fast. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.
"I like this." I blurted out and closed my eyes briefly at my stupidity.
However, he smiled softly and said, "Me too."
Having him this close to me was making me really nervous. I didn't know what to say. The silent was only increasing my nervousness and suddenly I couldn't enjoy the peaceful silence between us.
Get to know him!
"So lets play 20 questions. You know... I ask you a question and vice versa. You can start. " I said over cheerily.
I peeked at him. Arran had pressed his lips together and when he looked at me his eyes shone mischievously.
Oh boy.
"If you say so. I'll go first. I want to know why you carry a condom with you all the time. Not that I am complaining, as it can be very useful in unexpected situation." He wasn't the one who beat around the bush.
"Seriously? Out of all those things, that's what you want to know? How do you even know this?" I asked him, incredulously.
"So I am right. I am just curious."
He stopped near an ice-cream bar and ordered a chocolate fudge ice cream for me and a cookie dough for himself. We sat outside the bar, under shaded area and away from the people passing by. I thought about my answer.
"It was something my mom told me to do it. I don't know why but she had a crazy thought that I would knock on her door and say 'hey mom I am pregnant'. She wants me to become something first. Be financially prepared for the baby. It has to do with how I was born." I smiled fondly at the memories I shared with my mom.
"Why is that?" He wondered.
"My mom had me when she was only 17. Even though my parents love each other, there is a small part in her heart that still thinks that my dad had to love her because of the baby that was inside her. Like he had no other choice but to be with her. Her parents abandoned her when they found out. She refused to abort so I guess she doesn't want me to make same mistake as she did. She regrets that I never got to know my grandparents.
Also, she doesn't want me to rely on a man because he knocked me up or for him to stay with me because of that reason. My dad has assured her numerous times that he adores her even before I was born but she feels regretful. So her pep talk kind of scared me and every time I am in such situation I start to overthink and I panic. Hence, why I keep a condom with me but never have... it sounds so stupid" I pressed my lips, feeling embarrassed.
"If it makes you feel any better, I lost my virginity to my neighbour's daughter in the backseat of her father's Range Rover. We had nothing special or in common. It was uncomfortable and we both were unprepared. So if you need more time, you should wait." A small smile danced on his lips when he looked up again and met my gaze. "And once you have decided you know where to find me." He grinned and winked.
I tried not smile but couldn't help it. "My turn. Have you ever... I don't know... messed up?"
"You mean fucked up?" His eyes momentarily flickered to my lips then he went back to staring ahead.
"No, messed up. It's just that you want everything to be so perfect that it is hard to believe that you ever made any mistakes."
He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, betraying his unease, "Yes, I have messed up once." and finally said.
"What happened?" I stared at him wide-eyed. He rolled his eyes at my expression and began telling me.
"I was drunk and I accidentally deleted a contract that was worth couple of deals. My father was furious and extremely tensed. It was the first time I got to see this side of him. He yelled at me, nearly kicked me out. He had a meeting in a week time and he was under a lot of stress."
"What happened next?" Ice cream was all forgotten.
"Luckily there was a draft saved in the hard drive so Luke and I spent 90 hours working on the proposal and it was better than original." He winked cockily and I stared at him disbelievingly.
"Hey, its true. That's what he said. He gifted us Rolex and pushed me to join the office the next summer. What about you miss goody two shoes?"
"I snuck out from my house and yeah I didn't get any Rolex, instead I got a great opportunity to look after my neighbour's cats who loved her cats more than she loved her son and the cats hated me." I shudder. I didn't have to think too deeply. The wound was still fresh.
"You couldn't ask for the permission because...?" He asked me with a small grin.
"Because of Mason. My parents weren't very fond of him."
"What, you don't say." He said dryly.
"She tried her best to keep me away from him. She couldn't exactly tell 16 years old to not be friend with certain people so she kept an eye on me. I was tired of having my mom watching over me all the time. I wanted to be a rebel so badly that I snuck out from the front door. I know I'm a genius." I said slowly, regretting making my mom worried all the time.
"You miss her?" he asked me softly. I felt a small lump forming on my throat but I cleared and replied cheerily.
"A lot."
"Where is she now?"
"Spain. She always wanted to have a house in Spain. You'll get along with her very well. She is a clean freak too." I replied without thinking.
I froze realising I was speaking about my mom. I looked at him and he was looking back at me intently. I knew he wanted to ask me more question but wasn't sure whether he should.
"Arran... there's something you should know." I hesitated. He raised his eyebrow in question.
"It's about the contract." I said and he stilled, all trace of humour gone.
"The reason why I was made to work with you is because of my mom." I swallowed hard, my throat feeling dry but I continued. "Couple of months ago, she had a heart attack and Arran, we were so scared and... hopeless. We couldn't find a donor and the waiting list was too long. The medical bills were piling up, I had to drop out and use the funds to cover the bills." My eyes burned.
"We... we had given up but your father approached me in hospital. He asked me to work for you... to look after you and make sure you are not causing trouble. I signed the contract and long story short I started working for you. I realised how much you hated opportunist. I wanted to tell you but... but I didn't want you to think I would do anything for money." I looked away from his penetrating gaze, feeling guilty.
My heart was hammering against my ribcage and I bit my lip nervously trying to fight the tears that were threatening to spill over. How could I expect him to trust me when I couldn't even trust him with my own problems? I wasn't afraid of telling him the truth but I was scared of his reaction.
"Emberly..." He whispered my name but I couldn't look at him.
"There's more..." I cleared my throat and mustered the courage to continue. "Your father... he asked me... he asked me to make you fall for me but I swear Arran I refused and my feelings for you are genuine. You deserve the truth and that's the truth. I owe your father money and I am expected to repay by working for you. I won't blame you if you don't trust me. I just... I just want you to feel that you can trust me."
There. I said everything that was bottled inside me. No secrets from my side.
I waited for his reaction. I was expecting disgust but he had his jaw clenched tightly. The nerves had my hands shaking. He closed his eyes briefly and when they opened, his eyes were pained. Biting harshly on my lips I felt tears blurring my vision.
"How is your mother?" He asked me gently but worriedly.
No judgement.
"Oh, Arran..." I sniffled as I wiped my tears.
"Hey..." He scooted his chair closely and he placed his hands on top of my hands. He had concern etched all over his face and he was gazing at me carefully.
"Emberly, I am so sorry."
"You shouldn't... I should be the one. I hid all this from you." I watched his jaw move back and forth.
"I can't believe him." He said, angrily.
"Please don't be mad at him. He was worried about you."
"I gave you such a hard time. I am such an idiot."
"That you are." I tried smiling and more tears fell. His eyes were so warm on me, silently thanking me for telling him the truth. I knew I made the right choice by telling him everything myself.
"Thank you for trusting me Emberly."
"Thank you for believing me."
He probably wanted to ask me more questions but his phone rang, interrupting us. He let it ring for couple of times before he started typing furiously. His brows were furrowed in utter concentration.
I was about to ask him if everything was okay when his phone rang again. His gaze flickered to mine momentarily and sighed tiredly.
"Aren't you getting that?" I wondered.
"No, it's probably Luke or my sister. They are worried." He said matter of fact.
"Sophia." I confirmed my suspicious. I watched his jaw move back and forth like he's having an internal debate about what he should say next.
"She'll be there once we get back." He dropped his phone on the table, which was still vibrating.
"How do you feel?" It had to be something in my voice because his shoulders stiffened yet he still gave a small smile.
"Right now, I couldn't care less but I want to prepare myself for the worst. She probably wants something." His jaw was grinding in temper.
Probably you.
"So I should expect mood swings, overtimes and extra work?" I tried joking but his mood sobered up quickly.
"Emberly, there is something you should know. I'm not good at showing my emotions. I will forget what we share in a heat of moment. There will be time where... I'll detach myself from everyone. My actions will hurt you and I wouldn't be aware of it. This is how I have managed so far. I will shut you out. Talking makes it worst and truthfully sometimes I will not be ready to talk about it. It brings back all the memory I am trying to forget... all the feelings that I am trying to escape but..."
"But?" I could feel myself clamming up.
"But for you I will try. Remember this whenever I mess up."
I tried not to smile too widely.
"I will try, too." I said, making him smile too.
"Lets get back. We are flying back tonight." He stood up whilst I stared at him wide eyed.
"Tonight." I repeated, feeling the world moving.
"In fact, within 3 hours to be exact." He stated unaware of my current state of mind.
"My clothes...your clothes are everywhere. Arran, why are you telling me this now? The shopping you did needs to be packed. I need to finalise the documents from the meeting we had. We still need to return the shoes and the dress. Oh my god, I will meet you back at the hotel in a bit." I replied frantically, remembering something.
"Where are you going?" He questioned me confusingly.
"I forgot something, see you in a bit."
I was about to walk away from him but all of a sudden he pulled me against him with my face pressed against his chest. His arms tightened around my waist for a brief moment and I lost my breath. I heard his unspoken words.
His apology.
His resentment about the situation I was in.
Him silently thanking me for trusting him.
My heart pounded in my chest as I looked up to him. He placed a chaste kiss on top of my head. Without saying something, he stepped back and walked away. He didn't had to. I understood it all.
Suddenly, remembering what I am supposed to do, I ran back to the shop where I first saw it. Thank god it was still open. I selected what I wanted and paid with my personal card.
"Excellent choice, Miss." The shopkeeper packed my gift in a box and smiled at me.
I held the box and smiled back at him. Now all I have to do is wait till next month.
â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦
Ta-da!
What do you think about Emberly revealing her past?
Sorry for the delay but this chapter is super long! I was editing between full time job and part time studies! Not an easy task but I hope it was worth it.
Please let me know how it was.
Enjoy reading, keep voting and leave a comment.