Chapter 15

Heather, please at least let me know that you're doing okay.

As Heather sat in the back seat of the car, she found herself subconsciously reopening the last text Alejandro had sent her. She continued to stare at it until the words on her screen felt like they had morphed into one large blur of mess.

Since the day she went to his office, Alejandro had sent her texts and had tried calling her, but she hadn't responded to any of them. It wasn't that she necessarily didn't want to respond; but rather, she didn't know how to respond.

But she knew that tonight, at the Annual Canadian Jewellery Business Awards, she would probably be seeing him, and to her, that felt like a large blanket of uneasiness wrapped around her.

"Ma'am, we've arrived at your destination."

The voice of Heather's driver snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly shifted her gaze from her phone to the view outside the car window; the Four Seasons Hotel in all its glory, a red carpet leading to the hotel lobby, people chatting and laughing, women dressed in stunning gowns and men in fancy suits and tuxedos. The atmosphere radiated nothing short of excitement, yet excitement was the last thing Heather felt.

Heather muttered a quick thanks to the driver and then took a deep breath. She opened the car door, stepped out and straightened her deep red formal dress.

As soon as she took a few steps, she was immediately met with the snapping of cameras and a reporter shoving a microphone in her face.

"And there's Heather Kasuga, founder of Illuminate and one of our finalists! Heather, how are you feeling about tonight?"

Heather internally rolled her eyes and faked a smile at the camera. "I think everything will turn out just the way it should," she confidently answered and then promptly walked off before she could be bombarded with any more questions.

She then made her way inside the lobby and towards the event room where the ceremony would be taking place. The place was huge, and to her relief so far she had not been able to spot Alejandro anywhere.

"Heather, there you are! You look stunning."

Heather turned around to see Nathan, with Sierra closely behind him.

"There's a seat reserved for you at the front," Sierra added.

Heather hesitated for a moment. "You guys can take it," she eventually said.

Sierra frowned. "Are you sure?"

Heather nodded.

As Nathan and Sierra walked ahead, she took a seat near the back and did a quick scan of the room whilst she fiddled around with her bracelet. Truthfully, tonight, she only wanted to be as far as away from everyone as possible. Ironic for an awards finalist, right? she thought to herself and then shook her head.

Meanwhile, Alejandro was sitting in the front row of the room with José, Javier and the other award finalists. He nervously tugged at his red tie, searching the crowded room of faces for Heather. He contemplated sending her another text but then decided against it. As he continued to gaze around, he suddenly noticed Sierra sitting down in the chair a few seats across from him. He was about to stand up to talk to Sierra when José's voice interrupted him.

"Where are you going Al, the ceremony is about to start," José snickered beside him.

"None of your business," Alejandro muttered as he tugged at his tie once again. He then promptly stood up and proceeded to make a beeline towards where Sierra was seated.

"Sierra—" he began, only to be interrupted once again by a loud voice which echoed in the venue.

"Alright everyone, please be seated, we are commencing in one minute," Chris McLean, host of tonight's ceremony, spoke into the microphone as he stood in front of the podium.

Alejandro sighed and made his way back to his seat. I guess it will have to wait.

"Welcome to the 22nd Annual Canadian Jewellery Business Awards..."

As Chris began his speech, Alejandro turned his head around again and scanned the left side of the room. That was when he suddenly saw Nathan sitting near the middle rows. Nathan seemed to catch Alejandro's eye and he smirked. Alejandro glared back at him. Fuck Nathan.

He then sighed and turned back around. Ok, so she's not sitting next to either Sierra or Nathan. This is odd. Alejandro then turned to examine the right side of the room.

"Can you stop turning your head around, you're giving me a migraine," José hissed.

Alejandro turned to glare at José. Fuck José.

"Can you stop acting like a baby?" he growled at José.

"Can you stop being a pain in my ass everyday?" José retorted.

"Can the two people arguing in the front row please zip it, I'm trying to give my opening address here," Chris scowled from the stage.

Alejandro let out another sigh and then leaned back on his seat. Fuck, this is torture.

There were a few keynote speeches, which both Alejandro and Heather didn't bother to pay any attention to, and then it was finally time to announce the winner.

"And the winner of 'Best Jewellery Business' for the 22nd Annual Canadian Jewellery Business Awards is...drumroll please!"

Chris paused for dramatic effect and as she sat in her seat, Heather rolled her eyes.

"...J&B Co! Congratulations!"

Alejandro froze.

At the same time, Heather bit her lip and glared down at the floor. Normally, her competitive spirit meant that she would have been upset at the result, but today, she only felt tired and emotionless.

A polite round of applause echoed in the venue as Javier, Alejandro and José walked up to the stage. Chris handed Javier a plaque and award cheque, and Javier began his award acceptance speech.

As Alejandro stood on the stage, he couldn't concentrate on what his father was saying in his speech. His eyes scanned across the audience, searching for one face and one face only. Since the room was huge, he hoped that being up on the stage would give him the advantage of being able to find her.

His eyes widened when he finally noticed Heather sitting near the back of the room. She looked stunning in a red off shoulder formal dress, but his heart pained when he saw the empty expression on her face.

Heather immediately met his gaze and she froze. The next thing Alejandro saw was Heather suddenly getting up from her seat and briskly walking out of the room, as if she were desperate to leave.

Alejandro took a deep breath as he thought for a moment. He then excused himself and started to walk off the stage, completely oblivious to the fact that people in the audience were staring at him weirdly.

Once he had stepped off the stage, he began to sprint towards Heather's direction.

"Heather!" he called, as he continued to run after her in the hallway.

Heather didn't turn around. Instead, she grabbed the bottom of her dress and started to pick up her pace. But whilst she was fast, her high heeled shoes ultimately slowed her down and Alejandro eventually managed to catch up to her in the hotel lobby.

The lighting in the lobby was dark, almost as if it were reflective of the tense atmosphere in the air.

"Heather, wait up!" Alejandro called again, panting.

"What?" she snapped, as she finally turned around to face him. "Shouldn't you be on the stage giving your award acceptance speech?"

"Heather, I don't care about the stupid award," Alejandro gently said as he looked into her grey eyes.

Heather folded her arms. "Look, Alejandro—" she began and then shook her head.

"I care about you," Alejandro continued as he took another step closer towards her.

"I admit, the first time I approached you, it was for purely strategic reasons. But I fell for you, Heather, and I've never felt so strongly for any other woman. I initially tried to get over my feelings by numbing them and numbing myself. But I realized that my feelings for you are so strong and they overpowered everything else, and I just couldn't deny them any longer. And I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that I would never ever want to do anything that would hurt you," Alejandro let that all out in a soft but also firm voice.

Heather couldn't take her eyes off Alejandro as he confessed his feelings to her, and she felt her heart pounding heavily against her chest. The thing was, she believed him. And she knew she definitely had feelings for him too, which she could not deny or hide.

But there was one question which echoed in her mind.

Had he fallen for the version of Heather - confident, witty, career-driven and successful on the outside - who he thought she was? Or the version of Heather she really was, who on the inside also had her own wounds?

Heather took a deep breath. "Alejandro," she began. "The article about Illuminate...it was all true, and it wasn't about Nathan, it was about me," she swallowed. "I had enemies in high school but I'll admit that I wasn't exactly the nicest person either. There was this one girl in particular, her name was Gwen—" Her voice trailed off and she stared down at the floor.

"Heather, you are not your past," Alejandro gently said. "And either way, I still—".

"And that other time I came into your office," Heather forced herself to continue and cut him off. "I said I wanted to talk, but in my mind I was only there to take something I could use as an advantage for my own business..." she gulped and looked down.

"Shh, it's okay, I know," Alejandro said in a soft voice as he gently put an arm around Heather's back, rubbing it smoothly.

"Wait, you know? And you're not mad?" Heather asked in a small voice as she looked up at Alejandro. She was genuinely surprised.

"Sí, I know why you came that day and no, I'm not mad," Alejandro gently reassured her.

Heather couldn't believe it.

"When I looked into your eyes that day what I saw was someone who had so much love to give, and then I thought back to all those other times we were together," Heather took another deep breath and then continued.

"My mom used to say I was an unlovable person and—" Heather's voice was now beginning to tremble and a single teardrop trickled down her face. She blinked and looked down at the floor, avoiding Alejandro's gaze.

As Heather took a deep breath and was about to speak again, she heard a loud applause suddenly erupt from inside the awards ceremony room, signalling that Javier and José had now finished their award acceptance speeches. Heather thought that the timing was ironic; it was almost as if the applause was mocking her, agreeing with and reinforcing what her mom had said to her.

"Never mind," Heather muttered as she turned her head and started walking away.

"Heather!" Alejandro called out from behind, but she kept walking ahead.

Alejandro took a deep breath and then picked up his pace, chasing after her until he caught up with her once more.

He then gently tugged at her arm. "Heather, you can keep walking away, but it won't change how I feel about you. You walk and I'll run. I'll keep running for as long as I have to."

And yet once again and amidst the darkness of the room, Alejandro's words and his slightest touch was enough to cause an instant warmth and light to radiate across her cold, shivering body. She instinctively turned back around to face him. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

"I never believed my mom, but she was right; I'm unlovable," Heather suddenly blurted out. Her vision was now blurry and the only thing she could make out was her own tears trailing down her face, reminding her that whilst she had achieved success with her business and career, deep down a part of her was still empty.

Alejandro felt his heart ache. He slowly lifted Heather's chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Heather, listen to me, you are not unlovable," he said softly. He then gently caressed her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away her tears.

Heather stared into his deep green eyes; she was lost in his eyes and for a moment, she thought that she could just stay like that with him forever, forgetting all her worries and her troubles. But surely this was too good to be true, right? It could only be some fairytale fantasy, and not reality, right?

"Y-you're probably just saying that to make me feel better...and were you even paying attention to anything I said earlier?! I said that I-" Her voice was now shaking uncontrollably by the moment, her breathing was getting heavier and her sobs and cries were getting louder.

Alejandro instinctively wrapped both his arms around Heather's waist and he pulled her into a tight hug.

"Shh, I've got you," he said in a soothing voice as he gently stroked her hair. Heather allowed herself to bury her face in Alejandro's chest and she felt a heavy weight being taken off her shoulders as she let out all her sobs, her cries and her sorrow.

She felt vulnerable, but at the same time she also felt safe; two words and feelings she would never in a million years have ever dared to associate together.

They stood together in that position for longer, until Heather's loud sobs and cries eventually turned into tiny sniffles and her breathing returned to normal.

"Mi amor," Alejandro said as he looked into her deep grey eyes and cupped her face; his voice was soft, shaky, and breathless.

At that moment, the lighting in the hotel hobby suddenly brightened, as if a spark was gradually being ignited, replacing the previous darkness in the room. Both of them instinctively looked up at the same time and realized that they just happened to be standing right under an exquisite and ornate crystal chandelier. The chandelier lighting radiated a dewy and almost fairytale-like yellow glow, whilst illuminating Heather's long, raven black hair.

As she stood under the chandelier, Heather felt herself get lost in Alejandro's emerald green eyes once more, only that this time she couldn't resist her feelings anymore. She stood on her tiptoes and then leaned forward, snaking her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips. Alejandro's eyes widened but he did not hesitate for a second to kiss her back, closing his eyes and gradually deepening the kiss as he felt Heather's soft lips press against his, claiming them as her's.

The kiss became more fervent, their bodies moving in a heated, perfect sync as they slowly inched from their position and shifted towards one of the grand, marble columns in the lobby, until they were almost pressed right against the wall. Alejandro tightly wrapped his arms around Heather's back, and at the same time he felt her hands trail to the back of his head, gently teasing and ruffling his hair.

Both their hearts felt like it was burning with a passionate wildfire, and the sparks in the air were so undeniably and powerfully strong that it could combine and transform two rocky hearts into one beautiful diamond.

Eventually, they pulled away from the kiss, both out of breath, and Alejandro gazed lovingly into her eyes once more. Under the bright lighting, Heather's eyeliner and mascara was completely smudged from all her crying earlier, but to him she was still absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. He gently stroked her cheek.

Heather let out a shy smile as Alejandro caressed her face, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him, not letting go. "You're not a bad kisser," she blushed.

"Only 'not bad'?" Alejandro scoffed and pretended to be offended. "Tell me, amor, what must I do to get a perfect five star review?" he teased.

"Ok, stop, you're making me cry again," Heather giggled and gasped as she felt tiny teardrops falling down her cheek, only this time they were happy tears.

Alejandro's eyes instantly lit up and he felt his heart melt with happiness at seeing Heather smile. And in that moment, he promised to himself that he would only ever allow himself to make her cry happy tears.

"Ok, but on a serious note, I am literally starving, do you think we could still crash the awards ceremony and get some food?" Heather groaned.

"Anything for mi reina," Alejandro smiled.

"...Ooh wait, actually, I have a better idea, why don't we go back to my place? My roommate and best friend Courtney is spending tonight and tomorrow at her boyfriend's house so we can order takeout and have the whole place to ourselves!" Heather exclaimed.

"I'd love that," Alejandro smirked.

"Wait, what about your dad and brother still inside?" Heather suddenly remembered. "I don't want you to have to choose between me and—" she gulped and then looked down again.

"Heather, there's nothing more I want and nothing more important to me than to be with you," Alejandro reassured her in a firm but gentle voice as he laced his fingers with her's.

Heather felt a blush forming on her cheeks again. She suddenly felt like a shy schoolgirl. "And there's nothing more I want than to be with you too," she firmly replied as she stared into his eyes.

And those words were enough for a dorky and happy smile to form on his face.

He gently took her hand and together, they walked outside the hotel to get a taxi. And indeed, two broken, rocky hearts had turned into one beautiful diamond.

***

As he hid behind one of the marble columns nearby and watched Alejandro and Heather passionately kiss and then get into the car together, Nathan bawled his fists in anger. After all his attempts, after everything he had done for her and for Illuminate, and after he had even sacrificed his own reputation for her, she still chose that Spaniard over him.

Why?

He didn't understand why. And that only further perpetuated his anger.

And then a single thought plagued his mind as he reminded himself of his mission.

It was time to return to his original plan.

If I can't have her, then no one else can.

--

A/N - and they get together! Get ready for some upcoming cute Aleheather content ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed & thank you for reading :)