Several Days Ago On Sean Reviano POV …
Sean stared at the phone screen containing texts from his parents that asking when he would be coming home. For a moment, he looked at the employees who were meeting together in the meeting room. He put the phone back in and glanced at Via who was tucking her long hair behind her ear.
Sean's eyes couldn't take his eyes off Via's beautiful face looking down at the report, but his logic prevailed a step until he was relieved to look away.
Slightly clearing his throat, Sean gathered attention. “Where were we?”
“Our hotel rating and review report on the booking room platform, sir. I think ….”
The meeting continued, but Sean's eyes couldn't take his eyes off Via who was explaining about the Luna Star Hotel review report which was slightly down from the previous month.
In the middle of the session, Sean found out that Via was daydreaming. In order to appear professional and not favoritism, Sean rebuked her.
“Via?” called Sean as the woman began to lose focus. “Viania Harper!” called him again.
Until the third call, Via still didn't look up which made Sean a little worried. With a calm face as usual, Sean called Via last time because he was uncomfortable when he started to hear whispering voices from around.
“Via!”
Via gasped, obviously taken aback that she wasn't listening. She looked down in shame, which made Sean feel a little guilty.
“Via, I've been calling you. Are you feeling unwell?”
“I haven't been feel well since this afternoon,” Via replied, looking reluctant and continued, “Sorry for disturbing your concentration.”
The mere presence of Via was enough to make Sean lose his concentration, but of course he wouldn't answer that.
“No … no, if you are not strong enough to attend the meeting, you can take a rest.”
“Ask permission if you feel unwell before the meeting begins.” Now he felt worried even though Via said otherwise. Sean's eyes continued to watch Via who was still attending the meeting as he opened the document he just described. “Back to the meeting, I want us to improve Luna Star's service and….”
***
Daren just walked into Sean's study at Luna Star. His friend approached while carrying a pile of documents.
“I heard from aunt that you're going back to Blueberry Hill,” Daren said as he placed the pile of documents on the table.
Sean seemed reluctant to explain, but in the end he just nodded.
“Mom asked me to come home,” he said. “I'm only at Blueberry for a while, then I'm going to Michigan to finish a project which Dad gave me two years ago.”
Daren's face seemed interested in joining.
“I want to join in too.”
One sharp glance from Sean was able to silence Daren's mouth which had no brakes.
“You think I want to work on that project? Even Luna Star still needs guidance, my Dad wants to build a new hotel in Michigan. I told him to hold off until Luna Star stabilized, he flatly refused. What a stubborn old man!” Sean muttered as he read the documents that Daren brought one by one.
“Isn't that a playground project?” Now Daren was confused by the change of plans. “Since when did it turn into a hotel?”
Sean closed the document he was reading and looked back at Daren.
“Ever since Nicko Anderson announced he'd be building a playground not far from where my dad had planned it.”
This time Sean couldn't hide his annoyance. His usual calm face turned cloudy.
“Oh my, you can build in a new place.”
“It's not that easy, doing re-research will only add to the cost. Plus I don't want to have anything to do with the mafia.”
Remembering that Nicko Anderson was part of the Italian mafia was no easy feat, and Sean knew the consequences of dealing with people like them.
“I'm hungry, let's eat out,” Daren whined which gave Sean a headache.
Sean put back the paperwork he almost signed, but considering that fussy Daren was more annoying than finishing the pile of paperwork, he decided to have lunch before his time.
***
“Where are you taking me?” Sean asked as soon as they reached the shopping center.
“My favorite bakery, you insisted to be invited here. Did you forget?”
Hearing the word bakery, Sean came out first, making Daren chuckle. He didn't understand why his best friend liked to visit every bakery in town.
Sean first arrived in the shop, he looked around carefully, like a team of appraisers who paid attention to every detail of the building.
“Hey, we're here to buy not to poke holes in every wall,” Daren whispered as they were glared at by the shopkeeper.
As if he didn't care, Sean shrugged his shoulders as he continued his original assessment. He even paid close attention to every menu on display. Throwing a lot of questions about the basic ingredients of the pastries there, made Daren feel bad for the shopkeeper.
“Are you buying or are you planning a new business?” To Daren the last question made more sense.
“What do you think is the success percentage of a bakery business of this size?” Sean asked suddenly, Daren was about to answer when Sean answered the question himself. “I think it's quite profitable with the right exposure. After all, she also doesn't care if her cakes sells or not.”
Now it was Daren who was confused.
“Who?”
Sean waved his hand in the air, ignoring the question just now and then innocently ordering the many cakes that were on display in the display case. Almost all as a sample.
“Just say you don't want to talk, don't wave your hand impolitely,” Daren snorted as he hit Sean's hand which was still in the air.
With a satisfied smile, Sean looked at Daren while carrying groceries.
“Let me know when you find a new shop,” he said as he walked away leaving Daren who hadn't ordered anything.
***
Sean replied messages from his mother one by one. He let her know when he would arrive at Blueberry Hill.
As he was about to leave the room, his phone rang. He thought his mother was calling, without looking at the caller Id, Sean picked up the call.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello, Sean. It's me Eve. I heard from your aunt that you are coming home, why not tell me?” Evelyn asked in her usual spoiled voice.
Sean laughed at that and refused to leave the room.
“Sorry, I thought you were very busy. I'll be home in two days, we'll just meet there. Right now I'm very busy Eve,” explained Sean not wanting to keep his subordinates waiting in the meeting room. He looked at his watch which showed that the meeting was about to start. “I'll call when I have time,” Sean offered, which Evelyn did not accept.
“Can't you tell them to wait? It feels like we haven't spoken in a long time,” the girl whispered from the other side.
“I can't, Eve. Respect their time, I can't just cancel a meeting just because you want to talk.” It sounded harsh, but Sean didn't want Evelyn to get used to it.
From the tone of her voice, Sean could hear her frowning.
“Alright, understanding CEO. Call me when you have time, okay?”
Sean laughed at the joke. He agreed before finally disconnecting.
Sean had just opened the door when his personal secretary suddenly called out in a cheerful voice that made Sean frown.
“Sir, a package just arrived!” shout the woman as she jogged around in high heels that made a noise when they hit the floor.
Sean's face brightened when he remembered the diamond ring he ordered that arrived today. His hands quickly took the package from Altha's outstretched grip.
“Thank you,” he said with a perfect smile, unconsciously making the woman in front of him flabbergasted with wide eyes.
Impatient, Sean opened the box and saw that the diamond ring he had designed himself had taken shape. It was as elegant as he imagined it would be, even more perfect than the picture he had painted. His steps were so light as he walked into the meeting room, even though the smile didn't fade on Sean's face because of a ring in his trouser pocket.
Sean delayed his return to New York because of the project given to him by his father. At first, he was annoyed at having to spend more time at Blueberry and Michigan. But luckily, there was Evelyn who always accompanied him when he felt bored all day staring at the computer screen.“Don't you want us to have dinner together?” asked Evelyn who was walking next to him. They were enjoying the afternoon air near the park which was not far from Sean house.“Don't we always do it every night?” He asked back by recalling their daily dinner routine. If it wasn't a gala event, then their parents would asked them to go out to eat together.“But you said you don't want to go out tonight, we'll just eat in your place,” Evelyn kept asking.“Hmmm…, we can do it next time. Where do you want to go out?” Sean replied turning the offer.“Up to you. It doesn't matter, as long as we spend time together. You
Seeing the old brown-painted building in front of her, Via also turned to Disya, who walked first to the yard of an old farmhouse in a village quite far from the city, seeming isolated from the crowd. As far as the eye could see, Via only saw one or two houses with the same model. Not only that, along the way there Via found several horses roaming in a wide yard surrounded by a white fence with apple trees growing in a row.“Are you sure this is the place?” Via asked, staring at the building with the paint on the walls partly peeling off.“Nana left this farm house. You know I don't come from a rich family. This is the only treasure I have other than an apartment in New York.” Disya stopped, then turned to Via who was still frozen since their arrival, reluctant to go any further. “Come in.”Once again, Via looked at the old building before deciding to go inside, following Disya who was first in front.
Willow stared in bewilderment at the television that was no longer on the living room. She glanced at Via who seemed busy learning how to knit baby socks. She was in full concentration with the spools of yarn around her, and books on learning how to knit that scattered on the floor.“Where's the television?” Willow came over and picked up one of the pink threads.Via's shoulders shrugged as she continued to try weaving the threads one by one. “I put it on the roof,” Via answered without turning her head.Willow's face contorted in confusion because the thing was still functioning properly. In this old house, there was no entertainment to spend the time except watching television, so she was confused about what to do.“What's wrong with this television? It was still fine yesterday, right?” Willow glanced out the window when she heard the sound of a mustang parked in the yard, her male cousin must have arrived to
As soon as she woke up, Via immediately ran to the toilet and vomited in the closet. Her body sat on the floor when nothing came out. She was silent for a long time before finally washing her mouth and face. She felt everything was unwell on her body, making her lie down on her bed for one or two minutes.The sound of the alarm woke Via back up and she frowned in surprise to find that time had passed quickly. It was as if she had only been lying there for five minutes, not knowing that two hours had passed.“Via? Are you okay?” asked Willow, knocking on the door from outside.Via got up from the bed and checked her still puffy face.“I'll be out in a minute,” Via replied as she walked to the bathroom to clean herself.In the dining room, all the breakfast were already on the table. Willow looked busy cleaning the pan at the sink. There was a sense of guilt seeing Willow working alone, making Via feel a litt
Sean entered the apartment and it was cold. There was no longer smelled of buttery and sweet aroma of baking cakes that used to be a memory. His steps were heavy as he crossed the living room. He deliberately didn't turn on the lights and let the atmosphere become gloomy.What for? Haven't traces of Via disappeared completely?Sean stepped into the room. He smelled the air, inhaling the last of Via's fragrance, but his sense of smell picked up nothing, much to his dismay. His eyes glazed over at the empty bed.Sean walked around the room which Via had once occupied. He touched every object that might have Via's fingerprints on it. Not to mention the surface of the mattress whose sheets had just been replaced.His heart was disappointed, because just only cold that Sean got from every touch.It looked like Daren was right, he must forget Via and all their memories together.However, forgetting Viania was not that easy. There was somethi
Winter passed very quickly. Via worked at the Cherry Blossom Inn for almost two weeks. It didn't feel like she could adapt in Moines to the friendliness of the locals.Via was relieved that in Moines she hadn't heard any news about Sean, and even the people in the village didn't care about such things. For them, celebrities were just strangers who didn't deserve too much attention, but Disya had a different mind. Her best friend often contacted Via and sometimes brought up the topic of Sean which of course Via didn't listen to.“I told you not to discuss anything about him, please,” Via said to Disya who was on the other side of the line.“But you also need to know this one, Via. This man is the father of your child. If you hadn't stopped me from slapping him, I would have publicly humiliated Sean. He deserves it,” replied Disya who sounded angry.Via rubbed her temples as she sighed.“He will get married soon. Gosh!&r
The gold-colored invitation that Evelyn had left as a souvenir was lying on the table and Via didn’t touch it at all. Her eyes stared blankly at every engraving of Sean's name until her heart ached to see Evelyn Madini's name side by side with his in the same frame.A tear fell on Via's lap. With her face down, she sobbed.“Mom...” Via cried, suddenly missing her mom. She needed something to strengthen herself, and only her mother and the unborn baby were on her mind.Aborting the baby was tantamount to killing Via, but holding on would be just as difficult. Sean and Evelyn came from rich families, the law was on their side. After all, Via was just an ordinary citizen, just one tweet on Ingram could turn her into trash in society. People would think she was the bad one of Sean and Evelyn's relationship. It was easy for Evelyn to destroy Via's reputation and life with just the lift of her finger.“I'm sorry Mom, Little B
Willow jumped from the sofa when she saw Via's pale face.“Via! God, is it so cold outside? You look unwell,” said Willow, who immediately greeted Via at the door.Via's body was limp until Willow supported her to keep her standing by shouldering her to the room and laying her down.“Do you want me to make you tea?” asked Willow worriedly.Via just mumbled without saying anything.“Wait a minute,” Willow said, heading for the kitchen. She called Asher as soon as she reached the pantry.“What’s up?” asked Asher from the other side.“I think Via is sick, can Doctor Ares come to visit here?”There was the sound of a lock and a door opening from across the line as soon as Asher heard the panic in his cousin's voice.“I'll be there, just wait,” Asher said in a hurry. “I'll bring Ares, I think the shift is over at the clinic.&