Aria stood awkwardly in the corner of the private dining hall that Deagan hired out, the room was filled with family and close friends there to celebrate the twenty-eighth birthday, but she didn’t feel even the least bit happy.
Her forced smile was starting to quiver and she couldn’t let it fall in front of everyone, least of all Deagan who worked hard to make sure she was having a good time.
“You don’t look like a woman enjoying her birthday party.” Mikhail Lazarev commented, slipping into the spot beside her.
“I’m just tired, it’s been a difficult week at work and I feel a little drained so I wanted to take a breather without being a damper on the mood.” She over-explained which caused him to raise an
Aria sat on the plane, staring out at the clouds beneath them, she felt numb all over, neither unsettled nor okay, she simply didn’t feel and she preferred it that way, what was the use feeling when all she knew was pain.“Would you like anything to drink?” Aycin asked from the seat beside her and she shook her head.“Aria we have to talk at some point.” Aycin sighed when the air hostess stepped away.“Why did you do it?” She turned to face him for the first time since leaving the party.“Because on some level I understand why you didn’t want him to know.” Aria tilted her head.
He couldn’t see her like this, so strong, yet so despondent. There was a limit to anything good before it became bad, the challenge lied in recognising the line. Especially after having convinced yourself that the pain was worth it, that you deserved the suffering for protecting the people you love, for hurting them.Aycin had done a lot of growing up in the past seven months, he’d always considered himself mature after losing his parents, but being with Aria opened his eyes to a bitter truth he hadn’t allowed himself to recognise even when his parents died.The universe is as greedy as the life that thrives in it. For every “given”, something is taken. Aria was given a new chance at life, but her will to live it was taken from her in the same breath.
The flight was tense, Aycin could barely sit still and it wasn’t from excitement. They touched down in Seattle ten hours later and while Hazel was gutted by the long flight, Aycin was still wide awake and even more on edge than he’d been on the plane. He’d tried to hide it, but little did he know, she was all too aware of his discomfort, but never mentioned it.It was Saturday, but knowing Deagan he would be at work and the last thing Aycin wanted was to have a confrontation with his brother at the office, so he had no choice, but to wait out the next few hours at the hotel. Not that he minded, he’d been dreading his decision since he stepped foot on the plane, perhaps a few hours was what he needed to calm his nerves, that and a strong shot of whisky.###Aycin stood at the door of his Uncle
Deagan ran a hand through his hair in frustration, without realising it his eyes drifted to the manila folder that sat collecting dust on the right-hand corner of his desk. He hadn’t touched it since he placed it there two weeks ago, but he was hyper-aware of it even when he wasn’t in his office, its presence loomed at the back of his mind like a bad memory and in many ways, it was one.He didn’t want to rehash the past, not when he was finally able to move on. There was a time in his life where he thought he wouldn’t be able to live without her. Her betrayal cut deeper than anything he’d ever felt, it hurt more than his parent’s death, she hurt him knowingly; his parents wouldn’t have left him on purpose.It wasn’t until he met Zoey that he had something to look forward to and that was something he never fi
“ Sunday, 10 June 2018 (20:16)Canary Warf, LondonLondon, something about the city always drew me in, but never in a million years would I have thought that I’d be living here.The apartment is nice, Ayc seems to like it and we have a wonderful view of the city… It’s not home though, it’ll never beAycin… The brother I never had, but always wanted. He seems withdrawn but driven and I respect him immensely for that. A part of me still hates that he chose to go along with my plan, though I am grateful that he did, I don’t know how I would do any of this without him.I haven’t slept a wink since I got here; I can’t. Every time I close my
“Jeffery. Prepare the jet and get clearance, we are flying to London in-” Deagan’s words were cut short by the rowdiness of his friends and family entering his house.“Mr Lockheart?” Jeffery called his attention wondering why he suddenly went silent.“I’ll call you back Jeff.” He dismissed quickly cutting off the man’s next question.“What are you guys doing here?” Deagan asked in confusion, he was surprised to see Zoey’s parents there as well.“Deagan, did you forget? Dad wanted to speak to you about the company so we said we’d make dinner out of it.” Zoey answered matter of factly, but Deagan wasn’t paying much attention.“
“Hi, I’m looking for Aria Gray,” Deagan asked the male receptionist and at the mention of the name, the man frowned.“May I ask who you are to Aria?” He asked somewhat suspiciously and Deagan got annoyed at the familiarity with which he said her name, but still stumbled on his answer, he couldn’t tell the man that she was his ex-girlfriend, so instead, he took the high road.“My name is Deagan Lockheart, Dr Aycin Lockheart’s brother.” The man’s eyes widened, realising his mistake, he quickly typed her name into the computer.“East Wing, third floor, Room 306.” He answered casting a hesitant glance between Deagan and the computer screen. Deagan frowned at his behaviour, but thanked him and turned to follow the signs to the east wing.
To say that Ayc was pissed at Deagan was an understatement, he was sure that Deagan loved Aria, so he felt betrayed on her behalf when he found out that Deagan had moved on already. Hazel had tried to get him to see reason, but the man was stubborn as a mule, once he got it in his mind that he was right, it was virtually impossible to change it.Deagan considered her words for a moment and decided that the woman wouldn’t be telling him anything that he wanted to know, at least willingly, so being the businessman he was; he used that to his advantage.“So let’s make a deal.” Hazel immediately turned wary; she knew that the odds were stacked heavily against her and that Deagan was a brilliant businessman, who knew how to use it in his favour.“What kind of deal.” She winced, knowing