We Meet Again
1414 Words
*Aurelia's POV*
I decided to avoid breakfast this morning. Not because I wasn't hungry. I was starving but the problem was that breakfast required leaving my room. And that meant seeing Kael.
And seeing Kael meant remembering exactly what had happened last night. Which was unfortunate because my brain seemed determined to replace it every five seconds.
I groaned and buried my face in a pillow. This was ridiculous. I wasn't sixteen. I wasn't some teenager having her first crush. I was a grown woman.
And I had just kissed Kael. I didn't know what had got over me. Probably because I was partially drunk or maybe because I just wanted to.
After another ten minutes of arguing with myself, I finally left my room. The moment I stepped into the dining room, I immediately regretted every decision that had led me there.
Kael was already seated. Of course he was. And of course the second I walked in, he looked up.
Our eyes met. For one terrible second then we both looked away so fast it was almost impressive.
Oh God. This was going to be awful. Vivienne sat at the head of the table looking as elegant and judgemental as usual.
Adrian was drinking coffee. Marcus was scrolling through something on an ipad.
I took the empty seat across. That was a huge mistake because now I could feel his presence. And every time I accidentally looked up he was staring at me then he'd immediately look away.
I couldn't take this anymore. The silence dragged on painfully. So I decided to distract myself.
I reached for the coffee pot and at the same exact moment Kael did. Our hands touched for a split second , barely a second yet somehow it felt like somebody had detonated a bomb in the middle of the dining room.
I immediately pulled back and so did he. The coffee pot nearly tipped over.
Marcus looked up at us looking confused. Adrian made a suspicious choking sound while Vivienne just stared at us.
“I'll…” Kael cleared his throat. “You can go first.”
“Never mind. I wasn't reaching for it.”
“You were.”
I stared at him. He stared back. Then we both looked away again.
“I'll just have breakfast later.” I said standing up.
“Why?” Kael said almost immediately. I wasn't sure how I looked but I was sure it was either confusion or anger written all over my face.
“I meant…” Kael rubbed the back of his neck. “You haven't eaten anything.”
The entire table was silent.
I blinked. “I'll be fine.”
Kael stared at his plate. “Forget it.”
Good. That made the two of us. I pushed my chair back.
“Gladly.” I turned to leave.
“Aurelia.”
My jaw tightened. There was something about the way he said my name that immediately irritated me.
Slowly, I turned around. “What?”
Everyone was watching us now.
“Uhm…nothing.” he said carefully as if realising everyone was watching us.
Fortunately, he stood first. “I'll get going.”
Thank God.
I hated that I felt okay with him leaving. What was wrong with me? He was obviously trying to talk to me but I just ruined it.
Vivienne had been looking at me with utter disgust while she was sitting there while Adrian just stared.
I decided to go back to my room. I needed to figure out who Celeste was and try and remember her since she was my best friend. But nothing was happening.
I groaned. A knock came in.
“What?”
“It's Adrian.”
“What do you want?”
I didn't say anything else. He entered anyway holding a tray of food and a glass of juice.
“Why did you bring this?”
“You hadn't eaten anything.”
I stared at him while he stared back then he shrugged. “What?”
“Nothing.”
I rolled my eyes and picked up a fork. The first bite almost made me emotional because apparently avoiding breakfast had been a terrible idea because I was absolutely starving.
Adrian dropped into the chair across from me. For a few seconds he just watched me eat. It was unsettling.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “for someone who claimed she wasn't hungry, you're attacking that food.”
“I was hungry.”
“So why didn't you eat downstairs?”
“Because I didn't want to.”
Then he said another thing. “You and Kael are acting weird. What's going on?”
I nearly choked. “Are we?”
Adrian gave me a look. “Can we talk about literally something else.”
“Probably.” He leaned back in his chair. “But where's the fun in that.”
Suddenly I heard voices. Me and Adrian stepped out only to see a familiar face.
Celeste.
I looked at Adrian. “Adrian?”
“What?” His expression immediately changed.
I held his gaze.
“She was my best friend, right?”
Yeah.”
I swallowed. I leaned forward slightly. “Tell me everything.”
I knew I was connected to Celeste. I didn't know how but anytime I saw her , I just had a weird feeling in my chest.
I always wondered how I got to remember Adrian easily but not one person who was so close to me. I had been in the house for a long time and still I hadn't found or done what I had come to do.
I was being distracted. And I needed to stop it and focus.
The kiss with Kael was a big mistake and I knew that was what he wanted to talk about this morning.
But this time I wouldn't let him. I needed to do what I came here to do.
“Aurelia… Aurelia,” Adrian said.
He was tapping my shoulders while looking at me closely. “Are you okay?”
“Oh,” I muttered. “Yes. And it's Eliora, Adrian.” I smiled.
He let out an awkward laugh. “Right. Your breakfast?”
“I'm not hungry anymore,” I said.
I had lost the appetite to eat the moment Celeste had walked in here. I could see it was no coincidence so I needed to use this opportunity to find out everything I wanted to.
I walked downstairs slowly while Adrian followed behind me. My chest felt tight. Not from hunger but from her , Celeste.
Her voice hit me before I could even see her face properly.
“.... And the event was a success. I couldn't thank you enough for coming and convincing Kael to come as well.”
“It's fine,” Vivienne laughed while sipping a glass of wine.
I stepped into the sitting room and the air shifted. Vivienne's gaze shifted to me immediately and I could tell she didn't want me there at all.
“And how may we help you?”
I didn't answer for a second and just when I was about to Celeste cut in.
“Hii….” She bit her lip softly. “Eliora,” she smiled. “Eliora , right?” She asked giving me that fake polished smile she gave me yesterday.
I exhaled softly. “Yes.” I said. “Nice to meet you again.”
“That's a pleasure,” she chuckled.
Vivienne clearly didn't like the conversation we were having even though it did seem obviously fake. “You haven't answered my question, Eliora.”
“Congratulations on the event. Sounds like it was… a success.” I said ignoring Vivienne's glares.
Adrian was still behind me so I couldn't figure out his expression or what he could possibly be thinking but what I knew was Vivienne deserved every single thing.
“Oh, thank you,” she said. Softer now. “You should come to the next one. I'll be coming to the house often anyway. It was Aurelia's project and now it's becoming really big, I'm excited!”
My stomach dropped. At this point I couldn't figure out what she was trying to do anymore nor did I understand if she was pretending.
“Oh…okay.” I muttered.
“Thank you, Eliora.” Celeste smiled, pouring herself a glass of wine.
- Writer
