Eliana

"So you're telling me that it got solved? That whole scam was resolved in just a day?!" Jasmine spoke with much shock in her voice. I chuckled a bit and leaned back on my bed stand, letting out a small sigh. "I don't know... it just did... and... ugh, I don't even know anymore..." Jasmine looked concerned and climbed onto my bed, sitting up while looking at me. "Eliana... if I told this story to an i***t, he'd say I'm full of shit." I chuckled and looked at her. "I agree with you, it sounds like complete nonsense, but I honestly don't really care how it all happened... I'm just... happy? We could've lost everything that we had, you know?" Jasmine widened her eyes. "If you did, I would've killed you! Living in a villa and owning a bunch of cars isn't for everyone, girl." I chuckled and looked out the window, staring at the beautiful blue sky. Until we heard a knock on the door. I turned my head to see one of the maids calling for us to have dinner. We both got up and headed downstairs to see a feast, with a bunch of our friends and my parents’ friends already seated. The table was set with fine china, glistening glasses of wine, and an extravagant meal. My father was sitting at the head of the table, surrounded by his friends, all animatedly discussing the recent accident. Jasmine and I moved closer and took seats next to each other as she leaned in to hear my father, Damian, repeating the story for the millionth time. The look on her face made it seem like it was the first time she was hearing the story. My father stood up and raised his glass with a soft smile on his face. "Thank you for coming. I want to express my gratitude for your presence tonight. As you all know from the news, things have been rather tumultuous for me lately." His closest friend, Tom, leaned in, joining the conversation. "Tumultuous indeed! We’ve been following the headlines. It sounded like quite the ordeal." I turned my head to Sarah, his wife, who had been nodding her head while chuckling. "Absolutely. We’d love to hear your side of the story, especially considering how the media tends to sensationalize." My father took a seat and laughed before beginning to elaborate. "I appreciate that. It’s been quite a journey. One moment, I was celebrating the success of my company, and the next, I found myself on the brink of financial ruin due to a betrayal from someone I trusted deeply..." My father's assistant, another close friend, Mike, spoke up. "That must have been incredibly stressful. Imagine if I did the same! It's... I don't even know how to put it into words. How did you manage to turn it around so swiftly with all that hurt and betrayal in your heart?" My father sighed and rubbed his temples. From what I know, he went to the defendant's house the night he figured out what had happened. And he asked him why he had done what he did. His answer was purely because he was jealous of all that my father had achieved in the past few years. And that actually breaks my heart. "That’s the miraculous part... Just when I felt cornered, I received an anonymous tip that contained critical evidence. It completely changed the course of the situation. And it changed my life." Tom raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms before replying to my father. "Anonymous? That’s intriguing. Do you have any leads on who it might be?" A sigh left my father's lips. "Unfortunately, no. But whoever they are, they provided me with the means to dismantle the scam and prove my innocence in court. The evidence was solid, and we built a compelling case in no time. If I get to know who did this, I'd surely reward them greatly." "That’s incredible! You must have felt a tremendous sense of relief walking out of that courtroom," Sarah added. My father agreed and nodded. "It was exhilarating. The verdict not only vindicated me but nearly doubled my assets in the process. A true testament to resilience!" The room broke into laughter as I looked at my plate. This was truly a mystery, but yet a blessing. I couldn't imagine going from flying high to being poor within just hours... My thoughts were interrupted by Mike speaking. "It sounds like a remarkable comeback. You might want to consider investing more. The more, the better, right?" My father laughed and noted, "Only if you all agree to be my partners." Tom replied while raising his glass. "We’d all be honored." With all of us raising our glasses, my father ended the discussion. "To the value of trust, the strength of resilience, and to the friends who stand by us in challenging times. I couldn’t ask for a better support system." And with that, the dinner began. Music filled the room as well as chats between groups. I turned on my phone, which had been off ever since yesterday. Messages flooded in—from people asking how I was, to congratulating me for the victory. I glanced at Jasmine and handed her my phone. Her eyes lit up as she started replying to everyone, and I giggled, starting to eat my food. After dinner, Jasmine decided to sleep over. We went to my room and lay in bed as I started reading my book before going to sleep. Jasmine was doing the same before she gasped, making me almost fall off the bed. "What?! You scared me!" She giggled and said, "Listen to what I've read. 'All heroes have powers, but mine is different. It’s a power that words can barely contain, one that courses through the very fabric of existence, like the heartbeat of the universe itself. It’s not loud, but its presence is undeniable, like the stillness before a storm or the weight of the night sky stretching endlessly above. It moves mountains without effort and calms seas with a whisper. When I reach out to it, it’s as if the whole world pauses, waiting, listening. It’s not just strength—it’s the kind of power that wraps around you, steady and unshakable, pulling you from the edge when all seems lost. It’s overwhelming, humbling, and yet... deeply comforting, like knowing you’re never truly alone in the vastness of everything.' Isn’t that amazing?" I looked at her, stunned. Her words touched my heart and sent shivers down my spine. "That's nice, honestly. But why are you telling me that?" She raised an eyebrow and turned to me. "What if you have that power? That's why everything seems to be resolved for you." I let out a laugh and closed my book, placing it on the nightstand. "What are you talking about? Did all of these events get to your head or something?" She huffed and turned her back to me. "Fine, I won't shove more delusions on you anymore." I chuckled and lay down, closing my eyes, but somehow... her words kept lingering through my mind... ... The next day, Jasmine and I got ready for college and headed there. Today was a very important day since the whole class had to present a project that was either going to fail them or make them pass the semester. I looked out the window as the chauffeur drove. It was a rainy day, and people were rushing left and right to find shelter. I glanced at my phone and read a message from my boyfriend since we were planning to go on a vacation for our anniversary. I smiled softly and sent him a selfie showing the road behind me. While stopped at a red light, I saw a homeless man sitting by the side of the road. I scanned his features, and my heart felt like it had a lump. Rolling down the window, I called out, "Sir!! Come closer!!" He looked up, shocked, as if no one had ever noticed his existence before, as if he had been invisible this whole time. He walked slowly towards me, unsure if he had heard me calling him. I slowly handed him my umbrella with the small breakfast the maid had given me. I had also slipped in some cash for him. His eyes welled with tears as they started dripping down his cheeks. I smiled tenderly and caressed his hands. "Please take care of yourself." He looked hesitant for a bit, looking around him before getting on his knees to thank me. I immediately opened the door and went outside, starting to get drenched too. "Please don't do this. Don't thank me like that." He kept crying as I comforted him, and cars started honking since the light had turned green. I took him back to where he was sitting and helped him fix the umbrella for shelter. Then I went back to my car, and the driver drove off. Smiling to myself for the act of kindness, Jasmine was yapping about how I shouldn't have done that on the other hand. I glanced at her as a sign to shut up, and so she did... Out of the blue, the driver had pressed sharply on his brakes while gasping making me look up at him in a flash of light before we crashed into our seats. I shut my eyes tightly and gripped my body hugging it. Was this how I was going to die?! After a couple of seconds, I felt a little nudge on the car. I slowly opened my eyes and looked out the window, seeing an eighteen-wheeler truck right next to me blocking my view for the outside. I took a fast, shaky breath in. Jasmine leaned towards me, looking at the truck as tears rolled down her cheeks. "W-w-what h-happened?" she managed to say almost hyperventilating. ... Our parents arrived at the scene in just a couple of minutes. Mine held and comforted me as jasmine's parents rushed to her. "It's okay, baby, it's okay, you're okay," my mom, Grace, said through tears. "I'm gonna sue that son of a b*tch for scaring you like that!" Jasmine's father growls, immense anger floods his eyes. I look at my father, who came with the truck driver. The driver explained that he had been driving the truck for almost a mile and a half with a brake failure and had been on the phone with the police the whole time. But when he reached our car, he stepped on it one last time as if it was his last hope. When suddenly, the brakes worked, the truck stopped and barely nudged us. I let out a sigh of relief hearing this story. How could this happen? I glanced at Jasmine, who was already looking at me, and I felt like she was kind of blaming me for it since I had stopped for that homeless guy. My father led me to his car as we drove back home to rest. ... As soon as I stepped into the bathroom, my boyfriend called. I picked up, and hearing his worried voice, I invited him over. I took a long shower and got dressed in my PJs. This weather isn't going anywhere... As I lay in bed, I heard a knock on my door before seeing his face peek in with a smile. I sat up, smiling, and he walked in with a bouquet of roses and some sweets to enjoy. I chuckled and sat up on my knees as he placed everything down on the bed gently beside me and hugged me tight. "I was worried about you," he whispered ever so softly next to my ear. For a moment, it felt as though time had stopped. I longed to sink deeper into that embrace, but there was no more depth to reach, as if the hug itself had touched every corner of significance. In that moment, I wished time would just freeze forever. But in reality, there was no such thing... After some time, we let go, and he hopped on the bed next to me, pulling me back into his embrace as he talked about his day and how the project was postponed and how he had received a call from Jasmine telling him all about what happened. I frowned a bit and glanced at him. "Jasmine called you? She looked way too petrified to even hold her phone...or yet even talk about me..." I pouted a bit. Luca chuckled and kissed my nose softly. "You know how she is... she loves her phone more than herself. The accident is all over her social media platform, and her father, that Tom guy, still wants to make a fuss about it even though it's not the driver's fault... I'm glad your father's handling this." I nodded him head and bit my lips softly. "Hey why are you so worried? What happened?" I told him all about that homeless guy and what had happened in the car and how I thought she had blamed me for it all. "Babe I'm sure you're being delusional...she's your best friend...she wouldn't think that...now please feed me some of those Belgium chocolate, they smell really good~" I chuckle and grab a piece of chocolate, feeding him. "Why don't we watch a movie?" He smiled, nodding his head, unable to speak since he was enjoying that chocolate a bit too much. I giggled and put on a movie to watch as I relaxed my body, ready to forget about all that had happened. And without further notice, I had fallen asleep. ... I opened my eyes and glanced beside me; Luca wasn't there anymore. I grabbed my phone and checked the time, seeing that it was around 2 AM. I got out of bed and went downstairs; everyone was asleep. I looked outside the window and saw that it wasn't raining anymore. Intrusive thoughts got the best of me, so I decided to go outside for a small walk... but thinking about it now...that wasn't a really good idea....