CHAPTER THREE(3):
978 Words
Sometimes the person you have been looking for is already standing at your door.
Arianas fingers stopped moving on the doorknob.
Her mom was behind her whispering through lips that were shaking.
"Don't..."
The man outside was waiting quietly.
There was no knocking.
No impatience.
Just silence.
Ariana took a breath. Unlocked the door.
The stranger from the rooftop was standing in front of her wearing a suit.
He looked even younger than she thought he was.
His dark eyes were looking at hers.
They were calm.
Steady.
It was as if he had spent years waiting for this moment.
Neither of them said a word.
Then he held out a velvet box.
"I think this belongs to you."
Ariana was confused. She took the box.
Inside she found the silver watch she had bought for Ethan.
It had been fixed carefully.
Every c***k was gone.
Her breath caught.
"How did you get this?"
A faint smile was on the corner of his lips.
"I have a habit of picking up things people throw away."
These words struck her harder than they should have.
Before she could ask another question he took a step back.
"My name is Damien."
He looked at her one time.
"This won't be our meeting."
He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Ariana called.
Damien did not look back.
"Who are you... Really?"
His answer came after a silence.
"...Someone who owes you a lifetime."
The apartment door clicked shut.
Ariana stared at the fixed watch in her hands.
It looked brand new.
Not even the tiniest c***k remained.
"Mom..." she whispered.
"Who is Damien?"
Her mom stiffened.
"I don't know."
Ariana looked up.
"That's not true."
There was silence.
"You were scared when you saw him."
"I was scared because he came here."
"Why?"
Her mom walked over. Gently closed the velvet box.
"Because some people bring the past with them."
Ariana frowned.
"What past?"
"The one I've spent seventeen years trying to hide."
The words hung heavily between them.
Before Ariana could ask another question her mom grabbed both of her hands.
"Promise me something."
"What?"
"If Damien ever asks you to trust him..."
She paused, her eyes welling up with tears.
"...Don't."
Ariana searched her moms face.
"Is he a man?"
Her mom hesitated.
"No."
"Then why should I stay away from him?"
A tear slipped down her moms cheek.
"Because good people..."
"...can still hurt you."
Ariana lowered her eyes to the watch.
For the time...
She was not thinking about Ethan.
She was thinking about Damien.
Somehow...
That scared her more.
Damien slipped into the seat of his sedan.
The moment the door closed his calm expression disappeared.
"How was she?" his assistant, Lucas asked from the drivers seat.
Damien looked down at the velvet box in his hands.
"...Shes still wearing the smile."
Lucas sighed.
"You could've told her the truth."
". Ruin seventeen years of lies in one night?"
Damien leaned back closing his eyes.
"She's not ready."
The car pulled away from the apartment.
Lucas hesitated before speaking.
"Mr. Ashford... She doesn't remember you all does she?"
A faint smile crossed Damiens face.
"No."
"Does that hurt you?"
"It does."
There was silence in the car.
After a moment Damien reached into his wallet. Carefully unfolded a worn piece of paper.
It was a drawing.
A little girl with two pigtails stood beside a boy holding a yellow sun.
At the bottom written in handwriting were the words:
Don't be lonely. I'll always be your friend.. Sunshine
Damien gently traced the signature with his thumb.
Then he whispered,
"I kept my promise..."
"...I just hope you'll remember yours."
Ethan frowned at his phone.
Call Failed.
Again.
He tapped Arianas contact.
Blocked.
His jaw tightened.
"Seriously?"
For three years she had answered every call before the ring.
Now...
Nothing.
His assistant knocked before entering.
"Mr. Brooks, the breakup video is everywhere."
Ethan barely looked up.
"So?"
"The comments aren't good."
The assistant hesitated before handing him a tablet.
'She deserved better.'
'I hope she never goes back to him.'
'Publicly humiliating your girlfriend isn't honesty. It's cruelty.'
Ethan scoffed.
"They don't know our relationship."
"Perhaps."
". Miss Hayes hasn't defended you."
There was silence.
For the time that bothered him.
He grabbed his car keys.
"I'm going to see her."
Twenty minutes later he stood outside Arianas apartment.
He raised his hand to knock—
froze.
A black luxury sedan pulled away from the curb.
Inside sat the man from the rooftop.
Their eyes met through the window.
Neither looked away.
The sedan disappeared into traffic.
Ethan frowned.
"Who was that?"
He turned toward Arianas apartment.
The bouquet in his hand suddenly felt... Silly.
Ariana sat alone on the balcony the fixed watch resting in her lap.
She had spent the hour asking herself the question.
Who is Damien?
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Miss Hayes?"
She opened the door.
A courier stood outside holding a cream-colored envelope.
"It's, for you."
"There must be a mistake."
He checked the name.
"No, ma'am."
"It was personally requested that this be delivered tonight."
Curious Ariana took it.
The envelope was thick.
Expensive.
The wax seal bore a symbol she didn't recognize.
She carefully opened it.
Inside was an invitation.
ASHFORD GROUP
You are invited to attend an interview tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.
Ariana frowned.
"I never applied..."
A smaller note slipped from the envelope. Landed at her feet.
She unfolded it.
Don't be afraid.
This is where your life begins.
— D
Her heartbeat quickened.
Before she could think—
Her phone rang.
Unknown Number.
She answered.
"...Hello?"
A panicked male voice shouted through the line.
Miss Hayes don't go to Ashford Group tomorrow!
The call crackled.
Then came one final sentence.
The man you're about to meet... Isn't the man you think he is.
The line went dead.
- Writer
