I FELL IN LOVE ON THE JOB

*** HELLO! THIS IS A SEQUEL FROM MY BOOK, 'FALLING FOR THE CEO ASSISTANT' FOR EFFECTIVE UNDERSTANDING, DO READ THAT FIRST. ******* Sarah stood outside the door for some minutes contemplating her arrival and what it took for her to get to where she was. She would occasionally throw her hands out for a knock but would stop halfway because she was either too scared or undecided. Soon enough her legs were tired from standing, the cold left goosebumps on her skin, and she needed to seat. Sarah took a seat on the pavement as her life began to slowly play before her. She braced herself for the pain that followed, she thought by now she would get used to it but no, it still hurt. Wrapping her arms in what she learned to be a self-hug mechanism, she prepped for later. Her heart race started to increase speed, her vision became blurry, the sounds around her were no longer audible, she was going back in time and it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Her consciousness flew back to that fateful day when her horrors began. When she was pushed down from her apartment by Linda and Melissa, she could feel her blood pressure spike. She felt the doors close in on her, and her attackers gaining on her. She felt hopeless and indeed she was. There was a gun pointed at her face, she still felt the ripple effect of having someone whom you trusted so deeply turn out to be your enemy. She couldn't get Linda's dangerous smile off her head, it still tormented her to this day. She had tried to get away from them, drawing backward until she came to a stop. The environment became colder, the city lights dimmer, the height scarier. " Any last words? " Sarah shook as those words replayed in her ears, she vividly remembered how she shook terribly. Her heart told her it was her end, but she didn't want to believe it was happening, it had to be a bad dream. Of course, she tried to beg for mercy, trying to make Linda consider. She did so by telling Linda how they had beautiful and kick-ass memories. But she soon understands that none of that mattered, they were going to kill her no matter what. The cold and distinct footsteps as Linda drew closer to her with the gun still clenched in her hand and how void her whispers sounded. " I'm sorry about this Sarah, I tried to save you, I really did... but you had to fall in love. That was your doom. " She closed her eyes as she could reenact Linda's hands running through her hair, and how her whole body was paralyzed to its effect. " Goodbye. " Linda had whispered to her as she was finally thrown down. The violent push sent Sarah falling with full force, was it over for her? Sarah's eyes were still closed as she played the image of her falling to what appeared to be her demise. It played in slow motion, the wind became colder, and she could suddenly feel wetness on her skin. Taking one last glimpse of her attackers staring at her with smiles on their faces, right after they fled the scene. She gained closer to impact, there was no turning back now. The whole time she thought of him, of Pete. How she would never get to see the love of her life again, added to the pain she already felt. The street sounds became louder, birds chirping, trees blowing, people conversing, cars horning. Sarah had tightly closed her eyes, praying to God one last time to ease the pain. She had accepted her death, what she could hope for was it to end quickly, she could only handle so much pain. But little did she know that there was more to come. She finally got to her destination, she heard the loudest sound yet as she made an impact with what felt like a car. It came with an overwhelming pain that quickly spread through her body. The loudness immediately went silent, she could feel an unknown force pulling her into, and she suspected it to be her death. She found herself smiling, she didn't know why. Maybe that was how death felt like, before now she'd lived a good life, a fulfilling life. She had fallen in love with him, so much so that she was willing to give up her dreams just to go be with him. Her feelings for him brought her joy even in her final moments and she was immensely grateful. She was slowly closing her eyes, drifting out of consciousness when she saw him. It was Pete! he was right above her, picking her battered head to his lap as he ran his hands on her hair. It was almost as if she felt a gush of adrenaline, her strength suddenly returning to her. She was going to make the most of it. Her hands moved, holding him tightly by his sleeves as she wanted to tell him the truth. Her mouth was open but words wouldn't come out, maybe she would tell him with her eyes. She saw his lips move, his eyes already watery as he shushed her. Sarah kept trying to relate with him, sending him signals through her sad and betrayed eyes, hoping that he understood what it meant. As it started, it soon became over and unbeknownst to her, it would be for a long, long time. She wasn't dead yet, she knew she wasn't dead, she was in a coma. She would vaguely hear him pray to her, his sad voice still reaching out to her beyond thick walls and it kept her clinging to life. His voice, presence, and hopes fed her with motivations, it gave her courage to survive, she wanted to live for him. Yes, she'd heard him bring over someone else, she knew it was out of place since he only came along, she had even heard her name. She assumed it was someone he trusted but when he heard how his voice sounded when he talked to her, she felt her first fear in a long time. She recognized his voice to have come from a place of love, has he fallen for someone else? has he left her? or was he tired of waiting for her to wake up? Query flooded her mind, as she still lay numb. Sarah was quivering inside, she didn't want to believe her worries were true. She had to wake up sooner, there was no time to waste. Maybe he was just confused and needed her so badly. She had to go to him or risk the chances of losing him forever. Sarah fought for him even harder, she pulled herself stronger from the depths of her ailment and it worked, she finally woke up. His name was the first thing she yelled as she gained consciousness, she would go to him. That was when she found the letter, and it was from the strange girl, her name was Elena. Sarah changed her course to Elena's residence, she would get to know this woman, and hopefully what she feared wasn't true. Sarah felt a loud thud in her chest as the next occurrence came to her, it was the moment she never wanted to happen, the moment she feared the most. Sarah as unknowingly walked into her demise, and Linda has shown up to kill her again. Shivering in fright, she stared as Linda acted in the same manner as before, pointing a gun at her to end her. She felt a familiar fear, she knew for a fact that she would not survive the second killing. Glancing over at the woman she had initially come to see, Sarah recognized her resolve, Sarah saw herself in her. She knew her life was replaying itself all over again, she knew how it was going to end and it heightened her fear. Poor Elena, she thought as she heard Linda recite the same words to her, it was still painful to hear even after all this time. How could she die without seeing him? without telling him how so much time didn't affect her love for him? without feeling his warm embrace again? without feeling the warm touch of his lips? without telling him that she still loved him dearly? Even as Sarah envisioned her past, tears still dripped down from her eyes, how could she stop this memory tape? Just like before she heard a loud sound, it was heading towards her. Her life flashed before her eyes again, the bullet made an impact as she fell to the ground in immense pain. Was she dying again? was this the end of the line for her? so unfortunate, she thought as her eyes were gradually closing. She wanted to scream but her lips were too tired. But just then, he came. She heard his voice, he was finally coming for her. There was still hope. Her sudden strength kicked in again, her eyes reopening as she eagerly awaited to see his face again. But it wasn't him, he hadn't rushed to her. Sarah was in shock, how could he? she had finally woken after a long time and he wasn't happy to see her. He hadn't come for her, instead, he choose someone else, he choose her. Sarah felt defeated, her will to live departing from her. He had left her, he had forgotten about her, he has moved on leaving her behind. Sarah saw him instead, Pierre. He held her close with tears in his eyes, she could tell he missed her terribly. She was glad she got to see him, he was her friend. Although she was grateful, she still felt terrible, she still felt pain. Pierre had given her little hope, he made him feel accepted, wanted and loved. And even then she didn't get to say thank you or goodbye to him, he died trying to save her. Sarah still desperately clung to denial, she wouldn't accept the fact that she lost it all, she wouldn't accept the fact that she was now alone. He was just caught up in the moment, probably shocked that his sister was the devil in disguise, Sarah thought. He would soon snap out of it and come back to her. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and she still didn't want to come out of delusions. Not until she saw him at the funeral, with his new lover, holding her tightly in his arms. Sarah's heart shattered into pieces, while she was fighting for her life, eagerly awaiting to come back to him, he was moving on with someone else. What was she to do now? she had spent so much time dedicating her thirst for survival to him that now she realized the situation she was already lost. " We're leaving the country. " His words were like sharp needles piercing her being all at once. He still had the nerve to show up with his lover at Pierre's funeral and lace her with further bad news, hadn't she had enough? she wanted to rush to him for a hug, she wanted to beg him to stay, she wanted to have him back. But she knew it would be futile. Why was he doing this to her? it wasn't her fault that she wasn't there for him all these years, it wasn't her fault that her life was put on hold by HIS sister. She felt like she was drifting into another coma as she watched the man she loved turned his back on her, disappearing forever. Sarah had dived into depression, turning her back from the world as it was strange to her. Sarah placed her life on hold subconsciously, while their world moved on. She'd lost all hope and whatever dream she had, she felt there was no use. Not until she got a call from Leah. Leah was a best friend, her college buddy with whom she shared dreams. Leah had welcomed her back into her life, and Sarah had accepted. It wasn't like she had other life plans, plus Leah was an excellent cook. Sarah had given up on their dreams of becoming world-renowned chefs but Leah had carried the dream on. It wouldn't hurt to watch from the sidelines now would it? maybe she needed a gentle reminder what her life would have been if the universe had favoured her and Leah was the man for the job. It wouldn't matter anyway, she had come all the way here for some peace and quiet and that was what she would get. No drama, and for the first time in a long time she wanted to live for her. " Sarah? " Sarah was so lost in thoughts that she didn't hear the door open, forcefully drawn from her thoughts she turned back to see Leah standing behind her, with her apron on. " Why are you seated here? how long have you been here? " Leah asked bending over to her. Sarah hurriedly wiped off her tears, " I... I just came. " Her voice was still pale from crying. " Come inside. " Leah ordered picking her from the ground. " Thank you... " " What... what happened? " Leah wanted to know. " Please, I promise not to ask what happened to you if you do the same to me. " Leah paused, " Sure. "