A New Beginning
1626 Words
If someone had told me two years ago that I would have my own apartment, a best friend who knew almost everything about me, and absolutely no idea what I was doing with my life...
I probably would have laughed.
Because honestly?
I still had no idea what I was doing.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection while trying to decide whether I looked unemployed or simply tired.
Probably both.
I sighed and pulled my hair into a messy bun.
“Lisa!”
I closed my eyes.
Here we go again.
“Lisa!”
“I heard you!”
“Then why are you still in your room?”
“Because I'm getting dressed!”
“You've been getting dressed for thirty minutes!”
I rolled my eyes.
“Some of us need time to look good.”
The bedroom door flew open.
Lucy stood there with one hand on her waist and the other holding her phone.
She looked completely put together.
As usual.
Her hair was neatly packed, her outfit was simple but elegant, and she had that look on her face that told me she had already planned the next twelve hours of our lives.
I looked at her.
Then at myself.
Then back at her.
“You make me sick.”
She laughed.
“Why?”
“Because you look like somebody's successful daughter and I look like somebody's missing child.”
“You're dramatic.”
“You're employed.”
“That too.”
I threw a pillow at her.
She caught it.
“Get dressed. I have work.”
“You have work. I don't.”
“You're helping me.”
I groaned.
“Lucy…”
“Please.”
She gave me the look.
The one she knew I couldn't resist.
I threw my hands up.
“Fine.”
She smiled.
“That's my girl.”
Lucy walked out, leaving the door open.
I stared at myself in the mirror again.
She wasn't wrong.
I needed to get out of the house.
Losing my job had been harder than I wanted to admit.
It wasn't even the job itself.
It was the feeling of being stuck.
Everyone around me seemed to be moving forward.
New jobs.
New apartments.
New relationships.
New plans.
And me?
I was in my twenties, unemployed, living with my best friend, and surviving mostly by helping Lucy whenever she had work.
I knew things could be worse.
But knowing that didn't make it easier.
I grabbed my bag and walked out.
Lucy was already standing by the door.
She looked at me.
“Finally.”
“Don't start.”
She laughed and handed me my phone.
“You forgot this.”
“See? This is why I need you.”
“No. This is why you need a functioning brain.”
“Same thing.”
She shook her head.
We walked downstairs together.
That was how our mornings usually went.
Chaotic.
Loud.
And somehow perfect.
---
Lucy and I hadn't always lived together.
We met in college.
At first, we weren't even friends.
She thought I was too quiet.
I thought she was too loud.
She talked to strangers like they were old friends, while I preferred keeping to myself.
Somehow, we became inseparable.
After graduation, when we both realised how expensive life was becoming, moving in together seemed like the easiest decision we'd ever made.
It turned out to be the best one too.
Lucy was an event planner.
A good one.
She could walk into an empty hall and somehow see an entire wedding, birthday party, or corporate event in her head.
She loved what she did.
I loved watching her do it.
Whenever she had a big event, I'd help wherever I could.
Decorations.
Guest lists.
Phone calls.
Carrying things I had no business carrying.
Basically, anything that didn't require actual expertise.
Today was supposed to be another one of those days.
At least, that's what I thought.
We got into a taxi, and Lucy immediately opened her laptop.
“What's the event?” I asked.
She didn't look up.
“Corporate.”
“Whose?”
She hesitated.
Then smiled.
“Someone important.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You always say that.”
“This one is actually important.”
“How important?”
She finally looked at me.
“Very.”
I laughed.
“That's not an answer.”
She closed her laptop.
“I got the contract yesterday.”
My eyes widened.
“Wait. Seriously?”
She nodded.
“Lisa, you know how long I've been trying to get a contract like this?”
I smiled.
“I'm proud of you.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder.
“I knew you'd be.”
I nudged her.
“So who is the client?”
She looked at me for a second before answering.
“Devon Smith.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who's that?”
Lucy stared at me.
“You don't know Devon Smith?”
“No.”
“You've seriously never heard of him?”
“I barely know what's happening in my own life. You think I'm keeping up with rich businessmen?”
She laughed.
“Fair point.”
I shrugged.
“So?”
“Let's just say he's very private.”
“Then why did he hire an event planner?”
“Because private people still throw events.”
“Hmm.”
She opened her laptop again.
“Anyway, I need everything to be perfect.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
I smiled.
“Then you're going to need me.”
“I was planning on it.”
---
By the time we arrived at the venue, I understood why Lucy had been so nervous.
It wasn't just another event.
The place was huge.
Elegant.
The kind of place where everything looked expensive enough to have security standing beside it.
Workers moved around everywhere.
Flowers.
Tables.
Lighting.
Catering.
Lucy immediately transformed.
The playful girl I knew disappeared, replaced by a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.
“Move those chairs slightly to the left.”
“Check the guest list again.”
“Make sure the lights are tested before six.”
I watched her for a moment.
“You're scary.”
She looked at me.
“I'm professional.”
“Same thing.”
She laughed and handed me a clipboard.
“Go check the decorations at the entrance.”
“Yes, boss.”
I walked away.
For the next hour, everything was normal.
Until the atmosphere changed.
I didn't know what happened.
One minute, people were talking.
The next, everyone seemed to straighten.
I turned around.
A group of men had entered the venue.
They were dressed in dark suits.
Security surrounded them.
And in the middle of them was a man who immediately caught my attention.
Tall.
Calm.
Serious.
He didn't look like someone who needed to announce his presence.
People simply noticed him.
His eyes moved across the room.
Then stopped.
On me.
I froze.
For some reason, I couldn't look away.
Neither could he.
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
His eyes dropped toward my neck.
I instinctively touched the necklace hanging beneath my blouse.
It was an old silver crescent.
The only thing I had left from the life before the orphanage.
I'd worn it for as long as I could remember.
The man's face suddenly became unreadable.
He looked at me again.
Then at the necklace.
Something about his expression made my stomach twist.
“Lisa?”
I turned.
Lucy was standing behind me.
“Come on,” she said.
I frowned.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She smiled and handed me another folder.
“Mr Smith's team is here. We need to make sure everything is ready.”
I looked back at the man.
He was still watching me.
“Is that Devon Smith?”
Lucy nodded.
“Yeah.”
I looked at him again.
There was something strange about the way he was staring at me.
Not like a man noticing a beautiful woman.
Like he was trying to remember something.
Or perhaps trying to understand something that shouldn't have been possible.
“Have you met him before?” I asked.
“No.”
Her answer came easily.
I nodded.
But my eyes remained on him.
Then he started walking toward us.
Every step brought him closer.
And with every step, the strange feeling in my chest grew stronger.
When he finally stopped in front of me, his eyes went straight to my necklace.
He stared at it for a moment.
Then looked at me.
“Where did you get that?”
I frowned.
“My necklace?”
His expression hardened.
“Yes.”
I touched it.
“I've had it since I was a child.”
“Where?”
I hesitated.
“The orphanage.”
Something flashed across his eyes.
Shock.
Recognition.
Fear.
I couldn't tell which.
He looked at me again.
“What's your name?”
Before I could answer, Lucy spoke.
“Lisa Williams.”
Devon slowly repeated it.
“Lisa Williams.”
The way he said my name made the hairs on my arms rise.
As though he'd heard it before.
As though my name meant something to him.
But that was impossible.
I had never met Devon Smith in my life.
At least...
I thought I hadn't.
He looked at the necklace one more time.
Then at me.
And for the first time since he'd walked into the room, I saw something behind those calm blue eyes.
He knew something about me.
Something I didn't know about myself.
And I had a feeling my life was about to change.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD