015
1500 Words
THERON
“Have you been avoiding me?” Mireya’s voice from last night echoed in my head. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.
The more I kept on letting Mireya think she could do anything but, the more Aurelia would keep me misunderstanding, and that was an issue for me. After everything that’s happened and how much she has changed in the past week, letting her misunderstand me would be the greatest regret of my life.
“Are you okay, sir?” My assistant asked, and my thoughts cut off in that instant. I hadn’t even heard her when she came in.
She dropped a batch of files on my table. “The audit team has reviewed. They need to sign the documents as fast as possible.”
“I have to go somewhere,” I said, standing up and walking towards the door.
“When are you going to sign the documents, sir? They asked for time.”
“Sasha, I have to go somewhere right now. The document can wait. Tell the driver to pull the car over,” I said.
She nodded, picking up her phone immediately.
The drive to Hales Food was fast and short, considering the fact that it was a little bit close to my company. I stepped past the threshold, and somehow, I wavered. I had visited Mireya in this building a lot of times, but now…my legs have stopped. Meeting her was hard.
“Hales Food has suddenly gotten into a power game.”
“I had heard the sisters have a good relationship, though. I’m not sure it could lead to a war between them.”
“Is there anything, such as a good relationship between the children of a chairman? This is almost a million-dollar company we are talking about; it’s not something small.”
“Even I would fight with my siblings if that meant I would get the company,”
I ignored the remarks, walking towards the elevator at the end of the hallway.
‘A power game’, I thought as my hands slid into my pockets. What exactly was running through Aurelia’s mind? Why did she suddenly become interested in Hales Food? Mireya could—
A sudden sound circulated through the hall, and everyone immediately stopped, going silent. I stared at the source, the elevator.
“Didn’t Miss Hale get into that elevator?” An attendant said.
I turned sharply, “Who?”
“Mi…miss Hale…” her voice stuttered.
“What,” my voice darkened, “Hale?”
“Miss Aurelia.”
I froze. For a split second, my breath disappeared. I didn’t wait an extra second before I rushed towards the elevator, banging on it from outside.
“Get the repair men. Get them now!”
“Somebody…go…” the words drowned out of my ears.
My vision blurred as I tried to pry the elevator. It wasn’t working. It just wasn’t…I couldn’t breathe. I stepped away from the elevator, pulling my tie off, before I threw my leg towards it, landing the first kick.
“Sir…they are here!”
The repairmen rushed towards the elevator, and after what seemed like an eternity, it pulled open.
Air got into my lungs at that moment.
My voice shook. “Aurelia…Aurelia.”
Rushing towards the elevator, I grabbed her frail body in my hands, her whisper sinking into me.
“Please help me…”
“Leave the way,” I whispered, holding her up.
Heels clanked on the floor, breaking the silence. Mireya’s face came into view. She stared at me, then her eyes dropped on Aurelia. Her eyes darkened for a second, for just a split second, then they switched.
“Aurelia!” She gasped, letting her bag slide down her arms as she rushed towards it. “What on earth happened?” she made to touch Aurelia, but I took a step backwards.
She blinked. “Theron…”
“I’m taking Aurelia to the hospital right now.”
AN HOUR LATER.
DRAIX’S HOSPITAL
“She’s just unconscious. I think she had a panic attack while in the elevator. She should wake up soon.”
“How fast?”
“I can’t tell. But we should assume in the next thirty minutes,” the doctor smiled lightly. “She’ll be fine.”
The door closed behind him as he left the ward, leaving I and Aurelia. I walked towards the bed, staring at her.
Those eyes closed, those lips silent, that body weak and lying there without movement. It was unlike Aurelia; it was unlike the bubbly little girl I met for the first time seventeen years ago. I’d never seen her in a sick bed in my entire life, but here she was, lying this way…because I couldn't protect her. Because all the time while she was fighting, I left her alone, standing far away from her.
My hands rolled into fists beside me. “Aurelia, I'll protect you this time. Even if my life depends on it.”
The door slid open, and Mireya stepped in. “Theron, is she awake?”
I sighed, “No.”
“What exactly happened there?”
“I should ask you,” I turned slightly. “It was your company. Aurelia was hurt in Hales Food.”
Her calm didn’t break nor shift. She shook her head, “How sad. A hazard like that happened just on her second day at work.”
“Hazard? Or an attack?” I raised my brows.
“You think someone is attacking her in the company? Why? She just came.”
My eyes narrowed at Mireya. Innocence clouded her face, without a single strip of guilt.
My lips parted slightly, “Where are your parents?”
“I didn’t want to bother them. You know they have been busy for some time now. The distribution and restructuring have been taking all their time,” she muttered.
“Are they truly busy, or you didn’t call them, Mireya?”
Her eyes narrowed at me. ‘Why are you picking on me? You know my situation, I can't just call them whenever I like. What if they get tired of me? This…this is not my life, Theron. It’s an illusion, I have to keep it safe.”
“This…” my teeth gritted against each other, “is about Aurelia. Their child and your sister. And you care more about the fact that they would get tired of you calling?”
“Do you truly think they haven’t heard?” Mireya’s mask slipped for a second, quickly replaced with a smile. “They are the head of the company, everything is reported to them,” she took a step towards Aurelia and adjusted the covering on her body.
“You know how much mom and dad care about their business. Calling them would not make a difference. Her fingers moved towards Aurelia, and I grabbed them before she could touch her face.
“Make a move first before concluding about them,”
Mireya stared at me, our eyes locking for a moment. In that split second, I wondered how I'd let myself be fooled for this long, how I'd known her for so long, without actually knowing her.
“Are you going to accept Aurelia’s breakup?” she asked instead, closing the gap between us. “If you agree, Aurelia would be sad.”
“What’s the use of my dating her? To satisfy you?”
“Satisfaction? But you know how she is. She has loved you for so long; she’s just acting up. In a matter of time, she would run to you again.”
“That’s her decision to make,” I let go of her hand. “I’ll follow whatever she says.”
Mireya raised her brow, “But—”
“Hmm.” A sound escaped from behind us, and I rushed towards Aurelia, just in time for her eyes to open. She stared at me, her eyes narrowing.
“Theron?”
“How do you feel? Are you feeling okay?”
“Did you bring me here?”
I gulped, nodding slowly.
Her eyes shifted from me to Mireya and back to me. They darkened slightly.
“I told you,” she began. “Drowning or not, my life is none of your business.”
Her words…stabbed. When she said it at the pool, it hadn’t felt really painful. But hearing it now, when she was in such danger…it hurt like I had been stabbed.
She pulled the cover from her body and got up from the bed, walking past us.
“How can I watch you when you are in danger? How do I expect to leave you there?”
She chuckled, turning slightly. “Why is it hard? It won’t be the first time you betrayed me.”
“Betrayed…” my voice trailed off as her eyes moved towards Mireya.
She knew.
Aurelia knew that Mireya and I had been dating.
- Writer
