WHEN CONTROL SLIPS
1037 Words
Aiden Vale had disappeared without saying a word, leaving me with my own racing thoughts at the golf course.
Abigail called shortly after. Her voice was frantic when she asked where I was. Then she ordered a cab immediately.
Back at the villa, as I got out of the cab, I went straight to his room furious at what he had done.
I stood by his door and with so much anger in my heart, I banged the door loudly.
Knock!!!
The door opened up.
“You left me,” I snapped at him, pushing the door so that I could see him clearly.
“I didn't choose to leave you, Elara. I looked for you by the porch, but you weren't there,” he replied softly.
“You didn't even bother to call me, you just left me stranded. I only came here because of Abigail. Once her leg heals, I'm leaving,” I blurted out.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then calmly and coldly he quipped,
“If you want to leave, Elara, there's the door," he pointed directly at it, so don’t think too highly of yourself.
He didn't even look at me, then after all he said, he grunted and shut the door.
All that had happened earlier on made me remember how I felt when I was young.
My mother left my brothers and I alone on the playing ground because of the pain she felt when my father left her to marry another woman.
I fell asleep after crying so much from how badly Aiden had treated me.
The next morning, Abigail handed me medicine and water.
“I got some medicine for you. I just knew that after you and Aiden quarreled, you might have a headache because you guys were shouting a lot," she said gently leaving the room. As I took the medicine, Aiden stepped inside the room.
He told me to get dressed because we were going to attend a business event.
“I’m not going,” I replied stiffly.
“That wasn’t a suggestion,” he shot back angrily.
I refused again, revealing that I had no dress for the event.
He stepped closer and leaned towards my ear, “If you don’t come with me, your friend will be fired,” he whispered.
I was so enraged by what he said and I realized something at that moment. I wasn't only living with a narcissist but also a psychopath.
I had no choice, so I agreed to join him. He offered to buy me a dress, but I declined, saying that Abigail would lend me hers.
Aiden's POV
The ballroom decoration was quite meticulous and everywhere glittered fabulously. I had come to the event because I knew Katrina Melvis would surely be here.
I searched around for her.
When I finally saw her, I was about to meet her when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Sunny.
“Aiden, I'm glad you could make it,” Sunny said.
“I wouldn't miss it for anything,” I replied, quickly introducing him to Elara.
Sunny looked at her as though he was curious about her.
I knew she looked beautiful in her navy blue gown which made her appear elegant and reserved. But I did not compliment her, not caring at all about how she felt.
While I was sipping my wine, I observed Katrina and how everyone gathered around her, praising her for her success.
She stood at the far end of the hall. She didn't look nervous, broken, or unsettled.
I left her at the altar three years ago without giving her a reason or anything. I told myself that it had been necessary, strategic, and if she heard my reasons, she would understand.
I wanted to marry her as a means to grow our businesses together but after some rumors that the chip sector wouldn't succeed. I had to cancel the wedding.
I heard that after I left her, she established herself and the chip sector properly.
I needed to make amends with her so that the business agreement would be easier for me and we could work with each other without any bad blood.
Katrina finally noticed me and our eyes met across the room.
I smiled the way people like me would smile when we expect the world to comply to our every desire.
She didn’t flinch.That was new.
“Katrina,” I said, my voice in a low tone which had always made her smile whenever I called. This time she appeared more distant.
I moved to her table.
“Aiden, congratulations on your expansion plans,” she spoke with no anger and no accusation in her tone.
“I was hoping we could have a talk Katrina,” I said confidently.
“We are talking right now, aren't we?” she replied, lifting her champagne. “You’re speaking and I’m listening.”
The edge in her tone didn't have any form of pain.
“I’d like to discuss the chip sector,” I continued.
“Of course you would,” she hissed, giving off a smirk on her lip that felt eerily like she knew why I came to meet her after all these years.
"But unfortunately Aiden I can't build my future with a man with a shady past."
“Come on Katrina, business doesn’t really have to be that complicated,” I said.
She leaned closer to me.
“No,” she whispered. “But love always is.”
Then she walked away.
I stood there half surprised at her attitude, but I wasn't too stunned. I knew she loved me, but business is business, and as a CEO, I never joked with that.
And even if I didn't have control over her. I would soon enough.
I looked across the room, and Sunny was laughing with Elara.
She looked so open and unguarded, smiling at everything Sunny was saying. She looked happy with him. Katrina had rejected my offer this night while Elara seemed more comfortable than she was supposed to feel.
Her laughter stirred something in me. Something I knew I had no control over. Something I was very scared of.
- Writer
