-10 YEARS LATER
-NEW HORIZON COMPANY
New Horizon Company was now one of the top soaring company in city A. In these recent years, it has been making lots of profit. Before this, it was the company that was about to be bankrupted but since the new CEO took over the company, it has become one of the powerhouses. Its stock market has been rising continuously and was expanding its influence to other cities too.
Just as how powerful this company was, the CEO of this company was even more popular. The CEO of this company had graduated from one of the top universities in business and management actually the top 3 students who had graduated. After his graduation, he had worked in his father's company for some years and later was given the position of CEO of New Horizon which was one of the branches of his father's company. Then the new CEO took the company from its grave to heaven within a few years.
The new CEO was very good looking. Normally when someone visions the CEO, they would imagine them like a fat, big-bellied man but the new CEO was just the opposite. He was tall with a toned body. He had shiny blonde hair and piercing green eyes. He had that aura around him which would make everyone respect him even when he was the youngest CEO. Even when he sat down doing nothing, he excluded noble aura. He looked aristocratic with his good looks and manners.
And of course, the name of this new CEO was Noah Kelly. He always had an expressionless face and cold nature. He worked harder and was famous among his employees. The most unusual thing about him was that his personal life was a total secret. Just by observing, they knew the CEO was single but who would dare to confess him seeing his poker face. Many girls had applied in this company withing these few years just to woo the CEO but they could never succeed. Instead, they were thrown out of the company.
There was once an incident where one of their rival company in the same city had send a cute delicate boy instead of a girl to curry the favour thinking the CEO could be interested in boys rather than the girls but their plan backfired at themself. Since there were not any business dealings with them. So, being alert other rival companies stopped their plans of sending the boys or girls to seduce the CEO.
Everyone in the company started thinking that their CEO didn't have any love in his gene. They had never seen Noah moved by anyone. He had only a poker face and always worked. None could move his heart. The CEO of today's company was no more the cheerful and happy Noah of the past.
Noah was sure to keep his personal life private. Except for his business meetings and trips, he never went anywhere. It had already been 10 years and now he was 27 years old. He had everything he needed. Power, influence, money... he was just lacking one thing. He looked at the photo he had kept on the table beside his bed for 10 years. The photo was already old but he had kept it like his most precious treasure.
Of course, Noah would keep it as a treasure. It was the only photo that he had of that boy even if it was a group photo. It was taken on the last day when they were in grade 8. The boy was standing on the leftmost side of the photo. He took out the photo from the frame, Looking at the folded and worn out corners of the photo, nor could tell the photo was taken out many times.
Noah gently stroked the boy at the photo. His eyes looked so gentle and tender that everyone now would think he was a different person. He was looking at the photo intensely with the feelings he always had buried inside his heart. Every time he looked at the photo, his heart would bleed with pain. Why was he so stupid? Why was he so foolish that he never noticed the painfully forced smile on that boy's face on that day? And now every time he looked at the photo, his heart would be full of guilt. On that day, he hadn't realized that it would be the last day he would ever see that boy.
If only he was a little bit brave enough. If only he had a little bit of courage to hold his hands. Noah had seen the love and affection that the boy had for him in his eyes. He knew that the boy liked him but why was he so foolish to test that love. His last test and ego caused him to lose that boy forever.
Noah was afraid of his sexuality too. He wasn't matured enough to think rationally. He tested that boy's love egoistically and with his cowardiceness. He had thought that no matter what the boy wouldn't leave him, He would always be watching Noah from behind but how wrong he was. After that boy left, he was left alone. When he had turned back, none was standing behind looking at him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
Noah had tried continuing dating Samaira thinking that he would forget that boy soon, thinking he could be straight. But it wasn't possible. He had started missing that boy more and more. Every time he used to look at his side, there wasn't anyone sitting beside him. It always left him guilt-ridden. If only he could go back to that time, he would change everything.
It wasn't that he had tried dating others. He had tried dating some boys when some boys confessed to him but it always left him hollow. He used to think maybe that boy had already moved on. After all, who would keep loving the one that broke your heart? Maybe he should also try. When he used to date, he used to look at that person and feel that the boy's hair wasn't black enough, his waist wasn't slim enough. his behaviour and personality wasn't to his taste and moreover his smile... it wasn't beautiful enough. By that time, Noah had already realized, every time he dated, he was looking and searching that boy in the persons he had dated.
Noah then realized none can replace that boy's position in his heart. He wasn't afraid of what society would think now, what his family and friends would think now, he wasn't afraid of anyone. He had once searched for that boy but couldn't find him. Maybe he was out of the country. If fate wanted then he would meet that boy again. The one whom Noah truly loved. Noah kissed the boy in the photo and put the photo back inside the frame again.
"Where are you, Cecil? I miss you so much."