Part-1
"Have you ever felt that your life is not your own? Like it is a story written somewhere, and you just happen to be the main character in it? And it doesn't matter whether you comply with the rules, or go completely against them, because if you're replaceable with someone who will follow the rules without questioning them?"
Cece was with Gavin the whole day.
She was having the time of her life. She had imagined spending time with her boyfriend or lover many times. She had thought of many scenarios, romantic dates, and ways of having many conversations. This was very different, and yet a rose gold blend of all of them.
He picked her up from her house in the morning. "I have cancelled all my meetings today," he said flashing a smile. He came out of his car and open the door for her, like a perfect gentleman. He brought flowers for her, an assortment of pinks and oranges tied in a bundle.
"Where do you want to go?"
Cece thought about it. She did not want anything fancy, or anything larger than life. A simple date when she could have some alone time with him was good enough for her. "Take me somewhere no one else goes," she said flirtatiously.
He touched her lips with his own. It was just a peck. Cece felt the proverbial butterflies inside her stomach getting delightfully restless and flying towards her chest.
"One more time you say something like that, I will drag you back home."
"That is so cliche," giggled Cece.
They drove towards the outskirts of the town. The car rolled towards something that resembled an ornate garden, with an electric fence.
"My friend owns this place," Gavin said proudly once their car entered the area that was prohibited to the outsiders.
"Okay, so we will not get arrested for trespassing?"
Gavin smirked at Cece's tone and shook his head. "On the contrary, we will be greeted very well. Brace yourself for what is coming next. Ricardo has been waiting to meet you since I told him about you three years ago. He thinks I have made you up."
"Why so?"
Gavin sighed and replied, "I may or may not have made up the story of an imaginary girlfriend when I was twelve."
"Interesting," Cece looked out of the window and asked, "What is this place though? Are these grape vines?"
"It's a vineyard. Ricardo owns a wine company. He claims it's a small business, but the wine his company makes is exquisite, and popular among a certain circle."
Cece felt goosebumps covering her skin. The car was advancing through the road, which ended in a big space that looked a lot like a cold storage facility. There was a house behind that, not very big but quite impressive from a distance. Cece noticed European architecture at the top of the building.
Something started to bother her. She was supposed to write a love story. It was difficult to come up with a love story out of the blue, especially with characters given by someone. She needed a break.
The problem was that she couldn't remember when she made this plan with Gavin. She would call Oliver if she thought of an outing.
Wait, it was not just an outing, it was a date.
Despite the queasy feeling settling at the bottom of her stomach, she smiled back at a beaming Gavin, and said, "When did we make this plan, Gavin?"
It took three seconds for the question to register in his mind. His smile started fading. "We did not make this plan."
"So, what are we doing here?" Cece did not want to sound repetitive, or nagging. She had to ask the right question in order to get the right answer. She breathed in and asked, "Who is making such plans for us, Gavin? And why are they trying to set us up?"
"Because we are famous, Cece. Gavin and Cece are the sweethearts everybody wants to see together."
"What do you mean?" Cece latched on to the last sentence he said. Who wanted to see them together?
"Gavin, you're not making any sense right now. What do you mean everybody wants us to see together?"
"Have you ever felt that your life is not your own? Like it is a story written somewhere, and you just happen to be the main character in it? And it doesn't matter whether you comply with the rules, or go completely against them, because if you're replaceable with someone who will follow the rules without questioning them?"
Cece felt a thin film of cold sweat covering her body. She knew what was happening. "It's another dream, isn't it?"
"Let us wake up, Cece," Gavin suggested.
When Cece opened her eyes again, she was on her desk. Her head was put down on her laptop. She sighed as the realisation hit her.
Cece was dreaming again.
And, what icked her the most was the fact that it was one of those shared dreams. Gavin had probably gone to the same place and had the same conversation as her. Another fact that bothered her was that she was feeling it again.
Her feelings towards Gavin were softening.
It had been more than a week, and Cece was still struggling with her plot. She spent most of her days lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling, munching on chips, pacing around the small room, and looking out of the window. She read some books of her choice, some romance and chick-lits, some 'feel good' vibes hit her momentarily, and she returned to square zero as soon as she wrote the first sentence. The one sentence she had written was good, but what next?
Before this massive procrastination, she had an active time with herself. Her last meeting with Gavin had thrown her back into the same loop of decision and indecision she started her journey. She was once again considering pros and cons, what-ifs, and what-could-have-beens. She still did not comprehend what happened to her that day, how she started listening to Gavin or even trusting him.
The feeling stayed for twenty four hours. Then, as the intoxicating effect of Gavin Atwood wore out, she realised what an idiotic step she had taken. Another day, she thought of various possibilities while going out for walks, and for coffee with Oliver. She had, once again, come up with two options.
One, she could run away again. She knew how absurd and cowardly that was. It embarrassed her, filled her heart with guilt and shame. However, it was an option that could save her from something more dangerous. Cece was more scared now, after it dawned to her that a dream changed her thoughts and emotions completely. It was just a dream, a figment of imagination; perhaps in her subconscious, she had some level of attraction towards Gavin!
Cece had to admit the fact that he was handsome, quite good-looking. Cece Googled him and found many articles on him. The philanthropist businessman even had a fan club, where both men and women lusted after him.
This possibility terrified Cece to her core. She could not get attracted to the man who killed her parents.
The second option was the dangerous one. Earlier, she would have dismissed this option at the very beginning of formation. She could work for him as she foolishly promised, stick to him during the process, and find out more about that night. Or the real reason behind the contract he has forged between himself and Cece.
It could not be as simple as compassion. She had seen enough of the world to know that. People would help each other with water, food, tea, first-aids, or even by borrowing money, but they would not spend millions in order to help others. That was just ridiculous!
She changed her homestay once again, this time with Oliver's help. The elderly lady gave her the address of the house across the town. It was up for rent. Cece looked around to find a nice, furnished studio apartment on the top floor. "The girl who stayed here killed herself. Drug overdose. Since then nobody has agreed to rent this apartment," the landlord said.
It came at a cheap price. Not surprisingly.
Oliver started visiting more often.
"I guess I am not invading your personal space," he said one day. He was sitting on the bed and watching her writing.
"It's fine. I will be done in ten minutes, then we can go out for a coffee," Cece answered.
"What are you writing?" Oliver asked once they were out of the apartment. They had come closer in the past few days. Oliver had stopped asking Cece to borrow money from him or to stay in his apartment, and Cece had started to put her trust in him gradually.
"I am trying to come up with a love story. Something unique and beautiful at the same time." Cece had to confess it to herself that she had started to think of a story for Gavin, although she was in a dilemma on how to proceed.
"Have you ever fallen in love?"
Oliver smiled sadly. I fell for you, but you never reciprocated. Not to make you feel guilty or something, it just haunts me from time to time that my first love never noticed me properly."
"Not again, Olie."
Cece had started to ignore some of his taunts and sad monologues. Her guilty had subsided by now, and in place of those ugly beings now she had a calm, mature presence. She had to save her energy for better uses, such as dealing with Gavin and her unwarranted feelings towards him.
"I need some ideas I can use," " she said.
"Well then, why don't you start with that one-night stand of yours? After the news was leaked, everybody said that you had fallen for that guy. What was his name again? Gavin, was it?"
Oliver thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, it was Gavin."