Aurora
"Will you finally hear me out now?" he asked in a calm tone.
From the cars around, one could tell we were in the parking lot; thankfully, it was empty. I was ready to go berserk on him. Ever since he walked into my life, it's been one crazy incident after the other. This recent one was the height of it! I didn't care if he was my boss; I was ready to give him a piece of my mind.
"I'm listening," I decided to give him a chance before speaking my mind.
"I've known Johanna since I was a kid, but there has never been anything between us..." his voice trailed off.
"Our families were bent on shipping us together, and Johanna seemed to be fond of me. A while ago, her family proposed an engagement. I didn't answer; I told them I would think about it. Next thing I know, news about our engagement was everywhere..."
"If you were going to give it a thought, you might as well have said yes. What changed?"
He drew closer to me and took my hand.
"What changed is that I met you."
I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the pace of my heartbeat quicken.
"Ever since the night we spent together, I haven't been able to get you out of my head, Aurora." The way he said my name made it sting.
"And this feeling is something new to me. I've never felt this way about any woman before. Which is why sometimes I don't even know how to get close to you, and when I do, my actions are often misunderstood."
I stared at the ground shyly; his confession was doing some serious damage to me right now, and I hated that I couldn't hide it.
"In all I do, I just want to make you happy. I want you to be carefree, to be yourself around me. Most importantly, I don't want to marry another woman while you're here."
"I haven't agreed to marry you yet," I reminded.
"And I'm not asking you to for now; just keep the media in check. We can take things slowly."
There was no way to tell whether or not he was telling the truth; the only option was to follow my heart, and right now, my heart was pointed towards him.
"Fine," I caved in, "let's just take things slowly."
"Although I'll have to apologize."
I raised a brow, "you have done many things to be sorry about. Tell me, which one do you wish to apologize for?"
"Leaking your name to the media; was thoughtless on my part. The next few days are going to be hectic for you."
"Tch," I scoffed, with so much pride and arrogance.
"You're not even a celebrity; why should I be bothered?"
He put his hands in his pocket and smirked, "You don't watch the news that often, do you?"
I was always too busy cracking my brain for new proposals that would probably get thrown out. When would I have time to watch TV, not to talk about the news? Eventually, it became a habit and it stuck.
"What's your point?"
He simply laughed, shook his head, and walked forward, "You'll see."
After a busy day, I was finally off work, and, as usual, I got into a taxi and headed home. Today's events replayed in my mind like scenes from a Korean drama.
How did my life go from boring to this? It all seemed unreal, but this was my reality now, and I had to accept it. I was scared for my future, but at the same time, I was excited.
The second I stepped a foot outside the taxi, I was attacked by a vicious crowd.
"Ms. Aurora." The reporters screamed in my face, trying to get my attention as they swarmed me like ants on sugar.
"Is it true that you and Pierce Vargas are engaged?" A particular female reporter stood out from the crowd; she shoved her mic in my face, leaving little room for me to breathe.
"Do you mind telling us how this happened? What do your parents do for a living? What does Johanna have to say about this engagement?"
It was one question after the other without even giving me a chance to respond. My chest felt tight; I was running out of air Just then a hand shot out of nowhere and yanked me from the crowd, and soon I was pressed against a hard chest. I looked up and saw Pierce shielding me from the attacks of the mob-like armor.
He paved his way out of the crowd, pulling me along, and in no time, we were inside his car. I let out a deep breath, feeling alive once more.
"See, this is why you should watch the news," he said in a mocking tone. With a twist of the key, the engine roared to life, and we hit the road.
"You did this intentionally," I seethed.
"Honey I did nothing; it's you who refused to listen..."
"In your own words, you're not even a celebrity," he said in a high-pitched tone that sounded nothing like me.
"Ew, I don't talk like that."
"That's not the point."
"What is the point exactly?" I fired back. I was starting to get sick and tired of this; just when I thought I'd found peace, something unfortunate crawled up on me and shook my world, and with him came chaos.
"The point is, you're homeless right now."
I was going to come with another snarky remark when it hit me that he was right. The realization settled in.
I am indeed homeless now.
"Not to worry I have a lot of empty rooms in my house."
"Yeah," I rolled my eyes, "go to your house and see a lady waiting for you in lingerie? I'd rather sleep in a hotel."
His expression softened, "I promise there will be no more of that."
I almost caved in but-
"I can assure you, I even changed my door code. I've spoken to her about her behavior and cut ties with her, there will be no more of Johanna I swear."
"Fine," I gave in like I knew I was going to from the beginning.
"Let's go to your house."