''Uncle?...Me?'' the man asked, pointing at himself seemingly surprised that he'll be mistaken for an uncle. He looked at the unapologetic Nalani and couldn't help smiling.
''Forgive my guard for his rudeness. I'm quite a private person and l don't like having my photos taken by the media''. He gently explained.
''I'm not working with any paparazzi and l wasn't taking pictures of you. l was just taking pictures of the scenery and you happened to be in the scenery. I'm not wrong''.Nalani replied.
She was never going to admit that he was the scenery. Seeing her being so spicy, the man found her even more interesting and his smile became warmer and gentler.
"My bad. I'm sorry for being in your scenery. I hope l didn't ruin it''. he said, his voice full of tease.
Blushing, Nalani cleared her throat, raised her head high and replied, ''Well, it wasn't that bad. I won't hold it against you for ruining my shots.''
The man nodded in understanding, suppressing his laugh.
Feeling shy, Nalani quickly turned to leave, trying to get away but she walked too fast and missed a step.
AHHH!!!
With a thud, she fell flat on the ground. Fortunately, the ground was covered in snow and she herself was wearing thick layers of clothes so she wasn't hurt in any way. She just laid there on the ground staring at the clear sky and feeling too embarrassed to get up. At this moment she really wished that the ground would open and swallow her whole.
Her day couldn't get any worse. She closed her eyes, trying to muster enough courage to get out of this embarrassing situation.
A few seconds later, she opened her eyes only to find a finger looming over her, looking at her with a mischievous smile. Nalani felt like dying when she realized who it was.
It was the man in white standing over her with with his signature gentle smile. He reached out his hand out for her to help. Nalani grimaced. Looked at the man and then finally reached out her own hand to him. He grabbed her and help her up.
''Thank you Mr. Uncle'' she thanked him half-heartedly.
She then dusted the snow off her clothes and turned to leave.
''Miss, what's your name?'' he asked, curious.
Nalani heard him but pretended that she didn't, refusing to say another word to him. The man watched her figure leaving with intrigue. He touched is face with his cold hand and turned to his bodyguard Bobby and asked, ''Do l look that old?''
''No sir'' Bobby replied, matter-of-factly.
The man smiled and mutters, ''l know that. She must be blind. Little Thing, l look forward to seeing you again''.
Then he walked away with his hand behind his back.
By the time Nalani got back to the city, the sky has already turned dark. As she made her way home, a white Lamborghini horned horned incessantly, trying to get her attention but she ignored it as she continued to walk forward. Seeing that she continued to ignore him, the driver quickly parked his car by the side of the road, got out and immediately chased after Nalani.
"Nala. Nala. Nala. Please listen to me. I want to talk to you'' he called out to her. Nalani didn't even turn to look at him. She was intentionally avoiding him so he run up to her and stood in her way.
Having her path blocked, Nalani frowned in displeasure, pursed her lips tightly and glared at the handsome young man in front of her. She should've read the calendar today.
Today has been a horrible day and it keeps on getting worse.
"Mr Gerard Lujan. I'd very much appreciate it if you would get out of my way. I'm getting late"She said coldly. The man looked at her anxiously, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"I know you don't want to see me but...but...l miss you so much. Nala please can you please forgive me this once. I'll make it up to you so let's get back together okay" Gerard spoke, his voice full of emotion. However, the person standing in front of him remained unmoved and only staring at him coldly.
Nalani rolled her eyes and decided to play dumb.
"What is Mr Lujan saying? Why can't I understand anything. Come on and speak human language. At least l understand that one."
Having said that, she bypassed him to leave. She has no intention of wasting time with unimportant people.
Unwilling to give up, Gerard chased after her again, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a stop. "Nala, listen to me please".
Nalani flared up, angrily flung his hand away from her, glaring at him with undisguised anger and hatred. "My name is Nalani Soren. You can call me Miss Soren. Please kindly refrain from calling me Nala. We're not that close Mr Lujan". Nalani shouted angrily.
Gerard looked at her with pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. Sorry that I couldn't stand up for you. Sorry that I couldn't fight for us. I truly regret it. From the bottom of my heart, l hate myself for my cowardice. If only I had stood up to my mother. If only I had taken your hand that year, we would still be together..." He apologized. Gerard collapsed to the ground, crying and filled with endless regret.
Nalani looked at the crumbled man and sighed softly, "There are too many what ifs. You made that decision so you should stand by it. I've already moved on and put everything that happened behind me. You're already my past and we can't go back to how things used to be so take care of yourself and don't appear in front of me again."
After saying this Nalani walked away leaving him behind.
Once upon a time, they used to be in love, attending high school and college together, they loved each other with their pure and innocent hearts, dreaming of getting married, having a happy home together with their kids and finally growing old together. But when the trials of life came, the young man stood in front of her with head bowed.
Perhaps too ashamed to look her in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry, l can't go against my mother's wishes". That year, she felt as though her heart was being stabbed with countless small needles.
It hurts so much. It kept hurting until the day it didn't hurt anymore and that was when she knew that she was now free from this entanglement.