Aidan was staring quietly at his phone late that afternoon in his office. The busy time has passed and he had no upcoming business trips that week. He made so many plans. He made dinner reservations. He accumulated gifts he bought from the places he visited. And yet, the stream of messages he sent and calls were all left unanswered.
He firmly told himself before that he would give her privacy as much as he could, especially in the workplace. He was afraid of pressuring her and making her feel that he is controlling her life, but then it's been three days since the last time he saw her. He then found out that she had already resigned. He was so upset upon knowing it three days later, but then individual reports for people who resigned are not even given to the CEO unless it turns out to be a big issue. He just found it out after he lost it and finally broke his vow of allowing her to keep her privacy in the company. He checked her profile and found that she filed an immediate resignation.
He instructed Gavin to look for her and to find out everything that happened that led to her resignation. The reason for her resignation was given to him first and he deeply regretted his decision of not having her watched but later he realized that that wasn't the main problem. It was the office environment built over the years that the management turned a blind eye to. It was a deeply rooted problem and he had heard of the same issues from other offices before. He was just so ashamed to finally realize that his company was no different from the others. He was frustrated at himself and for knowing that he was powerful enough to turn things around but was not able to and now it's too late. His position was all for naught.
The report about her whereabouts came and that was when his frustration turned into anger.
Will Scotia is a famous diorama artist with a scandalous past. He was charged with statutory rape but the case was dismissed because of a lack of evidence. Upon seeing Ena's name as his victim, he felt like someone just kicked him in the gut and spat on his face because, at the exact moment that he was reading the report, Ena was living in his house.
He did not know how he got to Will Scotia's house as he was blinded by anger. For two days, he parked his car close enough to see who was coming in and out of his home. He later suspected that Ena was not there because it was just Will and another guy who seemed to be his worker who was coming in and out of his studio. On Monday at 2 am, he was about to leave when a food delivery motorcyclist came. Ena opened the gate and he immediately got out of his car. He was about to run to her but stopped when, suddenly, Will appeared behind her and picked up the paper bag she was holding.
"Hold it properly. It might fall." She said to him.
"Yes ma'am!"
She took the two cups of drinks from the rider but Will still took them from her hands even though he was already holding the paper bag and she allowed him. They both went inside and all he could do was just stand there, still seeing the image of her relaxed expression toward another man.
"That was unfair. You have never shown that expression to me, not even once." He painfully said to himself.
He drove back and all he could think about was how at ease her expression was with that guy. They spent passionate days and nights but when they are walking outside, doing other things, or eating, she was on edge every time. He wanted to hit his chest to remove the feeling of it being torn open. He had never known that such pain will be brought to his life when all he expected after finding her was happiness will always be by his side.
"Sir, do you want me to keep watching Ms. Breyl?" Gavin asked with his usual professional tone, but it was clear to see the worry in his eyes.
Aidan just gave him his car keys and walked past him.
"I don't have further orders about Analisja Breyl. Continue with our original schedule."
"Yes, sir."
Her three-day stay ended up being two weeks because of how engrossed she was with the learnings. The diminishing fire that symbolized her creativity has sparked once more and now it can no longer be extinguished. She had convinced herself before that it was just a hobby and that she was not that interested in it because she did not have much time to do it before. Now, she has confirmed that it is what she truly wanted to do and Will presented to her all the possibilities.
She wanted to continue, but then there were some things she needed to do back in the city. She needs to pack her things and move out of the apartment. Will leased the basement of his house to her for half the amount of her rent in the city. He insisted that she did not have to pay since she will be helping him with his projects but she refused strongly since he was already providing her free lessons which should cost a lot more than her rent. She also told him that she would pay him for it but he also refused, so in the end, they agreed on the rent payment.
The truth was, she was nervous. She worried about possibly seeing some people she was not yet ready to see. She already downloaded her messaging apps back and saw the messages and calls. She did not know why she felt so disappointed upon not seeing Aidan at the top, but she just shook that feeling away. It was the neighborhood association's group chat that was at the top of the list. She looked at the messages and they were all mentioning her. She decided to message them and they all demanded that she come to their houses. She smiled, wondering how she could go to their houses one by one. She told them that she would have to pack her things first and then meet them, but the grannies said that they would go to her apartment instead and help her with packing. She tried to refuse, but then, no one can really refuse some strong-headed grannies.
Five grannies came, including grandma Grace and grandma Carolina. They complained first and then hugged her at the end. They then started helping her pack. She told them about Will and they were all happy about her finding what she wanted to do.
"How old is this Will fellow?"
"Is he handsome?"
"More handsome than Carolina's grandson?"
She smiled awkwardly.
"I found him." Grandma Carolina said, showing her smartphone screen to the other grannies.
"Oh my! And this man is single too? Why is he not married yet?"
"Hmmm. It seems that your grandson really does not have a chance."
She laughed nervously without realizing that Grandma Carolina was watching her.
It was already nighttime when they finished eating dinner and the grannies went home. They will come back the day after tomorrow when the movers will come to take away her things. That was also the day that she would finally say goodbye to them and that saddened her, but then they would surely see each other again.
She walked around the park in that neighborhood since she was not sure when she would be able to walk around that area again. She was almost back to her apartment building when someone pulled her arm strongly.
"Jake?"
"How could you just leave me like that?"
He sounds drunk. She tried to pull her arm back but he wouldn't budge.
"Let me go!" She shouted.
Her shout provoked him and he grabbed both her shoulders and began kissing her. She tried hard to push him away, but he was just too strong even in his drunken state. She kicked him on the shin and his hold finally loosened. She was about to run away but he grabbed her hair. She used her elbow to hit his arm but hit his face instead. The shock from it made him slap her and she fell and hit her head hard on the pavement.
"Jake! What are you doing? Get away from her now!" Grandma Grace shouted.
"Stay away from this!" Jake shouted back.
"Oh you don't take that tone with me young man! I have known your grandma long before you were brought into this world and above all, my son is one of the best lawyers in this country. I won't even think twice if you don't let go of your hand on that lady!"
Grandma Grace's voice was commanding and loud enough that people started gathering behind her. Jake still did not let go of her, but luckily, a police officer arrived.