The breathtaking view through the restaurant window overwhelmed Alvin, almost drowning out his inner turmoil. The sprawling city skyline, bathed in golden hues of the setting sun, stretched endlessly before him. It felt like a sanctuary in the middle of his chaotic life, a temporary refuge from everything and everyone that suffocated him.
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the beauty it had to offer, and for a moment, all he wanted was to sit there for hours, soaking in the peace and solace that he so rarely found.
Alvin sighed, his mind shifting to the blind date he had been dragged into. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. This place was exquisite—whoever had chosen it must have a good eye. Maybe, just maybe, this person could be someone special. Could they be the one he had been waiting for all this time? Someone who could see beyond the dark shadows of his past?
He had arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time, simply because he couldn't bear to be in the same house as his stepmother for another second. She despised him, and the feeling was mutual. The way she looked at him, with nothing but disgust and bitterness, always transported him back to his childhood, filled with loneliness and rejection. Just being around her was enough to dig up old wounds, wounds he tried so hard to bury.
The sudden sound of the chair opposite him creaking as it moved pulled Alvin from his reverie. He blinked and shifted his gaze towards the woman who had just sat down. His breath caught in his throat. It couldn't be.
She looked back at him, her eyes widening in recognition, then narrowing with loathe. The disgust in her expression was intensely visible.
"You?!" she spat, her voice laced with bitterness.
Alvin sighed internally. That look again. Why does everyone seem to wear that same expression when they looked at him?
Like he was something filthy, a piece of trash they regretted having stumbled upon. His shoulders tensed, but he remained seated, watching her as she stood up almost as soon as she had half sat down, her face twisting with anger and disbelief. It made him smirk, at a rather convincing thought. She remembered him, even after all these years. At least she hadn't forgotten him.
"Oh God! Why?" she muttered under her breath. Her voice still had that husky quality he used to love, but it was no longer soft or innocent. Life had hardened her too. Not that it mattered to him.
"Why are you here?" she asked, her eyes blazing with contempt.
For a moment, Alvin considered how to answer. Should he tell her the truth, that he had been forced into this blind date, just like her? Or should he ignore her question entirely and leave? There was something strange stirring inside him, though—a calmness, perhaps even a sense of closure, that he hadn't felt in years. Maybe seeing her again, after all this time, wasn't as painful as he thought it would be.
But then he remembered. He remembered the last time they had seen each other. He had sworn that day that she no longer mattered to him. She was nothing to him now, just a ghost from his past. He had no obligation to explain himself to her, of all people.
"I could ask the same question," Alvin responded, his voice low and rough, carrying that familiar edge of arrogance he had perfected over the years.
"Did you not see the details of the person you were meeting?" she snapped, ignoring his cold response and raising her own question.
Alvin hadn't bothered checking the details. His stepmother had thrust the information at him, and he barely glanced at it before being rushed to the restaurant straight from a tiresome get-together party. Honestly, he didn't care who the woman was. He hadn't expected anything out of this blind date, anyway. It was all just a charade.
"Again, I could ask you the same question." he asked indifferently, tossing the same question back at her with a dismissive shrug.
"Stop it!" Vivian's voice rose, frustration clear in her tone. She looked at him with such raw emotion that, for a moment, it felt like they were back in the past. Alvin blinked, shaking off the memory.
Vivian was always quick-tempered. That was one thing about her that hadn't changed. Some people never outgrow their bad habits, no matter how much time passes. Her temper had always been a source of tension between them, and it seemed she hadn't changed with age.
"I told you to never show your face again," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
Every word she spoke now only reminded him of the past he had been desperately trying to forget. She brought all the pain rushing back, suffocating him with memories he wanted to bury. He didn't feel the same warmth he once did when he looked at her. All the love and tenderness had evaporated, replaced with bitterness and resentment. There was no solace here, no peace. Just suffocation.
Without another word, Alvin stood abruptly. He buttoned his suit jacket with quick, decisive movements, eager to leave this place and this conversation behind.
"Certainly," he muttered, brushing past her as he walked toward the exit. He had thought he would never see her again, but fate—or perhaps karma—had other plans.
The moment he stepped out of the hotel, he exhaled deeply, finally able to breathe again. He loosened his tie and tugged it off, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as his driver pulled up. He slid into the car, sinking back into the seat with a tired sigh.
It hadn't been long since he returned from New York, and already his stepmother was pushing him into these ridiculous blind dates. She didn't care about his happiness—she only wanted to torment him. These dates were just another one of her schemes, a way to make his life even more miserable. He knew she would eventually choose a woman who would help her control him, someone who would dance according to her.
As Alvin pulled out his phone, he scanned the message from his stepmother again, trying to make sense of how Vivian had ended up on this date.
The text read:
Vivian Kapoor
Age: 30
That was all. No details about her career, her life now. What had she been doing since they separated? The last he remembered, she had been studying Business Management, just like him. It was possible she now ran her own company or had climbed the corporate ladder. Knowing her talents, that wouldn't have surprised him.
He had thought that day seven years ago was the last time he would ever see her.
What were the odds they would meet like this, years later?