CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Two Red line - Althea stood in front of the sink and splashed the tap water on her face. She then inhaled a large amount of breath and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The water was cold, her appearance was disheveled, and she was sickly pale. She could see the dark bags under her eyes and her lips were not as smooth and flawless as before. She licked it and stepped inside the shower and turned it on. She leaned her arm on the tiled wall and her mind wandered again. Her mind was traveling through her memories of her dream that morning. From her comfort zone to the world of white and warmth. It was ironic that she felt like that when those memories included the very person who hurt and wondered about her heart. Her dream was very cruel---no, fate itself is cruel. To wake her up just in time before he said those words, even if it was fake, at least it would give her comfort, although also fake. It seems like the world judges her to be unhappy. The world
CHAPTER NINETEEN: Rejection —The morning was cold, and the sky was covered with thick clouds. The sun was barely illuminating the surface of the earth, creating a greyish scale in the atmosphere. Althea turned into the corner of the corridor. She brought her hands to her mouth to warm them up. It was really cold; the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees this morning. She can't believe that she has forgotten about her gloves and scarves. She even wore clothes that were not thick enough to block the cold. She was floating all morning. Her mind was not in her head so she made these stupid mistakes.Althea tried to hug herself to at least give her almost freezing body warmth, but it was still not enough.Althea stopped in front of a room. She pursed her lips before peeking inside. The class was already over in this room, and the students were already dispersing. Some stayed inside and chatted with each other. Althea's eyes swept across the classroom, but the figure she was looking f
CHAPTER TWENTY; Going Back.--Althea's heart was like a small boat swaying unceasingly in a raging storm. The small pitiful boat was getting hit by the ocean's monstrous waves and soaked like a small duckling in the rain. Its sails are slowly getting shredded by the furious winds.The boat doesn't seem to survive the storm. The small boat will surely get destroyed and sink into the ocean, slowly sinking until the ocean bed, getting further and further from the reach of the sun.Her heart was swaying without any guarantees of survival.Althea looked at his cold eyes in shock. Her eyes were filled with pain and disbelief. Tyler looked at her with his chilling gaze that made her doubt if this man was the man she had known for almost four years. His gaze is penetrating, bone-chilling. Desperate?Me?Althea can't believe the words he just said. There was no logic at all—where did he get that idea?!Fury bubbled in her heart, her eyes turned sharp as she glared at him."What the fuck are
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE; Decision.--The plane touched the ground not long after. Althea woke up and prepared to get off the plane. She was feeling drowsy and her body was tired and heavy. She is also craving something; she wants to eat.Althea just realizes that this was pregnancy. She was so busy with dealing her emotions these past few days that she even forgot about her situation. She had read books about what women experience in their early pregnancy and she couldn't believe that she was already experiencing them.She was so sleepy and tired that she wanted to go home and pass out on her bed and then snore the whole evening. Althea got her luggage while fighting her sleepiness and booked a cab. The cab arrived not long after and she melted inside the warm interior.It was a quiet drive to her house. She, fortunately, didn't get a talkative driver because she wanted peace to organize her mind.Althea repositioned herself to her most comfortable sitting position and then looked out fro
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO;7 years later--ARC THREE: 7 YEARS LATER—[Mom-][Althea- Run!][Hello? Please, help me--] [Bang!][Father...]---7 Years LaterIn a small town in a certain country, a lush greenery field stretched out like infinity. The green grasses unintentionally hid the slowly blooming little flowers from the random spectators like a child in their care.The cold and somewhat dry wind passed through the bushes, trees, plants, and flowers, letting them sway gently along with the breeze of early spring."Good morning, ma'am." One of the workers in her shop greeted her with a smile.The manager of the shop stopped for a bit in front of her and crouched to smell the flowers in the vase. After smelling the sweet and fresh scent of the flowers, she smiled in satisfaction. She greeted her worker back. "Good morning. How's the shop doing?"The staff laughed. "Still striving, yes. The sale shoots up this February, well, as always."The manager laughed. "Many shits are still in lov
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE;Through the Glass Window of the Door--Her drive took almost three hours. She left the town at 6 am and arrived at the main branch of her shop at nine. The drive was tiring for her since she had never done it for a while. Some parts of her body were stiff, so she needed to stretch a little before hopping out of her car.She swept a glance at her beautifully built shop with their freshly bought flowers and the stunning flower arrangements by her staff. The flowers were arranged neatly in baskets and some vases. It was very pleasing in the eyes.A smile crept on her lips in satisfaction. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. There were people inside silently looking at their products and there was also staff that was assisting them in their decisions. That's one of what she wants her staff to do; proper customer service. The first impression lasts, so she wants their customers to have a very easy and enjoyable experience in their shop. Although it was onl
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR;The World is Big Yet Small--“Hello, good morning, a smiling lady with a dimple on her cheek greeted sir! He nodded at her and said nothing. The lady was not offended; she maintained her smile and asked him politely. “What kind of flower are you looking for today, sir?”His secretary answered for him. “Hello, good morning to you, too. We heard that this is one of the best flower shops in this city. What can you offer us?”The lady on the counter laughed, “Oh my, thank you. We are indeed one of the best flower shops here. Our shop, Narcissus, can assure you of freshly picked flowers. Our shop has a wide variety of flowers since we get our supplies from different flower cultivators and we also have our field of flowers. As for the arrangement, you need not worry about it since I have—the staff, have been oriented how. So, what kind of flower would you like to buy?”His secretary nodded after listening to her lengthy explanation. There wasn’t even a hint of either an
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE;Flowers In Their Backyard---"Anyway, since you're staying for a week, why not try to walk around the city? It has been too long since you came back after all." Althea shoots her a glance before dragging her gaze back to what she was doing; trimming the flowers. "I was planning to. I want to buy something for Kai and just to sightsee. Well, that was the plan until..."Until she remembered that this was the city and he was here."Hmm?" She asked. "Until what?""Never mind," she said and turned to put the pot away. As she was about to get another pot, she stopped, and as she had her back facing her, she asked. "Emily, what do you usually do when you see an old lover...?"Emily turned to her with bright eyes, her dimples were showing as she smiled widely. Her short wavy hair was tied tightly with a rubber band. "Well, well, well. A miracle has happened! Althea is talking about a shit called love—hey—don't you dare throw the scissors to me—""Then shut it," she spat.