ARIA'S POV
Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door of Savannah's room."Come in," she called from inside.I pushed the door open to see her on the bed lying on her back. "Hey."She sat up on the bed with wide eyes. "Aria? Do you need something?"Since she moved in with us, I had never knocked on her door not to talk of stepping into her room. I had always avoided any reason of going there, so I get why she was surprised upon seeing me."I need to talk to you about something." I fiddled with my finger, unable to meet her eyes."If it's about what you said earlier, you're right. I made a terrible mistake, disappointed my parents, and ruined the future we had planned together. You have every right to be mad at me and I can't blame you for hating me for what I did. It's all my fault, I'm sorry Ari." She wiped her tears."No, Anna. I should be the one apologizing." I gathered the courage to look her in the eyes."Why should you apologize to me? You did nothing wrong." She gave me a confused look.Shaking my head, I said, "I did everything wrong. Yes, It's normal for me to be mad at you, but as your best friend who promised to stand by you no matter what, I should have comforted and supported you instead of making you feel worse about the situation. I'm sorry."The room was quiet as Savannah stared at me with a bewildered look. Before I knew it, she stood up from the bed and enveloped me in a hug with her bulging stomach standing between us."Where have you been all this while? I was so lonely." She cried on my shoulder.I rubbed her back as she sobbed harder. "I'm sorry. I'm here now."She pulled away and wiped her tears-streaked face. "But you will be leaving this week and I will go back to being alone again." She pouted."So? Technology has made it easy to communicate and also I will make sure I come back once you have your baby." I smiled at her."Okay, I can live with that." She returned the gesture.I bent down so that my face was leveled with her stomach. "Hey dear, how is it going in there? I know Aunt has been a real bitch all this while but I'm hoping you are not too mad at me and find it in your tiny heart to forgive me." I brought my hand up to touch her belly but I paused with my hands hovering over her stomach and glanced up at her. "Can I?"She nodded and placed my hand on her belly with her hand on top of mine. All of a sudden, I felt a kick in my palm making me remove my hand with my eyes widened in astonishment."Woah," I glanced up at her with the same expression on my face."That's her way of telling you that you are forgiven." She chuckled at my expression."Do you experience that all the time?" I asked, standing up straight."Most time, especially when your brother is around. It's like she can sense his presence and recognizes his voice." She sat down back on the bed."Wow." I nodded before pausing and then staring at her with a confused look on my face. "How do you know it's a girl?""I have a feeling it's going to be a girl though your brother is convinced it will be a boy." She shrugged. "We decided to wait till the baby is born to find out the gender."Sitting on the bed opposite her with my legs crossed, I said, "I'll be rooting for you to win because I want it to be a girl too. I can't cope with another version of my brother." I laughed and she joined in.The door opened, causing me to turn back and see my mother standing at the entrance. "It's good to see you guys getting along again." She smiled. "I'm going back to the restaurant now.""Did you find what you were looking for?" Savannah asked as my mom was about to leave."Yes, dear. See you guys in the evening." She left and closed the door after her.Savannah and I spent the rest of the day together as she made me fill her in on everything she missed after she dropped out of school. I also told her about how Lena offered for me to move in with her. Hearing all those things, she promised that she was going to go back to school no matter how challenging it might be and I promised to support her in whatever decision she made.It was already getting late when the room door was pushed open followed by my brother's baritone voice, "Anna, I got you the potato chips you have been craving for."He stopped on his track when he noticed my presence in the room. With a confused look on his face, he stepped back into the hallway and glanced left and right before coming back in. "Did I enter the wrong house? Or have I been transported to an opposite universal?"Without warning, Savannah took my hand and placed it on her stomach. True to her words, her baby kicked on hearing my brother's voice. "Wow, she's going to be a daddy's girl.""It's a boy," he corrected, narrowing his eyes at me."Yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night." I rolled my eyes as I climbed down from the bed."Wait, what's going on?" He pointed to me and Savannah.If I was in his shoes, I would also be surprised to meet two people who have been distanced for seven months suddenly getting along in just hours you left them."What does it look like?" I walked past him toward the door."Did you get me the strawberries I asked for?" Anna asked, diverting Xavier's attention from me."Yeah." He walked toward her and handed the bag in his hand to her.My lips stretched in a smile seeing how caring and responsible my brother was. He was a different person from who he was seven months ago. Savannah's pregnancy was all he needed to get his head straight.Remembering what my mom told me, I stopped at the entrance and turned to them. "Savannah," I called and she glanced up at me. "Thank you.""What?" She raised her eyebrows at me.I walked out of the room without replying, leaving her to battle with her curiosity which was going to be annoying for her because Savannah hated being curious more than anything.DAVE'S POVThe sun was down and the moon was slowly making its appearance when I stepped out of the plane and walked into the airport. My amber eyes scanned through the waiting crowd and I noticed a man in a black suit holding a banner that says Dave Mendez. I covered my head with the hood of my jacket and blended into the crowd till I was able to get out of the airport without them noticing me.When I got outside, I breathed in the fresh air of Chicago that was brightened by different lights from a different buildings. The city was a sight to see at night which was why I chose to arrive late. It has been two years since I left the city just to avoid my parents. No, I didn't hate my parent for any reason they were the people I loved the most but I had to leave when they were trying to make me shoulder a responsibility I wasn't ready for. I wished to live my life doing whatever I want and going wherever I want without anything holding me down. Our clash of interest was why I left the c
DAVE'S POVThroughout the journey, I was preparing myself for the argument I was going to be having with my parents over the same topic for the last three years.The car stopped in front of Styles Company, the Fashion company owned by my parents. I stepped out to see that the white-colored concrete building has been replaced with royal blue glass with the company's name calligraphed boldly at the top. The men in suits ushered me inside and I covered my head with my hood as the door opened. I walked toward the elevator with five men surrounding me and I could hear the whispers of people asking who I was. Over the years, I had managed to keep myself away from anything related to the company except the money I get from it though. My parents didn't mind because my brother was ready to take up the responsibility of succeeding after them which made me relax but little did I know that things would take a different turn and I would be pressured to take the responsibility I have been running
ARIA'S POVThat Saturday morning, Xavier dragged my suitcase down the stairs as Savannah and I walked behind him."The place won't be the same without you but we can't stop you from leaving." Savannah sighed for the tenth time that morning. "I will miss you guys too except Xavier though." Xavier scoffed. "We both know that's a big lie." I rolled my eyes but I knew he was right. There was no way I wouldn't miss his bossiness and his annoying personality."I can't believe my baby is finally going out to the city." My mom sniffed when we got to the bottom of the stairs. She pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to miss you." "I'll miss you too, Mom." I wrapped my hands around her. "Always remember that I'm just a phone call away." I pulled away and wiped her tears. "Be careful out there, dear." Dad caressed my hair. "As much as it bothers me to let you go into that big city alone, I know I can't keep you under my wings forever. You need to go out there and find your path."It was expecte
ARIA'S POVMy first day in Chicago was pretty adventurous. Lena and I spent the entire day sightseeing, eating different food and snacks, and watching movies. She took me to places that I needed to know, so I would be able to find my around whenever she wasn't around. Lena took me to Styles company and my jaw dropped to the ground at the sight of the magnificent building that was covered in Royal blue glass. The place was closed since it was Sunday, so she promised to show me around the company the next day when I resume work.I rose from bed earlier that morning as I couldn't sleep out of nervousness. As I took my bath and got ready, millions of butterflies were having a party in my stomach and I kept doing the breathing exercise to calm down."Breakfast is ready," Lena said in front of my door followed by her footsteps walking toward the living room.Lena's apartment was spacious with a living room and two bedrooms which were directly opposite each other. The kitchen and dining roo
DAVE'S POVParking my car outside Nixon's apartment building, I picked up my phone and sent him a text to meet me in his place, knowing that he was on lunch break. I climbed down from the car and went up to his apartment on the fifth floor of the building, ignoring the group of men watching me from the black Sedan parked a few blocks away from my car.When I got to the door, I punched in the password on the keypad to unlock the door. I slumped on the couch and turned on the TV while I wait for him to arrive. A few minutes later, the door opened followed by Nixon's voice, "I can have you arrested for breaking into my apartment." He stood in front of me with his hands shoved in his pants pocket."It's not breaking in if you were the one who gave me the password." I rolled my eyes at him."Why did you make me come here? My lunch break will soon be over, do you want me to get fired for slacking off at work?" He perched on the edge of the couch adjacent to me."You can't get fired. You ar
ARIA'S POV"So Nixon, huh?" I asked as Lena and I cooked dinner together."There's nothing between us." She glared at me."I never said there was," I smirked. "But I can tell he likes you.""I know that, but the company has a rule so it's never going to happen between us." She filled her plate with spaghetti and meatballs before taking it out of the kitchen.I did the same and joined her at the dining table. "What if there was no such rule? Or what if you guys met under different circumstances? Would you have considered it?""Yeah, I might." She shrugged, putting her spaghetti-filled fork in her mouth."So you like him." I beamed. "Yeah, a bit." She pinched the edge of her finger to show me how small a bit she was talking about."Lena?" I raised my eyebrows at her.She dropped her fork on the plate. "Okay, fine. I like him, but the company has its rules so I'm never going to act on my feelings. I won't risk my career over a man and besides, getting rid of whatever feelings I have for
DAVE'S POVAdrenaline pumped in my vein as I dashed through the woods, letting the dirt under my shoes fly behind me. The music playing from my headphone gave me the drive to continue jogging for more than thirty minutes before I stopped at the edge of the waterfall at the end of the woods.My chest heaved up and down as I stared at the water pouring down, making me remember the times that my brother and I spent together. FOUR YEARS AGO"Dave, come on," Daniel shouted as he ran ahead of him with the wind blowing his shoulder-length raven hair behind him.I picked up my pace to catch up with him but he was too fast. He stopped at the edge of the with his back turned to me while I caught up with him, squatting beside him. His amber eyes looked at me with a smile on his face and his breathing regulated while I was still struggling to catch my breath."How are you not out of breath?" I raised my eyebrows at him."Because I'm not a weakling like you," he spat.Rolling my eyes at him, I st
DAVE'S POVThe beeping monitor and my Dad's raged breathing were all that could be heard in the hospital room as I sat on the chair in front of the bed staring at him. My mother sat beside him, holding his hand with her head resting on it fast asleep. I remembered the last time I was in the position, it was when my brother dropped me off at my penthouse after our little vacation. A few hours later, I got a call from my dad that my brother was in the hospital. It was when I got there that I found out that my brother was dying from Liver cancer and it has already developed beyond control before he found out.It came as I surprise to me that I didn't notice that he was dying after spending the whole month with me. I only understood why he did that through the video, but that didn't stop me from getting mad at him. He passed away in the hospital the following day after saying his last words to me, "I'm sorry." I remembered that moment like it was better which was why I got more scared w