Chapter 42: Home is where the heart is
Aira’s POV
When I step into my office, my eyes widen at what I find. I blink at the large bouquet of roses sitting on my table alongside a couple of Chanel bags and the biggest box of chocolate I have ever seen.
Slowly, I walk out of my office to find Aurora sitting on her desk. She is typing away on her computer, but stops once she notices me coming.
“Aurora, who are all those things in my office from?” I ask her, and she blushes a bit.
“That handsome fellow that came to see you yesterday sent them. I believe his name was Alexander. I can’t really remember,” she sighs dreamily, and I frown. “He is such a gentleman.”
I had to stop myself from snorting. “Get rid of them, and the next time he sends any more gifts, reject them.”
Her smile falls. “But why? You don’t like him? I know it’s not my place, but he seems like a pretty sweet man, and he’s handsome too.”
I pursed my lips.
Sadly, I am more than aware of that.
“Just do it, please,” I say, and she sighs but nods. I head back into my office and toss the gifts on the couch before getting back to work.
I resumed my work, but it was exceptionally hard for me to concentrate. Occasionally, my eyes would go towards the gifts on the table, and I could not help my curiosity.
After an hour of pretending to be focused on the piles of paperwork before me, I give in. I walk up to the channel bag, and my eyes widen by a fraction when I find a jewelry box. Inside contains one of the most beautiful diamond-encrusted necklaces and rings I have ever seen.
Picking up the bouquet, I take a quick whiff and sigh with contentment as the sweet scent engulfs my senses. I pick up the box of chocolate and pop one into my mouth.
The moan that leaves my lips can’t be controlled as the delicious treat melts on my tongue.
A knock comes from my fore, snapping me out of the little trance Alex has apparently put me in again.
Dropping the flowers, I make sure that there isn’t any smudge of chocolate on my face. Then I clear my throat and say, “Come in.”
The door opens, and I am surprised to find Travis walking in. He smiles at me, then his gaze shifts to Alex’s gifts behind me.
“Woah, it seems someone has a secret admirer,” he says with a light chuckle. He sounded almost nervous.
I roll my eyes and then say, “Trust me, there is nothing secretive about him.” I pause. “To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?” I say, referring to his presence in my office.
“Well, now I feel pretty awkward asking for it now,” he says, his hand going up to his nape.
“Don’t be. You can tell me anything,” I tell him, but he still looks hesitant.
“I’m not sure your secret admirer would approve,” he says, and my eyes widen by a fraction when I realize where he is headed.
My gaze falls on the gifts Alex brought me, then to Travis. I am not going to lie; Alex has messed up more times than I can count. Even though we may be friends, I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life with him.
I suppose I could give someone else a chance. And Travis doesn’t seem quite bad.
“There is no secret admirer, not anymore,” I say through a tight smile, and his eyes shine brighter than the sun.
“Oh, well, in that case, do you mind having lunch with me, Aira? I mean, I know you are my boss and everything, and it may seem inappropriate.”
“I would love to,” I say, cutting off his blabbering.
He looks downward but still has that smile on his face. I don’t know why, but something about Trevor gives off this shy, child-like aura. It was nothing like Alex, who was more assertive and dominant.
“Alright then, let’s go,” he says, and we head out of my office together. I catch Aurora shooting the both of us disapproving looks, and I wonder if they had anything to do with each other.
When we step out of the building, Travis leads me down to his car, and we drive down to a cafe nearby. I do my best to keep my head down so I won’t be spotted and instantly swarmed by members of the paparazzi.
Travis gets the hint and makes sure to shield my body with his until we are inside the cafe. We take our seats in the booth that appears most hidden, and a waiter comes up to us shortly after.
She is a brunette with hazel eyes and a warm smile. She takes our order and leaves shortly after. Now it’s just Travis and me.
“So, tell me more about yourself, Aira,” he says, and I think of what to say.
“I don’t think there’s anything about me that isn’t all over the internet,” I say, and he shakes his head in disagreement.
“It’s not possible for the media to capture everything in your life. There has to be something,” he says, and I am about to tell him about my favorite food when he continues. “Like, I have numerous hobbies, but the media only captured three. You know I was the captain of the football team back in high school, and everyone just assumes that football is my life, but I bet you they never could have guessed I am into programming too. And…”
He just kept on going.
At times, I would find myself zoning in and out of what he was talking about, and I just got tired. The waiter brought our food, and I was hoping he would have taken a moment to at least catch his breath, but he didn’t.
He just kept going.
I eat my food silently, hoping at one point he would let me talk about myself, but he didn’t. Now I just want this lunch break to be over.
At some point, I could have sworn I felt someone staring at me in the cafe. At first, I thought it was someone from the press, but no, this gaze was far too intense.
Yet far too familiar.
I look around the cafe but am disappointed when I don’t find him anywhere.
Finally, we finish our food, and the waiter comes with our bill.
“Ah, bills on her. She’s my boss,” Travis says with a wink. The waiter and I both raised our brows, shocked by his words.
“Oh, um, yes, of course,” I say, fetching out my card and handing it to the waiter. Once I’m done paying, it is safe to say I remained speechless throughout the ride.
Not like he even let me speak anyway.
We arrive at the office, and before we go our separate ways, he says, “I hope you had a good time.”
Is that supposed to be a trick question?
“Uh, yeah, I did,” I told him, and he smiled brightly, clearly oblivious to my lie.
“Awesome! I had a great time as well. Maybe we could do this some other time,” he says, and instead of answering, I offer him a tight smile.
I return to my office, and once I shut the door, I take a deep breath, trying to process exactly what just happened.
The buzzing of my phone snaps me out of my thoughts. It’s a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Enjoy your date?
My blood runs cold. I knew someone was watching me!
Me: Who is this?
Unknown: Take a wild guess, princess.
Without a second thought, I instantly knew who it was.
Me: Alex?
Unknown: Please don’t block this number too.
I stare at the message, not knowing what to say.
Alex: You didn’t seem quite happy on your date.Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
I still haven’t replied. How did he even know I would be at the cafe? Has he been watching me this whole time?
Once again, my phone buzzes, and the text I see next makes my heart ache.
Alex: I miss you. Please just give me one chance to explain.
I stared at the message for some time, contemplating what I should do next. My gaze shifts to the pile of files on my desk, and I sigh.
Me: I’m coming.
I have to stop myself from laughing when he sends me a smiling emoji. I still can’t believe this is the same infamous alpha king I knelt before all those months ago.
I step out of my office and inform Aurora that I am done for the day before heading out of the company. I would be lying if I said I didn’t speed a little more than I should have on my way to Alex’s mansion.
It kills me to admit it, but I miss him too.
The guards instantly open the gates for me once I arrive, and I drive right in. Immediately, the memories of the last time I was here come flooding back in.
My heart aches a bit, but it doesn’t stop me from going forward. When I park my car and step out of it, my eyes instantly lock with Alex’s.
Instantly, my heart shatters at the sight of him. He looks broken.
His eyes are red and tired, his hair is a mess, and the lines at the top of his head along with the bag beneath his eyes suggest that he hasn’t gotten much sleep.
Quietly, I walk up to him, not once tearing away my eyes from his. When I reach him on the front porch, there is a moment of silence between us.
“Hi,” he starts.
“Hi,” I repeat.
His eyes trail up and down my body, and I can tell he is impressed. “You look beautiful-amazing, really.”
“Thank you,” I answered meekly.
“Um, sorry, come in,” he says, stepping aside for me to enter, and I do.
The house has looked pretty much the same since I left. And it still felt the same. It still felt like peace.
I take a seat on one of the couches, and Alex takes the one next to me. Once again, we are engulfed by silence. He looked as though he was struggling with what to say.
So I go first.
“Where is she?” I ask, and his eyes are cold when he answers me.
“I threw her out the second you left.”
Oh wow.
I want to be mad at him for leaving my sister homeless, but I was secretly happy about it.
“Oh,” is all I could say.
He sighs, “Look, I don’t know what I can say to make you forgive me, but I fucking miss you, Aira. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have let her get so close to me. I should have pushed her away. I should have screamed at her to get the fuck away from me, but I swear on my life I didn’t do any of this to hurt you. I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you so fucking much, and these past few days have been hell. Please,” he pauses, and what he does next has my eyes widening.
He gets down on his knees before me.
“Forgive me.”
I sat there speechless, not believing that I could get the great Alpha Alexander to get down on his knees before me.
I look into his red-rimmed eyes, and I know that he means it. I didn’t know when tears started to spill out of my eyes until he reached out his hand and wiped them away.
I find myself leaning into his touch, and I never wanted him to pull away.
“I forgive you,” I say, and those words send a wave of relief over Alex. His lips stretch into the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.
He wraps his arms around me, and I instantly sink into him, allowing his scent to engulf my senses.
He kisses the top of my head, and when he whispers, “Thank you,” I know that there is no better place to be than right here with him.