ONE

    Love is a trap. When it appears, we see only it's light, not it's shadows.

                          -Paul Coelho

  Adelynn could barely recognize herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror with her face completely bare. She felt miserable and her reflection confirmed it. She let out a sigh and brought her ring clad finger to her line of vision. I'm a married woman, yet, I don't feel like one, she thought, her eyes misting over. She didn't feel happy and she was worried that she was going to remain very miserable for the rest of her bland life. As a teen, she'd always dreamed of tying the knot with someone she loved, but here she was, enduring a loveless marriage that was as a result of her father's insurmountable debts to one of his business rivals. She was merely six months into the marriage and she was already severely miserable.

  

     At first, she'd tried to understand her business mogul husband and create a mutual relationship with him. But, he was never the cooperating type. He ignored her attempts to have a conversation with him, he barely came home and each time he did, he would bring home a different woman. In a nutshell, she was sick of it all. She felt both helpless and trapped.

    Adelynn blinked back her tears and grabbed her makeup kit with a determined look on her face. She straightened her shoulders and began to apply her perfect make up. By the time she was done, a different woman was staring at her from the mirror. She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. She was Adelynn Banks, she would not crack under pressure. Not today, not ever.

She rose to her feet after slipping on her shoes. Then, she grabbed her handbag and made her way out of her room. Soon, she was heading out of the house and stepping into her car. She hit the gas and drove off, humming as she drove. Just as she noticed a coffee shop on the way, she parked her car and stepped out of it. She was hurrying towards the entrance of the coffee shop when she suddenly bumped into someone else who was just exiting the shop.

"I'm really sorry, I wasn't looking-" she began, but froze when the very familiar scent of a particular cologne drifted into her nostrils, sending floods of memories and a strong feeling of nostalgia washing over her.

No, no, no, this is bad, she thought, her nerves starting to act up.

'Not today, not now. Please, dear God'

"Addie?"

She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists.

That was his voice, alright?

But, why today?

Why must it be today of all days? For all she cared, she had hoped that she wouldn't have to encounter him again for the rest of her life. So, why was this happening now?

    "Addie? Why won't you look at me?" the annoyingly familiar voice said and Adelynn slowly opened her eyes. Time seemed to come to a stand still when her gaze finally met his blue, blue eyes. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at him, realizing with a horrid pang in her chest, how much she truly missed him. He still looked the same, except there were signs of exhaustion and stress in his eyes. Four years ago, she had left this man on his knees with tears running down his cheeks. At this point, it felt like four years ago was yesterday and try as much as she could, she couldn't shake off the overwhelming guilt that invaded her senses. His blond hair was gelled back into a quiff, just how it used to be, four years ago. His jaw was shaven clean as always and he was dressed in a dark blue Armani suit and black Italian shoes. She nearly snorted. Of course, he was still into fashion.

    She cleared her throat and gazed up at him, watching as his lips curved into a bright, yet charming smile that sent her heart jack hammering. It was as if he knew that his million dollar smile still had such an outstanding effect on her. She cleared her throat and regained her composure, brushing a stray strand of golden hair out of her eyes. "Jensen, it's been quite a while" she said and his smile widened, causing her stomach to fill up with bad kinds of butterflies. Her system wouldn't stop screaming a 'Code Red' at her. She desperately needed to leave. She wanted to be anywhere but around her exboyfriend.

That's right, exboyfriend. And if things had turned out different, she would have been his wife by now. Instead, she'd turned him down and broken his heart, possibly into a thousand pieces because she knew how much he loved her.

"Of course, it's been quite a while. Look at you, you haven't changed even one bit" he said and she swallowed hard. If only he knew.

"You haven't changed either. Anyways, I have to get to work. I'm probably running late already" she said and made to walk away. But he grabbed her hand, preventing her from walking away. "At least, let me get your number. We can hangout later and do some catching up like good old times" he said and she squeezed her eyes shut.

What was she supposed to tell him now?

"Addie?"

She slowly turned to face him and raised up her right hand to show him her ring clad finger. "I'm so sorry, Jen. But, I'm married now" she breathed and his eyes widened slightly.

He sucked in a sharp breath, hurt clouding his eyes only for a few seconds.

"Still, we can hangout like friends. You at least owe me an explanation after what you did to me four years ago"

She parted her lips to give him a response but he held up a hand. "If you're going to give me an excuse, I don't want to hear it. You're a lot of things, but you're not a coward. Don't you think, I deserve an explanation?"

Adelynn looked away, her heart stinging when she heard the pain in his voice.

Of course, she'd thought that she would be able to escape this. She guessed she was wrong. It was time to take the bull by the horn. She let out an exhale and took out a pen from her bag. Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand and scribbled her phone number on his palm.

"Call me" she breathed and walked towards her car, completely forgetting about her coffee.

***

"Morning, Luce" Adelynn greeted the blonde haired receptionist who returned her greeting with a warm smile. "Morning, Addie. You look winded" she said and Adelynn forced out a smile.

"I was in a hurry" she responded and Luce chuckled light-heartedly.

"You're not that late"

"Whatever" Adelynn said with a hint of a smile on her face. With her left hand buried into the pocket of her white designer coat, she made her way to the elevator and let out an exhale, suddenly feeling drained.

Addie sighed and stared straight ahead as the elevator began to move. She really wasn't looking forward to meeting Jensen again but she had no choice now. She soon stepped out of the elevator and made her way to her office, absentmindedly greeting a few of her colleagues along the passage way. She walked into her office and took off her coat. She had barely settled down in her office when her phone rang out. Frowning, she picked the call.

"Hello?" She breathed and froze when she heard the voice that gave her a response.

"Hey, Addie"

"Jensen, what are you doing?" She demanded through gritted teeth as she balled her free hand into a white knuckled fist.

"Calling you. You asked me to call you, didn't you?" He said, teasing her.

"You can't call me right now, Jensen" she said and he chuckled.

"When should I call you, then? When you're lying in bed with your husband?" He drawled. Adelynn pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. She had almost forgotten how frustrating her exboyfriend could be.

"I'll talk to you some other time. I'm at the office" she said and he went silent. When he didn't say anything, she made to cut the call but his next statement stopped her. "I guess I really didn't take my time to look at what you're wearing. You look great in that dress, Addie"

Before she could process his statement, the line abruptly went dead.

She blinked and stared at her phone. The knock on the door snapped her out of her daze, so she walked up to the door and opened it. Sue, her friend and colleague poked her head in and grinned.

"You look great" she said and Adelynn rolled her eyes.

"Don't I always look great?"

"You do, but still"

"Okay, enough of the flattering, Sue"

"We've been asked to assemble in the board room, Addie. The new CEO is going to be meeting us there"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!"

"Come on, let's go"

****

Adelynn wasn't aware of the fact that her life was about to get much more complicated because as soon as she stepped into the board room with Sue, she saw the person she'd just spoken to on the phone. He had a smirk on his face as he stood behind Ric, his father who was resigning from his position as CEO. Adelynn's eyes went wide, jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

"Sue?" Adelynn whispered.

"Yes?"

"Is that the new CEO?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"The one with blond hair who is wearing a dark blue suit? Yes, that's him"

Adelynn let out a strangled gasp, feeling like her whole world had just burst into flames.