“The two of you are going to keep surprising me like this until when?” Meghan asked in Aira’s passenger seat,“It’s going to last for another three years, so brace your heart,” Aira responded amused by Meghan’s reaction.Today they were heading to the justice office where someone was going to discretely officiate their wedding. Vincent was already there getting their paperwork ready with carter.Meghan and Carter were dragged to be their witnesses in this last-minute wedding. It was only a few hours since she and Vincent talked about this idea and she’d agreed to it. Knowing that his uncle was getting desperate, they decided that getting married and submitting the papers early on was their best option to avoid any tragedies.“By the way. Did you talk to your grandmother?” Meghan asked“Does it look like I did?” Aira asked“No, but I wanted to ask anyway,” She told her, “You know you’re going to have to talk to her eventually,”“I do, I’ve just had too much to worry about,” She told he
The man who was supposed to officiate their marriage seemed to find the Idea of them eloping to make sure no one ruined their wedding to be entertaining.He kept chatting with them for about fifteen minutes recounting tales of other marriages he officiated. By the time he was on his third tale, she could see Vincent clenching his fists. He was getting angry. Aira sent a pleading look to Meghan who rolled her eyes and nodded.It seemed like her boss’ anger was such a normal occurrence that she considered it a minor crisis.She texted something and a few moments later her phone began ringing. She answered the phone without leaving the room.“Hello? …. Yes yes of course!…. No Mr. Valory will be there as soon as he’s done with an important meeting…..,""I thought she was your friend," The man said unable to tamp down his curiosity,"She is, but she also works as his personal assistant," Aira responded thinking that it would be better to give the man what he wanted would move things forw
"Open up! Open Up this door before I break it!" The sound of the door pounding was the first think that woke Aira up to from her deep sleep. Another loud thumb resounded through the apartment making sure that any remaining sleep left in her evaporated to this annoying reality.Something starteled beneath her made her eyes open wide enough to discern Vincent's broad and very nacked chest underneath her head.He shifted beneath her and swore, and Aira moved trying to untagle herself from his arms only to stop when Vincent's arms around her waist tighten."I swear to god, this better be good," He grumbled,"What's going on?" She asked as the pounding and the bell ringing continued on her appartemt door. This person was making their intents more than clear."I have no idea. Whoever this is. They're going to have a lot of explaining to do," He grumbled as he got out of bed,He was only in his boxers, and that fact didn’t seem to bother him. He always slept in his clothes when they had to
"Get the fu**ing hell out of here," Vincetn said in a low tone his hands clenching and the muscles beneath Aira's hands where she was touching him contracting."Vince-" Aira started trying to calm him,"Get him the hell out of here before I kill him," Vincent yelled his voice shaking the whole place. Aira was so startled that she flinched and he turned to look at her his eyes were wide and unseeing.He was so mad that she wondered if he was still holding onto his sanity. Without thinking, she reached out only reaching his chest and he grabbed her hand immediately closing his eyes and taking a deep breath settling her hand on his heart.She looked at him for a few moment before turning her gaze to Carter who stood there rooted in one spot watching them with a strange look."Can you please get him out of here?" The security's number is on the wall next to the intercome."Sure," Carter said heading toward Vincent's uncle who by now was whiter than ever and watching vincent with terrifie
Aira stepped out from behind the curtains and opened her arms spinning. Meghan squealed and clapped at the same time a wide smile on her face."Oh my god. You look stunning!" She exclaimed"Of course she does! Who do you think made that dress," Paul said as he admired her from afar his eyes narrowing, "If only you had a few more pounds in you..." He contemplated and Meghan shushed him."Oh Hush. Can you not be such a killjoy!" She told him as she walked toward Aira and spun her, "You look wonderful. Although he might be an annoying killjoy, he did a wonderful job in this dress," "I know, right? This isn't my first time wearing something he made, but so far, this is my favorite piece," She said with a smile as she spun in front of the mirror.Paul came up bedind her adjusting the bodice of the dress and checking the skirt before looking at her through the mirror."This isn't just a piece, it's you wedding dress. I have been waiting to make this for you for twenty years," He answered.
"When's the wedding again?" Aira's grandmother asked her as they watched the workers move around the lane installing the tent for the wedding.Everything was coming together nicely and Aira barely had to lift a finger, her grandmother's house was the best fit for their large guestlist and Meghan's familly was puting everything together exceptionaly well.It was nice to have aquaintances you can rely on."In two days," She told her absently her mind mulling over what she was going to talk to her grandmother about,She had been thinking about this for around two weeks. She needed to have this talk with her grandmother and have closure, especialy since the wedding is in two days and Aira will be busy after that acting like a lovey dovey couple."You don't look nervous," Her grandmother commented as she puffed out the smoke from her cigarette."I'm not, Paul gave me a pep-talk the other day when we did the last fitting for the dress," Aira answered, "You shouldn't be smoking this much you
"By the way, I thought your grandmother didn't do portraits," He said as they waited for her grandmother at her workshop."She does, when she feels like it, she does family portraits. She did one of mom and dad when they got married," Aira answered eying Vincent as he looked around curiously."Is it a private piece? I don't think I've seen it before," he asked,"It is a private piece, but you've seen it," She said, "It was the piece at my parent's house,""The one with two figures?!" He asked"Yeah, she doesn't exactly paint portraits the way you would think." She said,"Are you serious?! That's a masterpiece. I'm pretty sure that it would've singlehandedly saved your father's investment had they decided to sell it," He told her,"They would never do that. It's special to both of them," Aira said, "Do you want a tour of her workshop?""Yeah," He answered immediately, "I never thought I would get to meet 'Moon' let alone Gina Lee,""You've really been looking forward to meeting me? I m
"There it is," Aira's grandmother said, " Can you see how he's holding her waist as he looks at the camera, Vincent? I want it to look like that," "Yeah, I get it," Vincent answered and Aira sent him a pleading look. She wasn't comfortable with Ray standing so close, especially since he had been leering at her."Let me try," He added as he headed toward them and practically pushed Ray out of the way to take his place,He looked down at Aira his jaw tight and his eyes so intense that she wondered if she did something wrong to anger him.He put one hand at the small of her back and the other a little firther up to her side where his fingers touched the side of her breast from time to time."Are you okay?" He whispered and she smiled"Yeah, thank you for the save," She whispered back"Fantastic!" Her grandmother said and the camera snapped a few times.They both looked her grandmother's way and she was examining the results of the shot with Ray."I want you to stay like that and Vincent
Vincent pressed Aira against the door kissing her face and neck frantically and she chuckled upon the contact her melodious laugh making him relax and smile back at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. "Are you really here with me?" He asked cupping her cheeks and she smiled up at him and nodded. "I really am here with you. Vince. I'm not going anywhere," She said looking him in the eyes and he nodded his eyes looking vulnerable, "This feels like it's another dream," He said and she circled her arms around his waist leaning into him. "Did you have a lot of those? The dreams I mean," She said and he simply nodded. "Since the very first day that I met you. I had been dreaming about you since that day," He said looking at her with a serious look in his eyes making her wonder if that was really the truth. It can't be... He must be pulling her leg. Before she could think about anything, she felt Vincent pull her up against him and kiss the daylight out of her as he
Aira stood at the side and watched as the crowds all dressed in lavish black, circled around the huge gallery. She was standing to the side wearing a tight-laced black dress and black string high heels which made her feel both exposed and a little bit uncomfortable.There was something about dressing like this while attending an event alone. It made her feel as if she was being followed around by the gazes of any man hoping to get an easy lay tonight.Her only consolation is that this was a family event. A memorial for her grandmother.She wanted to laugh at that. This was more like a full-blown exhibition. The exhibition of the century.Her mother had went and outdid herself again with this event.Both her grandmother and Paul had been working nonstop on this. They even employed interior designers and event planners to coordinate everything to make sure the event was what their grandmother had hoped for.The woman sure had a fancy taste.Aira had been mostly working on the painting m
"It was believed that the legal battle between The CEO of Valory groups and his uncle was going to go on for years before the score is decided. But a sudden turn of events makes us wonder if that assumption is going to be proven wrong.Today, Warren Valory had been arrested for no disclosed reasons closing the chapter of a long battle that had been going on for years since the young CEO took over the company in his early twenties being one of the youngest entrepreneurs to reach such a position at such a young age.In answer to our questions this morning, Vincent Valory revealed that his uncle was only getting what he had always deserved. He said that the days when he would cover up for his uncle because he was family were gone and that the limit was set at hurting other people and committing real crimes.Other sources revealed that the real crime Mr. Valory was talking about was the attempt his uncle had made to harm his beloved wife in a hit and run causing her car to almost roll up
Aira sat down beside her mother and looked at the members of the family around her.Her uncle sat back on his chair looking as if he still believed his mother would walk into the room and announce that this was a joke. His wife sat quietly beside him as he clenched her hand in his offering him all the comfort he needed.Grace sat on the other side of the sofa leaning against paul her eyes red-rimmed and Paul held her close gently patting her shoulder while Ian stood be her side looking down at her from time to time looking worried.It paid to be the youngest member of their family.Her father on the other hand stood behind her mother his hands on her shoulders comforting her the best way he could.Aira on the other hand sat there alone as everyone wondered where her so sweet and loyal husband went at such an important moment.They were about to know why.The lawyer who sat before them cleared his throat as he pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope that he had been holding linking
There was one thing about goodbyes that Aira knew very well. And that it was a form of closure that people seek in order to make peace with the person they were never going to see again. And also with the part of them, that was attached to that person.Aira now was saying goodbye to both. And she knew that it was going to be hard, but she didn't expect it to be this hard.Standing before the coffin and away from it enough for her not to see the insides of it she remained rooted in place for a while fear gripping her heart like a vice.Her mind was like a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts and she even started trembling again.But then she remembered."I am proud of you." That's what her grandmother had said back then.As if her mind calmed down all of a sudden from the turbulence of a storm to the calm of a sunny morning by the beach, Aira slowly stepped toward the coffin where her grandmother was laying peacefully looking like she was simply asleep. And maybe she was, but her sle
A few days later, Aira sat down in the second row as she watched her mother present her eulogy. She felt drained and cried out. In the three days since her grandmother died, Aira had been doing very little.Other than painting or staring at the painting, she spent half the time crying and the other half trying to suppress her tears. Her family was grieving and each time she found her mother sitting in a corner crying by herself, she felt her heart break a little more as she went to try to comfort her.She was tired. So tired that she felt like she was going to sit anywhere and fall asleep as soon as the funeral was over.She felt a hand sneak around her waist and pull her sideways against a muscular chest. Grateful for the support, she didn’t tell Vincent anything. She didn’t need to.He had been hovering over her since that day but she couldn’t say that his presence bothered her. Sometimes she barely noticed his presence but most of the time, he would always be in the right place at
Aira opened her eyes after a few hours from her nap feeling rested and peaceful for the first time since she discovered what Vincent had done.Jumping out of bed, she could barely fight the urge to take the brush into her hands. So without stopping to think about anything and like a lunatic with an illusionary fire chasing after her, she changed into her jeans not bothering with a new shirt, and made her way toward the workshop.Opening the door. She headed toward the untouched painting left as she had left it before the butler had come to get her.A bang in her chest sobered her but she still made her way toward it and stared at it for a few moments before she picked up a new brush and started mixing the colors and preparing for everything.After a while, she was already painting the rest of the painting unaware of what was going on around her.Vincent came barging into the room at some point and she looked at him absently wondering why he looked so worried. Then he sighed in relief
Vincent stood by the door and watched as Aira’s family fussed over her. Her mother and sister were hugging her tightly as they cried and her uncle stood away awkwardly as her father spoke to him clearly giving him a piece of his mind about what he said to her.“Thank you for finding her,” Ian said as he came up to stand beside him, “Amongst all of us, she is the one who has the hardest time.” He said.“I know. They were pretty close together,” He said with a smile his eyes never leaving her.“They were. Which is probably why she sold the mansion to you. She wanted Aira to have it one way or another.” Ian said and Vincent remained silent for a while not bothering to answer that comment.“She told me that you had a fight. She seemed upset over it, I was wondering if she would agree to come with you.” Ian added and this time Vincent looked at him.“I was wondering the same too. To be honest, I screwed up pretty badly this time and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had refused. I had
Aira stood there in front of her mother and uncle staring at the table.“Honey, I know how hard this-““No. You can’t do this to me,” she muttered.“You have no choice, Aira, you’re an artist, you need to finish that painting. It was her last wish,” Her uncle said in a hard tone.“No!” She screamed and they were both taken aback, she took a step back startled at her own outburst.“No… I- I mean…” she stuttered taking a few steps back feeling stares on her piercing through her skin.Suddenly she felt overwhelmed, dizzy, and out of air. She wanted to throw up.“Aira, honey, are you okay?” Her mother asked looking at her with concern Aira took another step back when her mother reached out for her.“Don’t touch me…” she said dazed and her uncle stood looking at her with confusion.“Are you like this because we asked you to finish the painting?” He asked and she felt the mocking tone in his voice.“Don’t talk to me,” she gritted out glaring at them, then she turned around to find everyone l