You two know each other?” Vincent asked sounding surprised,“Yeah! I’ve known Aira for a long time now,” His brother said with a smug smile on his face as he leaned against the counter.Nathan was seventeen this year. He was busy living his high school days and preparing for his exams. Where did he get the chance to meet Aira.“You knew, didn’t you?” Aira said with a shocked smile.“Of course I did! As soon as I heard the name Valory I knew you were dating my brother,” Nathan said with a huge smile, “To think that Aira is going to be my sister-in-law. Way to go brother,” He said with a wink Vincent’s way.“How do you two know each other?” He finally asked“He’s in the same class as Grace. My little sister. They had been friends for a long time. They often come and hang out at my apartment since they were little,”“We weren’t little, we were in middle school,” Nathan complained,“You’re grace’s older sister?” His mother asked sounding excited.Who knew Aira was this close all this time
There were a number of times that things had to repeat themselves to call them coincidences. Whatever it is that was happening with Vincent, it was breaking the ceiling for coincidences and making their way into weirdness. She would’ve never figured this one out if it had been a plot twist in a drama. Damn, now she was comparing her life to a drama. This showed how weird her situation really was. She smiled as she watched Vincent slap Nathan in the back of the head before heading back to sit down beside her taking her hand in his. Those two were close. She knew that before she even met Vincent. Nathan was always talking about his big brother. He admired him more than anything and Vincent had apparently been the father figure in his life that he never got to have. Nathan once told her that he wanted to become a doctor because he wanted to be there for his family if they ever needed something. His older brother was taking care of them by providing for them so he wanted to do the sam
“What would you like to have, mademoiselle?” Dane said as he grinned down at her, “It’s on me today,” “A milkshake would be great,” Aira said with an awkward smile.Dane left their table and headed toward the counter to make their order. Aira looked down at her phone to find another text from Vincent.She hadn’t seen him since their dinner with his mother three days ago, Intentionally. In other words, she had been avoiding him.Dinner had been wonderful, and everything was great. Even after Hannah’s comment about babies and gold diggers, which made her incredibly uncomfortable and guilty. But, even after all that, she thought everything was doing well until Vincent looked at her like that when they talked about his brother.That look had bothered her through the whole dinner and she could barely concentrate on what Hannah was suggesting for the wedding. She vaguely remembered something about the main course and the cake. Vincent answered most of the questions while Aira kept thinking
Vincent’s POVAira was avoiding him… It’s been three days since they had dinner with his mother, and since then he hadn’t seen her yet. Whenever he tried to reach out to her there was some kind of excuse. Right after he brought her back to her apartment, he had suggested that they go see the wedding venues the next day but she’d said that she had a tenant's meeting she had to attend and she had to inform them that she was going to move in two months and rent out her apartment.Since it was a resident’s meeting, he knew that guy was going to be there. The one who kept eying Aira like she was some kind of candy he couldn’t have. He had made a show when he met him last time just to give him a message, but he was still worried he might make a move on her.He knew he had no right to stop guys from hitting on her, but no one knows that. Everyone else thinks that it’s perfectly normal to do it since he was her fiance and he was planning on using that status as long as he was going to get
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Vincent asked Aira had a deja vue at that moment. There was something about this question these days. Everyone keeps asking her the same question for various reasons.“Yeah, you know we need to do this. There’s no avoiding it anymore,” She declared as she tapped her pen on the table staring at the blank paper before her.“My lawyer insisted on it too. I think maybe it’s time we talked about this seriously and stopped avoiding the subject,” Vincent declared seeming resigned to go through with this.“Mine too…” Aira said. She had suggested it before Aira sighed the contract.“I have a list from him stating things we might want to talk about,” He said handing her the paper.Aira took it from him and read the first few things then put it down.“Maybe we can pretend we didn’t see this,” She declared and he laughed.“Come on. It can’t be that bad,” He said “Really?! Let’s see then. Hmmm… Children, how many children do you want to have? If not, are you
“Are you-”“I am, god knows we both heard this question enough as it is so why don’t we make a rule of not asking that of each other?” Aira snapped.They were in her parents’ driveway getting ready to go in there and break the news to her family. Or rather, to her mother and brother, because she was pretty sure that Nathan spilled the beans to Grace and Vincent had already told her father to get his blessing.So she had to deal with just two people. It’s not that bad…“I was going to ask you if you weren’t going to wear your ring,” He said with a worried look and Aira flushed.“Sorry, I’m so on edge these days,”“Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be okay,”“It is… I’m just worried that they would try to stop me because of what happened with Jace,” She said with a sigh,“I’m sure they want you to move on from that guy as much as you do. So this is going to be good news for them,” Vincent reassured her,“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Aira admitted“Shall we?” He asked and Aira nodded.Gu
There was a lot of noise at first, everyone was talking. Her mother exclaimed and asked a million questions per second. She even heard pregnancy mentioned among those jumbled words.Ian expressed his surprise and Grace bragged that she already knew. And their father was telling them to quiet down.The only one who didn’t seem to be talking was her grandmother, who sipped from her glass slowly savoring the tasteless carbonated water, and Vincent who was standing beside her watching her family’s reaction with a comical smile.“I’m so glad my mom’s reaction was up to your family’s standard. I thought she overreacted but this is gold. She seems pretty normal now,”“Oh shut up,” Aira answered annoyed at her family and at herself for being the center of their weekly freak show yet again.Oh, what she could go through for these people. They would never know that she would even face their drama to save them.“Silence!” Her grandmother said in a booming voice that didn’t match her age.They al
Aira tore up the page from her sketchbook and threw it into the bin beside her desk. The ripped paper landed on top of the mountain of papers and tumbled down until it landed on the floor making Aira even more frustrated.Nothing went her way these days, not even a torn piece of paper stayed where it was supposed to stay.She looked at the blank sketchbook before her, put her pencil to it, and after a few strokes, she sighed giving up and putting them down. She needed a breather before she started going crazy and destroying something.Her mind was still going on a loop since last night. Since her grandmother dropped that bomb on her like it was nothing, then went on having a casual conversation as if she hadn’t just shattered Aira’s world with those words.Since when was she thinking of retiring? She remembered the stubborn old woman going on about dying with a brush in her hand. So what prompted all this?Aira still had trouble processing the thought since then. She hadn’t been able
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