CHAPTER FOUR: WHAT IS PAST IS PROLOGUE

It had been a mistake to come. That was the first thing that came into Aidan’s mind as he stared at the enlaced figure in front of him. It was all coming back to haunt him. And he was even more furious with Connor for holding Kate so close and wanted to tear them apart.

“Waldorf,” Connor greeted him coldly bringing him back to reality.

Gritting his teeth to stop himself from any physical interaction, Aidan clutched his fists until his knuckles became white. How he wanted to land his fist into that damned traitor’s face in front of him.

But he wouldn’t give him that pleasure. It would be too easy for Connor to know that he was so affected by his presence. Cold and ruthless was the best way to handle that kind of bastard, he thought and felt his tycoon instincts kick in. He was the best in what he did and he would show him how it felt to be betrayed.

Jen was nowhere in sight and Aidan assumed that she had either chickened out or she was hiding out of shame. Good, he sneered to himself. At least someone had some dignity left unlike the two standing in front of him, one looking at him in defiance and the other looking at him with…

His attention shifted as his gaze landed on Kate and he faltered with shock. Was that her?!! He had recognized the voices from the garden and had stealthily sneaked behind them only to catch up the last sentence. On hearing Connor demean the past that still meant so much to him, his wrath had climbed to its peak he had not paid attention to the woman standing in front of him.

Woman. That was the right word to describe her. Gone was the unruly hair. Gone was the awkward posture. Gone were the freckles. Instead a stunningly beautiful woman stood in front of him nature fulfilling all the promises it had made about the young girl she had once been.

Brown eyes stared back at him like those of a doe filled with vulnerability and admiration like it had always done and Aidan felt some of his anger left him. He was not here to spoil her wedding, he reminded himself and changed his expression from harsh to rueful.

“Hey Kate,” he greeted her deliberately omitting the nickname ha had always used for her. Angel. That was what she had been to him long ago. But no longer was. “I guess congratulations are in order,” he drawled in a mocking voice.

Kate stood transfixed and stared at him like he had grown two heads or something. Then finally, she disentangled herself from Connor’s embrace and hesitated a few seconds before giving him an awkward hug.

“You came!” she whispered in amazement and her demeanor reflected clearly the she had not expected him to show up.

“How to resist such a sincere convocation?” he mocked again and watched the light fade out from her eyes at his disdain. Hell! He immediately regretted his words and opened his mouth to diffuse the tension when Connor spoke.

“Still holding a grudge, Waldorf?” Connor asked him diverting his attention from Kate as his no longer best friend’s eyes met his eyes in open challenge. His defiance and attitude was making Aidan even angrier since instead of feeling ashamed of his behavior, Connor was acting as if he was the guilty party.

“More than ever,” he replied back meeting the challenge being offered and marching towards him to make his point but Kate intervened quickly between the two of them.

“Stop it, you two! Right now!” she barked in her usual patronizing manner and Ryce seemed to mollify at her order.

 “Where’s Jennifer by the way? Too ashamed to show her face?” he could not help fire at him in a mocking tone aiming for where it would hurt the most unable to resist throwing the taunt.

And it went right on target. Connor became rigid with tension and clenched his fist in turn at the mention of the name. And Aidan smiled wickedly at his friend as he knew the latter would never hit him with Kate watching them. And he was waiting for a man-to-man; had been waiting for a face-off for six long years.

Remembering he was here for the wedding, he stepped back too but not without letting Connor know that it was not the end between them. He was staying quiet because of Kate but would not hesitate to restructure Connor’s face given the opportunity.

Kate was looking at each of them in bewilderment her head moving to and fro like it was fixed on a spring or something. It was then that Aidan realized that she had no idea of what had happened after the kiss.

It had all started with Kate. Even if she had not been responsible for the actions of his girlfriend and his best friend at that time, she had been the one to trigger the whole disaster. Unfortunately for her, she had not been aware of her actions as she had been drunk when she had kissed him at their graduation party.

The party which had changed his life forever.

It had been their last end of year party and Kate had been enjoying as she had always done. That was the reason why she had always gotten along with both of him and Ryce. Never one to abide to any rules, she had been so unlike the other girls at the university. In fact, she had been the coolest girl and had matched their every maverick adventure with one of her own.

While he had been waiting for Ryce to join them for the party, Kate had been drinking and dancing her way through the auditorium oblivious to the fact that every male of the party was trying to make a pass at her. Katie had never been aware of her feminine charms and had only been having fun as usual.

Finally when some guy had tried to take advantage of her state, Aidan had lifted her in his arms and taken her away from the offensive group. They had landed in a secluded lecture theatre and Kate had been in one of her frivolous moods.

“Aiiiiiiiiiiidan! You look so handsome,” she had said in a slurry tone and Aidan had cursed himself for not stopping her from drinking too much. He had been on the phone with Jennifer who was late because she had been waiting for her father to drop her since Aidan had picked Kate up.

“Katie, Ssshhhh. I think it’s time to bring you back to your dormitory,” he had said trying to make her sit quietly.

“No! I want to be with you,” she had protested childishly.

Aidan had sighed. Kate had always been a low capacity drinker and that was why he and Ryce had always warned her to stay away from alcohol. One or two glasses were enough to set her in a drunken stupor and she had the habit of going haywire.

“Kate, angel,” he had coaxed in his most gentle voice trying not to show his impatience. Sending a quick text to Jennifer, he told her of his whereabouts and asked her and Ryce to join him in the theatre as soon as they arrived. It was going to be difficult to handle Kate and he did not want to make a scene. He must wait for her to sober first before taking her back to her room.

Drunk tenants had not been allowed in the dormitory and unfortunately, Kate was not someone he could smuggle inside when she was drunk. She was more likely to make a scene. It would take some time for her body to get used to the alcohol and after that she would calm down.

“I love it when you call me angel,” she had said and he had smiled. She had looked so cute. He would always had a soft spot for her as she was the only one who could make him change his mind about anything.

“Why don’t we sit down? You look tired,” he soothed and she looked at him bending her head on one side.

“What will I do without you?” she muttered in a sad tone listening to his advice and he took her hand in his in a comforting gesture.

“Oh, angel. Even if college is over, we are still going to be friends. And life doesn’t end here, you know?” he tried to pacify her even if he knew how she was feeling. Everybody said that university life was the best times in one’s life and after that life caught up with you for payback. And he was worried that their friendships would get lost in the hurdle of life.

“You promise?” she said in a small insecure voice and Aidan felt the need to hug her in his arms right then his protective instincts overpowering him as it always had around Kate. He had never felt that kind of possessiveness for anyone; not even Jennifer. Kate was more special to him than he could ever voice out.

“I promise,” he had vowed in his sincerest voice.

She had sobered and looked at him with her green eyes which had seemed bigger when she was drunk. “Do you know what you mean to me?” she had said tears streaming down her cheeks, getting over emotional which had always been the case when she got drunk. Damn! He hated it when she cried. It made him sad too when she was sad.

“Katie, I think I should get you back. Can you walk?”

“Of course I can walk! Watch me,” she had retorted and would have fallen flat on her face had he not steadied her. Having her so close was having a weird kind of effect on him and he tagged it as worry as he was wondering how to bring her back to her room without any mishap.

When he had wanted to gently detach her from his embrace, she had clung to him and he had relented and hugged her closer. Which had been a mistake. In her drunken state, she had assumed that he was making a pass at her and she had kissed him.

And of course Jen had chosen that particular moment to make her entry in the theatre which he had messaged her about a few minutes ago. Aidan had seen the look of pure surprise in her eyes and as she had fled, he could not free himself to go after her as Kate was still in his arms.

It had been a horrible moment for him to choose between Kate and Jen and finally he had stayed to look after Kate. He could hardly leave her alone in that state. Besides, he had not been guilty at all about what had happened. And neither had been Kate.

He would explain to Jen later. Lifting Kate gently in his arms, he made sure nobody was in sight and put her in his car. Thankfully, she was less energetic now and was only mumbling incoherent words. His mind was too busy with the image of a shocked Jen to bother about what she was saying.

Damn! Even Ryce had not been answering his phone and left with no choice, he had locked Kate in his car and went to find Jennifer to explain what had happened. Kate had been in an inebriated state and had not even known who she had been kissing. Jen would not mind about that small incident.

Finally, he had asked Olivia a mutual friend if she had seen Jennifer and she told him she had seen her go to the tennis court. Without waiting, he had run in the indicated direction and that was when he found his girlfriend in the arms of his best friend. Kissing each other passionately.

He had stood rooted to the spot at the scene going on in front of him. With shock and disgust. It had not been something he could digest. If he had not seen it with his very own eyes, he would not have believed it. Still could not believe the betrayal.

He must have made a sound because both had jumped apart guiltily and had stared in his direction.

“Aidan!” Jennifer exclaimed in a small voice and he wanted to smash his fist in the face of the man in front of him. Bizarrely, he was more hurt at the betrayal of his best friend than his girlfriend. He wanted to know what he had to say for himself.

Still not saying a word, he looked at Ryce for any trace of guilt or remorse. During the three years of their friendship, they had courted many girls but had never been in each other’s way. It had been an unspoken mutual understanding that if Aidan fancied someone, Connor would back down and vice versa.

And the worst part was that Aidan had not a clue that Connor had been fancying his own damned girlfriend!

“Look, Aidan. It’s not what it looks like,” Ryce had finally said the typical line which had pissed him off even more. The least he could have done was acknowledge his mistake and try to apologize instead of giving some futile explanations.

It had broken his heart then. He had not wanted any explanations after that. He had known that whatever would come out of their mouths would be only lies. If Jennifer had wanted some rebound because of what had happened between him and Kate earlier, it was totally uncalled for. What had happened to him had been a mistake but he had not been at fault. He knew for a fact that neither Jen nor Ryce was drunk and that did not excuse their betrayal.

Turning his back on them, he felt his heart heavier than his steps as he moved away and had spent some time alone to clear his mind. After feeling like a fool, his anger got the better of him and he had walked to his car only to find it empty. Kate had disappeared.

Already boiling with rage, he had called her to make sure she was okay but had vented his anger on her instead. He would never forget the memory when he had caught his girlfriend in the arms of another man. His best friend Ryce. The double betrayal had cut even deeper and he could remember it as it if were yesterday.

“Where are you?” he had barked using a tone he had never used with Kate before.

 He could picture her wince at his loud shout but did not care. He was already too furious at what had happened in the tennis court to bother about hurting her feelings. And besides, she was at fault too. Even if she was drunk, she should not have kissed him. If the situation had not gotten so out of hand, he might have forgiven her.

“I’m in my room,” she had muttered in a still slurred voice which told him that he was still not sober yet. And he saw no point in telling her what had happened to him. He had not wanted to make a bigger fool out of himself than the other two had made of him.

“Are you alright?” he had asked trying not to shout but his voice had sounded loud and brusque even to himself.

“Yes,” she had replied and he had disconnected the phone without even bothering to say goodbye. And that had been the last word he had spoken to her. The next morning, without waiting for Ryce or Jen or Kate to contact her, he had packed his bags and sent to some unknown destination informing no one of his whereabouts.

Nobody would get worried at home since no one had been expecting before a week. On the way to his reprieve, he had smashed his iPhone into millions of pieces not wanting to have anything to do with either of his three best friends.

If it had not been fair, he could not care less; nobody had bothered to contact him either. Until now. As he stood still in his rigid posture, he stared at his two best friends, an amalgam of emotions running through him. He was about to tell Kate the truth when thankfully they were interrupted by the arrival of Judith Thornton.

“Aidan?” Kate’s mother exclaimed happily and he bent down to kiss her on the cheeks. Judith was a peach. Even if he was still holding a grudge against Kate, he could hardly show it to Kate’s wonderful family.

The whole family came to greet him in the garden and showed him his room. Thank God he was not sharing room with Connor like he had always done. He suspected that Connor might have already warned them about their estranged relationship and he wondered what explanation his friend had given. Had he told them how he had betrayed and had not been man enough to even apologize to him.

When he found himself alone in his room, he sat down on the bed and massaged his head at the impending headache and was interrupted by one noisy little boy who burst in his room without warning.

“Hey!” Aidan cried out softly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Buuce!” the little boy replied cutely and he assumed it was his version of the name “Bruce”. “Who are you?” he asked curiously.

“I’m Aidan,” he said extending a hand in the toddler’s direction and was happy when he placed his small hands in his.

“Ayyy…” Bruce repeated and gave up when it was too difficult for him. And Aidan had to smile at the innocence of the kid.

Looking up as he felt someone at the door and he found Kate watching the interaction between them. When she saw him look in her direction, she averted her eyes quickly.

“Sorry for having disturbed you. He has the habit of getting away every time,” she said remorsefully smiling brightly at the small boy. “You naughty little boy!” she cooed at Bruce and lifted him up in her arms. It was clear to him that Kate doted on him like a mother chicken.

“That’s alright,” he replied. “He’s too cute to resist by the way,” he said lightly knowing he was still unsmiling and Kate was looking at him hesitantly. Not at all what their relationship used to be. Aidan felt the bitter taste of regret at the loss of such a beautiful friendship; he so wished he could melt the ice between them and forget the past.

“That he is! He’s Caitlin’s son,” she told him.

“Caitlin is married?” he asked puzzled. He could remember indistinctly that Kate’s sister had been younger.

Kate nodded. “With two wonderful kids,” she replied.

With the toddler still in her arms, she seemed reluctant to leave his room and Aidan knew she wanted to ask what had happened between him and Connor. Unspoken, the question hung into the air leaving the atmosphere thick with tension. But knowing Kate, she would never ask him something that was painful to him so instead of waiting for her question, he decided to tell her the truth.

He had to get it out of his system once and for all and who better than Kate to understand his plight? For the past six years, he had not voiced out his feelings only dealing with his heartache by turning into anger.

Now he was ready to admit that it had been the wrong way to handle the whole situation; He no longer wanted to be the bitter human he had turned out. At least not with Kate. And if she had never known anything about what happened between Jennifer and Connor, it was probable that she had never contacted him back because of his last conversation to him.

He had been so angry at that time that he had vented out his anger on her. The one who had deserved it the least. And Kate had been so full of morals that she must have felt so guilty for having kissed him even in her drunken state.

“I found them kissing Kate. Ryce and Jen,” he whispered painfully and heard the intake of breath. He could not meet her eyes knowing he would find only pity there. Pity for him.