Aria was floored, despite the fact that they had been seeing each other for a couple of months and he’d hinted on many occasions that he thought of her as his girlfriend, she wasn’t expecting such a proposal.
“What do you say, Advocate?” his smile looked hopeful, yet guarded and she couldn’t think of any other words to say;
“Yes, I’ll be yours.” A cheerful smile lit up her features and a startled squeal left her lips when he lifted her into the air and spun her around.
Both were on cloud nine, when he finally placed her back on her feet, she grabbed the canister from his hand and swayed a little on her way to the wall where she made a huge red tick over the “Mine”.
“Now that’s pure perfection.&
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Deagan asked for the hundredth time and Aria’s thin patience ran out.“Deagan, for God’s sake, I am not a child, I can handle myself so would you please relax and get out of the damn car before they think we’ve changed our minds.” She snapped, with irritation written all over her face.“I didn’t say you couldn’t handle yourself, I just- you and my brother don’t have the best history and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He pouted.“I am here in a personal capacity, if Aycin cannot separate his personal and professional life, that’s not my business and I am more than capable of handling him if he says something out of line so please breathe and let’s go, I can see th
Holding her hand in his, Aria expertly navigated them through the dense crowd which consisted of hundreds of girls dressed in either too little cloth or too much leather and metal. It looked a little like a scene from a fast and furious movie, apart from the fact that they weren’t congregated on a random street at the back of town, instead they filled the Seattle Circuit to the brim.“You couldn’t beat me if you tried, Rookie.” A tall man dressed in a blue racing overall smirked, his features were dark and looked dangerous. It wasn’t hard to tell by his prideful stance that he wasn’t speaking out of pure ego.“Why don’t we put that to the test on the track, or are you scared that you’ll lose your title tonight?” the man threw his head back with a burst of deep, rumbling laughter which was e
Aria’s concentration on the case file in front of her was broken by the shrill ring of her office landline. Seeing her assistant’s name pop up, a bad feeling settled over her heart, Lawrence preferred speaking to her in person when he needed something.“Lawrence?” She answered seriously.“Miss Gray, Mr and Mrs Gray are here to see you, shall I send them in?” Aria’s shoulders deflated at the mention of her parents, she wasn’t particularly in the mood to deal with her father’s disapproval today and it was very unlike them to show up at her office unannounced, her father preferred summoning her to his lair when he needed to speak to her.Aria cleared her throat to get rid of the ball that was forming and glanced at the wall clock before answering, “Of co
“Hey, Beautiful.” Aria smiled wide at the greeting and her nerves eased a little, he seemed to be in a good mood, which meant that the sudden news of dinner with her parents would go down just fine.“Hello to you too, Mr Cheery.” She teased, enjoying when he laughed.“Can a man simply not be happy to hear from his gorgeous girlfriend?” Her grin widened, leaving it to him to make her heart do a happy dance.“It’s a little suspicious, but I’ll let it slide because what I’m about to say might make you change your mind about hearing from me.” Deagan remained quiet and she took that as her cue to continue.“I was ambushed by my parents this morning, they want to meet you.” She held her breath.
“Honey, I’m home.” Deagan’s voice traveled to where Aria was rinsing her hair under the warm spray of water.“I’m in the shower, make yourself comfortable,” she shouted back with a smile on my face. He seemed to be making good use of the key she’d given him.Once her hair was product-free, she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, expertly navigating the steamy room to find her towel. Behind her trailed a puff of steam as she emerged from the bathroom and Deagan feasted on the image of her glistening body wrapped in only a towel from his comfortable position on her bed.“I could get used to this view, I should show up earlier every time we go out,” Deagan smirked and she rolled her eyes.&ldquo
Aria hummed quietly as she sorted through the paperwork on her desk, she was preparing the files relating to the accounts that Lawrence would be taking over, she felt excited to hand them over to him.“Hey boss lady, I’m back from lunch, do you need anything from me?” Lawrence popped his head in the door and with a smile, she beckoned him in.“Have a seat.” He frowned at the mess on her table, he wasn’t a huge fan of the chaos she created while working and sorting through things.“How do you even know what’s going on here?” He grimaced as she dug under three files for a pile she made earlier.“It’s organised chaos my dear friend, plus they say that intelligent people are messier.” S
She’d never heard the name before, all along Aria had known the sole owner of D’Heart Incorporated to be Andrew King and the revelation of a new name made her curious.The declaration stated that Ivan D’Heart was the majority shareholder of the company, while Andrew King owned only ten percent of shares.Aria paged to the separator in the file with the suspicion that the additional document would answer her questions and immediately the title of the document jumped out at her.“Agreement of Non-Disclosure”“What’s going on here?” She wondered out loud.Aria scanned the documents noting that they were various agreements made by different parties on the same day, each l
Deagan walked up to the door of Aria’s house with a lump lodged in his throat and hope in his bleeding heart.His shaky fists landed three knocks on the wood, he knew she’d be expecting him and he was hoping she’d calmed down enough in the last few hours to let him explain things to her.“Aria, Baby, please open the door?” Deagan pleaded, leaning his forehead against the door.He heard footsteps growing closer and stood upright waiting for her to open, but the action never came.“I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but I’m pleading with you to give me five minutes. Just let me explain.” On the other side of the door, Aria leaned against the handle, contemplating whether to let him in.
Unlike other brides, Aria didn’t want to be escourted down the aisle by her father. While their relationship was far better than it had ever been in the past, she held onto the dream she had as a little girl of her grandfather giving her away and since he wasn’t there to do it, she opted to leave the space beside her empty. She sucked in a deep breath as the last of her wedding party exited the mahogany doors and descended the stairs into the backyard. “You okay, Honey?” Her mother asked when she saw the nervous look on her face. “Yeah, just nervous.” Her mother smiled comfortingly. “Why? You’re about to marry the man of your dreams.” Aria blushed at her mother’s words.
“Deagan Lockheart, I swear to God I will cancel this wedding in a heartbeat if you don’t get that creature out of my bedroom right this instant!” Aria screeched from upstairs, gaining the attention of all the guests that were invited for their rehearsal dinner.Deagan with a huge mirthful grin on his face carried the glass tank down the stairs, much to the amusement of their friends and family.“I am going to kill that man and it will be completely his fault, but I’ll have to rot in prison for it.” She mumbled, stomping down the stairs, trying to brush away the escaped wisps of hair that tickled her chin.“Oh honey, he’s just having a little fun.” Aria’s mother tried, but her face morphed into a po
The evening turned to night as the sunset in the sky and before Aria knew it, they were taking the elevator down to the basement parking. She was beyond happy that Deagan was officially taking over D’Heart enterprises, but she had worked herself up to a different kind of happiness which she never received and that was disappointing.“Everything okay?” Deagan asked just as the silent elevator ride came to an end.“Yeah, just a little tired. I’ve kind of been living on coffee this week.” She confessed, blushing when he sent her a disapproving frown.“So all that talk of, ‘I slept well’ was just a hoax?” Aria grimaced and nodded.&ldquo
Aria hopped off the truck with her heart rate erratic and smoothed down the frock of the beautiful red dress. The sweetheart neckline with cap sleeves accentuated her collar bones and the flattering A-line fit made her waist appear smaller. There was a pair of silver heeled sandals inside the box which fit her feet perfectly and complimented the dress in the most subtle way possible.They were parked in front of D’Heart Incorporated as the sunset. She had no idea what to expect, but at the very least she knew she would find the love of her life in that glass skyscraper which calmed all the nerves she felt.The chauffeur handed her another rose, making it the sixth she received that day.Halfway there beautiful, are you ready for a little walk ‘up’ memory lane?
One year laterAria turned to exit the Espresso bar with an iced coffee in hand and her phone in the other.‘You know. I still owe you a cup of coffee.’- Deagan Lockheart ‘Why?’- YouHer eyes were so focussed on the strange text she received from Deagan, trying to decipher what he meant, that she didn’t notice the man in front of her until he placed his hands on her forearms and stopped her midstep.Aria was shocked out of her distraction to find a si
“Sweetheart?” Deagan’s voice pierced through the darkness.“Hmm?” Aria hummed from her position with her head on his chest.“Have you ever considered London home?” Aria bit her lip.“No, not really.”“Have you ever considered moving back to Seattle?” Aria sat up and folded her legs beneath her, prompting him to sit up as well.“I’ve thought about it a few times, more so after the party the other night. I mean it’s cool that you guys are all here right now, but everyone has a life back there and I don’t expect you to stay here forever
Deagan waited patiently outside the ladies’ room as Aria tried to pull herself together, the redness of her eyes refused to subside and the pain in her heart wouldn’t allow her peace.She sighed for the umpteenth time, throwing away the tissue with resignation.“Hey, you okay?” Aycin asked with a worried look in his eye the moment she exited the bathroom.“Not really, but I will be.” Aria smiled, taking Deagan’s outstretched hand.“Just mingle a little, then we’ll run away.” Aycin winked and Aria grinned.Together they made their way back to the table where Alaster’s parents w
Aria blew out a heavy breath as she stepped off the podium, the bright stage lights made sweat bead along her hairline, but despite the discomfort, she was elated at the response she received. The crowd was alight with cheers after she told her story and made the opening pledge towards the charity of her choice.Taking a deep calming breath, she placed her hand in Alaster’s and smiled at the photographer as he escorted her down the stairs.“You were amazing, Aria.” Alaster complimented seriously, making her smile.“Thank you, Alaster, thank you for giving me the honour of doing this.” He nodded at her, smiling tenderly. She was an inspiration that he was proud to call his friend.
“What the hell?” Aycin commented, seeing Andrew seated on Maddie’s bed, feeding her a cup of yoghurt.Maddie looked at Andrew in panic, she knew they would put two and two together when they saw them, but she wasn’t ready for the outburst, especially knowing about Andrew and Amaya’s recent past.“It’s okay, I’ve got this. Did you have enough?” Drew asked, putting the empty cup and spoon down on the table. Maddie nodded and glanced over her shoulder at her family who watched the exchange with confusion and suspicion.“Does someone want to explain what’s going on here?” Uncle William asked sternly when Drew turned around.&