RYAN
I paused as soon as I saw the person seated on the white plush couch in my living room. She turned around just as I paused and a smile appeared on her face. She got on her feet, facing me. “You are back,” She called softly. “What are you doing here?“ The smile fell off her face and she sighed and began to walk up to me. “We are getting married soon. You should stop these acts,” “Standing me up for our date today? That's not very gentlemanly of you,” Right, I hadn't meant to, but as soon as I saw Sophia, I lost track of every plan I had made. I had told her to wait, I had little expectations but I really didn't expect her to leave. She was determined to permanently erase me from her life, but she should know that I wouldn't let that happen. I had let eight years pass by because I wanted her to stop hating me, but even now, I don't think she'd stop anytime soon. Unless I took a bold step. Every time she looked at me coldly, pulled away when I tried to hold her or called me formally, it hit me way harder than I wanted. It's so bad that when she finally called me by my name I got deja vu. I'm determined to go back to those times, but there's a bit of a problem. She hates me and Adriana is now in the picture. “Did you forget I'm standing here?“ Adriana's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked down at the brunette woman in front of me, a frown on her face. Don't get me wrong. I do not hate Adriana but this sham of a marriage. “Something came up. I texted you that I wouldn't make it,” With that I walked past her, I hadn't taken more than four steps when she spoke, making me pause. “Yeah, was that when you saw Sophia Adams or after?“ I turned around to look at her, my brows raised. “After,” She snickered. “You are not over her yet, is that it?“ I wouldn't be a coward or deny it. I wasn't done loving Sophie. I don't think I could ever be. “You know the answer, Ana,” She scoffed and stepped closer. “Well, that's a you problem, Ryan. It doesn't matter the conditions of this marriage but we are in it now,” “And it won't be a wise move for you to back out now,” I nodded. “I would find a way out of this. To benefit both of us,” Her frown deepened and I turned around, walking away immediately. I toned out her words of disagreement as I walked away from her and towards my bedroom. A few hours later… “Inform me if there's any good news concerning her,” I said to my assistant over the video call. “Yes sir,” “Also Mr Hills requested a meeting with you tomorrow,” I sighed. Why did I agree to this? I should have known it would never end well. “Thank you for informing me. That would be all for today,” “Yes sir. Have a good night,” I ended the call and as soon as I did, my phone began ringing. I picked it up when I saw my sister's name on the screen. “Are you back home now?“ She asked. I snickered. “I left hours ago, are you really asking now?“ She scoffed and I could picture her rolling her eyes too. “You should be glad I'm even calling. Goodnight dumbass,” “Wait!“ I exclaimed before she hung up. “What?“ “Is Sophie with you right now?“ “No. I think she's gone to sleep already. We are touring LA tomorrow,” I leaned back on the chair. “Why touring?“ “I suggested it. I don't want her to stay home all the time. She's bound to get bored and think about everything that happened,” I nodded. “For the first time, you are using your brain,” She ignored my sarcasm. “I heard you earlier. You are still in love with Sophia,” “You still look at her like you always do,” “Why do I think you both lied about why you separated?“ “How could it be that you couldn't make things work out yet both of you were miserable after the break-up?“ Because it was a lie. It was far more than not being able to make things work. “Things happen, Zara” “You are avoiding my questions again,” “Are you going to cancel the wedding then?“ “I'm planning to,” I replied. She sighed audibly. “You'll need all the luck you can get,” “Yeah, goodnight,” As I ended the call I received a text message from Adriana. ( We are having Lunch with Dad tomorrow. You better not stand us up for her again) I shook my head and turned off my phone. I indeed would need luck for whatever step I'd take. Marrying Adriana Hills was never one of my plans. In fact, it wasn't hers too, until recently. Of course, this marriage was an arranged marriage set up by her parents. A contract had been signed even before we knew each other and her parents had the higher hand. My parent's business depended on me and the only thing I could do to help was accept the marriage. I agreed to it at first only because I knew Sophie was getting married and I had no hope, but she was back now, and that little hope that was quenched had now been restored. I know I might be making a wrong decision or taking a risky path, but I was determined to make things work without having to ruin my parent's hard work for my selfish desires. The Next Day… Noon… The door opened just as I lifted my head. I frowned when I saw Narin walk in, holding a piece of paper and a disturbed look on her face. I raised a brow. “Is there something wrong?“ “Ms Brown tendered her resignation letter this morning and left without anyone knowing. I saw this on my table when I came in,” she said and stretched out the letter to me. I sighed, taking it from her. I read the heading of the letter, confirming it was a resignation letter, and didn't bother to read through it. I handed it back to her. “Well, we can't begin developing the game without someone in her position. Open up a vacancy for her spot,” “We have no time to whine about it “ She nodded. “Yes sir,” Turning around she walked out of the office. I sighed and picked up my phone. I dialed Zara's line and she picked up after a few rings. “Hey where are you?“ “Work. Why?“ I narrowed my eyes. “Didn't you say you were going out with Sophie?“ She sighed. “I did, but an urgent work suddenly came up. I'm about to go into the meeting room,” “I feel so bad right now but I don't have a choice,” An idea popped into my head. “I will go with her then.“ “What? No! She'll kill me,” “Good riddance,” I clicked my tongue. “Hahaha, very funny,” “Don't go to my house. I'll hit you if I see you there,” I snickered. “Have a nice day at work,” I hung up and got on my feet. I grabbed my suit and walked out of the office. Narin was heading up to me and she glanced at me in surprise. “Sir, your meeting with Mr Hills is in thirty minutes. Are you leaving now?“ “I won't be available today. Refer the message to him,” “But sir-” I was out of her sight before she could complete her statement.SOPHIAI lowered the curling iron from my hair as I looked at myself in the mirror at the vanity table.It was my first official day of taking things slow here and having the ultimate fun. I was supposed to go with Zara but an urgent meeting that she couldn't ignore suddenly came up.It would be really better if I went with someone but Zara was the only person I knew here.'Ryan?' The little voice in my head inputed. I shook my head. Definitely not. That would be jumping from the pot into the fire with my own hands. Absolute insanity.Maybe I should learn to start doing things on my own so that way I wouldn't be so broken when I'm left on my own.I finished touching up my hair, grabbed my phone, and headed out of the room.I got a call as I walked out and I picked it up once I saw who it was.“Good morning Sophia,”I smiled as I made my way into Zara's kitchen.“Good morning Aimee. I'm sorry I couldn't answer your calls. How have you been
SOPHIA“So…” Ryan began. From the corner of my eyes, I caught him sparing me a glance.“Do you have an itinerary or not?“ Well, I did have a few things planned out. I've always wanted to try pottery back in Canada but I had been too busy to, so I signed up for a pottery class by noon, afterwards I'd try out some street market food and lastly hike to the top of the hills to catch the sunset.I was especially looking forward to the hike. I think the beautiful view would be exactly what I needed.“Are you still with me?“ I heard Ryan's voice. I blinked back as I realized that I left his question hanging. I cleared my throat and took out my phone so I could read the address out to him.“Dais Potters-”“The same I know?“ He asked incredulously. I whipped my head to look at him. “How do you- oh”I totally forgot it was the first place he learned pottery. What was I thinking?! How did I forget?It was the place he forced me to go with him when I wa
SOPHIA “Sophia!“ He called again, his fingers wrapped around my wrist, bringing me to a stop.I glanced back at him, a glower on my face. “Let go of me, Ryan,”He looked down at our hands and as he met my gaze again, he slowly let go of me. I felt a strange drop in my stomach when I felt the ghost feel of his hands.I asked him to. I reminded myself. This was why I never wanted to meet him again.“Do you hate me that much Sophie?“I raised a brow. “I think you've worded your statement wrongly,”“No I've not, and that's exactly how I feel,”“I've waited for eight years to let you give me the chance to say-”“Let's not talk about what happened eight years ago, Ryan. If it's not yet quite obvious, I'm not interested in it anymore,”He took a step forward. “Well, I am. We can't ignore these things,”I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. “I came here because I wanted to take a break. Not for you, not for anybody,”“I'm on
SOPHIEThe next day, I woke up to a text message from my mother. More precisely, an invitation card for a fucking company dinner party dated tonight. When would my parents finally realize that I didn't care about their company, that I didn't want to follow the path in life that they had taken? Never I guess. In their eyes, I was still that sixteen-year-old girl who made a mistake, the same sixteen-year-old who didn't know how to do things or make decisions for herself and they'll continue to downplay me. No matter what I achieve. ( It's an order from me and your father. You must be there ) those words were attached to the invitation picture.A joke. That was honestly what they thought I was. They never bothered to ask me how I was, when I got back, or if what I was accused of was true. In fact, it was never talked about, and now I'm invited to their dinner party like my life was perfectly in order.Insane.Despite the strong headache, I pulled the blan
SOPHIA “Well, you should have watched your attitude first Mother,”She stopped and looked up at me, a displeased look on her face.“You have gotten too bold. Letting you leave was clearly a mistake,”I snickered. “See, this is exactly the problem,”“I'm sorry that I'm hurt and need to take a break to recover. I'm sorry that that hurts your ego, and you can't take the truth, so you portray to everyone that I'm doing perfectly fine when you know that's a fucking lie,”She crossed her arms, her face hardening. “If something has happened to you, you shake it off and move on, you don't wallow in your misery. That's what we Adams, do,” “Then can I not be one this time?"“If I have to pretend to be fine just because I'm an Adam, can I stop being one till I feel better?“She shook her head. “You act like you are the first person to go through this,”She stepped closer and gave me a small pat on my shoulder. Her lips curved into a tight smile. “Get yourself together,”I tightened my fists,
SOPHIA “Are you leaving now?“ I asked Zara as I walked into the living room, pulling my hair into a ponytail. She looked up at me as she tied the last of her shoelace. A smile spread across her face.“Yeah,”“Can I get a ride?“ “Of course,”Minutes later…“How was the gathering last night? I didn’t know you’d come so late and I slept early,”I looked out of the window, sighing, as the memories of last night came flooding in, my argument with Mom, me lying about getting a job, Ryan coming to my help, and now the tight spot I was in.It was one pretty long night.“I told you they were going to try to scout me one way or the other and I wasn't wrong, ““So what did you say?““I told her I got a job,” I turned to her just as she did, surprise etched on her face.“Wait, did you?“ I laughed and turned away from her. “Of course not,”“But I got an offer to work somewhere,” I added as my mind drifted to Ryan handing over the business card to me.“Really? Where? What kind of work? “Will y
SOPHIAReally? Tissue guy?I mean that's the first thought that dropped immediately I saw his face. What was he doing here? Does he work here? No, he looks like someone who has his own company. “I mean-”He chuckled as I stopped talking.“Well, you are not wrong,” he replied as he stretched out my phone to me.I took it from him, sighing in relief when I saw the dents were nothing serious. I returned it to my bag and turned back to the man standing before me.“It's a small world, isn't it? Do you work here?“He shook his head. “No, but I'm an acquaintance to the owners,”I tilted my head to the left. Does he know my parents? How come I've never seen him before? He must not know me, because he's not acting like it.I decided not to give the information that it was my parent's company.“Oh that's cool, I guess,”“I should uh, be on my way now,” I added.He nodded, his charming smile not leaving his face. It somehow made me smile.“It's nice meeting you again, uhm-” I trailed off, waiti
SOPHIAI bit the inside of my lips, scoffing silently. I raised my hand to run it through my hair, my back still turned to them.“Mr Adams, I think it's understandable she refuses at first-”I turned around immediately, Lucas paused when he saw the frown on my face.“Understandable?“Right. I was not going to direct my anger at him, he was probably just following his parent's orders like mine wanted me to.I turned to my mother.“I was going to respect that we have an outsider here,” I began slowly.“Honestly, tell me, how long have you been planning this?“She hesitated for a while. Shockingly. I've never seen her hesitate this way, not in my presence. “Two years after you left,”My jaw dropped. “Even when you knew I was in a relationship leading to marriage?““And where is that relationship now?“ She fired back.I scoffed loudly, taking a step back to process her words.Times without numbers she makes it clear every day what I meant to her. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.“You know, I
RYANEarlier that afternoon…I watched Sophia walk away quickly. The image of her as she froze while those guys talked down on her replayed in my head. And it hurt to think that she must have gone through worse of that back there, and she had no one by her side to help her or hold her up.I felt useless.“You are doing it again. Even after she's gone,” I heard Adriana's voice. I glanced at her. She had her arms crossed and her eyes on the path Sophie just walked past.“You are too straightforward with your feelings. It's annoying,” she shook her head.Without sparing me a glance, she started heading for my office. I sighed and followed after her.A few hours later…“I'll be on my way now,” Adriana said as she carefully tucked the documents into her handbag.“Alright. Text me when you get home,”She paused and glanced up at me. “If you know you're going to leave me before we even get married, can you stop being unnecessarily sweet? You'll only make it harder for yourself,”I raised a b
SOPHIA I crossed my arms as she closed the distance between us.“This is scary, mom,”She ignored my statement. A small smile touched her lips. “I see you and Lucas are getting along. You were laughing all night,”My jaw dropped as my eyes went wide open. Was she watching us from right when the date started?“So are you going to get married to him?““What?!" She rolled her eyes. “This is the right thing to do. You should take advantage of the situation and show that your ex, Jeremiah or whatever, that you are well over him and that he lost a good thing,”I shook my head, disappointed at her words. “His name is Jake, and this doesn't have anything to do with him,”“Why should I marry someone I don't love to prove a point to that jerk?““Is that the only solid reason you can give to me?“She snickered. “You are so naive and dumb,”I scoffed, turning sideways as I ran my hands through my hair.This woman.“Character designer? That's the work you are doing? You've always had bad judg
SOPHIA“Let's talk before you leave this evening,” Ryan's voice repeated in my head.I was getting ready for my date with Lucas already. After this morning, I didn't see him even for one minute at work. He didn't call or text either.His last text message was left unanswered by me.Should I tell him I was leaving or not?I shook my head and picked up the silver ear rings. That was unnecessary. After passing the hooks of the earring through the piercing in my ear, I got on my feet and walked to the full-length mirror to take a look at myself. I was putting on a black gown with my hair let down around my shoulders in curls. I went for a simple makeup look, too, and jewelry that complimented my dress.My eyes fell on the shoe box on my bed, and I walked up to it.The flowers were indeed from Lucas. I confirmed from the card and his text message later that day.Honestly, I hadn't been expecting to receive those from him. Lucas seemed like a cool guy, and if it weren't for my parents fo
SOPHIAWhat I had been trying my best to avoid had now been out in the open. What did I think? That they wouldn't find out somehow?What now? Would everyone judge me for a crime I didn't commit? Well, they already were.Saying I used my parent connection to work here.How did they even find out? Everything was all good yesterday.“Guys look, it's Sophia,” a voice brought me out of my thoughts. My eyes fell back on the group in front of me. I hadn't seen them since I began working here.“Is it true you tried to steal your best friend's idea? And you bullied her?“ One of the women began as she stepped forward. I took a step back, my confidence disappearing into thin air.“What? You can't speak now? Did you think we wouldn't find out somehow?“ She snickered.I shut my eyes.This embarrassing situation I found myself in. Never in my life did I think I'd be in situations like this. I opened my mouth to speak but shut it back.No one would believe me anyway, what was the need to try? Ever
SOPHIA As soon as I picked up the fruit juice that I made, to take a sip from it, I heard the doorbell ring.It couldn't be anyone other than Ryan. I was sure of that. He did find my house, and he was here like he said he'd be. This was not the time I needed him to keep his promise.I gulped down half the glass and set it on the table. Pushing my chair backward, I got on my feet and headed towards the door.I unlocked the door and opened it only slightly so he wouldn't have to come in, but I didn't expect him to be holding a bouquet of red tulips and a package. “Why do you-” I began to say when I noticed the frown on his face. If they were from him, he'd be smirking or grinning from ear to ear.“I think someone brought this for you,” he said for the first time as he met my eyes. I took the flowers and package immediately. I knew it.My eyes fell on the little card peeking from the bouquet. 'L-A' Lucas?Why would he go through this trouble?I looked at Ryan, he was already looking
SOPHIAI felt my knees weaken at his words.Even up till now, he still knew what exactly to say to get to me. I hated that too.Had I almost gotten into marriage with Jake when my ex could talk to me this way and I would still feel this way?Maybe everything that happened was for a reason. Jake and I were not meant to be together, but it still doesn't give the benefit of him cheating with someone who called me her best friend.'So you want to give Ryan a second chance,' What the heck? No. “Sophie,” his voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I cleared my throat as I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my pants, and took a step back from him.“I'd get going now,” I muttered and walked away before he could stop me.Before I took the turn to the hallway that led to the office, I decided to satisfy my curiosity and turn to see if he had gone.When I did, I saw that he was still where I left him, a small smile on his face.I turned away immediately in embarrassment.I shouldn't have tur
SOPHIA“Girl, what the heck?“ Zara exclaimed as I pulled open the door for her to come in.I made sure no one was in the hallway and quickly slammed the door shut.What even was the use? He already knew I lived here, it wouldn't be long before he found out my exact apartment. “How did you not realize? You didn't see him any of the time you came to check it out or move your things?“ Zara asked as she took off her shoes beside mine.“How would I know?“ I cried out in frustration.“Oh, that's right, he moved here two years ago,” she replied.She walked into the living room and her reaction was totally expected.“Wait, this is prettier than I imagined,” she exclaimed and I giggled. I moved to the kitchen to prepare a drink for her while she checked out everywhere. When she was done, she joined me in the kitchen.“And it was half the usual price?“ She asked as she leaned on the wall beside me.“Right? I find it suspicious but I mean, I signed the papers and nothing weird was in the contr
RYAN“Sophie?“ I called in surprise as my eyes met hers. She stood still. Her pretty gray eyes wide open in shock, her lips parted slightly. I fought myself to keep my eyes away from them.I've never wanted to hold her tightly to me as much as I wanted to now.The elevator door began to close, and I was quick to push the button to keep it open.She snapped out of her shock and stepped in. I pushed the button, and the door slowly shut behind her.“What are you doing here?“ I asked.She drew her head back, a frown on her face.Call me crazy. I was. For her. But that frown made her look even cuter.“I should be asking you that. I moved here. Are you stalking me?“A smile formed on my face as realization set in.'I don't think she knows that I lived in the penthouse of this same building, or she wouldn't have moved here, given how much she hates me.I hate that she does, and I'm trying to end that.'Maybe this was fate. Was this a way of the universe telling me that I still had a chance
SOPHIA“So what do you think of your first meeting in RSC?“ Rose asked as she fell into steps with me.I reduced my pace. “It definitely feels challenging, but…” I trailed off.“I really love the idea of the game. I love the concept, too,”“Right? I feel that too,” She exclaimed, and I smiled.“That's right, I'd love to see some of your artwork. Do you have them with you?“I hesitated for a while and then nodded. Like I told Ryan, I hadn't drawn in years except sketches of new outfits. Right now, I wasn't even sure if I hadn't lost my touch or if I even still had my art designs. But was I supposed to tell Rose that? She'd probably be wondering how I got the job, and if anyone found out I somehow knew Ryan, I'd be tagged as a nepo baby who could get whatever she wanted without being qualified.“All good,” she replied.“Do you want to get lunch now?“I glanced at the time on my phone and then nodded. “Yeah, but first I need to get something in the office. I'll join you,”She nodded.