Later that night…
Ayla stepped out of the hospital building as she hurriedly tapped on her phone's screen. She was formatting a text for her driver to come around the building so that she could leave as soon as possible. She glanced at the time displayed on top of the phone's screen and sighed to herself as she realized that she was already running half an hour late. Claude was not going to be happy about this, definitely not. She shook her head to either side before looking up, her eyes searching for the man who was supposed to be out here already. She had left him a text before logging out for the day, yet the man was nowhere to be seen.
Her eyes drifted off to a lone figure who was standing by the corner, his attention too focused on his phone's screen as his fingers tapped away. All she could make out in the dark was the man's silhouette which was wrapped by a long winter coat. He reminded her of someone, only if that someon
Claude looked up from his phone as he heard the door click. A small smile swept across his face as he eyed the beauty before him. "Well, don't you look lovely." He couldn't stop himself from throwing out a praise as his eyes travelled up and down her frame. Ayla was donning a deep red gown with an A-line silhouette. There was a slit running up on one side, leaving part of her right leg bare. She was barely wearing any accessories, though she didn't need to. Her blood smeared lips were enough to garner anyone's attention. "Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself." Ayla couldn't meet his strong gaze. Her eyes looked everywhere but at him. She knew that it would only end up on a bad note for her if she was to look him in the eye. Moreover, she failed to understand his motives. One moment, he was pushing her away whereas the very next, he was openly flirting with her. "Ouch.
"..I want a divorce…"The very second those words came out of Ayla's mouth, the car was brought to a screeching halt by the side of the road."W-what did you just say?" Claude took off his seatbelt and turned around to face her. "You want a divorce?"This time, Ayla looked him in the eye. She didn't want to come off as a coward before him despite the fact that saying it out loud was hurting her just the same. "You heard me right the first time. We have already separated our paths. I don't see any point in keeping the act up." She was only speaking the truth.They have drifted apart so much that she found it hard to believe that their relationship could be salvaged at any point in life."That's not what I was talking about when I said that we couldn't be together." Claude shook his head, frantically. He refused to believe his own ears as every last w
"Why don't you let me have one more thing in exchange for a few thousand bucks…," he paused as he leaned in further, bringing his lips next to her ear as he whispered into it. "You."Ayla couldn't believe her ears. It was hard for her to be buying his malicious words but the sinister curl of his lip was enough to convey the truth. Claude meant it. He meant it all."Y-you…" She shook her head frantically as she backed against the car's door. "You don't mean it.""But, I do, wife." The smirk never left his lips. "We never made it past the romance. If we are to divorce, why not consummate our marriage first. It would make it all too real. Don't you think so?" He leaned further in and ran his nose down the side of her face as she tried to pull further away."Stop it, please! Just f*cking stop it, Claude." She begged him to not push it any further in her quivering voice. Tears we
"But I will have you say it back to me one day…"The words she wanted to speak out loud were pushed to the back of her throat as she struggled to come up with the courage. Ayla shook her head before taking a step back against the side of the car."I don't think that I am ever going to be ready to be saying them back to you, Claude. I just don't." She shook her head as she tore her gaze away from his face. She didn't have the heart to witness the conflicting emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes."Take your time, wife." Claude managed to mutter out as he took a step to the side. The cars speeding by were long forgotten as the couple carried on with their conversation."I don't think I can do this any longer either, Claude." Ayla shook her head as she raised it to look back at him. "I can not." Her vision was starting to get blurry with unshed tears forming in the corner
[A year and a half later…]"Mr. D'Souza, you are not understanding the situation. I only agree with you partly. This deal will definitely do my company some good, but we are still going to be doing no less if this deal doesn't go through. Can you say the same about your company though?" Claude spoke into the phone's speaker, his feet never stopping once as he made a beeline out of the airport's terminal. A small army of uniformed men followed him closely, their sharp eyes trained to detect any sort of danger."Now, you are talking." A heavy chuckle left the man's lips as his free hand came up to push his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "I will send the finest of my men to take care of everything. All you need to do is make sure that there's nothing wrong on your side." The smile never left his lips even when he was bidding his goodbyes. "It was good doing business with you, Mr. D'Souza. I look forward to seeing you at the
"Dr. Lawrence?""Yes?" Ayla looked up from a patient's chart. A nurse was standing before her looking a bit queasy."You alright, Em?" Ayla couldn't help but inquire about her well being as she closed the charts and placed them back on their stand."I am completely fine." The nurse shook her head as she clasped her hands together at the front."Okay… you called for me?" Ayla continued the conversation, reaching out for the sanitizer bottle. "Do you need me for something?""Umm.. well… you have a visitor." Her voice shook ever so slightly as she struggled for words. The nurse's eyes were looking everywhere but at Ayla who was intently staring down at her."Okay. Who's the visitor? Please, tell me it's not a patient's family member. Especially not that old lady from last week." A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled la
"Hello, Dr. Lawrence. Fancy seeing you here."Her entire body was glued to the spot, too frozen for her to even turn around and confirm her suspicion. But how could she ever doubt it? She knew the voice just the same as she knew the owner of it. She could never forget how it used to make her feel. Especially when he would utter sweet nothings into her ear, making her feel nothing but loved. Though those days were gone. They were now a part of a past which was meant to stay buried in the past. It was meant to be unearthed—not now, not ever."You won't even look at me now, huh?"She was brought back to the present by the same deep, husky voice."No." She shook her head as she smiled to herself. "It's not like that. I wasn't expecting to see you here." She finally gathered enough courage to turn around and face the man who had been haunting her dreams for months now. Yet, h
"It was fate which took you away from me back then. Just as it was the same fate which brought you to me now…""W-what?" Ayla couldn't quite comprehend the underlying meaning hidden under his complex words. Was Claude actually trying to make sense or was he only playing with her emotions, yet again. "Care to elaborate?" She frowned but kept holding his gaze."Sure, why not?" Smiling to himself, Claude brought his attention to the polished table top as memories came rushing back to him.----------------[FLASHBACK]"Think it through one more time, Ayla." Claude eyed the woman sitting next to him as he questioned her yet again."I have thought it through, Claude. You are not going to change my mind if that's what you are aiming at here." She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. Ayla knew that her resolve would start to shake if sh