Forbidden

Author's POV

***completing Lea's last bit of narration before she takes over her story***

Jake was the most clueless guy out there. He had no idea what was going on in a girl's mind, though he was ready to fight the world for her sake.

He wasn't very keen on show business. It was Lea's encouragement that pushed him on. When they went riding their bicycles up on the mountain tracks, Lea would often stare at the valley spread in front and wonder aloud how wonderful it must be to be a bird.

"Why would you want to be a bird? They are so fragile and easy to smash. Like you! Jake would shove her and joke, You should want to be something like an elephant or a lion."

Lea would watch him and smile slightly.

She would toss him the apple that she was carrying, and as he munched on it, she would say,

"I don't need to be a lion or an elephant, silly. You will always be there with me. Protecting me. I just want to be a bird that can roam freely. I want to travel the world without any boundaries. I want to see new cities and visit new places. Forever and ever…"

" Whoa! Lea. Put a break on your imagination. You would need to be a satellite, not a bird, if you wanted to constantly roam about. Birds need to eat and sleep as well."

Lea would run after him, trying to hit him every time he joked, but she would end up sitting down and crying instead. Jake would have to voluntarily come back to her so she could pull his hair to calm her nerves.

Then they would hug and giggle, forgiving each other, before riding back to Lea's aunt's place.

Lea did not grow up in poverty like Jake did in her early life.

She was the only child of her parents, and she had a very loving family.

Their family was quite well off as well.

Lea was too young when she lost both her parents in that fatal accident. She had no way of knowing that she might have had any inheritance. Later, she was told that all her parents' properties were sealed and gone because they owed the bank a lot of money, and they even owed the local loan shark.

Lea never bothered investigating the matter further. With her parents gone, her aunt was all she knew. And Jake, of course. Her life was perfect.

She would watch Jake perform for her. He would sing and dance to the latest song. She watched with kneen eyes.

"You know Jake, you do better than those on television. You should be on those shows."

She would declare

At first, Jake never took it seriously, but with the passing of time, he too developed an interest.

Lea would sit and watch when he practiced. She was his biggest supporter and his biggest cheerleader when he performed in front of their friend group.

One of the boys, Vickey, had connections in the big cities. One day, he brought a form at Lea's request.

"I don't want to embarrass myself at any audition."

Jake had declared when Lea told him that she had gotten it for him. She had secretly sent his recordings to one of the big agencies. They were interested in seeing him personally.

"Why don't you? This is your big ticket out of this small shed. You cannot always stay huddled up here. You need to spread your wings and fly high. At least for my sake."

It was very hard to convince Jake. Lea had no idea at that time that she was actually sending Jake very far away from herself. She had no idea about the journey that lay ahead of them.

She had no idea that there had already been some stirring at Jake's agency since the day of her arrival.

When Jake signed the contract, he didn't pay much attention to that phrase, but it was explicitly mentioned in his contract that he was not allowed to have a girlfriend or date before the termination of his first contract period. He was bound by the law. And if he did breach it, it would be a punishable offense.

As Jake and Lea fought with their pillows in their new home, their dream abode, Jake's phone suddenly rang.

Lea was in the middle of yelling,

"Damn it, Jake. I am not into girls. How dare you…"

Jake kept laughing and teasing her, but he had to stop and get to his phone.

"Give me five minutes, Lea. My manager is calling because this might be urgent. "

Lea sat down on the couch with an understanding smile and nodded.

"Take your time."

As Jake answered his call, his expressions kept changing time and time again. It did not miss Lea's sharp gaze.

"Is everything alright?"

She finally asked when he returned, dejected but bravely putting on a smile for her sake.

"Oh, it's nothing. Something important popped up. I need to leave for the agency immediately. I have arranged for a caregiver to stay with you for the day. I will come back as soon as possible.

If you need anything... " He thrust his card into her hand.

"Don't hesitate to order. And if you need me, just call or drop me a text. I promise I will call back as soon as I get off work or am in the middle of it. Could I make myself clear? "

He again asked her in one breath.

That, in itself, was a sign that things were not normal.

Whenever Jake was anxious, he would sprint with his words.

Lea did not want to aggregate whatever it was.

"Don't worry. I will be fine. And whatever it is, promise to come and talk to me about it at night. Alright? "

She asked with understanding eyes.

Usually Jake would nod and say a simple "yes".

But this time around, he just smiled and left.

Lea closed her eyes as well, in an attempt to not overthink and worsen her health.