Destined to be

Chapter 3

Emerald swayed on her feet as she finally managed to reach the lights which she realized on a closer look was of a hotel. A luxurious hotel actually where she hoped that she could afford a stay till the time she could find a way to talk or find Jake.

The hotel was too grand for her pocket. Even the premises were so upmarket. As she approached the entrance the motion detector opened the door and she entered inside. The lobby area was quite spacious with beautiful lightings all over. The pillars were gorgeous and reflected great art. She was fascinated by the interior.

Emerald was brought out of her daze when someone cleared their throat behind her. The man was immaculately dressed in a suit and looked at her up and down in a way of questioning.

"Well, the reception is there." He flicked his finger behind him where she saw a large reception area behind which stood two women and a man, yet again, dressed beautifully.

She looked at the man who stood impatiently waiting for her. "Um yes, I am aware of that. Thank you." At the reception, she was greeted warmly.

The beautiful blond spoke with a smile on her face, "Welcome to the Tableau. How may we help you, Ma'am?" Her English was polished.

Emerald cleared her throat lightly. "I want a stay for a minimum of two nights?" It came out as a question.

The smile didn't falter from the receptionist's face. The name tag read Jacqueline Taylor. "Sure, Ma'am." She started looking into her computer. "We do have plenty available for you to choose from. Would you like to see a catalog?"

Emerald straightened. This way she would be able to spend wisely. "I would very much like to see one. Thank you." She went through the catalog and chose the one she would be comfortable paying. This was an extra expense as she had already paid for the one she was supposed to stay with Jake. Her eyes burnt but she controlled herself. Not now.

She was shown to her room which was on the 10th floor by a bell boy. She entered the room and flicked on the lights. The room was spacious and beautiful. It consisted of a sleeping area with a large bed and side tables. There was a sitting space as well. But the thing that most made her relax and the room look gorgeous was the large ceiling to floor windows which also opened up to a balcony outside. But she didn't have time to explore that as she was bone-tired. She kept her phone on charge and lied on the bed immediately passing out into a deep slumber.

*******

The next morning she woke up with a jerk that almost made her fall on the floor. For once she was scared of the unknown room she was in but soon realized that it was her hotel room and she was in Russia.

She almost ran to the charging stand where she had left her phone. She immediately dialed Jake's number. And she felt relieved when the phone rang and Jake picked it up.

"Hey....." Emerald spoke in her thank-god voice but soon frowned when the receiver was not her boyfriend but someone else. "Um...I..— "

The girl's groggy voice spoke, "What the hell? Who calls so early in the morning?" There was some shifting noise. "Babe, baby wake up. There is some girl...."

Emerald still had her fingers crossed and she prayed against all the odds that she had dialed the wrong number and not her boyfriend's whose phone was answered by a girl who had a heavy Russian accent.

But then her worst fear came true when she heard his voice and the way he said, "Let it go Malishka. Just come to me." The girl giggled and cut the call.

Emerald stood frozen on the spot. She couldn't even cry anymore. After freshening up and taking a long soak in the bathtub. She decided to get out of the hotel as she suffocated inside the room. She had to get out immediately.

As much as she tried to forget the call and the girl's voice along with Jake's voice telling her not to care about the call, she couldn't forget that.

Just then the elevator door opened and she stumbled inside. At that moment she didn't care about anything. She was not the girl who had promised herself to forget the incident and be strong but she was that lost little girl once again abandoned and left on streets to tackle the world on her own. She was alone in this unforgiving world once again.

The elevator pinged but she didn't know if it had reached the lobby or if it was still on some other floor. She was not even aware if she was alone or someone was there paying close attention to her emotional state.

 What would she do now? Where would she go from here? Jake hadn't even cared that he was supposed to pick up and spend quality and lovely romantic time with his girlfriend. He hadn't cared at all. Her phone rang then. Through blurry eyes she saw it was her nightmare calling her.

Suddenly she felt as if the walls around her were closing on her. Emerald was scared. She was terrified. She would have to go back to him. Now that Jake had left her hand. She was alone again. That only meant she would have to act as his pawn. Once again. She shook her head and screamed.

"Nooooo" She tried rejecting the phone and threw it. She didn't care where it landed. Her legs were trembling and she could no longer breathe properly.

Just when she felt herself falling, she was stopped and pulled on to a strong chest. A warm and inviting warm spoke in her ear, "Breath in and out slowly okay." The man turned her around and wrapped his arms around her. "Take a deep breath in. Yeah just like that. Good and now breathe out."

Emerald found herself following him. The man counted with her till ten and soon she found out that she could breathe normally. Her body felt comfortable where she was. She buried her face deeper and sighed. She opened her eyes and show white. Lazily she looked up and came across the most beautiful brown eyes. She smiled up at him. He was his savior.

A throat was cleared and she looked around to see that she was no more in the elevator but outside on the couch and she was almost on this stranger's lap. As soon as she realized this, she scooted away.

"I am so sorry." Her tongue felt tied. "Um...thank you for helping me."

The man stood up and she followed him. He was tall and fit to be a model. Maybe he already was one. She thought.

He dusted off his shirt and addressed her. "Are you fine?" She couldn't find out if he was genuinely concerned or was being a gentleman as neither could see look at his face nor his voice let out his feelings. She suddenly was brought back to what happened and she was back to her misery.

"I will be fine. Thank you again for helping me." She rushed out needing some fresh air.

Emerald stood outside deciding which way to go when a familiar black car stopped next to her and the window rolled down. "Come get in. Let's have a coffee together."

Her instinct told her not to obey him as it wasn't a request or a question but a direct command. But before she knew it she had nodded her head and gotten inside the car. When he had said about having a coffee she had thought that they would be having it in some café. But he took her to a completely different place. Unexpected