Yours, Eternally

Twelve

"Don't be home late tonight! And remember to pick up the cake!" Mom yelled from the kitchen. It was dad's birthday today. Given the travel schedule that the company provided for him, it has been a long time since we have celebrated it as a family.

"Got it!" After ensuring that my foot was tucked snuggly in my working shoes, I headed out, towards the bus stop.

It had been a restless night for me; my mind was clouded with Nathan as he came to my rescue. The way he held me as he defended and delivered me from the hands of Bella.

Feels like I'm in a soap opera.

Still, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement overtake; the jitters that spread from my stomach to the ends of my fingers. All these intensified as I thought about meeting him again. Nevertheless, I knew enough to know that I should not get my hopes up. Afterall, he is the CEO. He was a hard man to reach, and it would be weird to look for him without having any valid reasons.

"Morning, Ava."

"Hey Arthur. How's your back?"

Arthur was one of the company's security staff. It was my first day of work when I stumbled across him, crouching on the corner of the corridor, clutching his back. Turns out that he was having one of his usual back aches, typical for someone in his late sixties. Ever since I've given him a few pain relief patches, we've become acquaintances: friends through unlikely encounters.

"Thanks to your patches, the pain doesn't really bother me as much as before." The wrinkles and creases around his eyes and forehead deepened as his face lit up with joy.

"I'm afraid you would have to thank my mom for that. She's the one that forced me to have these patches stocked up in my bag."

"By the way, congratulations on your relationship with Mr. Crosby. I can see just how much he adores you from that night."

"That night?" His words baffled me, causing me to frown and pout at the same time.

"You didn't know? He was the one that covered you with his coat." His words triggered the memory of the night before I left to meet Alice. Speaking of which, the coat that hung on my chair was gone the next morning.

"Do you have the recording of that night?" I asked, wanting to know more about what happened.

"Sure! Follow me." I followed Arthur to the surveillance room, decorated with countless screens and devices. "Here it is." Arthur pointed, after pulling up a video on the computer. With my eyes fixated on the screen, I watched the scene unfold; the day that started off as a bleak and rainy day, blossomed into a warm and sunny one; at least that's what my heart felt at this instant.

When the video ended, I thanked Arthur and bade my farewell before directing myself to the office; aware of how crazy I looked as I beamed widely at every person I passed by. The stares from others made it so awkward for me that I had to cover the smile with a hand over my mouth.

"Someone's looking happy today." Derrick chimed, while Quinn wiggled her brows as I reached my desk.

"Don't tease her, babe! Though I'm pretty sure I know who made her morning beautiful."

"Pftt! Unlike you two lovebirds, I'm going on to the construction room." Gathering the files, I made my way to the other side, ready to start the day's work burning with delight.

Scurrying around the office just as a worker bee should, time went by in a blur as I ran between different locations, from the designing of various jewelleries to the sorting of customer's orders. Miraculously, I did not feel an ounce of fatigue. Probably because I knew that I had myself wrapped around Nathan's fingers.