The Last Spark

Chapter 15

The rest of dinner was pleasant. Emelia ended up opposite Arron's father at the other end of the table, far away from him.

Going back to the kid's comment from her father, Louie was even more delighted to find out they were dogs! This led to an hour-long conversation about his half-dozen pets back in London.

"Ah! I'm sad my daughter Felicity couldn't be here tonight! She would have loved meeting you!" Louie admitted it softly.

"Oh, I wasn't aware you had a daughter! How old is she?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, she's 18! She was accepted into Columbia and will be starting this year. So she decided to join us on this trip to better get acquainted with New York life. I insisted on her coming tonight, but teenagers have a more glamorous life these days. Why accompany your old father and grumpy brother?" He finished in an animated, hurt tone.

"But, since Arron will also be staying here for a while, I'm glad both my kids have your family's acquaintance." He added.

Oh, my god. She thought to herself, but quickly smiled and nodded politely.

She then excused herself to use the restroom and washed her hands with the freezing cold water. Why did that bother her? She was truthful about how she felt about the night.

Emelia had no problem with Arron. She had long let go of any feelings she'd felt after a while.

She decided she needed to sit down and confront her feelings once again. With that resolve, she tied her hair with a clutcher.

After adjusting the side bangs behind her ears, she walked back to her seat.

As the dinner ended, everyone went to collect their coats from the coat check.

She was listening to her father and Louie make golf plans together while waiting for the ladies in front of them to finish collecting theirs. She shook her head at her father's ability to make golf friends at any social gathering. Suddenly, a yawn she had been keeping at bay broke out. She quickly excused herself and collected her coat as their turn came up. She moved to the side and pulled her coat on, not knowing Arron had just entered the area and saw her put the coat on.

xxxxxxx

Arron hadn't been able to make out anything from the last 2 hours of conversation he had engaged in. His only thought had been about Emelia. He could see her from where he sat at the dinner table, smiling and laughing with his father. Something was different about her. He was not surprised since it had been years since he'd seen her or heard about her. Adrian had suddenly stopped mentioning anything to do with Emelia on their usual check-ins after the wedding. Arron had wondered if Em had informed Adrian about their night together and instructed him not to mention herself, but he knew she would not tell him about that. Adrian had always dropped random tidbits about her and his other family to Arron before.

He had thought about her every day since that night. He wished he could go back and redo everything.

———

Something in him had shifted when he kissed her. It was as if he had released a breath he didn't know he was holding on to. When he had understood his own feelings on his flight back to London from Hong Kong, he'd been looking forward to calling her as soon as he had landed. However, three weeks of hellish ordeal had awaited him as soon as he switched his flight mode off.

And when he'd finally attempted to get in touch, her number had been disconnected. Adrian had refused to pass her new number when he'd made an excuse, like sharing some pictures she'd asked him to drop by saying that she'd gone off the grid. It seemed like something had happened. Adrian had been defensive and tight-lipped when he mentioned the last bit. It was then that he had no clue or means of contacting her.

Her social media profiles were nonexistent, and he had attempted to locate her LinkedIn, but that had also disappeared. It was almost as if she didn't exist.

So when he had seen her at the gallery opening, his feet had unconsciously led him to her.

He didn't know where to start. So when her mother suggested she drive him to the restaurant, he saw an opportunity.

He needed to talk to her. But she was completely shutting him out. So he decided to be patient. He'd wait for her. As long as it took.

Walking out to the coat rack, he watched from afar as she put on her coat. And then he noticed a scar on her shoulder blade barely visible from the edge of her dress, which only caused alarm bells to go off in his head.

Patience, Arron, he told himself as his jaw clenched.

—————

Emelia made her way to her car after wishing everyone goodnight. As soon as her hand reached the car door handle, she heard footsteps behind her and looked around. She spotted Arron approach her and stop a few steps behind.

"Em. I just wanted to say it was good to see you after so long. My dad said you'd be willing to share your contact details with Felicity. Don't worry, I won't keep it for myself if that makes you uncomfortable." He said it with an assuring tone and gave her a soft smile. His eyes looked almost sad.

Em looked up at him. He had lost the boyish features from the last time she saw him. The man who stood in front of her had grown more rugged. His cheeks are now more hallowed and defined by sharp feathers. It made him look even more attractive.

His hair looked soft and slightly messy from the wind, but she could spot some gray hair strands peeking through.

She contemplated for a moment and decided to share her contact information. She nodded at him and held out her hand for his phone. She quickly typed the number on the dial pad and handed it back to him.

She saw him copy the number, send it to his sister's chat, and delete the message from only his chat.

Surprised, she looked up to see him gazing at her softly.

"Em, I know whatever I want to say or justify myself with may sound like excuses to you. I get you. And I will not push you and make you uncomfortable by bringing it up again if and when I meet you again. But if and whenever you give me a chance, I'll wait for it. As long as it takes." He said sadly and concluded with "Good night. Sweet dreams" and walked away from her.

She watched him walk away for a moment before getting into her car. She sat with her hands gripping the steering wheel for a while.

Her head was blank. She needed a meditation session before starting the car and heading home.

Once she reached home, she hurried inside to greet her babies. She quickly changed into casual clothes and took them down for a walk.

It was still cold. They did their business and returned home, and all of them curled up in bed.

She lay awake, looking at the ceiling, thinking.

She wondered why she had snapped at him in the car. She wondered why she had felt uncomfortable. Was it actually discomfort? Did she still feel hurt? Yes, apparently, a small part of her was still hurt. Would she be willing to hear him out? She wasn't as opposed to the idea anymore.

She thought back to the time when her nightmares had always started with one thing and ended with another. They always ended with her walking hand in hand with the boy she'd met tonight. She did consider them nightmares because they only left her with an odd sense of longing for days after they occurred.

Feeling more at peace with herself and her thoughts, Em drifted to sleep.