Ray of Light

Chapter 1

Elaine stood in front of the Teshima corporation and hesitated.

Her hair was starting to get greasy again and her clothes were old and ripped at places. She wore a long-sleeved shirt to cover the various bruises on her arms and her long skirt was covering the bruises on her legs. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy from the sleepless night she'd spent crying. She knew that she had to put an end to her misery and that the answer to her problems was in the building but she couldn't bring herself to walk inside and face the one person who she loved and admired with all her heart. He had turned her life upside down from the moment he had walked into it and it was all for the better.

Until she decided to ignore her feelings for him and marry the first person ready to accept her as his wife knowing she'd never love him. That was her biggest mistake but it still wasn't the moment when her life had gotten so messed up. It was when the man she married had turned into the monster he was now that she realized she was in a mess too deep for her to handle.

In the beginning of their relationship her husband was the perfect gentleman. He always listened to her and was there for her, telling her everything would get better. Not only that but he married her knowing she could never love him the way he wanted to because she was in love with someone else. It was a couple of months after the wedding that he had hit her for first time and that marked the beginning of his gradual fall from the man of her dreams to the monster of her nightmares.

There was a time when she thought things were going to get better and he would stop hurting and abusing her but it quickly passed away taking almost every hope for her.

Almost.

Because even at the darkest times there was a ray of sun shining in her soul and giving her strength. It had first gotten there when she was assigned for a secretary to the Teshima's new private investigator and it had continued to grow the more she got to know the guy and the more she fell in love with him.

Back then she was still too fragile but his contagious passion for life and adventure had slowly gotten into her and with the time it had made her stronger than she ever thought she'd be. Everything had started when Teshima's employees were held hostage along with their chief. Only the two of them were safe in one of the lower floors and they had used this advantage doing everything they could to save everyone. Of course due to her boss' cleverness and sharp mind their mission was successful. However there was a moment when she was on the verge of giving up and she'd never forget what he he had told her back then to encourage her.

"It's up to you, man. You can sit around for the rest of your life, eat twinkies and watch tv and be bored to death. Or you can go for it."

It was in that moment that she knew by taking her final decision she was also deciding the course of her life.

Taking a deep breath she stared at the building for a couple more seconds before she finally moved to walk inside. Passing through the familiar front door she paused to look at the surroundings she knew too well. Everything was still the same and hadn't changed a bit since she had last seen it.

'But I've changed', she thought bitterly to herself and moved further inside towards where the elevators were. She pressed the button and when the elevator dinged to signal it was there she went inside and took one last glance at the lobby before the door closed up. She quickly got to the floor she was headed at and ducked her head down, hoping that she could walk to his office without being recognized.

The first thing she noticed was the tall dark-haired woman sitting on her old desk. 'Probably his new secretary', she thought and her eyes travelled all over the woman. She was tall with black hair and actually kind of resembled a female version of her boss with one difference; her eyes. They were bright blue and were glimmering with something Elaine instantly recognized because she'd seen it in his dark brown orbits that she loved so much. Before she could reach her desk, the other woman stood up opening the door to his office and disappeared inside.