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She felt like she was drowning in a sea of exhaustion, the arch of her back was aching and her heavy shoulders weren't in the best shape, she lifted the weight of her body on the floor and felt the warmth of what seemed like a cover in her side, she remembered clearly that she didn't cover herself with this.It looked like Ben's jacket so she quickly took it off and rushed to place it back on the rack before he came back. Her muscles were tensed and she still had so much book to cover. She could not even think for a second that it was Ben who put the cloth on her. Without much thought, she stood up from the floor, feeling dizzy. An hour passed, and Aliyah concluded her tasks at the library. Exiting after meticulously arranging everything, she descended the stairs, anticipating Ben's presence in the living room to report the completion of the assigned work. However, he was nowhere to be found, prompting her to head straight to the kitchen for a much-needed water break.Viola, hav
*************It was a breezy evening before a storm. Mr Vawn stood in front of the expansive window before him as he muttered to himself about not being able to undergo his nightly strolls. Even For a man who had been unstoppable all his life the limitations of aging and the eventuality of death were unavoidable. this was the task he faced every day as he was on the last leg of his life, he had left most of his work in the hands of capable men, and the strolls were the only thing he looked forward to these days apart from the timely visits of his grandchildren as he awaited his end. He spent his time resting these days as he had fully relinquished all his positions to retire but there was one thing that bugged him to this day. His search for a successor. Being a man who arrived at the pinnacle of business by sheer dedication and hard work he wasn't okay with the idea of inheritance merely on the basis of blood tiesHe had made it clear to his family that the one who inherited his
Aliyah thought about what Ben had playfully said earlier. Yes. she made his life miserable back in college, and even though he was being excessive with his ways, he had all the right to want to exact revenge on her. Now that she was thinking back, she did not exactly know why she was so fixated on him.She shrugged off the thought and followed them into the living room, she had some acting to do after all, and Ben would kill her if she did not put her act together, at least for now. Ben and Aliyah sat on a couch together, while his grandfather was on the couch opposite theirs, his eyes scheming through them as if searching for any hint of false chemistry between them. He still wasn't ready to accept that Ben was being honest because he was sure that the young lad wouldn't have done anything to make him quit talking about bringing a partner. Ben sat comfortably on the couch, his hands draped across Aliyah who seemed to be having a mini panic attack, she was already tired of th
A man who appeared to be in his early fifties stormed through the double doors, his hair carefully slicked back, wearing a composed expression."Sorry Father, there was a meeting with the shareholders and I was running late" the man uttered as he walked closer, "Oh Ben, I didn't know you'd be coming"Aliyah nodded in greeting, yet another person she did not know, the man seemed to observe her face as if wondering who she was supposed to be. Another middle-aged pale-looking man soon walked into her sight. "Good afternoon, Uncle Fred and Uncle Morgan," Ben greeted with no expression on his face. His Uncles? She thought to herself, with the remaining people yet to come in it was clear that this was turning into some sort of family reunion affair, that she had no idea whatsoever about, she wasn't even aware that he still had family up until just a few minutes ago. This was all happening too fast for her to catch her breath. The least he could have done was give her a heads-up about th
When they were done having dinner, Ben wiped his mouth with a napkin and rose swiftly, making Aliyah follow suit, it felt almost as if she could read his thoughts for a moment. "Grandpa, I have to leave," he paused briefly, his words disrupted the decorum of the room. He then continued. "Something came up, so I'll be heading home first. I'll come around first thing tomorrow morning on my way to work."Mr Vawn had earlier told him to meet him in the library after the dinner, and it seemed to be important, but he could tell that Ben had something of urgency he needed to attend to as well. He sighed in acceptance. "Alright, I hope you remember the promise you made earlier, boy," Mr Vawn asked, his heavy, half-closed eyes narrowed at him. Ben hesitated, his gaze traveling to Aliyah and back to his Granddad, "alright I'll keep that in mind"Mr Vawn's stare turned to Aliyah, and he seemed to flash a subtle Smile, obscured by the deep wrinkles that lined the sides of his cheeks. Maybe th
They were alone once again, and she did not know how to feel about that, at least she was no longer in the presence of his family where she had to fit in. Silence hung in the car and Aliyah would be lying if she said she was okay with it. Aliyah could feel the cold breeze coming in from the opened window, brushing past her luscious blonde hair. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes before opening them again as the world flew past her—suddenly, she had a lot on her mind and internally struggled to let words out. Ben wasn't saying anything—it didn't seem like he was open for any conversation with her, so she respected that and didn't say anything, to him—nor him to her. The air around Ben screamed for her to back off, and she complied, unaware of where they were presently heading. She wanted to open up and ask but she didn't—she couldn't, especially not with the vibe coming off him, that whole drama with his family made it clear that he did not have a good relationship wi
Aliyah was beyond terrified as she had never seen or heard a gun go off this close to her, sending a man into the cold embrace of death. Aliyah shut her eyes. Why? Why did he have to bring her here? She could have lived her life peacefully without ever seeing a scene like this. Without ever knowing the kind of things Ben could do to any man who crossed him."It seems today is not your day," Ben uttered in a calm tone. The gun was still raised at him.As Aliyah heard his words, She gently opened her eyes to the sight, and a subtle relief swept through her bones. No one was dead, at least not yet. the bullet grazed the man's left cheek leaving him in visible shock as well. Poor man. She could see as he jerked continuously out of immense fear. Which was understandable, since he just had a brush with death, its cold hands shaving past his face. She wasn't the one who got shot at, but she felt her limbs giving out on her. Did he miss the shot or was that on purpose? She asked herself
When they finally reached home, Ben did not so much as utter any word after he parked the car, he got down and strode around to the other side to access the pathway that led into his house. The whole chain of events made her forget what she had in mind. Just as he got past her, Aliyah fought against her feelings and without warning she opened her mouth and didn't realize where her next words came from. "This might not be coming at the right time. But I apologize for all those years," she paused "The years I bullied you in college. It was wrong" she admitted. Aliyah's heart flew out of her chest when all she heard was a chuckle. A deep chuckle that vibrated through her nerves and sent immense shivers down her spine. A chuckle sent a lump down her throat—reminding her that this might have been might have been a bad time to do this. "You what?" Ben asked, as if he just heard something outrageous from her lips, his gaze never for once flipping to her side—but Aliyah could feel