"No. no. no." I mumbled under my breath and crouched down beside him. I reached out to help but he slapped my hand away and glared at me. I almost recoiled but instead sucked in a deep breath and reached out again. This time, I matched his gaze. Icy blue eyes glared daggers into my soul but I could see the fear hovering like a cloud in them.
"I need you to put your head between your legs, can you do that?" I asked with a straight face. "Stay away." He growled. "I-I don't like you either," I blurted out. "But I am a trained psychologist, I am trained for situations like this, so please—" "So, you are a shrink?" The man spat and I blinked in exasperation. "I knew you were bad news." He added and continue struggling to breathe. "When are these doors going to open? How can an entire team be so incompetent?!" His thick arrogant tone almost made me flinch and I backed away a bit. Sharp breaths escaped his lips and he rocked back and forth. His fringe was drenched and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. I sat down and scooted closer to him. He scooted farther. I sighed internally. "The walls of the elevator have turned red and — and this place smells like Lavender.." I blurted, trying to test his senses. Especially since he was on the verge of a panic attack. "Now I am sure your senses don't work. They are still silver and Your annoying perfume is in the air" I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself, scooting closer to him for warmth. So many strange things had been happening lately, but the last thing I thought would happen today was an encounter like this. The elevator door opened moments later and the man sprinted out without even acknowledging me. I sincerely could not care less. I felt fulfilled enough knowing I had tried my best. I walked out of the elevator and locked eyes with Belene. "Where were you?!" She demanded with wide, worried eyes. I rolled my amber green orbs and smiled at her. "You won't believe it, even if I drew it out," I commented and we silently exited the Mall. Tomorrow I would figure out if my application at Moore Hospital was accepted or not. I needed to find a means to sustain myself; especially now that I was completely stranded. I couldn't live on Belene all my life.————————————————————— I sucked in a sharp breath and stared at the large building in front of me with Moore written all over it. Nostalgia hit me in waves and I recalled how Belene and I had fantasized about working here someday. We had practically pictured how our entire lives would turn out after college and with a Job at Moore. Ha! That was at the top of the list. Now that we were finally standing in front of the hospital, my acceptance letter tightly grasped in my right hand while Belene held on the left for dear life. I could practically feel the anxiety oozing off her and she had every right to be anxious. It had been exactly one week since the little incident with that stranger at the elevator. I honestly had no clue what to make of the encounter and I didn't have much time to process it either. Before I knew it; my job application at Moore was accepted and now I was walking into the Hospital itself as an employee. "Miss Scottland, Head of psychology." I signed in at the counter and headed over to the office the director had shown me two days ago. I was finally ready to resume work and I was thrilled. The office was nicely furnished and has two soft chairs opposite my chair. The furniture was chocolate grown and the entire place was painted cream. I sat down in my chair and sucked in a sharp breath. This was my job. This was my life now. "Your first patient is here, Miss Scottland," Irene's Irish accent rang through the room and she popped her head through the door. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. "Send them in," I instructed and glanced through a few files the director had sent in. "Miss Scottland." The voice was deep and painfully familiar. I raised my head and locked eyes with the last person I expected to see. My jaw hung loose and my eyes widened. The man in front of me took quick steps toward the chair in front of me and sat down. The dominance and arrogance in his stance seemed nonexistent and his shoulders slacked. It was clear that the man in front of me was nothing like the one I had encountered in the elevator. He reminded me of the night Stefan had crawled into my room; It was around midnight back then and he had been struggling with a nightmare. Half of the time, the role of the older brother and younger sister had been twisted. Even though we were fraternal twins. "I wouldn't be here if I had other options, just so you know." He asserted sharply and I sat up in my seat with furrowed eyebrows. The man was wearing a blue suit with a cream tie. His fringe seemed perfectly styled and his aura was strong; yet for some reason, it felt like he lacked the audacity and dominance that had me on edge from before. I sucked in a sharp breath and decided to be professional. It was the least I could do on my first day. "What exactly do you need me to do for you, Mr—" "Mr Alexander." He finished. "Alright, Mr. Alexander, what can I do for you because I don't get—" "You- you are my last option," Alexander confessed. "I'm at my wit's end," He added. "I need you to… I need you to marry me. Just for twenty-five days. Just until everything is cleared up, I can't lose everything and you – You are my last option." It felt like I had been thrown out of some Disney movie that was just too cliche to be true. "Excuse me?" I responded sharply and stood up. "You paid to see a psychologist, I presume?" I checked, because at this point; I was sure the man belonged in the psychiatric unit. "Yeah." He whispered; His voice came out so broken and weak; helpless. "But—but—this is the only way to fix this, to fix this mess and you are a perfect fit for the job. It will only be twenty-five days." Mr. Alexander stood up, "Think about it, Miss Scottland. This offer will be life-changing for you." "Get out of my office now. Right now." I added and stared at him with bewilderment. "If I were you I would listen to him." A blonde-haired girl with blue eyes stepped into the room. "Alex just wants to fix things and I desperately need my family back together, this wedding and alliance —" I glanced between the two of them before I broke out into laughter. This had to be a joke, a bad one at that. They had to be pulling my legs. Yes, that was it. "This isn't a joke, sign the the papers." The lady said and dropped a file on the desk. "Once you sign them we can move forward and you can finally do what you came to Los Angeles to achieve. It is a win-win situation." I blinked and frowned at her forwardness. This girl seemed no less than eighteen, but she was bold and had too much audacity. "If you accept this alliance, My family will be united and you will be able to ruin yours, Do we have a deal?" She asked and put her hand forward for a handshake. These people seemed completely ridiculous. They surely can't just barge into my office and ask me to get married to someone I don't even know. This wasn't how things worked in Los Angeles, was it? The fact that she knew so much about me was nerve-wrecking as well. Who were these people, and where did they get so much audacity? "My answer remains the same. No. Now, with all due respect, get out of my office." I spat.I sighed and plopped back in my chair when they finally exited the room. Irene, my secretary walked in almost immediately and gave me a file. “This came in for you ma’am.” She announced and left. I ran my hands through my hair and licked my lips. It better be good news because so many strange things had already happened in less than twenty-four hours. I grabbed the file that was wrapped up in a package and briskly tore it open. My breath caught in my throat when the first image fell out. It seemed to be one of many. One of the many photos James had taken with Alicia as his bride. My eyes widened and the pictures fell from my grip. I knew I was unwilling to get married. I knew that I was furious and felt betrayed. I was flat devastated. But if there was anyone I had truly loved and saw myself spending the rest of my life with; It was James. How was this even possible? How could someone willing to do the rest of his life forget me in less than two weeks? Here I was, battling an
The Moore mansion was Grande. Every single inch was particular and made to perfect taste. From the chandeliers to the furniture and the Elegant paintings that sat on the gold-plated walls. When I was younger; My father had always spoken about how he wanted to work with Moores one day. He was as fascinated with them as I was. The only difference was that I was in it for my career. He was in it for business. “You look perfect,” Christine commented when we locked eyes.I kept my lips pursed in a straight line. I had practically been whisked out of work for this circus, so I hoped it would be worth it. There were maids everywhere, running around like ants; attending to various things that didn’t even need attention: until now, I thought my mother had OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) because of how she handled everything, but these people took things to a whole different level. “Louisa!” A woman practically cried. I raised an eyebrow in the direction of the voice. She looked a lot
“Stop!” I cried and ran over to him to collect the belt, Moore met my frantic gaze for a split moment before he pushed me to the ground. I slammed face first and grimaced. When I looked up, His finger was pointed at my face. “Look princess, You aren’t allowed in my room. You aren’t allowed to give opinions and you most definitely are not allowed to touch me.” He gritted out and let out a heavy breath: he turned away from me and ran his hands through his hair. I could see his blistered back and I winced on his behalf. I forced myself up and he turned back. “This entire circus will end in twenty-five days. So just focus on your job.” He warned sharply. “I am doing my job.” My voice came out sharper than I intended and my torso ached, I swallowed a grunt. “My job is to help you. And I want to get it done as soon as possible so I never have to see your face.” He huffed at my words and grabbed his belt again. He brought it to his back and I flinched. After watching him for a few mom
We pulled away gradually. I could taste mint in my mouth and our breaths caressed each other’s skin. For a moment there, he wasn’t the arrogant, self-centered, and emotionally absorbed man that I had interacted with for the past few hours. He seemed like a genuine man who was deeply in love, with Louisa. Before I could pursue my train of thought, a voice pulled us out of our mini trance. “I am sorry,” The voice was soft and timid. My eyes traced the direction of the voice and I was met with a blonde lady. Her hair was tied in a bun and her head hung low. “The Madame is waiting for you, Miss Louisa. She has something to tell you.” The woman informed us courtly and was out the door before we could respond. I stood up and ran my hands through my hair. My back still ached from the hits I had inflicted but Moore seemed unfazed. It was obvious this wasn’t his first time taking a belt to himself and I was dangerously curious to find out why he had done it. “Why?” Moore sat up and aske
“Has she woken up yet?” Moore asked and walked into Christine’s room. We had been here for the past few hours since I pulled her from the edge of the porch. She had passed out since then and was yet to wake up. I could sense that Moore was restless, but his face showed no emotion at all. His lips were pursed into a straight line and his eyes narrowed at me from where he was sitting beside Christine. I sighed and stopped pacing to and fro, for a moment. Being restless was not solving anything. I could not wrap my mind around what Christine had said while on the porch though. Whomever Louisa was; She must have held a special place in this family. From the way their mother had treated her to the way, the father reacted to my presence. Moore’s sudden burst of emotion when he thought I was her for a moment and the guilt in Christine’s eyes when she spoke about her. It felt like each member of the family was keeping a different secret and in less than a day — I was already feeling ov
The garden was a sight to behold. It was large and filled with unique flowers. The scent was calming and I felt my nerves relax from the conversation with Christine. It seemed like she genuinely wanted to help her brother and I felt obligated to do so because I knew what it was like to be in her place. I shifted my weight from one foot to another while we waited in the garden. We had been whisked here by Moore because apparently; his mother finally wanted to say what she had been holding back. Daisies were displayed all over the garden and Christine seemed too calm for comfort. “Don’t worry.” The blonde haired girl eased. “Mother only adds more daises to the garden when she is about to share good news,” at the same moment, Their mother, whose name I had learned from Christine was Amelia walked in. She had her long blonde hair tied in a French twist and a glowing smile spread across her oval face. Behind her was the man I had met earlier; he had a smirk on his face while he h
I wrinkled my nose for the millionth time and Christine approached me. She seemed too comfortable in her tight dress and had her blonde hair tied in a bridal bun. Even with all her makeup, I could still see the dark bags under her eyes and the tension on her shoulders. For the past three days; Everyone had been so focused on ensuring that the event was a success. Madame Amelia wanted everything at a particular time, position, and theme. I used to think planning for weddings was the most exhausting task after attending my aunt's wedding a decade ago; but this entire event beat that. I ran my hands over my chest and sucked in a sharp breath. I could barely breathe in the blue dinner dress Amelia had ordered; Of course, I had to explain when and how I had gained so much weight. Then suck it up and wear the tight dress with an uncomfortable corset. Whoever Louisa was; She was not eating right during her stay here. "Come, Louisa, Let me introduce you to some of our guests," Christine
The last time I felt so much pain was when I was five and my mother had locked me outside at night. The neighbor's dog had gotten loose and it attacked me. Mother was terrified when she realized that she had mistakenly left me out, but what could she do? Her three-month-old Alicia had always been more important. This time though; It felt like a dagger had pierced through my chest. I wasn’t sure where all the pain was coming from. All I knew was that my entire body was dead weight and I could barely feel my legs. “Louisa!” Someone shrieked and I heard a gasp. “Get it off her, It’s—“ I could barely hear them clearly over the sound of the chandelier falling; which replayed in my head even though it had happened moments ago. “Someone call 911!” Another person yelled and I felt someone grab my hand and squeeze it. I swallowed thickly and tried to speak but my jaw was stiff. As my view gradually turned black; I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I couldn’t hear Moore, had he also gotten st