Acceptance - Chapter 4

Ayden sipped the hot tea brought by Kiara in silence. As he lowered the cup and stared at the liquid, a small smile automatically crept over his lips.

“You liked that?”

He looked up and nodded at Kiara who had just come back in the hall after finishing her work. The tea surely lessened his throbbing headache. “Thank you.” He flashed a grateful smile, slightly bowing his head.

“I am glad you did.” Kiara sat across him. “So, you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Ayden raised a brow at her while putting the cup on the tea table.

“What has got you this disturbed?”

“I am not disturbed, Kiara.” He instantly shifted his gaze to the floor, suddenly growing conscious of the surrounding. Getting caught for the stuff that he desperately wanted to hide certainly wasn’t a good feeling.

“I think I should leave now.” That was the best escape he could come up with, he thought but he forgot that it wasn’t going to get her away from him.

“Yeah, sure. Come, I’ll drop you.”

Clearly, he forgot that she was to drop him home and looking at the past twenty minutes that he had spent with her, she didn’t seem like she was going to leave the topic. Damn it. He had never felt so trapped lately. It wasn’t his day. It just was not.

“Of course,” he said, forcing a smile. Where was he stuck?

<>

“Why did it have to happen to us?” She sobbed clutching the photo-frame in her hand closer to her heart. The photo-frame that held the most precious moment of their relationship. His proposal and her acceptance.

Destiny had always been mean to her. What a fool she had been to believe that it was finally having mercy on her and was going to let her be in peace! What an absolute fool! Destiny had never stopped playing its cunning games. The small break that it had taken was only to create a more harsh and painful time for her.

Her mother… then her father… her sister… her childhood best friend and finally Ayden.

She accepted that she was the weakest player in the game for regardless of the situation, it was she who was defeated and left alone to suffer.

It was past midnight. Her throat felt dry but she wasn’t willing to get out of the bed. From the corner of her eye, she looked at the empty jug on the table. Keeping the photo-frame aside, she blinked her heavy eyelids while pushing the duvet aside. She picked up the empty jug and made it to the kitchen.

She had just filled her jug after gulping down a whole glass of water when she heard the doorbell ringing. Her eyes quickly went to the wall clock at the front. Who could it be at that hour? She wondered before she let the jug stay there and proceeded to check before the sound could disturb Melissa’s slumber.

Just as she opened the door, she was surprised to see a pizza delivery boy in front of her. ‘Pizza for Foodies.’ She read on his T-shirt. Where was this place? She had never heard of it earlier.

“Ma’am, your order,” he said while forwarding the pizza to her.

“Uh, I think you are on the wrong address. We haven’t ordered this,” she said, “oh, wait a moment.” Did Melissa order it? That sure was a possibility she had to consider. She asked him to wait while she locked the door and went to Melissa’s room. To her surprise, Melissa was still awake.

“Hey, Angel. Did you order a pizza?”

Melissa removed her spectacles as she put aside the book that she was reading. “No, I didn’t.” She shook her head in denial. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing much. There is a pizza delivery boy here. I told him that we haven’t ordered anything but then I thought maybe you have but now it’s confirmed that he has got the wrong address. I’ll just let him know.” Irene turned around to leave but stopped at Melissa’s call.

“Irene. Are you feeling better?”

Damn it. Irene felt guilty, realizing the anxiety in Melissa’s voice. Did she make her that worried? ‘I should have talked to her.’ She rushed up to Melissa and hugged her. “I am so sorry for scaring you. I am okay.”

Melissa caressed Irene’s hair. “You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Irene pulled herself apart, nodding. “Of course. Okay, he is waiting. I’ll just let him know. Good night.”

“Do that. Good night.”

Irene waved at Melissa for one last time and rushed out.

“I am sorry to keep you waiting but no, we really haven’t ordered this. You must take it to the one who has ordered it,” she uttered, hoping that he would go. Her heavy heart was making it tough to pretend and stand there for any longer. She needed to go back to her room and cry a bit more.

“Ma’am, I can’t. I am sorry but take a look at this,” he pulled out his phone and showed her the message from his company, “this is the address that I was given. This is a gift as we were told and we have already been paid. I can’t take this back.”

Advancing a little, she stared at the address. It was indeed her address. “I admit that you are at the right place given to you but there has to be some confusion in the address that was given to you people.” She was beginning to get a little annoyed. Who the heck was it to mess up the address, and that too when it was a gift like the delivery boy had just mentioned?

“Again, I am sorry but I have to leave this at the given address… that is… here. Please sign here.” He handed over a printed sheet to her and pointed to her address there. Wuxiaworld for visiting.

What the… How was she supposed to receive someone else’s order? And the order that wasn’t just a normal order but a gift?

“Ma’am, please. My job would go if I fail to deliver the order. My owner is strict.”

She sighed and gave in when he brought up the job point. What else could she really do? Having someone losing his job because of her wasn’t certainly something that she would be okay with.

She took the paper bag from him and shut the door.

“I am sorry.” She apologized to the one for whom that gift actually was and at the same time, let out a few mild curses at the one who had messed up the address.