《Wooing The Ex-Wife》


 Chapter 1: Wedding Bells

    Chapter 1: Wedding Bells


    Liza was nervous. In fact saying that she was nervous would be an understatement. Liza''s rtionship


    with heels had always been messy and the fact that she was wearing sky high heels only increased her


    chances of falling t on her face or breaking her ankle, she took each step carefully as she walked


    down towards the isle. Wedding bells were ringing around and the whole ce was full of people.


    There was a smile on everybody''s face and they were carrying beautifully wrapped presents, their


    shiny wraps glistening under the soft rays of the setting sun. It was an evening wedding.


    She could hear the faint crash of waves which were crashing with each other creating soft music. She


    took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She tried to focus anywhere except of the fact that she


    could tip anytime and make a fool of herself. The wedding march started and a beautiful piece was


    yed on the piano. Liza''s hold on the bouquet in her hand tightened. Soon they were at the isle and


    Liza released the breath she had been holding.


    Jonathan tightened his tie and gave himself a once over. He was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a


    grey vest and soft salmon shirt under it. He had no idea why he had agreed to do it. He ran his hands


    through his hair giving them a messy but stylish look and left. The wedding he was attending was on a


    beach in California. Initially he was against the idea but then Alice had insisted that he should go. He


    wondered why Alice wanted to put him through so much torture, she knew he would hate attending the


    wedding and yet she had insisted that he attend it.


    He took a seat at the back. He was also carrying a gift like others. He had never imagined that after so


    many years of chasing, it would finallye to this. He looked aroundzily trying to find a familiar face


    but finding no one worth talking to he pulled out his cell phone and called Dave inquiring him about how


    things were going. Jonathan was forced to put down the call when the wedding march started ying


    and the bride entered with her bridesmaid. It was then when Jonathan saw her.


    It had been four years since he hadst seen her. Her hair were down in beautiful curls, her eye brows


    were furrowed as she tried to focus on not tripping. She looked like a vision in her dress. He had


    pinned over her for four years only to find her at the ce he had always refused to visit. He wondered


    if it was toote now, if she had someone else to love. His heart insisted on whisking her away from the


    wedding but a rational part of him snubbed that urge. He looked at her as if he had seen the sun for the


    first time and suddenly his world felt brighter. And then a shot of pain shot through him as he


    remembered the words in herst letter. She would never ept me he thought. He watched as she


    reached the isle and let out a breath of relief, it wouldn¡¯t have been evident to anybody else but to


    Jonathan it was clear as day, his eyes were focused only on her. She wasn''t looking at him. She was


    staring straight in front of her and he wished that he could look in her warm chocte eyes even if it


    was just for a moment.


    The whole wedding ceremony was a blur. Liza trance like state was broken as she heard the words ''I


    do'' being said. She looked at Krista standing before her. She looked beautiful in the wedding gown.


    Krista and George leaned in for a sweet kiss as the priest pronounced them as man and wife. Liza


    hadn''t even realized that her eyes were slightly moist. She had never been very close to Krista, she


    had always been her bosses¡¯ daughter to her. When Krista had asked her to be one of her


    bridesmaids, Liza had been shocked but she had agreed. Liza pulled up her salmon colored gown


    slightly as she got down from the isle. She walked took a ss of wine from the waiter that was


    passing by and found a secluded corner. She didn''t know anybody except the people the publishing


    house did business with. Margaret the former editor in chief had retired a month back and in her ce


    Liza had been appointed. Liza had been extremely happy when she had been given the news. She


    finally had everything her dream job, an awesome family everything except love. She looked at people


    dancing. Fairy lights lit up the make shift dance floor and soft songs were ying in the background as


    couples swayed to the music.


    "May I have this dance" a voice asked. She looked up to see that a very handsome stood in front of


    her. She recognized him as the best man. "I am sorry but I don''t dance" Liza said politely declining his


    offer. Although he was attractive Liza didn''t have even slightest interest in him. "Awe on only one


    dance. Please." he said. "Okay, but just one dance" Liza relented. He led her to dance floor and they


    began swaying to the music. He had his hands wrapped around her waist and she put her hands on his


    shoulders. "I am Steve by the way. Steve Clement" he said. "Steve Clement as in author of the ''A


    million miles away'' Steve Clement" Liza asked. "Yep, the one and only" he replied smirking¡± you are not


    old" she blurted out. "I mean I thought that the writer of such a wonderful book would some


    experienced old guy but you are pretty young" she said "thank you for the Complement" he smirked "it


    was not aplement. I was merely stating a fact." Liza threw back. "Whatever you say. I know I am


    attractive. Anyways what''s your name?" he asked "Oh, I am Liza Nestor. Editor in Chief of The Book


    Worm publishing house." she replied. "Oh so you were the one who sent back my first draft saying that


    a kid could have made less mistakes" he arched an eyebrow. "Oh no. That was Margret but I wish it


    had been me." Liza giggled.


    Jonathan had always thought of Krista as a nuisance. She was the wild child of Leslie Santiago.


    Tabloids were always full of her new misadventures and hertest boy toys. It hade as a shock to


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    Jonathan when he had received her wedding card, announcing her wedding to George Hamilton.


    George was one of the most disciplined man Jonathan had ever met. He was responsible and serious


    nothing like Krista and he wondered how a man like George had fallen for a girl like Krista seeing them


    dancing together anybody could tell that they were in love. Krista glowed with happiness as George


    swayed her to the rhythm. Soon his eyes slipped to the couple dancing close to George and Krista.


    He saw as Liza danced with some guy, moving gently to the music. They wereughing over


    something. Jonathan wanted to go over there and snatch her away from him. His hands fisted and


    suddenly he felt himself move forward towards Liza. "Can I cut in?¡± he asked. His eyes fixed on Liza.


    "Yeah sure" the guy said. "I hope we see each other again Liza" the guy said winking at Liza and


    Jonathan resisted the urge to punch him in the face.


    Liza stared at Jonathan unblinking. She didn''t even notice Steve leaving, her eyes stayed fixed on the


    man in front of her. The man who she had given her heart, the man who had broken her heart and the


    man who still somehow made her heart flutter. "Long time no see Liza" he said as the couples around


    them continued to sway blissfully to the tune of music unaware of Liza''s thudding heart and Jonathan''s


    nervous gaze as they stood in front of each other for the first time after four years.

 Chapter 2: It Was Nice Seeing You

    Chapter 2: It Was Nice Seeing You


    Liza stood there speechless as Jonathan said the words. Her heart was racing at the speed of a mile


    per second and the loud thudding of her heart made it impossible for her to hear anything. Jonathan¡¯s


    lips stopped moving and she assumed that he had stopped speaking and was now waiting for her to


    say something but she stood there silent, words had left her the moment Jonathan had arrived.


    Jonathan¡¯s nervous gaze met her undecipherable eyes and both of them stood still, despite of the


    music ying in the background and the peopleughing and talking, all they could hear was pin drop


    silence. It could have been a few seconds or it could have been a few minutes , Jonathan and Liza


    were unaware of how much time had passed as they stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor, till a


    couple bumped into them.


    It was then they realized that they had been standing there on the dance floor unaware of the clock


    ticking way and people dancing around them. They apologized and quickly hurried off the dance floor.


    Liza leading the way. She had no idea how to react, so she just kept walking towards the beach without


    turning back to look if Jonathan was following her. What do you say to the man you had left without


    telling anything and who also happened to be the only man you had ever loved?


    Jonathan followed Liza quietly. He had given in to his urges of keeping Steve away from Liza without


    thinking of what Liza¡¯s reaction would be. She had written in the letter that she had forgiven him but


    would never acknowledge their rtionship again. He had no idea how she would react now .Would


    she greet him civilly or would she shout at him or she would tantly ignore him. He got his answer,


    when Liza came to a stop. They were on the beach at a little distance from the wedding. She turned to


    look at him and asked ¡°What the hell were you thinking Jonathan, appearing in front of me from thin


    air?¡± Now that he looked closer he could see that Liza looked different, she had an air of confidence


    around her, her hair were now longer, he could see the hazel highlights in her hair from up close. ¡°You


    look different¡± he said instead of answering her question. ¡®Of course I look different. It¡¯s been four years


    Jonathan.¡± Liza replied exasperated as Jonathan examined her.


    She was no longer the insecure , shy woman who had let him trample her, She wasn¡¯t intimidated by


    the fact that Jonathan stood there examining her with his piercing green eyes in fact she took the


    opportunity to check out Jonathan. He looked the same to her. His brown hair were still styled messily,


    his clean cut suit suited him well if anything he had gotten even more fit in the past four years and his


    strong jaw looked as smooth as ever. The only difference she noticed was in his eyes. They held a


    maturity that they did not hold when she had left him. He looked wiser but along with wisdom he also


    looked colder. The Jonathan she had left was warmer than this Jonathan, he had now turned into a


    ruthless businessman.


    She had heard the sess story of hispany. How it had risen in four years from a smallpany


    to now a multinationalpany. The media followed Jonathan and his every move. They had named


    him one of the most eligible bachelors: rich and handsome. Liza was thankful that whatever had


    transpired between them had been kept a secret. Four years ago, ¡®West industries¡¯ had been a small


    was interested in knowing what was happening in Jonathan¡¯s life and therefore their divorce had gone


    unnoticed. Everybody knew that Jonathan had a wife once but nobody knew who she was or what had


    actually gone down between two of them and Liza was thankful for that. Liza was brought out of her


    spections when she heard Jonathan grumble something under his breath. ¡®I am sorry, what did you


    say?¡± Liza asked. ¡°It has been Four years 3 months and 23 days since you left¡± Jonathan replied.


    Liza was shocked to hear his answer. ''Was Jonathan still hung up on their past ?'' she thought. Seeing


    Jonathan standing before her was giving her a weird feeling. It was as if, her past and present were


    intermingling at the horizon in form of Jonathan. She had tried to forget her past but she couldn''t


    because she had realized that good or bad every memory was worth keeping. She had thought that if


    she ever saw Jonathan again either she wouldn''t even acknowledge or she would say a few choice of


    words which would even put sailors to the shame but now she stood before him at beach, her heels


    digging in the soft sand , waves crashing into each other , without any words.


    The sun had now set, only a light pinkish orange glow remained in the sky to remind them of its


    presence They stared at the blue sea in front of them as froth like waves crashed into one another.


    There was another stretch of awkward silence, both of them stared straight ahead, sneaking nces at


    each other. ¡°I have been nning on signing a deal with Leslie, so when she invited me to her


    daughter¡¯s wedding I had toe¡± Jonathon said breaking the silence. ¡°Oh¡± Liza replied falling back


    into silence as each of them stood facing the sea. ¡°I need to go back to the wedding, Krista would be


    wondering where I am¡± Liza said breaking another stretch of awkward silence. ¡°You should probably


    head back then¡± Jonathan replied his voice low. ¡°Yeah, I should.¡± Liza said willing her feet to move as


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    her body resisted.


    She wanted to say so many things to him, things that she couldn''t say four years ago. She wanted to


    shout at him for ruining the beautiful fairy tale they had been living, for not trusting her enough, for not


    but at the same time she wanted to hug him. It was as if all the feelings she had buried down had


    slowly risen up, it was all very confusing, her thoughts were scattered and she knew that it was better


    to leave before she did or say something that would jeopardize the present she had created for herself.


    ¡°It was nice seeing you Jonathan¡± she said and she walked away from him, towards the wedding.

 Chapter 3: Let it go ?

    Chapter 3: Let it go ?


    Jonathan stood there as he watched her walk away again. He knew that he had to make a choice


    between letting her go like she had asked him to do in her letter or to go after the one woman he knew


    he would love forever. He didn''t know whether seeing her again had relieved him of some pain and


    longing or had made his longing for her more intense. He remembered the scene he had seen barely


    half an hour ago. It had felt so wrong to watch Liza slow dance with someone else, it should have been


    him and it would have been him, had he not messed up the most beautiful thing that had ever


    happened to him.


    Jonathan didn''t even know if Liza had found somebody new to rece him and as much as he wanted


    to, he couldn''t just waltz back in her life. But he also couldn''t let her go. He had promised himself that if


    they ever crossed paths again he wouldn''t let them go separate ways. His thoughts were confusing him


    to no end. On one hand there was a chance that Liza already loved someone else and going after her


    would only cause her pain but on the other hand there was also a possibility that they could rebuild


    their rtionship and have the life they had both once dreamed of.


    The only thing he was sure about was that he needed to have her in his life. He had been a machine


    forst four years, barely showing any emotions, meeting her again had brought him back to life,


    reviving all those buried feelings. He had been stupid when he had cheated on her and even more


    stupid when he had used her of the same but he wasn''t the same man now. He had grown and


    learned from his mistakes, if given a second chance he would never make them again. He checked his


    watch it was 7:00 Pm and he had a flight to catch, he had a choice to make. He could go back to New


    York and walk away from this fateful encounter or he could go back to the wedding and take a chance.


    He didn''t want to be cause of more tears for Liza but he also didn''t want to let go of her. He was stuck


    in a limbo. He had taken decisions which could make or break hispany without hesitation and yet


    here he was standing on the beach unable to decide whether to go after the love of his life or not. He


    took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. He saw Liza smiling on their wedding day, walking towards


    him in a beautiful white dress and he knew then and there that his decision had been already made. He


    took out the cell phone and texted Dave. ''Cancel my flight and wait for the instructions. '' This time he


    would stay and fight for her. This time he wouldn''t let her go and with this thought he made his way


    back to the wedding.


    Liza sighed in relief as she reached the wedding. Meeting Jonathan had been emotionally tiring. It had


    taken a lot of willpower to not turn back and p him for showing his face again. Liza had said that she


    had forgiven Jonathan in herst letter and she truly had but that didn''t mean that she was ready to


    face him again. Her mind was in a jumble and her emotions were all over the ce. She had somehow


    managed to keep their encounter short and professional. After had initial shock of meeting him had


    worn off, she had handled it pretty well. The only thing she prayed for now was not to meet him again.


    Alice hadn''t told her that Jonathan was attending this wedding or she would have nevere here but


    then again she should have known that Leslie would have called all the people who were on top of the


    business food chain.


    She gulped down her fourth ss of red wine as she sat down on one of the chairs near the bar. She


    had never been much of the drinker but tonight she would need as much liquid courage as she could


    get. Her eyes scoured the area looking for Jonathan and to her surprise she felt a little bit of


    disappointment seep into her, when she couldn''t find him. She shook her head as if to clear her mind


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    but it was already a little clouded by all the alcohol she had consumed. She got up from the seat but


    swayed a little as she saw the world before her tilt a little bit towards left and then a bit more towards


    right. She wondered if there was an earthquake and then suddenly everything started to spin making


    her loose her bnce. She closed her eyes ready to embrace the pain but it never came. Instead of


    smashing her face in the makeshift hardwood floor, she found her face buried in someone''s warm


    chest. She felt her body gox in the arms of the stranger and the only words she heard were "Found


    you." Before her vision went nk and she fell into a deep pit of drunken unconsciousness.

 Chapter 4: Knight in Shining Armour.

    Chapter 4: Knight in Shining Armour.


    Liza woke up in a heavily curtained room with sun rays peeking through the deep forest green curtains.


    Her head pounded and her heart raced as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. This was definitely


    not her room, she vaguely remembered drinking too much and prayed that she hadn''t done something


    stupid enough to get herself fired from her coveted position. She couldn''t believe that she had let


    herself get carried away at her boss''s daughter''s wedding.


    She had always been of proud of her ability to control her feelings but one chance encounter with


    Jonathan and all the control over her emotions flew out of the window. Frustrated with the suspense


    over the drama she may have causedst night, Liza decided to walk out of the room. She got up from


    the bed and hissed as her feet touched the cold marble floor. She silently opened the door and walked


    out of the room. Liza could hear someone in the living room and she made her way towards the noise


    in hopes of finding out where she was. Liza hoped that it was not some strange person or worse


    someone from her office.


    As she entered the somewhat warm drawing room her attention was immediately drawn to the dark


    haired man sitting on the chair. That shade of hair seemed familiar to her. It was nearly the same shade


    as Jonathan, Liza gasped at thought and prayed that it wasn''t Jonathan, anyone but Jonathan. Hearing


    her gasp the man turned around and Liza let out a breath of relief. "Hey, you are up?" he said more like


    a question. Liza couldn''t help but feel disappointed as she realized that it was not Jonathan but Steve.


    "Wow, you look pretty disappointed to see me. I have never seen that look on a woman''s face upon


    seeing me, most of them just go stare starry eyed at me." Steve said. Liza instantly felt annoyed at his


    arrogance. "Well, I am not most women" she said. "I know'' he simply replied with amusement dancing


    in his eyes. "Did-did you bring me here?" she asked hesitantly. "I wish it had been me then I could


    im to be your knight in shining armor and demand a kiss from you in return but sadly no it wasn''t me,


    some guy called Jonathan found you. He said that the waiter mixed up your drink and gave you alcohol


    by mistake instead of giving you juice. Since Krista and George had to leave for their honeymoon they


    decided to let you sleep at my house."


    Usually Liza would have squirmed ufortably at his remark of being her knight in shining armor and


    demanding a kiss but right now Liza had more pressing matters to think about like how Jonathan had


    found her. Liza was surprised that Jonathan had found her and yet hadn''t taken her back to his condo


    but had taken her to Krista instead. Had it been the old Jonathan he would have taken her back to his


    condo without even thinking for a second, maybe he had a girlfriend now or he had more important


    matters to attend to than looking after her. Who was she kidding? Of course she wouldn''t matter that


    much to him now and hadn''t she herself written in herst letter that she was leaving him forever and


    setting him free from her then why did she feel the twinge of disappointment in her stomach? It must be


    the hangover she concluded. It must be the hangover clouding her emotions bringing out emotions that


    weren''t even there in the first ce. "Can you get me an Advil, please? My head is killing me." she


    asked. "Yeah, of course just wait here" Steve replied.


    Liza sat down on the ck couch. Rubbing her temples with her fingers. Her head had started


    pounding viciously. "Here you go" Steve said as he handed a ss of water and Advil. Liza swallowed


    the tablet and rested her head back. "You can take a shower in my bathroom. Krista left some clothes


    for you" Steve said as he watched her take deep breaths. "No, it''s fine. I will just go home. "Liza said. "I


    will drive you then" Steve said and went to retrieve his car keys before she could protest. Liza felt


    embarrassed at herck of professionalism. Even though Steve was a friend of George and Krista he


    was still a client of thepany and she felt ashamed that he had to see her in this condition. "Come


    on let''s go" he said.


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    Liza followed Steve out of his house and into his car. She didn''t know the name of the car but she could


    guess that a car like this would have costed a fortune. Both of them sat silently in the car before Steve


    broke the silence by speaking "So...will you tell me your address or do you like my car so much that


    you are going to spend the entire day ring at its dashboard ?" "Oh, sorry. I am so sorry for wasting


    your time." Liza said as blood rushed to her cheeks. Steve chuckled "It''s alright. It''s not like I have


    something important to do. Come-on now tell me your address." Liza gave him directions to her house


    and before they knew Steve had parked his car right outside Liza''s building. Liza got out of the car and


    bent down to look at Steve through the window "Thank you so much for dropping me and letting me


    stay at your house and I am sorry for causing trouble" she said. "It''s fine. I am d I could help. I will


    see youter. Bye." Steve said as he turned his car around and drove off.


    Jonathan woke up in his luxurious bed in the high end condo. Yesterday had been interesting for him.


    He had met Liza at the ce he had least expected to meet her andter he had found her in state he


    had never expected to find her. Liza hated drinking because of her low tolerance but he knew that


    something pretty upsetting must have been happened if she drank so much wine. He remembered how


    close to falling Liza hade when he had found her. He was expecting to find her and talk to her,


    maybe try to have a civil and polite conversation with her but instead he had found her nearly


    unconscious and about to bang her head on the makeshift wooden floor. His first thought had been to


    bring her back to his condo but then he thought about angry Liza would be if she found herself waking


    up in his condo so he took her to Krista instead.


    Now that he thought about it he could have just asked Krista about her address and taken Liza back to


    her hose but he did not want to put Liza in spotlight. He knew how Liza was and knew that she would


    hate it if anybody saw her in drunken state. He was thinking about calling Krista and asking her about


    Liza when his phone rang. "Hello" he said "Mr. West, this is Leslie Santiago. I hope you are ready to


    sign the deal we had discussed earlier this morning." The woman on the other side of the phone spoke.


    "Definitely, as long as you agree to the conditions that I have mentioned." He said grinning. "We have


    decided to agree to your conditions. I am looking forward to signing this deal with you." Leslie spoke. "I


    am looking forward towards this deal to Mrs. Santiago. Believe me when I say that I am more eager


    than anybody else to sign this deal." Jonathan said as he ended the call. Jonathan grinned like a


    Cheshire cat. n to win Liza back was set in motion and he would not let anybody to stop him from


    wooing his ex-wife.

 Chapter 5: Arrangements

    Chapter 5: Arrangements


    Liza entered her apartment, taking in the pictures adorning the wall, the ck rug that Carson had


    brought for her when he had gone to Russia, the warm beige couches and instantly felt rxed. She


    had moved out from Carson''s and Mnie''s apartment after a year of getting job. They had never


    made her feel unweed but she knew that like every other couple they needed their own privacy


    and their own space. So she had moved out and had bought this apartment. It seemed to be perfect for


    her. It was a cozy two bedroom apartment. Liza had spentst three years making the apartment. Her


    apartment was now a symbol that she was independent, that she didn''t need to depend on anyone.


    She was proud of all of her achievements and making a home for herself in California was one of them.


    She took in a deep breath and let her shoulders rx. Her mind unwinding from the events of the


    previous day. She had expected a chaotic wedding, it was Krista''s wedding after all but she hadn''t


    expected to meet Jonathan and neither had she expected to get drunk enough to pass out. She closed


    the door behind her and started removing her dress. After changing into a long T-Shirt probably


    belonging to Alex, she lied down on the bed her face hitting the pillow and her body sinking into the soft


    mattress.


    She turned over so that she was on her back now andid there staring at the stars that Carson and


    Alex had helped her to stick on the ceiling. The Glow in dark stars were childish and she knew that but


    she didn''t mind the little bit of childishness in her life. She had spent too much time acting like a grown


    up, being mature about things, keeping quite when she should have thrown a tantrum or should have


    raised hell. The glow in dark stars reminded her that sometimes you have to demand things, you have


    to be stubborn and you have to keep your life simple and not overthink things just like a kid does.


    Liza realized now that maybe somethings that had gone down between her and Jonathan had been her


    fault as well. Had she been more trusting towards him, more open about her past, they would have


    been in a different ce. Maybe he would havee to her to discuss his problems, maybe he would


    have told her about the kiss with Stacy. Had she been more independent then she would not have


    depended on Jonathan like he was her lifeline. She would have found a way to survive.


    It was funny in a way, the love she had craved for all her life, had been given to her and then had been


    snatched away just as quickly. She had spent more than a year to make herself trust Jonathan, to


    remove the suspicion that was always there in the back of her mind and when she had finally gotten rid


    of it and was convinced that what she and Jonathan had would stay the same forever she had found


    out that nothing stays frozen in time, people change and their feelings change too.


    Maybe Jonathan had loved her when he imed to do so, four years back but she had realized that


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    she could never look at him in the same way., that whenever he would go to some trip leaving her


    behind she would always worry if he was recing her with someone else that night and she could not


    live with that agony for the rest of her life. So she left him. After four years she thought that she was


    finally over him but now after seeing him again even if it was only for a few minutes, all the feelings that


    had been buried had risen again.


    All the feelings of anger, stinging betrayal, and her love that had kept her from leaving him for so long


    had made a reappearance and now her mind was in chaos. She wanted to treat the encounter with


    indifference, just like she wished to treat Jonathan, like a stranger but she couldn''t do it. She


    remembered how her heart beat had increased when she had seen him and how her skin had


    suddenly be hot when he had held her hand even if it was just for a second.


    Her mind reyed every single moment of their encounter and she continued to think about what if''s in


    her life that she would never find answers too. It had been hours and Liza was still in her bed , her eyes


    wide open as she picked apart ever single moment , thinking what she could have done differently,,


    how she could have reacted differently, more professionally, till she realized what she had been doing .


    She was freaking out over a chance meeting. She was freaking out, worrying over Jonathan, one thing


    she had promised never to do again. She wanted to stop it but she found herself to be unable to do so.


    So, she decided that she was allowed to freak out over her encounter for one day, just for today.


    Tomorrow she would go back to the calm and collected Liza that she pretended to be in front of


    everyone.


    Jonathan grinned as he fixed his tie. He was finally signing the deal. Initially he had nned on


    refusing Leslie''s proposal but after seeing Liza he decided that it didn''t matter if the deal was risky or


    could cost him millions if he got a chance to get Liza back. He looked in the mirror and was startled to


    see a little sparkle in his eyes. It had been four years since he had gotten ex cited over anything and it


    was startling to see that just seeing Liza again could bring such a change in him. He walked out of his


    condo and into the softly lit hallway. He saw Leslie''s car parked outside as he walked to the front door


    of the building.


    He dimmed his smile as he walked towards the car, making it barely noticeable and his eyes lost their


    warmth as he put on hi business man mask. He had learned through his experience that it is best not to


    show emotions while conducting business. He had learned to keep his face in an expressionless like it


    was made of stone. It had been difficult at first but after Liza had left it became easier. It became


    natural to him and his face grew more and more expressionless, his hear grew colder little by little. He


    did not lose who he was but he simply learned to control himself and put on fa?ade of a ruthless


    businessman.


    The chauffeur opened the gate and revealed a grinning Leslie. Jonathan could tell that her smile wasn''t


    real. "It''s a pleasure to see you Mr. West" she said her smile dripping with insincerity. "Same here Ms.


    Santiago" Jonathan replied giving her a sharine smile of his own. Both of them knew that neither of


    them would hesitate to cut down another if it came to their own survival and this was what made any


    deal between them work. The car stopped outside a beautiful restaurant. "Let''s seal our deal while


    having a wonderful dinner shall we" Leslie said. "Of course Ms. Santiago". Soon they were seated at


    their table and the first course of their dinner had been served. "I am curious Mr. West, Why did you put


    the condition that Ms. Nestor will have to assist you in heading this branch and why choose this


    branch?." Leslie asked. "Not that any it''s any of your business Ms. Santiago but I will still answer your


    question. I believe that Ms. Nestor is extremely good at what she does and since this is my first venture


    in field of publishing." Jonathan answered tersely.


    He did not want anyone to especially Leslie to know about the history he shared with Liza and so he


    decided to be as terse about it as possible. "Of course it is my business Mr. West. Liza is my best


    employee." Leslie said and Jonathan realized that however shrewd business woman Leslie seemed to


    be, she definitely cared for Liza. "Don''t worry Ms. Santiago Ms. Nestor would be working under a good


    boss? Surely, you don''t doubt my skills, do you?" he replied shing her a charming smile. "I don''t


    doubt you skill Mr. west, in fact I am very much confident about your skills and this is what worries me


    the most" Leslie muttered.


    Liza woke up around seven in the evening. The sky outside was a mix of orange and blue giving it a


    unique glow. She had slept through the whole day and now her whole body was aching from stiffness.


    Liza cracked her neck as she made her way out of the room and into the kitchen. She poured a ss


    of ice cold water for herself and started deciding upon what she would make for dinner. Her stomach


    was growling with hunger, so she decided to skip the tedious process of making a proper dinner and


    simply ordered a Pizza. As she put down the phone after ordering Pizza, she realized that tomorrow


    she would have to go office.


    Usually she loved going to office, even if it was hectic and sometimes Leslie could be a pain but still


    she loved her Job and enjoyed doing it but today she just wished that she had one more day to rx,


    to not deal with the drama of daily life. she never realized that when she was groaning at the thought of


    the office, on the other end of the city there was Jonathan who had finally signed the deal and was


    softly smiling to himself, half listening to Leslie talk about all the great things theirpany''s would do


    together while thinking about the seeing the woman he loved again.

 Chapter 6: Meeting Him Again (1)

    Chapter 6: Meeting Him Again (1)


    Liza walked into the beige and gray colored high end office expecting it to be calm and silent as usual.


    She loved toe early to the office, not only because it gave her a head start but also because she


    enjoyed the calmness that the silence brought her. It allowed her to think and to enjoy being by herself.


    It was a sign of her independence and she loved it. It was not just a job for her but it was something


    that had enabled her to stand up for herself without depending on anybody and that''s why it was so


    special to her. Her cabin was her sanctuary where she could immerse herself in doing the work she


    loved. When she stepped into the usually silent office she was surprised to find it teeming with people.


    Everybody was rushing here and there.


    Some were cleaning the desks, some were arranging the files, she was about to ask what was


    happening when Nick, one of the helpers, came up to her and said ¨C"Miss Nestor. I have fixed the


    broken coffee machine and I have also cleaned the printing room, do you need me to do something


    else?" he asked and before Liza could give a reply to the frazzled boy and ask him about what was


    going on, he rushed off to someone else who called him to help in carrying a huge stack of files. Liza


    made her way to her cabin, dodging the people. She was very confused. She had never seen the staff


    like this. They were bustling here and there. Even the old coffee machine which that had remained


    unused forst two decades was cleaned and fixed.


    So, Liza picked up the phone and called Rachel. "Can you please exin what''s going on?" Liza asked


    as soon as she picked up the phone. "Hello to you too Liz" Rachel chuckled. Rachel was Liza''s


    secretary but both of them shared a very close friendship. Rachel with her long auburn hair and brown


    eyes had instantly clicked with Liza and both of them had bonded over the goodness of Cheese and


    Pepperoni Pizza. "It''s not a time for pleasantries Rach. What is going on? Everybody is running around


    like headless chicken. It''s a mess. "Liza asked exasperated. She loved her alone time in the office and


    not getting it was making her cranky. "We are getting a new boss." Rachel replied. "What ?" Liza almost


    shouted. She hadn''t expected this. "Do you mean that Leslie is resigning" Liza asked. "No, Liz. She is


    going to head the other branch. Our branch is being handed over to someone new." Rachel replied.


    "Oh" was all Liza said.


    Liza loved working under Leslie. When Liza had first taken the job, Leslie had been like a boss from


    hell, giving her humongous amount of work toplete in a tiny deadline, making her redo everything


    just because of a single mistake but soon she realized that Leslie cared for her. She was like a big


    sister to her if not a mother. She had seen Leslie sending Nick to get dinner for her on the nights when


    Liza had stayedte, forcefully sending her on a day off when she was not well. Leslie had given Liza


    opportunities to grow and Liza would forever be grateful to Leslie. And as sad Liza was to see Leslie go


    and be head of the other branch, she was d that Leslie was not resigning from her position


    altogether. "Liz you bettere out of that cabin of yours, Leslie and the new boss have just arrived"


    Rachel said and hung up.


    Liza sighed and got up. She wasn''t excited to meet the new boss but she knew that it was required of


    her to go and the greet him. So shezily walked out and stood at the back of the crowd, not bothering


    to try to catch a sight of the new boss, not that she could have seen the face of new boss even if she


    tried to. So after standing there for some minutes she turned around and went to her office. It was a


    few seconds after she entered her cabin when her phone started to ring. She picked it up and spoke


    "Hello", she spoke, her voice calm. "Ms. Nestor, pleasee to my office. I have something important


    to discuss." Leslie said "Yes mam. I will be right there" Liza replied and hurried over to Leslie''s office.


    Jonathan sat in the plush leather chair in Leslie''s office. He was getting anxious by every passing


    minute. "Ms. Nestor will be here any minute" Leslie said. Jonathan had been confident this morning


    when he had prepared himself for the day ahead, excited even. But as the moment to face Liza was


    approaching he was bing more and more nervous. He had nned it out clearly but now he


    began to consider that maybe it was a bad idea, maybe he should have left Liza alone before he could


    think anymore the door of Leslie''s Cabin opened and he heard Liza''s voice ask "May Ie in Mam?"


    Leslie nodded and said "Yes, pleasee in Ms. Nestor". Jonathan saw as Liza hesitantly stepped


    inside. She was dressed in a deep blue shirt which clung to her figure and a ck pencil skirt with


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    ck heels. Liza''s hair were in a tight bun and her lips were painted deep maroon. Jonathan literally


    lost his breath looking at her. Liza hadn''t noticed him yet and he didn''t even want to imagine what her


    reaction would be. "Ms. Nestor I would like to introduce you to your new boss Mr. West" Leslie


    said.

 Chapter 7: Meeting Him Again (2)

    Chapter 7: Meeting Him Again (2)


    Liza''s eyes widened as Leslie said "Mr. West" she hoped that it was someone else but even she knew


    that it was highly unlikely. She peered around Leslie only toe face to face with Jonathan. He was


    dressed in a gray formal suit with a ck shirt under it and a silver tie. She recognized that tie as the


    one which she had gifted him on their first anniversary and fury zed in her veins. She got over her


    shock and put on her mask. "Nice to meet you Mr. West" Liza said forcing a polite smile on her face


    when her thoughts were far from anything polite. Jonathan nodded his face set in an n equally


    emotionless mask. "You will be assisting Mr. West in all the meetings and help him to get a grip of the


    publishing business" Leslie said drawing Liza''s attention to her.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Liza knew that she would be having hard time to maintain her professional fa?ade and spending extra


    time with Jonathan was not on her to do list, so with a sugary sweetness she spoke "I am sure Mr.


    West is a very capable businessman Mam, I don''t think he will be needing my help" "But I am new to


    this business and I would be really grateful if you could help me" Jonathan cut in before Leslie could


    answer Liza. He wore a smile on his face, the one which Liza wished she could punch off. "Yes, Liza


    and I am sure you will learn something new to" Leslie said, her tone daring her to refuse. "As you say


    mam." Liza replied, looking straight at Leslie. She wasn''t someone to go down without a fight, however


    she knew that fighting was futile in this situation. SO punctuated her affirmation with a nod and got out


    of the cabin as soon as she could.


    Liza had never hated Jonathan more than she did now. She was shaking with anger by the time she


    reached her office and mmed the gate shut, scaring the shit out of Rachel. She sat down on her


    chair and buried her face in her hands. She hated that Jonathan had somehow ended back in her life


    and now whether she wanted or not she would have to interact with him. Her emotions were in a


    jumble, she wanted to cry for her fate, she wanted tough at life''s joke, she wanted to smash things


    and scream at fates for doing this to her but she did neither of the things instead she took deep breaths


    and started working on the manuscripts checking each of them thoroughly in hope of distracting herself


    away from all the feelings building inside her. She was determined not to let Jonathan affect her


    anymore and by the end of the day she was sure that she could face Jonathan again.


    Liza sighed and got up from the char. Her neck was stiff from working all the day, she cracked her neck


    and looked at the clock on her table. It showed 10:00 pm. Liza peered outside from her window''s cabin


    only to find out that everybody had left. Rachel had messaged her an hour before that she was leaving.


    Liza closed the blinds of the ss window and walked over to her table. She sent thest of the emails


    and switched off theptop, sliding it into her leather bag she left the cabin.


    Dim golden lights were lighting up the office, Liza looked around enjoying the peace the silence brought


    while waiting for the elevator, the silver gates of the elevator opened up and Liza walked into it not


    bothering to see if anybody else was with her. She reached out to press the button for ground floor only


    to find it glowing red indicating that somebody had already pressed it. She turned around to see who it


    was only to meet green eyes. Jonathan was once again standing in front of her. "Hey Liza" he said.


    Liza didn''t respond instead she turned back and began ring at the elevator doors. Sure, she had


    prepared herself for facing Jonathan everyday but that didn''t mean that she wanted to be stuck with


    him in an elevator. Her heart beat faster and light sheen of sweat began forming on her forehead.


    Suddenly the elevator felt ustrophobic and from this alone Liza knew that her life was going to be


    difficult from this point forward.

 Chapter 8: Meeting Him Again (3)

    Chapter 8: Meeting Him Again (3)


    Why now? Was the only question running through Liza''s mind. She had sessfully avoided Jonathan


    throughout the day but just when the day was about to end and she was finally going to be out of


    reach, she ended being trapped in an elevator with Jonathan. How cliche, Liza thought to herself, the


    ex-wife being trapped in an elevator with the an who broke her heart and is also her boss now. It was a


    scene that she had read in countless manuscript and an event she wanted to avoid at all costs. She


    wasn''t running away from him, she just didn''t have energy to deal with him right now. The elevator ride


    that only took few minutes seemed to be taking hours. None of them broke the silence. "Liza..."


    Jonathan started but Liza stopped him before he could continue. "Don''t talk to me unless it is rted to


    office, don''t even look at me unless you need me to do something rted to work" she said in a calm


    and cool voice. Jonathan couldn''t help but flinch back as the coldness of Liza''s voice sliced through


    him. As if on cue the elevator doors opened and Liza stepped out leaving, Jonathan behind.


    Jonathan stood inside the elevator for a few seconds before noticing that the elevator doors were


    beginning to close. "Shit, Shit Shit "he nearly shouted as he hit the button to open the doors and quickly


    stepped out to follow Liza. He saw Liza going towards a grey beetle. "Didn''t you say that you had


    forgiven me? Have you truly forgiven me Liza or do you still hate me for what I did to you?" Jonathan


    shouted making Liza stop in her tracks. Liza had been controlling her anger all day. Even in the


    elevator she had somehow managed to maintain her cool but now Jonathan had crossed a line. How


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    dare he bring that up now thought Liza as her temper red up. She turned around to face Jonathan


    and Jonathan once again had to catch himself before flinching back at the fury he had seen in her


    eyes.


    A few moments earlier Liza had been colder than the ice queen and he had not flinched back because


    of the coldness but he had flinched back because he had realized the extent of damage he had done to


    their rtionship. He could handle an angry Liza but not a cold Liza who remained emotionless when it


    came to him. But now on seeing Liza''s anger he realized that he didn''t want just any reaction from her,


    his words could be damaging what was left of their rtionship even more but before he could


    apologize to her, Liza had marched up to him and had pped right across his face. Jonathan touched


    his throbbing cheek, still stunned at the pace at which everything had gone down. One moment she


    was standing few meters away from him and the next she had pped him across his cheek and was


    breathing heavily not even an arm''s length away from him. The funny thing was that despite his


    throbbing cheek, all he wanted to do was to take Liza in his arms and hold her before she once again


    became out of reach. She had avoided him all day, she asked her secretary to act as an messenger


    between them,municating with him only through her. It had driven Jonathan crazy but now that she


    was cso close, he just wanted to hold her, even if her face was an angry red colour probably matching


    the colour of his cheek.


    Liza had no idea what had possessed her to hit him but in that moment she had lost her temper. She


    hated that he had brought up the past now. She was already having a hard time dealing with the fact


    that she had to endure his presence every day and when Jonathan brought up their past she snapped.


    Liza continued to breathe heavily in and out trying to control her anger while Jonathan simply stood in


    front of her holding his throbbing cheek and disbelief clear on his face. The white lights of the parking


    lot flickered around them as if sensing the tension in the air. After a few tense moments Liza spoke


    "Don''t even dare to talk to me about it. You have no idea what you did to me. You destroyed my trust.


    You were the first man I hadpletely trusted and give myself too and what did you do? You cheated


    on me and the worst part is that even after you cheated on me, you had the nerve to say that you still


    loved me. Maybe what you did was a mistake and maybe what you did was a result of weak


    foundations of our rtionship but it still doesn''t change''s the fact that you cheated and when you saw


    me hugging someone or saw someone kiss my forehead you didn''t stop to think that maybe it was a


    brotherly gesture, that maybe he is an old friend of Liza''s, no you just jumped at the idea of me being


    the cheater, of somehow ming our failed rtionship on me. I- " Liza broke off , her eyes zing


    over with tears.


    She quickly wiped them with her sleeve and continued "I stayed with you even when I knew that you


    were cheating, thinking that you wille back to me but you, you didn''t stop for a moment before


    throwing divorce papers on my face and kicking me out of the house. You say that I have trust issues


    that I would have freaked out if you had told me about your kiss with Stacey but it isn''t me who has


    problems, it is you. And even though I have forgiven you for being a cheating ass and or destroying the


    one good thing in our life, I will never ept you back. Not even as a friend." She said. Liza''s face was


    flushed with anger, her voice rising with every word she said, her fists clenching harder and with every


    word she spoke Jonathan broke more and more.


    Jonathan crashed Liza to him, as he mumbled "I am sorry, I am so sorry" in her hair. All the memories


    came rushing back to him. They weren''t the memories that he wanted to remember but nheless


    they had etched themselves in his mind. Every beautiful memory he had with Liza was now


    permanently tainted by his betrayal. Liza was rigid in his arms, she was holding her breath not moving


    at all. She was startled at his sudden reaction. She let him hold her for a few moments as he mumbled


    something in her hair and then pushed back, breaking herself free from his arms. Liza''s fury receded


    and her frosty demeanor took over. Once again before Jonathan could say anything she said in an


    unfeeling voice "I hope you understand that I don''t want to talk about anything that is rted to our


    past. I don''t want to be rted to you in any way, please keep to yourself. You have caused me enough


    pain tost for a life time, don''t interfere with my life again."


    "How can I not want anything to do with you Liza? I loved you then and I love you now and I will be


    damned before I stop loving you. I will show you I am different. I will find a way to earn your trust back


    and I will find a way to make a ce for me in your heart" Jonathan said steadily being careful of not


    showing any reaction to her detached formal voice. "You won''t seed Jonathan because my life is


    already full of people who love me. There is no ce for you I have made a happy and warm life for


    myself and I won''t let you destroy this. I have worked hard to pick myself up and Jonathan this time my


    walls are stronger than they were back then. You won''t be able to break them, in fact no one can. I was


    na?ve, I believed in you but not this time around so don''t waste your time on me and find someone


    else." Liza said before turning around and getting into her car.


    "I will break down your walls Liza and I will be the reason behind your smile again. I can''t find


    someone else because you are it for me. I won''t let you go, I will fight for you" Jonathan said marching


    over to Liza''s car and stopping her from closing the door. "There is nothing left to fight for Jonathan"


    was all Liza said her voice slightly cracking before she closed the door and drove off.


    The day hadn''t gone as Jonathan had nned. He had prepared himself for Liza''s reactions and her


    harsh words but witnessing them and hearing them was an entirely different thing. He had cause


    greater damage than he thought he had and somehow he knew that what he was feeling was only a


    scratch of what he had put Liza through but now it was time to fix everything back together, fix Liza


    back together. He could see that she had changed and was not the same woman who had left him, she


    had grown stronger and he was proud of how she held herself, how she stood her ground. Liza built


    stronger walls around he, she had put distances greater than the sea in between them but he would


    somehow cross them, he would prove it to Liza he was worthy of her again.

 Chapter 9: The Meeting (1)

    Chapter 9: The Meeting (1)


    There was hustle and bustle around the office. The normally sluggish morning hours were teeming with


    life again. There was a lot of excitement in the people to see their new boss. Yesterday they had


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    merely gotten a glimpse of Mr. West but from today he was to start working officially. Every person had


    their filespleted, checked and arranged, ready to be presented at any moment they were required


    to. The women in the office had seen Jonathan West on magazine covers, he was one of the most


    sessful businessmen in America, and they gushed on about how handsome and brilliant he was


    and how great it would be to work with him.


    Liza smoothed down her ck pencil skirt and rubbed her temples, wishing that all of them would stop


    talking for at least a moment. She had barely gotten sleep the previous night and all the caffeine she


    had taken hadn''t kicked in her system yet. She sighed as she took in her reflection in the little ornate


    mirror that she had kept in one of the drawers of her table. She had applied a little bit of makeup but it


    had failed to hide the tiredness in her eyes. You could see small light purple eye bags under her eyes


    and her skin looked a little too much paler than it actually was. She sucked in her breath and gave


    herself a mental pep talk as she readied herself for the day toe.


    The clock struck nine and at that exact moment the elevator opened to reveal Jonathan along with a


    grinning Leslie. All the employees surrounded him as Leslie excused herself to go to her former office


    and collect a few things. Some of them were congratting him, some were telling him how great it


    would be to work with him and some were buttering him up to save themselves from being fired and


    maybe for getting promotions. In all this mayhem, Jonathan''s eyes searched for the only person that


    mattered to him. He longed to see her in the morning, maybe apologize to her again or maybe tell her


    to try and at least be friends with him. But unfortunately he couldn''t find her.


    Meanwhile Liza had already seen Leslie making her way to her office and she thought that maybe it


    was the only chance she would get to get out of this painful position. So she made her way to Leslie''s


    office and knocked on it. Leslie opened the door with a smile "Come in dear" she said. Liza entered the


    room, unsure of how to put forward her request, so she blurted out "Please don''t make me work with


    Mr. West". Leslie was shocked. She knew that women would die to work alongside Jonathan West not


    only because of his charm but also because of his brilliance and here in front of her stood Liza,


    pleading her not to make her work with him. "Why not?" Leslie asked. "I just don''t think that I am right


    person to show him how publishing business is done, I mean that he is a brilliant businessman and


    even if he is new to this sector, he will get hold of the ropes in a few days." Liza said. "I trust that he is a


    brilliant businessman but it would be better if you were there to help him and as important employ as


    you are Liza I suggest that you don''t question my decisions" Leslie said putting an end to the


    conversation.


    At that precise moment there was a knock on the door "Come in please" Leslie said and in walked


    Jonathan. He was wearing Charcoal gray Suit and pant with a smoke blue colored shirt, his eyes that


    were a dull green a moment ago brightened when he saw Liza standing there with Leslie. "Is there any


    problem?" Jonathan asked taking in the expression on the face of Liza but before she could say


    something Leslie jumped in and said "Of course not, Ms. Nestor was just telling me how excited she


    was to work with you. Weren''t you Ms. Nestor?" Leslie asked daring Liza to answer in negative. Liza


    gritted her teeth and said "Yes mam, now if you would excuse me, I have some work to do". With this


    Liza walked out.


    It was nearly lunch time and Liza had finished editing almost half of the manuscript within four hours,


    when her phone rang "Liza Mr. West wants to see you in his office" came the voice of her young


    assistant as she put the phone on speaker, still editing the document on herptop. "Did he say


    anything rted to why he wanted to see me?" she asked, "No, he just wants you there in five minutes"


    her assistant Mary, answered back. "okay" with this Liza got up adjusted her grey shirt whose neckline


    had be a bit too low for her liking and then continued on her way to Jonathan'' office.

 Chapter 10: The Meeting (2)

    Chapter 10: The Meeting (2)


    Liza knocked on the door and entered in the office after hearing a mufflede in. "Why did you want


    to see me sir?" she said as coldly as she could. "I have a meeting today with Adam Smith, I want you


    toe with me to the meeting?" he said. Liza wondered if there was really a meeting or he was just


    making it up before she could even bring the question up, he beat her too it and said "there really is a


    meeting and I am not making it up, just in case you are wondering" he said making Liza flustered. "I-I


    was definitely not thinking that" "Yeah? Okay" Jonathan said but by the smirk on his face Liza could tell


    that he totally knew what she was thinking "Cocky Jerk" Liza muttered under her breath. "Sorry, did you


    say something" Jonathan asked her, hearing what she had said. Liza put on her sweetest sharine


    smile and said "No sir. At what time do we need to leave?" "Right now" he said and got up.


    Liza followed Jonathan out and stopped at her car "I will drive down to the restaurant on my own" she


    said. "Don''t be ridiculous, why do you want to waste gas?" he said. "Oh, so that''s why you want to drive


    with me, to save gas?" Liza asked. "No, but it is one of the reasons" Jonathan smirked and opened the


    passenger door of the car parked adjacent to Liza. Liza stood there not wanting to get in the car but at


    almost fifteen minutes of riving they stood outside a ssy restaurant. Jonathan walked to the


    reception "I have a table reserved under the name of Jonathan West" he told the young girl who was


    standing at the desk. "Yes sir, if you will pleasee this way" she said fluttering her eyshes and


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    behaving like this in Jonathan''s presence and was not least affected by it. She followed them to the


    table where their client was waiting.


    A man in histe fifties, dressed in a ck suit, stood up. He had peppered hair and ck spectacles


    which somehow suited his slightly crooked face. "Nice to you meet you Mr. West" he said shaking


    hands with Jonathan "The pleasure is mine Mr. Smith" Jonathan replied. "And who is this lovelydy?"


    he asked "This is Liza my Wi- , sorry this is Ms. Nestor, chief editor of ourpany" Jonathan


    introduced her ,catching himself before he blurted out that she was wife. Liza red at Jonathan and


    then turned to give her best smile to the man in front of her. Adam Smith was one of the most influential


    writers and had been working with thepany for more than ten years, now that the term of his


    contract was over he wanted to negotiate the new terms of his contract. They settled down and started


    discussing the terms of renewal.


    Jonathan watched as Liza expertly negotiated with Adam Smith, her hands moving in wild gestures as


    she discussed his uing book and his writing style. Her dress up was in but she didn''t look in


    at all. Her eyes were bright as she talked about one of her favorite poets, he could see that she was


    truly passionate about literature. His mind went back tost night as he remembered how cold Liza''s


    eyes had been. He had known that she would be different from what she was before but he hadn''t


    expected such drastic change, but then again her ice demeanor seemed to melt as she talked to the


    man in front of him. He had hoped to find that maybe Liza had missed him even if it was a little but he


    should have known that he was nothing but a nightmare to her and no one wants to remember a


    nightmare.


    Liza''s spine stiffened as she felt Jonathan looking at her but she continued to talk animatedly with


    Adam. She hated that she would have to work with Jonathan but then she didn''t hate Jonathan enough


    to leave the job she had worked so hard for. So she sucked it up and epted Leslie''s decisions but


    there was a lingering doubt in her mind that maybe she didn''t put up enough fight. She knew that


    humans were fickle by nature, they could be thinking about a thing one moment and would do the


    opposite of the same thing next moment but she always held a stable mind and dealt with every


    decision she had taken, she was determined to show Jonathan that he didn''t affect her anymore and


    she was set to seed in her mission, because she knew that she wouldn''t fall again for the same


    Jonathan , but then she forgot that if she had changed so had Jonathan and this Jonathan wanted to


    never lose her again.

 Chapter 11 : Family

    Chapter 11 : Family


    Liza paced back and forth in her office. She could see Jonathan working on some files and was sure


    that if she left now, she won''t have to face Jonathan. Initially her office had been at the opposite end,


    however, on insistence of Leslie she had to shift her office in the room next to Jonathan. Their office


    was now divided only by a ss wall and some flimsy blinds. Liza had tried to avoid Jonathan everyday


    but somehow she always ended up talking to him at least once, whether it was due to some client or


    due to some other editorial work. She was getting tired of this game of cat and mouse. She had been


    worrying over Jonathan ever since he came to the office and had barely spent any time with Carson


    and Melissa. Hell, she had even forgotten that Alex would be returning tomorrow from Paris.


    She cursed herself silently as she saw Jonathan catching her in the act of watching him. Her cheeks


    blushed red as he smiled at her and got back to his work. Her body had yet to learn not to respond to


    Jonathan''s actions. However unlike before her heart didn''t skip a beat and her mind didn''t fumble on


    being caught. It wasn''t the shyness which triggered the blush but the embarrassment of being caught


    doing something which she shouldn''t have done. She had been unable to understand her resolve to


    avoid Jonathan instead of facing him. Hadn''t she sworn that she would never change or let her life


    revolve around Jonathan or any man again? Then why was she trying so hard to avoid him?


    Jonathan could see Liza pacing in her office. She had a frown on her face and he badly wanted to


    remove that frown. However he stayed put. He had thought that once he got her to shift in the office


    next to him, it wouldn''t be so difficult to talk to her, but he couldn''t have been more wrong. Somehow


    Liza had always managed to avoid him. Most of the paper work was now sent to his office via Liza''s


    assistant Francine. Francine was Liza''s second assistant and unfortunately was very different from


    Rachel, Liza''s personal secretary. While Rachel was professional, Francine had behaved anything but


    professionally with him. He was here to show Liza that he had changed and Francine was making it


    difficult by constantly trying to flirt with him. He was afraid that Liza might get the wrong Idea and he


    never wanted to do that. He remembered thest four years he had spent without Liza and shuddered


    at the memory. He thought back to the day he had met Liza at Krista''s wedding and how his world had


    instantly brightened up.


    Liza always had that effect on him. Even when they were in college and Alice had introduced her for


    the first time. He had been drawn in by her aura. He remembered how broken he had felt when he had


    finally realized that Liza was never going toe back. He had cried for hours, he had neglected his


    broken out from his shell. Initial reaction of Grace, his mother, was to p him. He knew that his


    parents adored Liza and he knew that they would be disappointed in him. Somehow Alice had gotten in


    contact with their parents and had informed them about the split. Grace and George had flown down


    from Mexico to New York in an instant. After the p Grace had realized the position Jonathan was in


    and had hugged him. Grace was aware that Jonathan loved Liza but she also knew that what Jonathan


    had done was wrong.


    Slowly Grace had brought her son back from his shell. Since that time Jonathan had thrown himself in


    his work. Barely thinking about anything else and barely feeling anything else. The only time he smiled


    or cried was when he read the letters written by Liza. He hated himself every single day. He was aware


    that Alice was still in contact with Liza but he restrained himself from asking anything about her. He


    knew that he had to let her go, that he had caused her enough pain so he sat quietly and endured the


    torture of not knowing anything about her. He had taken Liza for granted and it was only now when he


    had lost her did he realize what a luxury having her love had been.


    Jonathan snapped out from his reminiscence and looked at the clock. It was 9 pm already and almost


    everyone had left. He peered into Liza''s office and was disappointed to find her gone. It was Friday and


    he wondered if she had any ns tonight, maybe a date with a guy who didn''t cheat on her. He shook


    his head. He couldn''t afford to think that way, especially not if he hoped to win her love back.


    Liza knocked on the dark wooden door of Carson''s apartment and waited for him or Melissa to open


    the door. She knocked on the door again, this time a little louder. She was getting impatient and was


    about to knock again when the door was opened by a panting Melissa. "I am sorry" she panted "I was


    in the middle of something". Liza took in her disheveled state. Her hair were open and messy, her top


    was a bit askew, she could see sweat on her forehead. Liza rolled her eyes and entered in the


    apartment. "Has he been acting up again?" she asked. "Yeah" Melissa replied "He is getting worse by


    each day" Liza was about to say something when someone jumped and hugged her waist. She looked


    down to see Keith hugging her.


    "Hello Aunt Liza" he spoke in his small childish voice. Liza bent down and ruffled his blonde hair. "Hey


    Keith". Melissa and Carson had adopted Keith two years back. He had straight blond hair and greenest


    eyes. He was the most adorable kid Liza had ever seen. ''''Were you harassing mommy again, Keith?"


    Liza asked in a mock stern voice. "No auntie, I promise." Keith said with an adorable frown and Liza


    fought hard to contain her smile that was threatening to spill. "Are you sure about it Keith?" She asked


    again, picking up Keith and cing him on her hip. "Yes auntie, it was mommy who was harassing me"


    Keith replied innocently. Liza finally let go of herughter, while Melissa shook her head. "Come on


    now, eat up Keith" Melissa urged Keith. Keith got down from Liza''s hold and ran to Melissa, hoping to


    please his mommy. "Where is Carson?" Liza asked Melissa as she fed a spoonful of oat meal to Keith.


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    "Oh, he is still sleeping.


    Liza rolled her eyes and wen to wake him up, grumbling about him being man child. "Hey you oaf" Liza


    said shaking Carson. Carson opened his eyes and sat up. "Oye, I am a perfectly well formed human"


    he protested. "No you are half gori" Liza stuck out her tongue. Carson suddenly tackled Liza and


    began tickling her. "How is that for a half gori, huh?" he teased while tickling. While Liza started


    Screaming and Laughing at the top of her longs "No... No... Please stop. I will take it back, I will take it


    back" she panted in between herughs. At this Carson stopped tickling and caught his breath. They


    looked up to see Melissa and Keith standing in the doorway enjoying the show. Melissa was smiling at


    the siblings while Keith was cheering for Liza. Liza smiled at the sight and realized that this was how


    she wanted to live. Jonathan''s return had caused her to once again focus on him even though it was


    not in the way it had been back then. Maybe it was because she was afraid that he will try to win her


    back and she would give in. So she decided, to stop avoiding him and face him head on. To prove that


    she really had no ce in her heart and her life for him. To prove that she had grown stronger and had


    finally became the person she wanted to be.''

 Chapter 12: Alex

    Chapter 12: Alex


    Liza woke up feeling fresh for first time in thest few days. Maybe it was her resolve not to avoid


    Jonathan anymore or it was meeting her family after a long time, but whatever it was, it had rxed her


    enough to allow her to get some sleep. She stretchedzily and got up from the bed. After brewing


    some coffee, she started getting ready for the office. She was actually looking forward to going to office


    and was surprised as she found herself humming a tune. She picked out a dark blue blouse with a grey


    pencil skirt and zer and went to shower. After showering, she put on her clothes and was ready to


    head to the office.


    She was the first one toe to the office as usual, so she walked into the empty office and unlocked


    her cabin. Sitting down, she sorted out her work for the day and took a sip of the coffee that she had


    carried from her house in a tumbler. She loved the taste of dark roasted coffee. She began reading the


    most recent manuscript while drinking her coffee and before she knew, an hour had already passed


    and now the silent building was full of employees. Liza sighed with content as she looked through the


    portion of manuscript she had just read and corrected and continued her work.


    It must have nearly lunch time when Rachel knocked on her door. "Yes,e in" Liza said without


    even bothering to look up. "Um... Liz there is some guy outside waiting to see you" Rachel said. "Some


    guy is waiting for me?" Liza asked confused. "Yeah ... Now please go and save him before Francine


    scares the shit out of him" Rachel said. "Alright, let''s go" Liza said and got u. As soon as Liza reached


    the reception area she was drawn into a bear hug. "God!! I missed you so much Liz." Alex said as Liza


    struggled to make him let her go. "Put me down Alex. I am at my work ce" she whisper yelled. After


    some more struggle Alex finally put her down. "You are seeing me after 6 months and no I missed you


    for me?" he pouted. Lizaughed "Of course I missed you. How have you been? Did something


    exciting happened?" Liza shot out. Her eyes widened as she saw Alex''s cheeks turn pink. "It


    happened, didn''t it?" Liza said pointing a finger at him. Her eyes were wide with excitement. Alex rolled


    his eyes at her childishness. "Come-on, let''s go to lunch I will tell you all about it" Alex said tucking Liza


    under his right arm as they made their way to the cafeteria.


    Jonathan had juste back from a meeting and was going to his office when he saw Liza. She was


    looking beautiful in a dark blue silk blouse. A smile spread on his face when he saw Lizaughing,


    however his smile disappeared once he saw the person standing next to Liza. One look at the guy and


    Jonathan was transported back to the night on which Jonathan had given Liza the letter, urging her to


    give him onest chance. That guy tucked Liza under his arm, holding her closely. Lizaughed at


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    something he said and he ruffled her hair. Pit of jealousy bubbled in Jonathan''s stomach. He wanted to


    go and punch the guy for touching his Liza. But he restrained himself because he had no right on Liza


    and Liza wasn''t his anymore. So he let himself be tortured as he watched them leave.


    "So what happened in Paris?" Liza asked eager to know about the person who had caused a blush to


    spread on Alex''s cheeks. "Well, I kind of met someone and I really like her" he said rubbing his neck.


    "Really? Who is she?" Liza asked, curious to know about this girl. "She is a wonderful girl but I don''t


    know her name because she never gave me one" he replied. "What!! How can you not know her


    name? What is she like? Is she pretty? Of course she is pretty. Is she your girlfriend?" Liza began


    shooting questions at Alex. "Rx Liz, take a breath. I met her at a restaurant and we started


    discussing food. Then somehow the topics got more personal. She is so fascinating Liz, that I can''t


    even begin to describe her. I have never been a believer of Love at first sight but Liz I think I am in love


    her. I can''t get her out of my head" Alex said with a dreamy look in his eyes but then his eyes turned


    sad "I don''t even have her name or number. How am I supposed to meet her again?" he said, the


    happiness and the dreamy look gone and reced by sadness. "Don''t worry Alex. You will find her.


    Fate has weird ways of bringing things we lose back to us" Liza said hoping tofort Alex. Alex had


    gone through a lot in his life and she hoped and prayed that he got whatever or whoever he wanted.


    Alice smiled at pink paper napkin in her hand. It was a doodle of Mickey Mouse. There was nothing


    special about the doodle but what made that pink paper napkin special was the person who had drawn


    the doodle. Alice smiled looking at the napkin once again as she kept it in the box as butterflies erupted


    in her stomach. She had never been so smitten with a guy. She loved the way he talked about small


    things or the way he made her smile. Nobody had done that for her in a long time. Hoping to meet that


    handsome stranger again at her restaurant, sheid down on her bed. She had never believed in fairy-


    tales or happily ever after''s especially after what Jonathan had done to Liza but maybe just maybe


    there was a possibility that there might one of those happily after''s out there for her.

 Chapter 13: Civilized

    Chapter 13: Civilized


    Jonathan was trying to read through the report but was failing miserably. He read through the words but


    his mind failed to register them, all he could think of was about Liza and the she guy she went out with.


    It was frustrating and disappointing at the same time. It had already been a month and he had failed to


    hold a civilized conversation with Liza, how was he supposed to make her fall in love with him if he


    couldn''t even get her to talk to him. He peered into the adjacent empty office. Liza had forgotten to


    close the blinds in her hurry, so instead of the usual pale pink and beige blinds, the ss wall was


    transparent providing Jonathan with a view of her office. Liza''sptop was closed, some manuscripts


    that Liza had read were scattered around it, Liza''s coat hung on the back of the chair and a coffee cup


    from valentine''s sat on the table. Jonathan felt like a creep for spying into Liza''s office but he couldn''t


    help himself it was the only way he could get some clue about Liza. He saw books lined up in the


    shelves, some old and some new.


    He was about to look away when he saw Liza enter. Her hair were now open and she was smiling to


    herself. He wanted to be the reason of her smile but he knew that it was there because of the other


    guy. Liza shook her hair a little bit and then fished out a clutcher from her hand bag and tied them into a


    messy bun, allowing Jonathan a view of her slender neck. He hadn''t had the opportunity of seeing a


    smiling Liza forst four years and now that he had one, he hadn''t imagined that it would be with a wall


    in between them and because of someone else. Suddenly his green eyes met her hazel eyes and he


    immediately looked away. He didn''t want to see her cold stare again. Every time he saw that cold look


    in her eyes painshed out in his entire being, whipping him and punishing him for all the sins he


    Liza was surprised when Jonathan looked away from her. She hadn''t expected it, in fact she realized


    that she had gotten so used to receiving little smiles from Jonathan that she had actually felt a little bit


    disappointed when he looked away. She sighed at her own stupidity and went up to the blinds and


    closed them. She sat down on the chair and once again began reading her work. It had been barely an


    hour when Rachel called her telling her that Jonathan required to talk to her about some deal. Liza got


    up and threw her jacket on. She walked to Jonathan''s office and knocked on the door. She wanted to


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    walk away, to not talk to him again but then she remembered how she had resolved to face him, so she


    stood patiently waiting him to reply. "Come in please" she heard Jonathan''s voice call out.Smooth and


    deep as always. She entered the office. "Take a seat please" Jonathan said. "So what did you want to


    talk about ?" she said keeping her tone steady, not giving away any emotion. Jonathan was taken


    aback for a moment. "Uh- h do you remember the lunch meeting we had with our clientst tost


    Monday?" he asked. Liza nodded. "Well he agreed to the deal and has invited us to some sort of


    celebratory ball. Here is the invitation card." He said handing over the elegant cream colored card to


    her. "Okay. Is that all?" Liza inquired. "Yeah" Liza nodded once more and got up to leave. Just as she


    was about to exit the door she turned and said with a slight smile "Oh , Congrattions on your first


    deal Jonathan" with that she turned and left the office, leaving an astonished Jonathan in her wake.


    Liza walked out of the door, silently congratting herself at keeping her resolve. After her realization


    that she was no longer bound to Jonathan, that he no longer had any affect on her life, seeing him had


    be easier. It was like meeting a person from past who had mattered at one point of time but had


    no relevance now. Liza shook her head. Ofcourse, Jonathan still had some relevance but atleast not in


    the way he once used to. She had broken free of him, the minute she had boarded the ne and by


    treating him like she would treat any other colleague she wasn''t falling back for him instead it was the


    opposite, now that she had determined her rtionship with Jonathan, she could easily keep him at an


    arm''s length. With these thoughts in mind, Liza started reading yet another manuscript to be published.


    Jonathan sat wide eyed on his chair. He couldn''t believe Liza had smiled at him, even if it was a faint


    smile, it was something which he had never expected to happen. He wanted to jump up and down, he


    wanted to dance with joy, and he wanted to shout as loudly as he could but most importantly he wanted


    to find the reason behind why Liza had finally showed something other than anger towards him. He had


    loved her for so long and he didn''t want to lose her again. He had missed her terribly for past four


    years. He had been nothing but a machine until he saw Liza again. He used to fakeugh, fake smiles


    and pretend that he actually had something worth living for but now that he had seen some emotion


    from Liza he had be more determined to win her back. There was a hole in his heart that couldn''t


    be filled by anyone but Liza and he was tired of living with that hole. He knew that it wasn''t easy and


    that she may never give him a second chance but that smile had given him hope and had strengthened


    him. He was going to try even harder. He would keep Liza in his life in any way that was possible.

 Chapter 13: Civilized (1)

    Chapter 13: Civilized (1)


    Jonathan was trying to read through the report but was failing miserably. He read through the words but


    his mind failed to register them, all he could think of was about Liza and the she guy she went out with.


    It was frustrating and disappointing at the same time. It had already been a month and he had failed to


    hold a civilized conversation with Liza, how was he supposed to make her fall in love with him if he


    couldn''t even get her to talk to him. He peered into the adjacent empty office. Liza had forgotten to


    close the blinds in her hurry, so instead of the usual pale pink and beige blinds, the ss wall was


    transparent providing Jonathan with a view of her office. Liza''sptop was closed, some manuscripts


    that Liza had read were scattered around it, Liza''s coat hung on the back of the chair and a coffee cup


    from valentine''s sat on the table. Jonathan felt like a creep for spying into Liza''s office but he couldn''t


    help himself it was the only way he could get some clue about Liza. He saw books lined up in the


    shelves, some old and some new.


    He was about to look away when he saw Liza enter. Her hair were now open and she was smiling to


    herself. He wanted to be the reason of her smile but he knew that it was there because of the other


    guy. Liza shook her hair a little bit and then fished out a clutcher from her hand bag and tied them into a


    messy bun, allowing Jonathan a view of her slender neck. He hadn''t had the opportunity of seeing a


    smiling Liza forst four years and now that he had one, he hadn''t imagined that it would be with a wall


    in between them and because of someone else. Suddenly his green eyes met her hazel eyes and he


    immediately looked away. He didn''t want to see her cold stare again. Every time he saw that cold look


    in her eyes painshed out in his entire being, whipping him and punishing him for all the sins he


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Liza was surprised when Jonathan looked away from her. She hadn''t expected it, in fact she realized


    that she had gotten so used to receiving little smiles from Jonathan that she had actually felt a little bit


    disappointed when he looked away. She sighed at her own stupidity and went up to the blinds and


    closed them. She sat down on the chair and once again began reading her work. It had been barely an


    hour when Rachel called her telling her that Jonathan required to talk to her about some deal. Liza got


    up and threw her jacket on. She walked to Jonathan''s office and knocked on the door. She wanted to


    walk away, to not talk to him again but then she remembered how she had resolved to face him, so she


    stood patiently waiting him to reply. "Come in please" she heard Jonathan''s voice call out.Smooth and


    deep as always. She entered the office. "Take a seat please" Jonathan said. "So what did you want to


    talk about ?" she said keeping her tone steady, not giving away any emotion. Jonathan was taken


    aback for a moment. "Uh- h do you remember the lunch meeting we had with our clientst tost


    Monday?" he asked. Liza nodded. "Well he agreed to the deal and has invited us to some sort of


    celebratory ball. Here is the invitation card." He said handing over the elegant cream colored card to


    her. "Okay. Is that all?" Liza inquired. "Yeah" Liza nodded once more and got up to leave. Just as she


    was about to exit the door she turned and said with a slight smile "Oh , Congrattions on your first


    deal Jonathan" with that she turned and left the office, leaving an astonished Jonathan in her wake.


    Liza walked out of the door, silently congratting herself at keeping her resolve. After her realization


    that she was no longer bound to Jonathan, that he no longer had any affect on her life, seeing him had


    be easier. It was like meeting a person from past who had mattered at one point of time but had


    no relevance now. Liza shook her head. Ofcourse, Jonathan still had some relevance but atleast not in


    the way he once used to. She had broken free of him, the minute she had boarded the ne and by


    treating him like she would treat any other colleague she wasn''t falling back for him instead it was the


    opposite, now that she had determined her rtionship with Jonathan, she could easily keep him at an


    arm''s length. With these thoughts in mind, Liza started reading yet another manuscript to be published.


    Jonathan sat wide eyed on his chair. He couldn''t believe Liza had smiled at him, even if it was a faint


    smile, it was something which he had never expected to happen. He wanted to jump up and down, he


    wanted to dance with joy, and he wanted to shout as loudly as he could but most importantly he wanted


    to find the reason behind why Liza had finally showed something other than anger towards him. He had


    loved her for so long and he didn''t want to lose her again. He had missed her terribly for past four


    years. He had been nothing but a machine until he saw Liza again. He used to fakeugh, fake smiles


    and pretend that he actually had something worth living for but now that he had seen some emotion


    from Liza he had be more determined to win her back. There was a hole in his heart that couldn''t


    be filled by anyone but Liza and he was tired of living with that hole. He knew that it wasn''t easy and


    that she may never give him a second chance but that smile had given him hope and had strengthened


    him. He was going to try even harder. He would keep Liza in his life in any way that was possible.

 Chapter 14: Civilized 2

    Chapter 14: Civilized 2


    Jonathan stood in front of Liza''s office. He was tapping his foot nervously against the hardwood floor.


    The other employees looked curiously at him as they passed by him. It was unusual for them to see


    Jonathan out of his office. In the past few days Liza and Jonathan had shared more than a smile, they


    had made small talks, shared someughs and he had even made her blush once or twice though he


    was pretty sure it was out embarrassment rather than shyness. Their rtionship was going steady


    and dare he say that they were almost friends. So here he was standing in front of her office, trying to


    gather courage to ask her to go to the celebratory ball with him.


    He knocked on her door once. "Come in" she said distractedly. Jonathan stepped into her office. Her


    eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she read through the script in her hands. She irritably


    pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as it fell in front of her eyes. "Um Liza, do you have a minute" he


    said. Liza looked up her hair once again falling in front of her eyes, as she irritably adjusted them again.


    "Yeah, sure" she said turning towards him. "Um... so I was wondering that whether you would go to


    celebratory ball with me?" he asked, hoping that his voice didn''t sound as nervous as he was really


    feeling. Liza sighed as she removed her reading sses and rubbed her eyes.


    "The thing is Jonathan that I already have a date to go to the celebratory ball" she said. "Oh, okay" was


    the only thing he could say as he turned around and got out of her office. He knew that he shouldn''t be


    feeling that hurt. He had already known that the chances of Liza epting were very less, but he


    hadn''t thought that Liza would be going with anybody else either. It hurt him but there was nothing he


    could do except give her time and make her trust him. With a defeated sigh he picked up a file and


    started to read through it.


    Liza watched as Jonathan left her office. His shoulders were slumped in a defeated posture. In the past


    few days she had grown to enjoy hispany. Even though she had tried to keep herself away from


    him, resorting to polite smiles and professional nods, she had found herself hovering closer to


    Jonathan. She watched him transform into the guy she had known him as in the college. She found


    herselfughing more with him, talking more to him and even though she still wouldn''t trust him again,


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    it felt nice to melt into thefort of familiarity that he provided. It was weird how she could talk so


    easily was weird how she could talk so easily with him even after his betrayal. However she wasn''t


    ready to go to the ball with him. She didn''t trust herself enough not to fall for his charms. She was


    nothing like the weak woman she was before but she still had the same heart and she couldn''t afford to


    let it break again. She hadn''t lied to Jonathan when she had told him that she already had a date. She


    had already asked Alex toe as her plus one. Her mind reyed the sad expression on his face


    when she had rejected his offer and her heart cracked a little when she realized that she had been the


    one to put that expression on his face but there was nothing she could have done, she couldn''t have


    epted his offer, she couldn''t have put her heart on line again.


    Alice sat in the window of her apartment as she watched the sky change colors from bright blue to


    florescent orange as the sun set down. She had been working hard all day and yet she had been


    unable to remove that stranger from her mind for even a single moment. He was always there. He


    hadn''t stopped by at the restaurant again after that day and it would be a lie to say that she hadn''t felt


    disappointed. She had somehow in that small amount of time managed to develop a crush on that


    stranger. It seemed very juvenile to her, but still very real. She blushed as she thought about the paper


    napkin she had kept in her cupboard safely along with the many other valuable itty bitties. She face


    palmed as she realized that she hadn''t even given him her number. She was going to visit Jonathan in


    a few days and she wondered if he would stop by at the restaurant in her absence. Sheughed at


    herself, realizing that she had behaved like a blushing high school girl around him. "Al, we have to start


    prepping for the dinner rush" a girlish voice shouted reminding her that her break was over. "I am


    Still quietlyughing at herself she hopped down from the window sill as she made her way down to the


    kitchen and started prepping for the dinner.

 Chapter 15: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 1

    Chapter 15: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 1


    Liza stood in front of the mirror, her hair was piled up on her head, leaving a few curls to frame her


    face, her midnight blue chiffon dress hugged her curves perfectly and her feet were encased in silver


    stilettos. She felt beautiful. There was an impatient knock on the door, quickly giving her reflection a


    once over she rushed to open the door. There in front of her stood a handsome Alex dressed in a gray


    tux, his hair slicked back. "You ready?" Alex asked taking Liza in and releasing a slow whistle. A warm


    blush crept into her cheeks and Alex chuckled. "Yeah sure, just let me get my wrap and clutch," Liza


    said as she quickly grabbed her clutch and silver silk wrap. "Come on let''s go," she said. "You are


    looking really beautiful Liz" Alexplimented her. "Thanks, Alex, You are looking dashing too" she


    replied as they made their way out of the building.


    After a few moments of silence had passed Alex cleared his throat. "How are you holding up Liz?" he


    asked, his eyes full of concern. "Huh?" Liza looked at him confused. "I mean, how are you dealing with


    Jonathan''s situation? Are you fine?" "I am alright I guess. I have stopped avoiding him and have


    be somewhat civil to him. I even enjoy talking to him sometimes, but there is always this shadow


    looming over us. I cannot just forget about what happened, I cannot trust him again" Liza said thinking


    back to a few days before when Jonathan had asked her to be his date for the ball. "It''s alright Liz. You


    are doing great. I just don''t want to see you get hurt again. You have been through a lot and have


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ovee it wonderfully. You are honest and wonderful and a beautiful woman Liz, you will do fine. Just


    do whatever you feel is right, okay." Alex said. "Yeah, I will try. I am just afraid that I will end up making


    the wrong choices again" Liza replied with a sigh as she turned her turned to gaze out of the window


    putting an end to their conversation.


    "You look beautiful," Jonathan said. "Thanks, Jonathan". "I cannot thank you enough for doing this. I


    know that you must be tired and it was all of a sudden. You are the best" Jonathan said with a sincere


    smile. "It''s okay Jon. I can do this much for you. Just don''t expect me to dance alright?" she said


    reciprocating his smile. Jonathan''s hair was slightly messy and he was wearing a dark blue almost


    ck colored tux, which brought out his vibrant green eyes. "You are looking handsome too," she said


    after a few minutes. "Thanks, Al. Let''s go now" Jonathan replied as they got into the car.


    The ballroom was lit up with golden lights and was beautifully decorated with flowers and small


    chandeliers. It smelt vaguely ofvender mixed with the scent of perfumes of the guests. Liza took in


    the scene before her with wide eyes. People dressed in expensive dresses milled around, some were


    chatting and sipping wine from the flute, while some were dancing to soft number in the middle of the


    ballroom. Liza held on to Alex''s hand tightly. She had been to various functions but by far it was the


    grandest party she had ever attended. Alex chuckled at Liza''s sudden nervousness. "It''s alright Liz It


    will be okay." He said in Liza''s ear. With this, he pulled her deeper into the crowd of people. Liza felt


    someone''s eyes trained on her as she dodged people while trying to keep up with Alex. Finally Alex


    came to a stop. "Really Alex, you dragged me all the way here for food?" Liza questioned him with an


    amused look. "Food is life, Liz. It is the only thing enjoyable about any party" Alex replied. "You are


    such a dork Alex" Liza teased him with a lightughed.


    Jonathan watched as Liza danced with the same guy from the office, what was his name again, uh


    yeah Alex. he thought to himself bitterly. Liza wasughing as he twirled her once and then dipped her.


    "Why the scowl Jonathan?" Alice inquired. Instead of saying anything he just pointed at Liza who was


    smiling at whatever Alex had said. He was, however, unable to see Alex''s expression as his back was


    facing him. "Oh my God, is she who I think she is?" Alice asked. Jonathan nodded. "Come on, let''s go


    and meet her Jonathan," she said bouncing with excitement. Jonathan understood her excitement. It


    had been long since she had met Liza and it was his fault that there was a distance between both of


    them now. So Jonathan once again nodded and made his way towards Liza and her date.


    Liza was having fun dancing with Alex, as they twirled around the dance floor. Currently, they were


    swaying to the rhythm of a particr slow song when suddenly she was ripped from Alex and enclosed


    in a hug. Liza was shocked for a second before she regained herposure and pushed the person


    away ready to tell them off. But she suddenly stopped. She saw her long auburn hair and familiar green


    eyes. "Alice!!" Liza eximed "Is it really you?" she asked barely containing her excitement. "Of course


    it''s me Liz" Alice replied as she pulled Liza in a hug again. It has been so long" Liza said "Why did you


    stop talking to me, answering my emails," Liza asked again hurt seeping into her voice. "I couldn''t


    continue talking to you Liz, not after everything Jonathan did to you. I felt like it was partly my fault too.


    "she replied. "Oh, Alice you know that I would never me you. " Liza said.


    Alice was about to say something when someone coughed behind Liza "Do you mind introducing me to


    your friend here Liz, or are you nning to leave me standing in the middle of the dance floor all by


    myself?" spoke a husky voice. Alice had heard that voice before, In fact, she had reyed that voice so


    many times that it had be hard to forget it. "Of course" Liza spoke. "Alice meet my date for tonight


    Alex and Alice she is my best friend from college Alice" Alice''s eyes widened as she saw the face she


    had been dying to meet for so many days after theirst encounter. Their eyes shed and it was as if


    they were transported back to her restaurant in Paris. Alice gave Alex a shy smile, light crimson blush


    seeping into her cheeks. But then it slowly registered in her mind that Liza had called him her date and


    all of a sudden her thoughts came to a halt. She remembered how painfully Jonathan had told her


    about Alex, how he was worried that Alex might steal Liza away before Jonathan even had a chance to


    make things right and it was then when her heart broke.

 Chapter 16: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 2

    Chapter 16: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 2


    Alex stared at the girl in front of him, she was wearing a rose gold colored gown, her auburn hair fell


    perfectly on her one shoulder, leaving the creamy skin of her other shoulder exposed. He couldn''t


    believe that he was finally meeting the girl he had dreamt about since he had met her in Paris. It was


    fate, he knew it. Their eyes met and he was at a loss of words. He was speechless and that had never


    happened to him, not since he had gotten over his crush on Liza. He saw as she smiled shyly at him,


    her blush making her glow even more. He was about to say something when her smile dropped from


    her face and her eyes held a look akin to pain. He was confused. Why would Alice be pained to see


    him? He thought that she had enjoyed hispany at the restaurant. No, it had to be something else.


    "Hello, it''s nice to meet you," Alex said extending his hand. "Hi" Alice spoke giving him a nod and


    ignoring his hand. "I can''t believe that we are meeting here. I mean what are the odds that we would


    end up meeting here in an altogether different continent" Alex said still attempting to make a


    conversation. "I am sorry but it seems like you have mistaken me for someone else. I have never met


    you before" she said her voice monotonous. "Uh no I am sure that we have met before" he insisted.


    From the way she had looked at him before he had been sure that she had recognized him, then why


    was she acting as if she didn''t know him?


    "Hey Liz, I think I need to go to the washroom. I will be back in a minute." Said Alice and dashed to the


    washroom leaving a confused Liza and Alex in her wake. She couldn''t believe that she had finally met


    him and now that she had met him, she realized that he already belonged to someone else, that


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    someone else being her best friend. She had seen the happy look on Liza''s face when she had


    introduced him. It was difficult for her to process this, out of millions of guys in the world it had to be the


    one guy she liked. When Alex had hinted about their brief meeting in Paris, she had instinctually denied


    it. She didn''t want to be jealous of Liza and liking Alex felt like she was betraying Liza, so Alice


    attempted to push the pain of knowing that Alex was alreadymitted to Liza in the back of her mind


    and mustered up her brightest smile. She was happy that she had met and she believed that she would


    be able to get over Alex quickly, wouldn''t she?


    Alex stood there confused. "Is she always like this?" Alex asked Liza. Liza frowned and said "No.


    usually she is chirpy and outgoing. Always the first one to make friends with new people but why are


    you so much interested in her? Weren''t you hoping to find that girl you met in Paris? "Liza questioned.


    "She is the girl I met in Paris" Alex replied. "What!!!!" Liza eximed. "So the girl you have been so


    smitten with was Alice" Liza asked. "Yeah and now I don''t know why she is avoiding me" Alex replied


    sadly. "Just wait, I will help you get through t Alice. Oh My God!! You guys would be so cute together!!"


    Liza all but squealed. "Shh... Calm down, Liz!! If you haven''t noticed she doesn''t like me like that." Alex


    said shushing her. "Pff, details. She will surely like you. Don''t worry. I saw how she looked at you when


    I introduced you guys. I could see her eyes sparkling" Liza replied her face lit like that of a child on


    Christmas. "I hope that you are right Liz because I think that I have already fallen for her," Alex said


    with a small smile.


    Barely a minuteter Alice returned, with a smile as bright as the sun itself and all the traces of


    previous sadness gone. "Alex, why don''t you give Alice somepany while I go and meet the host of


    the part?" Liza all but ordered. And winking once at Jonathan, Liza left to find the host before any of


    them could say a word. Suddenly keeping her smile in ce seemed too difficult for Alice. She had


    believed that it would be easier to get over Alex since he was with her best friend but as she looked


    into his eyes she realized that maybe it will be the most difficult thing she might have to do. "So you


    don''t remember me?" Alex asked her "Sorry but I really don''t" Alice replied trying not to let sadness


    leak into her voice as she lied through her teeth. She most definitely remembered him, she


    remembered hisugh, his smile, his scent, she remembered everything about him, she had dreamt


    about him ever since their fateful meeting but now as she stood in front of the man she had dreamt so


    many times about, she was pretending not to know him. Alex''s face turned sad before he said with the


    same smile which had pulled her in "oh Well, this time I will make sure you that you never forget me."

 Chapter 17: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 3

    Chapter 17: The Ballroom Meet And Greet - 3


    Liza was talking to Ms. Cassandra re, one of her all tie favorite authors. She loved the novels by


    Cassandra re. Usually, Liza preferred to stay grounded in reality but there was something in her


    books that made her forget about everything. She was discussing the contrasting characters of James


    Carstairs and William Herondale (both of them were characters of a very popr series called ''The


    infernal Devices'') and how despite being so different they still seemed to be simr to each other when


    someone spoke from behind her. "Excuse me Ms. re Do you mind if I borrow her for a moment?"


    "Yeah, of course, Mr. west" Cassandra replied as she bid Liza goodbye and left to find her husband.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Liza turned around to find Jonathan staring at her. He was looking as handsome as ever in his dark


    blue tux. "Do you need something, Jonathan?" Liza asked willing to keep her blush at by as Jonathan


    continued to stare at her. "Yeah, um... You look beautiful" he stuttered. Liza chuckled and said


    "Anything else?" A light pink blush made its way to Jonathan''s cheeks "Will you dance with me?" he


    asked. Liza''s smile dropped. Sure she had started talking to Jonathan but was she ready to be this


    close to him? She didn''t feel anything for him, her love for him was long gone. However, talking with


    Jonathan had revealed a new side to him. He had matured a lot. Unlike before he was no longer the


    confused man she had married, he now knew what he wanted. Liza was aware that Jonathan still loved


    her but was it enough? He had loved her four years back and yet his love her hadn''t stopped him from


    cheating on her. He could still revert to his old ways and now that hispany had grown, his


    poprity had grown too. Liza knew that girls threw themselves at him, what if he took one of them up


    on their offer? Liza knew that she couldn''t take that chance again and therefore she needed to distance


    herself from him before she started to develop any kind of feelings for him. So she politely shook her


    head and said "No, I have danced enough for today." Jonathan looked miffed by her answer but said


    nothing about him. Instead, he led her to a table, offered her a seat, and handed her some champagne.


    Jonathan stared at Liza, as she sat on the chair beside him sipping from the ss of champagne he


    had handed her earlier. He had been a little dejected from her refusal to dance but he shrugged it, he


    knew that he had no right to expect anything from Liza. So instead he had offered her a seat and had


    settled with the fact that he would at least be able to enjoy herpany. The green-eyed monster had


    made its appearance the minute he had seen Liza dancing Alex but there was nothing she could do


    about it. Besides, she was looking really happy while she was dancing with Alex. What if Alex was


    better for her than he was? What if she had already for Alex, after all, he was with her when he had


    broken her? The doubts began to make their way in Jonathan''s mind as he stared at her. He saw a


    smile lighting her face as she looked at people dancing to the soft tunes and then he resolved that at


    the end, he would do anything to keep that smile on her face, even if it meant letting her go.

 ? Chapter 18: And Then There Was Steve

    ? Chapter 18: And Then There Was Steve


    Jonathan and Liza had spent thest forty minutes sitting on a chair, Jonathan nced at Liza as for


    the fifth time inst twenty minutes she refused to dance with someone. Jonathan was happy that no


    one else was going to be holding his Liza tonight but he was also worried about her. Liza loved to


    dance and although she had two left feet, she could waltz like nobody''s business. He could see the


    wall of defense she had built around her and he knew that he was he reason behind that wall. He knew


    that even when she was talking to him , she had her guard up. It felt as if there was a ss wall


    between them. It was painful to watch her fake her smiles whenever she was with him, she rarely


    Liza had been enduring Jonathan''s burning stare for thest five minutes and she was getting


    increasingly irritated by every second. Her body acted as if it could feel his eyes on her and


    goosebumps rose on her flesh. Many people hade to ask her to dance but she had refused


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    everyone of them. It wasn''t that she didn''t like to dance but that night she wasn''t feeling like dancing. It


    could be due to the fact that a certain someone was sitting beside her. They had barely spoken a few


    words inst twenty minutes .There had been a time when she could talk to Jonathan for hours. They


    would talk about anything and everything but that time was long gone and now there was only lingering


    awkwardness. Fed up of Jonathan''s staring Liza turned to Jonathan and raised her eyebrows as if


    asking him what he was staring at ? To her surprise instead of finding a cocky or even a flustered


    Jonathan she found him looking at her with a wistful expression. Jonathan shook his head side to side


    and looked away.


    Liza wondered what it was all about and was about to ask Jonathan when a new hand appeared in


    front of her. "May I have this dance ?" a husky voice asked. She looked up and saw Steve. His golden


    hair were slicked back,and his eyes were twinkling with usual mischief in them. He was wearing a ck


    suit and was looking absolutely delicious. Liza hadn''t expected to meet Steve at the party so she was


    surprised when his handsome face came into view. " Must you ask me that every time you meet me ?"


    Liza questioned with yful exasperation. Liza had met Steve at few parties after Krista''s meeting and


    he had made a point to ask her to dance in every one of them. "Well, you look so beautiful every time I


    meet you that I can''t resist asking you to dance with me " Steve shot back with a wink and a light smirk.


    Liza let out softugh. She got up from her chair and said "Well, I am sorry but I am not in a mood to


    dance tonight " . "Why do you always refuse to dance wit me?" Steve whined. Liza chuckled at seeing


    a grown man whining like a baby. "I am sure somebody else would be more than happy to dance with


    you but I can''t" she said . "Fine. don''t dance but then you owe me a date" Steve stated with a winning


    smile on his face.


    Liza hesitated a bit. Sure Steve was a nice guy and all but did she really wanted to go on a date with


    him ? She had a few casual dates with some guys but none of them had ever appealed to her much


    but Steve was someone she actually enjoyed talking to and who knows she might even like him . She


    wondered if it would be awkward if she said yes with Jonathan sitting right beside her. Liza nced at


    Jonathan once and found him looking around the surroundings. Satisfied that he was too busy too care


    , she turned to Steve and said "Sure. Just text me the date and time". Steve looked surprised for a


    second as if he hadn''t expected Liza to say yes to the date. A light blush formed on his cheeks and he


    grinned . "I really didn''t expect you to say yes but now that you have agreed to it I will make it the best


    date you have ever been to" Steve said with a cocky smile. "Sure, we will see Mr. Casanova" Liza


    teased him with a smile of her own. Suddenly Steve leaned in and ced a light kiss on Liza''s cheek,


    then he pulled away , made a bow saying "Until then my Lady" and left with a smirk on his face with a


    blushing Liza in his trail.


    Jonathan looked at the blush forming on Liza''s face and had an urgent need to punch Steve . Liza was


    standing beside him with a stunned expression on her face. The soft smile that spread on Liza''s face


    was beautiful something he hadn''t seen since he had met her again but knowing that the reason


    behind it was Steve was his own personal hell. He had heard them flirting and had heard when Steve


    had smoothly asked her out. He had pretended to be looking around so that Liza couldn''t see the look


    of absolute fury on his face. His knuckles were white from forming hands into fists and his rage was


    barely controlled. Jealousy seeped through every pore in his skin and for a second he wondered if he


    was really turning green. It was weird that even after so many years and even after deciding to let her


    go, how he still considered Liza to be his . He wanted her to be happy but he wanted to be the reason


    behind her happiness. He loved her blush but he wanted to be the only one to make her blush. He


    knew that he was being selfish but he had to try. He knew that letting her go would be the right choice


    and he would let her go if she truly loved somebody else but till then he would try his best to win her


    heart .

 Chapter 19: Alex and Alice?

    Chapter 19: Alex and Alice?


    Liza was once again sitting beside Jonathan, she could see that Alex was talking up a storm while Alice


    was just nodding at whatever he was saying. Liza''s eyebrows furrowed with concern. Was something


    wrong with Alice? She was not her usual self. The Alice she knew was chatty and had an opinion about


    everything but seeing from afar it looked like Alice was holding herself back. Liza turned to Jonathan


    who was busy with his phone. After Steve had left, things had been awkward between them, not that


    they had been friendly before but at least they had sat infortable silence but now the silence had


    be painfully suffocating. Liza had half expected Jonathan to at least rave about how she couldn''t


    go on the date with Steve but instead, he had kept his mouth shut and had altogether ignored her.


    Frustrated by his ignorance, Liza punched Jonathan on his arm "Ow!! What was that for?" Jonathan


    shrieked, rubbing the now sore spot on his arm. "What do you think is going on between Alex and


    Alice?" she asked ignoring indignant look he gave her.


    Jonathan followed Liza''s line of sight only to find Alex and Alice talking. "Why ? are you worried that


    Alice will steal your date?" he said with a smirk. Soon the smirk was wiped off his face as Liza punched


    him again on the arm. "Shut up Jonathan!! I am being serious here. I can see Alex''s charm mode


    turned up to the maximum level and yet Alice is not showing any interest in him" Liza said. "Why should


    my sister be interested in him?" Jonathan asked with an annoyed look, his inner protective brother


    emerging out of his shell. "Because Alex likes her a lot and from what I have seen Alice likes him too.


    But why is she holding back?" Liza said puzzled by Alice''s behavior. "Are you sure that Alex likes her?


    Because thest time I saw him he was pretty smitten by you" Jonathan replied, his voice holding a


    tinge of bitterness as he recalled the first time he had seen Alex with Liza. "Can you not stop with your


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    nonsense Jonathan? There is nothing between me and Alex. He is my best friend and that''s it, its your


    choice whether you want to help me in bringing those two closer or not, If you don''t want to help me


    then it''s alright just stop irritating me." Liza spoke with annoyance coating her each word. "Aren''t you


    too old to y cupid? This stuff is for high schoolers not for grownups Liza" Jonathan scoffed. Which


    earned him a kick in the leg. "Ow! Jeez, you have be so violent. Fine, I will help you but we are


    not doing anything stupid "Jonathan said. "Don''t worry we will be handling it as adults should."


    Alice was watching Alex talk animatedly about a book he had read. Alice realized that behind his bad-


    boy looks Alex was a total nerd. She nodded at appropriate moments and smiled when he looked at


    her. With every passing second it as getting more and more difficult for Alice to remember that Alex


    belonged to Liza. She was ensnared by everything that made up Alex, his smile, his way of talking, and


    his excessive articte movements, even the way he stood with his hands in his pockets and it was


    driving her crazy. How could she resist him after dreaming so many times about meeting him again?


    Alice was positive that She was behaving like a na?ve girl in love, having mocked the concept of love at


    first sight so many times, she was painfully aware of how she was bing the type of person she


    once used to scoff at.


    Alice jerked back as she saw Alex waving his hand in front of her eyes and in jerking back she lost her


    bnce and fell backwards. Alice closed her eyes waiting for the harsh contact with the polished floor


    and the inming sensation which would spread across her back due to contact, but it never came.


    Instead, she felt a hand holding her waist and a warm hand syed on her back. Her hands were


    clutching the soft material of Alex''s shirt tightly. Alex chuckled at the terrified expression on Alice''s face.


    He pulled her up but did not remove his hands from her. "You can open your eyes now Alice," he said


    softly, removing his arm from her waist to push back the hair which had fallen on her face. Alice opened


    her eyes and for a moment was startled at their proximity. His palm was pressed against her back and


    was shooting tingles up her spine.


    Alice realized how inappropriate their position was attempted to untangle herself from him but Alex held


    her to him like a vice, refusing to let go. "Do you really not remember me?" Alex asked softly. Alice was


    stunned at his tenderness. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her face was getting hotter by


    second. It was getting difficult breath and even though they were surrounded by people, Alice felt as if it


    was just the two of them. Alice wanted to say that ''yes she remembered him, that there was not a


    moment when she had forgotten about him but her heart held her back. Admitting that would be like


    admitting that she had fallen for the man that Liza probably loved and Alice knew that nothing would be


    worth losing her best friend not even Alex. So she pushed herself away from him firmly and walked


    away.


    Alex stood there, watching as Alice walked away. He knew the answer now and he would make Alice


    admit it out loud.

 Chapter 20 : Meddlers

    Chapter 20 : Meddlers


    Jonathan spun around on the heels, trying to catch if someone was watching him. He knew that if


    someone saw him, it would be the end of the cold ruthless businessman image he had created but at


    this point, it was all worth it. He turned back when Liza tugged his sleeve, willing him to move ahead.


    Liza was wearing a brown cap with her hair covering her face, her forehead was scrunched with


    concentration as she spied on Alice and Alex. Jonathanughed at her antics. The way Liza was acting


    was probably all crazy and stupid but Jonathan loved it. He hadn''t seen this side of her in a long time.


    He loved the way her eyebrows were scrunched together as she tried to hear what Alice and Alex were


    talking about and the way her eyes lit up with excitement when Alex made Alice blush but most of all he


    loved that they were now spending time together out of the office and Liza was somehow going back to


    the woman he once knew.


    Liza was having the time of her life spying on Alice and Alex. She had managed to send Alice with Alex


    for grocery shopping, iming that she was too busy and had barely any food left in the house. Alice


    being the sweet best friend she was agreed to shop for her. She had then roped in Jonathan and had


    begun following them, hoping to see some development in their rtionship. It was something that


    teenagers did and doing this after being a grown-up woman felt a little awkward to her but the hrious


    reactions of Jonathan made up for all the awkwardness she felt. Also, she felt a kind of thrill running in


    her body, something which she hadn''t felt in a long time. She watched Jonathan turn around hoping


    that no one will recognize him. She had made Jonathan wear ck sses and a big cap and was


    almost sure they no one would recognize him but they could never be too sure.


    It was two hourster when Alex and Alice had nearlypleted their shopping when they were


    caught. Some reporters had recognized Jonathan and in a matter of a few minutes, they were being


    chased by reporters like souls being chased by hell hounds. Jonathan fixed Liza''s cap, covered her


    face with her hair, and pushed through the crowd of reporters waiting to catch a snap of one of the


    most eligible businessmen. Liza felt panic rising in her throat as one of the reporters grabbed her arm


    in an attempt to stop them. It was then when Jonathan who had been barely controlling his anger lost


    his temper and pushed the reporter holding Liza''s hand roughly before picking her up bridal style


    pushing through the crowd. Jonathan''s speech walked to a stock room and locked it from inside


    preventing the reporters froming inside.


    Liza sat down in the corner of the room feeling exhausted. Although it was Jonathan who carried her to


    the room, she had still been shocked by the sudden shes of the camera. Being the Asst. editor, she


    had never been exposed to press and now after getting a taste of it, she wasn''t sure if she wanted to.


    "Are you alright?" she heard Jonathan ask. His face was looking angelic in the golden light from the


    bulb which was hanging on the ceiling. "Yeah, I am fine. Are you okay? It was you they were after." She


    asked concern crossing over her smooth face. "Yeah I am good I am used to it," Jonathan said, rolling


    up the sleeves of his shirt to the elbow. Liza thought back to when Jonathan had taken her hand and


    had pulled her through the crowd. She hadn''t given it much thought back then but thinking back now


    she remembered the sense of security she had felt when he had taken her hand. She hadn''t felt that


    feeling in a long time, there was something about Jonathan that made her feel safe. She had thought


    after his betrayal the feeling would have left with him but it seemed to her that it had remained.


    Jonathan slid down the wall opposite her and sat on the dusty floor with his back leaning on the wall.


    Liza studied him, as he ran his hand through his hair a nervous habit he had developed. She hadn''t


    had the chance to study him ever since he had arrived. She wondered how he could feel so different


    and yet familiar. Suddenly brow shed with green as Jonathan looked up, catching Liza in the act of


    staring. Liza felt warmth rush into her cheeks but didn''t look away. She knew that she was making a


    mistake by not looking away, that she was opening a tiny window in the protective walls she had built


    around her but right now she didn''t care. Maybe she would regret itter but at that moment she was


    feeling adventurous so she continued taking him in.


    Liza was still confused. She wasn''t sure if she wanted anything except a professional rtionship with


    Jonathan, hell, she wasn''t even sure if she could afford to have anything except a personal rtionship


    but at that moment she couldn''t stop herself. "Done checking me out?" Jonathan asked with a smirk on


    his face. "Wait a minute" Liza replied as she gave him a once over and said, "Now I am done." With a


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    teasing smile of her own. Jonathan let out a chuckle. "We will be stuck here for quite some time," he


    said. "Yeah, I noticed" Liza replied. Her eyes were still locked with Jonathan. "It''s getting boring"


    Jonathan said with a glint in his eyes. "And your point is?" Liza asked sarcastically. "Let''s y 20


    questions" Jonathan all but dered. His eyes were holding a challenge, Liza realized that she was


    taking a risk but then again she was never to back down from a challenge. "Okay, You go." Was all she


    said, Unaware of the hurricane of emotions that was going to arrive.

 Chapter 21: Opening Pandoras Box

    Chapter 21: Opening Pandora''s Box


    "Okay, you go," Liza said. Her voice strong, never wavering as she silently epted the challenge


    posed by Jonathan''s eyes. "Are you sure about it?" Jonathan asked, "I won''t be asking you about your


    favorite color." He warned. Liza''s determination wavered a bit. She knew that his questions would be


    rted to their past and their future. It would be like opening the Pandora box'' Did she want to go down


    thatne, again?'' Liza asked herself. She was tired of her and Jonathan''s weird rtionship, they were


    civil for a moment, friends even and at that moment she felt like she was back with the Jonathan she


    had once loved but then she remembered all those months of pain and her walls locked her in again,


    far away from the potential threat to her heart. She didn''t want to risk the barrier that she had built but


    she was tired of all the skirting around and her hot and cold behavior with Jonathan. Maintaining her


    coldposure took a lot of energy out of her and she wasn''t sure about till when she would be able to


    hold it up. So with a bit of apprehension, she nodded her head.


    Jonathan sighed. He hadn''t expected Liza to agree to his challenge. He had only asked her teasingly if


    she wanted to y ''20 questions'' but when Liza had taken it as a challenge and had epted it, he


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    realized that it could be an opportunity to get a look into Liza''s mind. He was aware that this game was


    going to hurt a lot and that he would have to dig back into his past sins and ept them all over again.


    It would be like getting branded with a hot iron rod and he wouldn''t'' be able to even cry about it


    because it was his fault in the first ce and he would have to suffer through the consequences of


    deeds. He gulped as he took in the space between them and realized that this game could push them


    so far that they would be out of each other''s life forever or it could bring them a step closer.


    Jonathan gulped, running a hand through his hair. "Were you happy before I came?" he asked. Liza


    was startled with his question, she had expected him to ask her about their past and not about how she


    was after she had left him. she thought for a moment. ''Had she been happy before Jonathan came


    back?'' , Liza asked herself. She had wonderful people in her life. Carson was just as warm as he had


    been before he had left the house and even more protective than he had been after he found out about


    Jonathan. Then there was Alex and Alice. Alex had been an awesome friend. He had supported her,


    cheered for her, and been there for her whenever she had one of her breakdowns. And then there was


    Alice, although Liza hadn''t met Alice during those years they had kept in touch and she had been the


    one who had encouraged Liza to go out on dates, to have fun. Liza had a job that she loved. She was


    independent and confident, something she had always wanted to be. So even if there were bittersweet


    memories attached to the past few years r and even though her heart was chipped, she had been


    happy during the past four years.


    "Yes, I was very happy before you came. I had so many reasons to be happy about and so many


    people to be happy for" Liza said her voice strong, never showing even a hint of hesitation. Jonathan


    didn''t know what he wanted to hear, but he was relieved that Liza hadn''t spent thest four years


    moping and in a haze as he had. After Liza had left he had spent a few months locked up in his room


    with his business slowly crumbling to the ground, it was only when his mother had asked him to stop


    being a coward and to ept the consequences of his deed if he ever hoped to see Liza again, when


    he had started working. After that, he had be almost like a machine. He was smiling for the


    cameras and crying in the confines of his room.


    "Okay, my turn, "Liza said bringing him out of his thoughts. Jonathan braced himself for the question,


    "Why did you sign the deal with Leslie. You weren''t interested in it before you came to the wedding.


    Then what changed?" Jonathan thought for a moment. It was true that he hadn''t been interested in it


    before the wedding but after seeing Liza he couldn''t let the opportunity slip through his hands, so he


    had immediately called his assistant and asked him to have hiswyer draw up a contract. After seeing


    Liza and finding out that she worked in Leslie''s Company he had all but jumped into the deal,


    abandoning all the inhibitions he had before, about the deal. "Because of you," he said, looking straight


    into her brown eyes.


    "Because of me?" Liza repeated, she had half expected to say something along the lines ''that the deal


    was good'' or ''that he wanted to check out thepetition before taking over the book publishing


    industry'' but Jonathan''s answer had been straight forward. Honestly, Liza knew that she had yed


    some part in Jonathan''s decision to ept the deal, the moment Leslie had insisted that she help


    Jonathan. However, she hadn''t expected Jonathan to be so honest about it. The Jonathan she had


    known before would have made a million excuses, he would have never let anybody know that they


    hold some power over him but confessing that he had made a deal which could cost him half of his


    business was something which showed just that, it showed how much power she held over him, how


    much he was willing to do for her.


    Jonathan looked at Liza as she processed his answer. He knew that she hadn''t expected him to speak


    the reason out loud, but there was no reason for Jonathan to hold back. The past months, even if Liza


    had kept him away from her, building a chilling ice wall barrier between them, he had seen the person


    he had loved through fissures and at this point even if he got to see that person through tiny cracks,


    even if the barrier never broke down for his whole life, he would still be beside her just to get a glimpse


    of the girl he loves. So instead of making up some stupid excuse about it being profitable or something


    like that, he had allowed Liza to see his real reason because he knew from hisst mistake that hiding


    anything would never do any good to their rtionship.


    Jonathan cleared his throat as he gathered courage from every grain of his being, knowing that the


    answer to this question had the potential to burn him all over, to cause him unimaginable pain. He


    looked at her trying to focus on her hair, her nose, her lips, anywhere other than her eyes, and said


    "Okay, my turn. Do you still hate me?"

 Chapter 22: Pandoras Box 1

    Chapter 22: Pandora''s Box 1


    "Do you still hate me?" the question hit Liza like a ton of bricks. Had she been standing, she would


    have stumbled back into the wall. She didn''t know what to say. She definitely didn''t like Jonathan but


    did she hate him? She had forgiven Jonathan for what he had done, for the sake of her mental peace


    but had she really forgotten about it? Or more importantly could she ever forget about it?


    Jonathan watched as confusion swam in Liza''s eyes, he waited for the answer with a bated breath. He


    knew that it would take time, that it will bring back unpleasant memories but he needed to know. he


    watched as Liza scrambled through her mind trying to find an answer. all the memories that she had


    tried to bury inside with the happy moments she had spent with her loved ones , rose to the surface


    and filled every nook and cranny of her body. All the pain and heart break that she had experienced


    was choking her, rendering her unable to move. And it was at that time when anger rushed to her as


    her savior, carrying along with it her answer. In that moment Liza did not care if she had forgiven


    Jonathan or if Jonathan had changed, all she cared was about the pain she was feeling. Jonathan had


    opened the can of worms by asking the question and now he would have to bear the consequences.


    "Yes, I still hate you" she said as she looked at him. Her voice instead of taking the normally cold tone


    was filled with hot burning rage. "I still freaking hate you Jonathan. I forgave you all those years ago but


    I can never forget what you did to me. All those times when you treated me as dirt, when you threw


    those papers at my face, when you called me a slut when I was only trying to get you back. You


    cheated on me and then you had the guts to tell me that you only cheated for a few months!!! It wasn''t


    even once or twice but you had a freaking affair Jonathan. And the worst thing is that you didn''t even


    try to hide it. You openly unted those damned lipstick stains, not even bothering to hide them for me.


    You took me for granted and I hated that I let you do so. "Liza broke for a second and then gathered


    herself again as anger replenished her. "The worst thing about it is Jonathan that you didn''t even


    realize that what you were doing was wrong till you read the letters I wrote to you. You simply med


    me for the things you did, just to save yourself from the guilt. What would have happened if I hadn''t


    written those letters? Would you have continued to use me of something I never did? Would you


    have ever realized your fault?" she said.


    Her face now pale instead of the red hue it took when she had started speaking. Liza panted for breath


    as she had spoken without stopping for breathing. All the anger that had rushed into her now slowly


    drained out of her body but left a tinge of satisfaction behind that she had never felt before. It felt good


    to let out all the anger. She had always held herself back when it came to Jonathan, always ignoring his


    little mistakes, always trying to be the gracious one but in this situation he knew that he didn''t deserve


    her grace, that he didn''t have the slightest right to expect an answer different than the one she had


    given.


    Jonathan sat still as he heard Liza rant out her answer, she never once stopped for breathing. Now she


    sat in front of her, she was silent as if she was empty, her chest heaved up and down from exertion as


    if she had been running but there was no sign on her face which indicated that she felt even slightly


    different than she had just said. His mind reyed her answer. Every word she had said, he knew he


    deserved it. And although he had wished that she had seen how much he had changed, he couldn''t


    speak a single word because he had to bear the burn. It was his punishment, for his faults, to be hated


    by the woman he loved. Knowing that she still hated him was going to be his personal hell but he was


    going to go through it, he was going to burn in it and he was going to cross it. "Why don''t you answer


    my question?" Liza asked, putting an end to Jonathan''s internal conversation. Liza''s voice he noticed


    had now taken the usual cold undertone. "Huh?" he said. His face a mask of confusion. "I asked if you


    would have realized your mistake, had you not read my letters." Liza repeated again. Her previously


    fiery gaze was now calcted.


    Jonathan felt as if he was walking on egg shells, his every move, every twitch of his hands was being


    assessed b Liza. He scrambled around for an answer. He had never really thought about it. He wanted


    to say yes, but he wasn''t sure if the old Jonathan would have ever confessed his guilt. Old Jonathan


    might have buried all his mistakes and would have forgotten about it. Despite of the guilt he had felt


    every time he had been Stacy, he would have probably continued with it. He would have only stopped


    once he would have realized his mistake and it would have been toote then. With a start Jonathan


    realized what a crappy human being he had been. It took Liza''s ident and her letters to make him


    realize his faults, his sins. He used to feel disgusted by the people who cheated on their spouses and


    then he had gone ahead and done the same. He had built his rtionship with Liza on basis of trust


    and then he had gone ahead and destroyed the same foundation. Now that he looked back, he realized


    that at that time he didn''t even have the right to seek an apology from Liza. He had tried to make her


    stay but once she had forgiven him, maybe he would have fallen into the same routine. Maybe he


    would have been distracted by someone else. He loved Liza but he hadn''t really understood her


    importance till she had left him. He hadn''t realized how much he needed her till she had kicked him to


    the curb and moved on with her own life.


    "No, I am not sure if I would have. I had been too invested in my business, in my own problems. I made


    excuses to assuage my guilt. To justify what I did. I would have stopped doing it but I am not sure if I


    would have ever confessed it. I loved you then and I love you know, the only difference is that I didn''t


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    deserve the right to say that I loved you back then. I still don''t deserve it but just know that I will try my


    damn best to earn it. "Jonathan said, his head down in the shame he was feeling. His heart was heavy


    with burden as he felt all the feelings of guilt and shame piling on it. Liza took in his downcast eyes, his


    clenched hands, his drooped shoulders. He looked like a man who had been defeated, no he looked


    even worse, and he looked like a man who had realized that the reason for his loss was he himself.


    Liza would have felt sorry for him had she been the Liza she was before but in that moment she felt


    nothing. She didn''t feel even a shred of sympathy for Jonathan instead she felt a sense of satisfaction


    as watched him realize his faults, knowing that he had finally got what he deserved, understood what


    he had done.

 Chapter 23: Pandoras Box 2

    Chapter 23: Pandora''s Box 2


    Liza and Jonathan sat in silence as Jonathan gathered back his strength to speak bit by bit. Liza hadn''t


    seen Jonathan like this in the time she had been with him. Even he was apologizing he had an air of


    collectedness around him but at that moment Jonathan looked nothing less than a mess. Liza


    wondered how long it will take to get out of the small room they were locked in, it was bing


    increasingly suffocating for her especially with the heavy air surrounding them. "It''s my turn, right?"


    Jonathan asked, his voice was rough as if he had screamed at the top of his lungs and had got a sore


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    throat from that. And even though it was silent in that stuffy and dim room, it seemed to be deafening to


    Liza. Liza nodded as a gesture for Jonathan to go ahead and ask her, his question.


    The moment he had decided to challenge Liza to twenty questions, he had known that it wouldn''t be a


    simple game, but he hadn''t realized either that it will feel like walking on edge of a knife. Jonathan


    assessed Liza carefully as he asked her "Why didn''t you ever tell me that you knew about Stacy, even


    when I med you?" Jonathan asked, cringing at Stacy''s name. He watched as Liza let out a breath


    and leaned back against the dusty wall. She closed her eyes before opening them. Jonathan was


    getting more anxious with every passing second. He had spent many nights wondering why Liza had


    never confronted him. Why hadn''t she thrown it back at him when he had used her and more


    importantly why she hadn''t defended herself?


    Liza could feel anxiousness mixed with curiosity rolling of Jonathan. She opened her mouth to speak


    and immediately Jonathan''s back straightened. "In the beginning, I didn''t confront you because I didn''t


    want to lose you," Liza said. "I thought that if you knew that I was aware of Stacy, you would leave me


    to be with her. So I pretended to be a fool. Besides that, I didn''t want to believe that you would ever


    cheat on me. I tried so hard to convince myself that it wasn''t real, that it was just a misunderstanding. I


    tried toe up with so many excuses, so many scenarios in which you woulde out to be


    innocent. Looking back at myself now, I feel so pathetic and na?ve. I foolishly believed in happily ever


    after''s and that love could ovee everything. I thought that if I showed how much I loved you, you


    would stop meeting her, stop loving her, stop bringing little souvenirs in form of lipstick marks ad


    hickeys from the time you spent with her. But you never stopped." Liz stopped to stop herself from


    crumbling down in front of Jonathan as the painful memories came rushing down to her.


    Jonathan watched as she took a deep breath in before continuing again, she never opened her eyes


    while speaking "All those times I tried to do something special for you, have a romantic dinner, go out


    on a date or simply make love, everything just zoomed past you and you continued to walk down that


    path with me trailing behind trying to catch your attention." Liza said as she remembered those days


    she had spent trying to get her Jonathan back.


    "I wish I could go back to my old self and tell her to stop wasting time, to stop causing hurt to her own


    heart by seeing you again and again. I may have seemed desperate back then but at that time all I


    wanted was to make you see what we had, to stop our rtionship from crumbling down, in the end, it


    didn''t matter anyway. We parted and I think that it was the best choice I made. I would still be living in


    our suffocating rtionship, you would still be with Stacy and I would have still died little by little every


    day. When you used me that day, all my whims about true love shattered and I realized that maybe


    what we had wasn''t love anymore. Love is based on trust, respect, and faith. The moment you used


    me, I realized that you had neither of them and without those three things love was nothing but a hollow


    word. I stopped fighting for you, for our rtionship and for the love we once shared because it wasn''t


    worth it anymore. I was just holding onto the remnants of a rtionship that had turned to ashes a long


    time ago. So I let you go. Confronting you or throwing your affair with Stacy would have been useless,


    it wouldn''t have mattered if you had apologized at that time. Defending myself would have been also a


    waste because you didn''t even have a minimal amount of trust in me and what would I achieve by


    living with someone who could me me without even asking me what it was about. So I didn''t bother


    with either of them and just left." Liza said.


    Her voice was soft but spective. It was as if she was assessing her past self and clucking at her


    mistakes. Liza ad grown up a lot, she had be more mature, less fanciful, and more grounded. She


    now left the idea of finding a perfect love for the romance novels and had satisfied herself with the love


    she got from her family. She went out on dates but she was never really into the people she went out


    with. There was always a hot man or a smart man or even someone who gave her butterflies but never


    someone who made her heart thump. She was sure that she would meet someone someday who


    would make her heart thump but this time she was in no hurry, she was satisfied and patient and she


    would take time before falling for someone because she already had injuries from thest time she had


    fallen and she wanted to be careful. Her scars were enough tost her a lifetime and she didn''t want


    more.


    Jonathan sat straight, listening to every word that came out from Liza''s out. The more he listened, the


    more he realized what Liza had gone through. The letters Liza had written seemed like a daydream in


    front of the nightmare Liza''s words were painting before him. He could hear the disapproval for her


    actions and pain due to his sins in Liza''s voice and as he sat there with his back towards the wall and


    his eyes hoping to catch Liza''s, to get a look inside her mind, he wondered if he would ever be able to


    make up for the crime he hadmitted.

 Chapter 24: Pandoras Box 3

    Chapter 24: Pandora''s Box 3


    Jonathan looked at Liza, her words had painted a scenario in which he never wanted to live in, the


    moments which he wanted to erase from his memories. He thought about her words and before he


    could stop himself, his question was out from his mouth. "Will you be able to love me again?" and


    suddenly the noises of breathing that had filled the room fell silent. He looked at Liza, her eyes were


    wide after her rant she hadn''t expected this question, no sane person would have asked this question,


    but Jonathan needed to know, he needed some hope, so he fumbled hoping to grasp it as he asked the


    question.


    Liza who had stopped breathing all of sudden, regained her breath. This was one question she was


    dreading. Because she knew the answer and she knew that this answer would end whatever was going


    on between them. She had enjoyed Jonathan''spany over thest few days as she had tried to


    y cupid for Alex and Alice, it was as if they were back to being friends they were before they fell in


    love.


    "I can fall for you again Jonathan. It will be easy to fall for you again, to love you again. It will be like


    you are tested waters. I know where to step to avoid barbs, from where I will fall, from where I will be


    safe when I am with you. I had known you for so many years and there is always a tiny bit of spark of


    love that is waiting to be turned to a roaring fire. But that will be it, I will fall for you again, I will love you


    again and then that tiny spark which had turned to fire will consume me, it will burn me from inside. I


    won''t be able to rest for even a second when you will be away from me. I will be always wondering if


    you have your arms around someone. It will eat me alive if you won''t pick up my calls immediately. And


    maybe you will put up with all of that because you love me, but I will never be the same person.


    Everything I have achieved, everything I have stood for will go down the drain, the minute I will fall in


    love with you again. I can love you again but I can never trust you again. Wounds heal with time


    Jonathan, but they leave scars behind as a reminder, as a lesson to nevermit the same mistake


    again and I am a human, I will always remember the time you betrayed me and the minute I will see


    you talking to some other woman, my mind will take me back to the time when I washed lipstick marks


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    off from your shirts. So yes Jonathan maybe I will be able to love you again, but it will alwayse with


    a price that you are not worth paying for. "


    Until the moment when Liza had urred those words, he had thought that his love, his pain, and his


    guilt would be enough to make Liza fall for him again, now that he looked closely that it would never be


    enough. He hadn''t just lost her love, he had also lost her trust and even though she may fall in love


    with him again, she would never be able to trust him again.


    Liza spilled out all the anger, all qualms that she had been holding it. Initially, she hadn''t nned on


    telling Jonathan everything, she had meant to answer the question to the point, however as more


    words flew out of her, she felt herself getting lighter, all the burden of subdued anger, betrayal and


    disdain took the form of words and left her. She had been focusing on the wall behind Jonathan while


    speaking, now that she finally looked at Jonathan, all she could see was a man slumped against the


    wall. His green eyes caught her brown ones and the horrified look in them was enough to tell Liza, that


    her words had got through him.


    When they had started the game of 20 questions, Liza had thought that of it as a game by which


    Jonathan would make one of his many attempts at either irritating her or winning her over, but as the


    game had gotten serious, she realized that it had be a confession session of some kind. Both of


    them had said things which they wouldn''t have otherwise.


    Back then, they were immature and cowardly. Both of them were so focused on the sting of betrayal


    that they never took time to talk about things like they had done today. Liza had always blocked any


    advance from Jonathan, and Jonathan who was at that time wallowing in guilt was so much focused on


    winning Liza over that he never confessed his guilt, he never took time to tell Liza about how he had


    read her letters, how he had realized his mistakes. They realized that had they discussed this before,


    maybe they wouldn''t have ended up as a mess.


    "It''s toote isn''t it?" Jonathan asked. His voice was raspy as if forcing words out of himself. "Toote


    for what?" Liza replied as she looked into his eyes. "Toote for us. For me to get you back. For you to


    forgive me. For everything that was ever between us." Jonathan said. Liza had never seen him look so


    vulnerable. He looked like someone who knew that a meteor was about to hit him, and yet he was


    standing there with his arms open, waiting to embrace him.


    Liza looked at him, hesitatingly she shook her head in a no. She didn''t want to do this. She never


    wanted this. But she had to, for the sake of closure, for her to move on and finally begin a new chapter.


    So she spoke the truth that she had been holding in forever, the words which should have been said


    long back, the words which would have stopped this whole chain of heartache and pain even before it


    began. "It has been toote, since the first night that you spent with her Jonathan."


    Jonathan looked at her as she spoke the words and realized that it was the absolute truth. The very


    moment when he had looked at Stacy the way he was supposed to look at Liza, he should have known


    that he would be condemned forever. He should have at that moment looked away from her, he should


    have remembered that there was someone who trusted him more than anything in the world. His guilt


    had been like an endless sea during the past years. It had pulled him between its waves and when the


    punishment of choking him with the salty guilt was not enough, it had stranded him on the sand of


    longing. During the past few years, he had constantly found himself being stretched between the guilt


    of his actions and his longing for Liza. Now he realized that no matter how long his penance was no


    matter how much he longed for Liza, he was never going to get her back because he had blown away


    his chances of a happy ending with Liza, the moment he had thought about Stacy.


    Liza sat there waiting for some response from Jonathan. She didn''t know what she expected now. But


    she knew that she had finally gotten her closure. That she could finally move on and hopefully


    Jonathan would be able to move on too.


    Jonathan opened his mouth to speak something, but before words came out of his mouth, the door to


    the dusty old room clicked open, as a man with ck suit and microphone peeked inside and said: "Sir,


    ma''am you are free to move out."

 Chapter 25: Deathbell

    Chapter 25: Deathbell


    They sat still for a moment, as the guard removed himself from the room. The air was still heavy with


    the words which had been just said. They were sitting across each other, but it seemed like they were


    at the opposite poles of the earth. Liza''s mind was still reeling, scrambling about for more words to


    throw at Jonathan, to make him see her reasons, to make him feel her pain. The barrier which had


    been enclosing every memory, every emotion, and every feeling rted to Jonathan, had finally broken


    and now she wascking words and breaths to express them. Liza had always denied every scrap of


    feeling that she had felt since meeting Jonathan again, but now even though she had admitted it, she


    knew that it was something that could never develop further. Not because of her insecurities but


    because of his choices in the past.


    Jonathan stared at Liza, suffering from blinding ache which felt far worse than any physical pain he had


    ever experience. He touched his face, only to find it sticky with half-dried tears. His every single choice


    shed before his eyes, where he had chosen to mess around with Stacy instead of going back to Liza.


    The pain he was feeling doubled when he remembered saying those hurtful words to Liza and


    quadrupled when his mind reyed the words Liza had said seconds before. He realized that he was


    at the end of the line and that there was no road ahead. He watched as Liza got up and slowly made


    her way outside, disappearing as the light wrapped around her, leaving him alone in the dim room.


    Liza stepped out of the dusty room and into the light. The previously crowded entryway was now empty


    save for few curious people who had been wondering about the mob of reporters which had gathered


    earlier. She felt oddly free. She had already broken all the ties with Jonathan but letting it all out and


    putting all her rants in words felt good. She hadn''t even realized that she had kept all these things


    hidden within herself, that all these unsaid thoughts were weighing her down all those years. She


    wasn''t happy, she wasn''t even alright, not after reliving the wreck of their rtionship but she didn''t


    regret it, after all, it allowed her to finally let everything go.


    Jonathan got up from and followed Liza out. Her face was tear stricken, her clothes were dirty and she


    had just stomped all over his already shattered heart and yet somehow, even through his guilt tinted


    haze, she looked like the most beautiful creature on earth. He was confused, scared, and guilty, which


    was a terrible mixture of emotions to experience. Not only it was messing with her mind, but it was also


    leading him to a deep abyss of confusion. Unlike before when he had been determined regardless of all


    the consequences to win over Liza, now he was tethering on the edge of giving her up, after all, what


    right did he have, to even love her ?. He realized that his choices had not only tainted their past but


    also their future. It wasn''t just overbearing guilt, which had left Jonathan confused and stranded, but it


    was also the knowledge that the damage caused could never be undone.


    Jonathan had always measured deals by factors more than profit and losses, he had taken a risk,


    reputation, resources, and n number of things into ount, but during signing the deal with Leslie the


    only thing he had considered was that he would be near to Liza. When he had decided to pursue Liza


    he had known that there was a chance of getting destroyed, that she may never ept him again, but


    hearing her admit that she could fall in love with him again and yet could never be with him, had


    eliminated all the hope. He had thought that love could conquer all, but after looking at Liza, hearing


    her admission, he realized that love could ovee everything except betrayal.


    He wanted to try again. He wanted to go back to their rtionship again, but he knew that it would be


    impossible. He had already messed up his chances. Had he told Liza about that mistake of a kiss,


    maybe they could have saved what they had together. He could see that Liza was far more hurt than


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    he was, but she still seemed lighter, her footsteps were steady as she walked ahead of him. She turned


    around to look at him and the slight flicker of emotions, that slight confusion which was always present


    in her eyes when she looked at him was absent, Liza truly had moved on and with a strike of pain, he


    realized that maybe he would have to finally let go of her.


    Liza turned back to look at Jonathan, she wondered if he hade out of the room yet. She caught


    him in standing still in one ce, gazing somewhere lost in his thoughts. He looked up at her and


    caught her gaze. His eyes were rimmed red, and he had a heartbreaking look in his eyes. She had


    known that they would have this confrontation, since the day they had met again, she had imagined a


    hundred scenarios, but she had never imagined that she would bare her soul to him. She could see


    that Jonathan had changed, that he had recognized the devastating consequences of his choices and


    she could have and would have fallen in love with him, had he not betrayed her, had he not burned her.


    she gave him a sad smile, hoping that the pain he was feeling would pass, hoping that he would move


    on and bidding a final goodbye to their love.


    Jonathan could hear the words behind Liza''s smile. He could also hear the death-bell of everything


    they had together, knowing that it was the end of everything that had been and everything that could


    have been.

 Chapter 26: Alex and Alice

    Chapter 26: Alex and Alice


    Alice rubbed her cheeks wondering if they were still red. There was an undertone of excitement in the


    air surrounding her. The stic cherry blossom tree, with its pretty pink flowers, was looming above


    them, and for a brief moment, Alice wondered exactly how much paper would have been wasted for


    making this tree. It wasn''t the most appropriate thought for the situation she was in, after all, she had


    just been kissed.


    It had happened all too quickly. One moment Alice had been telling Alex how she was ufortable


    with being pressed up against him and how their position seemed to be wrong and the next thing she


    knew was her face being held by Alex, and his lips descending on hers. The kiss had started with Alex


    bent over her, coaxing her to respond and had escted to Alice standing on her tippy toes refusing to


    let Alex go. Unlike the usual cliche, Alice had been very much aware of the people around them, she


    could hear a giggling group of girls passing by, she could feel people staring at the back of her head


    but somehow she didn''t mind. All she wanted was to continue kissing Alex, loving the way his lips


    enveloped hers forcing them to mould around his.


    The kiss was sweet, exotic, and liberating at the same time. Tired of standing on her toes, she pulled


    him down closer to her, with one hand in his hair and other around his neck, however instead ofing


    closer, Alex broke the kiss as he leaned away from her panting. Alice could see the sparkle in his eyes


    as he spoke in a rough voice "Wow, that was something.". He had immediately shut his mouth after


    saying it and had blushed harder than Alice. Alex took the box of cereal from behind her and said "Wait


    here, I will be back after paying for this stuff." before leaving a still dazed Alice under the cherry


    blossom tree.


    Alice was waiting patiently under the tree, willing the blush to go away, when she noticed the


    be, waiting for someone. She wondered, how had they managed to ignore such a hugemotion


    while kissing. Remembering the kiss, blood flooded her cheeks again and she groaned in annoyance at


    the persisting blush. Now that her mind was more stable and the effects of the kiss had worn off, she


    felt a pinch of guilt as she thought about Liza. Even though Alex had initiated the kiss, she shouldn''t


    have allowed it to happen, she should have pushed him away but instead of doing that she had pulled


    him closer. But then again, had Liza and Alex been in a rtionship he wouldn''t have kissed her,


    especially after knowing Liza''s past with Jonathan. She was getting confused. Had she assumed


    something wrong ? or was Alex just like Jonathan? Alice prayed that it was former rather than thetter


    because her heart would break if she turned out to be the second Stacy.


    Alex was giddy with excitement. He couldn''t believe that he had finally kissed Alice. He had never been


    so enamored by someone, as he was with Alice. He could still feel her lips against his, as he checked


    out from the counter. He could see a frown on Alice''s face as he walked towards her with the bag of


    groceries in his right hand. He wondered if he had been too hasty and chuckled, of-course he had been


    too hasty. But he couldn''t help it when she was standing close enough to feel her heartbeat, with her


    eyes giving into him and yet with her mouth voicing out her fake denials. It hadn''t been the romantic


    first kiss, he thought they would have but it still had been amazing.


    He could tell that Alice was thinking something and from the sudden sour look on her face, he could tell


    that whatever her thoughts were, they weren''t good. He stopped just behind Alice, intending to talk to


    her about the kiss, but before he could even attempt it she turned around so that their nose was


    touching and said those four words which were enough to ruin any guy''s sleep. "We need to talk".


    Alice held Alex''s left hand and dragged him past the cherry blossom tree and to the parking lot. She


    would be damned if she was left without any answers. The parking lot was fairly empty, now that the


    rush of people had passed away. She continued to drag him till he reached their car, before releasing


    Alex from her hold. To her surprise, Alex looked rather disappointed on being released instead of


    looking annoyed on being dragged across the entire mall. She faced him as she spoke out "Are you in


    a rtionship with Liza?". It was a simple, direct, and sharp question, hitting straight at the intended


    point. Alex narrowed his eyes in confusion and Alice held her breath.


    "No, we are just Best Friends," Alex said confused as to why Alice was asking this. Alice released her


    breath, when she registered his words and stilled "What do you mean by you are her Best Friend, I am


    her Best Friend?" she said pointing an using finger towards Alex."Uh-huh It'' me" Alex replied


    moving his fingers as if he was exining it to a child. Alice huffed and said, "We will have to ask Liza


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Alex looked down at Alice and said: "We will deal with thatter, but answer my question first." "What?"


    Alice asked. "Why are you ignoring me. I know that you remember me from Paris, I could see that in


    your eyes on the ball night, but then why did you pretend to not know me. Why do you continue to


    dodge me?" he asked in a sad voice. Alice registered the hurt in his voice and she looked at him with a


    small smile and reached up to cup his face "I am sorry. It was my fault. I assumed that you were with


    Liza and ignored you. I should have asked instead of assuming but I just didn''t want to hurt Liza again.


    Since that day in Paris, you have never once left my mind and when I met you here it was both a


    blessing and my doom. I used to think that why of all the people out there, did I have to meet you and


    fall for you, the one who is in a rtionship with my best friend. it was the reason why I ignored you,


    ran away from you. I just wanted to protect myself and Liz, so that none of us would end up with a


    broken heart, but what I ignored was that my heart was chipping away slowly and Liza''s was just like a


    shattered ss being held together by tape." Alice said as her eyes glimmered with tears.


    Alex pulled her close and captured her in a kiss again. How could he not when she was being simply


    Alice. They pulled away momentster, both panting and out of breath. "You know what I think I can


    share my position of being Liza''s Best Friend with you ?" Alex said through his panting. "Really ?" Alice


    questioned while taking deep breaths, trying to control her pounding heart and greedy mind from


    pulling Alex in for another kiss."Yeah, but only if you agree to be my girlfriend." he said, making Alice


    still. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide before snapping him into action and pulling him to her


    once again, kissing the life out of him. "Did that answer your question?" she asked as they parted.


    "Would you kiss me again, if I said, No?" Alex asked and chuckled as Alice hit him on his chest and


    flushed red.


    They were dramatic, they were always dramatic. When they had first met, when they had been away,


    at the ball when she had ignored and even now when they had finally confessed, but Alex loved it and


    every single moment of it, just like he loved Alice. He had finally caught Alice and he wasn''t going to let


    her go.

 Chapter 27: Aftermath

    Chapter 27: Aftermath


    Liza knocked on the cherry wood door, as she waited outside. Her face was now clean and bare, free


    from the disguise and the tears which had stampeded down her cheeks as soon as she had reached


    the safety of her car. Her dress was a little dusty from sitting down on the floor but she was sure that


    Mnie wouldn''t mind. The door opened to a grinning Mnie with deep blue dyed hair and a two year


    old Max attached to her hip. Liza smiled at the sight before her as Max fussed to go to Liza. Taking Max


    from Mnie, she entered the house. "Whats up Liz?" Mnie asked as she sat down on a chair in


    front of the kitchen aisle. "I was missing you guys, and especially Max." Liza replied, tickling Max lightly


    as he let out a delighted giggle. Mnie looked over at Liza worriedly. She knew something was up.


    Liza never came by unannounced, she preferred to spend as much time as she could working and


    therefore always confirmed her visits. If there was one word to define Liza, it would be meticulous.


    "Whats really wrong Liz?" Mnie asked as Liza continued to y with Max. Liza let out a sigh and


    ced Max in his chair beside her.She should have known that Mnie would figure it out within


    minutes. "I had a talk with Jonathan" Liza said, on seeing a confused expression on Mnie''s face she


    continued "about our past". Mnie let out a gasp. She knew that even though Liza imed to be over


    it, her past was a sore subject for her. "He apologized Mel. He told me that he loves me . I felt the pull


    again , in the pit of my stomach, pulling me towards him but I couldn''t do it. After everything we have


    been through. I know that he is hurt and he is in pain as well but I can''t do it again." Liza said, tears


    starting to make a reappearance. Mnie stood up from her seat and went over to hug Liza. "I made


    the right choice Mel, didn''t I. Even if it hurts both of us for now, it will save us from the painter. I can''t


    go back into the rtionship with Jonathan anymore, it will suffocate me." Mnie rubbed Liza''s back


    as she cried, assuring Liza that she made the right choice, that hurting Jonathan didn''t make her a bad


    person, that she will find someone else.


    Liza groaned as she opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the onught of golden light streaming in


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    through the window. She rubbed them in the hopes of getting rid of the temporary blindness and sighed


    in relief as the view of the room became clearer. She stretched like a feline to loosen her cramped


    muscles. Liza had been feeling miserable sincest two days. Talking to Jonathan had taken a toll on


    her. Thankfully, Mnie and Carson had weed her with open arms when she had showed up at


    their, unable to go to her home alone. She smiled as she saw Carson sleeping in the chair beside her.


    He had stayed up with herst night, talking to her about their childhood, about how he had met


    Mnie. Carson had talked about his mistakes, his fears and how Liza, Mnie and Max were his


    strength. Listening to him, Liza had realized that even if not identical to hers everybody had gone


    through some kind of pain, had experienced hurt, had their own scars and had yet oveed them


    and moved on. Carson had found love of his life in Mnie, once they had ovee their differences,


    but Liza knew that this wasn''t an option for her because unlike Jonathan, Mnie hadn''t betrayed


    Carson.


    Liza looked at the Cell Phone lying beside her, it was still blinking, signaling that message was waiting.


    She wondered whether she should open it or not. She knew contents of that matter or at least she


    presumed that she knew it. The message was what had tipped her offst night, sending her scurrying


    into the warm embrace of Carson, who had soothed her with his wise words. Liza realized that even


    though she had gone out with few men in past years, she hadn''t really let them in or had even made an


    effort to get to know them. The text message in her cell phone was offering her a way out of the castle


    she had built around herself. She was aware that it would be dangerous, that there will be a risk of


    getting her heart broken again, but she was tired of living alpne, so with a burst of courage, she opened


    the message and two ticks appeared making it known to the sender that she had finally read the


    message.


    Liza paced around the room, as Carson and Mnie tried to cate. After the sudden burst of courage


    had worn off, Liza had remained behind as a blubbering mess, wondering what to and how to reply.


    The message had been from Steve asking her if it would be alright to take her out the next day. On one


    hand Liza wanted to say yes, she had been saying the truth when she had said that she didn''t want to


    live in a castle anymore while on the other hand she wondered if it was alright to go on a date just after


    having her talk with Jonathan. Frustrated by Liza''s pacing and indecision Mnie took the Cell phone


    from Liza and sent the reply to Steve. Liza shrieked as Mnie clicked the send button and snatched


    the phone back to read the reply she had sent.


    ''It''s great. I will be eagerly waiting ;)''


    "A wink, seriously Mel, a freaking Wink? It''s just a casual date. I don''t want to give him any wrong idea.


    And what''s with the ''I will be eagerly'' part?" Liza said exasperated. She had wanted to send him a


    simple reply confirming the date. But then Mnie had to go ahead and add the wink and suggestive


    text. Liza groaned as she read the text again. Secondster, her Cell phone dinged and disyed "I


    am excited for this date too :)" from Steve. Mnie leaned over Liza''s shoulder and began cooing


    about Steve being the sweetest guy ever, to which Carson responded with a pout, grumbling about how


    he will have to meet Steve before he takes Liza out. Liza rolled her eyes at their childishness. Even


    though Liza was still hesitant, she had no other choice than to go on the date with Steve, unaware of


    what the future was going to hold for her, she let out a resigned sigh knowing that she couldn''t get out


    of this date even if she wanted to.


    Jonathan had spent thest two days locked up in his room. He knew that Liza would nevere back


    to him and the weight of that little bit of knowledge had knocked him down rendering him unable to


    function. As Liza had told him the reasons why they could never be together again, he had found


    himself understanding them and even though some part of him wanted to deny them, scream that they


    were all wrong, that they could ovee anything, arger part of him seemed to ept them and


    that''s what made giving up on Liza even more painful. Jonathan knew that he could love Liza more


    than anyone else in the world ever could and yet he was unable to love her because if he loved her


    anymore, he would only be hurting her. He had hurt her enough for a lifetime and he wasn''t going to do


    that again. So he quietly, while sitting inside his empty, slightly chilly room gave up Liza, resigning


    himself to cherish the memory of Loving her and somewhere hoping to feel that love again.

 Chapter 28: The Date

    Chapter 28: The Date


    Liza looked at the ce before her in amazement, as Steve nced around ufortably, his smooth


    and slick mask melting away and being reced by a man trying to impress the woman he liked. Steve


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    had shown up at Liza''s house with potted roses in his hands and a handsome smile on his face, sharp


    at 7:00. He was wearing ck jeans with a forest green button-down, which somehow matched


    perfectly with the color of Liza''s dress. His hair was messily styled and the way he presented the potted


    roses to Liza with a flourish, no one would have assumed that he was the author of a bestseller. Liza


    looked at him and her heart fluttered, not with excitement but with uneasiness, as to what was toe.


    Liza had taken the flowers from him and had handed them to Mnie, who had gushed over how cute


    they look, effectively embarrassing Liza and making her feel like a sixteen-year-old teenager going to


    prom instead of a 28-year-old grown woman. Steve had opened the door with her, with a cheesy bow


    making her burst out inughter and the uneasiness that Liza had felt slithered away making a ce


    for a warm fuzzy feeling which Liza was yet to recognize. They drove infortable silence with


    asional bursts of chatter and after an hour or so, they had finally arrived at their destination.


    Steve kept shifting his nce, tapping his foot looking every bit as nervous as he felt and Liza couldn''t


    help but find it cute. Their destination was in a secluded part, a little way from the highway but still full


    of life. People called it ''Literature Lane'', which could only be described as a festival of literature. There


    were huge banners of books and below those banners, people were enacting scenes from books or


    were reciting them, she also a book discussion group somewhere. The books were from almost all the


    genres, from ssics to contemporary, philosophical to young adult, and by the way, Steve was


    avoiding a corner she suspected that there was erotica as well. The whole ce was decorated with


    silver and blue fairy lights. Ornatemps hung low from the rows of fairy lights which twisted and met


    each other to form a huge chandelier-like structure in the middle of the tent-shaped ce. It felt like an


    otherworldly experience.


    "Do you like it?" Steve asked nervously. "I love it" Liza replied honestly. Steve let out a sigh of relief


    before his nervousness vanished away and he returned to his true smart-ass self. "I knew that you


    would like it. Didn''t I tell you that it would be the best date ever?" he asked with a smirk on his face.


    Liza rolled her eyes and retorted back "Hold your horses, Steve. We are just getting started with a


    date." and then both of them delved deep into the ce called Literature Lane.


    Liza and Steve roamed around tillte at night, trying various foods based on books, clicking pictures


    with various characters, and even dressing up as one. Liza hadughed so much, that her insides hurt


    and she almost begged Steve from being his dorky self. She had always thought of Steve as a


    handsome author, who was yful at times but was always sophisticated, however, the date had


    man who dressed up as Rapunzel.


    Currently, they were sitting at one of the many candlelit tables at a ce in Literature Table called


    ''Orenjee'' eating a variety of fancy dishes which were described as ''White asparagus withvender


    infusion, dragon carrot risotto, Sweet Pea sorbet, Green Garlic Gnhi with red mustard leaves and


    Cremeux with passion fruit.'' Apanying then was a bottle off wine and though Liza usually resisted


    Wine and all its near rtives, she loved the taste of this one. "The wine feels like bottled stars don''t it


    ?" Steve asked, hoping that Liza would catch on to his reference, after all the whole ce was themed


    after it, from itsvish decor to the small pool beside it with fake elm trees, shedding seeds like pale


    rose petals.


    Liza''s eyes suddenly lit up as she caught on to Steve''s reference and replied with mirth dancing in her


    eyes "It sure is. How did you find this ce?" she asked. Steve coughed a bit and suddenly looked


    ufortable."I just found it" he replied. Liza narrowed her eyes and asked "Do you bring all your


    dates here?" she asked, her tone now holding a certain sharpness that tasted bitter on her tongue. Liza


    hadn''t meant to sound sharp, nor had she wanted to pry into his dating life before her, however, her


    heart which had already suffered once, implored her to ask. Steve''s eyes widened, "No, that''s not it. I


    have never brought anyone here before you." he spoke in a rush. Liza felt guilty on seeing the rushed


    expression on Steve''s face, he had done his best to make the date special and even though she


    wouldn''t go as far as saying that she was ready to be in a rtionship with him, she knew that she liked


    him as more than a friend. He made herugh. did silly things with her and he even shared her passion


    for books. Not to mention that he looked like a runway model.


    On all the previous dates that she had gone on with other men, Liza had always ended upparing


    them to Jonathan but with Steve it was different. Jonathan hadn''t even crossed her mind when she was


    with him. Liza looked at Steve''s hand which was resting on the table between them she wondered if


    she would feel tingles on her skin, if she touched his, hesitantly she reached out and ced her left


    hand over his, Steve was shocked at the sudden touch but he weed the warmth which flowed


    between their skins. Liza squeezed his hand there were no tingles, no fire, just warm energy flowing


    between them. With soft light lighting their faces, she loved the tenderness of the moment. Liza leaned


    forward, over the table, and as the ssical piece being yed in the background ended dramatically,


    she ced a light peck on Steve''s cheek, knowing that something was there, lying down patiently,


    waiting to be sparked.

 Chapter 29: Liza and Steve (1)

    Chapter 29: Liza and Steve (1)


    It had been two years since Liza and Steve had started dating. During the past year lot of things had


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    changed. Liza had decided that she could love someone other than Jonathan and had finally given


    Steve a chance. Alice and Alex were going strong, though it took a lot of restraint on Alex''s part to stop


    himself from punching Jonathan every time he saw him. Now, Alex''s anger had died down to snarky


    remarks. Jonathan had finally merged the publishingpany in the ''West industries''. It had taken


    some time but Jonathan and Liza had stopped avoiding each other and now maintained a civil office


    rtionship, even a distant friendship.


    Liza smiled at her reflection, as she twirled around making her mauve dress flutter around her calves. It


    looked perfect for her dinner date with Steve. She paired it with some dangling silver earrings and


    heels, keeping her make up minimum. Steve had gone to India for a book signing event and he was


    reaching just in time for their anniversary. Checking the time, in the clock behind her Liza did a quick


    touch up and went to the living room waiting for Steve. She waited for nearly a hour and called Steve


    nearly a million times, before giving up and going to her room to change. She had just began slipping


    off the dress when the door bell rang. She hurriedly slipped on the dress again and went to see who it


    was. She opened the door only to find Steve with a box of choctes in one hand and his briefcase in


    other. His blond hair were ruffled and he was still wearing a business suit. Before Liza could speak


    anything, he pushed the box of chocte in Liza''s hands and kissed her hard on her lips, dropping


    down the briefcase. Liza clutched the box in her hands as she responded to his kiss with equal force.


    His hand went up to her hair and she pped it, before pulling away. They panted as they rested their


    foreheads against each others.


    "I missed you" Steve said from in between the short breaths. "I missed you too" Liza replied. Soon their


    breathing returned back to regr. "What took yo so long?" Liza asked. "My flight was dyed and the


    battery of my cell phone died" he replied. "I almost changed out of them. thinking that you were bailing


    on me." Liza said, as they settled in he living room. "I am d you didn''t because you look absolutely


    beautiful, even with your messed up lipstick and we have a date at ''The Orchids''." Steve said, eyeing


    Liza''s now slightly swollen lips. Liza blushed under his gaze and clicked open her selfie camera to


    check her lipstick. It was mostly gone now and only its remnants remained at spreading out of the


    corner of her lips. "Youpletely destroyed my makeup" Liza halfined. Steveughed and


    said "But it was worth it, wasn''t it ?" . Liza rolled her eyes and went to her room to reapply the lipstick,


    while Steve decided to freshen up and get ready for the dinner. He donned a ck zer over a Forest


    Green T-shirt and ck pants. He smoothed his hair and checked the pocket of his zer, finding the


    little blue box tucked away safely. He hoped that Liza would like it, even though she never cared much


    about jewelry. "Are you ready?" Liza asked popping in her head. "Yeah, lets leave." he replied.


    Their date had gone well and currently Liza was licking her vani ice cream. Steve hesitantly pulled


    out the blue box from his pocket and tapped on Liza''s shoulder, dragging her attention away from her


    delicious ice cream. Liza''s eyes widened at the sight of the blue box. Steve chuckled at her semi


    frightened expression and said "It''s not what you think it is." Relief flushed through Liza''s veins and her


    expression changed to a curious one. "What is it?" she asked, still unsure. "I know that it is too early to


    propose, so think of this as a promise ring. I promise you that whenever you need me, I will be there,


    even if you need me as a friend." Steve replied as he opened the box revealing a sapphire ring and


    slipped it on to Liza''s finger.

 Chapter 30 : Liza and Steve (2)

    Chapter 30 : Liza and Steve (2)


    Jonathan sighed for the fiftieth time in the day. Work was really stressing him out. He slipped on the


    coat before switching off the light and leaving the office. He shut the door behind him, as he looked at


    the empty office. It waste and almost everybody who had some social life had left the office. It wasn''t


    that he wascking friends buttely he hadn''t been feeling like going out at all. His phone binged, it


    was text from his girlfriend Gina. After talking to Liza, he knew that she would never ept him. when


    Liza had started dating Steve, it had hurt like hell. Every fiber of his body told him to hit Steve for even


    looking at Liza, but that was just his primal part. He was no longer that immature man, he knew that his


    actions would have consequences and those consequences would hurt Liza. So he endured it every


    day, every moment. He kept his distance from Liza, avoided looking at her, talking to her even


    breathing in the same air as her. He hadn''t given up, instead he had sobered up.


    He had avoided Liza and every other person for about a year when Alice had finally gotten fed up and


    had started setting him up on dates with her friends. he had dated a girl before Gina but it had ended in


    a month. Nobody ever felt as right as Liza. he had been going out for Gina since four months and he


    was on the verge of pulling his hair out. He had already decided that he would break up with her, as


    soon as and as gently as possible.


    He had began talking to Liza, it would have been awkward if they both worked at the same ce and


    never talked. He had seen Liza grow brighter every day and in the past two years Liza had grown to


    resemble the Liza,he once knew. He could see that her wounds were healing and even though he


    hated that it was someone else, he was also grateful that there was someone who could heal her piece


    by piece, like he never could.


    Jonathan drove o the coffee shop where he had promised to meet Gina. He parked his car and walked


    into the fancy shop with overpriced coffee and an extraordinarily bubbly waitresses. He Looked around,


    trying to find a familiar blond, when he finally spotted her. She was sitting wit a steaming cup of coffee


    in front of her, wearing a sleek ck pant suit, sses perched on her nose and her hair tied in a ponyN?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    tail, she looked like the top ss executive that she was. He went over to the table and took a seat in


    front of her. Gina looked up from her tablet "Oh hey. You are here." she stated. "Um yeah. Listen Gina,


    I just wanted to tell you that it is not working out. I think we should stop seeing each other." Jonathan


    said. Gina looked up from her tablet with a frown upon her face, before saying "are you sure? I don''t


    have time for hearing your apologies and how you didn''t mean itter." Jonathan was startled, this was


    not the reaction he was expecting , though he was d that she didn''t react the way people usually do.


    "yeah, I am sure." he said."okay then see you again sometime." With this Gina picked up her brief case


    and left, with her high heels cking on the wooden floor.


    Gina had been he coldest girl he ever dated. He wondered if Alice was still punishing him by setting


    him up with girls like this. The waitress brought him coffee. As he drank his coffee and looked out of the


    window. he could see a guy slipping on a ring on the girls finger b the ice cream parlor. It was across


    the road. the girl was wearing a mauve dress, the guy was wearing a ck coat and the gleaming


    lights were shining upon them. He couldn''t see their faces, as he could only see their side profile, but


    whoever they , he imagined them to be happy and hoped that he would be happy too one day.

 Chapter 31: Falling Apart (1)

    Chapter 31: Falling Apart (1)


    It had been four years since Liza started dating Steve and one week since they decided to call it off. It


    had been a mutual decision. With Steve continuously wanting to and having to travel around the globe


    and Liza''s desire to stay rooted in the ce she called home, it had gotten too difficult for them to


    maintain their rtionship. It wasn''t that they didn''t love each other anymore but they had drifted apart


    along the way and both of them realized that it was better to part ways as friends rather than to crash


    and burnter. Liza still remembered the day they had decided to break up. Liza had just gotten home


    from the office to find a brooding Steve sitting on the couch. She kept her purse on the table and


    pecked Steve on his lips. It had be a sort of homing ritual for her whenever Steve was in


    California. She loved the feeling of stability, of knowing that she woulde home to find him sitting on


    the couch or in his study. She loved the domesticated life that they had developed during their three


    years of dating. But for the past few months there had been turbulence in their happy little bubble, not


    that they didn''t argue before, they did but they were never as frequent and as serious as those they


    had been having recently.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Steve mumbled in acknowledgment and continued to look at the piece of paper. Liza''s heart dropped,


    this was another turbulence their rtionship had been facing. They barely had time for each other


    now. Steve had recentlyunched his new series which ad be an international bestseller and he


    had been busy in promotion, events all over the globe. He had been so busy with work that there were


    times he hardly stayed for three days in a month, and when he was at the house, even then he was


    busy with either writing or in talks with some publisher. It wasn''t that only Steve had changed but Liza


    had changed too. She no longer missed him as much as she used to, her heart didn''t flutter at the sight


    of him. Her feelings for him were still there but they had faded away into background mixed with other


    emotions, they were no longer holding the prominent position they used to hold. Liza wondered if it was


    falling out of Love, Liza shook her head at the notion and went around pulling out the dinner from the


    oven.


    Dinner had been a quiet affair between Steve and Liza and she could see that something was


    bothering Steve. "Alice ising for a sleepover, do you mind sleeping in the guest room?" she asked.


    Unlike every other time when Steve pouted at the thought of sleeping apart and was dead set on


    sleeping beside Liza, iming that he couldn''t sleep without her, Steve just nodded. Liza frowned. She


    walked up to him and sat down beside him. Nudging him, she asked, "Is something wrong?".


    Liza had this unexinable feeling in the pit of her stomach that said that something had changed.


    Steve looked at her and said "This isn''t working out anymore, is it?. Liza was confused for a second


    before realization dawned upon her. She wanted to say that it was fine, they had merely hit a bump that


    they would get back to their original passionate rtionship once this phase passed over but she


    couldn''t because she knew that it wasn''t working out. So instead of choosing in replying with a yes or


    no, she said: "A writer doesn''t stop writing a story because of a writer''s block." Steve''s lips quirked into


    the ghost of a smile and he said: "But he does stop writing the story when he stops feeling it." Liza''s


    eyes widened at his response and she realized that he had implied that he had fallen out of love. Steve


    took Liza''s hand, tracing the ring he had givenst year, he looked up at her and said: "Do you


    remember the promise I made you while giving this ring?" Liza nodded "I want to keep that promise. It''s


    not that I don''t love you anymore, it is because I love you, because I would hate it if I ever left you, we


    have to end it".

 Chapter 32: Falling Apart (2)

    Chapter 32: Falling Apart (2)


    Liza understood what he meant. He didn''t want to crash and burn with Liza, he wanted to end it when


    there was a hope to salvage their friendship. Steve wanted to end at terms where they wouldn''t have to


    avoid each other in the future and Liza knew that it was the right thing to do. She had seen iting


    when she, herself had stopped feeling the way she did before. She had seen iting, even


    contemted it once before and yet on hearing the words, she felt like bawling her eyes out, however,


    the pain was bearable nowhere near the heartbreak she had experienced before and therefore she


    knew that she could live with it, that it would subside eventually. Liza nodded her head, telling him she


    agreed. "Let''s end this, then." She said. She could see the slight quivering of Steve''s mouth, the


    moisture in his eyes, he was in pain just as much as she was. The doorbell rang, and Liza knew that


    Alice had arrived. "I wille back tomorrow. I can''t stay here, not tonight," she said and went outside,


    tugging along a confused Alice to her car. She had broken down in front of Alice in the car and


    somehow both of them had wound up at Jonathan''s door.


    So, there was Liza, sitting in her office, her face pale and dull, drifting through a pile of manuscripts.


    Jonathan looked at her through the ss walls of his office. It had been a week since he had seen her


    smile. He still remembered the day she had told him about her break up with Steve. A pregnant Alice


    had shown up at his house in the middle of the night with a sobbing Liza. He had been terribly


    confused about seeing a sobbing Liza and had awkwardly asked if he should inform Steve, to which


    Liza began sobbing harder and Alice silenced him with a death re. That night had been a bad night


    for both of them. Jonathan had been helpless to do anything except to let her cry and offer ice cream


    which by some miracle was kept in his fridge. The three of them had stayed p entire night, with Liza


    eating ice cream and Jonathan running errands for Alice. Later that night they had sat on the couch


    with Liza sitting between Jonathan and Alice and both of them trying to cheer her up by recounting their


    embarrassing moments. Liza had smiled a ghost of a smile when Jonathan had told her of his recent


    ex-girlfriend who had taken to stealing his clothes and shampoos. That had been thest Jonathan had


    seen Liza''s mouth quirk up.


    Liza read through, yet another clich¨¦d romance novel and let out a frustrated noise. The story was


    clich¨¦ but good, however, the editing was poor enough to make her cry or make her hit something. It


    had been a tiring week. Liza had shifted back to her apartment and had officially ended her rtionship


    with Steve. Steve had left on yet another tour and she was stuck in her office reading poorly edit drafts.


    She was about to pick her inte and call the person responsible for poor editing when her door


    opened and Jonathan strode in. "Hey, do you need something?" she asked. "Yeah, I need you toe


    with me to a meeting now," Jonathan said before dragging her out.


    "Where are we going?" Liza asked still frazzled by the speed with which Jonathan had dragged her out


    and pushed her into the car. "Magic Castle" Jonathan replied nonchntly. Liza''s eyes widened with


    surprise "Magic castle as in the amusement park?" she inquired. "Yeah," Jonathan said as if he hadn''t


    just dropped a bomb on her. "So, we are having a meeting at Magic Castle?" she asked again, trying to


    make sure that she had heard right. Jonathan nodded. "With who?" she inquired. "With the owner of


    Book Worm," he replied keeping his eyes on the road but letting hs curl into a smile. "Oh MY God,


    Jonathan, Did you just drag me out of my office because you wanted to go to the amusement park?"


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Liza all but shouted exasperated at his childishness. "Yup, I was getting sick of the same dull view from


    my office, so I decided to brighten it up." He replied now with a full-blown impish grin on his face.


    The car ride to the park was filled with Liza''sints and Jonathan''s amused answers. Liza wasn''t


    in the mood of amusement parks, in fact, she hadn''t been in a mood of anything but moping since her


    break up. So it hade as an unweed surprise when Jonathan had told her about going to the


    amusement park. She rolled her eyes at Jonathan trying to get her on the roller coaster. Jonathan had


    been enthusiastic the whole day, hopping from one ce to another. Liza had an inkling as to the dull


    view he had referred to during the ride and even though she hadn''t cheered up to the scantily crowded


    park, she had brightened up at Jonathan''s gesture. Later that day as Jonathan dropped her off at her


    apartment, Liza had realized that Jonathan had started settling back into the hole in her heart he had


    created years before.

 Chapter 33: The One Who Almost Got Away (1)

    Chapter 33: The One Who Almost Got Away (1)


    Liza groaned as Alice nudged her with her foot again. They had been going over this for the past week


    and even though Liza wanted nothing more than to acknowledge the truth in Alice''s words, she was still


    hesitant. I had been almost a year and a half from her break up with Steve. She was over him. She


    hadn''tmented on loss of her almost perfect rtionship with Steve for as long as she thought she


    would have. They had really fallen out of love, she guessed. She had seen Steve''s picture in a


    magazine with some super model, the magazine iming them to be an item now, however instead of


    feeling jealousy she had merely felt a slight tug of missing her friend. She had instead focused her


    attention on Jonathan sitting in front of her, stuffing his face with cupcakes she had brought. They had


    been flirting with each other for months now. An asional wink, a suggestive remark, smooth


    day. As she grew closer to Jonathan, she realized that he had turned out to be a better man, than he


    was before.


    "What is holding you back, Liza?" Alice asked already knowing the answer. "You know what it is Al. I


    don''t want the history to repeat itself and even if I do like him, it won''t matter anyways, he doesn''t feel


    like that about me anymore." Liza said. "Have you seen the way, he looks at you? He would take a


    bullet for you Liz and I would have never asked you to give him a chance again if I hadn''t seen him


    change. In any other circumstance I would have stopped you from going to him again, you know how I


    feel about what he did to you, right?" Alice said. Liza knew all about how Alice felt about her history


    with Jonathan, after all Alice had been the first person she had gone too after finding out about


    Jonathan''s infidelity. It had been Alice who had cursed out Jonathan, who had implored Liza to leave


    Jonathan and who had been Liza''s support system when she had refused to leave him determined to


    make their marriage work. Alice despite of being Jonathan''s sister, had supported her all the way and


    even after their contact had been reduced to emails and asional phone calls, she had remained like


    a constant in Liza''s life. Liza knew that she could trust Alice''s judgement of Jonathan but what she


    couldn''t trust were her own reactions.


    What if she became one of those jealous girlfriends? She had been cheated on and betrayed once, she


    was sure that every night Jonathan stayed at the office, her mind would go to the nights she had spent


    alone crying in her pillow. Was she even capable of putting that amount of trust in Jonathan again? She


    had definitely gotten close to Jonathan but could she afford to love him? All the questions and doubts


    clouded her mind, making it difficult for her to get past her wariness and hesitation. Liza sighed and


    plopped down on her bed, resting her head against the pillow.


    It would be a lie to say that she wasn''t attracted to Jonathan or that she hadn''t began to fall for


    Jonathan. It was difficult not to fall for him when he was proving at every step that he had changed and


    had be a better version of his old self. More trust worthy, more mature and more stable. He still


    had that smile she had fallen for years ago and their history felt so distant that she was tempted to give


    in. Her heart pounded whenever she was near him, blushing like a school girl, flirting like a teenager.


    He made pulse race and filled her with an all-consuming fire. These were fancy words but they were


    true. It was a difficult choice and she was afraid that she would choose the wrong one.


    Jonathan paced back and forth. His mind was on the verge of exploding. He and Liza had been flirting


    back and forth for quite some time and even though he had resolved that he would stay by her side


    only as a friend , he couldn''t stop his feelings from crawling through the barrier he had created his heart


    and brain. It was wrong of him to think like that, he shouldn''t be flirting with Liza, he shouldn''t be going


    down that path again especially after knowing how he wrecked her thest time, but it was nearly


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    impossible to hold himself back from Liza. The words she had said a few years back still echoed inside


    his head, deterring him from taking a step towards Liza. He didn''t want to hurt her again. He was sure


    of his feelings and he was sure that he wouldn''t ever make the mistake of breaking her trust or even


    hurting her again but he had no idea how Liza would react if he made a move towards her, had it been


    a few years back he would have confidently predicted her reactions but now, she had changed way too


    much, her old self only remaining as a shadow. He was no longer the same reckless man he had been


    before, he understood consequences of his actions and he knew that in allowing himself to love Liza,


    he was running a risk of losing her friendship too and it was a risk he wasn''t willing to take.

 Chapter 34: The One Who Almost Got Away (2)

    Chapter 34: The One Who Almost Got Away (2)


    Liza shifted her eyes from the printed sheet in her hand to the man standing in front of her, her heart


    pounding, her brain trying toprehend the situation. "Why?" she asked, it was the only word she


    could speak without punching Jonathan and wrapping her hands around him at the same time. "What


    do you mean by why? You are getting promoted Liz. You have worked your ass off, you deserve it."


    Jonathan said, his smile stretching wide, nearly splitting his face. However there was a brittleness to


    his smile, as if it would fall any second, breaking the fa?ade he had woven so intricately. "Don''t turn this


    Jonathan. Why are you going back?" Liza asked ring at him. She didn''t want promotion, she loved


    her job and was content doing what she did. She didn''t want to be the managing director, especially if it


    meant Jonathan leaving for New York.


    "Its high time I go back to New York. West industries is arge corporation Liz. I can''t manage it from


    here. Thispany is now stable. Besides it is still a part of west Industries and I am still the chairman


    of thispany. Think of it as filling in for me when I am not avable." he said gently. He could see


    that Liza was upset and he hated it but he had no choice except to leave. He couldn''t just stay that


    close to her and not fall for her. He needed to put some distance between them. He had managed to


    put his feelings for Liza on the back burner for a long time and now they were bursting toe forward,


    they were bubbling threatening to overflow from the carefully constructed dam in which he held them.


    Last time he had managed to live through her rejection because he had understood her reasons but


    this time it would be fatal for him. He couldn''t allow it to happen again, it would only hurt them both, so


    the only choice was to create a ridge, to move away from her.


    Liza could see a million emotions passing through Jonathan''s eyes as he stared at her. She thought


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    that they were going well, she thought that they were moving towards something more, however it


    turned out that she was wrong. Had she misinterpreted his yfulness as flirting? Were they really just


    friends now and even if they were was it so easy for him to go away? Liza shook her head, she was


    being too selfish. She couldn''t expect Jonathan to stay in California forever, she had forgotten that he


    had his headquarters at New York, that he had a mega industry to manage. It was no longer like old


    days, he had responsibilities to fulfill and duties to uphold, she couldn''t expect him to put everything on


    hold for her especially when she had been the one to reject him, the one who had inhibition about


    going further than friendship. But could she survive it, could she handle letting him go again? She had


    left him because he had betrayed her, turned her into someone she was not but he was also the one


    who had changed himself, learnt from his faults, stood by her as she dated another man and supported


    her after her break up with him. He was the same man who cared for her more than he cared for


    himself, while Alice and Alex had been in honeymoon phase of their rtionship, he had shown up at


    her house on Sunday mornings insisting on visiting one ce or another, keeping her from holing


    herself in the house.


    Liza ced the paper down on the desk and pushed herself up in a standing position, the dark


    mahogany table between them. "Do you really have to go?" she asked. "Yes" he replied looking into


    her eyes, there was nothing but sincerity. Jonathan''s minty smell was surrounding her, the corner of the


    table was pressing into her, causing slight irritation. She ignored it. She was focused on his eyes,


    searching through his soul. She hoped that what she was going to do was right, hoped against all odds


    that it wasn''t a mistake, that it was the right thing to do. She wondered if she would regret what she


    was going to doter in her life, if she would look back at her life and curse herself for doing it again.


    She steeled herself, it wasn''t the time for hesitation, it was time to make a decision and then in one


    swift motion she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Jonathan''s.

 Chapter 35: Epilogue

    Chapter 35: Epilogue


    Jonathan stood there like a block of ice, unmoving and frozen. He couldn''t make sense of what was


    happening, one moment Liza was standing across him and the next she was kissing him. He hesitantly


    moved his lips against her. Liza''s taste filling his senses. It had been so long since he had kissed Liza.


    He realized that what he remembered of kissing Liza was only a faded memory and the actual kiss felt


    so much more. He was getting into the kiss when suddenly Liza pulled away, a blush coating her


    cheeks.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to do that." Liza said backing away a bit, she was slightly out of breath and her


    voice was a raspy. Jonathan''s heart shattered at her words and the light on his face dimmed. Liza''s


    eyes widened as she took in his crest fallen expression. "No... No...No, don''t get me wrong. I didn''t


    regret the kiss. I just meant that I didn''t want to attack you." Liza said in a rush. Her blush deepening as


    she said thest few words. She was still wedged between the table and Jonathan.


    Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org.


    Jonathan was still dazed from the kiss. It was unexpected to say the least. He had been prepared to


    say goodbye, maybe a sad look from Liza but he hadn''t imagined that she would kiss him. "What does


    this mean?" he asked her, not daring to get his hopes up. He wasn''t ready for Liza to say that it was a


    goodbye of sorts not after the kiss they had just shared. The moment they had shared seemed like a


    key to everything, they could open a new door with it or seal themselves away from each other forever.


    Liza''s mind was hay wired. She could feel rms buzzing in her mind. She knew she wasn''t ready to


    fall back into the way they had been before, she had changed and was no longer clinging to Jonathan


    like he was her life boat. She searched for the right answer, for the words which would say exactly what


    she wanted to convey but she came up with nothing.


    Jonathan watched as Liza''s eyes flitted trying to answer him. He let out a breath. He shouldn''t be


    impatient, he should have given her all the time but now when he could see a thin glimmer of hope, he


    was finding it difficult to wait. She needs time, he thought. He remembered when he had first


    confessed, it had been difficult to do it but he wasn''t expecting a confession here. It was much greater


    than confessing your love for someone, Liza was deciding whether to put her trust in him again or not,


    whether to take a risk of getting hurt again or to let him go for good. When you are confessing your


    love, you relive your own heart of that subdued pain and heaviness, you ce your heart out open and


    you be vulnerable, however if the person denies your love, you can move on and you can rest


    knowing that you have done your part however when you decide to trust someone who has broken you


    once in the worst way possible, it isn''t what your heart is at stake, getting your trust broken again by the


    same person puts your essence of life at stake. It can shake up and destroy the foundations your life


    was built on, it can warp your mind to never trust anybody again. Jonathan understood the gravity of


    the question he had just asked, but he needed to know.


    Liza looked at Jonathan, his eyes were staring into hers. She wile herself to speak but it was bing


    difficult with each passing second, she was sure that by now it had already been hours since they had


    been standing in the same position . However, one look at the round clock behind Jonathan would have


    cleared away the notion as it showed the two minutes which had ticked by. "I want to be with you" Liza


    blurted out. It wasn''t as elegantly put as she would have liked, nor it was as detailed and asplex as


    she felt, it was simple and yet somehow whole. The sentence contained the words which mattered,


    which made it possible for them to ovee anything thrown their way.


    She was no longer the simple minded girl she had been and Jonathan was no longer the person who


    had taken things for granted. These past years had taught them a lot and yet as they stood there,


    neither of them felt that anything else could ever matter to what they were feeling in the moment.


    Everything else simply became irrelevant. However it was life and not a fairy tale and the magic that


    had been woven around them was broken with her next words. "But it won''t be the same" Liza said and


    as the magic around Jonathan shattered, he saw the reality and he realized that it would be tougher


    than he had imagined. They would have to adjust themselves to each other''s new found traits and they


    will have to work from the basics, they will have to build up their castle again but still everything was


    alright.


    "I know" Jonathan said. His voice was wavering and yet instead of the shaky voice being a sign of his


    doubt, Liza felt assured. Liza could see his doubts ad they matched with hers. It showed that he was


    just as afraid as she was and it was reassuring. She wasn''t the only one who would have to work, who


    had her soul on stake, Jonathan was there with her on every step and with everything in him. He would


    no longer hold back her fears, her doubts, her anger or her love. She would give it all and she knew


    that so would Jonathan.


    "We will take it slow" he said. Jonathan knew that it wasn''t the fairy tale of sleeping beauty where one


    kiss cold restore everything back, no it was life and their rtionship will never be the way it once was.


    "We won''t ever be the same, will we?" he asked Liza who had managed to remove herself from


    between Jonathan and table and was now standing before him with her back to the door. Jonathan was


    still holding her by her waist, he needed some contact to make sure that he wasn''t dreaming, also if


    this indeed was a dream he didn''t want to disturb it by letting her go. "No" she said "we will be better.


    We have earned from our past and now we can be better." She said.


    Jonathan smiled at her words and was about to lean down and kiss her again when his phone began


    ring with his rm tune "There goes my flight" he said. "You won''t be needing it today" Liza


    whispered and reached up to kiss him once more and as they moved together, they knew that even


    though they had irreversibly changed they would make it together because as love leads one to think


    that they were invincible when they were together.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!