AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll get out here,” I told the taxi driver.
The taxi jolted to a halt outside one of the Walters’ residences in the city. I knew that this was where Aiden lived because he'd brought me here before. We'd even had passionate sex on his bed—on more than one occasion. So, if he wasn’t here, then he was probably out of town, or maybe he was dead, as I had feared.
I began to walk toward the building where Aiden lived. I waved to the doorman, who nodded back at me. Luckily, I had met him before, so he recognized me as a welcome guest of Aiden's. I rode the elevator to the top floor—of course, Aiden lived in the penthouse. My hands were shaky as I clasped them tightly in front of me.
I reached the top floor and exited the elevator into the hallway. I stopped to look out the window before making my way to the only door in the small foyer. I noted that even the sky had gone dark, mirroring my troubled state of mind. I finally stepped toward the door and knocked. A young teenage girl with short hair opened the door after my second knock. Was this his niece?
“Good evening,” I said. “I would like to see Aiden. Do you know if he’s around? Or can I come in and wait for him?”
“You can’t come in,” the girl said. “He has to be here with you before I can let you in.”
I bit my lip, wondering why I had never encountered this girl the few times that Aiden had brought me here. If we'd met before, then she wouldn't deny me a chance to come inside.
“Alicia, who is that?” a voice asked from inside.
“A young woman wants to see Mr. Walters,” the young girl in front of me answered.
“Aiden is not in,” the womanly voice from inside replied. I wasn't sure if that was a way of telling me to leave or if Aiden indeed wasn’t in.
“I’ll hang around and wait,” I told the teenage girl, and I moved away from the entrance. I was going to wait for as long as it would take for me to see him. If he didn’t come around, then I would know that something was really…
The sound of a ringing phone just behind me made me turn, and I was stunned to see that it was Aiden who was a few feet away from where I stood. We looked into each other’s eyes for a short while. I was relieved that he was well and alive. I'd been worried that something terrible had happened to him.
“Come with me,” Aiden whispered when he stepped right in front of me.
I heaved a sigh as I followed him. I was mad at him for staying away from me for so long, but I was also glad that he was ready to talk and that we'd be able to resolve the issues that we had.
* * *
AIDEN
I stared out the window of my living room, long after my friends, Brian and Ronald, had left me. They had given me the same advice that I expected from them; I had to let go of my ego and not miss this shot at finding happiness again. I had spoken to them after the new breakdown in my relationship with Kayla.
That day she came to my place to see me, I'd escorted her inside, and we went straight to the bedroom, but on that occasion, it was clear that it wasn't about sex. Instead, I sat her down and poured my heart out to her. I told her things about me that she didn’t know, like the fact that I was once married or that my niece that she always asked me about couldn't walk; she depended on her wheelchair for mobility.
I saw the look of hurt that crept onto Kayla’s face as I made these revelations. It was exactly what I wanted at that time. I wanted to push her away completely. I was convinced that I loved her when I saw her with that Chris guy, who was just a friend anyway. I knew that if something happened to her after the previous losses I'd suffered, I wouldn't recover from it. It was better if I let her go. She was younger than me, and she would definitely find love again.
“You should have told me,” Kayla had muttered after everything I had told her. “But we can still make it work—”
“We can’t,” I countered. “I can’t continue with this. I'm scared something will happen. I feel like I'm jinxed that something just happens to everyone I love….”
That was as far as I got before Kayla grabbed her bag and stormed out, sobbing. I had achieved what I wanted, but I was unhappy. I thought I'd feel better as the days went by, but I only felt worse. Today, when my friends came to check up on me, I sought their advice, and they told me what they thought.
I walked away from the window now. It was time for me to finally get some sleep. As I walked toward my bedroom, I resolved that I was going to face my fears and go after the woman I loved. I realized that pushing Kayla away wasn't going to work. I was merely robbing myself of happiness if I kept doing that. I was going to make another surprise visit to Kayla at the bookstore and attempt to win her back.
I hoped it wouldn't be too late.
CHAPTER SIX
The last person I expected to show up at the doorway of the bookstore was Aiden, yet I was looking at him as he walked toward me, adjusting his lapels as he approached. I wondered what he wanted. He had revealed in clear terms that he wished our budding relationship to end.
I was busy at that moment because several people wanted to look at our new bestselling titles. Aiden didn't mind waiting at the counter while I went through the books that one of the customers had bought. I found it hard to concentrate on what I was doing because Aiden was here again in all his handsomeness and masculine allure. I managed to help the customers through their purchases, and I was soon free to attend to Aiden Walters.
“Why are you here?” I asked him when I went back to the counter.
It was really baffling that he had come back. I'd spoken to Lucy about my situation, and she had predicted that Aiden would be back for me.
“From what you've said, and the little I see, you two love each other,” Lucy had said.
