( Beverly Hills, California. )
The light from Naomi’s laptop made her sleepy. It was two hours after midnight but she wasn’t yet done with the report she had to submit first thing in the morning.
Sitting Indian style on her office floor made her legs cramp! She couldn’t sit on her office chair either because her butt felt stiff. Her grey eyes were dull and for the first time, she let her ponytail fall free.
A light knock sounded on the door and Jake walked in. Lifting her head, she saw him shake a white paper bag in his hand before kicking the door behind silently.
“I saw your lights on so I guessed you might still be working.” He dropped the paper bag before crashing on the floor near her.
Naomi’s eyes widened in disbelief, either because he was sitting next to her or because of how casual he looked.
His suit jacket and bugs were nowhere around and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. It was the closest to casual look she’d seen him in. Her heart turned seeing his tired face.
She flushed hotly and looked away when he turned to her.
“Dinner?” He pushed the paper bag over to her. ”For helping with the book, I owe you this.”
Naomi drooled at the burger wrapper and her shameless tummy chose that exact moment to embarrass her! Jake smiled and picked up a coffee cup.
Naomi muttered a gratitude and suspended her laptop to devour the cheeseburgers and French fries dipped in ketchup.
Thankfully, Jake didn’t pay attention to her lacking etiquettes and glanced at the documents scattered around before them.
“Why aren’t you in bed yet?” She mumbled with a full mouth. He briefly turned to her and she almost choked!
“Am I supposed to fall asleep?” He asked. Naomi nodded because it was partly true.
“Why are you researching this?” He picked up a file. She looked at the one he was holding.
“The Empress asked me to go through some cabinet records from the past.”
“Why?”
“She wants to find out the list of potential nominees that has been gathered over the years, who will be nominated for Emperor in case anything happens to her. In that way, she can….”
“… figure out if they’re in league with her family’s murderers.” He completed, looking away.
Naomi nodded and shoved more fries into her mouth while Jake quietly sipped his coffee and picked up another file.
“Why do you love black coffee so much? You take about 5-6 cups daily and include it in all of your diet! It’s bad for your health. Black Americano is an active stimulant. You won’t be able to fall asleep easily.” She worriedly voiced.
Jake threw her a look.
“I wasn’t spying on you!” Naomi bulged her eyes and hastily raised her hands in guilt.
A small amused smile curled Jake’s lips as he looked away. She shut her loud mouth and returned to her burger, totally red in the face!
The silence stretched on for a while longer.
“Can I ask why you joined the military?” She finally broke it. Jake seemed thoughtful for a while before looking at her.
But instead of an answer Naomi was expecting, he leaned in closer with his eyes on her… lips??
Naomi’s eyes widened and her breath hitched. Oxygen seized in her brain as he lifted his hand to her cheek. She opened her lips to stutter and when his hand slowly slipped down her chin, she almost passed out!
Jake eyes were focused and when he pulled away, he smiled and showed her the ketchup on his thumb.
Naomi breathed out silently and scolded herself for being idiotic!
“I’ve always wanted to be in national security. Not exactly military though. Defense has always been my passion.” He picked up a napkin.
“It’s obvious in the glow in your eyes.” She whispered sadly. Her heart hurt the more.
Falling in love with a zealous soldier who was probably gay was the worst heartbreak ever!
Jake’s digital watch beeped and he looked at it. Immediately, he picked up his coffee and stood up.
“I need to supervise the guards on night shift. It’s been nice talking with you. Have some rest.” He said and turned to go. Naomi nodded like a lost kid taking orders from a police officer.
“Jake!” She called and he turned.
She raised her cup. “Thanks for breakfast.”
He nodded curtly before walking out. Naomi let out a quiet sigh and drew her laptop closer…
***
Selena wiped her tears, watching Arian sleep. She covered his pale body with the duvet properly till it reached his neck. Even in his sleep, tears still trickled down his eyes once in a while.
He looked like he was having a nightmare. It had to be the fever. She touched his forehead and was grateful that it had gone down.
Tommy had been feeling guilty for ignoring Arian at Jeffrey’s house. So he’d bugged Selena over dinner to take him up to apologize.
When they got into his room, their horrified screams was enough to cause an earthquake seeing Arian committing suicide! Even the doctors confessed it was a miracle that he was still alive.
Mom Rose nearly cried herself mad. She refused to send him to a hospital where her focus on him would’ve been lessened and ordered for his room to be a ward instead.
She locked up the balcony and didn’t give anyone access to his room except the doctors. Sir Argent was stunned but subtly showed it.
He focused on the frightened Tommy who kept on bawling nonstop in his arms. No one slept throughout the night. Selena literally had to go on knees before Mom Rose let her in to see him.
She softly caressed Arian’s hand and left her tears to fall. She couldn’t understand why she always suffered in love.
“Arian? Arian!” She smiled and wiped her tears when his eyes flurried open.
Arian looked around strangely and tried to sit up, but his entire body was restrained by medical set ups. Selena rushed to him.
“Are you okay…”
“Wh… where am I?”
“Home, of course!”
“I… I need to leave.” He breathed heftily and forced himself off the bed, barefooted.
Before Selena could react, Arian had gotten past her outside the room. She ran after him and spotted him shuffling away faster at the end of the hallway, near the stairs.
“Arian!” She called and dashed over. Before she could reach the semicircular staircase, he was already at the living area.
“Uncle, aunt! Arian stop!” She yelled for help.
The doctor was in the living room with the rest of the family when they heard her call. They turned in time to see Arian run through.
Soon, the entire house joined the Marathon race.
“Guards!” Richard De’ Argent summoned as Arian ran outside the mansion and crashed into Ricky and Jeffrey on their way in.
The force of his velocity knocked them down the stone stairs but luckily, no one got hurt.
“Shit! What the hell?!” Ricky screamed.
“Don’t let him go!” Selena yelled as Arian tried to get up again.
Jeffrey being a star athlete was quicker than Ricky to hold him down until security came.
“Let me go!” He fought and struggled but they easily pinned him down. The doctor rushed over and injected him with sedatives. And under seconds, Arian became weak and drowsy.
Selena rushed her crying figure over to see he was quickly losing consciousness.
“What did you do to him?” She yelled to no one in particular.
“Arian…”
“I… I need to leave t.. this… this place.” He whispered before drifting away…
~~~
Arian woke up to find himself in the middle of a rose field. The vibrant sun was so bright that it hurt his eyes. He blinked rapidly and sat up.
The world looked so beautiful, more than he had ever seen.
A familiar giggle broke through his thoughts and wafted into his senses. Arian hastily stood up. The sound became closer and closer but he found no one.
“Hello?” He called. There was no response but the cute giggle continued. Suddenly, a pair of soft feminine hands covered his eyes from behind.
“My love.” Her angelic voice giggled and his lips curled up into a smile.
“Natalia?” He turned and saw her in a pink dress which matched with the roses. A flower crown was on her hair but he couldn’t see her beautiful face clearly.
“Come on. Let’s go!” She pulled him. Despite the blinding lights, he could still see her smile.
“Go where?” He smiled back. She linked their arms together and pulled him somewhere.
“Have you forgotten? It’s our wedding today!” She beamed. Arian returned it and looked ahead. The outdoor wedding decor was magical. The guests sat on both sides of the aisle and stared at them…. Or at him?
Arian looked around, feeling his heart tighten again.
“Na…” He smiled when he saw her standing next to the priest, holding a flower and wearing a veil.
He walked down the aisle in his casual sweats to meet her. Everyone smiled like he was the bride.
Suddenly, it all became creepy when he noticed the men wore dresses while the women spotted tuxedos. Arian creased his brows and walked faster to the podium.
He tripped and halted when he caught Tommy wearing a flower girl’s dress and holding a little flower basket. They were all smiling brightly which slowly freaked him out.
At the end of the aisle, the priest smiled warmly at him and for some reason, he reminded Arian of the doctor that had injected him…
“You may now kiss the bride.” He pushed all the spooky scenes from his mind and faced the love of his life.
Before Arian could touch her veil, it magically flew off by itself to reveal Selena’s face! He flinched and fell off the podium.
When he stood up, the crowd had surrounded him and were chanting for him to kiss his bride! They looked scary as they angrily marched forward.
A tug at his sleeve redirected Arian’s focus. He turned to look at the bride.
“What’s wrong, Arian? It’s our wedding, so kiss me!” She pouted. He recoiled away and pushed her off him.
Selena dreaded the rejection and furiously morphed into a beast. Evil wings grew out of her back and her polished nails turned into claws! Monstrous fangs appeared on her teeth and her skin turned into a strange color.
“Kiss me, Arian!” She yelled and grabbed him with her claws.
And for the first occurrence in human history… A person passed out in his dream…