Completely engrossed in her troubled thoughts, Emerald couldn’t help but feel like she went round and round a maze in her head, only stumbling upon dead ends as she tried to decipher the thoughts of a certain someone, who had occupied her mind and head since the day he had left the house.
Today marked the third day since Jordan had left the house upon Emerald’s insistence on having full control of her own life and independence again, yet as she sat all alone in her quiet office, only seldom disturbed by traversing vehicles, Emerald couldn’t help but chew on her bottom lip as her mind and head worked together to come up with a valid reason as to why Jordan hadn’t bothered to reach out to her since he had left.
This same man had been so resolute about ‘rekindling the flame of hope’ he had ignited in her and for some reason, she had been shamelessly counting on his every word to fill her to the brim with the spark of hope she used to feel around him. It had always been an exhilarating experience that never failed to leave her breathless and against her better judgement, Emerald hoped against hope that Jordan wouldn’t give up on her, regardless of her harsh words and her attempts at pushing him away.
She hoped that he would see right through the lies her mouth spoke and just look into her green eyes which was a clear mirror to her aching soul. She hoped he would’ve seen her bleeding heart which constantly yearned for him, rather than her prevaricated words. But perhaps, all of that was just wishful thinking.
Letting her head hang in order to shield her tearful eyes from the world, Emerald laughed loudly at herself. Who was the hypocrite now? Saying one thing but wishing for the other.
She had, of her own volition, chased Jordan out of her house, out of her life and for once, the guy who never listened to her, was finally doing her bidding. So why was she still overwhelmed by guilt and sadness instead of being immensely relieved?
‘The heart wants what the heart wants.’ A voice called out to her, making Emerald’s eyes close as she rested her head against the backrest of her seat.
Finally able to get a break from her thoughts but still unable to quench the aching in her chest, Emerald heard a knock on her office door. “Come in,” she called out, barely opening her eyes to see the intruder.
“Miss Pearce?” Claire, her receptionist called.
“Yes, Claire?” she peeled open one of her eyes to show the blonde woman that she had her attention.
“Are you okay, Miss Pearce? You’ve been quite out of it since yesterday and you look sickly pale and emaciated. Don’t you need to visit the hospital?” Claire enumerated, concern evident in her voice.
“I know I’ve not been myself lately, Claire and I apologise for that and for making you worry,” Emerald gave a gentle smile, “but I’m good. I just need a bit of rest and I’ll be back to normal soon enough. Don’t worry about me.”
“Are you sure, Miss Pearce?” Claire asked uncertainly, “I could always close up the building while you retire for the day?” she volunteered, worriedly eyeing her boss’s frail body. She had never seen her like this since she began working here and it scared her to no end.
“How about we do that then, Claire. Would it finally put you at rest?” her blonde receptionist hurriedly nodded her head, making Emerald release a small laughter. “Okay. I’ll stay for one more hour and then, we can call it a day.”
“Only for one hour, Miss Pearce,” Claire repeated to which Emerald nodded before shutting her eyes again as Claire’s footsteps faded. “Oh! I can’t believe I almost forgot,” she opened her eyes again to see Claire walking back into her office but this time, with both her hands fully occupied.
With furrowed eyebrows, Emerald eyed the huge bouquet of different varieties of flowers, ranging from purple and pink hyacinths to white gardenias to scarlet red roses in her receptionist’s arms. “What is all this?” she asked.
“Someone asked me to give this to you, ma’am. Looks like Miss Pearce has a secret admirer,” Claire said in a sing–song tone as Emerald’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in the humongous size of the colourful bouquet.
As if that was not enough surprise, Claire’s already filled arms manufactured a food flask and a card, the same colour as the flowers. “I was asked to give these to you as well,” she passed over the items to Emerald who received them with trembling hands.
With unfamiliar anticipation coursing through her veins, Emerald opened the beautifully scented rainbow card to find a neat and well calligraphed handwriting smiling beautifully at her.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I would never give up on you, Gem. No matter how hard or how much you push me away, I’ll always be back for you, a hundred times more resolute than before.
P. S: I didn’t know what variety of flowers you liked, so I got one of each. Hope you like them.
Forever yours,
J.”
Her hands shaking vehemently as she gripped onto the card for dear life, she looked up to meet Claire’s happy expression which soon morphed into a concerned and questioning gaze. “Is something wrong, Miss Pearce?”
“Who brought this? Did you see?”
Claire shook her head, “I don’t know who sent them. I was only asked to relay the gifts to you. Is something wrong?” she asked again.
“When was this delivered?”
“About a few minutes ago.”
At Claire’s words, Emerald immediately sprang up and rushed to her floor to ceiling windows which overlooked the streets below. Just as she looked down, she saw a sleek black car driving away from the sidewalk directly in front of her building.
With her heart leaping happily in her chest, she remembered the words he had written in the card.
He would never give up on her.