Aura Finley

Why is it always your eyes look for the person who you decided to avoid at any cost? Why is it hard to take your eyes off them?

It was low and unacceptable of me to leave Kian in the middle of our conversation, but I couldn't simply stand before him and pretend I was alright. I had just seen him kiss a girl and that bothered me to the core.

I tried, I tried my best to concentrate on what the DJ was teaching to me but my mind was not in the right place, and my eyes constantly kept flicking to Kian who was busy talking with his ex. Although Rachel was with them too, Kian's closeness with his ex, his hand around her neck as he whispered something in her ear, dropped my heart in the pit of my stomach.

If only I could build a wall to resist looking at them. Even meeting each other after years they seemed like a couple who never broke up— whatever the reason been.

Momentarily, our eyes met, and everything and everyone else disappeared from my view. On the first day we met, I could never have guessed I would ever get lost in the eyes of the flirty jerk who annoyed me to death. He was a fine example of handsomeness with flaws. I had a sudden urge to caress his face, feel the stubble around his jaw, inhale his scent, grab his collars, harshly pull him towards me, and ask— what magic did he cast on me that I couldn't stop thinking about him.

Why was it that I wanted to spend time with him, listen to him crack jokes, smile and laugh with him, and stay silent... with him.

I wanted to be courageous enough to put aside my ego and yell at him that his closeness with other girls offended me. I had never said it out loud, but I wanted to confess it now that sparks flowed in my veins whenever he touched me. He excited me. However, I was being a chicken and didn't want to boost his ego by being another girl on his list that confessed her feelings for him. Besides, we were going to separate our ways after our task here was done and also I didn't know him enough yet to take risk of falling for him. Or had I already?

Just then, my vision blurred, and the connection with Kain's gaze broke when Ezra snapped his fingers in my face.

"Earth to Aura. This poor man here has been asking you if you got what he said but seem lost somewhere."

"Uh, oh, I'm so sorry," I quickly apologized to the DJ. How could have I gotten distracted when I was the one who showed interest in learning the DJ system. I removed the headphones and handed them back over to him. "Guess, this isn't for me. Anyway, thank you for giving me your time."

Smiling, he nodded his head in understanding and I stepped away from him. Ezra said something to him and then came and walked with me.

"Hey, what happened all of a sudden? You were thrilled a while ago." He questioned.

What should have I told him as to what got me distracted?

I glanced at him before looking ahead and shrugged. "It doesn't excite me anymore."

"Oh, alright." He mumbled and continued to walk with me. We both kept our silence until he chose to start a conversation.

"You know we are walking aimlessly with no work why not try to know each other? Would you mind if I ask where did you work before you joined our team?"

"Uh, it's my first job." I lied since I couldn't tell him where I worked as it would lead to further complicated questioning sessions.

"What about you?" I asked to keep the flow going and to stop myself from turning back and look at Kian again.

"Ah, I worked at a small event planning company before I joined Zoya recently to level up my skills. Learning from her how to build an event planning business." He replied sincerely.

"Oh, great." That's all I said.

"Uh, Aura, I heard you slept in Kian's room last night."

I stopped short in my track, making him stop him as well. Oh, hell, he must be thinking something unusual. "Yeah. Umm, Joy and Vinnie wanted the room for themselves and there was a vacant bed in Kian's room."

"You could have asked me; Leo and I would have vacated the room for you." Hurt and disbelief were evident in his voice.

I looked at him. "I find it better to find an already vacant place for me instead of disturbing two people's peace."

He averted his eyes and then again looked at me. "Why him?"

I tilted my head in disbelief. "Ezraaa...please don't do this."

"Aura—" I raised my hand to stop him from saying any further.

"Ezra, I don't want to keep you in dark. I will not give you false hopes..." I muttered, studying him for a change of expression. He remained passive, eager to listen to what I had to say.

I wanted to be polite as much as I could be. "I...All I want to say is don't wait for my decision. I won't be able to —"

This time I was stopped by him. "Don't conclude yet, Aura. We still have time, just think about it, okay? Now, let's get going. I shouldn't have picked up the topic."

With a smile, he marched ahead, leaving me cursing myself for stating things clearly to him.

On one hand, it was Kian who had taken away my mental peace by taking over my every thought, and on the other, it was Ezra who drowned me in the guilt of not being straightforward with him. I found myself getting trapped in a maze of uncertainty, I couldn't find my way out.

At dusk, I met Kian at our usual spot where we discussed the plan, however, this time I met him to cancel the meeting since I didn't feel good. But when I told that to Kian, his response was something I never expected.

"I don't know what happened to you all of a sudden. If it's me, then I am sorry if I did something that offended you in any way. Just don't let this come in between our work. Anyway, take your time."

With that, he walked away, leaving me standing there flabbergasted and regretful for being distant.

Sighing exasperatedly, I walked towards the front lawn of the manor. There, I aimlessly strolled and after a few minutes, I jumped when someone firmly spoke just behind me.

"What are doing here?"

I turned and came face to face with the guard who had been keeping his eyes on me. Huffing, I rolled my eyes. "God, I'm only walking. What do you suspect me of now?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You are generally not seen here at this time."

"Oh, obviously, I should have taken your permission to take a stroll to digest my dinner." I huffed, dropping my hands to my side.

Poised firm, he gave a glance at his watch. "It isn't dinner time yet. The night is yet to fall."

My eyes bulged out at his response. "Hey, dude, I eat whenever I please."

"Yes, you can. But your presence at places at unusual times raises the suspicion. Anyway, enjoy your stroll." He then turned only to look back at me. "Keep in my mind that I have my eyes on you." With that, he walked away. Phew.

I narrowed my eyes at his back and resumed my walk, only to be stopped again by an unfamiliar female voice. "Hey, excuse me."

I turned and saw Kian's ex approaching me. What did she want with me?

She came and stood before me, smiling. "I was passing by and saw you alone here so I thought why not have a word with you. Hi, I'm Gemma Welsh, I'm—"

"Kian's ex-girlfriend." I didn't know why this left my mouth and I even sounded bitter. Good god, I was so embarrassed.

To my surprise, she laughed. "Oh, that's not how I was going to introduce myself, but anyway, yes, I was once his girlfriend. But girl, I'm surprised that he told you about me."

Embarrassed, I apologized. "I'm so sorry, it was rude of me to say that."

She casually waved her hand. "Oh, I don't mind. Anyway, do you mind if I walk with you? I wanted to talk with you."

"Oh, yes, sure." I forced a smile and we resumed walking. My hands folded at my back in nervousness, wondering what could she want to talk about.

"Uh, what's your name again?" She asked politely.

"Aura Finley," I replied gently.

"Wow, a unique name you have there." She chuckled. Even though I didn't know her, I didn't feel awkward because she appeared to be one jubilant woman.

"Um, don't mind me, but I would like to come directly to the point. For long have you known Kian?" She asked and I came to an abrupt stop. Why would she want to know that? What did Kain say to her about her?

"Um, not long enough. Been a week." I muttered lowly and resumed walking.

"No way!" She stopped me by grabbing my hand and came in front of me. Her eyes were wide in surprise and she had a huge smile playing on her lips. She then put one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead, and mumbled to herself. "He's really whipped."

Laughing, she shook her head and I weirdly observed her every move, wondering what had happened to her.

"Okay, I don't want to beat around the brush. So, do you feel anything for Kian?"

Her question petrified me. I was left speechless. Why would she ask me that? What would she think that I felt something for Kian, which I did without any doubt, but still. Did she want to get back to him that's why she asked me that? But we never met before then why would she question me about this?

"No, I don't." I tried to reply confidently but failed because my voice cracked a bit. I had to avert my eyes when she pinned her gaze with mine, trying to observe something which I didn't want to show.

She removed her hold from my hand and brushed her hair back from her face, which allowed me to look at her closely. She was beautiful, pointed nose, and sculpted jaw, and her grey eyes added to her beauty. Her dazzling smile could make men drop to their knees. Why would Kian fall for her, she indeed was a package.

"So, you both are..." Something crossed her mind that she didn't complete her sentence and changed the topic. "Let's sit over there," She grasped my hand and dragged me towards the bench by the wall.

We sat side by side without uttering a word for a few seconds before I decided to ask. "What do you do?"

She smiled and proudly answered. "I'm a lawyer."

Whoa, she was beautiful and had a nice job. I wondered why she and Kian broke up. What exactly happened between them.

"You know, Kian's the softest person you'll ever meet."

My head whipped in her direction. I wondered why she was telling me this.

"He might appear to be strong, tough, and ignorant, but he's a baby by heart." She chuckled to herself. "You know what, once in high school, he found an injured puppy in the middle of the road. He and I took the puppy to the doctor but Kian refused to look at the whimpering puppy while the doctor treated its wounds. He ran out of the clinic saying he couldn't watch a puppy go through such harsh treatment. And when I ran after him, I caught tears in his eyes. Yes, he's that soft."

I was inwardly awed at Kian's cuteness and laughed imagining his expressions as he ran out of the clinic.

Gemma looked at the sky and continued. "He's smart, caring, and sweet. He's ambitious. He will go to the end of the earth to get what he wants. And yes, he's stubborn too. He has always been ahead of his time, he's always sure of himself, and he knows what he wants. And his wants have always been weird."

"Why did you two break up?" I asked before she could say any further. She thought so highly of him then why did they separate?

She laughed and looked at me. "Because I was stupid. When I should have bestowed my trust in him, I pushed him away. I doubted his abilities, questioned him, and judged him for his goals. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep up with his extraordinary ambitions." She sighed sadly.

"I lost him there." She muttered into the air and looked at me, and smiled. "But now, we both have moved on. And I am happy he's living the way he wanted."

What could be so extraordinary about Kian's goal that she failed to understand?

"Now, I want to hear your views about him." She shifted to face me, a grin not leaving her face.

Oh, I could go on and on with that. "Well, I don't think so highly of him as you do. For me, he's an A-class flirt, a jerk, annoyance, troublemaker..." Then my heart softened for him. "But he's fun to be with. He surely knows how to pump up someone's mood."

"Wow." She dreamily gasped. "Sorry to say but both of you are dumb for taking time to confess."

"Confess what?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"Confess your feelings, duh!" She then abruptly stood up. I too did the same. "My work's done here." She took me off guard by embracing me. "It was nice meeting you, Aura. Hope I have cleared some of the things going inside your head. Don't wait for long to confess because Kian may be smart and all, but in reality, he's dumb. And no, I don't want to get back at him, I have a fiance now."

She stepped away and showed me her ring by waving her hand and before I could say or ask about why she said what she said, she was on her way back inside the manor.

What could she have meant by that? What did she want me to confess? Wait, did she read through my eyes? Did she tell good things about Kian because she sensed my confusion? Because if she meant that, she did a wonderful job. I felt much better now, my mind was somewhat clear. But I still needed time.

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Cupids everywhere. 😀 💘

What do you think of Gemma, isn't she a nice soul?