Until Arora

Chapter one

"Strong women will always intimidate weak men. He'll call her difficult, but deep down, he knows she is the fire.. And he's afraid of being burned."                  Ravenwolf

Arora POV

It was a cold but beautiful late morning in Guyana in 2015. With blue skies and spring colors. Sunlight and beauty were now for other people, while my life was stark and devoid of song. It was a text from Adjai, I realized as I stared at my phone. I couldn't accept the fact that he would choose today, of all days, to end our relationship.

The 13th of May has now officially become my personal day in hell. Six years ago, on May 13, 2009, I witnessed my first love getting engaged to another woman. I was only eighteen years old at the time, but I loved Raj more than anything else. I wished I'd had the guts to tell him how I felt. But, fortunately, I didn't. Because I came from a poor family, his family would never have accepted me.

I know you must think it's my own fault for my heart break. But where I'm from things work differently.

It never bothers me that I was poor. Money and material things never seem important to me because I have a family that loves me very much. So, I kept quiet and never said a word to Raj about how I felt about him. And watching him get engaged to another killed the love I had for him.

Then I met Chris a few months later. He was flawless, and he mend my broken heart. We were planning to marry on May 13, 2011. Everything went swimmingly until my wedding day, when tragedy struck. I was in the church, still wearing my wedding gown, when I received word that Chris had been in an accident and had died. When I learned of Chris's death, it felt like every nerve in my body died.

And isn't that sufficient for my heart? I kept my heart open to new love. And now, four years later, four years after Chris's death. Adjai broke up with me on May 13th, and he still chooses to break up with me today.

I'm sitting in the cafe, staring at that text. Which in every way breaks my heart.

"Good day, Arora." I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think we could ever work. We come from two entirely different worlds. I was talking with a friend, and she admitted that she likes me more than a friend. I must be fair to her and give her a second chance. The only thing I liked about you was that you're a devout Christian and a nurse. You are more concerned with helping others than with getting ahead in life. And I can't imagine myself marrying someone like that. I need someone to push me to the next level of success, and I do the same for her. And you are not that person. My friend is.

The more I thought about that message, the more it killed me from the inside out. My heart was broken yet again.

I made the decision right then and there that I would not allow a guy to get any closer to me. I made the decision to leave Guyana and move to the United States to study and build a life for myself. All I focused on was becoming successful, powerful, and ruthless. People associate my name with a heartless business owner when they hear Arora Valentine. No, not Arora Valentine, but they won't realize I'm a woman if they hear the name AV. They see AV as a heartless, ruthless, and powerful man. I resolved to work hard in order to start my own business.