The Man She Betrayed

9. Incapable Of A Change

Aaron

The wind blew my hair in a ruffled mess as I stepped out of my car. The weather was pleasant today, not too warm to cause sweating, not too cold to make me shiver. But when my eyes landed on the car stopped in front of mine, more specifically the girl who stepped out of that car, my mood immediately turned sullen.

"Thanks Ava. You are a life saver." she said to the person on the driver seat, looking towards her watch in hurry. I wondered how someone so ungrateful like her leant to thank someone. A sarcastic smile appeared on my face at the thought and I started walking towards the building.

She was rushing inside in full speed, her sandals making noise on the marbled floor. This made me remember the day when she fell on the ground and despite every nerve in my body telling me to help her, I didn't.

I lagged behind her, watching her long hair flowing in the wind. Her natural red waves were really pretty, much more than the straightened or curled look. When I realised that I have been staring at her back for too long, I scolded myself mentally and increased my speed, walking by her into the elevator.

Her smile died down when she noticed me and an incomprehensible expression replaced it. As she followed me into the elevator, her feet suddenly slipped and once again, she stumbled forwards. But this time, I didn't have time to think it through and the next thing I knew, I moved forwards to prevent her fall and we both ended up stumbling back into the elevator wall, with my arms wrapped around her waist.

Just for a moment, for a really brief moment, something twisted inside my heart when her green eyes bore into mine but I reminded it of what she did last time I let her in.

"I'm sorry. I am really sorry." she said, retreating few steps until she was standing on the other side of the elevator.

"Have you really forgotten how to walk?" I spat, burning in anger but what I didn't want to accept was that the anger was directed towards my own self for feeling something for her, even for a single second.

"I.. Um.." she just stood there dumbfounded, trying to find a reason for her stupidity. "I had an ankle sprain." On hearing this, my eyes lowered to her feet where a bandage was peeking through her sandals. A feeble wave of guilt hit me but I didn't let it show on my face.

"Whatever. Just walk with your eyes open next time." I said and opened the file in my hand, bringing it in front of my eyes so that I could ignore her peacefully. When the lift finally stopped at our floor, she waited for me to leave first unlike last time. Shaking my head, I exited the elevator and made way towards my office.

By the lunch time, I was done with two meeting and most of my work for the day so I decided to take a break for an hour. While I was arranging the files, I heard a door on the knock. "Come in." I said and watched Crystal enter through the door with two brown packets in her hands.

"One double cheese burger coming right up." she placed one packet in front of me and the other one in her lap as she sat down on the seat in front of me and put her legs on my desk.

"Thanks." I said and opened the packet, the aroma of cheese filled my nostrils and the sight of my favorite pepperoni fries enhanced the waterworks in my mouth.

"No need for thanks. I have booked a reservation in Reese's for tonight and you're paying." she carelessly shrugged and took a big bite of her burger.

"Really? And you can't pay because-" I leaned my head to one side.

"Because I'm broke." she reasoned while chewing with full mouth.

"Yeah. You earn eight thousand dollars a month. How are you broke exactly?" I asked, propping my head on the desk.

"Well, I'm not the one working as a COO in a multinational company." she stuck her tongue out and I laughed at her expressions. She was so cute, with her big, grey eyes and short, wavy hair that reached her shoulders. Plus, her personality was the thing that made her an even better company.

We were busy pulling each other's leg when the door knocked once again and entered Clara, her hair tied in a messy bun this time. "Amber sent the f.. file for you." she said and stuttered her eyes shifted between Crystal and me.

"Stuttering doesn't sound really attractive." she once said to me when I was blushing too hard on our first official date.

"Stuttering doesn't sound really professional, Miss. Avery." I commented in a dry tone and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry." she muttered in a barely audible voice and immediately excused herself from my office. My eyes remained zoomed in on her retreating figure.

"Wow. She is really back." Crystal had forgotten about her burger by now through which cheese is dripping on her crisp white shirt "She doesn't look the same."

"It doesn't matter. Nature doesn't change that easily. Like a snake, it's in her instincts to bite." I said with a sigh.

Crystal looked at me with a faint hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Did you look into her eyes? They were hollow." she sounded really low, as if she felt pity for her.

"Are you seriously feeling bad for her?" I gritted my teeth and asked. She shook her head in no and changed the topic but I could feel it in her eyes that she felt sorry for her.

...

I won't say I was perfect but I had some qualities and being punctual was one of them. Too bad, Crystal didn't inherit my quality through osmosis and like every other day, she was late for dinner. With all the tossing and turning, my black shirt probably had a lot of creases by now.

Thankfully, It was Friday so I won't have to worry about being late for office next day.

Groaning in annoyance, I texted her and leaned back in my seat, my eyes assessing my exhausted face in the mirror in front of my seat. There were dark circles under my eye as a result of working overnight.

In the mirror, something else caught my eyes. It was Clara, sitting with a tall, blonde man, dressed in an elegant peach colored halter dress. She was nodding to something that her date said. The guy who was probably a millionaire or something leaned forwards and whispered something in her ears which led to a huge smile that broke on her face and she stood up to give a hug to him.

My brows furrowed as I tried to ignore them but couldn't. The part of me that felt something after years this morning once again cussed me for even considering that she might have changed.

Clenching my jaw, I stood up to leave and right at that moment, I watched Crystal enter through the door.

"Where are you going, young man?" she said chirpily but my mood was really sour after watching their public display of affection.

"Here." I motioned with my head towards their seat at the back where she was busy hugging life out of that man. "Still feeling bad for her?"

Crystal's smile evaporated from her face as she took in the scene. She urged me to sit down and calmly handle the situation without making a scene which I did so, but my gaze was still fixated on them.

Well, I was not going to make a scene here. For that, I'll have to wait for the next working day in the office.

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