"If it was upto me, I would not even let you walk around this building, let alone my office."

His words kept ringing in my ears, stealing me of my peace of mind. If I was ashamed before, hearing those words from his mouth had left me in a puddle of misery. For years, I have been trying to run away from my past self but his face brought me back to where it started.

I was back to zero.

"Oh damn!" Ava's voice pulled me out of the trance. I turned my face to her, only to find her staring at her mobile screen with googly eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that Aaron Vincent look like a whole snack?" she turned her face to me and asked.

"Are you stalking him?" I raised my eyebrows and asked. She shrugged, flicking her dark, usually tied hair that were now hanging loosely over her shoulder.

"Yes. And he looks nothing like you described." she said, almost looking disappointed at me.

"He changed." I sighed, playing with the remote in my hands. "People change."

"Well, he certainly aged like fine wine." she commented and put her phone away, scooting closer to me. Her calculative gaze assessed my face and despite my attempts to ignore her, I simply couldn't.

"What?" I asked, my voice sounding full of exhaustion. I didn't want to tell her what happened in the office because I was tired of watching the pity in her eyes. But on the other hand, I wanted to share the burden on my heart with her.

"What happened Clara?" her voice turned serious. I preferred funny Ava to serious Ava because funny Ava didn't ask questions that made my skin tingle with anxiety.

"Do you believe in karma?" I asked her and she gulped, probably thinking the right response to my question.

"Well, Gina Stinson lost her front teeth in an accident after she stole my boyfriend in Sixth grade. So yeah, I believe in Karma." she answered, trying to lighten the environment but her words couldn't make me laugh.

"Do you think I'll get punished for what I did?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. A frown appeared on her face at hearing my question.

She sighed and wrapped her arm around mine, placing her head on my shoulder. "You changed Clara. Like you said, people change. You have been through a lot and I think you have already handled your share of grief."

The hatred in his eyes once again made an appearance in my memory. "He hates me." I said, falling my head back on the couch. "And the worst thing is, I deserve every bit of his contempt."

Ava once again looked at me as if he wanted to smash my head. She was my friend and I knew she was taking my side because of her sincerity but that doesn't change the fact. I was still that person who ruined his life once and whenever he looks at me, he would remember the same shallow girl, no matter how much I try to change.

...

Dressed in white jeans and violet button-up shirt, I exited the car and walked towards the building of Steven Industries. The security guard didn't interrogate me this time because he probably recognised me by now. Smiling at the receptionist, I turned towards the elevator and stepped into it, pushing the button of the floor of my office.

Few seconds have passed when the elevator stopped, revealing Aaron Vincent whose eyes were fixated on a file in his hands. Without noticing me, he stepped inside and stood in front of me with his back towards me.

The scent of his cologne reached my nostrils and I inhaled deeply. He smelled really nice, like woods and rain. His grey coat was stretched accross his muscular arms and his hair looked slightly wet, indicating that he had recently taken bath.

Something about his presence in such small space caused my heart to race and before I could stop, I took a deep breath. His eyes suddenly shifted to mine and a frown displaced the calm expressions on his face. His jaw clenched and he shut the file immediately, stepping away from me to the other corner of the elevator.

By the time we reached the destined floor, I walked out first and he trailed behind me silently. My mind was wholly focused on his presence behind me that all I could think was how to get away from his sight as soon as possible. To do this, I increased my pace despite knowing that I don't have much recent practice of walking in heels.

Unfortunately, my ankle twisted because of the heels and I wobbled forwards, landing on the marbled floor. I would have died with embarrassment if it was not for the sharp pain that erupted in my ankle. Letting out a small wince, I massaged the place, all the while fighting the instinct to groan.

While doing so, my eyes met with the standing figure of Aaron staring down at me, his face filled with an inexplicable emotion, almost as if seeing me in pain brought a strange sense of comfort to him. Tears pricked the back of my eyes and I felt like sobbing hard in front of him but thankfully I didn't.

I don't know why I expected him to help me and why I felt sadness brewing inside my heart when he shook his head and walked past me, leaving me on the floor. Biting my lips hard, I gathered all the courage I had and stood up, ignoring the pain in my foot. Limping throughout the hallway, I finally reached my office and once I sat on my desk, I let out a small whimper.

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