''Hey Cuz''

The familiar voice reverberated throughout the office before dying slowly. I returned from my trance and shoved Luke.

What on earth was he thinking?

I raised my gaze to the source of the voice. He was dressed in a black suit with no tie, his hair wild as usual, but instead of being playful as usual, his eyes were icy. This is the first time I've seen him since the event, and he hasn't changed at all. A part of me wished he became uglier, but his current appearance was far from what I had wished for.

His ocean blue eyes locked with mine. We both glared at each other, and if his eyes were frigid, mine was much colder. There was no sign of warmth in either of our eyes. At least, there was something we had in common.

"Hey, Cuz." Luke coughed and responded awkwardly.

Hmm, when did he start feeling awkward?

As far as I recall, he didn't care what other people thought of us or him; or perhaps it was what I assumed, just like so many other things.

Sebastian nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on me. I shifted my gaze away from him and back to my ex, giving him a stern look, and gently whispered,

"I will take that as my cue."

I made my way towards the door without glancing at any of the men in the room, but I came to a halt when I heard Sebastian's remark, "So you've found yourself a whore?" he chuckled.

My entire body shook with rage. I inhaled and exhaled sharply, my jaws and fists clenched. I shut my eyes and fought the want to turn around and smack him.

"Stop being a dick, Seb; I told you she's my ex," Luke muttered.

"Oh, is she?" Sebastian sneered. Even though I had my back to them, I could tell he was smirking.

He's simply trying to get a reaction from me, so don't respond, Ella. Don't give him the satisfaction of your rage.

Clearly, he wanted me to hear everything he said and wanted a reaction out of me.

"Elli," Luke called, and I took a deep breath and spun around to see both of their gazes locked on me.

Mr. Henderson, it's Ms. Brown. That's what everyone in authority refers to me as," I informed him bluntly. Sebastian didn't say anything else, while Luke swallowed and nodded.

"Can we get lunch together?" From the corner of my eye, I observed Sebastian tightening his fists but remained silent.

''You have a lunch meeting with the Calvary's '' Sebastian muttered sounding annoyed.

"Oh, sorry, it slipped my mind," Luke admitted sheepishly.

''How about tomorrow?" he said, his eyes gleaming with optimism.

"No, I'm busy," I said firmly.

"The day after tomorrow?"

''Busy''

''So, which day are you free?''

''Never"

''You know if I order you to eat lunch with me, you can't turn down," he smirked slyly. I cut Sebastian off before he could open his mouth.

''Of course, I can't decline," his smirk widened, "but I can certainly notify everyone about how you fucked ladies behind your girlfriend's back. I am sure it will be a piece of great news for the media as well." I smiled innocently as his smirk was wiped away.

Normally, I despise being blackmailed or threatening anyone, since it makes me feel inferior in my perceptions. But this was an exception; if he was going to utilize his powers, I would as well. I wouldn't just sit back and watch him dictate my life.

"Are you threatening me, Elli?" he gritted his teeth.

''Ms. Brown'' I muttered firmly, ''It's Ms. Brown''

He tightened his jaws but said nothing. I could tell he was becoming agitated because he constantly averted his eyes to hide his demons from my gaze. And that's exactly what he was doing right now: he was hiding his demons. But little did he know, his devil appeared more than once in front of me, it's just, I remained silent.

''Take it as a threat or a warning, your wish'' I gave him a fake smile. I didn't look at Sebastian anymore; he'd simply say something that would fuel my anger even more.

I shook my head and walked over to the doorknob to exit. As I walked out, I heard Sebastian smirkingly add, "By the way, your ex is my roommate."

I didn't wait for Luke's response since I didn't care what he thought and proceeded to my office.

Time flew by as swiftly as water, and it was soon time for lunch. I returned to my room and resumed my work, oblivious to the passing of time. Today, though, my concentration was fragmented, and I was unable to concentrate on the files I was examining.

My phone buzzed, and it was a text message.

I responded with a sigh.

I got up from my chair and walked to the elevator, and I got down. They were arguing as usual, and Jen grinned broadly when she saw me.

"Let's go, I'm hungry," Maver grumbled as he walked ahead. While Jen wrapped our arms together.

We went to our regular lunch spot and ordered what we always did. An elderly couple sat across from us, eating their meals, and the elderly grey-haired man would feed his wife in the midst.

"Look at that handsome barista," the elderly lady cooed while her husband narrowed his eyes.

''I was also handsome like that or maybe even more," he grumbled as he fed his wife with his spoon.

"Of course you were and still are," she beamed as she ate from his spoon. He didn't say anything else and kept feeding her from his plate.

"My dashing spouse" She cooed, tugging his cheeks, he grumbled, muttering something under his breath, but I didn't miss the small tug on his lips and the red tint on his cheeks.

They were madly in love. They were still were. It demonstrates that you can never stop loving someone and that notions such as "falling out of love" do not exist. When we fall in love, we fall in love with our lover's imperfections as well as his or her beauty.

"They're adorable, aren't they?" Jen smiled as she looked at the elderly couple.

''They are," I murmured, my attention fixed on them.

"So, what's up?" Jen inquired, drawing my attention back to her. It was amusing how she failed to appear as unconcerned as possible.

''You know that was a terrible way to hide your interest, right?" Maver chuckled, and I bit my lower lip to retain myself from laughing as well.

"Shut up," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. Maver's laughter died away, and he straightened up.

''You don't have to say anything you don't want to," he replied solemnly, staring at me.

''I know, but sooner or later I'll have to, and I want to get it out," I said, looking at them before shifting my eyes to the elderly couple sitting across from us.

Something within me stirred; yearning maybe.

"When I was at university, I was in a relationship," I explained, and both of them remained quiet, "we dated for three years."

"Three years?" Jen asked, her eyes widening. I gave a nod.

''We were both happy, well at least I was.'' I let out a strained chuckle, ''He was everyone's favorite," I said with a forced smile. ''He was that, a golden boy. Everyone admired him, and females literally worshiped the ground he walked on, yet he never paid any attention to any of them, or so I believed." I lowered my gaze to my cup of coffee and swirled it in circles with the spoon.

''He always made me feel special, he was amazing Lord, I couldn't believe I got him as a boyfriend. Though there were several occasions when he was controlling and things did hurt me, I overlooked them since he never pushed me to do something I never wanted to do. He was just perfect.'' I whispered the last part,

''But that's where I went wrong since I forgot that no one was perfect and that everyone carried their own demon. He was perfect for me; he was the ideal boyfriend. That was until one day, the day I discovered he was cheating on me, the day when I discovered he was fucking girls behind my back." I leaned my elbows against the table and covered my face with both my palms.

The day was as clear as a crystal in my mind.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!