Dreams

The atmosphere in the room turned ambiguous as Talia's hold on Arthur's neck tightened and slowly but surely she pulled him closer. Her strength wasn't that great making Arthur wonder if she is truly awake or not but as her alluring misty eyes got closer he couldn't help but give in and closed his eyes.

Talia on the other hand, was having one of her dreams but this time this was so vivid, she could feel even his breath on her. In her dream, Arthur was kneeling in front of her with a ring. She couldn't see the ring but who cares what kind of ring it was? If it was him in front of her, she'd accept even a candy ring!

But he said something she couldn't make of and she could feel the ring in her finger and she felt happy. So happy she wanted to hug him close.

So she did.

But... She wanted more. She wanted to touch him more. This was a dream and she could do whatever she wants. Maybe because she saw him earlier that day, he was not a teenager in her dream but a strong, chiseled, handsome man.

No one's going to know! Especially him.

Her long curled eyelashes touched his eyelid at the same time her moist lips touched his. She felt the same zing she felt when they first kissed. It is just a dream but only he could give her this feeling even when he wasn't there.

But it wasn't enough for her and she went for more. It felt so real as the man she was holding felt hot with his breathing heavy and she could feel his heart beating rapidly through her hand holding his back.

Fred... My Freddy bear... My love...

I love you.

But... I can't be with you.

Even in her dreamy state, she couldn't think of a life with him.

When she opened her eyes, trying to get out of her dream, her man was still there and he seemed to want more too. He was always like this, trying to accommodate her.

I should do this! Even if this is a dream, I should do this! I cannot listen to my heart. I cannot have my heart broken once again.

She pushed him away placing her hands on his broad shoulders.

"Fred, find yourself a good woman."

She spoke. Her voice seemed hoarse, she might be actually mumbling in her sleep. But she needed to say that. She'd say that if he is in front of her too. She is not suitable for him even if he really wants her. Although she was sure he doesn't truly love her. If he loved her, he wouldn't have left her alone back then.

Arthur was in a daze being kissed by her unexpectedly. His body has warmed and he wanted more. He almost pushed her duvet away to lie on top of her, to consummate their marriage. It's already ten years late.

But her hands on his shoulders and the words she spoke... It broke him.

Why should I find another woman?

"I already did," he refused to give up and said caressing her hair. He loves her. What right does she have to tell him he should look for other women?

Talia heard what Arthur said and she smiled.

"Ah, this sure is a nice dream!"

He is indulging me as always, like he used to. Even in my dream. Nice to have a good dream for once!

She turned to the other side and closed her eyes. She would like this dream to continue. But that's all it is going to be... Dreams!

Arthur fisted his hands. So she thinks all of this is a dream? And even in her dreams she doesn't want to be my woman? But she kissed me... She loves me still. But why is she not willing to be with me? Even our families gave their blessings forgetting the past. And now why is she not agreeing?

He lay beside her, over the duvet. He knew if he got in the duvet, his hands would wander and he won't be able to control his desires anymore. Hugging her above the covers from behind her, he saw her left hand over her ears and the ring that was perfect in her finger. He placed his left hand over hers and he could say both their hands were so perfectly matched than those hand models in magazines. He felt like he was made to hold her hand forever. But what will he do if she refuses him?

When Talia woke up, it was already morning and holding her head that throbbed, she sat up on the bed. Subconsciously she looked at her left hand and seeing the empty ring finger, she smiled dryly.

It really was a dream!

She walked out of her room. As she passed through the full sized mirror, she noticed she is not wearing her usual slips but a red ruffled babydoll slip from a popular lingerie brand. The plunged neckline and the hem that barely covered her buttocks made her look sexy.

Rebecca gifted this to her some years ago and Talia never wore it till then. She thought she won't be able to fit in these kind of lingerie but wearing that, she did look so alluring.

Talia looked closely at that slip. The upper part was pure lace and see through and the lower part had ruffles accentuating her curves. She placed both of her hands on her waist and gave model-like poses looking at the mirror.

"Talia! You are sexy! Look at your long legs and your perfect figure... Even if you step inside the modelling industry now, you'd be the top model by the end of this year. You are perfect!"

She sent herself a flying kiss bending her back and with a wink.

What if you don't have a ring? You have your perfect figure! You can get a man in no time if you wished for it!

As she was enjoying herself looking at the mirror, her stomach rumbled and she ran to the bathroom.

Even my body doesn't like me admiring myself!

After finishing her morning duties, she looked at the time and wondered why Mrs. Johnson haven't brought her breakfast yet.

Well, whatever!

Talia pored herself some cereal and ate her fill. After washing the bowl, she remembered the incidents of the previous day.

'Who is this MistyFlower? And what does she have against me? Did her father, brother or husband got hurt or lost their life while doing security for me? Even if they did, won't my grandfather usually give proper consolation and would give salary as if they were alive? So why would she hold it against me? And that bodyguard... Does she have any connection with the Lockhart family?'

Talia didn't even bother to change her clothes and sat in front of her personal laptop and switched it on. There was an autumn scenery in the background. Autumn always reminded her of him. His red hair and green eyes... The colours of autumn,according to her.

As she tapped around, she couldn't find any details about this MistyFlower. Talia wondered if she lost her tracking skills and tried to find another random person's details and she could find it easily. But she couldn't find anything about this MistyFlower.

Could she be... Measoles?

Measoles is a hacker who is said to be the number one hacker for now. When Talia was in university, she couldn't beat this Measoles when she encountered her once but then she never came across that person again. But if she is that top hacker, she won't have to live her life writing blogs, does she?

Talia skipped that idea. Maybe she is protected by someone? Someone powerful?

Talia thought about it deeply. That woman came to meet her in that restaurant purposely. Even she herself didn't know she'd be there but how did she knew?

Talia looked at her phone. Could her phone be hacked and that woman read the address Stacy sent her and waited there just in case?

It all seemed fishy.

Talia then remembered that woman saying that the article MistyFlower wrote was forced to be taken down by the Royals of Rosandale. There is no reason for them to do that since she was not doing anything scandalous in that video. She is not underage to be in a pub or it was not her fault her assistant was harassed. In fact, she acted brave in that situation and it would have been applauded by many.

If so, why did the Royals took it down?

Talia observed closely at the videos taken at that pub that night. Surely there was nothing she did that would hurt the reputation of the Royal family.

She observed the videos one more time and that's when she noticed. The actual reason the videos were taken down.

An old Duke of Rosandale whose name Talia forgot was sneaking out with a girl half his age. That girl looked like an escort and that Duke has a married daughter. If this gets out, this would be a major scandal and would hurt the Duke and the royal family.

No wonder these videos were taken down!

But, MistyFlower, brilliant as she is, as evident by the blogs she makes, could have figured it out if she observed too. But she was biased towards me and came to the conclusion that these videos were taken down because of me.

Why? Why does she hate me this much? And why can't I find anything about her? If I cannot find out about her here and she knows about me, could her details be with the Esterian government?

Talia tried to hack the national records of Esteria. Their population isn't that high and they kept well maintained records. If that woman is from Esteria, she could be found out.

Talia could sense the really strong security and cursed the Lion Heart security firm. They do their job extremely well. But she is better!

Meanwhile in the main office of Lion Heart Security Firm, a man wearing grey tailored suit ran his long fingers through his blond hair. His blue eyes looked at his staff typing away in the computers with a deadly glare.

"There are nine of you and you cannot handle one Talia Brunton? Stop her from looking further or lose your jobs! " he shouted.

"That stupid woman had to appear in front of her!" he broke the fountain pen he had in his hand and the blue ink spilled on the floor.

'Talia... You cannot find out some truths now! It's too early!

If you know, you'll surely mess up my plans!'