1 Chapter 1

Zen layed down on his sofa as he looked up at the ceiling. "Zen, sweetie. You'll need to go to the company." He was told by his mother and sighed. This always happens.

"I'd much prefer it if you didn't use all those cringy lovely words when you want something from me. Not when we're at home at least. I'll go." He said and got up as he took his keys. He just wanted to be a normal kid who went to university, played and came back.

He got on his bike and rode to his company. He didn't care about his clothes. That was the least of his concerns.

Meanwhile, two-toned optics, belonging to a young adult, stared at the vast doors built in front of her, breathing for air with difficulty. Her two-toned hair that was once tied into a neat bun was now untied and disheveled due to all the excited running she did at her final destination which was the vast doors. She has been longing to encounter this door, this house. Just seeing it made her happier than ever. She knew what was awaiting for her behind that door. Her beloved family.

Her red tinted lips were aching from smiling so widely, her two-toned eyes beamed, her cheeks had a blush on them, sweat was rolling down from her forehead but she did not care of ever wiping it off or fixing her hair.

All she cared now is the fact that she's finally meeting her family. She's waited, longed, and missed them for five years. She was so impatient during those years to see her parents Sadness and homesickness had attacked her. But all of those disappeared into air as she knocked on the vast doors, not once, but twice. Not long after, it opened. Her heart skipped a bit.

Her smile widened, as she set her eyes on the woman in front of her. Her mid-length hair a light shade of brown, eyes are identical to hers. She wore a beautiful cerulean dress, accompanied by black sandals. This beautiful lady was her mother, her name was Eleanor. Not long after, the young adult, named Aelise, tackled her into a bone-crushing hug. If anything, her mother did not care about such act, instead, she returned it wholeheartedly. Tears slipped from her eyes, as well as her daughter's.

"Mama, I can't believe I'm here." Aelise mumbled against Eleanor's shoulder, her voice cracking midway, but she didn't careless, "I missed you." She cried harder. Her mother caressed her dyed hair gently, comforting her, although she's crying as well. "I missed you as well, my sweet angel." She said sweetly.

After a few hours of Aelise's arrival, apparently, her father and brothers had gone out to buy ingredients for the feast they're making for Aelise's arrival. She found the fact cute and loving, catching herself from grinning a few moments ago. Now both she and her mother sat on the sofa, eating the mouthwatering homemade cookies baked by her mother. Just like that, before they knew it, they finished all of them. The two shamelessly burped, henceforth bursting into laughter.

"Mama?" Aelise called out, causing Eleanor to whirl her head around to face her beloved daughter. "Yes, sweetie?" A loving smile was plastered on her face. This is why Aelise genuinely loves her mother. It was so comforting being around her, even just in silence.

The old lady was also approachable, whether you're a sworn enemy of hers or not. "Can I go outside for a bit? If anything, I want to say hello to my friends. It's been a while, you know." The young adult grinned as she received a nod from her mother. "Alright, then. Don't suddenly go to America, understood?" She joked. "As you wish, sire!" Her daughter joked back. They once again burst into laughter. "Take care, my angel." Eleanor gave a small wave. "See you later, ma!"

And just like that, Aelise went out of the house. She roamed around the town, often greeting people she knew. The streets were clean as ever. The people were kind too. It was like as if nothing ever changed. She remembered the happy memories she made in this town. As well as the bad ones.

She huffed at the thought. 'Out of all times, why now?' Oh, she remembered that one 'certain' person that made her move away from this country. If anything, she won't ever forgive him. She doesn't want to see his face. Not now. Especially when he's probably just roaming around. With her mind filled with thoughts, she wasn't aware of her surroundings that she even bumped into someone. "Ah sh- I'm so sorry! I didn't know where i was going."

The man who bumped into someone was in a rush and heard the girl apologize. "I-It's okay. I was partly at fault too. I wasn't looking where I was going." The man said as he adjusted his blazer again. "Yo. Arai. You want my mom to kill me? You're chatting with girls here too?" Zen, his boss, chuckled as he went to Arai, twirling his bike keys in his hand.

"I'm sorry. He-" Zen started and looked at the girl. The same face. It couldn't be. Didn't she leave the country? Why was she here now? She looked so different in his eyes. More beautiful if that was even possible. Maybe it had just been so long that he had forgotten. "H-He didn't mean to." Zen simply said and bowed.

"Zen!" He heard his annoying father. If the girl didn't notice before then she probably did now. He made sure to straighten back up and cover his bleeding shoulder with the jacket Arai was holding. "Let's go." Zen spoke and walked away to his father who did not look happy at all.

"I apologize again. Have a good day." Arai smiled at the girl before following his boss to make sure that he didn't get hurt again. "How many times did I tell you to pay attention?" His father growled and Zen sighed.

His mind was being brought back to the girl from before but he shook his head once. 'Why now?' He thought to himself as he took in deep breaths as he walked away.

Aelise giggled nervously, giving the male a close eyed smile before he walks away. "Sorry, again. How clumsy I am." She mumbled the last part, mentally cursing at herself. She glanced at the tall, blonde male, his eye color a blue-ish grey. She thought that he looked quite familiar, then remembering every blonde male she's known before- suddenly, something clicked. It was like as if she got hit by a train or her heart stopped. Her eyes widened in realization, choking on the air.

Aelise knelt down and breathed heavily, tears wanted to come out of her eyes, but none did. There was nothing to come out. Her heart was beating rapidly, and even more sweat slipped down from her forehead. She tried to keep her composure, then decided to stand up. However, her mind was clouded with various questions.

'Was that him?'

'Am i just delusional?'

'Is it just a look-a-like?'

'Maybe i'm just thinking too much. He's probably moved to another country or something considering how rich he is.'

Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Curious to see who it is, obviously, she fished for the device from her pocket, then answered the call, it was her best friend. She forgot to tell her that she came back in the country. Oh, how forgetful she was.

"Aelise, you dunderhead, I didn't know you're back!" Her best friend, Emma, yelled. Aelise almost went deaf because of the damn loud blaring speaker voice for a human. "Yeah, yeah. I'm here now. Should we hang out? My home." Aelise could sense the wide grin on Emma's face right now.

Emma accepted and along the way to her house, she talked with her about various things- girls talk, to be clear. Though, Aelise couldn't stop thinking about him: Zen. No, she doesn't hate him. She isn't even sure about that. She awfully hates what he did to her. 'Stop, you should be enjoying yourself.' She thought to herself.

"You have a shoot today." Zen's dad informed as he took the boy's blazer off. Zen just finished up with 2 meetings. He still had some more with international clients. His parents kept forcing him to do stuff which he hated. It wasn't like this before. At least not when 'she' was with him but he couldn't forgive himself for what he did.

He could still very vividly remember that night. He hates himself for every second after that night. How could he cheat on someone he loved so much and who loved him so much? He didn't know but he did. He wasn't even that drunk. He was in his consciousness. He knew what he was doing. His best friend, Zara. He hated her, still does. He broke all connections with her, tried to at least, after that and that's when everything stopped for him. Everything just went so cold.

Zen got in the car and sighed, leaning against the seat, his eyes closed. His assistant, Arai drove him to the set so that they could deal with the shoot. He called his best friend, Nate. Somehow he managed to keep the guy beside him. Nate was brutally honest which always seemed like an advantage to him. "N-Nate. I-I saw her." He whispered, not able to bring his voice out louder than that.

"You're delusional." Nate scoffed simply. How could he see her? She moved. Right? "I-I did, Nate. I did." Zen looked out the window, the guilt eating him up. Nate's eyes widened on the other end as he sat up straight. "Where are you?" He asked. "I'm going to the set. I've got a shoot." Zen informed and Nate sighed. "Send me the location. I'll be there too." Nate said and got his keys, informing his mom and hung up. He saw that Zen sent him a text and went to the location.

He was surely pissed off at Zen too. Who the hell would cheat on someone if they call them the love of their life? He didn't understand but then again Zen's decision making wasn't the greatest. He didn't forgive the boy at all. Nope. He hurt the girl. So much. He just didn't give Zen a hard time because he knew that Zen's life was a mess now.

The room was embraced by silence after the tea was spilt, now only the sounds of sipping a hot cup of coffee could be heard. It was suffocating, really. Emma had decided to break the silence, speaking up, "You really did see him, huh. After all, he's still in this town. Doing his job, as far as i know." She informed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" She questioned. Aelise sighed not wanting to respond to her. She stayed quiet, leaving the question unanswered.