Ancient Love

In the end she still decided to call Quiana and inform her about it or she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"What?! Rebecca Xanzi? As in the Becca of RX Jewelries?!" Quaina's animated voice echoed through the speakers of the phone.

Emma who was rinsing some juicy peaches in the kitchen sink winced at the intensity of the noise. She could imagine Quiana jumping on the bed.

"And you're asking about my brother?! Who cares about that smelly face?! I support you to choose our Aunty Becca quickly?!"

Emma's lips twitched at Quiana's shamelessness. 

"When did she become OUR Aunty Becca? As far as I know you haven't met her before. And Queen could you please lower your voice? I have neighbors you know? I don't want any complaints." 

Quiana paused at the other end of the phone before shaking her head in disbelief as she uttered seriously like she was educating a child that didn't know any better,

"Emma listen carefully to what I have to tell you. We're friends so whatever belongs to you belongs to me too and vice versa. You said you met aunt Becca when you were young that means I also met aunt Becca when I was young. It's the same thing."

Emma who just finished washing the peaches in her hand halted and rolled her eyes before taking a bite of the sweet fruit. 

The girl was just throwing Aunt Becca here, Aunt Becca there. If she didn't know any better she would think it was Quiana who wanted to introduce her to Rebecca.

And the point is she hasn't even met her before!

The girl in question still continued seriously, "And who would your neighbors eventually report you too? My dad? Ha! Don't they know that you're living in your father's house?"

Tears welled up in Emma's eyes and her chewing stilled as she found it difficult to swallow the fruit in her mouth.

Quiana might sound like an overbearing daughter of a landlord from ancient times but her words were soothing and so filled with love that she just couldn't control herself.

Oblivious to the change in her friend, Quiana continued chattily, "So don't you worry about a thing and go after your dreams. I was worried that you'd find it hard to get a solid footing in the jewelry industry as an apprentice, that's why I told you about my brother but who is he in front of our Aunt Becca? That's like a full stop in front of a hot air balloon! Totally insignificant!"

Emma who was feeling emotional at the moment suddenly burst into a fit of laughter almost choking as she swallowed the fruit and quickly drank a gulp of water.

"Queen! Have some conscience, will you?" she said, her chest heaving at the ordeal her friend just put her through.

She was surprised at how quickly Quiana threw her brother under the bus for a wealthier and more successful woman. 

"Ah Empress, you have no idea that I'm actually being quite nice right now. That brother of mine has said worse things about me! He's a bully through and through!" Quiana complained with a puff of her cheeks at the mention of her mean brother.

It had been two years since they last saw each other and as much as she was excited about his return, she was also dreading for her life.

Who knew how much the sharp tongued devil had grown in two years?

Should she start to pack her bags and flee or should she prepare buckets to carry her tears when he unleashes his heart-piercing words?

Emma smiled, her fingertips rubbing at the glass cup in her palm, "Speaking of your brother, you haven't introduced him to me yet. I don't even know his name or how he looks."

Quiana sighed, "Empress, please don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't want to introduce him to you, it's just that he specifically requested that we don't tell anyone his name or show his pictures. He said he wanted to stay low-key during his time over there."

"Oh, I see. That's okay, I guess." Emma replied as she thought that the difficulties of the rich were vastly different from hers.

"Yes. Soooo… when are we going to meet Aunt Becca?" Quiana asked slyly.

Emma speechlessly hung up the phone.

****

Crystal Hills City,

In a dark room where the drapes heavily blocked out any form of light, wisps of incense ascended gracefully, casting their fragrant spell into the air, mingling with the heavy silence.

Lying at the center of this inky abyss, on a king-sized bed draped in silken sheets, lay a man of striking features. 

The moonlight filtering through a crack in the curtains cast a silvery glow upon his bare, well-sculpted abdominal muscles, like a mesmerizing sculpture carved from moonbeams.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he breathed out a name, a mere whisper yet heavy with emotion, "Emma."

As her name passed his lips, a strange sensation overcame him. Goosebumps rippled across his skin, and a shiver coursed through his body, the lingering echoes of a dream still vividly etched in his memory. 

Groggily, he roused himself from the luxurious sheets, 

He pushed himself to a sitting position, his back pressing firmly against the plush headboard of the bed. Then he reached out to a nearby switch and, in an instant, the room was flooded with a blaze of bright light.

Right beside the switch stood an award piece of a skyscraper, a gleaming testament to achievement and excellence. Crafted from pure, lustrous gold, it took the form of an intricately detailed skyscraper, a symbol of ambition and towering success. 

The words 'Congratulations Mr.Daniel Kozlov' were etched at the base.

Daniel reached for a glass of water beside the golden award, his bare chest rising and falling with the weight of his unsettling dream. 

He took a big gulp and as he calmed himself down from the aftereffects of his dream, his mind returned to that vivid vision that had played out in his slumber.

In the dream, he had been an emperor of a bygone era, a ruler of a grand dynasty, and his ex-wife Emma, had been his empress. 

They had been deeply in love, their hearts intertwined as if fated to rule together. It was a love so profound that he didn't even have a harem, for she was his everything.

But then, like a storm on the horizon, chaos had descended upon their palace. The palace was suddenly engulfed in flames, and the world they knew crumbled in an instant.

It was a betrayal, orchestrated by his most trusted adviser, who harbored ambitions of wearing the imperial crown himself. 

Emma, his beloved empress, had made the ultimate sacrifice to save him. She had pushed him out of the palace's grand doors, her eyes filled with anguish, a tearful plea unspoken on her lips. 

But fate had been cruel, and a heavy beam fell immediately after he was pushed out, blocking her escape. 

And just like that, Emma was trapped within the burning palace.

In his dream, Daniel had wanted nothing more than to rush back inside, to brave the inferno and save the woman he loved. But his loyal guards, sworn to protect him, had held him back, their grip unyielding. 

He could still hear his cries of despair that had echoed through the corridors of the palace as he called out, "Empress! Empress!", in a heart-wrenching plea that went unanswered.

And then, there was only darkness. 

However in that darkness, he saw the figure of Emma as his empress, and just as he was about to reach out to her, he saw Emma's figure as his ex-wife walking and stopping right beside each other.

Then a haunting transformation took place. The face of the empress shifted and merged with the face of Emma.

As Daniel sat there with the harsh glow of the room's light piercing the lingering haze of his dream, he sighed. 

It wasn't the first time that Daniel had experienced strange dreams since his divorce, ones that often left him bewildered and questioning his sanity. 

But this one, this dream of an ancient love, had a hold on him like no other.

For the first time, the face of the woman in his dreams was crystal clear. Usually, it was shrouded in mist and elusive. 

In the dream, she was both an empress from ancient times and his ex-wife, Emma. Her features held a timeless allure, with a mix of love and heartache in her gaze as the palace burned. 

This left Daniel with a strange sense of familiarity as if he'd lived this tale before. 

In the soft bedroom light, he felt that the boundary between dreams and reality had blurred, and Emma held the key to a deeper truth. 

Just then his phone rang, he shook his head and collected his wandering thoughts before picking up his phone,

"Good morning sir. Mr. Ash Kumar has agreed to the terms of the collaboration and wants us to have a meeting. He said he will be in Diadyn City in three days." The crisp voice of his young assistant, Lucas sounded in his ear clearing out the fog from his brain.

"Why Diadyn City? Why can't he just come to CH City?" Daniel asked with a frown. 

They were both going to benefit from this deal together so why did he have to be the one to compromise?

Lucas who was climbing the steps in the office building almost fell when he heard his boss's words.