Chapter 20 Encounter 1

She drove into the estate as she stopped in front of the large mansion, more like a castle but larger. She stepped out examining the place, she had arrived. She was home.

'It had never changed its welcoming aura ' Zhavia thought.

Sofia came out of the car as she stood beside her.

"Are we going in?" Sofia asked calling Zhavia from drowning in her thoughts. Maids lined up as they welcomed the lady of the house. They had waited for years expecting her return but she never came. They wore their best outfits to welcome her home. They were all in white as their head was bowed.

Zhavia walked into the center of the large room as old memories cloaked her like shadows. She was lost in it, swept by memories, wrapped in the pain. 'no mum, just dad ' She thought. It had always been just dad. "Just dad". She muttered.

"Is there something you need?" Sofia asked as she heard Zhavia murmur words. Not realizing she had just said something, Zhavia stopped right in front of the large spiral stairs, just beside the elevator. "No, I need to be left alone". She said as she started walking up the stairs growing deeper and deeper into her dark, dark past that doesn't seem to stop hurting.

Sofia watched her go higher. ' how could she even think of taking the stairs of an eight-story building when the elevator is just here? ' She thought as she got into the elevator.

Zhavia tried to keep it in, she tried to forget her pain but she couldn't. Time hadn't changed anything at all, she just kept hurting more and more.

She introduced him to her father. Dylan. He made her feel special. He proposed to her, they explored, and he made promises. They all made promises. And he shattered her. He broke her.

And then there was Ethan. He would make her feel like the only woman on the planet, he was hardworking, and he had dreams, but she wasn't in his dreams. He shattered her again.

They all never stayed. It had always been the case. Every one of them came and took a piece of her shattered heart.

Timothee, Hayden, Wilson. They all emptied her one after another till there was nothing to feel. She was hurt, She was empty, she felt like a loophole that sucked happiness until he came along.

The last piece of her shattered heart. He was lively, he hoped, he was peaceful, he was beautiful, they were in love, he was too good to be true. That was it. Too good to be true, he died.

She walked tirelessly up the stair, she couldn't feel anything else because the pain she felt had eaten through her senses. She could only feel her cheeks dripping wet.

They used to go to the library together, Philip. They could stay there all day without realizing it. He loved her flaws. He would tell her how beautiful she was, and they went places. They were going to get married. They talked about kids. He was so full of life, her everything, and then he just died.

Her favorite place turned into a nightmare. Her heart vanished. She didn't realize she had a heart until her encounter with Nicholas Alviero Ross.

For years, she had tried to kill her last and had never felt anything, she had accepted her fate. She had lived for herself. After all, she had always been alone since she was a child.

On her birthdays, she receives thousands of gifts and a video call from her father. He was never home. She made all her choices and decisions on her own. She wasn't cared for by her only parent and she was just fine.

She didn't realize that the stairs were gone. she was now walking in the large hallway that lead to the large hall at the end of the hallway. she walked in.

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The black car moved at a moderate speed. Nicholas looked out the window. Tiger that sat directly beside him glanced at him. He knew that something bothered his boss. He broke the silence, nobody knows what Nicholas thinks in his head, it could be dangerous.

"The press will be there". He said as he looked at Nicholas. If there was anything he loved, that would be his privacy, but he had been derived from that since his childhood. The dark man's expression didn't change at all. He thought of something else.

She was on his mind. He hadn't gotten her off his mind. She has taken over his thoughts, She has distracted him, she has taken his focus. Desire drained him, everything other thing was meaningless.

"Let the press do their job, Tiger". Nicholas spoke nonchalantly. Tiger knew it was deeper than that. There was something else on his mind. it was a woman. Unbelievable!

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They arrived at the company. As usual, the press had already taken their place, waiting for the dark man to step out as black cars patrolled around the car that held the man of power.

Convoys took their places as the proud man stepped out. Everyone acknowledged him. They arranged themselves from the car to the entrance of the building, armed. The press didn't even have the chance to carry out their jobs.

As usual, he surveyed his environment. Tiger stepped out standing behind Nicholas. The dark man arranged his suit as he started walking with four bodyguards behind them.

Pictures were barely taken. He walked into the building as everyone froze. That was Nicholas Ross's effect. He rendered everyone breathless. heads were bent to the floor. Everything was on pause.

He walked to the elevator and ascended the last floor where the meeting of the boards was held.

Nicholas expected this. He knew that immediately after he was announced as the heir, he was announced to carry out the affairs of the Ross's empire. It was what he had always done, but this time, in the open. He had always been in charge. As a matter of fact, he is Nicholas Alviero Ross.