ONE HUNDRED

ANISHA'S POV

It was difficult, for with the man himself seated right in front of me, with his eyes on me all the time, his smile flashing every now and then, it took a lot of energy and determination to control myself. Suddenly an idea came to my mind. For me to totally block out my lusty thoughts, how about talking about Amelia?

"Did you find anything on Amelia?" I asked him and he nodded his head. And he just had to smile at me. That smile! That smile. I quickly looked away, or else I was going to sell myself out. There was no way I was going to allow this man to know that I was madly in love with him. I myself had no idea when it happened, but it surely happened. I fell in love with him. For the very first time in my life I fell in love. I fell in love with the billionaire' son, the handsome doctor, the caring man, the hospital CEO. I fell madly, hopelessly, desperately in love with him.

He proceeded to tell me that he had found a bit about Amelia. I wondered how he had done it in such a few days, and he laughed it off, saying maybe his name was the one which made it happen.

He told me everything, "I did not see her, but I got someone to do the job. He met with a lady named Chloe. This Chloe woman made me pay for her to give me information. I had no option; with no time to beg her to just tell me, I just paid her!" Dylan laughed lightly, causing my heart to melt completely.

According to the investigator that Dylan sent, Chloe used to be a receptionist at Greenrod Electrical, during the time that Amelia worked there. She informed that Amelia was laid off work, and went through some really tough times. By the way, Amelia stayed with her dad and step mother. According to Chloe, Amelia was thrown out of her home when her dad found out that she was pregnant. Chloe said she would have loved to help Amelia out, but she couldn't, for she was also staying in her parents' home. There was no way Chloe's parents would have welcomed a pregnant girl into their home.

After some time, Amelia started avoiding Chloe, ignoring her calls and all, until their friendship died off. They used to chat a lot, but once Amelia left her parents' home, Chloe never heard from her again. But then later on, after over a year, Chloe was in Hallowcave on a business assignment. She had already left Greenrod Electrical, and was with another company. She saw Amelia walking down a street, right in the capital city of Hallowcave. She could not believe her eyes! She wanted to run over to see and talk to Amelia, but she could not. Apparently she was travelling with a team from her workplace, and they were in a car when she saw Amelia. Chloe's colleagues could not be bothered about her meeting an old friend. They were already late for their meeting, so they refused to stop.

Chloe said she begged the driver to follow the girl, which he did. Amelia was dressed in black and white, and it looked like a uniform. She was also holding a bunch of textbooks, making her really appear like a student. She walked into a building written "Cally's School Of Hairdressing". On the following, which was a Saturday, Chloe returned to the same place, hoping to see Amelia, but the school was closed on that day. That was the last she ever saw Amelia.

"So it means she must have trained to become a hairdresser? I will look for her!" I beamed with excitement after Dylan narrated the findings to me.

"You don't have time my dear. Remember we promised the Woodruffs that Liam will be back home on Sunday." When Dylan reminded me of that, for a while my heart sank. I had become very excited about looking for Amelia. In the end, we agreed that we would all go back to Lakeworld, and return Liam to his foster parents. My plan was to later on travel back to Hallowcave, to be with Ms Meyerton and Valentina, and of course to search for Amelia.

With Dylan's great encouragement and help, I had applied at the country university, and they were only enrolling new students in four months' time. I did have my new job, but I was thinking of using my weekends to check. Just for peace of mind. Pastor Everdeen had really begged. Justice would mean to just try a bit, and find the woman that he spoke about. And besides, being with Ms Meyerton could have topped my priorities.

When the three of us bid Ms Meyerton and Valentina goodbye, Ms Meyerton hugged me tight and shed some tears. She mumbled about how she was going to miss me, but I promised her that I would be back with her in a short time. The three of us left Hallowcave and flew back home.

It was an uptight trip for me. Besides the staff, there was only Dylan, Liam and myself. As if he needed to give us time alone, Liam chose to fall asleep.

My hand was in Dylan's, and my heart was racing. I even sweated a bit, and I felt all kinds of emotions. Good ones. Love. Love, for sure. I wanted us to be like the couples I had seen on TV. I wanted him to talk to me and whisper some sweet nothings, yet there was nothing I could have done to bring him to do so. He did speak some sweet things to me, but none of them were enough to reveal to me what I was desperately dying to know. Was he in love with me as well? I really needed to know that.

The Woodruffs were obviously very happy to have Liam back, although the later screamed and kicked and threw a massive tantrum, refusing to stay with them. Obviously, I almost shed some parting tears, but we had to leave him.

I was super tired as Chris drove us home, and so was Dylan.

"I'm so exhausted, and to think that tomorrow we will have to go to work?" he sighed.

"Me too," I responded and I felt a yawn coming, but it soon disappeared.

I tried to pull my hand from his, yet he would not allow me.

"What's wrong with us holding hands?" he smiled.

"Nothing. It's just that I…I…" I stopped; not knowing what else to say.

"You can tell me," he encouraged.

I moved a few inches from him and used pulled my hand, but it was all in vain. Dylan came closer to me and would not let me go. Chris, in the driver's seat, was chuckling to himself and he pressed a button before the centre division closed up. The huge tinted window rolled up slowly and I was stuck with Dylan alone. My whole body was betraying me at a massive rate. I felt like I was going to just melt away, with a feeling that I failed to explain.

"I won't talk to you until you leave my hand!" I cried out.

"Say it, Anisha!" Dylan would not let my hands go.

"I won't say anything!" I responded and turning my face to watch the street outside, I totally refused to look at him for the rest of the drive home.

At home, Mrs Silva was very happy to see us, and although she had prepared a lot of nice food, I did not have the appetite to eat it. I was feeling very much confused. I wanted that feeling to leave me, yet it clung to me and seemed to grow with each second. Why was I that much excited? I excused myself and went to my room. After taking a shower, during which I thought of nothing but the hospital CEO, I quickly wore my nightdress and hoped into bed. I dialed Valentina's number.

"Did you travel well?" she asked loudly.

"Val, I have fallen in love with him." I confessed to her, ignoring her question. I immediately felt a heavy burden lifted off my chest. There was silence from the other end of the line, then she laughed.

"I knew it! Did he say he too is in love with you too?" she asked eagerly.

"I…he…no. He hasn't said a word. I don't know what we are," I felt helpless.

"You're boyfriend and girlfriend, of course! Do you really think that he's considering you to be only a friend? Which friend offers his private jet to bring you all the way to Hallowcave, and he even offers to come and pick you? He won't even allow you to travel by the planes that the public uses. And did you see how he was looking at you? Girl, the man is in love with you too!" Valentina was going on and on.

"I'm not sure, Val. The thing is, I want him to clarify what…"

"Hallo?....hallo, Anisha?" Valentina said. "Anisha, are you still there?"

"I'm still here. I was saying, the thing is…"

"Oh this old phone of mine! I hate it!" I heard Valentina cursing.

"Val? Hallo?" the line went dead.

I tried to call her back, and although her line did connect, she was not able to hear what I was saying. Frustrated, I threw my phone on the bed. It chimed twice, and I checked to see 2 messages. One was from Valentina, with 'my phone is not working well. Send me a message'. The other message was from Dylan with 'good night'.

My whole body reacted to the 'good night' message, and I read it over and over again.

I was in cloud nine until Valentina brought me back to reality with another message, 'send me a message, girl'.

Knowing Valentina, I knew that she was never going to give up until I responded. I held the phone tightly in my hands, ignoring the feeling of love, and I typed to my friend a very long message, pouring my heart out:

Val, I was saying I have fallen in love with Dylan de Milo. He has not said anything, I don't even know what he considers me to be. Am I a friend, or just some girl who he took pity on? I really wish…if only he could love me too. I'm not sure when exactly these feelings started, but my heart races when I am with him. I can't even look him in the eye, I feel like my heart is melting and I want to see him all the time. He is the constant occupant of my mind, I see him in all my dreams. At night before I fall asleep I imagine how life as his girlfriend would be like, and when I wake up, I wish to see him. When I am working, I think about him. He is forever in my mind.

Whenever he's working late or on call, I wish for him to come back to me, and when he comes, my heart is filled with immense joy. Val, I am completely, wholly in love with this man. I don't know what to do. I don't know how long he plans to be silent, and I don't know how long I will be able to control myself when I am around him. The last thing I want is for him to realise that I have fallen for him. He has to confess it to me first. But the big question is: is he in love with me too?