MEGAN

The moment his dark eyes met mine, I knew I was in deep trouble. Never in my wild dreams had I dreamt about meeting him after two years.

My stomach lurched, sunk and then jolted together uncomfortably. My legs started to give up as my sight became hazy.

He looked so good. So handsome. So perfect. Yet beyond my reach.

The same silky hair through which I had roamed my fingers, had grown longer now. Parted at a side, he looked like a Prince rather than an entrepreneur. How could he be so firm where he stood, when I was about to decompose right in front of him?

Did us not affect him as much as it affected me? He looked way better than he looked when I was with him. Perhaps, he had moved on? As our eyes held each other, his phone buzzed and he walked away, breaking our stare.

I released a breath that I didn't know I held and crashed on Peter. He held me tightly knowing exactly what I was feeling. Fuck, the whole town knew about our breakup, but what they didn't know was how much I suffered from it.

When I had lunches and dinners with my client to discuss about the floral arrangements that was needed, which by the way was purely business for me, Miles and his stupid fans portrayed me as a whore of the town who went out with men even when I was the girlfriend of the handsome Miles Jackson.

Our breakup was taken very easily by people, especially the public who effortlessly pointed their fingers at me, protecting their favourite chef as I took the blame for the things he had done to me behind my back.

Only my closest friends didn't judge me though they didn't know exactly what went down between us. They stood by me when the world mocked at my miseries and they consoled me when I absorbed the blame not giving any bread to the hungry reporters.

And Peter treated me like a friend, though it had been years since I had met him last. We had spoken like an old family, laughed, and even danced on the dance floor. For a second, I had even forgotten the reason why I despised men. Almost.

Until Miles Jackson had come crashing my shore once more.

I blamed it all on Pamela, my current boss... friend, who was the one who had dragged me to this idiotic party as her plus one. She had literally emotional blackmailed me to get my ass here. Though I had anticipated the worst, Miles Jackson wasn't one of them.

I knew I would have to meet him one day, now that I was going back to town, but I wasn't equipped to meet him like this – unexpectantly and unprepared. It was overwhelming and I wasn't ready – emotionally and mentally. I needed time to reorganize things both in my brain and heart to even look at the guy who had broken my heart into a million of pieces.

"You, okay?" Peter had asked, as he gripped me tighter. I could see concern dancing in his eyes and a layer of anger for the guy who had just walked away from me... again.

"He has that kind of an effect on girls." Jason had chuckled. His comment alone made my eyes water. This was exactly what the Boulevard town talked when we split. "Oops, someone is making a scene in the drinks section. I better go."

My stomach had twisted further when I heard Jason's words, except that he didn't know that I shared a past with him. A past that was eating me alive every day.

Peter vanished when Pamela came back with a glass of wine, trying to cheer me up. No one knew what I had left behind in the Baldachin Boulevard and I wanted that to remain as it was. I was glad that Peter hadn't mentioned anything to anyone.

Pamela and I had wrapped up the day very fast after that. I took two Eszopiclone tablets that day to help me sleep, but I only ended up crying after an hour, reminiscing everything that I once shared with the heartbreaker.

"What happened?" Amber nudged me, breaking me from my daydreams. "You are okay shifting back, right? I mean, I could talk to Smith for you if you are... uncomfortable."

"No," I sighed. "I'm good. I want to be there with him."

"Then, what happened?" Amber asked, looking intently at me. "You looked better when you had come to the hospital. Now, you look like you have seen a ghost."

If I had really seen a ghost last night, I would have been looking better. But it was Miles, the demon of my dreams who had looked at me like he wanted to kill me with his glare. Suddenly, I was angry. It was me who was supposed to be mad at him for making me feel like his trophy. He didn't have any right to shoot daggers at me.

"Megan... it's really okay..." Amber put her hands on my back and started to draw circles to soothe me.

"I saw him." I whispered, tears starting to leak.

I hated when I cried especially when it involved him. I hated that he still had power over my emotional state. Hell, it had been over two years and still he had an upper hand over me. I had never felt that alive or dead at the same time when we stood close to each other for a minute.

"Oh, honey." Amber hugged me as I grabbed her hard.

"He looked so good, you know." I cried. "It was as if... as if we didn't happen... at all."

"Megan, don't say that." Amber said, pulling me away. "Different people have different coping mechanisms."

"You are supposed to be my friend and still you take his side." I retorted like a child, wiping away my cheeks.

"No, I'm just looking at it in another view." Amber tried again with a slow soothing voice. "He has to show his face to the media every now and then. He has a reputation to maintain. Don't you think it would be better if he pretended?"

At that I cried more. I didn't want him to pretend. He was always pretending when it came to me. He pretended to like me. He pretended to accept my flaws. He pretended that it was okay when I went out to lunch with clients. He fucking pretended when he said I love you.

"It's okay, Megan. It's okay." Amber sat me down on the couch, as I rested my head on her shoulder crying like I had witnessed another nightmare.

Over the years, Amber had become the mother I never had. She had been so supportive and patient with me, rocking me gently at my nightmares. She was trying too hard to keep me sane when I was losing my shit over everything.

Miles had made me this unsteady. And I hated him for that.

"What happened?" Pamela came back. "Megan, why are you crying?"

Pamela Reed was the first person Smith thought of when said I wanted to have a change in scenery. She was his cousin's daughter and since Pamela was an event organizer, Smith thought that I would still be able to keep in touch with my interests.

Though she had a mother who was mentally unstable after her father had died, Pamela seemed more radiant than I could ever be. She looked at life as a challenge, facing it with an optimism which I tried to get into my life too.

It had helped for a while before I settled back to the same old routines. Now, that I was leaving and shifting back, I didn't know if I could carry her sanguinity in my pockets for days when I had to face the devil again.

"She's just sad that she's leaving." Amber quickly saved me, as I tried to get hold of myself. "She was telling how much she loved working with you."

"Awe, I liked having you around too, Meg." Pamela came near me, putting her hands around my shoulder. "I wish you didn't have to leave. We could have so much of fun together."

"I'm sorry. I'm such a slob right now." I sniffed. I was sure that my eyes were still red and puffy with all the crying, but Pam didn't seem to mind at all. Perhaps, she was used to her mother's tantrums by now.

"That's fine." Pamela waved her hands in the air. "Are you okay?"

It took everything in me to not crash down again with that one question. It was the same thing that everyone around me asked. After everything I went through, I never think I would ever be okay again. But instead of voicing my thoughts out, I just smiled and nodded my head, pretending to be okay. At least for now.

"Good. Now, you'll have to tell my mother why you have packed up your bags." Pamela's eyes shone brightly. She was one hell of a trouble maker and with her sparky attitude, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are we telling your mother?" Amber asked, confused.

She had been eyeing us weirdly, and I was sure that she was questioning if the best friend place was up for grabs. She was usually a possessive type of girl and having gone through just as much with me, I knew that she would want to have that post labelled on her head permanently.

"Because, I didn't." Pamela shrugged her shoulders as she stood up. "Good luck with that."

Pamela's voice was playful, and before I could retort, she was running into the house, calling for her mother that we had already packed our bags.

I sighed and looked back at Amber who was still looking behind the dust that the perky girl had left behind.

"What in the world?" Amber muttered, and then turned to look at me. her expression which was similar to that of disgust and surprise was still there, making me stifle a laugh. "How did you live with that for two whole years?"

I rolled my eyes. "She's not that bad."

"Yeah, sure." Amber rolled her eyes as she helped me pick one suitcase up. "What have you filled in them? Stones? God, they are so heavy."

"Pam made a rule that we go shopping every alternate weekend, to relieve her stress." I rolled my eyes, but the shock in Amber's face was evident. "Some of them are from there."

"I thought I was having some best friend competition, but now I know that we are not even competing." She chuckled. "Couldn't get rid of shopping even though you went far away from the town, could you?"

Though Amber was not meaning to bring back memories, it did.

Shopping was something I hated with my gut. I couldn't completely agree with Amber's or Laura's thoughts about shopping releasing tension off of their minds. My head fuzzed with the new cloths, the shiny lace stung my eye and the velvet shawl cut a big hole in my pocket, until I decided that I had had enough of shopping.

The only time I went to shopping and enjoyed was with Miles. It was the reason why we were introduced and put together in the first place. And Miles took it as an opportunity to spend more time with me. I knew I had fallen for him then.

He was so sweet, caring and protective all in the right amount that wouldn't let me suffocate in his hold. I was more than happy to spend more time with him too. He always stood next to me in the shop when he was free just to shoo away my clients who said they would chat over the details on a lunch.

His stubborn glare at them usually didn't go down until I kissed and consoled that he was the only one for me. That I would choose him over anything... even if it meant I had to give up on the mystery guy who sent me those flowers with letters.

Now, having all answers to the questions I had then, I wondered if it was all a subtle plan to doom me. A game that questioned, what could break Megan Taylor beyond repair? And when he got it, he just went along with it.

The worst part was, I had fallen in too deep to understand and notice. I have still fallen in so deep that I can't seem to get up for my own good.

As I went ahead to tell goodbye, I could only imagine if I was in for my final doom by going back.

---

I was pressed against a hard chest that cocooned me. The warmth was all I needed to feel protected and safe. With him, I felt that I could finally let my guards down and breath freely.

I felt a kiss behind my ear, and I smiled. He loved to wake me up like that – with kisses and hugs. I let out a soft moan before I turned around to face him. My eyes were still closed, but I could already see him smiling down at me.

"Darling." He murmured as he pulled me closer. His one word was enough to make my insides go weak for him. "I have work early."

I pressed further into him, not wanting to let him go. I pretended to sleep putting my hands around him. I heard a breathy chuckle that fanned my bare shoulder.

"I know you are awake, darling." He said, kissing the same shoulder where I had goosebumps now. "Wake up, Meg. I need to go work."

I put my arms around his stomach, not wanting to give in. He was my personal body heater and I didn't want to let go on such a cold day. I would surely freeze to death if he left me alone.

"We could have a hot bath together." He nudged me again, and when I didn't respond, my shoulder got a bite. I wriggled on top of him. "I will even wash your hair."

"No." I pouted, not ready to open my eyes and look at his dark ones. I was sure he would suck and drown me in them. Looking into his eyes were like hypnosis for me. A second later, I would be nodding my head to everything he said without my consent.

"Meg... I have an important meeting." He pulled me closer. It felt as if he didn't want to let me go either.

"Tell them, your girlfriend didn't let you out of the bed." I muttered and when I realized the underlying meaning behind it, my eyes snapped open as my face turned a deep shade of red. "Shit."

I was greeted by a playfully amused Miles who was looking down at me, his eyes twinkling, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"By doing what exactly?" He questioned, bringing more colour to my cheeks if that were ever possible.

"You don't have to tell those details to your employees." I was suddenly hot by his proximity and now, I was the one who wanted to leave. I rolled over enough for him to get up and go to his meetings.

"Where are you going?" Miles held my arm gently yet strongly, pulling me back to him. "I thought you were sleeping and I don't want to upset my sleeping girlfriend."

I playfully hit his chest as I rolled over him. I put my legs on either side of him, sitting on his stomach. Miles's eyes widened when the sheet slipped past me and crumpled around his stomach. I placed my hand on his chest just to feel his rapid heartbeat. I traced my finger tip from his chest to his shoulder then to his arms and finally settled on his fingers as they cupped my thigh holding me in position.

"I thought I could get used to this." He muttered. His voice was low and husky. "But I could never... God, you look so hot now, Megan."

I could feel him poking behind my back and I grinned in satisfaction. "What were you saying before?" I asked, as my hands went to his hair to pull them gently.

Miles closed his eyes as his hands gripped my thighs tighter. He grunted softly and sure enough, it had driving me wild.

"Give... me... a... second." He breathed. His eyes were still closed as I sat comfortably on top of him, drawing circles near his navel. He pulled out his phone from the table and dialled a number. "Austen, postpone the meetings to after lunch. Yes... I said do it! I don't care!"

"Trouble?" I asked, as he cut the call. He groaned inaudibly as I leaned in. I caught his lips just as he was about to moan, swallowing his pleasurable sighs.

My hands roamed freely over him, as I memorised every ridge and curve, every scar and battles. He sucked on my lips, biting it slowly as he squeezed my hips together.

"Miles..." I breathed as he put his hands on my waist pulling me to him, trailing kisses from the edge of my jaw to the outline of my neck.

"You. Drive. Me. Insane." He said in between the kisses. When he opened his eyes to look at me, I saw his eyes dilated with a colour that had matched a prevailing tornado that would devour everything in its wake.

He swept his hands across my bare back, holding me hostage in his arms. This game had definitely backfired and now, I was suddenly at his mercy rather than the other was round.

"I love you, Megan." He said, pulling me in for another kiss. "And I can't get enough of you."

With that, he flipped us, and before I knew what was happening, I was under him while he hovered above me sporting a delicious smile. His dark desirous eyes startled me. I had never seen him so consumed by me.

It jolted me awake. I was greeted with darkness. The cool air from the window that I had forgotten to lock, was freezing my heart once more.

My eyes stung at the dream. Unlike the ones that I was usually hailed with, this was exactly what we were years ago. I could still feel his breath fanning on mine, his soft hands gripping me tighter as if he was scared to let me go. Dreams like this hurt more than the nightmares.

It was the first day back at my apartment in Baldachin Boulevard. The apartment where we had first shared a bed. Where he had cooked for me. Where we had shared so many happy memories.

But now, the same apartment was nothing more than fragment of images that haunted me every time I took a breath. I wiped my eyes and tried to sleep, but it never came. This time, I was scared that I would dream something that would never be possible again.

---

A/N: What do you think? Will Megan be able to cope up with her old routine, now that she has settled back?

Comment yes if you are hungry for more :p