She was good at running, yet she was never quite good at outrunning her thoughts. Or her mouth. Certainly, at that very moment, she was regretting that she could speak altogether.

Such a pushover. Always saying yes. 

Always ready to help and do anything for her sister. 

A sharp breath escaped her lips as her shoulder came in contact with one more stranger that she had no time to apologize to. However, her gaze trailed behind her briefly as she kept going. 

She inhaled a new one as she was in urgent need of oxygen. She was running as fast as she could to the point that her throat was hurting from the harsh inhales. 

She almost thanked the heavens out loud as her feet finally took her to her destination. Her sister's apartment building.

Sania Pierce rested her palm against the wall before pressing to call the elevator, being in need of some support. Knees bent, sweat dripping from her forehead, while her inhales and exhales sounded like a ventilating machine struggling to function properly.  

The seconds she spent there waiting for the lift flared her anxiety instead of allowing her to enjoy this brief-needed catch of breath, so she ended up not being able to wait for it any longer. Her feet turned around, and hurriedly she decided to run up the stairs, sacrificing some more of her breathing that was already suffering from the process.

Her chest was aching by the time she finally rang the doorbell of the apartment she was staying at, her breathing being more messed up than her thoughts were at that instant. Sania surely looked exhausted, her hair all over the place, making her regret the fact that she hadn't tied them up before leaving the house. 

She swiped her forehead with her palms as she rested her back against the door frame, her posture sullen and loose, displaying perfectly the state of her physical condition.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her mom to open the door, and she ran upstairs to her older sister's room, where she was waiting for her to bring her the dress that she forgot to pick up on her way home. Sania had literally lost her breath to get it on time for her.

She handed the shopping bag with the beautiful dress which her sister had chosen for her engagement after-party, and then tired as she was, Sania allowed her body to slam on the bed, her chest rising up and down in a rapid rhythm as she was trying to catch up her breath, having run 3 blocks to get to the store before it's closing time.

"Thank you so much, little sis, you are the best."

Ria -Sania's sister- spoke to her with a smile as she took the dress and headed to the bathroom to wear it. And all Sania did was wave a bit at her, slightly raising her hand from the bed as she didn't move from her position, feeling really tired and out of energy.

"Sania, you have to get ready too. Get up and fix yourself," her mother reminded her as she entered the room and saw her state, then she proceeded to grab Sania's hand and help her to stand up.

Sania grunted between her teeth as she really wasn't in the best of moods, having had a pretty anxious and tiring day so far. Starting from the morning in which she had attended two job interviews, which carried her hopes for her future and a better establishment in this city.

 It hadn't been long since she had returned to her country of origin. Leaving aside the stressful hours that she had to spend being interviewed while she was losing her sister's actual engagement, she had returned home to an older sister who was freaking out because of the things she had to take care of for the after-party. Things that had occupied her head and made Sania forget important details, such as her own dress. After going through all that, she just didn't find it necessary to attend the engagement party anymore.

Ria did get engaged without her there after all, so why was it necessary for Sania to attend the after-party if she wasn't in the actual thing? Even though her thought process had a point, she didn't dare speak to her mom about those contradicting thoughts that she had and just stood up and left the room, heading to do what her mother asked of her.

After taking a quick shower cause the time was against her, Sania quickly opened the closet and picked some normal clothes that someone would say could not be considered appropriate for her sister's engagement party, but she didn't care as long as she felt comfortable enough in them.

She brushed her hair well, whining a bit at the fact that they had gotten way too tangled, and then decided to let them loose, not caring much and skipping makeup as she does most of the time. Eyeliner and lip gloss were her everyday soldiers.

Even though originally, Sania had planned to put on some makeup and doll herself up for such an occasion, seeing the time limit made her not try at all and run back to her sister's room to check if she and her mother were ready.

Once in the room, her attention went immediately to her sister, who was sitting on the chair, looking breathtaking in the beautiful dress that suited her perfectly.

It almost made Sania think that all the trouble to get it was worth it. That astonishing shade of blue and the embroidery details on the fabric made the dress seem so expensive. Straight out of a fairytale.

A smile grew on her face as she kept looking at her sister, who was smiling so happily and brightly.

"You are the most beautiful woman on earth," She complimented her, making her sister's smile grow more.

On the other hand, once her mother saw what Sania was wearing, the smile that she was also wearing faded, and she proceeded to blink a few times at the image in front of her.

"Sania, you will come dressed like that?"

"Yeah, Why?"

Sania looked at herself, wondering what was wrong with what she was wearing. The clothes were not stained anywhere, were they?

"Hey, Sis, seriously! That's all you have in that closet of yours? That looks like you are going to a meeting."

Her sister didn't hesitate to get up and head to her closet to find a dress for Sania, instead of the black trousers and the plain white dress-shirt that she was wearing.

"No way you are gonna attend my party like that. Here, wear this quickly."

Ria shoved a dress at her, and her mom pushed Sania out to go change as quickly as possible before they ran late.

"But-B-But," she tried to protest while she was being pushed out, but of course, it was to no avail, as Sania knew well that, especially today, she couldn't go against her mother's or her sister's wishes. With a deep exhale, she returned to her room, where she put the dress on as quickly as she could, but when she got back to her sister's room, she found only a note waiting for her.

Sorry, the driver came, so we couldn't make him wait. I called a taxi to pick you up, and it will be there in a minute.

PS: The address is on a note in my bag in the living room. Don't be late.

-Ria.

Another exhale escaped Sania's lips, this one being more of annoyance at that point, but she quickly found this as something positive, as she had more time to herself and to get ready properly. She returned to her room and sat down to put a little makeup on since her time was expanded and to fix her hair a little more.

After all, now she was wearing a dress, so she should look the part.

After a while, her attempts at bettering her looks came to an end, and Sania proceeded to take a look at her mirror. A sight that left her satisfied and allowed her to walk out of her room and down the stairs, grab her bag, and put on her shoes, which had a small heel and good base, for Sania couldn't wear high heels since she really found it difficult to walk well in them.

She stopped once more at the door and checked herself in the mirror that was covering the left wall.

The reason she kept checking herself was not because she liked it too much or anything like that; it's just that she had always been a bit insecure about events that include a lot of socializing. No matter what she was to wear, she always felt a bit out of place and a little bit uncomfortable. This soft pastel green dress complemented her figure a lot, however.  But she would have still rather have gone back to her little business suit, but if she was to do that, her mom and sister would eat her alive, so she left that thought go.

It's just one more day. It will end. We can get through this, and then I will rest to my heart's content.

Sania encouraged herself before getting out of the main door, having decided to wait for the taxi outside.

---Time skip---

After some asking around, Sania found the place that her sister had left the address to, and once she went through a check at the door, she managed to enter the gates of the beautiful mansion that her sister's fiancé owns.

He was a really rich guy and rather handsome, as Sania had heard from her sister, who had kept talking about him since Sania had never had the opportunity to meet him herself to judge if her words had a base or were just the words of a woman in love and her pink colored glasses.

He comes from a wealthy family, and the fact that someone like him is actually engaged to her sister was really a miracle considering the differences in class level between their families.

But honestly, that fact made Sania rather happy knowing that her sister, Ria, won the heart of such an important guy. It made her believe in fairy tales and in her eyes, her sister was like a modern Cinderella.

She could stay and romanticize her sister's relationship for hours if she hadn't been in a place where she would be more attentive. She couldn't help it. She was just a believer in love and a shipper of nice couples.

Sania admired her sister for finding the love of her life at such a nice age, as Ria was only twenty-seven. Not like Sania, who gave her virginity to a random guy she met once at a club in New York.

She was not some kind of easy girl, nor was she a girl who went out searching for adventures. For her, it was more than a one-night thing. Naive much, sure, but to a point, she had learned her lesson.

 No matter how absurd it may sound to some, for Sania, it felt like love at first sight, and she thought she had woken up from daydreaming and knew well that most likely for him, she meant nothing; there was a side of her that kept longing to cross paths with this stranger again. 

Because no matter how much she disliked the fact, she still thought of him, and her heart thumped up just like that night she first saw him. 

Most of her friends call her stupid for that, so she had stopped talking about it. She couldn't blame them, though; she found her behavior stupid, too. She didn't even know his name, yet she gave him her all. Simply because something in her told her that he was the one.

No one should trust a gut feeling that blindly. 

Part of her regretted it and considered it the mistake of an inexperienced young foolish girl, and another part still hoped that whatever that was, wasn't completely wrong. For she, even after all those years, still had not found herself feeling anything for any other man. 

Sania will probably die alone, but she preferred that thought over being in a relationship with someone that she didn't fully care for, or had feelings towards. Why waste anyone's time? She was not good at pretending. Relationships that start just for the sake of dating are meant to fail anyway.

Her older sister and her Fiancé were an example of lasting because they dated each other out of love and not just to pass their time. They had been together for 3 years, and even though in this time span they had a 2-month breakup, as her sister had told Sania, they managed to solve their issues and get back together. They had passed their test of differences because they cared for each other. And she found that admirable, for certainly such things hold relationships together.

While Ria was living her life back in their home country, Sania had stayed back and was studying in New York. The two sisters were children of emigrants, raised in the USA, but after the death of their father, their mother decided to return to her country, and Ria went along with her. Sania found herself living on her own at 19, and after some years, she had finished her studies.

 At first, she wasn't planning on getting back home, for she had established a life abroad, but upon her mother's pleas and requests, she had decided to return home and find herself a job. Start over and settle permanently and look after her life, and make her family proud.

Sania was academically successful, hence she had the respect of her whole family, and even her relatives would use her as an example for the other younger cousins of the family, but Sania knew them well, hence why she was reluctant to return to begin with. Her conservative family and relatives would shame her forever if they were to know about the loss of her V-card to a stranger. It was a big deal to them to be in a serious relationship and date people with aim, commitment, and marriage intentions. Just like her older sister Ria had.

The two sisters sure were different, but they both were overly careful of making any wrong moves, since their father had died. Because the relatives would blame their mother for their mistakes, and they both cared a lot about their mother and wouldn't want to make her lose face in any way. That's why Sania had decided to hide her past forever if needed.

She has done a great job in the past 2 months since she was living with her family again, and thankfully, Ria was taking most of the spotlight. Sania had never thought that her sister's life would be so eventful, but she was glad that now she could be present for her and part of her life again.

Lost in her thoughts as she was, She failed to realize that she had reached inside the venue, till some voices entered her ears and she looked around at the crowd for a minute before proceeding to try to spot her sister or her mother somewhere, and once one of them fell to her sight, she didn't hesitate to make her way to her.

Her mother was talking with an older couple that Sania assumed by their looks to be the in-laws, so she halted a bit and straightened herself up before approaching them. She proceeded to greet them politely as her mother introduced her to them, and they seemed rather happy to be meeting her. And of course, Sania tried to look as pleased as they were out of mannerisms.

She kept chatting for a while, and their politeness and kindness really won her heart and sympathy, and that was something big because Sania rarely liked people, much less to like them so quickly. Without even knowing them well. But maybe they were the exception because their personalities were too carefree and too humorous not to win her over.

The conversation was flowing nicely till suddenly her mother waved at someone, calling them over. Her action made Sania look in the direction her mother was glancing.

As she did, she came to face a crowd of people that started splitting up, allowing her sister and the man who was by her side to pass through, and make their way towards them.

Once Sania's eyes landed on him, her breath was cut instantly, and cold sweat felt like it covered every inch of her body. Fingertips grew cold as her gaze froze in time. 

The man she never thought she would see again in her life. The man whom she gave her everything to that night was standing right there. The man who stole her heart with one look only.

Her most desired dream and nightmare now stood again before her eyes.

"Sania, let me introduce you to my Fiancé... Park Jimin "

----To be continued...